2 Kings 18:3,5-6 NAS, “Hezekiah… he did right in the sight of the Lord… he trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.” 

What a wonderful testimony to be written over a life. The Bible says that there was no other king like Hezekiah. What was the secret of his success? He clung to the Lord. The kings before him and after him were lured away from the Lord, but Hezekiah did not waver. He clung to the Lord with all his heart.

Where did he learn to cling to the Lord? I believe he learnt it from his mother, Abijah. Abijah was married to Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father. Ahaz was a wicked king, so wicked, that when he died they didn’t even bury him in the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. His greatest wickedness was that he followed the way of the heathen nations around about him and actually “burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen…” 2 Chronicles 28:3 

Who were these children? Obviously they were some of the sons of Abijah. Oh fellow mother, can you even begin to imagine the horror, the terror, torture, the torment, the anguish, the despair, the agony and the dreadfulness (I can’t even find enough adjectives) that Abijah must have experienced as her precious little baby was ripped away from her loving arms and thrown into a fiery pit? Oh it is too painful to think about. It would be enough to send her insane.

How did she survive? She must have clung to the Lord. The God who is Enough, was her comfort, her pillar, her rock and her consolation. It was not enough just to pray. She was desperate. She had to cling to the Lord. She held fast to the Lord and would not let Him go. This was her sanity. 

Are you going through something in your life that you feel is too hard to bear? Is your heart agonizing? Dear friend, cling to the Lord. No, don’t just pray a little prayer. Cling to the Lord. Cry out to Him. Stay in His presence until you feel His loving arms around you. As you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. He will bind up and heal your broken heart. He will keep your mind sound.

Do you have a problem that you don’t know how to solve? Cling to the Lord. Once again, don’t just pray a little prayer. Hold fast to the Lord until you receive His answer. Don’t be swayed by worldly answers. Wait for God’s Word. 

Do you feel that you can hardly bear another moment in your marriage? Can you imagine the heartache Abijah endured as she lived with a man who threw her baby into the fire? Or maybe more than one baby? Dear one, cling to the Lord. Put your trust in the Lord. Have patience and wait for Him. God will work on your behalf, as you trust in Him. And He will work wonders in you while you wait for His delivering power.

What was the fruit of Abijah’s clinging to the Lord? She kept her sanity. She found her victory. She walked in dignity. And she raised a son who became the greatest king in Judah. She raised a godly man who influenced a nation for God. She taught him to “cling to the Lord” and that became the success of his life and his reign as the greatest king of Judah. And Abijah’s name is recorded in the Scriptures as a mother and powerful influence of a godly king. 

Don’t give in, dear one. Cling to the Lord. This is your salvation.

Deuteronomy 13:4 NAS, “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him and cling to Him.” (Deuteronomy 10:20; 11:22; Joshua 22:5; 23:8; Acts 11:23)

   Deuteronomy 30:20, “Cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days.” 

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, teach me to cling to you. Every other cistern leaks. You are the only one who can support me and hold me. I will cling to you. I will not let you go. I will hang on to you because you are my Source, my Life, my Hope, my Comfort, my Consolation, my Rock and my faithful God.”

QUOTE:

“In Heavenly Love abiding,

No change my heart shall fear;

And safe is such confiding,

For nothing changes here.

The storm may roar about me,

My heart may low be laid;

But God is round about me,

And can I be dismayed?

Anna L. Waring

Psalm 18:2, “Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my HIGH TOWER.”

As a nation, we grieve for the unnecessary deaths of over 3,000 lives which were taken from us on 9/11/01  - not just numbers, but dear mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who are sorrowfully missed. We lament that we no longer have the twin towers of the World Trade Center gracing the skyline of New York. These high towers were magnificent, but they could not withstand the attack of the enemy.

We also read about other towers in the Bible. We immediately think of the tower of Babel where God intervened in the project before it was finished. Historians say that it was about seven stories and 300’ high when God scattered the people and confounded the language. (Genesis 11-9)

We read in Judges 9:46-47 about the tower of Shechem (which was meant to be a stronghold) that was also burned to the ground – and about a thousand men and women were burned to death.

In Luke 13:1-5 Jesus talks about the tower of Siloam that fell and toppled to the ground and 18 people were killed.

Man-made towers cannot survive enemy strikes. They cannot give everlasting protection. But oh how wonderful that we have a High Tower that can withstand all enemy attacks.

