Sitting in Easter service yesterday, my thoughts were swirling inside. Words for a blog post I should have posted yesterday.
I didn’t. Instead, I chose to spend the day with my family.
Even so, the words remained with me throughout the day. When the words swirl inside, my two choices are to write them down and send them out, or to keep them to myself. The second option is the usually the safest one. No threat of being wrong with Option Number 2. Keep your thoughts to yourself. But today, I’m choosing Option Number 1. Maybe in these words, you will find comfort:
What follows is the post I should have written yesterday:
It’s Easter Sunday, and I am celebrating the Resurrection. The celebration is always special, no doubt. The ethereal songs, the smiles from friends. “He is Risen,” they say. He is Risen, indeed. What is an impossible story to some, a fable to others, to me, it’s the foundation on which my faith is built.
But why? Why does the Resurrection really matter?
There is something so much more to the Resurrection. More than the spring dresses, the colored eggs, and family gatherings. It goes much deeper than those superficial things:
It’s only in the Resurrection that the pain and sorrows of this world finally make sense.
Why does God allows so many sorrows in life? That problem of that question is the number one reason why people turn from God. Think about it: Autism. Disabilities. Financial chaos. Betrayals. A good God would not allow such suffering. Right?
And yet, this is the one misconception about the Christian walk. Scripture never promised that life would be easy for Christians. Instead, Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV 1984
People can say a lot about God. An non-believer can look at the example that imperfect Christians (myself very much included) present and find good reasons to refuse to follow Jesus. I urge people to not to follow other Christians, (again, myself included) but follow CHRIST. His example. His words. His teachings.
Only in Christ can we truly discover the essence and of true Christianity. Only in Jesus’ example—in His life and Words—can faith stand up to the onslaught of life’s difficulties.
People can say many things about the Jesus of the Bible. But they can never say that He fails to understand our sufferings, the pain of life. That is why God sent Jesus. He wanted us to know that He’s is with us, our Emmanuel, or “God with Us”, when life is too hard. God Himself, in the body of Jesus, felt our pain, endured our betrayals, and suffered not only our death, but a death that was humiliating and unjust. He understands our grief.
This is where the Resurrection matters. In the Resurrection, we find hope in the face of grief. We find an end to senseless pain. We find the joy that is promised, a complete and never-ending joy that no one, no person or situation in life can ever take away:
“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
In the Resurrection, we find victory over our pain:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Resurrection makes this true. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Because of it, we are conquerors instead of victims.
Nature Points to the Resurrection
Even if you never open the pages of Scripture, you can discover glimpses of the Resurrection around us. It can be seen in the caterpillar as it stills and shrouds itself in a papery cocoon only to be transformed to a glorious new life. And in the dry seed that is covered with earth, buried in the ground, that comes to life in the Spring. A tiny, dry and dead seed can be transformed to a strong tree providing shelter and life to birds and other animals.
What science can reproduce these things? With all of our knowledge, can we mix the cocktail of chemicals, the molecular structure of life, and produce that life? No. The essence of life remains a mystery. We admit that. Why, then, is it so difficult to believe in the mystery of the Resurrection? We see such miracles before our very eyes.
The Resurrection is Hope
Why am I writing this today? Because the Resurrection is our hope.
I find suffering around me everywhere, everyday. Horrible, unjust, painful suffering for believers and non-believers alike. I hate it. It makes me cry out to God, why, Lord, why?
Thanks to the Resurrection, I have found great comfort in knowing that this is not the end of the story. That death and suffering were defeated when Jesus stepped out of the tomb on Sunday morning. Just as the seed waits in the ground to spring forth with life, and as Jesus’ body rested on cold stone, so we are waiting to see the end of suffering forever. We are simply waiting. For the light that is coming. For the life that is promised.
Wherever you are, whatever you are dealing with today, my prayer is that in some way, you see a glimpse of the Resurrection today. In a brightly colored flower that bursts to greet the sun, or in a touch of the Son’s warmth on your skin after a long, hard winter. My prayer is that the Resurrection will become a real hope for you today.
