Showing posts with label God holds us. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God holds us. Show all posts

Sudden Fear - Sudden Peace

chris and daddy
I love the Psalms. I think one of the reasons I enjoy spending time in them so much is the frank honesty of the writers. When I was younger, I thought they were just whiny. But as I matured I realized a lot of what they express comes with the trials life you walk through. It didn't take me long to figure out that I could be transparent with God about my emotions and thoughts. The psalms are raw, open, and honest and God didn't fry any of them down to their toenails. That was how I was raised. 

Indirectly, I was taught you didn't ask God questions. Who should you ask? You didn't express anger or any negative emotions in your prayer time. Where should they be expressed? One day I got so mad that I yelled at God. I waited for the lightning bolt to strike me dead. Then I realized God knew those thoughts before I spoke them. I hadn't surprised Him - I had actually let Him in. And He gladly walks right into our mess - just so He can be with us.

David said in Psalm 31:22 (NLT) In sudden fear I had cried out, "I have been cut off from the Lord!" Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. Life has a way of battering us around sometimes until we think it was big enough to drive a wedge between us and God - but that is not truth. God is near the brokenhearted so if anything - He moves in closer when we are in distress and emotional pain such as is common to caregiving. 

David goes on to say But you heard my cry for mercy.... and answered my call for help.

What joy and peace get painted into the picture of our lives as we realize He has NOT abandoned us. He still hears our faintest whisper for help. He walks right into the chaos in our lives and brings His peace with Him. Again, it's up to us to accept His peace. Let the peace of God rule in your heart - Paul said.

Today, I will rejoice that He continues to hear my crazy cries. I will be thankful that He doesn't abandon and has no intention of leaving us here in time. Instead, He chooses to walk through time with us - no matter how crazy, uncertain, chaotic, or uncomfortable our time here gets. He is still walking through time with us and He's not going anywhere. I will choose a grateful heart today as I thank Him for the gift of His presence and His peace offered in the midst of the mess. Will you join me in letting His peace reign today?

Safe in His Embrace

It seems as if I've suffered a derailment of late and I'm struggling to get back on track. With my leg being injured I've had to have lots of help over the last three weeks as I haven't been able to transfer Chris by myself. My friend stayed a few days and my daughter stayed last week to help me out. On the weekends, people have been in and out to help get Chris up or lay him down. Needless to say, it's been a bit hectic, but I'm determined to be back up and going today and hopefully the knee will be nice.

This morning after I got my coffee and sat down I opened my Bible for my devotions and found this piece of paper tucked in Psalm 73. I use two or three Bibles regularly and didn't have a clue what this list of scriptures was in reference to, so I started at the top and read through them one by one looking for a common thread.

By the time I got to the last one on the list I was totally encouraged. I still don't have a clue as to why I started this list - but I'm glad I did. I took this handful of scriptures and turned them into my confessions for the day. In my mind they go something like this:

You are my shield and the One who holds my head up. (Ps.3:3)
You deliver me from my enemies...
You lift me up...
You rescue me...(Ps. 18:48)
Though I feel forsaken,
You will be here with me. (Ps. 27:10)
Your work (in me) is done in faithfulness. (Ps.33:3)
The Lord is the One who holds my hand (Ps.37:24)
My soul clings to You Lord, Your right hand (power) upholds me. (Ps. 63:8)
I am always with You- You hold my hand...(Ps. 73:3)

I'm guessing whatever it was I was studying it was centered around Him holding me. He holds my head up, holds my hand...... He holds me. Somehow I find comfort in that thought today. There's a line in a song I wrote many years ago that goes something like "Let Him hold you - safe in His embrace." That is going through my mind - He holds me - and I am safe there.

No matter what is going on around me, and we all know how crazy hectic a caregiver's day can be, He holds me safe in His embrace. The difficult thing for caregivers is letting Him, and resting there.

Today I'm going to meditate on being in His arms. I'll turn my thoughts to how He lifts me up and holds me. My meditations will be about His faithfulness to sustain me no matter what life throws at me. I will be quiet before Him today and will focus on resting in His embrace as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?


The Stare

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