God is our High Tower. We can run into Him and find our refuge in Him. Dear mother, I want to remind you today that you have a High Tower. He is waiting to be your refuge. But He can only be your High Tower when you come into Him, when you totally put your trust in Him.

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER: the righteous runs into it, and is safe.”

Will you run into your Strong Tower today?

There is so much going on in the world right now and of course it affects your thought life. If you allow it, it can bring you into a state of fear and depression. Or perhaps you have things going on in your home and in your marriage that are weighing you down. You can hardly think straight. Dear one, run into the High Tower.

God is your High Tower. He will lift up your head. Oh yes, your situation may not change, but as you abide in the High Tower, He will lift you up above your problems. Instead of groveling in the pit, you can live your life from the heavenlies, looking down upon your troubles.

The Shinarites tried to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. They never made it! But you can live in a tower that reaches to the heavens. In fact, it’s a tower that lives in the heavenlies!

In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

What are the “high” things that we have to bring down? Every thought that takes higher place than the knowledge of God. Do your thoughts loom bigger in your mind than God Himself? Are you plagued with thoughts of fear, dread, anger, worry, despair, self-pity, bitterness and so on? What is higher in your mind - your thoughts that hold you captive, or the peace of God? If negative thoughts consume your mind, cast them down. Plead the blood of Jesus and tear them down in the name of Jesus. Let your burdens go and trust in your High Tower.

Here are some other wonderful promises for you.

Psalm 61:2-3, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a STRONG TOWER from the enemy.”

Psalm 114:2, “My goodness, and my fortress, my HIGH TOWER, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust…”

As you resist your “high” thoughts and instead trust in the Lord, you will find that He will become your strong and high tower.

Love from, NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, I thank you that you are my Strong Tower. You are my High Tower. I can run into you and be safe. I want you to be the highest place in my mind. In the name of Jesus, I cast down all negative and fearful thoughts and I ask that you will captivate my thoughts. I put my trust in you. I lean on you. I thank you that as I hide in you, I can resist all enemy attacks. You are my safeguard and the safeguard of my mind. Thank you, Lord.”

QUOTE:

Exodus 28:35 TLB, "Aaron shall wear the ephod whenever he goes in to minister to the Lord: the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the presence of the Lord..."

We read in Exodus 28 about the garments that God ordained the High Priest to wear. They were to be garments for "glory and beauty" v.2. One of the garments was the ephod. On the hem of this garment God instructed them to make blue, purple and scarlet pomegranates with golden bells in between them, "a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about." v.34. One Bible commentator says there may have been 72 bells and pomegranates around the hem of the garment.

Every part of the High Priest's garments had spiritual significance. And now that God has made us "kings and priests" unto Him, they have spiritual significance in our lives too. Read 1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; and 20:6. 

Because pomegranates are filled with seeds, they speak of fruitfulness. Wherever we walk – in our home or out in the supermarket, we should continually drop seeds of God's truth, His love and His peace.

What comes to your mind when you think of little bells tinkling? Yes, a smile comes to your face. You think of joy and gladness. God wanted to be refreshed by sounds of joy as Aaron walked around and fulfilled his priestly duties in the holy place. I am sure that God also wants to hear the tinkling of joy as we go about our motherly duties in our homes. 

God’s picture of a mother in the home is one who is filled with joy. Psalm 113:9 says, “He makes the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children.”P As a child I remember my mother always singing in the home. What happiness it brought to my childhood heart. These were the days when mothers sang in their homes and men whistled as they walked or cycled to work.  Women enjoyed being in their homes. They didn’t hanker to be out in the workforce. And they sang. I know we live a much faster pace of life today, but as we make our life more and more in the heart of the home, the song will return.

Did you notice that the tinkling bells were on the hem of the garment? They are part of the daily grind. This joy is not in the heavenlies but touches the realities of our daily life. It is easily accessible to our little ones toddling around the home. 

As you wake each morning, put on your priestly garments of holiness and joy. Make sure the bells are tinkling on your hem as you go out to your kitchen to prepare breakfast for your children. Start the breakfast with praise. Instead of the usual grace, hold hands together and sing a song of thanks before you start to eat. Tell your children that you love being their mother. Tell them that you are glad God has given you another day to enjoy together.

