Monday...December 05, 2016

Hello everyone! I pray that your week is off to a great start! As we begin today…let me ask you a question. How many of us can say that we use our moments of circumstance and weakness, as a means of building a stronger relationship with God? I have come to see how easy it is to sit and cry out to God for help but one thing I’ve learned over the years; is that we only gain ground with God, when we walk the difficult paths with God, rather than sitting in the middle of the path…waiting for Him to do all the work alone.
 
I will never forget the very hard and difficult moments in my life…moments, when I felt as though the troubled waters were about to take me down for good. If you were to ask me today, how many times I cried out to God for help, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you but one thing I learned through these struggling times of weakness, was that I wasn’t going anywhere in life because I would cry out to God but never work with God. Instead, I would cry, until there were no more tears to cry and then I would just sit in the midst of the rubble that surrounded me.
 
Through time, I came to see; that as I read God’s word and used it as a survival manual that could help me walk away from these difficult moments; I not only found a means of escape but I also gained a new friend along the way. As I came to know Jesus in a much greater way, I began to talk with Him and share my heart with Him and instead of just praying to Him, I began to connect deeply with Him. I came to see that He was the One who could exchange my weakness for His strength…and the One, who could bring peace and calmness, to a troubled mind and heart.
 
As I began to connect more deeply with God, I also began to trust Him with my life and my circumstances. I also began to see that He had a reason for the circumstances that had come into my life and that He wasn’t just abandoning me and allowing my life to fall apart, for no reason at all. From there, I found myself anticipating what He was up to, rather than focusing so deeply on the problems that had entered my life.
 
You know…when Jesus went to the cross, He didn’t stop in the midst of His suffering and give into it but rather, He kept His focus on His Father in heaven and even though each part of His suffering must have been so overwhelming and out of control at times; He knew that His Father had a plan and purpose behind these painful moments of suffering.
 
We must remember that Jesus was not only following through with His Father’s plan for His life but He was more than willing to do this for us because His love for us was much greater than any moment of suffering. How is it that we aren’t able to share in Jesus suffering, by giving back in the same way He gave to us? In other words…can we say that our love for God is so genuine and true; that we are willing to look way beyond the problem and live out the purpose, in which God is allowing these painful moments to enter our lives? We will never know what purpose we’re supposed to serve in this life, if we are always caught up in what we are going through for the moment.
 
Today, you may be longing for a true and lasting connection with God but yet you really don’t know how to get to that place in your life. I have come to see that a true connection with God only comes, as we walk through the good and bad times with Him. When we are willing to allow these painful moments in our lives to be used for Him; then we will come to see that we not only know of God but we truly do know Him, in a very real and lasting way, which will keep us disconnected from the problem, while connecting us more deeply with Him.
May you truly find God in a very real way, while walking through the difficult paths of life!
Blessings on your day…
It’s Always & Only Because of Him…
Diane
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