The One We Can Lean On

 Happy New Year! We are well into January now, and as a testament to this, I am sitting next to a blazing wood stove and outside the sun is beginning to break through the clouds and cause our snow-ridden world to begin to sparkle.
 The past year has been full of blessings, new memories and even some difficult days with God to help us work through them. But now the page flips over and we begin a whole new year and my goal is to let this year be directed by God and be filled with true joy.My mother, brothers, and I started the year off by taking a road trip to Florida. It was amazingly fun and enjoyable- a time filled with enjoying the beautiful beach, making fun memories with family and friends, my first ever roller coaster experience, and some interesting discoveries in God's Word. 

I must say that a super coaster was an experience I am not likely to forget- shooting 60 mph out of the boarding area was enough to cause me to scream for basically the entire ride. 


 

I am mostly familiar with West Coast beaches so this warm, sunny, soft-sand beach was perhaps the most pleasant I have ever been to and it most certainly had beautiful sunsets.

But of course, one of the main highlights is always getting to visit with family and friends. It was fun getting to see my sister and her family. My youngest nephew has changed so much since I last saw him in October. And my oldest nephew is growing up so fast. 




But finally, on our drive home, I was looking in 2 Corinthians and found some thoughts which perhaps will be encouraging. 

II Corinthians 1:9-10

"Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust the He will still deliver us."

Those are incredible words. God has already delivered us from death- sin. But He is also there for everyday struggles and trials. And He is with us through them all. Sometimes, I feel like God is very far away. But the truth is, He is right beside me. Always. No matter how unlovable I am being. And as those beautiful verses so point out: we can trust that He will deliver us. This does not mean there will not be trials or suffering. But it does mean that we can lean on Him to carry us through our hottest and thickest battles- and to give us joy in the midst of our toughest nights and our hardest days.

Some days I feel more or less at peace and the next, I feel as if I have lost it. It does not matter what we feel though, and as a beautiful song says, "You are the peace in my troubled sea." God is faithful and "if we are faithless, He remains faithful." ~ II Timothy 2:13 
And later in II Corinthians 3, He reminds us that - "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." 

Our sufficiency is from God. Well if this is so, then I must lay my life in His hands and trust Him to care for me in the way He knows best. There is just one problem with this proposition for me- I have trust issues. 

But once again He leaves us Words of comfort and perhaps they will encourage you today- wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Whether your day is off to a brilliant start or you are feeling lost. Remember, He is our Lighthouse- and look to Him when you are lost in your "troubled sea." 

"Trust in the LORD (YHWH) with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding,

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Our logic. Our fears. Sometimes they do not make sense. Therefore Trust in the LORD.