Keep the bells tinkling all day.  Turn every sigh into a Hallelujah! When things go wrong, praise the Lord instead of whining. Practice this until it becomes the habit of your life. 

Here are some more word pictures about tinkling in your home…

Exodus 15:2, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation…and I will prepare Him a habitation.” How do we make our home a habitation for God? By filling our home with songs of salvation. By humming a tune as we wash the dishes or prepare the meals. By praising instead of sighing when we have to clean up another mess. 

Psalm 118:15, “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles (homes) of the righteous.” What is the voice in your home? Is it one of sour silence? Groanings and complainings? Or the tinkling of joy?

Psalm 119:54, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.”

Isaiah 32:13, “The houses of joy…” In this Scripture, God is actually pronouncing a judgment on all the homes of Israel because of their sin. But do you notice how God describes homes? He calls them “houses of joy.” 

Keep the bells tinkling.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Father God, I pray that you will give me contentment in my home, knowing that this is where you have planted me. Help me to delight in my home and mothering my children. I pray that the joy that you have put in me by the Holy Spirit will bubble up in me so that I will overflow with joy. May my children see me tinkling with joy as I walk in my home, even when doing the most mundane household chores. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit which is working this out in me. Amen.”

QUOTE:

Isaiah 61:3, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

I look up from reading the Word of God in my morning Quiet Time. Oh what a glorious sight meets my eyes. A beautiful sunrise of brilliant salmon pink glows through the bare leafless branches of the winter trees. It is glorious. I am awe-inspired. Why haven’t I seen these beautiful skies before? I realize that I hadn’t noticed them before because they were hidden from my view by the thick foliage of the tall trees that surround us here in the Tennessee woods.

Wintertime is stark and barren, but it is in these bare times that we see beauty that we don’t normally see. As I drive the country roads in the winter, I will often exclaim, “Oh, I haven’t noticed that home before.” Or, “I’ve never seen that barn.” The lovely leafy laden trees had blocked them from view.

Perhaps you are going through a winter season in your life. Your heart is cold. The outlook seems ugly. You feel stripped of all that you hold dear. Can I remind you to lift up your head? Look up. As you do, you will see things in a new light. You will see God in a new way. You will see different facets of His beauty that you hadn’t noticed before. You will see things that God has been waiting to show you that He couldn’t reveal to you with all the foliage around your life.

Often God has to strip us of all our trappings and the things we daily rely upon, so He can reveal Himself to us. We don’t need Him when we have everything else around us to rely on. We don’t see Him clearly when our sights and senses are filled with other things.

I used to think the bare trees of winter were rather ugly, but I have now come to appreciate their own special beauty. I love their intriguing beauty as they silhouette against the differing moods of the sky. I love seeing the tiny thin branches of the trees which show up like lace in the sun-setting sky.There is nothing more striking than the moon shining down through the bare trees. What could bring more pleasure to the eyes than seeing the hoar frost or a fresh snowfall balancing on their bare outstretched limbs? And of course I now see the sunrises that I don’t see in the other seasons.

There was also a time in my life when I didn’t like going through hard times. I’d rather not have to face them at all. But I have learned to find beauty in these times too. This is when God does His deepest work in our hearts. This is when we really grow. This is when God is able to conform us to the image of His Son.

Don’t despise these winter seasons, dear mother. Don’t let your heart get bitter. Fling off that self-pity. Don’t cower in the dungeon of despair. Open your spiritual eyes. Look up. Unless I had looked up from my reading to see the sunrise, I would have missed it. You won’t see unless you look up. There are beautiful things to behold that you haven’t seen before, which you cannot see in any other season. God will reveal Himself to you in a deeper way. And you will see a new sunrise in your life.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Father, I have been shivering in this winter experience. I feel bare and stripped of everything. Lord, I am sorry, that I have been looking at the ugliness of it all. I have been consumed with self-pity. I confess this to you. Lord, I look up to you. I want to behold your beauty. I look to see your goodness in the land of the living. Show me glimpses of the precious work you are doing in me in this winter season. I thank you for the good work you are doing in me.”

QUOTE:

 ‘Tis better far to let Him choose the way that we should take;

If only we leave our life with Him, He will guide without mistake;

We, in our blindness, would never choose a pathway dark or rough,

And so we should never find in Him the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH!

In disappointment, trouble, or pain, we turn to the Changeless One,

And prove how faithful, loving and true is God’s beloved Son.