Living Waters of Solitude

"Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew (sought solitude), again to a mountain by himself.” – John 6:15

Lately God has been trying to drill something into my life and head. It is important to find time to be with just you and the Lord. He is the living water that keeps you rejuvenated and able to go through life. He gives you peace in the midst of the craziness that life brings. I have a lot on my plate right now: Trying to plan a wedding, working, helping family get settled, it’s a lot. I haven’t been able to have a lot of time to myself, let alone make time to spend with God.

This week I kind of hit rock bottom. I realized how burnt out I felt, and how dead I was feeling. Being on the weeklong vacation I took, was when it hit me. Since then I’ve been going through a time of discovery. In the end I discovered that God was trying to work in me and I did not even realize it. He is working and I see it. With this revelation I have been spending more time with God this week and the scriptures that have been popping up have been all about living water, or seeking solitude with God.

Coincidence? Most likely not. It’s just God. There’s a reason Christ himself sought solitude and withdrew. It’s because he needed that one on one time with God to keep him focused and centered. God the father rejuvenated him and filled him up with the stamina he needed to do his ministry. Without that time with God, Christ would have been burnt out himself. You get to a point where life becomes a drag. You have no energy, you have no positivity, and it has just been sucked out of you in a way.

It is difficult to minister to others and be there for others if you have nothing left to give them. This has been a healthy reminder for me, and I am right there with you. Life gets crazy.  In the midst of your craziness it would behoove you to make time to disconnect to spend time with God. Even if it is just a five minute time of prayer. Take the time, you need it. Take Christ’s example and disconnect for just a couple minutes. You will find like I have that it is worth it and your outlook on what you are going through will change. Christ is our spring of living water, he rejuvenates you, He keeps you going, and it is with Christ we are able to keep moving forward. Let God fill you up to continue on.

God Is Faithful

It’s no secret that I have been through quite a bit this last year. A lot of confusion, heartache and everything else that goes with it. Questions rolling through my head. When my last relationship ended I was so lost and confused. I thought I had heard right, I thought that was what God had for me. My heart was broken and I didn’t understand why. But in the midst of the brokenness God was there. He was faithful and helped me through. He slowly began to heal and mend up my brokenness and the confusion slowly lifted away. I knew it was all in God’s hands.

Moving forward after experiencing something like that is not easy by any means. But you slowly start finding a new normal through the pain and confusion. With God I was able to pick myself up and stand strong. It’s amazing to me that this happened almost a year ago. What a year it has been. God has given me so much in this last year. He’s healed and changed me so much this past year. I am so thankful for the heartache and the journey the Lord took me on because it all has led to this point.

I didn’t see it coming, it took me by surprise, but wouldn’t that just be like God. What a wonderful Savior I serve. I met this man 6 months ago. We became friends and since then our foundation and friendship grew and grew. It wasn’t until a month ago when he came to me opening up his heart to me. I was floored and fought so many insecurities. I didn’t feel good enough, with my past mistakes. I felt unworthy of being loved by this amazing man of God. I couldn’t help myself. But for me, as soon as my eyes met his and saw his love for me deep inside them, I knew I loved him too in a way I had never loved anyone before.

I love him with a God filled love, and I know he loves me the same way. This whole relationship is based on God, was a gift from God and is founded upon the solid rock of Christ. How did I get so lucky? Why did God give me such a gift? Well, it’s because God is faithful. Through the trials, through the journey, through the muck and mud, GOD remained faithful to me. Who am I? That God would be so faithful? I am his daughter. His precious jewel. HIS. I became HIS when he died on the cross for me.

I’ve been dancing with God my entire life, my father, my protector, my Lord, waiting for the moment he would step aside and bring my hand into the hands of the one who He has made for me. I am holding that man’s hand right now and I couldn’t be more blown away and blessed. For those who have endured heartache and brokenness. Feeling as if you are unworthy of such blessing and love, I can tell you that you are quite mistaken. God wants to bless us, he wants to give us gifts that blow our minds. He loves us with an unconditional love I don’t think we could ever comprehend or understand.

I stand here, a stronger woman because of my trials and weaknesses.

James 1:2-4 says ‘Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you KNOW that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and COMPLETE, not lacking anything.”

My trials and my tough journey have made me the woman of God I am today. I am not fully complete, because God is working in my life every single day. But remember that God is faithful.

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. My cup runeth over because of your love for me. I praise you for never forgetting about me and loving me so unconditionally. Never doubt what the Lord is capable of in your life. He is willing and able to do far more than anything you could think of or expect for yourself. Never give up. Don’t lose heart. The sunshine is coming. Just trust the Lord.

Building On Faith

This morning I was talking with a friend. I shared with them what I read out of the Word today and they said something that hit me. I shared that I read out of Acts 18. Verse 9-10 it talks about how God came to Paul and told him to not stop speaking.

^“9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”

After I shared this we started talking about faith. The word ‘emunah’ in Hebrew means faith. They went on to share that the word ‘Umanut’ in Hebrew means ‘craftsmanship’. After that they went on to say this which is what struck me, ‘Faith is something you build’. I had to sit there for a second as I marveled over that one sentence. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Faith really is something you build. It doesn’t come easy it never happens overnight. It’s something that takes time. Jesus himself was a carpenter. He built things, he was a craftsman. He knows that faith as small or big as it is for each of us, He’s taken time to build it up in us.

Our faith is based on trusting that God is who he says he is, and can do what He says He can do. Jesus builds our faith by showing and proving to us HE is trustworthy. When we go through hard times, and hardships, He is there to help us through. In our darkest times God is there, building that up in us.

Faith can start out small. It says in the Word,

“Jesus tells His disciples, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6

Jesus uses rhetorical hyperbole to make the point that little is much when it comes from God. All it takes is a little seed to grow into something big and triumphant. Faith is something Jesus builds in us. He is the master craftsman after all.

When you feel you don’t have enough faith at times, remember all it takes is a small seed of it, and God will edify and build it up in you. As it grows you will stand more confident in knowing that with your small seed of faith, you can move mountains.