Laced With Grace

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
~ Psalm 40:11-12 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

Are you in the valley or are you praising Him on the mountain top? Do you see the glass half empty or half full? I think everything is a matter of choice…at least it has been for me.

To tell you the truth, the past 6 months have been more times in the valley than on the mountain top. After our son moved out in September 2007 (oi – almost 2 years ago), I did just fine. I kept myself busy with other things than raising a son…

After a while, the tumbling began. I started to listen to the lies of the enemy. “You are no good. You can’t do anything right. You have a big ‘L’ (for LOSER) on your forehead!!!!”

I started to retreat; not only from my family and most of my friends, but also from God (I saw my devotions as a chore — how sad it that!!!). I was sure He didn’t want anything to do with a loser. You see, I don’t handle rejection very well (at least not graciously). So, how could I please God and encourage others, when I felt like a loser (with a capital “L”).

Deep down in my heart I knew these were all lies whispered by the enemy. One morning, God got my attention while reading the Psalms (best section of the Bible to get encouraged). He reminded me how often David felt haunted, left alone, pursued by his enemies…

There was one constant though in David’s life — God!!! God was his Rock, no matter how bad it got. David knew that he could turn to God when in the valley deeper than the sea-level. God is faithful – He will never let go.

But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!
~ Psalm 40:16-17 (ESV)

My sweet sisters, if you are feeling haunted, left alone, pursued by your enemies, turn to Him, the One who is our salvation, rock, and redeemer. Do as David did; hold on, He will see you through.

Lord of Heaven and Earth. I praise Your name. No matter how bad it gets, You are there. Your faithfulness is great and your mercies endure forever. Great are You, Lord. You are my help and my deliverer. Thank you for not giving up on me or letting go. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen

A couple of years ago, while on a family vacation, we went to a diamond mine in Arkansas. We went to dig for diamonds. Upon arriving at the mine, I was not at all impressed with what I saw. Once we purchased our pails, our strainers and our shovels, we were ready to dig and recover some treasure! But all I could see was a big field of dirt and mud. Real impressive!

It was a little hard for me to believe that under all of that dirt, mud and grime laid something as precious and beautiful as diamonds.

It felt to me like we were sitting out in our backyard and digging around in our sandbox. To our disappointment, our adventure at the diamond mine gave the same result as playing in our sandbox. No diamonds!

Just because we were not successful in uncovering any diamonds does not mean that there were no diamonds to be found. In fact, just the week prior to our arrival, a woman unburied quite the treasure of a decent sized diamond.

Many of us are much like this diamond mine.

The beauty. The self worth.  All of the treasure that God has placed within us is buried. When we look in the mirror, all we see is the dirt, the grime and decay. We examine what our physical eye can see. God, however, examines the heart and what we look like inside.

True self worth can only be found by examining who we are in Jesus Christ. Once we realize that we are fearlessly and wonderfully made by God the Creator, we will be able to look at our reflection and see the same “beauty” that Christ sees within us.

ISAIAH 64:6  tells us that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”

The world often times puts conditions on approving who we are and what we do. Our worth cannot be defined by what we do because that will only bring temporary satisfaction. When we define our worth by what others think – we will only experience heartache. There is nobody who thinks of us more in one day than God does. He is not impressed with what we do as much as who we are!

In His eyes, He sees our beauty and that is worth unburying and discovering! Diamonds may be forever, but God’s approval and love are for an eternity!

IS YOUR TRUE BEAUTY BURIED? TODAY IS THE DAY TO DISCOVER WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!

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Did you know we can never fully understand God?

Ecclesiastes 8:17 “..However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.”

Several years ago my husband was laid off his job. This was a job we both prayed over and felt it was God will to accept. So when almost one year to the day they let him go, we were left wondering if we heard God correctly. While we began to doubt the effectiveness of our prayers, we were trying to understand God.

Looking back today we can now see that the job was indeed God’s will, just not in the way we thought. The Lord had to bring us to the point where we would accept the next job that was offered, despite making less money. That job led to management opportunities where God could bless our family. I was limiting God in His planning, instead of trusting. I tried to comprehend Him, instead of having faith that He knew what He was doing. I tried to comprehend God.

True wisdom realizes we cannot fully “figure out” God.” Instead we need to trust that despite what our eyes see, he does have our best interest in mind.

Heavenly Father, I pray we don’t try to bring you down to us instead may we grow to develop characteristics more like you. Help us walk by faith, knowing you have everything under your control. Amen

God’s Girl,

Lori

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