Focus

I have been so overwhelmed with life and with everything thing that is happening. I feel like I am on auto pilot set on a course, but never looking up or even forward. I have been trying to figure everything out and control an outcome that I really never had control of to begin with. I have been so consumed with the issues in life and the daily struggle to keep going that I have lost sight of what is really important. I have taken my eyes off of Christ and the blessings He has given me. I have Him in sight, but it is in my puerperal vision and not straight on or certainly not focused on. So many questions have been running through my mind and various scenarios have played out there as well, but what about faith? What about trust? What about Grace? I am tired of just going through the motions. I want to live and enjoy what life has to offer and in what God has planned. I don’t know why I struggle with fear of the unknown because there is a long pattern of God showing up at the prefect time and rescuing me over and over again. He has never forgotten me or forsaken me, never. I have been the one to turn away even if slightly or even completely. But He has never, not once not been there for me. It has been my doubt, my fear, my mistrust, my sin, and my plain stubbornness that has separated me from Him. Has everything always turned out the way I wanted them to, no but thank God they didn’t. God always has the best in mind for me not just ok. Even the things that the world would deem awful, God has turned them into something beautiful. I have also been holding onto many things like hurt, anger, fear, disappointments, regrets, and so on. I can’t hold on to those things any longer. They were never mine to kept to begin with. Once I accepted God as my personal Savior He took those things from me. I just need to give them to Him for keeps and never take them back. There is so much in my life I know I need to change and I have been trying to do it by myself. The reason why they are not working is because I was never meant to face those things alone, so how can I change them alone? The answer is I can’t do it alone or have everything change at once. I realize that some things can change right away but others will take time. With God’s help everything will turn out just the way He planned and not how I planned. In this life we will have struggles and heartache. We will have trials and victory. However, with God all things are possible.

Mountains Valleys Pits and Storms

Mountains Valleys Pits and Storms

In this life there will be mountains to climb, valleys to cross, pits to get out of, and storms to face. Have you ever had to face something that was so vast and difficult that you were overwhelmed by it?  You find yourself standing at the base of a mountain looking up not knowing where it ends in the clouds, at the edge of a large valley where you can’t see the end of, at the bottom of a pit where there is no light to be found, or in the midst of a storm where you see no calm.  Well, I have been there many of times and to be completely honest I am there now. In those times questions fill your mind and doubts creep in. Questions like how can I do this, where do I start, and why are very common questions.  Fears set in and uncertainties are like the plague eating at your soul.  Hopelessness take charge and you find yourself in a flight or fight mode until you get to the point where there is barely any fight in you left.  When you reach that point where do you turn? How do you climb that mountain, cross that valley, get out of that pit, and survive the storm?  Well, the fact that there is a top to the mountain, there is the other side of the valley, that there is an out of the pit, and that fact that the storm will end means there is hope.

In Jeremiah 29:11 states, 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.

This verse was hard for me to swallow at one point.  I didn’t quite understand how all this heartache and pain could be good, and how can it prosper anything except hurt?  It is as simple as this God sees the big picture and He cares about our souls and the souls of others.  I don’t know about you but I am stubborn and tend to try to figure things out on my own.  Many times it is in the struggles I find the answers, the peace, and most of all I see God at work.  I would not have the love that I have for God and others if I didn’t have the life I’ve had so far. 

At the foot of that mountain I met God!  He was with me with every attempt to climb each boulder that was in front of me.  He was the one giving the strength to continue on, and He was there when I reached the top and looked down at the beauty that surrounded me.  At the edge of the valley I met God! He was there with me every step as I got tangled in the vines, ensnared by the weeds, and pricked by the thorns.  He was the one giving me the will to continue you on. He was even there when I reached the other side to than look back at all the beauty I had passed through.  In the pit I met God!  He was there to give me light and to show me the way up and that I wasn’t alone.  He was there as I struggled to pull myself through the cold moist dirt and was the one to offer me His hand when I got stuck.  He was even with me when I climb out of the pit to see how far I’ve come.  I met God in the midst of the storm.  He was the one to give me shelter, to keep me warm, and to keep me safe from all harm.  He was even there when the storm ended and signs of new life bloomed everywhere.

Oh how my heart leaps with joy when I think back to all those times where I thought things were hopeless only to find God.  What a comfort to know that no matter what difficulties life throws my way I know God will give me whatever it takes to make it through them.  The fact that I know that I am and never will be alone is my source of strength.  But most of all to know that God has a plan for me is what makes life worth living.  He cares so deeply and loves so dearly.  My God only wants the best for me. He only wants the best for you.  He loves more than life itself.  He proved that on the cross when He chose to die for you and me.  He died to give us life.  Realize that yes in this life there will be trouble but also realize that Our God will never leave you or forsake you.