Could the first part of the title of this post possibly be any more depressing? I might as well have called it, “A Visit from the Grim Reaper”.
Growing up, I don’t really recall the desire to be a mom. It was because I wasn’t sure I would be any good at it… and low and behold, some days I am not. (Smiles.) Poor Beau and Brynna, my children, but thank God for a wonderful Daddy…YOU GO PAUL!
Although I didn’t have this longing, the elation I had when I found out we were pregnant with our first child, Beau (as well as the 2nd time with Brynn), took away any doubt about my reservations of becoming a parent.
If I am honest, when we have children (by birth or adoption), we sometimes impress our own dreams — dreams that have gone by or been lost — upon them. If we are “lucky”, they may carry the passion for something that we did in our youth, or perhaps go in a direction that amazes us and surpasses anything we could have dreamed up for them or ourselves.
For some parents, though, it seems that some of our dreams go unfulfilled in our children. I know that must sound selfish, right? Please bear with me.
When Beau began showing signs of autism, both Paul and I had more emotions than we knew what to do with. When he was diagnosed, although it was a relief to put a name to his perplexing behavior, we realized that many of the dreams we had for our son may never come to fruition.
Some thoughts that haunted us were:
Will he fit in with other kids?
Will he have trouble in school?
Will he ever play sports?
Will he have the ability to learn?
Will he ever be potty trained?
Will he graduate from high school?
Will he be able to go to college?
Will he get married?
Will he ever be able to work full-time?
Will he be able to live on his own?
Who would take care of him if something should happen to us?
Some of those questions may seem petty, however they were very real feelings for us. Perhaps a dream that you once had was not in God’s plan for your life, and if so, then you completely understand what I am saying.
I have had the absolute honor of speaking with a young mom, Whitney. She and her husband recently had their third child (another BOY!!). This joy has been somewhat clouded by issues they are facing with their oldest son. When we spoke for the first time, our stories were eerily similar…tantrums, peculiar behaviors/quirks, lack of social skills and so on. Although her son did not have a diagnosis, I was pretty sure by her description that our sons shared the same fate: autism. This was confirmed when he received a formal diagnosis. I wish autism on no family! Paul and I know the struggles and heartache it can bring.
For me, I honestly try to find the blessings. As Beau’s mom, looking for the unseen blessing in autism helps me cope with the reality of dreams unrealized: often times societal dreams parents may have for kids.
I know that were it not for autism, I may not have the love and compassion for many other things. It is from our experience with Beau that I can say that.
Paul and I truly have seen LOVE, nurturing and so much more out of that diagnosis.
This love comes from the people that have worked with Beau, from Beau himself, from our families, and especially our sweet girl Brynn. (Smiles.) Have we seen the stares, heard the ugly comments and felt a lack of understanding? Yep, we’ve seen all of that. However the good has far outweighed the bad!
When Whitney told me of their diagnosis, though I was saddened, I knew it wasn’t a death sentence. The news could be so much worse. It took me back to the way Paul and I felt so many years before. Whitney had a right to grieve this news. That’s her baby!! We, too, had our share of feelings of anger and confusion (and sometimes we still do)!
It’s almost like we mourned the thought of a “normal” existence for Beau, and for us, too. The thing, at least for right now, is that Beau’s existence is completely normal to him. He is a 10 year old, often blissfully happy, fun-loving little boy.
We are the ones with crazy dreams for him. (Smiles.) He hates sports, and it would be cruel and unusual punishment for us to make him even try them. This summer while on vacation, Beau approached the sales rack at a Nike store and picked up a shirt he knew was made for him, it read, “You are a sports blooper
waiting to happen.” Praise God that we can laugh over some of these thoughts now, 6 years after our diagnosis.
