Do you ever wonder what Gods will is for your life? Do you wonder if you really have a purpose?
I know I have and just when I think I’ve found “it”, God interrupts and says- Ada, look this way. Now unless you’re Moses I doubt God will literally speak to you but if you have a steady diet of His word and listen with your whole heart, you will hear a still small voice in your heart and feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit. To really hear the heart of God, you have to give him yours! That doesn’t mean running to Him with the laundry list of gimme’s but rather truly giving Him your whole heart.
Sometimes it isn’t all about chin up and put your best foot forward. Sometimes it’s about remembering that it is in our weakest moments that God strength shines so brightly.
I’ve had seasons in my life where I have gutted it out through confusing and painful times, most of those times feeling alone. The memorable ones, the times of real transformation have been when I truly let go and got very real with God. In doing so I had to acknowledge that I wasn’t alone. There He was, waiting for me to turn to Him.
He knows the end from the beginning! He knows our thoughts before we think them, and our words before they ever come out of our mouth. So the notion that I thought I was filling Him in on how I was really feeling is humorous.
Silent Saturday is a somber reminder to me of just how easy it is to live viewing Jesus on this side of the cross-after He has risen.
His torture and murder is more than I can wrap my mind around. The details of how He suffered are more than any of us could begin to understand. Imagine the hearts of those that loved Him and followed Him only to witness the horrific, the unfathomable. Imagine the emptiness and devastation that they felt. But that’s not what this painting is about.
I wonder if that young new mom had any idea of the sword that would indeed pierce her soul as she watched her boy tortured and killed. Love it isn’t all mountaintop moments, Love suffers.
Life sometimes feels like it’s more than we can handle.
Girl, you are stronger than you believe you are. Not because of you, not because of your own strength, not because of your determination, but rather because of the humble and caring servant within you. Jesus loves you and is with you every single step of the way. Jesus revered women. Many of His strongest supporters and those who ministered to His needs were women.
Sometimes we have to stop, take a breath and remember that true peace is found in the ability to trust God, embrace change, and trust in His provision, protection and loving guidance.
I’ve had seasons, some lasting for years, that I felt hidden. I wondered if the dreams in my heart were really from God, when nothing seemed to change. It’s easy to fall into impatience and even sadness when things in our lives are dormant. When I’ve taken things into my own hands, and tried to hurry up the hand of God, I’ve always been disappointed -mostly in myself.
Crazy how memories can pop up at such perfectly orchestrated times- divine timing! This one just did for me. Hope it encourages you as much as it did me.
There’s just something about spring that always evokes joyful feelings of hope and childlike anticipation of what lies just around the corner. Winter seasons of cold barrenness can feel endless and sometimes wondering if there really can be “life” again. And then, every year, here comes spring, reminding us that indeed God has been busy working, just out of our sight. And all those seeds, all the hopes and dreams begin to burst forth in new life again.
So often I hear “everything happens for a reason” coming out of the mouths of well-meaning people. When I found myself in the midst of deep pain and unimaginable fear, I asked God why He said that. For the first time I earnestly dove into His word to learn and to hear from Him. You know what? He never said that!
It is part of “life“ that things are constantly shifting and changing. People, circumstances, relationships – the good, the bad, and the in between. When life throws a curveball what an incredible comfort it is that our solid foundation never moves. He is faithful.
