With only four days until Ken hits the road for Arizona, I have found myself one moment in tears and the next excited about the adventure that lies before him. This new journey God has called us to is both scary and exciting, somehow all at the same time. God keeps speaking to my heart, "Remember, I am with you", Hebrews 13:5 and suddenly His peace covers me and I feel I have the faith to move a hundred mountains.
As these tough days get tougher, I must remember God will not give me more than I can handle with Him, nor will He abandon me, nor will He stretch me beyond my breaking point, no matter what I feel on any given day.
In my devotional Treasures for Women Who Hope by Alice Gray, I love the phrase "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars", spoken by Barbara Johnson in her book Irrepressible Hope. I definitely feel I am in the gutter and have always loved gazing at the stars. As a matter of fact, my oldest daughter Christina, gave me a wonderful gift a few Christmas' ago, naming a star after me. I received the certificate and a map of just where this star lies in the heavenlies. It was as if God Himself had declared a spot in heaven just for me through a simple star created at His command. WOW! As long as I keep looking up, focused on Jesus, I have hope. What more could I possibly ask for in such tough times as these.
God never promised me a rose garden, pie in the sky much less a life void of troubles and tough times. He did promise me I can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13), He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5), His grace is sufficient for me when I am weak (I Corinthians 12:9) and He will not allow me to be tempted beyond escape (I Corinthians 10:13) especially when I feel like jumping back in bed and hiding under the covers until these tough times are through. Because God has not given me a spirit of fear but a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7) I can resist the desires to run and hide and come boldly to His throne of grace because He is merciful (Hebrews 4:16). I can ask for strength and power to glorify Him through these trials (Matthew 21:22) and be a blessing to others.
So, if the tough times are getting tougher, I encourage you to hit your knees in prayer, crank up that praise and worship music and begin to thank God for seeing you through the trials and tribulations you are going through right now. He is so able, so capable and so wanting to love you and be loved by you.
If it were not for Ken's job loss, losing our home and going through bankruptcy, maybe we just might not be able to understand those who are suffering these things themselves, quite the same as if we'd been spared this suffering. With God on our side, who could possibly be against us (Romans 8:31) so I have no reason to fear what lies ahead, and neither do you if you are a child of God.
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please me at Jesusismorethanenough@yahoo.com and I would love to tell you how you can receive Jesus as you Lord and Savior!
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