“Listen to me, you who chase after righteousness,
You who passionately pursue to Lord.
Look to Abraham, the rock from which you were cut,
To Sarah, the quarry from which you were dug,
And remember what I did for them.”

Isaiah 51:1

There are some days you read a passage of scripture and the Lord shouts at you.  Not a nasty shout, a loving shout with a hint of a smile – Hello Kirrily – I am speaking!

I read this passage on 31 December 2019, so hungry to hear from God, so hungry to be fed by His voice, and the Lord spoke to me as directly as a loving and firm Father speaks to a child.

And I sense that this is not just a word for me, but for all chasing after righteousness, for all passionately pursuing the Lord as we step into 2020.

The Prophet Isaiah doesn’t beat around the bush with his instruction.  It is plain and simple. 

If you are chasing after righteousness, if you are passionately pursuing the Lord, look to the Father and Mother of faith, look to Abraham and Sarah, the ones that led humanity in a life of faith, a life of taking God at His word, a life of believing in the face of impossible odds. 

And there is no escaping this one crazy, culture defying truth, it is faith that pleases God, it is faith that connects us with God, and it is faith with which bravely makes a way for us into a bright new decade.

We can’t seek righteousness and passionately pursue God, without being a led into a life that believes for what we cannot see.  This is what it means to be a believer, this is what it means to be a man or woman of faith, and this is the atmosphere of faith which makes our walk with Christ alive, fresh, dynamic, powerful and effective.

The Dawning of a Decade

At the Dawning of the Decade
The dreamers will prevail,
Found in skies of promise
With ashes in their trail.
At the Dawning of a Decade,
Can you hear the clarion call,
Of a thousand eagles rising
To a sound above it all.
At the dawning of a decade,
Be found in halls of praise,
In the company of angels,
Dancing upon malaise.
And the dawning of a decade,
Cry comfort, desolate land,
For the Creator who calls us forward,
Nestles close as we stand.

Kirrily Lowe ©

I so want to step into a new decade with a bright, alive, focused faith.

But I have a problem. 

There are parts of my soul, that are failing to cooperate with the girl at the starting blocks. 

There are parts of my soul, like hungry children demanding to be fed before I run, demanding to be tended to before they get on board with my plans, demanding to heal before I go again.

There are waste places of hurt, disappointment, pain that causes our running to be stunted.

They are places not to be ignored, but to be attended to by the loving hand of our God. 

And I love that right within the call to be in faith, there is the promise of comfort.

It is not one without the other. 

We do not neglect faith and pull back to find comfort. 

And we don’t stay in faith and neglect the barren, hurting places of our soul. 
Indeed, it is right on the back of the Prophets direction to stay in faith, that he cries comfort:

“Indeed, Yahweh will comfort Zion, restore her,
And comfort all her broken places.
He will transform her wilderness into the garden of Bliss,
Her desert into the garden of Yahweh.
Joy and laughter will fill the air
And thanksgiving with joyous melodies.”
Isaiah 51:3 TPT

Comfort is found in the place of faith, while believing, right there in the stepping out.

See you on the journey.  May joy and laughter fill the air.

Love Kirrily xx