"None of those things matter to me. Remember, I've already forgiven you. I don't see you as the girl who made all those mistakes. I see you as my precious daughter, who I made in my image with great talents and passions. I've made you to be so much more than your past mistakes. You are more."
And at that... tears begin streaming down my face. I'm left with nothing but tears. My mind can't even begin to comprehend what kind of an unfailing love that really is. Unfathomable.
I think we all need those moments in our lives. Those times when we allow God to give us that revelation about who He is. His power, his strength, his glory, his righteousness, it can change your life. When we take our eyes off of ourselves and choose to focus on a God who cannot even be measured because he is so infinite.... that is when we get the perspective that we so desperately need when living this life we've been given.
So many times in my life, I've tried to take things into my own hands, or start to lack faith because I don't see God working in the way I prayed or how I wanted him to. Or when I am in the situation where I'm faced with the fact that I could lose my Papa after a phone call in October, situations that make my faith think... "This is just too big." The God of the universe is bigger than ANY problem you and I did/are/will face. So much bigger.
God is not defined by our circumstances.
By recognizing that fact the next time you're faced with a difficult situation... it will change your outlook on everything. Instead of feeling exhausted, worried, and just straight up frustrated, you'll be able to take the weight off of yourself and put your situation into the hands of the Lord who can also fit the entire universe in the palm of his Hand. Rest in the fact that the Lord is in control.
For the longest time, I've struggled with the need to be in control. I like knowing what's ahead, what I'm doing and where I'm going. After living in Honduras for only 2 months... I've learned to let go of control. I have control over nothing. I can't control when I go to work, when I leave...I'm dependent on other people for everything (which I think I mentioned before.)
But another area of control I struggled with was the idea of knowing my family is safe back home. There's something about the thought of knowing that something could happen while I'm here that was really hard for me to let go of. In fact, if there was one thing that held me back from coming here... it would have been just that. Even while living here, I noticed that I was living in that constant fear and worry that at any moment, I would receive a devastating call that would cause my world to shake. I walked in that fear daily. And then God gave me the revelation that even if I were living in Pennsylvania, I'd still have no control over what happens to my family. Comforting, right?
It wasn't there that I found my comfort, but it was in the fact the Lord showed me that HE was in control over my family and I needed to let go of the wheel and give him the control. Besides... I'm pretty sure my family is way better off being in the hands of the Lord than in mine. God showed me this crippling fear that I've been living in every day and he asked me to lay it at his feet. He said, "Why do you keep hauling that fear and those burdens around with you day after day? I'm offering to take them for you. I already paid for them. Just lay them at the foot of the cross. You do not need to worry about them anymore. It will all be alright. I have a perfect plan." And at that moment, I gave my fears to the Lord. I knew that I could not continue to grow in my relationship with Christ when I carried around those fears. It was hindering my growth.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline"
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
After giving Him those fears, he assured me that my family was in good hands and that I was exactly where he has called me. And if that weren't enough... he proved it to me. I called my Dad a few days later just to catch up and see how things where going. One of the first things he told me was that he had almost died the other day. He was almost hit on the drivers side by a large dump truck. He said, "I would've been paralyzed... if not dead." And in the moment, my heart just sank. For a moment, those thoughts of fear came back. Thoughts like, "I could have woken up a few mornings ago to a call saying that my Dad has been killed in a car accident." But then the Lord said to me, "See..... did I not tell you that I would take care of your family? There, I just proved it to you. That's how much I love you. Now, stop worrying about things you have no control over and just learn to trust me. I want you to know what it means to really, truly, deeply trust in me with EVERYTHING. Big and small."
5God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,
6“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will take you by the hand and guard you
Psalm 42:5-6
That, my friends, is the God we serve. When you look at the stars in the night sky, you can rest in the fact that the same God who created and placed every one of those stars in that sky is the God who is in control of your life. Letting go of control means learning to fully rely in on the Lord. The two go hand-in-hand. Let go of having control (or thinking you have control) and learn to trust in the God who created you, your family, your friends, the stars, the sun, the oceans, the galaxies.... I could go on forever, but I think you get the point. Let go of your need for control and just trust in God's perfect plan.
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
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