Through the Storms

The following is an excerpt from a Bible Study by Beth Moore called Breaking Free. It's slightly edited to fit this blog, but the meat is all there! Beth's words are quoted while mine are not. It touched me, and I hope it does the same for you.

"God's Word often tells us not to fear, yet not all our fears are unfounded. Think about it. Our present society poses many real threats."

God is WITH us.

"Sometimes frightening things can happen to believers as well as unbelievers. If God's presence doesn't ensure that nothing frightening will ever happen to us, how could the assurance of God's constant presence still be the quieter of our fears?"

When you pass through the waters

I will be with you.

When you pass through the rivers,

they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be scorched.

Isaiah 43:2-3

Notice how the Lord says, "When". There are many times in my life when I've wondered why I've had to endure hardship. Death, relationships, past mistakes, lack of future clarity, and health problems are a few of the rough waters that I've had to pass through. What's the point?

"Can you think of a time when you sensed God's presence the clearest? What were the circumstances? Can you think of a time in your life when you could not sense God's presence at all? What were the circumstances?"

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ 

even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ 

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

¹² 

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

Psalm 139:7-12

"Never will I leave you,

Never will I forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5b

"God's presence is absolutely unchanging, but the evidence of His presence is not. On some occasions God may purposely alter the evidences of His presence to bring the most benefit from our experience. Sometimes we receive the most benefit from seeing many visible "prints" of His invisible hands during a difficult season. Other times, we profit most from seeing fewer evidences."

 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:24-29

"In the above passage, what did Christ say to one who insisted on seeing literal "prints"?"

"God does not love us less when He gives us fewer evidences. He simply desires to grow us up and teach us to talk by faith and not by sight. These steps are most challenging when we're delivered through frightening experiences rather than from them."

The point is not that we have nothing to fear and cowardice is simply an unreasonable state of mind. Christ's presence is the basis for courage in our storms. He did not say, "Take courage! I am calming the storm! Don't be afraid." Instead, with the winds still raging, He said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Christ does not always immediately calm the storm, but He is always willing to calm His child on the basis of His presence. If He lets the waters continue to swell, it's because he wants to us to see Him walk on the water. This set of prints can be seen only in a storm. We'll probably never learn to enjoy our storms, but we can learn to enjoy God's presence in the storm!"

You make known to me the path of life;

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

There is JOY in His PRESENCE!

Instead of avoiding the storms of your life, choose to use the storms to build your relationship with the Lord and see his "prints" on your life!

2013

It's a New Year, and of course, everyone is making resolutions. Resolutions, changes, commitments, goals or whatever you want to call them, it seems like January is the time to make them.

In the past I've committed to losing five pounds, gaining five pounds, paying more attention to my school work, being a better wife, being a better friend, exercising more frequently, reading more often, and the list goes on. I take the disappointments of the previous year and attempt to force myself into a better year with a few changes. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever successfully reached a New Year's goal. Can you relate?

It's almost like I'm not happy, or maybe even satisfied, with the previous year, so I feel like these changes will give me fulfillment. I think that these changes will set me free.

During December, I started my usual planning on all the changes I needed to make 2013 better. In 2013, I pictured Max and I buying our first house, signing a contract with Cirque Du Soleil, moving out west to fulfill my dreams, Max finding his dream job in Las Vegas, an ever increasing flow of money that would allow me to visit my family more often, a trip or two overseas with Max, and maybe even a new dog. I wanted to read more, write more, pray more, love more, and live more.

Yes, there are some goals in there that aren't too vain or too selfish, and could be pretty attainable. I'm even fulfilling one of those desires right now! The funny thing is that most of those goals are out of my hands. I can't do ANYTHING to ensure that I receive a contract, and we can't buy our first house until we know what city to buy a house in! We can't plan our vacations until we know what city to book a flight out of or what dates we can get off work. We can't even get another dog until we have a backyard. 

I literally have absolutely no control over my goals for 2013. We just have to sit back and wait to see what happens...just wait, and wait, and wait. Can you imagine how frustrating and depressing this is for a control freak?! I think God intended this. Actually, I know God intended this.

