I was thinking today about God holding and bottling every tear that we cry. That’s an awesome thing to me because in the past week or two I have cried an extreme amount of tears. I have experienced the kind of emotional pain that hurts so deeply you feel like your heart is literally being ripped out. I have questioned myself and wondered what in the world I did wrong. What did I do to cause this to happen? Little offers me comfort. Little makes me happy. Little offers me hope. I am just being honest and transparent here. Please don’t leave me comments telling me I have no faith….I have faith. I have faith enough to call on His name even though I am too tired to. I have faith enough that I know He is still in control. But, I am human. And right now, I am a human who is hurting.
My mind goes back to Job…blameless Job who did nothing but love God and yet had everything stricken from him. Job, who would not curse God and die. Job who passed his test. Job who, after going through the fire, came forth as gold. During this trial, I have remained faithful. Not because I have to, but because I want to. I have still read. I have prayed. I have fasted. I have still led worship. I have taught Sunday school. I have preached in youth. I have lived my life as God wants me to live it. I have sought His will, His grace, and His mercy. Am I perfect? No way! But…Jesus is my everything. He is all I have. He is all I need. I believe that He is going to turn this situation around. I pray He does is soon….because I can’t handle much more. I have heard it said without a TEST you would not have a TESTimony. I will have a great one after this is over. Why am I writing this? I don’t know. I have stated before that this blog is my source of catharsis. I am the type of person who has to get things out and this is my way of doing it. I also want your prayers if you are reading this and are a Christian. I want you to know if you are at a place where you are hurting, hang in there. It’s all we can do. We can’t go back. I wouldn’t want to. My God is faithful. He is faithful and He is worthy. No matter my circumstances, I’m gonna praise Him. No matter what it looks like, I believe he is in control. So, I’m gonna hang in there. You hang in there too.
Are you in the desert? Listen to the words of this song and let me remind you…that no matter where you are….He is still God and He still in control. He deserves ALL of your praise whether in the desert or in your promised land……
Sometimes life is almost too much. There are times of financial stress, worrying about our children, times of illness. God never said it would be easy. I have learned though, in those times, all you can do is PRAISE. Those are times to let out a shout with a voice of triumph and let the devil know we can’t be moved! I have a dear friend in our church right now who just found out she has cancer…for the 2nd time. Sunday, though, she was in church. She wasn’t at home feeling sorry for herself. She wasn’t in her seat with a downcast look. Nope….she was praising God! She was lifting her voice in powerful praise and awesome worship. The enemy has not stopped her! No way. She says she has too much to do. Her mere countenance brought me to tears. Sometimes…….all you can do is praise! Praise Him for who He is, for all He has done for you. During worship one time I stated “Lord, if you never done another thing for me, you have already done enough for me to serve you the rest of my life” He does not have to do another thing. I gotta praise! When our bedroom flooded last week, I cried. But, then something rose up within me and I began to praise! Why? I know that I know after all these years that God is up to something good. I know when the enemy comes in like a flood (no pun intended) that God is right behind him sopping up the mess! I know that God is already working the thing the enemy meant for destruction for my good! So I praised! I praised Him while I cleaned up my mess, I praised Him while I was throwing stuff away, knowing that He would bring me new things to replace what I had lost. My dear friend with cancer knows the same thing. She knows that all she has left is her praise. That’s all she can do. Praise and trust. Praise is a declaration. A declaration of trust and of victory! It is a war cry saying to the enemy that you will stand strong and continue to trust in God. So, people of God…whatever you are going through, wherever you are right now in your life…..PRAISE! Let out a victory cry and let the enemy know you are standing strong in your faith.
“I will bow down before your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word” Psalm 138:2.
Please note that this is a Christian blog. Inquiries and opinions are welcome, however abusive and derogatory comments about my beliefs will be removed at my discretion because I DO NOT want this blog to be used as a place of controversy. I am not here to have my faith picked apart; I am simply here to share my thoughts and feelings about my relationship with Christ. Comments are welcomed as long as the person is respectful to the opinions and beliefs of myself and others.
