The Battle Within Our Hearts

Today we have a new author to introduce you readers here. But first…

The devotional for today resonated with me on several levels. First, it was based on the rich lyrics of the hymn, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” which was sung at my mother’s funeral.

Second, I had only last week heard several references to the fact that as Christ followers, we can’t expect to engage the spiritual battle going on outside when we are fighting a Civil War within our minds; within our hearts.

With those two things in the background, today’s new writer is Marilyn Daniels who writes at Marilyn’s Meditations. Clicking the title which follows will also take you there, where you can read this where it appeared first.

Reclothe Us

Read: 1 Kings 19:11-18

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Often as I begin my devotions each morning the words of a hymn forms the basis of that devotion. Today it was the words of John Greenleaf Whittier, words taken from a longer poem which he wrote in 1872. The country was just recovering from the American Civil war of 1861-1865. He describes hearts longing for peace.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun, and history has proven him to be right. The same attitudes exist around the world today, causing hatred and bloodshed between nations and even dividing families. This hymn might be a prayer that God would reclothe us in our rightful minds, even today.

Apparently the words of this hymn came from a much longer poem “The Brewing of the Soma” describing Vedic priests brewing and drinking Soma in an attempt to experience divinity. Whittier’s intention was to compare this to the use some Christians made of “music, incense, vigils…trance……all in vain – it is mere intoxication” (Wikipedia).

Raised as a Quaker, he knew the true way of seeking God’s will. Silence and selflessness enable us to hear the “still small voice” described in the Bible (1 Kings 19:11-13). The voice of God was not heard in earthquake, wind or fire, but rather in a soft, gentle whisper which followed the dramatic events of God’s power. But first we must seek God’s forgiveness. The lyrics go on –

…Forgive our foolish ways.
Reclothe us in our rightful minds,
in purer lives Thy service find….

As an advocate for justice, the moral and spiritual values of his up-bringing impacted his writings and earned him the title of “America’s finest religious poet”. Many of his poems are still sung in churches today. One phrase captured my particular attention as I thought about our worship “…in deeper reverence, praise!” His poem goes on to talk about “simple trust” with which early Christians rose up and followed Jesus when they heard “the gracious calling of the Lord”.

Jesus calls His disciples, whether in the midst of a Civil War, or in the business of twenty-first century living: “Come unto Me all you who are weary and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Whittier captured the essence of that rest:

Oh Sabbath rest by Galilee….
where Jesus knelt to share with Thee [God his Father],
the silence of eternity
interpreted by love.

The depth of that statement alone is cause for hours of reflection!

Reflection:

However, it is the last verse which provokes even deeper thought. What do the heats of our desires look like today? Do we need God’s coolness and His balm? Oh that we might enjoy His “still small voice of calm”! Then we would be ready to serve, to bless others with God’s love and peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.