Trust In & Cry Out To The One Who Saves

While studying this morning, I found an old, dried flower tucked safely within the pages of my mom's Strong's Concordance. The petals, delicate and yellowed from age, secretly hold the story of a special moment in time. I wonder, "How long has it been here?" And "Who was the thoughtful giver of this once, vibrant flower?"

I smile as I consider the possibilities.

Perhaps my own daughter, who will soon be twenty-one, once held this flower in her tiny hands. I can see her gently picking this fragile gift and then hiding it behind her back as she runs mischievously toward her Maw-Maw.

Or maybe it was taken as a token of remembrance during the celebration of the life of my grandfather?

No matter its origin or previous owner, this flower, has been picked for me today. It is a special gift and I leave it in its place in hopes that the next recipient of this time-worn concordance might find it there.

As I peer into the scriptures, the old flower and gift of remembering are not my only blessings.

Every time I open the Word of God and choose to meditate, reflect on, and study the words found here, my heart is overwhelmed at the goodness of God. Tucked within its chapters are nuggets of wisdom waiting to be discovered and promises ready to be received and lived out.

Our Memory Verse for Week 8 of our Online Bible Study is Psalm 22:4-5. It says, "In You our Fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed."

All week I've been meditating on these verses and I've focused on:

• Trusting and putting my confidence in God, and
• God's ability to save and deliver.

But today my eyes were drawn to the word "cried."

"They cried to You and were saved."

I tried to picture "our Fathers" crying. Is it a sob? A boo-hoo? An overwhelming stream of tears running down their faces? Because I cry. I know what this crying thing is like.

And what is their motivation? Sometimes I cry because I'm sad. Sometimes I cry because I'm mad. And other times I cry because I don't know what else to do.

To give me a clearer picture of what exactly is going on I dive deeper into the chapter and start from verse one.

As the psalmist petitions God and questions His absence during troubling times, He reminds God that when our Fathers of long ago put their trust in Him and cried out He saved and delivered them. In other words, "Why are you not saving ME like you saved THEM?"

He continues to beg and plead his case for the next several verses but something changes in verse 22.

I believe he receives a revelation. He shifts from words focused inward to now words of declaration and praise of the only One who has the power to save him. 

"I will declare Your name! ...Praise Him...Revere Him....!"

I believe the revelation he receives is that our Fathers' crying out was not a confession or reminder to God of how terrible things were going for them (God always knows what's going on). It was a public declaring of God's sovereignty, a declaration of His power to deliver and save them no matter their circumstances. They gathered corporately and announced publicly that their trust and confidence was in God and God alone.

According to my Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew word for cried in this verse is zaaq and means to shriek (from anguish or danger). And when I read further it says it is also "to announce or convene publicly:- assemble, call (together), (make a) cry (out), come with such a company, gather (together), cause to be proclaimed."

Now, as I look back at our Memory Verses for the week (Ps. 22:4-5) I have a clearer picture and I know the place of desperation and surrender our Fathers called out to God. I understand it was not in self-pity or the "poor-me-syndrome" that brought their deliverance. It was not in questioning "Why" and "Where" and "How" that they were saved.

It was a gathering together and declaring publicly their cry of surrender to God. It was in the realization that nothing or no one else had the power to save them but God.

That, my friends, is our place of deliverance.

Whatever you are going through today, remember the psalmist in Psalm 22. Turn, as he did, to words of praise and declaration of our great heavenly Father who is the only One with the power to save. Let your thoughts rest on His sovereignty and the promises found on the pages of our Bible.

His Word is true. 

His Word is powerful.

And His Word is relevant to whatever you are facing right now.

Let us cry out to our Father. Let us put our hope, our trust, our confidence in Him and Him alone. And let us proclaim together publicly that He is Lord! 

He is still a God who saves!

