Red Writing on the Wall

I was standing in the kitchen, noticing the details I recognized from my childood, lamenting about how different it was to be in this space without her. The orange-brown carpet, the heavy wooden hutch against the paneled walls, and the stoop that served as our time machine when we were little and carefree. None of it quite right. I gazed upon her chair in the living room, and then everything went fuzzy, except the red writing on the wall above her chair. Somehow I knew that I had penned it. That I had been there before.  This is what was written, though not in a straight line:

Psalm 118: 1, 2, 21

I woke up from the dream about my Great Aunt, wondering what it all meant. I had to look up the verses.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindess is everlasting.”

“O let Israel say, “His lovingkindess is everlasting.”

“I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation.”

It led me to seek out how I can be living this more fully.

David’s message in this Psalm is loud and clear.

• God answers. Maybe you’re not familiar with David’s story, but the man had a whole host of problems and people after Him, including his own Father-in-law. This Psalm tells us that in his distress, David called upon the Lord and He answered. David lived. Verse 21 says it too….”I called and You answered and You have become my salvation!” This whole Psalm points to the promised coming of Jesus and the salvation that comes in Him. God answers.
• His lovingkindes knows no end. If ANYONE had room to question God’s love and kindness, David did. He had so many enemies surrounding him from every side, he camped out in caves, and spent many years of his life on the run and in hiding. (Did I mention his psycho Father-in-law yet?) David held on to some important truths in that time on the run. God was His refuge, man could not shake him. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves. The LORD is FOR us. Through all of these things, but mostly for the gift of SALVATION, David proclaims that God is GOOD. His love is a never stopping, unfailing, perfect gift through Jesus Christ.

I needed this. I needed this dream, this time in the Word, to hear His voice pursuing me. God loves to communicate with His children. We know that He calls Himself a shepherd, and the sheep know His voice. Listen for the Father’s voice, the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudge, and give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His lovingkindess is everlasting.