Tuesday, March 29, 2011

None Like You...

Where can I run where You will not find me?
Where can I go where You will not see?
Your eyes are on me always.
Your gaze is on me always.
Where can I lay my head?
Where is my home?
Where is my hiding place?
I find it in You.
You don't push me away.
You invite me to stay.
You beckon me to come.
Through it all, You remain.
Through the storm, You remain.
Through the calm, You remain.
You never change.
There is none like You.

Take Heart...

In life we can face many trials, sufferings, joys, dreams, adventures, hopes, and fears. I awoke this morning at 4:30 a.m., which is an usual time for me as I am not a morning person. I heard the words of Jesus so clearly from John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world." Even Jesus said we would have trouble but in all of it we must never lose heart. Instead, we take it! We must take heart and take ground!

I was also awakened to the sound of a song written by Laura Hackett with these words: "The battle is raging, the battle is raging. I don't wanna be sleeping, while the battle is raging. I don't fight as one who beats the air, give me eyes to see and ears to hear." These words riveted right through my heart this early morning. As much as I would like to live in a world full of utopia and good feelings, the truth is that there is a battle going on and it's raging.

We do have victory in Him. We win. This is our hope and that is why He says, "Take heart!!!" At the same time, we must never lose the awareness of this raging battle and of an enemy that would love to take us out. We need eyes to see and ears to hear what is REALLY going on.

We do not fight as one just beating the air as Paul the apostle proclaimed. We are not fighting just to fight. We fight the good fight of faith. We fight in believing God is who He says that He is. This throws down strongholds and the high places that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. This destroys the schemes of the enemy and shifts things in the Heavens. It defeats the Goliaths in our lives as David faced.

Every time we believe God and His Word, it becomes another stone to destroy the giants of fear that try to take us out. These little "stones" are our steps of faith. They may seem small at times and they may feel like they aren't really doing much, but the reality is they are. David had only three and they were small, yet each one targeted the giant in such a way, they eventually destroyed him.

We never give the enemy glory, for "Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world." Yet, we can't escape this war. We were made for this war and we have what it takes to overcome it for He dwells inside of us. Therefore, we don't run from the battle, we face it knowing the prize awaits us on the other side.

There are many lies a person can believe in trial and in fear. They can seem overwhelming at the time and try to make one believe something that is not true about his or her identity. Yet the truth must always remain right in front of us as if it were a mirror.

This truth is of His love for us and who we REALLY are. Even on our worst day, the Lord never changes His mind about us. He calls us lovely. He calls us chosen. He calls us qualified. He stays the same. These are our stones we can use to destroy those giants. Therefore, we take heart. We never lose hope. We. Have. Victory.