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Have you ever thought you were hanging from a precipice in your circumstance only to discover God was taking you to a new place in your journey with Him? Not only does He give a new view along the way but He gives a new strength for His new assignments. In Day 2 of Set My Heart On Fire there is a new view - a new way of looking at my weaknesses. I see that when I am weak then I am strong. Weakness qualifies me for service in the kingdom of God. I loved reading 2 Corinthians 3:5 today: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from from ourselves but our adequacy is from God. That is good news for me today. The next two days are going to be big ones for me and for our entire quiet time team. We have a Set My Heart On Fire Women of Revival conference on Coronado Island (see www.womenofrevival.com). I’m so excited!! But a part of me trembles - it’s a BIG assignment. I have so much I want to say and I am on fire to preach and challenge and encourage. I love this picture I’ve included here in this post. The rope keeps this climber from falling. And so it is for us - the Lord is the one who holds us tightly in His faithful, everlasting arms and never lets go. He is my strength. And though I am weak, in Him, I am strong, for my adequacy is from Him as 2 Cor. 3:5 promises. And so, my cry is “I can’t, but He can!” And may I add, “to God be the glory!”

Today, in Day 1 of Set My Heart On Fire, I read about the journey of the two men on the road to their home in Emmaus. The account of this real life event is found in Luke 24. It’s all about two men’s hearts changed from despair to delight and discouragement to deep devotion. I wonder how many of us are on our own roads to Emmaus today? I thought about my own journey and the ways I am on that same road to Emmaus - where am I dealing with discouragement? What areas might I lean towards despair? But the great truth is that Jesus meets us wherever we are on that road to Emmaus. I love this painting by Robert Zund (1827-1909) because it captures the walking and talking relationship Jesus loves to experience with us. I read in Day 1 of Set My Heart On Fire, “I want to encourage you that Jesus is setting hearts on fire even today. Those whose hearts burn for Him become powerful witnesses of all He has done in their lives. He meets you on your own ‘road to Emmaus’ with a heart ready for a good fire–perhaps dry from the busyness of life or in despair because of a great loss or the dashing of a dream” (p.23). And then I go on to say, “Jesus will explain the Scriptures to you even now through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life” (p. 23). I loved reading that today. Whenever I open the Bible I am meeting with Jesus on my own road to Emmaus. He will explain the Scriptures to me as He did those two disciples (Luke 24:27). And what will be the result? A heart set on fire. The disciples said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us” (Luke 24:32)? May the Lord set our hearts on fire day by day as we draw near to Him in His Word. (You can read Day 1 of Set My Heart On Fire online here and you can listen here to our first radio broadcast of the radio Bible study of Set My Heart on fire aired live on September 24, 2008).

This week in our radio Bible study of Set My Heart On Fire we are going to read about a metaphor for the work of the Holy Spirit. Can you picture a sailboat as it turns and the sail catches the wind in such a way that it begins to glide across azure water with lightning speed? Her course has been changed and she is now running before the wind. The sailboat running before the wind is our picture of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I received this sailboat yesterday from my dear sisters in the Lord, Lynne Ford and Jamie Bennett of WBCL as a special encouragement for me as we inaugurated our radio Bible study today. Of course, I was just so overwhelmed and blessed. These are two on fire for the Lord women who are just so amazing. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it is to share together with them on the radio about the Lord. I will always cherish this special gift and it will sit in a place where I can see it and be reminded that I want to “run before the wind.” May the Lord bless us and help us to set our sails to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of a 30 day journey of Set My Heart On Fire with others throughout the world as they tune in to the Mid-Morning Show at WBCL.org. The weekly radio discussions with Lynne Ford and Jamie Bennett will be aired live and then available online. I’m excited for this journey. And more than that, I need this journey. I am faced with impossible situations that are greater than myself. And I think there are others who are experiencing this same overwhelming challenges. And maybe you are feeling as though you could fall into despair or are, as the psalmist said, “so troubled” you cannot speak (Psalm 77:4). So, let’s go on this journey together. I know what’s in this book all about experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit since I wrote it :). What I don’t know is how God is going to use the Bible verses contained in it and the biblical principles to transform our hearts. Every day is a new day. And God is going to do something new in all of our lives. Our 30 day journey will be like walking on a path - that’s why I like this picture so much. I imagine that we are walking through this beautiful valley with green trees. And the Lord is going to teach us Himself from His Word. We are going to learn how He leads us into situations greater than ourselves sometimes. But He never intends for us to handle them in our own strength. No - He intends to meet each situation with His own strength through the power of the Holy Spirit. Then we are able to say “I can’t, but He can!” I need that kind of encouragement today from the Lord. He encourages me to face the day with the words of Paul, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). And so, let the journey begin!

I drove to Newport Beach yesterday for a meeting with my publisher and agent. I was looking forward to it not only for the meeting but also because I wanted to take some special time to be alone with my Lord. And one of my favorite places for just such a time is the ocean. So this morning I got up early and asked the guy who brought my car to the front of the hotel, “How can I get to the ocean?” He smiled knowingly, and gave me directions. I drove to Balboa Island, found a coffee place, and got a piping hot cup of coffee - especially important so early in the morning :). I found a parking spot, grabbed my Bible and coffee, and walked out towards the beach. Before I even saw what I had come to see, I heard the crashing of the waves. And then, finally, there was the ocean, where sky seems to touch water in the distant view. I sat on a ledge and read Psalm 73 and 62. Then, I talked with the Lord for awhile. Then I thought about the handiwork of the Lord seen and heard in the ocean. So I walked out and just stared at the crashing waves for a long time, thinking about the mighty power of God. I committed anew everything He has called me to do. And I gave Him me, all of me, once again. I do believe such surrenders are daily in the course of our everyday lives. I love what Jan Johnson said in the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Conversations about these “monastery times” as she calls them: “The courageous gift of the monastery to me is permission to run away. It’s not an excape, as so many people believe, because we bring everybody else with us in our heads, but we have enough distance from the chaos to quiet them. It’s ’soul school’, a space in which God can speak to us about what it would look like to love the difficult people in our lives and how the neediness of our spirits drives us to do foolish things. It’s a refuge where we know we are loved by God even when we accomplish nothing.” I especially love that last part. I truly believe in such quiet times we are actually accomplishing much more than when we are extremely productive. Investments in heart and soul care with the Lord, opening our Bibles, living there, and talking heart to heart with our Lord, yield eternal results. To God be the glory.