Cannot Wait till you come, Jesus

I'm holding on, here doing your work Lord, striving to glorify you, enjoying all of your many blessings, but my heart rejoices in the thought of you coming. I can't wait to be home with you Father. You have my heart completely.

"Forsake Me Not When My Strength is Spent"

Definition of STRENGTH

1

: the quality or state of being strong : capacity for exertion or endurance

2

: power to resist force : solidity, toughness

3

: power of resisting attack : impregnability

4

a : legal, logical, or moral force b : a strong attribute or inherent asset <the strengths and the weaknesses of the book are evident>

Sometimes I just feel so exhausted, as if i'm lying on the shore, bruised and battered after the tidal waves of life have pulled and pushed me in every direction and then slammed me to the ground without warning. Early in my life, I HAD to be strong. After my dad passed away from cancer I had to be strong for my mom, for my siblings (even though all 4 of them are older than me). It wasn't a "i was their solid rock" kind of deal, it was more of a quiet strength, that I was the "normal" one who was the youngest and who wouldn't understand, so for everyone else's sake, I had to be normal, had to be strong. Dad was the family's rock, and now in a way, I had to be some sort of symbol of steadiness and noramility while everything around me was crumbling. That wasn't difficult for me, I had always been a closed off, internal person wanting the best for others and doing whatever I can to serve them anyways. But the Lord works in amazing ways, eventually the strength that I "had" to have, I now wanted and joyfully accepted my role as a steady rock in many people's lives. But I had finally realized the lesson God had been whispering in my ear: I AM your rock. You are not anyone's rock, your dad was no one's rock, I AM the rock and refuge, rely on me and lead others to me. Even still...there are many times where I feel weak and inadaquate to do anything, yet there are ample opportunities to serve and glorify the Lord. But what about when my strength is spent? Call on the Lord, He knows your limits, He knows right where He needs to step in, when you've reached your limit...but do you? Do we really know when to stop, throw our hands up and say "here God...take it...I can't handle it anymore". Well, truth be told, that should have happened a looooong time ago before the now "to hard to handle" situation even started. It is a daily decision to lay down yourself, call on the Lord for strength, joy...etc. and to commit to glorifying Him no matter what. First though, to call on Him in such a way with the true power of the Lord, we must be intimate with God first, how can we call on One we do not trust? We must be intimate with God, trusting in Him, walking in a striving relationship with Him, in His Word, in prayer. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 71. I love the title "Forsake Me Not When My Strength is Spent", how fitting?! When we have nothing to give, no words to say, no actions to perform, no strength left, let's call on the Lord for HIS words, HIS actions, HIS strength...but wouldn't it be great if we asked Him for that BEFORE we get ourselves run down to the ground? I'm as stubborn as I'll get out, but fully realize, this life cannot be lived on your own. God is ALWAYS there, and ALWAYS greater than any situation and He even blesses us by bringing others up around us to encourage us and lift us up. How great and incredible is our God? pretty darn...  :)

Psalm 70:4 "May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, "Our God is great!"


By the way, Psalm 71 is in the favorite passages section right there -->
READ IT! ALL OF IT! :)

Trusting God: do you just know He'll work it all out, or do you believe it wholeheartedly too?

Definition of TRUST

1

a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed

2

a : dependence on something future or contingent : hope

-merriam webster

hmm...trust is a funny thing. For some, trust is given almost in full right off the bat, others hoard and guard trust, not giving it out, as if it's in short supply in the world. Many say, "trust is earned"...truth is...trust has to be given first, the only way for a relationship to truly work is if both sides give 100% not just 50-50.

Well here's the deal, when it comes to trusting God, we often hold pieces of ourselves or our dreams, or even others back from God...as if He doesn't know everything already...sheesh...but we lack complete trust in Him... saying things like "i trust you God...i give everything into your hands and know you will provide" yet we still worry over how financially ends will be met... or "i trust you with everything in me...i give everything to you...just not this family member...not that friend...you can't take them like  that...not that disease". What i'm trying to say is, there is a major disconnect today in knowing "God's got it all covered" and fully believing that the Almighty, Infinite, Father and Creator will work and is working everything out for HIS glory, which ultimately is for our best. We read passages in scripture like Jeremiah 29:11 "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." we all nod our heads in agreement and maybe even believe it in our hearts at that time...but when it's US in that situation, we lose sight. "God, i know you got this, but i really don't see how this is gonna work out, how can i pay for this? how can i go there?". Many begin to question, "why God?" instead of questioning, "God, how can i be used to glorify you in this? Help me to trust and rely on you no matter what, Lord i'm in your hands, you are greater than any situation, always". we lose sight of what matthew 6 says. 

Matthew 6:25-34

New International Version (NIV)

Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?    ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Truth be told, God really truly does have it all in His hands, He knows the end results, so lets put our everything into His hands, relying on Him fully and completely...easy? no... worth it? yes... trust me... better yet, trust God.

What does it mean to live "Coram Deo" in a "non Psalm 118:24" world?

Psalm 118:24

"Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Coram Deo:  something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

Something people often forget is that every moment of our lives is lived in front of God and in His Holy presence...they think 'oh...i'll come to you with that issue later', or 'yeah i know i shouldn't be doing this, but i'll talk to you about it later', or 'i'll come when i have time'. Hmm...why is it then, that when in desperate need we yell out, "God! Where are you???!!!" When He's been there the whole time...and we are the ones that have moved. I think that if you asked anyone who had a good knowledge of Bible stories what happened to people when they were in the presence of God, they would all say something to the affect of, "they died", "they fell in shame because they were not worthy enough", "they had to look away"...which at different points, those were all true...God is Holy, infinite, all powerful, all present, Creator, just, loving (with an unconditional love) and perfect in every way...so...how would we act or respond if we were directly in His presence? umm well...considering we are sinful creatures whose natural tendency is to run away from God?? well probably (purely in my opinion) we would die on the spot, or melt in utter and complete shame. Well...after Christ's death on the cross and Resurrection, we were given direct access to God, to be able to be in His presence...Which begs the question...why are we not in fear of God (not fear as in terrified to death...but fear as in being in complete awe of who He is and what He does) . If people acted everyday, in every moment as they would act if they were in the presence of God...well things would be alot different... no, not perfect...because us sinful beings cannot be perfect (only Christ)...but they would be different, we would all be alot more sensitive to God's timing and to glorifying Him no matter what...how awesome would that be?? :)  
ok ok...this is sounding confusing i'm sure...
to live Coram Deo in a non Psalm 118:24 world is to live everyday and every moment fully realizing and understanding that we are in the presence of the one True, Most High, Holy Abba Father, God...and we need to commit every day to Him...it's already His, so let's commit our lives to Him...it's not a one time deal, it's a daily choice to lay down our lives for His sake and glory...  Praise the Lord!