“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
(John 16:33 CSB)

I awoke in the middle of the night feeling overwhelmed. So many things clamor for my attention. An upcoming move. Anticipating tears of sadness since I’ve never lived in another state apart from my adult children. Still struggling with more tears as I mourn the losses of broken relationships that are woven deep in my heart. Disappointment of comparing myself to others. In need of a job when I arrive to my new residence. Frustrated from the difficulties of the numerous pitfalls from launching this blog all because I have this profound longing to share the Good News with the world, telling the amazing goodness of God’s love.

My inability to remained focused on the Good News is real. These plateaus of pride, self-pity, self-will, self-worth, failure, and despair are all usurping God’s place in my life. I’m being challenged with the anxiety churning within me. I know where my peace may come from but somehow there are moments that it just seems to elude me. My mind just drifts! If only I can put a leash around it, give it a treat, and command it to sit still!

Can you relate to any of this?!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” -this is the Lord’s declaration- “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
(Jeremiah 29:11 CSB)

Like the Israelites, I’ve found myself in a season of uncertainty. The plans the Lord has penned are yet to be seen. There are moments I wonder how I’m going to get through. How do I press on? I’m trying to see into an unforeseen world He hasn’t given me the privilege to peek into. I feel like a blind woman walking and constantly stumbling along the way. Like the people of old, I ponder when will there be a breakthrough!

As it turns out, my focus shouldn’t be when relief is coming. Instead it needs to be in the moment. I’m to live and thrive in the here and now. Paying attention to performance indicators of the tasks set before me until I’ve met my goals. Then set new goals according to His prompting. Day by day tackling one project at a time, trusting In Him to get me through each one.

God instructed our ancestors to build houses, plant gardens and eat from them. Take wives and have children. Marry their children so that they may be fruitful and multiply, all while they were held captive, until the day of their deliverance. Oh, and furthermore, to seek the peace and welfare toward the place they’re captive in (Jer. 29:5-7)!

It’s no different for me. For us. God expects the same from everyone. We’re to be productive in the places of our lives that are conflicting within us as we’re waiting to reach our promise land. Not just doing what we’re called to do but also be at peace as we’ve been commanded by our Creator. It exemplifies the love Jesus shared 2000 years ago, as He delivered the Good News to the Jews and Gentiles alike, and evident in our lives today and for all the days to come.

You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right; they remember You in Your ways. But we have sinned, and You were angry. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? (Isaiah 64:5 CSB)

I become something unclean when these thoughts permeate my heart and mind. There are moments when my righteous acts are like a polluted garment that withers away like a leaf (Isaiah 64:6). My unrighteous sins are scattered here and there. To be seen by Him, who knew they happened long before He knitted me in my mother’s womb.

Although in some areas of my life it feels as if I’m in my ruins and afraid to try again, I know that God isn’t done with me. There’s more to me than what the voices whispered in my head are urging me to embrace. My wounds, scars, and broken heart is no indication that it’s over for me. This is part of my journey and He’s going to finish what He’s started in me. There’s more to my story. The Good News tells me I’m loved, saved, and I’m able to see the summit. All I must do is continue to strive for more of Him.

Anxiety, stress, and all those feelings that aren’t conducive to experiencing growth are reminders of the Savior we desperately need. The One who came to us fully Man and fully God. Our Redeemer and Comforter. No one ever before Him or after Him will deliver all that He came to save us from. The salvation offered to us so that we may have the opportunity to be right with God through Jesus. Our Mediator.

No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord should say, “The Lord will exclude me from His people,” and the eunuch should not say, “Look, I am a dried-up tree.” (Isaiah 56:3 CSB)

Yes, my mind is a battlefield! But our Father has given us the tools we need to stop the punches aimed at us! My eyes must be fixed on Him!

I must believe that nothing can stop an unstoppable God. He is where my help comes from. Knowing this, then why do I struggle as I do to just get through some of my days? He continuously shows me that I’m never too far gone that I can’t be reached and certainly unable to out run His love. There’s so much He has saved me from. As a result, there’s so much I want to do for Him. It’s not because I love Him, which I do with all my heart. But it’s because He first loved me.

We all fall short of the Glory of God. Guess what? That includes me! I’m going to have good days and not so good days. They’ll be moments when I’m on top of the mountain and others spent in the lowest valleys. But it doesn’t matter where I find myself. The important thing is that I remember who God says I am. I’m His daughter who He desires to be in union with all the days of my life. Not only when I may think it’s OK because I’ve achieved something good and pleasing to Him. But also, when I’m scared and when things aren’t OK and feeling like I’m miserably failing.

Therefore, despite the circumstances I face at any given moment, my awareness of His marvelous companionship infuses joy even in my darkest days. My weaknesses amplify my need for His presence in my life. Over time, His Word has been suffusing my soul with His unconditional love. Bringing me to my knees repeatedly, knowing that I don’t deserve it inspires me to want Him all the more.

Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the Word f life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. (Philippians 2:14-16 CSB)

I’m not in a penitentiary, but the chains that occasionally bind me leaves me confined to that space. Like Paul, for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. The joy he experienced in Christ while imprisoned never diminished. Nor should it for me. God is adjusting my life to a new normal.I have to remember that in the midst of disappointments, I’m to strive forward. Pressing through toward the relentless dreams in mt heart. Sharing His love with the four corners of the world.

A great teacher takes time to mentally prepare for the feat ahead without first attempting to write a lesson plan. It’s no different the time I spend in His presence. I’m to sit still and allow myself to be equipped by Him for the day that awaits me. I must be intentional about refusing to be deflected from the joy Jesus died to give me. May it always be a light in those troubling moments.

Changing our circumstances isn’t as important to God as is changing our hearts.

My setbacks are mere opportunities to draw closer to Him in utter dependence of His presence. Knowing that without Him, I can do nothing. In Him, all things are possible. I can get through moments with grace and peace. Regardless of the season I’m in, I’m to wait on Him. In the interim, may I be an aroma that brings life reflecting the love of God everywhere I go through all I think, say and do. The Good News has been and will always be the very best gift we have received.

What does the Good News mean in your life?

Dear Lord Jesus, You are the One we’re to live for. It’s only through Your strength that we can overcome adversity. There’s no other God who can save. No one like You has ever existed. You’re the Beginning and the End. The Alpha and Omega. Defender and Savior. You’re gracious to forgive us and set us free. Forgive us Lord when we fall short. Your mercy is new every morning allowing us the opportunity to enter Your throne of grace. We can never thank You enough for the Good News You’ve given us through Your precious Son Christ Jesus. Help us to remember when we’re blinded all that the enemy wants us to believe to be courageous, for You’ve have conquered the world!

It’s in Your Son Jesus’ name we pray.                           Song: Give Me Faith
Amen.

God bless you and yours.
I love you.

In His Grip,