Believe
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
As I journey along this blog path that God has called me to do, I have always asked Him to empty me of me and fill me with Him. To write what He wants me to write. However, the planner in me tends to plod along this road with my ideas and thoughts on how we should proceed. Two weeks ago I was ready to plunge us into the fire, but God held me back.
Last week, I felt Him wanting me to emphasize the importance of community, the need to have support in the midst of the fire. My blog, My Tribe was a result.
This week, I was ready again to jump right into the hard stuff, but God once again reminded me that His purpose prevails. I felt overwhelmingly that He wanted to remind us of how much He loves us.
So I waited. And read. And sat still. And waited.
And this happened…
The last two days I have felt overwhelmingly sad, so much so that I have fought back tears throughout the day (can we say pre-menopause anyone?!). This morning I gave in to the tears and wept on my couch.
In the midst of the sadness and tears, I looked up to my fireplace mantel, and I saw the sign “Believe” (a sign I bought for Christmas last year, but have kept it up all year to remind me to believe in my Savior). And just above the believe sign is a framed picture of a person in a strong stone tower surrounded by crashing waves. And I felt God impress on me…
Believe in My deep love for you. The storms of life may surround you and you may feel alone, but my unfailing love for you will be your strength and comfort. You just need to believe.
The verse on the picture is…
“The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer. My God is my Rock in whom I take Refuge.” Psalms 18:2
This picture has been up on my wall since we moved in 18 years ago, but the power and majesty of it didn’t hit me until this morning.
Our strength and comfort in God comes in the knowledge that…
He loves us unconditionally.
And
He is good.
If we don’t truly and deeply believe and trust in these two principles, our struggle within the storms of life will be harder. We will always look either within ourselves or to others to get us through. And both are fallible.
“Our only steadfast defenses against life’s certain uncertainty is unconditional trust in a Savior who loves us more than His own life.” Beth Moore, Esther – It’s Tough Being a Woman
The good news is that God desires to be our strength and comfort, even if we don’t believe in our own worthiness.
Let’s try and wrap our minds and hearts around the idea that little ‘ole sinful me (you), is loved overwhelmingly by the God of this universe so much that He builds out of that love a tower of strength for us to reside in.
The tower… is love. God’s love.
And if we choose to stay within that tower. To believe in its power. To believe in its strength. To believe in the goodness of the one who built it. Then we can get through any storm that may come to threaten us.
He becomes the rock, the tower of strength, the fortress that we can take refuge in.
Once we believe. Truly believe and trust in His love. Our journey into healing is not only possible, but assured.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3
In Karrie Garcia’s workbook, The Exchange – A Journey from Hurting to Hope, she talks about her journey of transformation and the importance of knowing God’s love.
“I am so thankful for all the tools I have learned to get the help I needed, but none of those tools would have mattered if I didn’t know how deeply I am loved. I would have been trying in my own power to “fix me.” That may have worked for awhile, but nothing heals the deepest parts of your soul like the pure love of God.” Karrie Garcia
Our strength and courage don’t come from within us, something our culture and Satan would like to tell us otherwise. It comes from the unconditional love of our heavenly Father.
“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
Who gives us strength?
God. But more specifically, it comes from His love. For God is love. (1 John 4:16)
Will you choose to believe and trust that He loves you beyond anything you could ever imagine?
Will you choose to believe and trust that He is a good God?
Because if you do, then God’s amazing love will give you the courage to fight for your wounded heart. To face your demons. To stand strong in the midst of the pain.
And you will be ready for when He calls you to take the journey inward.
And your tower of strength will be unshakable.
And you will come out on the other side…
FREE
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com
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