Scripture for Divine Deliverance

June 30, 2006 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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The entrance of your words gives light. (Psalm 119:130)

Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31b-32)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)

Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9a)

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Wounded, Risen One

December 18, 2003 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Your body
          stretched and wretched
     draped upon the instrument of your death.

Your soul
          plummeting precipitously,
                    spinning
               in the dizzying darkness.

A hell you’d never known, and
          could not have imagined;
The claustrophobic horror
          of the howling black night,
     the consuming stench of death;
The deep narrow light-less place
                    of sin
               that is not your own.

You never knew it could be like this;
          you can hardly breathe.
You feel your heart tear open,
          a deep, jagged break through the center.
“Oh no, oh God, my God,
               why have you forsaken me?”

But God
     did not abandon you
     in the pit, the pain
          of a sin not your own.

Miraculously
     your soul returned to the light
          (though death had been so utterly complete);
     your wretchedness
                    moved behind you;
          night gave way to dawn.
Life resurrected.

As the fresh, clean scent of morning
               fills your lungs,
     you wonder—had you,
                    been breathing the stale filth
               of hell’s depths?

Your fingers reach for
               your side, your palms.
In your soul you feel
     the long scar
               where the wound had gaped
                                        and bled
               but now was clean and closed.

Knowing the past
     you leave the past
     and press ahead to the new thing
               that your God, my God,
                              is doing:
     cleaning and closing
               the wounds of our separation
                              from your holiness,
     drawing us into purity
                              and maturity
               —resurrection life!

Yet you remember
—you will always remember—
     the dark night of your wounding.
For it changes everything.

And through the haze of its pain
     a new light now shines.

God So Loved the World

March 15, 2003 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Look not with scorn upon this earth.

Back when time had just begun
     it was formed by the Lord’s own hands.
As a child would create a ball of clay,
     he formed this earth,
          and sent it hurtling
               into space

Back when time was already old
     and the earth had begun to cry,
God stepped forth upon this globe
     to ease its tears
          and mingle his blood
               with its dust.

Prayer

March 15, 2003 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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salt & water
     poured out
     petition

caught
     remembered
     redeemed

his bottle of grace

Easter’s Eve

March 15, 2003 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Tonight
          the grave.

Gripped
     by the gaping
     grief
               of death
Wrapped
     in darkness
     night
               blinds light.

But life lurks still
     it waits
               in secret
               silently,
     until the appointed
               morning hour:
Its bonds burst wide—
     (the death that dies
     can hold it down no longer)
Released
     it flows
               like liquid light
     the land is warmed
     the promised sun
               risen
               rejoicing.

Tonight
          the grave
Tomorrow
          the womb of day.

Bible Verses for Faith in Times of Stress

June 04, 2002 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)

Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:6,8)

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)

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