Father, we come to you in surrender today. We declare that You are God! We praise you now and proclaim that there is no other like You! We know that no matter what we are facing or what we are going through at this very moment, YOU never change. We cry out to You in desperation knowing that You hear us. We choose to put our hope, our trust, and our confidence in You and You alone. Thank you that peace and joy are ours. We choose to receive them today. We trust that Your plans are so much greater than we can imagine. Our hope is in You. Thank you for the amazing and unconditional love You have for us, Your children. We love You! Your will be done in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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Joining with Melissa Taylor and a community of women as we seek God and His word together in our current Online Bible Study: Stressed-Less Living by Tracie Miles. Click here to read more blogs in our blog hop.

And We Draw to Others With Jesus

God created us for fellowship, first with Him and then with others. His desire and intention have never been that we do this life alone.

There have certainly been times I have felt alone. Seasons I have walked through that were more lonely than others. Times I was required to pull away from distractions and even relationships to get alone with Him. This, too, was for my good.

But other times I need people, lots of people. WE need people. We need an encouraging word from a friend. A prayer from a leader. A cheer and a "you can do it!" from a mentor. Advice or correction from an accountability partner. A phone call from a sister. A hug. A lunch date. An unexpected gift. A letter in the mail. All these can come at just the right time to lift our spirits and encourage our hearts.

But just as we need others, they need us, too.

In times of brokenness, we can offer our Savior and remind someone that Jesus comforts those who mourn and He heals the brokenhearted (Matt. 5:4, Ps. 147:3). In one of my favorite books, "Strong Women, Soft Hearts" by Paula Rinehart, Paula says, "We don't mend each other's brokenness, we admit our needs and let that draw us to each other and to God."

We draw others to Jesus, and we draw to others with Jesus.

We need God.

We need people.

And people need us.

Sometimes we just need to listen.

Sometimes we just need to say, "I'm so sorry you're hurting."

Sometimes a hug can be the medicine God uses to ease the pain.

Yes, you and I…we are healing agents on earth...sent by the Great Physician to offer Jesus to the world. We can look toward heaven and extend our hands and our hearts to those around us.

We must not and we cannot do this life alone. 

We need God.

We need people.

And people need us.

In times of trouble and uncertainty our humanity leaks weakness. What strength we have often fails in the face of adversity and crumbles at the sting of heartbreak. But when we find it hard to stand, Jesus holds. He holds and he uses the arms of people - my arms and your arms - to love and embrace and support. He uses our words and our smiles and our time.

We draw others to Jesus, and we draw to others with Jesus.

Encourage someone today. Be a friend. Give yourself. Share Jesus. Listen. Offer hope. Love big.

You never know what the person next to you is going through or what they have to go home to or what their lives may hold for them tomorrow.

Go. And take Jesus to the world.

And He Saved Them

My heart is heavy for so many families tonight. All week tragedy has filled my news feed and blasted from my television. I lay down in surrender, trusting that whatever happens around me, Jesus remains the same. In tragedy and loss, in heartache and sadness, in brokenness and grief, He offers comfort and peace the world cannot give.

When circumstances threaten to squeeze and strangle and take the very breath that fills our lungs, Jesus breathes life and gifts grace to trust Him even still.

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble (anxiety, bad news, danger, difficulty, concern, dilemma, grief, heartache, pain, sorrow, stress), and he saved (defended, freed, guarded, healed, protected, released, rescued, safeguarded) them from their distress (ache, affliction, anguish, anxiety, concern, disappointment, sadness, sorrow, suffering, worry)." Psalm 107:19

Though our hearts ache, the peace He promises is real. It doesn't make sense and I can't touch it with my fingers but my faith confirms its existence. As uncertainty abounds in this unstable, ever-changing world we live in we must remind ourselves our hope is not found here. Eternity rests in the very depths of our souls and we know this world is not our final destination.

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

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Joining with Melissa Taylor and a community of women as we seek God and His word in our current Online Bible Study: Stressed - Less Living by Tracie Miles.

