Something to :) about
Lamentations 3:19-33 (Message)
"I'll never forget, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all- oh, how well I remember- the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.
When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The 'worst' is never the worst.
Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return."
Stormie Omartian said, "If God wants you in the place you are right now, then there are no greener pastures." If we are walking with God then where ever He has us is the best place we could be and anything else would leave us lacking.
To often we are of the mindset of, if only this could be different or this situation could change or things could be as they once were or as we think they should be- then we'd be happier and life would be better, richer, easier and more fulfilling. But in God's will, in walking a submitted life to His loving leadings, the greatest fulfillment we will ever have is when we are in God's perfect and pleasing will. His will is always perfect and pleasing to Him- whether we can see the perfections or whether it pleases us or not!
If He has lead you between a rock and a hard place- be thankful that He is your rock and that He has you right where He wants you- in His hands; a place where He can take your heart of stone and make it soft like clay so He can form you and perfect you into all that He has desired for you to be. It is in the perfecting that His blessing flows. It is through the perfecting that His beauty shows.
Perfecting is hard and usually quite uncomfortable. Athletes train by pushing their muscles to the limits which breaks the muscle down so it can be built up even stronger. Gold must be put into the fire so all of the impurities can be exposed and removed. We must experience His stripping away in our hearts of all that is of this world and our flesh; a purging of our sin- everything that inhibits His perfect and pleasing will from being accomplished in and through and despite our lives.
Although it is true that His kindness leads us to repentance, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear is more a word used here to describe holy reverence; respect. Respect for God is a great place to start for wisdom. Respect flows from a rightful knowledge of God's greatness and authority and control; a knowledge that He is God and that I am a mere passing grain of sand in the light of His presence. A realization that He is in control and sovereign and can do whatever He pleases; hence His perfect and pleasing will.
There is comfort in knowing He is a God of love who wants good things for us; that He does redeem our pain and loss and brokenness. That He is a fierce God. A God who loves us with a fierce and jealous love. A God who wants to be our I AM, our all, our everything and our First Love- our greatest love.
He wants our love so much that He will grieve with us because He knows that it is drawing us into a deeper more intimate fellowship with Him- He allows us to enter into the fellowship of sharing His sufferings. He teaches us the lost language of lament and lets us go there with Him because He knows it will bring greater intimacy and deeper, richer fellowship.
Let me be certain to say that God does not NEED our love- He DESIRES our love simply because He loves us so much. He is NOT justified or validated by our love in anyway. He is still the God of all creation whether we love Him or acknowledge Him or not. His position and authority is irrevocable. He is a God of love and it is out of His passionate jealous love for us that He desires us to know Him and love Him and know His love. And through that knowing... to know His abounding goodness.
So He perfects us and strips us away all to this goal: to bless us with more of Him. In Him is every good and perfect gift. In Him is the purest satisfaction, the deepest contentment, the truest joy. It is odd that so often we experience joy to the degree to which we have allowed ourselves to experience pain. One depth precedes the other and they compliment each other.
I believe that experiencing true pain stretches your heart and increases your capacity to likewise experience true joy. Maybe it is that as you walk with God through the pain and in the depths- hitting rock bottom- you see that He is your source, your only source of joy, your never ending abundant source! You see that God's loyal love couldn't ever run out, that His merciful love couldn't ever dry up. His love and mercy are created new every morning. You know even a morsel of how great His faithfulness is! You see that the strength to smile comes solely from Him.
Every smile this past year for me has been from my heart; has been genuine. I know people might accuse me of being too optimistic with my head up in the clouds of idealism and religiosity. But every smile and all my joy is spurred from a heart that is incubated with the Father's love and mercy.
He is my reason to smile. He has given me the strength each day, the love and mercy I need every morning, to get out of bed and even want to honor Him; to want to try to walk by faith; to even attempt to look for His cup of goodness in my life; to smile.
So, I am sticking with God. I do say it over and over. He's all I've got left- He's all I've ever really had. He's the only guarantee in this life. He will never leave us or forsake us- and He is the only one who can make such a promise and be able to keep it. He will always be faithful to keep this promise.
My Master; God; Lover; Father; and Friend will NEVER walk out and fail to return! His loving kindness will never end. He works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose because He IS good, He is God, and He is wild with love for us- passionate in His pursuit of us. This is the God I love: The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses, Isaiah, and David; the God of Paul, Peter and Timothy; the God of AJ, Kellie and Eli Jones Buffington.
"Now listen, daughter, don't miss a word: forget your country (a.k.a. greener pastures), put your home (a.k.a. temporaryrary things of the world you thought gave you comfort) behind you. Be Here- the King is wild for you. Since He's your Lord, adore Him. So I answered, "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me and I'm coming to the party your throwing for me." That's when God's word entered my life, became part of my very being." (Psalm 45:10-11; 40:7-8)
posted by Kellie # 10:26 PM
