After All

As I reflect on the current season of my life and marvel at all the Lord has done and is doing, I am overcome with gratitude and amazement. He has been a patient Father in the way He tenderly and intentionally teaches me more of who He is and embraces me with strong arms on my best and worst days. The more I get to know the Lord, the more I am undone by His kindness. Who am I to be met with such mercy when I deserve quite the opposite? Yet I am always finding Him as He has always been: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. My Daddy.

Yet I'll be the first to admit that my eyes are not always on the Lord. I am weak. I am easily distracted by circumstances and deadlines and brokenness inside and all around me. Sometimes I feel discouraged. Often I wonder if the constant pedaling and daily routine really matter at all. Am I even making a dent, much less a significant impact? Those questions can be completely overwhelming and all-consuming, and I can find ourselves in a dark place in a hurry. Yet it is in the darkness that the soul-piercing light of Jesus invades the shadows and illuminates the Truth. He is Truth. His Word is Truth. And I must cling to the Light of Truth even in the heart of the night.

On this journey called life, we are learning to walk by faith and not by sight. We are coming to grips with the fact that we do not have all the answers but can fully lean on a Savior who does. We are resigning our control, understanding that to trust in our unseen God is far better. Why? Because it's worth it. Because a life apart from Jesus is no life at all. And because even when we take three steps back for every step forward, God is still working in us (Philippians 2:13). We can rest assured He's going to finish what He started (Philippians 1:6). He who called us as His own is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24). And we can be confident that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). 

In this season when conviction for what I have become plaques my heart and words escape me, the promises of Scripture love on my heart in a way like never before (Luke 1:45 and Numbers 23:19). He is for me, He is with me, and He's not finished with me yet. Mmm, yes.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm [not waverly, solid]. Let nothing [no earthly circumstances, nothing that is far removed from your control] move you. Always give yourselves fully [with all of your heart] to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58, AMP).

My favorite song at this moment:

"You were singing in the dark, whispering Your promise, even when I could not hear. I was held in Your arms carried for a thousand miles to show, not for a moment did You forsake me. And every step every breath you are there every tear every cry every prayer in my hurt at my worst when my world falls down not for a moment will You forsake me even in the dark even when it's hard you will never leave me after all. After all You are constant. After all You are only good. After all You are sovereign. Not for a moment will You forsake me. Not for a moment will You forsake me."