Praising God through the storms.

Life has been rough lately.  I have been dealing with some very real consequences of sins I committed years ago.  I also have been trying to help my sweet innocent daughter who, at the age of 7, has more to deal with than most adults.  My heart has been heavy.  At times I have felt so angry at myself and everything because of it.  Other times I am so overwhelmed with shame over things I have done or grief over things I had no hand in and yet cant control. 

I have coveted prayers.  I have spent hours with God in prayer.  I have begged for peace.  I have begged for forgiveness.  I have pleaded for the burdens to be lifted.  And for the first time in a long time, I have not blamed God.

It is so easy to want to transfer blame.  To get mad at God for sins I have committed.  To be mad at God for allowing my 7 year old to have ADHD, crippling anxiety, and PTSD.  It takes it off my chest, even for just a second, but it also leaves me alone.

Thankfully, this time, I am not alone.  My God is with me, holding my hand, wrapping His arms around me when I feel like I am falling apart, carrying me when I feel like I can not go on.

Even though I am going through these storms, God is guiding me!  He is my constant and my lighthouse.  He is unwavering.  He is my calm and my peace. 

So even though I am struggling with these storms and even though I may not make it out without some debris left behind, I will not be ruined.  Jesus is my strength and my hope.  He is my anchor and I will always have a solid foundation with Him.

"When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the Godly have a lasting foundations." Proverbs 10:25

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."

 

Our storms are only temporary.  They will be calmed and stilled.  Praise God when things are rough.  Praise God when things are still.  And look forward to the day that we will all be calm and still in an eternal glory.

Exceedingly abundantly above.

While doing a study today I ran across this little gem.  "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."  (Ephesians 3:20)

Now read it again and let it sink in.  "Now He who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."  Wow, in a few simple words Paul makes some amazing points.

1. GOD IS ABLE.  He is able no matter what.  It does not matter what we do, where we are, what struggle is surrounding us, He is able.

2. ...Exceedingly abundantly above...  Not only is He able, but He is more able than we can imagine and He is willing and WAITING to help us.

3. ...Above all that we ask or think... This is the one that got me.  I read some commentary on this part of the verse that stated, "don't let your asking or your thinking be to small." Well, I got a little upset about this, I mean, we shouldn't be asking God for these huge earthly possessions, or that our football team wins, or other things I consider trivial or inappropriate.  And as I said this out loud I totally got a God smack right in the face.  I ask God for HUGE things all the time.  I ask God to heal those with cancer, to comfort those who hurting, to piece back together the broken.  Those are HUGE requests I am making of God, and yet I am quick and eager to pray for those things, because I know that my God is ABLE and that He will do above all that I ask or think if it is in His will! (1 John 5:14)

4. ...According to the power that works in us.  God's power lives in you, it lives in me.  In Romans 8:11 it states that "the spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you."  It is not somethings that is in a box on a high shelf, completely unattainable.  His power lives in us, nothing separates us from it.  What an amazing promise that is!

How blessed are we to have an able God who is so eager to bless us!

I may not know everything, but I know enough.

I am lost.

I am bruised.  

I am broken.  

I am unloved.

I am unwanted.

I am unneeded.

I am regretful.

I am fearful.

I am heartbroken.

I am desperately incomplete.

And Jesus is my savior.

Psalms 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

I am found.

I am healed.

I am loved.

I am needed.

I am grateful.

I am saved.

I am His.