Valley

Do you have your hot tea to sip on? I sure do hope so! I am about to drink Tazo Joy--black, green, and oolong teas--a celebratory blend of select rare teas. I will let you know if it makes me more joyous!
How are you today? Has it been a rough morning? Perhaps a rough week? Oh, dear friends. Sometimes the road is unbearably hard. And long. I have many dear people close to me who are going through extremely rough times right now. I will not get into any of the details...but have you ever been close to a situation and wanted so badly to help, but there truly is not anything you can personally do to help the pain. It kind of makes you feel helpless doesn't it? I spent my full hour drive this morning casting a burden upon the Lord, begging Him to mend those around me who are in more pain than I could ever imagine. But lovelies, God is in control. Of all things. He is not surprised by anything that happens in your life, and He has a plan! Wait not upon the event going on in your life to be resolved. Wait upon the Lord! I was bewildered during a study of Esther by Beth Moore to realize a concept so obvious...but never understood! Have you ever been praying repeatedly, and feeling consistently weaker than the moment before because you are so burdened, and asked the Lord why? He promises to renew our strength: "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" Isa 40:31. So why, when He promises this, do we get so tired? Because we are waiting on something to happen. We want our problems to just disappear. We want to lay our burdens down at the feet of Jesus and in OUR time, which is usually immediately, Him to make everything perfect--the way we would define perfect, and the way we want the situation resolved. Dear friends, that is not what the scripture says. We are not taught to wait upon an event. We are told to wait upon the Lord. In His time, all things will be made perfect, be made good, be made right. Cast your burdens on Him, and wait on His time. (I know, easier said than done.)
In the book Crazy Love, Francis Chan reminds me "if life were stable, I'd never need God's help...If life is going great, remember that God has given you this good stuff so that you can show the world a person who enjoys blessings, but who is still totally obsessed with God...If life is a struggle though, God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard..."
I want you to go and listen to a song now. I want you to listen so intently that you cannot help but to let your soul sing the words with you. I hope you find encouragement in it. And know, God loves you more than you will ever know! Let Him wrap you in His loving arms and fill you with peace like a river. The storm may be raging right now, but Jesus is your shelter, and He can calm any storm.
Now go! Listen to Ginny Owens' song "If You want me to." The lyrics are below if you want to follow along. I love you all, and have a blessed day!
The pathway is broken and the signs are unclear. And I don't know the reason why You brought me here. But just because You love me the way that You do, I'm going to walk through the valley if You want me to. Cause I'm not who I was when I took my first steps. And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet. So if all of these trials bring me closer to You, then I will walk through the fire if You want me to. It may not be the way I would have chosen, when You lead me through a world that is not my home. But You never said it would be easy. You only said I'd never go alone. So when the whole world turns against me and I'm all by myself. And I can't hear You answer my cries for help. I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through, and I will walk through the valley if You want me to. Because when I cross over Jordan, I'm going to sing, I'm going to shout! I'm going to look into Your eyes and see YOU NEVER LET ME DOWN! So take me on the pathway that leads me home to You, and I will walk through the valley...if You want me to.