Promises

This morning it is my desire to place all my hope in the promises of God.

Often it is easy to say that I "trust in the Lord".. knowing that He is in charge is usually comforting enough to get me through the rough spots. But, if you're like me, sometimes... trusting in the Lord is easier said than done.

How many times have you told yourself to "trust God" only to then wonder what that really means. How many times have you felt discouraged by people who tell you to "trust God" when times are tough?????

Sometimes doing all the right things and reading all the right verses... just doesn't seem to cut it.

I think I've read Jeremiah 29:11 a million times

"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 a hope and a future".

and every time I've read it I've wondered what ARE those plans???? And I've tried with all my strength to trust in the Lord... when really what he's saying here is that we can trust in his plans for us!
His plans for us are specific... they are not generic open ended for all people...

Think about Abraham for a moment.

In Romans, Paul talks about Abraham and this verse really opened my eyes up to how I should be trusting in God...
(From the Message Romans 4:18-23?)

"When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do... He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said."

Did Abraham simply trust in God.. or did Abraham trust in the PROMISES God made to Abraham?

So, I challenge you today.. if you're struggling and in tough times like I am... consider actually talking to God and asking Him if he has any promises FOR YOU! There is a heightened hope in promises that God gives when they are tailor made for you! Trusting in a far off God overseeing the world's problems gives room for doubt and unbelief.. but letting His Promises wash over and comfort you builds up hope and confidence! That requires us to come before God in a way that begs for a personal relationship... letting Him speak to you... hearing His Words in your heart... is surely to help us "come up strong, ready for God to make good on what he says"

A quote that leads me to take another step...

"Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate. Our worst fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most. We ask ourselves the question, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and famous?" Actually who are you not to be.You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in us, it is in everyone and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others"

~Nelson Mandela

I bolded one part that really made me sit up and take notice. How often have I shrunk back from being fully who I am.. for fear of rejection? How often have I minimized who I am in order to simply fit in with the crowd?

Perhaps I have allowed myself to fail over and over again.. on purpose... to minimze my strength and my power that comes from the Lord.

Not this time. This time I will be liberated from fear and I will walk proudly in the Glory that the Lord shines through my life. I will not hold back or refute the praises that my God deserves!

In the words of one of my favorite singers Jonathan David Helser,

"I will dance on the chains of my circumstance, walk on the waves of the storm, nothing is impossible for those who believe God is Love."

Another song worth listening to....

I told you before that it seems like everytime I turn around I meet someone or hear a song or see a video expressing how much God loves us.. AS WE ARE.... apparently it's a message that bears repeating.. over and over again. :)

Watch this awesome concert video.. take the time... you're worth it. :)




My favorite line, besides the repeating of how HE LOVES US.... is
"When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory. And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me."

Being loved and reminded of that love, is so much bigger than all my struggles. His love eclipses my pain... no wonder I've always been in awe of watching an eclipse. ;)

The Real Me

I heard a song tonight that stopped me in my tracks as another beautiful representation of what I've been learning about in the past year or two.

It seems like I keep hearing more and more people coming to this realization and hearing more and more songs that express it to the world... God sees us for who we really are.

It's so wonderful to know that He created us perfectly and loves us perfectly. All this pretending and masking and hiding and covering is not necessary.

I spent the better part of 2007 trying to force my body to look as worthy as my heart.

Then I spent the rest of 2007 feeling shame and guilt for both failing at keeping my body at that standard, and at being misled along the way.

When all the while, the Lord has been loving me.. the real me... just as I am. Both fat and skinny, over eating, and starving. He knows who I am... not based on my performance or my appearance.

Listen to this song by Natalie Grant

Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know?

[Chorus:]
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Oh,Cause you see the real me
Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance
Living a charade, always on parade
What a mess I've made of my existence
But you love me even now
And still I see somehow
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Oh,Cause you see the real me
Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life into
A perfect tapestry
I just wanna be me
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Oh,Cause you see the real me
And you love me just as I am
Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me

I want to be me... I want to be who I really am- and I want everyone who meets me to know the real me. I think I've grown up enough to be able to handle it if someone doesn't like the real me. Because it really doesn't matter anymore... the only opinion that matters is already formed based on full knowledge of who I am.

Psalm 139:13-16 The Message

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.