Stay With God

20140910-113619-41779724.jpgNo matter what comes. No matter who leaves. He is still God, and He never fails! Stay with God.

For many, these statements can be so controversial. Many will dispute these words; they will say because we live in a fallen world that surely we must be ruled by a hostile God. Some will say this cannot be truth, because, after all, truth is relative: what is true for me may not, necessarily, be true for you. Still others will say this is heresy, because their chosen god is, after all, more mighty, more logical, or more spiritual than a “simple man who roamed this weary earth until his humiliated death.”

Oh, but you can only state fallacies when you do not know my King. You see, I talk to him every day. He walks with me through every moment of every hour. I see His love in a baby’s smile. I hear His joy in a child’s laughter. I smell of His gentleness in the summer breeze. I taste of His goodness in the fresh fruits of spring. His faithfulness reaches the very depths of me, even beyond my failures, my fears and my frailties. You see, He speaks to me in the quietness of my very soul.

He was there when I drew my first breath, and He was there when I took my first step. He watched over me when my mother ventured the wrong paths, and He comforted me when my father refused to come back. He protected me when I fell and cut a main artery, and He shielded me when my classmate was mean and called me names. He has always been there, regardless the circumstance or enemies I have faced.

He brought me life when I called on His name. He gave me hope when I was hopeless. He delivered me from trouble when I lost my way. He restored my joy when all I could see was darkness. He removed my confusion when I couldn’t understand. He opened my eyes when I just couldn’t see. He surrounded me with peace when all around me was turmoil. He filled me with rejoicing when my heart had only seen mourning. He has been my song when I couldn’t open my mouth to utter a sound.

He has done too much for me for you to try to convince this weary soul that He doesn’t exist now. Once you’ve ever seen a glimpse of paradise, it’s hard to be satisfied with normal life. It sets a longing within your being that cannot be quenched by all the riches and wealth of this ordinary world. When your goal is set on higher thoughts, when your dreams are of things beyond what this place can even imagine, it’s hard to envision a lesser place or a lesser Savior. You see, He is my everything. He is the very air I breathe.

Do I have the “perfect life”? Oh, I don’t know. I think that all depends on perspective. I’ve seen hard times, and I’ve seen good ones, too; yet, I just keep trusting Him. I don’t have everything that I want, but I surely have all that I need. He gives me His grace that is so sufficient, and that has made all the difference. Things have happened that I’ve not liked, but life is just life. We’re not home yet. I decided a long time ago that I’d just stay with God, no matter what came my way, and that has carried me through.

No matter what comes. No matter who leaves. He is still God, and He never fails. Stay with God.

 

 

 

Do You Know Him?

Death can be so sudden, or it can be so painfully slow…Which is the harder one to accept? I believe they both have their griefs and sorrows bound up in time…For we were never actually meant to die…If God could have allowed, we’d be in the Garden of Eden at this very moment, enjoying every precious moment with Him and all our fellow mankind. Oh, how I wish we could be there forever rather than here on this dying sphere called Earth.
 
In death, I believe, we can see the hand of God…If we will take a moment to open our eyes and look for Him…Whether it be in the precious memories of our fallen loved ones, in the sweet echo of a baby’s laughter near the graveside, or in the joyous celebration of our loved one’s home-going…He is there…He is always there…longing and waiting for our last breath here on earth that we might breathe our first eternal breath in heaven.
 
So, I ask you today, “Do you know Him?” Do you know His life-saving redemption? Do you know of His life-cleansing blood? Do you know His life-changing salvation? Do you know His life-ever-after promise? Do you know Him today? Or do you just know of Him?


He loves you so much, and He longs for you to spend eternity with Him…If you don’t know Him, or if you have walked away from that once desired friendship with Him, will you take just a minute today and ask yourself, “Why?” Why not surrender your heart to Him today? Why not be sure of where you’ll spend eternity when you draw that last breath? Why not allow your loved ones to be sure of where it is you will spend eternity?

Get to know Him today..
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There is HOPE

Cancer, or any terminal illness for that matter, can be so mind boggling…The full impact that it has on someone’s life can be such a hard concept to really get your mind around. The ‘C word’ is feared by so many…hated by more…and yet dealt with by more than we can calculate. It hits some suddenly and fiercely, never relenting until the last breath is breathed. To others, it creeps up slowly and is gone almost before the battle has fully begun…and still others wait hesitantly as it goes into remission for an unknown season of time. Many fight this battle quietly and soberly, others fight valiantly and passionately, seeking a cure; still others may let go before there is a chance for victory. No matter how the battle is finished, everyone is impacted by the journey. Often times, it is one of uncertainty and apprehension; however, it does not have to be one absent of HOPE.

There is a God who loves you, and He is a God who cares for you; He sees you, and He knows the path you take. The Bible says, “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. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, ” and will bring you back from captivity…” (Jer. 29:11-14) In the midst of the storm, the journey of this life may seem tiresome, and you may wonder why God has made this plan for your life; but rest assured, He has not forsaken you, and He has not forgotten about your trials! He has made a way for you, and His ways are for your good and not your harm! He is a good God, and He loves you SO much! He will carry you through every fire, every flood, every turbulent storm that enters your life. Just rest in His sufficient grace today. Rest in His loving embrace. Take pleasure in knowing that your life is in His hands, and He is working all things out for your personal good: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom.8:28) You can make it…you will make it! With God on your side, who can be against you? NO ONE!


“The Lord bless you, and keep you:
The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26The mountaintop may seem too far to travel, but with God, He will make a way...In the end, the journey will be well worth it!

The mountaintop may seem too far to travel, but with God, He will make a way

…In the end, the journey will be well worth it!

How Small We Are

One night, as I was riding in a big boat, on a great big lake, I glanced up, as I often do, and saw the sky full of stars. I realized, the arrangement of those stars don’t change much to the naked eye. Yes, it moves with time, alters with seasons, some stars get brighter as their light reaches earth, and some fade when the star dies; yet, with the right scopes, you’ll still be able to see most constellations that have been up there for centuries upon centuries. On the other hand, we, as humans, are constantly changing. We change our clothes; we change our hair; we change our body shapes; we change our friends, and we even change our skin color (by spending too much time in the sun! lol). We often feel these changes make us bigger, better than we once were. Yet, those stars are so much bigger than our beings (if we could stand beside one), so much brighter than we could ever imagine, and they are arranged by a God whose ways we can’t even begin to fathom!

In perspective, we are so very small. Our lives are so very minute. These lives in which we struggle so hard to achieve more, receive more and conquer more are really so very tiny. In perspective, of the history of this world, our lifespan is so miniscule. We are so very little. Yet, our Heavenly Father, has loved us since the beginning of time. He has provided for us, created life within us, designed perfect plans for us, and destined great things for us. In the great scheme of life, we may be small, but in God’s eyes, we are quite a “Big Thing.” You know how I know this? Well, one because the Bible explains it pretty clearly, but also, because He has given me a beautiful example through the lives of my children. I love those boys so much makes my heart ache. If I, who am just human, just a mom trying to make it through each day and do the very best that my small being can do, love my sons so much that it makes my heart ache, how much more does a Mighty God love me and you? How much more does a Righteous Savior love the very people He left His glory to save? Our Father God loves us, and when Daddy loves his little girl, or his little man, that child is bigger than even His whole world!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

“If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Matthew 7:11