When the Job is Too Big

Photo Credit: Tin Bucket Photography

It's so hard when the very thing with which you are encouraging and counseling others slaps you right in the face. (I thought I had this all worked out?) And immediately the accusations come and bring their friends...feelings of unworthiness and the thought that God must have gotten me mixed up with someone else more together or more "spiritual."

Do you ever feel like a big, fat nothing? A nobody? A complete failure? Like, who am I kidding and what am I doing?

It seems like every time I start on a project (article, devotional, study, etc), I immediately feel unworthy and inadequate...ill-equipped to successfully complete the task before me. Sometimes it feels too big and out of my league. I am, after all, just a small town country girl who got pregnant before marriage, never finished college, has piles of laundry, occasionally yells at her kids and gets mad at her husband.

It's so tempting to say, "No, I can't do this."

But I know God has another plan. And He IS all-sufficient and more than adequate and overly equipped...and He will equip me and you to do whatever it is He has called us to do. No matter how many times we fail or how many times we sigh the sigh of frustration or cover our face in anguish or clench our fists or lay prostrate in desperation...He is there to pick us up and hold our hand and take us to that place of refuge and restoration. Again, and again, and again.

In our stretching, in our enlarging, in our growing...often we break open, spilling and exposing junk that has been there all along but covered and hidden and deceiving. It feels good (to our pride) to think we have arrived...we are among the spiritually elite (whatever that means). But, really, none of us have made it, nor will we until we meet our Savior face to face.

We are all on a journey to becoming.

Are you overwhelmed or frustrated or discouraged today? Do you feel like God must have made a mistake because the job is just too big? Do you feel like you have messed up one too many times and you're now disqualified?

You are not alone, friend.

You are not the only one who gets tricked into believing these lies from time to time.

God does not measure our worth the way we measure ourselves or determine our value by our accomplishments, education, past mistakes, or other people's opinions of us.

Can I get a Hallelujah?

For 2011, I had a word for the year: Fearless.

For 2012, I have a scripture. It fits well in this post and my life.

And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

As we continue to peek inside the Word of God and allow Him to reveal things, expose things, purge things...our journey of transformation continues. Our lives are living, breathing testimonies of what He can do when we cannot. Of what He can forgive when we fail. Of what He can do in His strength when we feel like we are going to pass out from weakness. Of what He can do when the job really is too big for us, because it usually is...and I think He planned it that way.

When you mess up, don't disqualify or count yourself out. Your Father doesn't.


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.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding ~Proverbs 3:5.


The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple ~ Psalm 19:7.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, that no matter how many times I mess up, You do not disqualify me. You are taking my blemishes and scars and wounds and traditions and unbelief and restoring my whole person. You have plans to prosper me and give me hope and a future. Help me to lean on, trust in, and be confident in You with all my heart and all my mind. Thank You for mercy and grace on this journey of transformation. I am a big fat nothing without You, but with You I am a daughter of the King. All praise and honor and glory to You, my God.

Hear It On Sunday, Use It On Monday & A Tribute

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. We will not fear. Psalm 4:1-2

At the beginning of service this morning, the congregation rose, hand over heart, eyes fixed on our American flag displayed proudly at the front of the stage. In unison, voices pledged allegiance to the red, white and blue and sang of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

A Tribute to lives lost ten years ago, on the day that forever changed America and left hearts aching

In the middle of crisis, the fierceness of the storm, the heat of the battle, it is easy to give in and give up. But the victory comes with digging in heels and drawing strength from the inner depths of your being, strength you never knew you had, strength that overcomes the greatest evil...His strength in our weakness. We continue to rise above this tragedy and pray for America to remember who she is, to take her rightful place, to once again stand for truths upon which she was founded ...and to trust in God.

A Tribute to Fallen Soldiers, a moment of silence and prayer for hurting families

A Tribute to active/retired soldiers abroad and in our own congregation

Below is Retired Sgt. Brian Fleming - our guest speaker.

http://www.blownupguy.com/

He gives a powerful testimony of one soldier's journey from being blown up twice in Afghanistan to using his story to bring hope to others and his voice to tell of the love of Christ all across the world.

