Rise and Thresh

Journal Entry from June 18, 2010:

Father, Yesterday as I was spending time with You, I felt that You led me to Micah 4:13 which says: "RISE and THRESH, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of IRON; I will give you hoofs of BRONZE and you will break to pieces many nations."

At first, I almost laughed and thought this verse had absolutely nothing to do with me or my life right now. However, as I prayed and pondered the words of this verse and spent some time studying Biblical commentaries, I realized just how very RELEVANT these words truly are for my life right now.

Some of the things the Lord revealed to me as I studied Micah 4:13:

This prophecy was actually given to Israel right after they were told that Babylon would come against them and take them into captivity. Micah 4:13 is part of the promise that the Lord gives to Israel that he will DELIVER THEM and STRENGTHEN THEM so that they are able to eventually overake their enemies. The Lord promises to eventually bring His people back to Jerusalem after being taken into exile by their feared enemies. To "rise and thresh" is to actually a call to take up the fight against our enemies....to remain strong in our faith and wait for the deliverance that the Lord has promised.

If you study the concept of Biblical threshing you will find that in order to separate the grain from the chaff, the farmers would drive their oxen and cart over the grain again and again.....this process would allow the good part of the crop (grain) to be separated from the bad or useless part of the crop (chaff). In the same way that threshing purifies and refines the grain in the natural, it also is a term that refers to the purification and refining our hearts spiritually. Spiritual threshing allows us to trample down the enemies of darkness in our lives.

Even when we do not understand what is going on around us and we are tempted to give up, we are called to maintain the fight of faith and to wait with EXPECTATION in seeing the deliverance of the Lord in our lives! This verse was a great reminder to continue to FIGHT with faith on Aliyah's behalf!!

Butterflies, Cardinals, and Gerber Daisies

      I love to hear the different and unique ways that the Lord chooses to speak into the lives of His children. At times people actually hear the Lord speak in an audible voice to them. But often the Lord speaks to us through the objects, situations, and people around us. The words the Lord declares over our lives at just the right time have the ability to bring such ENCOURAGEMENT and STRENGTH to our souls.......especially when we are walking through the valley of shadows and great darkness.

     Throughout my pregnancy with Aliyah, I often felt that my mind was a continual battlefield. I could literally feel the fear from the unknown of our daughter's future griping me and threatening to steal all life and joy from my soul. I could also feel the FAITH arising in my heart as I spent more and more time in the Lord's PRESENCE.

      Faith and fear are polar opposites. They can not exist together in our hearts at the same time. Scripture tells us that there is NO FEAR in the Lord's perfect love.....it is completely cast out. If we chose to allow ourselves to rest in the love and faith in the Lord, the fear that consumes us WILL BE driven out. My prayer each day while carrying Aliyah was that my FAITH WOULD ARISE causing all my anxiety and fear to flee! I often prayed out loud over our situation on days when my fear was so strong.....and this made all the difference.

      I began asking the Lord for signs of His presence around us....specifically I asked Him to send cardinals and butterflies my way! And the most amazing thing happened after I began praying this prayer....I began to see cardinals and butterflies EVERYWHERE! I mean EVERYWHERE. A cardinal decided to take up residence in our neighbor's tree and nearly every time I went into our backyard, I would glimpse his beautiful bright red feathers or hear him singing a song. Butterflies also came in ABUNDANCE. They showed up on so many days when I was feeling discouraged. I even had one come and land on me!!

      
     At the beginning of June 2010, my sister-in-law's small group from church came and prayed for us. As the group laid hands on us and contended for Aliyah's healing, one of the guys (who we had never met) told us that the Lord had given him a picture. The picture was of Gerber Daisies with their heads completely drooped. Matt noted, however, that as the sun rose upon the daisies, they raised their heads up to the LIGHT and butterflies were released from the flowers' centers. Matt had absolutely no clue how much the Lord was already using butterflies to speak LIFE into our situation!

      "ARISE, SHINE, for your LIGHT has come, and the glory of the Lord RISES UPON YOU. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory APPEARS OVER YOU." Isaiah 60:1-2

Choosing a Name

      A few days after finding out we were having a girl, I was looking over the list of baby girl names we had complied. The name "Aliyah" stood out to me from that list and I felt the Lord saying that this was the name we were to give our daughter. I found that the name "Aliyah" actually meant "rising" and immediately the middle name, "Joy" came to my mind. "Rising Joy".....how appropriate. I was excited that Rod loved the name when I presented it to him......our decision was made!

     An except from my journal at the end of May 2010: "Rising Joy"....Father, this is what Rod and I need so much from you right now. A JOY that goes beyond our circumstance. A JOY that is based only on the foundation of having you as Lord. God, in the midst of everything, Rod and I continue to go back to the fact that You are so GOOD to us."

     A few days after naming our daughter, a Jewish co-worker asked me if I knew what Aliyah's name meant. I told her I knew that it meant "rising." She informed me that in Jewish culture, An "Aliyah" is the name that is used to describe the journey of the Jewish people going back to the temple of God. An "Aliyah" includes "rising up" the temple stairs to meet with God, to seek His face, and to come into His PRESENCE......Rod and I were amazed! Once again the Lord had gone before us showing how He was giving LIFE to our situation before we were even aware of it.