Steadfast

I am so thankful to serve a living and active God who cares about His children. The Lord has heard my hurting heart today, and has spoken into some of the broken places. I am thankful. I am thankful for encouraging words from some unexpected places. I am thankful that He is speaking to me through His Word. Tonight during church I felt like the word that He was speaking into me was steadfast.

I am steadfast.

No matter what you are going through or what is happening around you, I have not changed.

My love is steadfast. You can trust in that.

Those messages came through His Word:

Lamentations 3: 21-23 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3: 31-33 "For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love..."

Psalm 130:7 "O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love..."

Psalm 135:13 "Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages."

Psalm 136:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

The Lord's unchanging character is worthy to be trusted. He has proved His faithfulness throughout generations. He has proved faithful so many times for me in my life. He is steadfast. I can trust in Him.

In the midst of that message, the Lord also gave me the image of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In tears and anguish, Jesus confronted the reality of the suffering that was before Him. He was honest and presented His desire before the Father: "And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me...' " (Mark 14:35-36a) He opened His heart to the Father and presented His request. But, He didn't stop there. "...Yet not what I will, but what you will." (v36b) Though in freedom He opened His heart and petitioned the Father, Jesus ultimately submitted His life to the will of the Father, even unto death. I want to live like that. I want to be bold in my requests before the Lord, believing that He is indeed able to do BIG things. I also want to live in submission to His will, trusting His ways even when the path is difficult. The Lord is saying to me: Come. Open your heart to me. Present your requests. Intercede for the lives of your patients, even when things look bleak. But, trust me. Submit yourself and your petitions to me, and trust me with their lives. They are my children, and my way is the best. The Lord is speaking into me freedom to make my requests known to Him, AND to trust Him with the result. I know that I will not always understand His ways, but I can trust in His steadfast love for me and for His children. I am thankful for that.

Addendum: I am also thankful for the beautiful sunset that the Lord created tonight. As I was driving down to Midtown for church with my mind full, the Lord gave me a gift in the beauty of His Creation. I loved it. I also loved that there was a random basket of bananas sitting on the edge of the drive-thru window at Starbucks tonight. I had a huge craving for a banana on my way home from church, and as I turned the corner to drive up to the window at Starbucks, I laughed out loud when I saw the bananas sitting there. I love how sometimes God speaks into the little things.