We all have a story to tell

I have been working on my book and I know I need to use this part some where. I don't think it is fitting with the book but I know the Lord had me write it. So enjoy and comment. Thank you all for your faithful encouragement too.

 

We all  have a story to tell.  We have a place where we found God so profoundly that we made Him not only our Savior but Lord of our life.  The Bible talks about these profound moments.  The scripture says in Revelation 12:10-11:

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

Who accuses them before our God day and night?

Has been hurled down.

¹¹They triumphed over him

By the blood of the Lamb

And by the word of their testimony;

I know this to be true. Many of us hear someone else’s testimony and are encouraged. We can hold on stronger to our faith, we can take just one more step, we can confess and allow God to heal that brokenness and our strength is renewed. When someone tells their testimony with such honesty and truth it breaks the yoke that is upon us. It allows us to give our burden to the Lord in the light of what we know to be true about Him. It makes our burden lighter, easier to carry, easier to have faith in the road unseen. Sometimes the Lord uses that testimony in our life so we can see how loving and giving and easy it is for Him to love us and help us have more faith.

We also have a place where life  changes our foundation, view, perception When that moment comes, it seems like we are facing head first into a hurricane .  The waves are crashing on top of us and we can’t seem to catch our breath. All we know, all we are, all we seem to be unravels and we desperately seek to anchor our footing so we can have a solid hold on the things we have known. In that moment, inside the eye of the hurricane we don’t see the changes the water has made. The shifts of the sand beneath our feet. The way it moves the water around us and strengthens our stance as we place our feet on solid footing and weather  the storm.

.In the midst of the storm we hear that still small voice. A whisper of truth to hold on. We struggle to grasp the grip of His hand, to hold on to our faith, our love and the Father who we know ultimately has it all in control. Finally we feel our hands in His, and the grasp is so strong we know without a shadow of doubt that He has us, in His grip

In those times doubt creeps in before you find that strong grip, that solid ground, you wonder if He knows the storm is raging. Much like the time Jesus was asleep in the boat and the Disciples shook him awake and asked “Lord Do you not see the waves crashing around us”? You know He is there, but[ the struggle to find Him while you are battling the wind, is hard. You see darkly in the midst of the trial and can’t seem to find solid ground. This storm might be the one [JG14]  ravages us and leaves us in a heap with no energy to fight another day. This storm is raging may leave us all alone and gasping for air.

Have you been there? Maybe you have walked alone for so long that the only things you allow yourself to do is keep the smile pasted on, the hard things in your luggage compartment locked and closed, and the heart walled away so the pain can have a nice hiding place and maybe, just maybe there will not be another storm.

When we have been hurt or struggled so hard, I know how easy it is to close the pain off and not want to look at it again. To try and  hold things at bay until the storm passes. I don’t deny wanting rest and restoration[ . But, I know that if we truly want to know God we must understand His heart for us.  Seeing the wind for what it can create in our heart if we lean into the Father for strength, healing and hope. Then those raging waters will come and we can see the true things that lie in the dark in our hearts and bring light to them, truth. His desire for us and the love He has enveloped us in.  David puts it best with

Psalm 139:23-24 

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

I am not sure where you are[, but my life faced one of the moments more than a few times. But, the  year I faced death was one of the most profound. As I pen this book each day, I must face what I’ve written. The questions I] asked out loud to myself and to you, the reader. Every question, every doubt, and every dark moment I have painfully endured, do I  have the faith to hold on? All those times I can say that “joy comes in the morning” and I finally found that faith. But the road is difficult and “the morning” represents time, and we need  time to see all those things that give us peace, love, understanding, patience, kindness…the fruit of our relationship with the one who loves us more than we can ever comprehend.