We are the United States of America. We are the land of the free, the home of the brave.

God Bless America!

Linking today with Michelle at Nebraska Graceful

and counting gifts with Ann at A Holy Experience

76 freedom to worship

77 men and women who risk their lives for our freedom

78 the ability to forgive

79 courage to press on

80 hope to become better

81 love that covers and heals

82 His strength in my weakness

83 gentle reminders that keep things in perspective

84 grace for this journey

85 mercies new in the morning

how can we reach them unless we see

(today i am linking my words with others and emily for imperfect prose.  i have only found her this week and feel like i have uncovered treasure. she is an amazing writer and artist.  you will be blessed to visit her blog. also be sure to check the listed links for some encouraging words from other writers as well)

walking through fields of corn too tall

standing on tip toes to get a peek

what is it thats out there

there beyond the place my eyes can see?

i imagine people

souls lost and hearts aching

undone and unraveled

searching for home

a place to lay their heads

ears to listen

hearts that hold complete.

beyond our now is a world of hurting people

in front of us lies wounded the rejected and forgotten.

how will we reach them unless we see?

open our eyes lord

let us see clearly those to whom you have called us.

stretch our hands made for healing

move our feet fashioned for the journey

give us courage to see and grace to love.

sharing the one who alone brings peace, hope, forgiveness and salvation.

Jesus.

Finding Something in a Time of Loss

I close my eyes and I can see his face.  I can hear his laugh and the shuffle of his old, tired feet in his worn out cowboy boots.

Today, I said good-bye to my grandpa.  Even though I know our good-bye is only for a season, this dull aching deep inside will not rest.  I know time will heal and the pain will lessen, but tonight my heart hurts.  He lived a long 92 years and it seems selfish for me to want him back.  He is no longer in pain, no longer without....but complete, fulfilled and perfect in the presence of our sweet, sweet, Jesus (and my grandma who was the love of his life). 

In times of brokenness, our heart is exposed and we spill out....messy and imperfect.  God picks up our pieces and gently reminds us that He is the Potter.  As life unfolds and the reality of pain, disappointment and loss are known, we can be molded as clay in the Potter's hands.  In our healing we can find that every pain has a purpose, every heartache can make us love better, and every hurt and disappointment can be used to reveal and expose and bring us closer to the One who loves us most.

Today, I am keenly aware of my frailty...my temporary and limited life on this earth.

My selfish ambitions and motives are being exposed, my heart is being enlarged, and my broken pieces are being molded into a vessel to illuminate His goodness, mercy, grace...His love, forgiveness, and healing poured out...if only I will yield and allow the Master to finish the work that He has started.

In times of desperation, when our world has been shaken, when we cry out with all that is within us, when we find ourselves grasping, reaching...needing something to hold on to...He is our resting place and our shelter.

I do not understand why we have to go through the things we do and feel the things we feel.  But my faith and my trust are in the One who promises to be with me even then.

Tonight, I quiet my soul....and listen.

Tonight, I hear Him speaking, and choose to yield.

Thou will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee. ~Isaiah 26:3

Sometimes I'm a MESS

I began to think a little more about my last post, "Crowned World's Greatest Mother."  The post itself is not as the title might seem to suggest.  And this post is proof of, in fact, the contrary.

As I meditated on the diverse moods, actions, temper tantrums, sweet moments (and everything in between) of my five year old, I wondered how often I must appear as such to God.

Temper tantrums.

Mood swings.

Emotional outbursts.

Moodiness.

Crankiness.

Selfishness.

And I'm not talking about Logan anymore.

When last months bills still need to be paid and this months bills are knocking on my door, it is easy to lose focus and forget that TODAY my needs are met. 

TODAY, I am cancer free.

TODAY, my husband and I both have a new job.

TODAY, my children are all healthy.

