If last week’s word of the week was Strengthening, then this week my word is ENRICHMENT. Yes, enriching the soil, like in the garden, and enriching our lives with nourishing feedings of the Word with enrichment to GROW. 

One growth is to appreciate what God thinks of us over what anyone else does. Our enrichment is physical often in hearing, but our mindset is SPIRITUAL in focus and refocus to pick up on the cues and clues to our strengthening. In other words, we need to realize that GOD IS FOR US!

A song aptly placed in a youtube feed for me was “The Blessing”, a 2020 song by Cody Carnes, Elevation Worship, also sung by Kari Jobe. Ah 2020, do you remember that we thought in 2020 about 20:20 vision – and trust the scriptures that the Lord has envisioned us in each of our days – sometimes strengthened and sometimes needing strengthening. The lyric in this song “The Blessing” rings out loud and clear: “He is for you. He is for you.”

The other song that hit me perfectly right is Mudcrutch’s “I don’t scare easy” – sung by Tom Petty. We should not scare easy if we are in our best intentions and have some experiences that DID scare us, but shouldn’t now. We need to know that we got through certain experiences before and we will get through them again…

If we could step through our days NOT with more hubris but with humble confidence in HIS LOVE, in the Lord’s strength and purpose, we could approach life with more energy and stick-to-it-tive-ness. We could stand more strong in the wind. We could remember that we are always a child of God, no matter what. And this gives us also the freedom to not retaliate nor swing back, but turn that other cheek on our way OUT of the way of barbs that won’t stick.

Romans 8 reminds us of God’s everlasting love: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

And the book of Numbers 6:24-26 gives us the familiar blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

SO, to be enriched with Spirit is to know that God sometimes puts us in locations that might get heated, but we are the cool of the Spirit to muster through. Then the coolness of hot and cold people also will remind us that there is no victory in the world or winning over people, our victory stand is with the Lord in His stance – we are more than conquerors in HIS LOVE.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8

AMEN

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Lyrics of The Blessing”, a 2020 song by Cody Carnes, Elevation Worship, also sung by Kari Jobe  – radio version: https://youtu.be/OKd0B2YhHpk?si=7ucqFoSNMGs1mSpE

The Lord bless you and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace

x2
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

.
The Lord bless you and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace
Amen, amen, amen x4

.
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

.x4
May His presence go before you

And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you

.
He is with you, he is with you
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, he is for you
He is, He is

.
Amen, amen, amen
x4

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Romans: 8:28-39 NKJV

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

God’s Everlasting Love
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long;We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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