Catastrophe hit my family, and while I can’t go into the details here, I can assure you it shredded my heart. It scared me silly and caused me to release tirades on people I love. I am not as good as you think I am. Nor am I as good as I thought I was. I’m a whole lot worse.
Yet, through this there’s a hidden blessing: I see how much I need Jesus. His light. Because apart from Him, my thoughts are dark.
Getting to this thought is freedom.
Jesus came “to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (Jo. 9:39)
Apart from the nature of Jesus (love, kindness, goodness, truth, nobility, purity, loveliness, excellence, wisdom, humility or gratefulness) all I see is darkness. Worthlessness. Vanity. Diversions. Fear. Voids. Schemes. Faking. Swirling tornadoes of emotions that lead to an inward focus, plus a generalized sense God won’t come through.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Mt. 6:22
The choice is ours. . .
Light or dark?
Dark or light?
Reliant on the Living Water?
Departing from Him?
All Jesus, all the time?
Or me, myself, and I, all the time?
While our world hates calling things one way or another and we tend to desire shades of safety, sometimes one-way-or-the-other choices are exactly what God ordered.
What will you choose to be:
Lukewarm?
Or on fire?
All things hope, all things faith, all the time…not done with perfection, but certainly done from a heart of dedication?
What if we were to choose to see faith, hope and love activated by the grace of God, as we. . .
Pick our kids up from school.
Respond to annoying people.
Grab the bills from the mailbox.
Go to that doctor’s appointment.
Contemplate our yeses and nos.
Let go of our defenses.
Follow God.
Seek His guidance.
Deal with unanswered prayers.
Confront our emotions.
Wake up.
Go to sleep.
Live.
What if we chose to really believe?
“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.” Heb. 11:1 AMP
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Dear Kelly,
I would like to say that your blog/devotions are encouraging and real. Life has thrown some real curve balls in my life and the lives of my family and your words have been so uplifting and inspiring. There are days I don’t even know how to move forward and yet you seem to say the right thing. I believe that it’s a God ‘thing’ and that He is using your words and life to uplift those who have had tragedy ( or just events) that need encouraging. Thank you for what you do and please continue. You are a blessing and a light in the midst of storms.