I don’t think I ever prayed that God would take autism away from Beau. Paul may have, but I’m not sure. The reason I wouldn’t is this:
We could all learn a few lessons from Beau Rafferty.
Beau is honest (to a fault…LOL), he makes no judgements (at least he doesn’t verbalize them), he has an amazing sense of humor (WOO-HOO), and he is a WONDERFUL big brother to Brynn (and she likewise is a terrific sister!).
After seeing all those wonderful attributes, what more could Paul and I have dreamed for our son? Though autism wasn’t something Paul and I planned for…God did!
As I become closer to the Lord, I have seen and used many verses in our blog, in our book and in our life, but when I think of rearing our children, only ONE comes to mind. I’m thankful because God uses this verse with Paul and I whenever things in our life, as it relates to Beau, become difficult for us to handle. Today I share this favorite, a verse loved by many:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
– Jeremiah 29:11
I now realize that it’s not for Paul or me to know Beau’s plan — we will leave it to the One who created Beau.
Here is a little something that blessed me whenever I am worried about Brynna or Beau: I inserted both of their names where it says “you” in Scripture: ”For I know the plans I have for you, Brynna, declares the LORD….” Talk about assurance!
This verse is often used as a reassurance for our own lives and walk with God, but I have chosen to also use it when I worry about the “lost dreams” for my kids. The verse reminds me that there is NO such thing as a lost dream! There is a plan at work — a plan to prosper them (spiritually) and give them MORE than any earthly parent could ever dream!!!!
Just because Beau has autism, Paul and I still have the responsibility, as followers of Christ, to plant the seeds of faith through our daily living. It is up to me to know what Beau understands and what he doesn’t. It’s God who grants wisdom through understanding.
I don’t have a crystal ball and don’t need one as a child of God! His word speaks my future when I remain in Him. His word speaks a future for my children if they remain in Him also!
It’s the death of our old dreams (without Him) that is exactly what must happen for us to get one step closer to the fulfilling life that He has in store for us!
I pray for you today: Perhaps there have been dreams that have died in your life or in the lives of your children. I insert YOUR name into Jeremiah 29:11 and let HIM reassure you. Though trials will come, our hope lies in the overall plan for our future. When we LET him, we can live a life far more blessed and peaceful than anything we could have ever “dreamed” up. (Smiles.)
About Jaime:
Jaime Rafferty has a degree in speech communication. She has worked in public health for ten years, and she currently co-hosts a local television show. She enjoys speaking publicly about autism and how it has impacted the Rafferty family. Jaime and her family live in Kentucky. You can connect with Jaime on her blog at: http://findingtherightpiece.blogspot.com.
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
Interesting Biblical References to Fig Trees:
THE PROMISED LAND:Deuteronomy 8:8 describes the promised land as “a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates.”
HEALTH AND RESTORATION:1 Samuel 30:11-12 mentions the medicinal value of figs: “Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned.”
Have you ever felt that you’ll never fit in or find your place? Have you stood at a window–palms pressed to glass–looking into the place where you want to be, seeing people there but knowing you don’t have access? Waiting for a door to open that seems forever locked?
Knocking on that door, are you answered with words that you are:
Under-qualified Not Experienced
Not Welcomed
Too Old, Too Young
We’ve all been there. You could be in a place of unemployment, or maybe you’ve been locked out of a particular social circle. You could be unable to advance in your career or in the fight of your life for a better relationship. There are times when it seems we are locked out of the place we want to be.
If you feel like you will never get there, let me share with you a story, one that I hope will encourage you to look for the promise of God’s favor in your own life despite the circumstances:
Here’s the story:
Each week about a year or so ago, I met with a sweet friend to share coffee, encouragement and prayer. We were both treading water in a sea of financial stress. She had been looking for work for more than a year, and I was struggling to keep my family encouraged as my husband’s business faltered with no new projects on the horizon.
