Quiet on Purpose

This episode is being released the day before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Today's scripture highlights the practice of thanking God for what He has done, and it makes an interesting connection between gratitude and hope. Listen in!

Read Psalm 52:9

Questions from today's episode: What am I grateful for today? What do I have to be grateful for every day? As I take time to be grateful for these things, do I perceive even a tiny spark of hope igniting within me? Am I willing to commit to a spiritual practice of beginning each day with gratitude for a period of  time, being watchful for how it impacts my life in big and small ways?

Complaining about our bodies or our personalities is a "Great-American-Pastime" it would seem. But the scriptures confront that habit in Psalm 139, when the psalmist declares that he is "fearfully and wonderfully made". In today's episode we'll linger in the imagery of being "knit together" in our mother's wombs. Listen in!

Read Psalm 139:13-14

Questions from today's episode: Linger in the beauty that God knit each one of us together in our mother’s womb and is intimately acquainted with everything about us. He declares that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! As you meditate on this truth, is your loving Creator inviting you to surrender your complaint about any part of you, either a physical trait or a personality trait, and instead to praise and thank Him for making you exactly as you are? Would you invite Him to show you how He might use that trait as a blessing to others?

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

Recently, it has seemed like everyone I know and love is involved in some kind of battle. Battles with various health struggles, battles with addiction, battles with a multitude of unforeseen life circumstances that are completely out of our control. It’s not only the world around us that feels out of control, it’s our own daily, personal lives. Have you ever noticed that sometimes life can be flowing along nicely, with everything seemingly “under control,” and then in an instant, the illusion of control is exposed for just that - an illusion?! Some seasons just bring that more clearly into focus, and for me, and so many of my loved ones, this is one of those seasons! That's what makes the scripture in this episode so remarkable and comforting! I hope you'll listen in.

Exodus 14.14

Questions from today's episode: What season am I in today: one where everything seems under control? Or one in which I am painfully aware of my lack of control? Where am I in the trust cycle? Have I taken up my weapons? Am I overwhelmed, fearful and panicky? Or, have I chosen to lay down my weapons, be still, and trust God to fight for me? Is there an invitation or a comfort for me in this scripture today? 

I think I’ve mentioned here and there over the years that I like to choose a word each year to represent where I see God at work in my heart as I step into a new year. In 2024, I chose the word Dwell. "Sitting quietly in the presence of God and my own soul" is one of the foundational purposes of this podcast, and spending an entire year dwelling on the word Dwell helped draw me back, and draw me deeper, into that practice. Throughout the year, I spent time searching the scriptures for verses with the word dwell in them. What I ended up discovering was this beautiful thread throughout scripture, which I believe is God’s foundational purpose for humanity. Listen in as I share some of what I found!

Read Psalm 91:1-2

Question from today's episode: As you sit quietly in the presence of the Most High, ask Him to gently reveal to you any false shelters in which you are trusting for refuge today, anywhere you seek rest outside His shadow. If anything comes to mind, simply acknowledge and confess it, then walk away, allowing Him to lead you to His dwelling place instead.

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

What I'm listening to right now

I don’t have extensive experience on the sea, but I’ve spent a bit of time in and around the ocean and other large bodies of water; enough to know what I bet you know too: it doesn’t take much time out on a large body of water to be impressed by the immensity of it. When you’re out in the middle of the water on a vessel that seems large from land, you suddenly feel very small. Imagine being surrounded in that same way, by an overwhelming knowledge of the glory of the Lord! Listen in!

Habakkuk 2:14

Do I have a solid grasp of the reality that a day is coming in which the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, so much so that my heart can hold onto that hope, even in difficult times? Do I have a solid grasp of the reality that only the work that I do toward that end will endure beyond my lifetime? Is there a gentle invitation to my soul through this verse today? How will I respond?

Friends, there was an error in the original upload of this episode, so that the audio was a repeat of Episode 105! My apologies! This episode has been edited with the correct audio now added!

Does your church, or maybe another church in your vicinity, have church bells? Do they ring out on Sunday mornings? Have you had the privilege of traveling abroad and been touring a city when you hear church bells ring, calling out to those within earshot that a worship service is about to begin? I think the sound of church bells is so joyful and sacred! But we don't have to wait for church bells in order to hear the joyful call to worship. If we tune our hearts to hear it, the call to worship can be heard all around us. Today's episode is one! Listen in.

Read ⁠Psalm 89:15⁠

Questions from today's episode: How quick, or slow, is my own heart to notice and respond to the joyful call of worship? Are there specific habits I can adopt that will help me to grow in this area? What are the joyful calls to worship in my life today?

Psalm 89 set to ⁠music⁠

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

Does your church, or maybe another church in your vicinity, have church bells? Do they ring out on Sunday mornings? Have you had the privilege of traveling abroad and been touring a city when you hear church bells ring, calling out to those within earshot that a worship service is about to begin? I think the sound of church bells is so joyful and sacred! But we don't have to wait for church bells in order to hear the joyful call to worship. If we tune our hearts to hear it, the call to worship can be heard all around us. Today's episode is one! Listen in.

Read Psalm 89:15

Questions from today's episode: How quick, or slow, is my own heart to notice and respond to the joyful call of worship? Are there specific habits I can adopt that will help me to grow in this area? What are the joyful calls to worship in my life today?

Psalm 89 set to music

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

One of the highest values of this podcast is to help us all banish wrong assumptions about God, such as, his posture toward us is one of anger because of some sin we've committed. This episode takes a look at yet another scripture in which he reveals an entirely different posture toward our sins! I hope you'll listen in!

Read Isaiah 43:25 here!

Questions from today's episode: Do I struggle to truly believe that God lovingly blots out the stain of my sins because it delights Him to do so? Do I continue to listen to an accusatory voice in my head and wrongfully think that God is angry with me? Has it kept me from turning to Him for forgiveness and restoration? Is there a loving invitation to me today as I meditate on this scripture? How will I respond?

In this episode I share a story about a "work of my hands" that I have abandoned. I'm wondering if you have a story like that too? I think sometimes we tend to believe God feels about us the way I feel about my abandoned project! I think sometimes we believe God has treated us like I’ve treated my abandoned project! But today's scripture encourages us to understand and believe that this is not in keeping with God's character - He's not like us! If you've ever wondered if God has abandoned you or given up on you, this episode is for you! Listen in.

Read Psalm 138:8

Questions from today's episode: Am I tempted right now to believe the lie that God has abandoned the work of His hands in my own life? What circumstances have made it difficult for me to trust that He is still present, still working, still acting in his steadfast and faithful love toward me? Will I choose to open my hands in surrender and look for His work in my life, beginning today?

What I'm listening to right now

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

I believe I may have mentioned once or twice that I have 2 beautiful and delightful grandchildren, yes? Have I also mentioned how they live over 5,000 miles away from us?  Perhaps so. While being a Grammy to those 2 precious souls is one of my great delights in this life, I am not well-served when I think that it is the greatest delight of my life. The reality is that many, many of us have tough situations we are currently living with and do not see the end to anytime soon. What if we could say, along with the author of Lamentations, that God is our portion? What if He was enough? Listen in on today's episode and see if God has a sweet invitation for your soul in this scripture.

Read Lamentations 3:24 here

Questions from today's episode: Can you name a situation in your life that feels like a scarcity today, the thing you believe would bring you great delight if only a certain outcome were realized? Would you be willing to hold that situation in your hands and lift it up to the Lord, asking him to help you see your desire for that situation aligned behind your desire simply to know that he is with you, and your desire to be with him? Is he enough?

Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance