About life in general, and life with God specifically.
The family “pack mule” is somehow indicative of being a mother. The children off-load their hats, jackets, sweaters, and toys with a hearty “Here Mom!”, and husbands hand off their keys, sunglasses, and wallets for you to mind. While maybe not officially in our job description, moms everywhere are given the task of carrying things.
A large portion of my life has been spent battling insecurity. I spent years listening to the voices that told me I was unlovable. That I wasn’t enough, that I was too much; that I was dumb and ugly, too soft and not worthy. The list could go on and on. I was told so many times who I was by others that, after a while, I started to believe them.
Daniel 3:18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Didn’t get that promotion you wanted? Did not receive the news you wanted to receive at your last doctor’s visit? This passage from Daniel reminds me of so many things and times something “did not” go my way, or the way I thought it should have gone. Although it is not always easy to understand “why not” or “did not.” But one thing is that God is still good.
You are loved. You are worthy. You are not forsaken.
Jesus tells us this time and time again in the Bible, but in the midst of life’s trials, it is so easy to forget.
We all go through different seasons of our lives. I can honestly say that I feel like I have weathered right through all four this past year. I tend to find myself asking God, what this season in my life is for and where is it taking me?
Silence….it is a wonderful thing when we are sleeping, reading or thinking…but when we are in the midst of a trial, silence from God isn’t what we want at all! We want to hear Him loudly and we want to hear Him quickly! Sometimes, most times, that just isn’t the way God operates. When we are going through a test it may be because God desires to have an encounter with us! It won’t be until we completely surrender to Him with our faith and obedience that the silence will be lifted and His voice will be heard.
Have you ever felt like life was an uphill hike with a hundred-pound pack? God never promises life will be easy. He does tell us the heavy baggage we carry isn’t ours. When God is our guide, all that’s left to do is trust and be led.
We find in the New Testament, Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan and are introduced to the “Golden Rule”. We all know what the Golden Rule is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” So, think about that Golden Rule. How quick are we to judge others? How quick are we to gossip about our coworkers? How easy is the temptation to “just not like her”?
The words fell hard upon my heart and rang repeatedly in my ears, “I have decided not to come home and will be by tomorrow to pick up a few things. I do not want to be married anymore. I’m actually in love with someone else. I want a divorce.” My husband’s piercing words cut me to the very depths of my spirit and struggling beneath the weight of the crushing news, I fell to the floor in tears!
As a small child do you remember hiding from the monsters under your covers? If you lay really still maybe the monster that was living under your bed would just go away. Or maybe you just finally fell asleep. Can you recall that nervous energy and fear that built up in the pit of your stomach? As an adult, I still get that overwhelming feeling of fear. Although the fear is not monsters living under my bed, it is the pressures of the ins and outs of the day to day routine Are you facing some type of fear in your life that just keeps getting the best of you?