Sunday Blessings -Hedged In

 Many  of  find  ourselves  in  confining  and  restricting circumstances,  like  I  do, due  to  illness,  physical  disability or  economic restraints  and  family responsibilities.
We  want  to  spread  our  wings  and  fly but  the  aviary nets hold  us  in.

Joni Eareckson Tada  is  a  cages  songbird whose music  is  close  to  my  heart. She 's  been  confined  to  her  wheelchair   for  several  decades now and  God  is  using  her  to   lift  people  out  of  their  bed  of  woes.

A  wide  range   of  authors   are  on  my  reading  list but  I  pay    closest  heed  to  those  who have   suffered pain,  hardship  and  loss .  Their 's  is   not  a  second  hand  knowledge or  counsel.

Jesus  endured temptation,  pain,  suffrering , povery, betrayal, injustice  and torture , even separation from His  Heavenly  Father. That  is  why  He  can  sympathize   with  us  in  our  weaknesses.
Hebrews 4:15
English Standard Version (ESV)BIBLE
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.


Hedges and Walls

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in.
--Job 3:23

The four walls of a sick room can feel terribly confining, even if you are only

in bed a short time. When I was stuck in a hospital room for over a year, those

four walls felt like a jail. I resonated with the prophet who wrote, "He has walled

me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains" (Lamentations 3:7).

There's a lot of lament in that verse, and in today's.

There is also comfort. For it is God's hedge. Those are God's walls. It is God who

has confined you in. He is the one who has surrounded you with that high hedge.

It is only when we view our restricting circumstances as being placed there by God's

hand, that we find courage to face the wall and the hedge. Walls are cold and hard.

Hedges are unyielding and thorny. But the love of your God is supreme and matchless,

and he only confines you 'round for a wise and timely purpose. For those who believe

in the love and wisdom of a sovereign God, even a terrible confinement can be a

place of building trust.

* * * * * * * *

A high hedge cannot shut out our view of the skies nor can it prevent the soul from

looking up into the face of God. That's what happened to me in the hospital. During

the year within those four walls, I earnestly wrestled with God, pleading and praying

to him. Looking back, it was dreadfully difficult -- but it was a rich and deep

spiritual time which I wouldn't trade for anything. Because there is so little else

to see, the hedged-in Christian may possibly apprehend God more fully than the disciple

who moves about freely and unconfined.

Today, I need to remember that the 'four walls' of a difficult situation force me

to look up.

 Lord Jesus, please help me to see you in the confining situation.

The Hedge

Therefore I will block her path with thorn bushes; I will wall her in so that she
cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will
look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband
as at first, for then I was better off than now.'

--Hosea 2:6-7

When I was a little girl, my mother would take me to Grandmother's every Wednesday
morning. While she cleaned house, Mother gave me free range in the spacious back
yard which was lined with a tall thick hedge. I had plenty of room in which to
play. I didn't know what was on the other side of the hedge, but I wasn't about
to trespass beyond the watchful eye of Mom. Who knew what dangers lurked beyond
the safe, secure wall of thorny leaves that defined my family's property?


I often think of Grandmother's hedge when I look at my wheelchair. It may be a thorn
in my side, but it is God's barrier; otherwise, I would be reaching for and running
toward a lot of wrong things! I thank my wise God for placing this hedge in my life.
It may hurt and sometimes humiliate me, but it keeps me within the safe, secure
boundaries of God's protection and provision. It keeps me out of the worse kind
of danger: moral trouble.



Today's verse describes a rebellious, headstrong person who is ruled by desire,
a person who looks for ways to trespass God's boundaries of safety and borders of
protection. Don't invite the Lord to block your path with a taller, thornier hedge
Be content within the confines of his commands. The Bible's precepts give you room
enough in which to grow. What hedges has God placed in your life? How has "hedging
in" helped you?

Lord Jesus, I desire to trust and obey you with a willing and contented spirit.
I am thankful for the hedges you place in my life

Blessings,

Joni and Friends


Taken from Pearls of Great Price. Copyright © 2006 by Joni Eareckson Tada.