Not only is He our Creator filled with compassionate and kindness, He is All-powerful, Almighty, a Warrior, and King of Kings.
It’s good to remember He alone has ALL authority on Heaven and on Earth. No one can match Him! That’s our Jesus – the One who loves us more than we can fathom. Amen!
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT “Never stop praying.”
Isn’t this encouraging? God wants to hear from you! He knows we need Him. He understands that we struggle to give Him control and to trust Him with ourselves, especially those we love.
You are never too much, not enough, too loud, too quiet, too sensitive, too talkative, or too excitable. You are beautiful, worthy, enough, and He delights in you.
I hope you have a place to meet with Him. Somewhere that feels sacred, safe, and that just “fits” with how He made you.
For me, it’s in nature – soaking up His Presence in the woods, the wind, the beach, or a gorgeous mountain meadow. The timeless, ancient, mysteriousness of creation draws me to Him.
Where do you feel closest to God? He is patiently waiting there for you to just come and talk to Him.
I love the imagery in this verse .The Lord is my cup of blessing.
When I imagine a cup, I immediately think of my favorite coffee mug. It’s familiar, comforting, filled with something warm and soothing that makes me happy. It feels peaceful and safe.
Of course Jesus is SO much more than a mere coffee mug, but He is comforting, safe, and soothing. He delights in bringing joyful, happy, lovely things into our lives to help soothe and comfort us when life blindsides us, wounds us, and we walk in seasons that are overwhelming and so tiring.
Walking with Him and being in His presence is the true blessing. That He loves us enough to give us even more is an undeserved, yet beautiful kindness.
He guards all that is ours and draws a boundary around what He’s given us. Those we love are guarded, protected, and hemmed in. We can let go of the fear and exhaustion of trying to control and manipulate life and circumstances to keep our loved ones safe. He’s got them. They are safely tucked up into the folds of His robe. He knows what He’s doing. We can breathe out, let our shoulders settle, and allow the joys from His cup of blessing to pour over us – healing, delighting, and comforting.
Photo credit: Pete Weiler
As I sat with this verse and my comforting hot coffee this morning, I could hear the daily choir of birds in my backyard garden singing their little hearts out.
I have many different birds that love my garden. They all have beautiful songs that are unique to them. If you listen carefully you know exactly which bird is singing what notes and even though they are quite different, they all blend into something lovely, happy, and joyful.
It made me smile to picture God on His throne listening to the songs of His creation. He knows exactly what bird is singing and where. I imagine it is beautiful to Him. He carefully crafted each creation-song to blend perfectly, in the exact way He wanted it.
I believe He created our voices to perfectly and uniquely fit our physical features and personality quirks. When we sing to Him or hum as we go about our daily routine, our voices blend and swirl together into such perfect and flawless harmony to His ears.
Creation using the sounds we were given to praise, thank, and love the One who gave us life. Jehovah Jireh.
It is right and good to sing to Him because He is good.
Photo credit: Alexander Popadin
New growth, the air perfumed with flowers, and buzzing bees are some of my favorite things about spring.
What are your spring favorites? Flowers? The weather? Days getting longer?
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Guess the number of gummy candies in the dish. Leave your guess in the comments on my FB author page ONLY.
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https://www.facebook.com/MelissaGiomiauthor
The closest guess wins a signed book of your choice that I will mail to you.
Contest begins today, 4/8 – 4/11 8am PST.
Life is unpredictable. We go into each day not knowing what is waiting for us. Will that prayer finally be answered, will that hard conversation go the way we want it to, will this health issue be resolved, can we just get some peace, will our loved one be safe?
Right in the center of this unpredictability is Jesus. He’s good, steadfast, true, and omnipotent. He has everything concerning you well taken care of.
The chaos that swirls and looks for a way into our hearts is held at bay when we reach out and take His hand. Fear must bow, anxiety must quiet, control must release its vise grip.
The lovely, gentle, glimmering thread of Hope that binds us to Jesus is protected and cherished. It can’t be broken or snipped by the vagaries of life. It is our strong and holy connection to the heart of Jesus.
Hope trusts that He’s got you, will never leave you, is always with you. You can’t be snatched up.
The holy, sacred, mysterious thread of Hope is tethered in His power, compassion, and deep love which cannot be taken away.
Jesus smiling at me… When I slow down and let the image come to me, it is breathtaking.
A smile from another human shows acknowledgement. I am seen. The space I occupy is recognized and validated. And sometimes the smile is genuine, friendly, and true.
But, the smile of Jesus’ face shining on me takes it to a whole new level. There is no ulterior motive, social politeness, underhanded intentions, or false friendliness. He isn’t buttering me up before asking something of me, or figuring out what He can get from me at no cost to Himself.
His face full of kindness, empathy, and wisdom. He knows all of me. The ick, the good, and all the in-between and He still smiles at me. Accepts me. I’m seen, I’m noticed, I’m wanted, and sought out. The delight in being with me shows in His eyes – the way people’s eyes light up at the sight of one that they love, but on a much deeper level.
He isn’t seeking what He can get from me. He’s seeking me out. He wants to bless me, protect and provide for me. His smile reminds me that I’m loved beyond what I can understand just for who I am.
In His smile, there is healing and hope. I feel safe. His smile shining on me is powerful. The One who’s footstool is the Earth, the One who’s name is the foundation of all life, the One who is Warrior and Good Shepherd looks at me, and He looks at you, and smiles. He is gentle and fierce, kind and wise, Creator and King. He smile of His face shines on us because He delights in us.
“For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.” Deuteronomy 29:5 NLT
Something about this tugged at my spirit as I read it.
The Lord led the Israelites for forty years through unforgiving desolate places. How exhausting, how defeating, how infuriating it must have felt a lot of the time as they battled sand, wild animals, and exhaustion on every level. They didn’t want to be in this fierce and untamed wilderness. It isn’t what they thought it would be when the Lord said He was rescuing them.
Yet…the goodness of God. For forty years He kept their shoes and clothing from wearing out. An absolute necessity for the areas they were traveling through to have good clothing to protect their skin and solid shoes to protect their feet as they walked the road He laid out for them.
He had to remind them of the ways He had protected them and looked out for their basic well-being.
Reading this verse gave me hope. Hope that this season I’m in has divine purpose. That I’m not forgotten in an untamed, desolate wilderness. I’m walking through what He knows I need to walk through whether or not I see the merit or understand the big picture of what this season will produce once I’m on the other side. There is another side. He is going with me, He’s before me, and surrounding me on all sides. He’s there for you in this way, too.
Hope and gratitude bubble up in my heart as I see that my shoes and clothes haven’t worn out yet. My feet can still move me forward, even at a limp sometimes, on this path that I often don’t like or want to be walking.
Looking beyond the frustrations, fear, and disappointments, I know without a doubt that He has shielded and protected me from far worse things. I’ve gotten glimpses of those things, people, and situations and I am so grateful He loves me enough to block, rebuke, and protect me from them. He filters every single thing that touches me or those I love through His scarred hands.
Wherever we are on our life journey, perhaps there’s room for some hope for what’s to come, and gratitude that our provision hasn’t run out, even when it doesn’t look like what we think it should. He is providing for us. Maybe we can look at where we are today with a different lens and find glimpses of His goodness, His kindness, and provision in unexpected places. Not to minimize or dismiss the hard things, but to bring hope, peace, and the knowledge of how deeply we are loved into the mix.
Photo credit: Charl Durand
Extravagant Hope 