If I could wrap up my December goals into one phrase, it would be that I wanted to live more in 2013. In order to reach this goal, I thought the above changes needed to come true.

Do you have a list of things in your life that must happen in 2013 for you to be happy? Maybe a job, or a relationship, or something else that feels like it will make you satisfied?

I had a long, long list, and then I read this:

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;

My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,

In a dry and weary land whether there is no water.

Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, 

To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

When I remember you on my bed,

I meditate on You in the night watches,

For You have been my help,

And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

My soul clings to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:1-8

When I read these words of David, I felt the satisfaction that David had in his relationship with God. His fulfillment didn't come from the things that he was looking forward to receiving, but instead, David's satisfaction came from God. He was spiritually thirsty and yearning for the Lord, and only the Lord rid David of the emptiness needing to be filled.

Maybe we look so much toward what the future holds that we forget to be grateful for the stage of life that God has offered us now. Right now.

My only jobs right now are to be a great wife to my hardworking husband and to be a caring coach to my high school gymnasts. We live in a wonderful first home in a beautiful area with our first dog. There is always fresh food in the refrigerator, and we are very blessed to have a loving marriage. 

Maybe it's time we realize how blessed we are right now, in this moment, and appreciate God's will for us THIS day. It might not be a perfect day or an easy day, but it will be just what God had in mind. Instead of being discontent until the future reveals itself, it's time to remain satisfied in God during the process.

"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 a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30

In their hearts humans plan their steps, but the Lord determines their steps. Proverbs 16:9

All this comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. 

Isaiah 28:29

Here's to TODAY, not 2013.

Noun: person, place, AND thing.

When I was thinking of names for this blog, I immediately pictured myself back in the commons in my tiny room on my big bed stuffed in the corner by the window. I pictured my friends- my teammates and my sisters. I pictured our wall filled with stolen computer paper from ASCDU with secrets, thoughts, and scriptures colorfully painted on each piece. It was our spot, our haven.

For those of you who weren't there, I had a Bible study with some of my teammates in college. The Bible study took place in my room on my full size bed. During those hours, we called our special place The Haven. We wrote down key points and thoughts on computer paper that I borrowed (-ish) from the athletic tutoring facilities and taped the papers to a wall in my room. We laughed, cried, and learned. I'm hoping, though there are new teammates, new states, new memories, and new chapters to our lives, our Haven will live on through this tiny blog.

Here I am, years later. I'm older, and married, and 7 hours and 7 minutes from my college apartment.

Ready for a new Haven.

Haven,

n 1: HARBOR, PORT.

   2: a place of safety.

   3: refuge, sanctuary.

As a woman with an English degree, you know the first thing I did was open up my Merriam-Webster and finger through the H's until I found her: Haven.

Numbers 2 and 3 made sense to me, but a HARBOR, PORT?

What the.

Harbor: a part of a body of water along the shore deep enough for anchoring a ship, as to provide protection from winds, waves, and currents.

Port:  1: a city, town, or other place where ships load or unload.

         2: a place along a coast in which ships may take refuge from storms.

Is it making sense now?

The truth is that I desperately need a haven. I need anchorage from the winds and waves of my life that uproot me from the sand and toss me to and fro as I choke, desperate to reach the shore. I need protection from life's deep hurts and wounds that need to be stitched instead of bandaged. I need a place to load God's faithful promises and unending grace, and I need a place to unload the mistakes of yesterday as I endure the future. I need to take refuge in Jesus.

Maybe you do, too. I hope you'll be with me as I share from my heart. I hope to share my truth behind the radical ways in which my relationship with God has been turned into my haven. And I hope to hear stories about your haven, too.

Ephesians 4:14-16

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (!!!!)

Until next time,

Abbs

For Ally, Kesley, Katy, Dirty, Val, B... and the rest of my teammates. You have forever changed how I view friendship. Distance may forever separate us, but our memories will forever bind us. Welcome back, ladies.