Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Psalm 62:8

Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psalm 62:8 (NASB)

-He is faithful even when I am not, and yet I am frequently tempted to not trust in Him at all times.
-He is kind, consistent in His love, and able to understand my struggles, and yet I am all too often hesitant to pour out my heart before Him because I am wounded and feel vulnerable.
-God is a refuge for us, let me stop in my tracks and soak in that unchanging reality.  


14 comments:

TammieFay said...

Thank you, Greg. That's a word I needed this very moment.

2blessed2stress said...

Amen! Thanks for sharing ;)

Have your best day ever!
Dawn

Taking Heart said...

yes... unchanging reality is a beautiful thing.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your open heart. =) My God bring your family the peace you all need right now!

Anonymous said...

So needed to hear that myself!! Thank you for being open, vulnerable, and willing to serve Our Heavenly Father!! Your sharing of weakness encourages all of us who share in your weakness!!

Anonymous said...

Greg,

We just finished week 5 of Beth Moore's Esther study. This comment will be long but I'm going to quote her from page 107:

"Session 4 challenged us to face our worst fears. We talked about how the enemy and our own self-destructive natures combine to taunt us with "what ifs." Once we are in Christ, Satan has no authority to destroy us, so he settles for the next best thing: threatening to destroy us. Based on our histories and behaviors he deduces what we ourselves are most convinced would raze us.

To the Devil, the irony is delicious: Our distrust of God tattles on us, telling our enemy exactly how to get to us. Many of us habitually rehearse, "If ______ ever happens, then I'll just ______." Our fears become like long, bony index fingers pointing at our vulnerabilities. Once Satan sees what we believe would be the end of us, he threatens and torments us with it.

Our natural human defense is to grovel before God and plead with Him not to let those things happen. Our conditional trust not only makes us an open target for enemy torment; it also positions us as negotiators and beggars before God instead of secure children who trust their lives to their faithful Father. Those times when our fears become reality we feel devastated. We think God is unfaithful, and Satan essentially gets what he wants - us to believe that life is over. Unless our belief system changes, for all practical earthly purposes, it is. After all, as a man thinks, so is he. (Prov. 23:7)

Don't misunderstand. I'm a huge proponent of praying against what we fear and for the desires of our hearts. I also believe that we're free and safe to voice our worst nightmares to God. In times of crisis and demonic attack, however, our vulnerable souls need something more. The most critical breakthrough of faith you and I could ever experience is to let God bring us to a place where we trust Him - period. We don't just trust Him to let us avoid what we fear most. We determine to trust Him no matter what, even if our worst nightmare befalls us. We have no greater victory and can render Satan no harsher blow.

No one welcomes suffering. Equally, no one can wholly avoid it. Though most of what we fear never happens, our lists roll out so long that some of it probably will. Our only steadfast defenses against life's certain uncertainty is unconditional trust in a Savior who loves us more than His own life."

This really hit me and I underlined the whole thing. Your post today made me think of it so I thought I would share.

Love you,
Sis

Debbie said...

A Mother’s Day Wish From Heaven

Dear Mr. Hallmark,



I am writing to you from heaven, and though it must appear
A rather strange idea, I see everything from here.
I just popped in to visit, your stores to find a card
A card of love for my mother, as this day for her is hard.

There must be some mistake I thought, every card you could imagine
Except I could not find a card, from a child who lives in heaven.


She is still a mother too, no matter where I reside
I had to leave, she understands, but oh the tears she’s cried.


I thought that if I wrote you, that you would come to know

that though I live in heaven now, I still love my mother so.


She talks with me, and dreams with me; we still share laughter too,

Memories our way of speaking now, would you see what you could do?


My mother carries me in her heart, her tears she hides from sight.
She writes poems to honor me, sometimes far into the night
She plants flowers in my garden, there my living memory dwells
She writes to other grieving parents, trying to ease their pain as well.

So you see Mr. Hallmark, though I no longer live on earth
I must find a way, to remind her of her wondrous worth
She needs to be honored, and remembered too
Just as the children of earth will do.

Thank you Mr. Hallmark, I know you’ll do your best
I have done all I can do; to you I’ll leave the rest.
Find a way to tell her, how much she means to me
Until I can do it for myself, when she joins me in eternity.

~ by Jody Seilheimer ~

Chelsa said...

i really needed that this morning. thank you for sharing.

We've Got Scents said...

Amen and thanks for sharing. Blessings to you and your family,
Kaye
Matthew 21:22

Kristy said...

Thanks Greg - that is a prayer of mine - that you and Nicol would feel that - even in light of your past year. (especially)

Anonymous said...

I found your blog from Angie's blog from Melissa's (Beth Moores) India blog. Whew. Anyway, I just put "Hiding Place" CD in my car a couple months ago & wore it and “Be Still My Soul” out! Then, last weekend I was in Nashville and saw Local News station clip for Angie’s blog segment on upcoming broadcast. I came home and decided to really look at Angie’s blog, and found you guys. I just want to say that all these little events have put you & Nicol on my daily prayer list. Wow. I’m so sorry for all of your losses…..there are NO words. Just prayers from a stranger in GA.

Jana said...

Thank you Greg, this is a great reminder to us all.

Jana

Anonymous said...

Hi Greg & Nicol~
I "accidentally" added you as a friend on facebook because I was looking to see if your family had a profile. Technically, I'm just a fan of your blog... so you don't have to add me. I know some people limit who they are friends with :)Maybe I will be able to meet the two of you some day- to see and hear your faith and wisdom in person. Love Nicol's music!

Blessings~
Annise

Taking Heart said...

Thinking of you and your family today, prayers for comfort and hope being lifted on your behalf.