Reach Up

Wednesday afternoon
outside Starbucks

I sat in the car waiting for my Cafe Misto with almond milk.  My after work treat thanks to a gift card from a student. As I sat in the drive thru my eyes looked up at the large tree behind Applebees in my town. Those branches just seem to be reaching towards the heavens, don't they?

And then I heard this in my spirit.....that secret place in my heart where God whispers things to us when we are still......

"hope.  There's a hope that reaches towards the heavens....towards Me......cling to that hope. Like you read in Isaiah chapter 1 this morning.  In Me there is Hope. Cling to that promise...reach up to Me." 

Now when God speaks to my heart, I know it's for a reason. I had been praying for my daughters to really grab ahold of the Lord and make Him a priority in their lives. I can't be preachy to them....they live on their own, in their own apartments....but...I can lift them up in prayer and model for them and share nuggets of God's wisdom with them. I have hope that they will indeed press into God. 

In my study of chapter 1 of Isaiah today I was reading the following Scripture:

Isaiah was telling the Jewish people...the Israelites...to deal with their spiritual indifference. Oh, they were following all the religious rituals.  But God wants our hearts. They had not turned their hearts toward God. And for us today, we become so busy....our lives have so many chaotic moments or just plain busyness that we need to intentionally pause and listen to Him.  Pause. Listen. He will speak. But only if we are in a covenant relationship with Him. We can ask Him to remove any impure thoughts or habits or desires. God purifies us when we repent.

 That gives us hope......for the future......and for our children's' futures. 

So just like that old maple tree, bare and reaching up towards the heavens......so too can we bare our hearts and reach towards Him.......

Are you reaching for God today?