TODAY, I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, a car to drive and the freedom to worship my God, privately and publicly.

My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory! Phil. 4:19

When my teenager is defiant, rude and uncooperative, pushing me to my absolute and outermost limits, it is easy to lose my temper and react in a way that completely destroys any credibility I had recently earned or gained with them.  How do they know just the right buttons to push?  Seriously, sometimes I just want to scream (and sometimes I do).  Tonight, though, I wanted to throw something. 

I'm thankful that I do still have a little bit of self control.

What do you do when your teenager grows horns and starts snorting and pawing at the ground with their right hoof, uh...I mean... foot?

Isn't life supposed to be perfect and easy when you're a Christian?

HA.

Aren't we supposed to have it altogether, never messing up, and always living up to the title of my last post "World's Greatest Mother?"

Ummmm.....well......

Truthfully, sometimes I'm a MESS.

And honestly, I NEVER have it ALL together. 

In those moments when I feel like everything is closing in and it's hard to breathe.....when nothing seems to go right.....when the fear of failure laughs at me and tells me "I told you so!".....when I make a complete mess of things...it's in those times I have to choose to rise up and start over.  When I fall down, I get back up.  I wipe away thoughts unworthy to entertain.  I remind myself of Who God is and who He says I am.

The impossible, possible.

That which isn't, is.

When my steps become heavy, I put one foot in front of the other. 

One at a time.

And that's ok.

Because even when I mess up and my imperfection becomes more than obvious, God still loves me.

Just like I love my children through all of their junk.

He still loves me.

And it's because of Him, His mercy, His grace, that I strive to become more like Jesus.  It's because of Him I can get up when I fall down.  It's because of Him that I want to.

It's because of Him that I don't have to stay stuck in that place.

For great is Thy mercy toward me...Ps 86:13.

Wherever you are, whatever you are going through, I pray that you be encouraged today.  Know that God loves you and He wants you to succeed.  If you fall down, get back up. 

Keep.

Moving.

Forward.

Even if (for the moment) it's only one step at a time.

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  Acts 20:24

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

Do You Ever Forget?

Do you ever forget?

Forget to put the clothes in the dryer?

Forget that you were supposed to call _________  right back?

Forget that you were boiling something on the stove?

Forget what exactly it was that you were supposed to remember? :)

Do you ever forget what God has spoken to you?

I was reading through some of my earlier posts from this year (from our book study by Paula Rinehart) and couldn't believe how some of them were directly related to my latest posts! 

Totally spoke to my heart...  AGAIN.

We should remind ourselves not only what God has done for us, but also what He has spoken to us.  Make sure you're keeping a journal of some sort so that you can go back and re-read His words to you.

So if these two of my latest posts (Don't Get Dis-Appointed and Misplaced Hope) spoke to your heart, I think these may as well..........

Losing Heart

Pain: The Crossroads of the Heart

It's good to review....and be reminded.  God's Word is alive and continues to speak if we (I) will only listen!

I think I may be doing some reviewing and reminding of my own this weekend! 

But for now.....Got my Netflix in the mail....I'm watching a movie tonight!  Woohooo! :)

Have a blessed weekend, my friends!!

xoxo

Shelly

Misplaced Hope?

I was working on another post, but God would not let me go to sleep without sharing these scriptures.  Someone (besides me) needs to hear them......

In what (or whom) have you put your hope?

Your job
Family
Church
Friends
Finances?...

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5

In your own strength?

No king is saved by the size of his army;

no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 33:16-19



We must put our hope in the One who is the same, yesterday, today and forever....
 
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:5
 
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope
Psalm 130:5
 
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
Psalm 146:5-6
 
I pray that today, whatever you are going through, that you will put your hope in Him.  Know that He loves you and He knows exactly where you are.  Your circumstances may have changed, but His plans for you have not.  Allow Him to use whatever you are going through for His glory.  Watch and see what the Lord will do!

Hope is the Thing With Feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

by Emily Dickinson