Monday, May 10, 2010

Shelly Says ~ "He is Here"

God tells us over and over, in His Word, that He will never leave us nor forsake us; yet, we often are left wondering...

Where are you, God?

I can't tell you how many times I've asked that question during trials in my life. It's easy for me to see God when things are joyful and "good," but I sometimes think He has gone somewhere else... to bring joy to someone else... when things are tough and "bad."

Few things are farther from the truth.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 (KJV)

He NEVER leaves us. If the going is good, He's there. When the going gets tough, He's there.

Right now, God is here. He's here to heal your heart, bind up your wounds, deliver you from captivity, and rescue you from the dark places in which you live. And, He will do so much more!

All you have to do is go to Him and admit your weakness. In your weakness, He is strong (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Yesterday, I was very weak. In the midst of my weakness, I cried out to God... my healer, my refuge, my tower, my strength. I was strongly reminded that God was with me as Britt Nicole's "Walk on the Water" came blaring over the radio (I already had the volume turned way up in a praise session to God). It just so happens that everything I had been thinking negatively was "answered" by those lyrics.

When I took a step out of my circumstances and cried out to God, He let me know that He is ALWAYS there... sometimes I'm the one who needs to show up... on my knees... and admit my weaknesses to Him. Do you?


We have looked at the benefits of breaking free over the last 5 days. Now, we are moving on to explore the obstacles that keep us from the life God intends for us.

I am enjoying every minute of our journey and hope you are, too!

5 comments:

  1. What spoke to you today? It may be something in the reading, in your prayer time, or even something someone else said.

    On page 48, Beth says, "We cannot escape God's presence, but we do not always sense His presence. God's presence in our lives is absolutely unchanging, but the evidence of His presence is not."

    I thought those were powerful words and great reminders that the problem and the absent one is usually me... not God.

    Today, the study questions were short and right to the point. I am interested to know how you answered #3...

    What is the most satisfying part of your relationship with God?

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  2. I must admit I fell behind this weekend and had to catch up this evening. Chapter 6 (To Experience God's Peace) really spoke to me, and I also liked the conclusion of Chapter 7 - "Commit yourself entirely to God that He may set you free to be everything He planned. Ask Him in Jesus' name not to let the enemy steal one bit of the victory God has for you". Regarding today's reading and question #3 - it is hard to pinpoint the most satisfying part, but the knowledge that there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more and nothing I can do to make Him love me less is powerful. (Wow! I often need help with my unbelief on the later part of that statement.) His grace is the key for me. Blessing to you all!

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  3. Cathy,

    Thanks for sharing! We all fall behind at times, but I'm so glad you caught back up and are with us again. I missed you!

    One of the wonderful things about this study is that the chapters are very short and to the point. It's easy to catch up!

    And, you're back just in time to read Chapter 8 on the Obstacle of Unbelief.

    Isn't God good?

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  4. I have been falling behind and I have used today to catch up so I hope no minds if I just go through the chapter and highlight what I loved.Ch.4-"We have fallen short, missed the mark, sinned;BUT anyone who knows OUR GOD knows He is far too TENACIOUS to be thwarted by OUR SIN. Next, don't you just love reading...We were created for the purpose of giving Christ's invisible character a glimpse of visibility. what a purpose! The little gift Beth gave us was also in this chapter--God protects us from PRIDE by keeping us somewhat unaware of the degree to which we are effectively glorifying Him. Chapter 5-SOUL STATISFACTION ENSURES ABUNDANT LIFE ON EARTH. If that doesn't make you want your soul full of Jesus, I don't know what would make you want a relationship with Him. Chapter 6-I loved her river analogy-knowing that as we go through life we will have smooth runs, a few pebbles, some BIG boulders, some rapids, and hopefully not many waterfalls, but throughout our own river we can always know Our Source is Jesus, we will always have streams feeding us, and in the end our river spills out into a glorios eternal life. Chapter 7 A truism- We'll probably never learn to enjoy our storms, but we Can learn to enjoy God's presence in the storm. Intimacy with God grows through sharing EVERY realm of experience-our good times, our bad times , and yes, our every day mudane times. I use to make a joke about I didn't think God wanted to be with me scrubbing toilets, but I have changed my mind, He wants to be with me through ALL I do. And last Chapter 8-Christ isn't asking us to believe in OUR ability to exercise unwavering faith. He is asking us to believe that He is able. I agree with Beth that we all want that miracle when a loved one is sick and I know that God is most capable of healing all, and I have accepted that He does not always choose to heal, and I have accepted I'll never know why this side of heaven. The big thing and the thing I love in this chapter is Beth's gift to us-Scripture is ABSOLUTELY clear that God ALWAYS wills the spiritual captive free. If you have read this far, I am sorry I added so much extra time to your study, but I thank you for allowing me to share .

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  5. Jan,

    I did get "this far" in your comments and enjoyed reading every word. I just read a comment from the May 9th post in which JBM says (in regards to the river analogy) that heaven must be our ocean! Pretty cool, huh.

    I'm so glad you were able to catch up on your reading and that you took the time to share!

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