We had been meeting for months to share scriptures and hope with each other. When one of us couldn’t go another (seemingly) hopeless day, the other would speak a gentle word and share a promise from scripture. Make no mistake, it was a dark time and to this day we are still shaking the muck and mire from our feet.
But on one particularly distressing day, my friend and I sat in the coffee shop at a table adjacent to a glass window. Our table was drizzled with coffee, tea and more than a few tears of frustration. My friend had been rejected for yet another job, and my husband was so discouraged that I felt helpless.
Then God showed up.
In the ugliness of that moment, two beautiful pure white doves flew down to our coffee shop window and perched on the window frame by our table. Startled, we watched as the doves pecked at the window for about five minutes, almost as if to get our attention. We were speechless, watching these two beautiful white birds only an inch away from us, pecking on the glass. Then, just as suddenly as they came, they flew away.
I have never again seen a white dove in nature, and in fact, I don’t recall seeing one before that day. Oh, I have seen pigeons, and I’ve seen grey doves–but never a white dove. And certainly not two doves.
Think what you may, but here’s the reason why I am sharing this story: If you feel discouraged like I did, then God has a message for you today, the same one He sent to me at the coffee shop. His message is this:
You, my child, are greatly favored.
You are greatly valued.
I know where you are, and I see your situation.
I AM El Roi, the God Who Sees!
I am with you, and I will see you through this storm.
When you are met with discouragement due to whatever situation you face, you need to know that God’s favor rests on you even when it seems like the world stands against us. Satan will come to us in times of trial, whispering, “Where is your God now? Has He forgotten you?”
Take heart. He has NOT forgotten you! Remember that you are a favored child, even in times such as these. In fact, we need to remember God’s favor especially in the dark times! Satan would have us forget… and lose the battle.
Here’s what I want to leave you with…it is not our battle. It’s God’s battle. He will be victorious.
I’ll leave you with the words of Christ in the temple as He stepped into His great mission of salvation. Jesus unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and read these words:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:16-19
Remember, if you are in Christ….then you have the Lord’s favor. Live in that favor!
That’s what it was now, broken, with an asymmetrical flutter to wings that only moments before lifted the butterfly in a dance around the church lawn. Only a few seconds ago I had stood watching sunlight reflect off of its colorful wings as it bounced across the blades of grass.
The butterfly, however, was not what had first caught my eye as I stood in line to pick up my son, Alec, from a day camp for special needs children at a local church in town. It was the child — the boy with autism — that first captured my attention. He was tugging on the arm of his caregiver with a brawny strength, roughly pulling her this way and that as they waited for his family to come for him. The boy jerked the girl from spot to spot, physically unable to stand at a stillness. The young caregiver gently pulled him back to a safer place, never losing her smile, each time he got too close to the parking lot or a passing car. She never let go of his hand.
As I watched the two in a strange dance of their own, my heart ached for the boy just as it does whenever I see a child struggling with autism. That familiar feeling rose from the pit of my stomach, the same one that I felt when I did not know how to reach my autistic son Alec in his younger years. I will never forget how hard and long the days could be.
Lost in my memories, I was more than happy when the butterfly caught my eye. I couldn’t help but notice the tiny insect, darting from blade to blade with a seeming carelessness. I was so entranced by its dance that I forgot the sun’s scorch on the 100 degree day.
I can only describe what happened next as a visual that still haunts me.
As I watched this butterfly, the boy appeared from behind me, pulling his caregiver to where I was standing. In one quick swoop – and before his caregiver could stop him – his hand shot down and captured the butterfly in his clenched fist. She pulled it free from the boy’s grasp and I watched fragile wings fall to the sidewalk. Now earthbound, the butterfly fluttered for a few moments before dying.
Isn’t it strange how something so simple can hit you so hard? I could feel grief rising in the back of my throat, but I wasn’t sure what it was about the scene that hurt me most. Was it the brokenness of a boy who longed to touch something beautiful and carefree, only to crush the life from it? Or was it the thought of how quickly something so lovely can die?
