The days rush by like a hurricane-- information and test results and procedures and probable diagnoses slapping against me and whirling around me at a maddening speed, bending me and breaking off my branches so that I am stripped bare.
I am tired. Ironically, it is in my exhaustion that I find strength I did not know I had. When I am bent so far I think I will snap in two, I have nowhere else to turn but up. I see my God-- the One who whispers, “Be strong and courageous, for I am with you.” He does not promise ease; however, He does promise life. And it is this chapter of my life that has changed me. With new eyes, I see the things that matter. And so-- I push forward. I do the hard things. Even if I cannot count it all easy, I can count it all joy. My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all. James 1:2-5♥
0 Comments
There’s Got to Be More ●_●
Do you ever have the feeling that you are chasing something in life that won’t fully satisfy you? Pay attention to that feeling. It’s from God. We’re not just talking about substance abuse issues, although drinking and pursuing other addictions are certainly ways of chasing something futile. But we’ve also known a lot of “good church people” who sit in a service every week—or who preach from a pulpit to those people—who feel themselves to be far from God. They’re “successful” or “put together” or “righteous” on the outside, but they’re missing God on the inside. They keep busy with religious practices and work, school, or family, but it just isn’t enough. They long for God to feel real to them. That longing is the first spiritual awakening for all of us finding our way back to God: “There’s got to be more.” When you long for a love that is deep and satisfying, when you want to give yourself to something that will truly make a difference, or when you seek answers to life’s most difficult questions, you are looking for God. You’ve really got two options: you can keep searching to fill these longings on your own, or you can look to the One who gave you those longings in the first place. Our longing for real love goes all the way back to how the human race was made in the first place. God intended that we experience his love both directly from him and through others we relate to in a healthy way. What we long for, God doesn’t just have but actually God is. He is love and he pursues us with love. We’ve heard it said that every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is really looking for God. If you are knocking on the door of some self-destructive behavior or relationship, you might actually have arrived at an important point in your journey back to God. Why? Because the disappointment you inevitably feel in cheap substitutes will make you wonder where you can find real love. Will you open yourself up to letting God fill your longing to love and be loved? What do your activities this week suggest about what you think will satisfy you? We love because God first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ♥ GOD LOVES YOU ALWAYS♥ |
Archives
February 2024
Categories |