When God Takes Away

The other day I prayed, "Lord, take it all away! . . . the load of vain imaginations, emotions, have-tos, and shoulds. I can't deal with the weight of them!"

Funny how He answered that prayer!

It was after a wedding, celebrating a new beginning, that the Lord spoke to my heart.

At the reception, there was a photo "booth" where we could pick up little props to make funny pictures.  We laughed and took many pictures with friends.  At home after the festivities were over, I looked at the ones that were given to me.   And the Lord of Life spoke to my heart.

When I asked God to take the chaos of life away, I also asked, "Who am I amidst all this change?!"

God placed a funny mirror in front of me and said, "Look."

I looked.  

And I could hardly see me!

I felt lost in the chaos.  

Jesus reminds me, 

"I am the way, and I speak the truth, and I give you life; 

you can only come to the Father, your home, through Me and then you will not feel lost."

John 14:6 (Angie paraphrase)

  

Joy bubbled out as God's Word sunk in.  But the heat of the day rises.  Hurts surface.  "Doors close."  Work seems to multiply and the chaos gets to me again.

And God reminds me, 

"Hey girl, I know you love Me,

And I am your Lord. 

I am your strength all day long

I am the Rock that does not change

(go ahead and stand on Me, I am trustworthy and faithful),

the Fortress of protection for you

(hide within Me, not from Me)

I am your deliverer,

I AM GOD,

your Rock,

your Refuge,

your Shield,

your Salvation,

your Stronghold.

Psalm 18:1-2 (Angie paraphrase)

And the masks begin falling away.  

Then, God holds up a mirror, again.  He tells me to look more intently.  

And I see masks held by my own hand!  

Father, how do I let go and let you lead? How do I be who You intend me to be?  Sometimes I THINK I'm being who You want me to be.  And I still don't get it right.  Then, there comes that desire to hide, again! You know all my hiding places.  Shine the joy of following Jesus into them. 

Jesus says I am found when lost in Him.  ( Matthew 16:24-25)  Daily, without my own understanding, following His direction.  (Proverb 3:5-6)  DAILY,  in the midst of "giants," believing He will protect me.  (Joshua 1:9)  DAILY, being emptied of self, picking up what He brings, and following Jesus.  (Luke 9:23)  

And I walk in the freedom of Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:1), into new beginnings ordained by God, delivered one day at a time.

Love always,

Angie

What comes into our minds when we think about God
is the most important thing about us.
A. W. Tozer

Packing for the Unknown

To pack a home while memories come tumbling out is exhausting.

Chaos in rooms and chaos of emotions trip my steps.  

Fumbling thoughts disturb attempted order and halt the organizing.  And, so, I stumble.  

My knees get sore as I fall over and over while trying to walk in my own strength.  But on my knees, I am stable and the right perspective of heart comes while kneeling. God knocks me there when I walk in my own strength trying to remove the tumbling, fumbling, and stumbling.  And while I am there, I pray.

Father, how do I do this?  

And He reminds me of Abraham's Sarah.

Circumstances brought chaos into the life of Sarah in what could be described as a mid-life crises. About the age of 65, which was about half her life, her husband told her to pack as he shared the words the Lord spoke to him:

Go forth from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father's house,

To the land which I will show you;

Genesis 12:1

She packed, left her homeland, and did not know a destination.  But she followed her husband who was following God.  (A blessing!)

I understand better, now, why she was listed as one of two females in the "Hall of Faith" (Hebrews 11.)  It is heart wrenching to leave your home and not know a destination.  This woman, who was already disgraced among women by being barren, was being removed from her country, relatives, and home.  No blessing, no security, except hope in her God.  

Sarah trusted and packed.  

And God blessed her.

Father, make me like Sarah.  As I pack in the midst of our circumstances, cover me like You did her!  I pray for a gentle and quiet spirit and to do what is right without being frightened like You wrote in 1 Peter 3:3-6:

And let not your adornment be merely external . . .

but let it be the hidden person of the heart,

with the imperishable quality

of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is precious in the sight of God.

For in this way in former times

the holy women also, who hoped in God,

used to adorn themselves, . . .

Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord,

and you have become her children

if you do what is right

without being frightened by any fear.

Whenever the Lord says pack for something unknown, I'm thinking the most important things we pack are the "knee pads of His Word."  

Love always,

Angie

P.S.  And it's a thoughtful gift when a friend packs the "knee pads" for you!!  

Now may the God of hope

fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13