The vivid scene stuck with me all night. I prayed that God would help me understand why there is so much pain in the world. I couldn’t shake the image of the butterfly’s falling wings from my mind.
The next morning, I packed Alec’s lunch and we drove off for another day at this excellent day camp. I parked the car and walked with my son up to the church. I stepped onto the sidewalk right behind a little girl about 8 years old with Down’s Syndrome. The sunlight bounced off of her golden hair as she skipped along holding her mother’s hand. Without a care in the world, she sang a song and when I heard the words that she sang, I stopped in my tracks:
“I am a beautiful butterfly! I am a beautiful butterfly”
With each light step, she twirled and sang this little song. A tingle ran up my spine as I realized what God was showing me.
Yes, Lord, I get it! These handicapped childrenare the butterflies. They are full of beauty! Filled with grace and wonder, and even so, they are broken. But oh, how lovely and special they are to You, Lord, and how precious a gift it is to get to behold one single moment of the beauty that lives within them!
Graced. We are graced to be touched by the beauty that exists in brokenness. There is a beauty beyond compare in brokenness. How precious it is to be a parent to one of these broken, beautiful butterflies, to be privileged to see God carry them through painful days by the strength of an encouraging smile. To feel the loss of what might have been, the crush of overwhelming need, and the Divine Light that runs through it all and makes it worth our efforts.
Thank you, Sweet Jesus, for choosing me to love a child with a special need.
After I entered the church that morning, I noticed that each of the day campers wore a handmade name tag necklace tied with yarn. Each child’s name was printed on a cardboard silhouette of — you guessed it – a butterfly.
Alec’s teenage camp buddy leaned down to greet my son with a high five and a smile. Then I noticed something else. All of the counselors wore colorful shirts with the words “I am a New Creation” on the front. On the back of each shirt was the week’s Bible verse:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Finally, I understood! Like the butterfly, we are all broken, but, praise God, there is great beauty within our brokenness. Better yet, we are new creatures with a future and a hope of eternity — unbroken — in Christ. One day each broken body will be resurrected to a new beauty unimaginable in this life.
Forever restored, we will rise up to dance
a never-ending dance before the very throne of the Most High.
What do you desire, in the deepest, most sacred place of
your heart, that you haven’t dared to ask God to grant you?
No, I’m not talking about a basic need here. I’m talking about so much more than that. Something so impossibly wonderful that you can’t bear to consider it as a reality for your life, and yet, that’s exactly what I want you to do right now.
Close your eyes with me for a moment and ask God to bring that secret dream to mind. Become a child again — without the consequences of reality to stop you — and allow that vision to float to the surface.
Do you see it? What is your dream?
Did you know that the most sacred of dreams are given to us by God Himself? Yes, God — Who places a purpose on the life of every one of His children and Who gifts each uniquely according to that purpose — also gives us a unique dream. Some call it a calling, or a life mission. Sadly, only a few actually discover that dream and achieve it.
For most of us that special dream stays hidden in the secret places of our hearts and minds. Why?
The Bible gives us a glimpse of why in a story found in 2 Kings 4:8-36. It’s a story about a a wealthy women from the town of Shunem who opened her home to Elisha, the great prophet of God. Because of her generosity, Elisha offered her an opportunity to grant her heart’s desire.
Think hard for a minute with me. What if God were to offer you the same opportunity? Would you ask Him for the thing that you want more than anything? Before you answer yes, think hard here. Would you really ask God for something so impossibly big? Would you really trust God to give you the one thing that would light up your life?
Or….would you be afraid that He would decline
such an extreme request?
Would you doubt that God could really grant such an awesome request? Wonder if the obstacles would be too great for God? Or maybe you think that God doesn’t “do miracles” these days? And worse, would you doubt that God cared enough for you personally to say yes? Would you become so vulnerable as to ask God to grant your deepest desire?
If so, what if God said no? Where would that leave you?
Hurt and rejected.
Surprisingly, the women from Shumen didn’t take up Elisha’s amazing offer either. Oh, she had a dream, alright. A dream that she had wrapped up tightly and tucked away for good. Her dream was to have a son. She knew the odds were stacked against her. Time was passing and the story tells us us that her husband was old. You see, this sweet lady had given up on her dream to become a mother. She believed it was too much to ask of God.
So when Elisha asked if there was anything he could do for her, she pasted on a fake smile and hid her deep desire:
“No,” she relied, “my family takes good care of me.” 2 Kings 4:13 NLT
But God allowed Elisha to look beyond her phony smile and see a glimpse of her secret dream. Yes, God wanted to do much more for this women than she dared to ask.
Elisha, seeing her secret desire, prophesied that she would be holding a son in her arms by next year. Her response gives us insight into the fear that plagues us all: that when we offer God our wildest dream – the one we are afraid to even disclose to others – that He will turn His back on us.
“No, my lord!” she cried. ”O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.” 2 Kings 4:16 NLT
Exactly! How many times do we, like this woman, fail to ask God to grant that amazing dream that He planted in our hearts? Aren’t we all afraid that God will reject us? Indeed, Satan would have us to believe that God would never grant us our dreams, especially when that dream is God-given!
God wants to do MORE than we dare ask! His eyes continually search for the one who will become vulnerable enough to ask Him for the impossible. God has given His children special dreams, and God is ready to empower us to use it for His kingdom.
So my question to you today is: what is YOUR dream? Are you ready to ASK God for it?
“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name?”
In this age of reality shows and celeb wannabe’s, it seems that everyone wants their moment in the limelight. All of us – if we are true to ourselves – have a basic desire to be known by others. We want to be listened to by others. Ultimately in this life …
We want to matter.
But how? How can we matter?
The Bible presents a surprising pathway to becoming great. As an Internet marketer, its my opinion that this Biblical tip is one of the most powerful and effective marketing secrets around. Quite simply, it can’t be beat.
Watch this video while I explain…
“But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many.”
Do you have a question about living a life based on God’s promises? Or, do you have a special promise that you would like to share that has impacted your life in a significant way? If so, I want to hear from you!
Post a comment to share your question or special story! Watch this quick video for more:
Here’s a question for you: Do you worry too much? Do you find yourself awake at night, stewing over a certain challenge in your life or the life of a loved one? Are the first thoughts of your day about a difficult situation you are facing? Are you often anxious, filled with anxiety over something that seems beyond your control?
Our English word for “worry” comes from a Middle English word, “worien” which literally means “to strangle.” Isn’t that exactly how it feels to be overloaded with worry? I can feel my chest tighten up, and my throat seems to close as it worsens!
If you are dealing with worry and anxiety, then this promise is for you: Luke 12:22-23
22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.
Let’s take a closer at this promise in this video:
A Red Flagfor Doubt
Worry is a red flag that our faith needs a boost. How do we get that boost? Read the scripture, and then in prayer, ask for more faith. Another great thing to do is take 15 minutes and remember all of the times that God has been faithful to you in the past.
Keep a Record of God’s Faithfulness:
Now is a good time to start a journal recording each act of God’s faithfulness in your life. So often, we forget that He has carried us over bigger storms in the past. The Israelites built stone monuments to help them remember God’s faithfulness. We, too, need to create a record of God’s work in our lives. Then when we find ourselves overwhelmed with worry, take it out and praise God for His faithfulness to you.
We all set goals for ourselves, especially at the start of the new year. But what happens when we experience failure or when we slip up? If we love the Lord, then we can depend on a promise found in Roman Chapter 8, one that gives us the grace to strive for our best without performance anxiety.
This year, I will be starting a series of short videos focusing on the promises of God. I am a strong believer in promised-based living. Each of these short video posts will feature a single promise. I will also be posting scriptures with discussion on why we can trust the Promise Maker.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
Comments from Readers … or your turn to talk!