Is He enough for you?

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9a

My grace is sufficient for thee.

Do we really believe that?

If you desire to be a parent and yet, God has not yet brought you a child, is He enough for you?

If you desire to be married and He has not yet brought you a spouse, or even if His will is for you to remain single, is He enough for you?

If you are married and your spouse is taken from you, will He be enough for you? If He decides to take one of your children, whom you have loved and cared for since their very conception, is He enough for you?

The Bible tells us that his grace is sufficient and that verse is commonly used to bring comfort to someone in a time of trouble but today, my friend I am going to give you other verses that highlight why He alone, He within Himself is sufficient and ought to be enough for each of us, no matter our circumstance or trial.

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens." Psalm 8:1

His name is excellent and his glory is above even the very heavens!

"I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons." Psalm 16:7

He gives me counsel.

"I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliver: my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." Psalm 18:1-2

When I am weak, He is my strength. He is my rock.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

He's my shepherd. He watches over me, looks out for me, protects me and provides for me. What more could I want?

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

I have no need to fear anything because I have Him! (what a comfort that is!)

"The voice of the Lord is powerful: the voice of the Lord is full of majesty." Psalm 29:4

His very voice is full of power and majesty. Who else gets that description?

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

When the storms of life are raging and you are unsure of where to go, the trials of this life are leaving you stuck in a downpour, how wonderful it is to cleave to Him...our refuge. Our protector. He is always there with us. Ready to help when we need it.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Just because He is GOD.

"For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding." Psalm 47:7

He is KING.

"In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times: ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." Psalm 62:7-8

I can trust in Him. I can pour my heart out to Him. He will protect it.

"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." Psalm 63:1

He is my God. I ought to thirst and long for Him. (When was the last time you longed for Him?)

"For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth." Psalm 71:5

He is my hope. *sigh* So glad I can have my hope in Him. The One who has overcome the world and overcome death. I don't have to hope in a stock market or hope in myself. I can hope in Him.

"Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." Psalm 119:114

We can hide ourselves in Him.

"and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6b

He is wonderful. He is mighty. He is our Father. He gives peace like no one else can. :)

"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:16

WoooooHooooo!! That's MY God!! He's on MY side!

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Revelation 21:6

Everything begins with HIM. Everything ends with HIM. Yeah, that's enough for me. Seems to me that He's got it all covered.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

God can wipe away death, sorrow and pain.

A God that will even wipe the very tears from my eyes, yeah, pretty sure He is more than enough for me.

Is He enough for you?

We are family

There is no family, like God's family.

A couple years ago some good friends of mine had a son who was born with heart issues. He had to go through several surgeries and there were definitely some scary moments. A group was started online and God's people prayed. People all across the world, not just city, state or even country...no, all across the world people prayed for this family and for this little boy. It was amazing.

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

I was fortunate enough to be able to see some of the results firsthand of those prayers that went up for Charlie Smith. God worked miraculously, for sure.

And it seems to be happening again.

Last week I heard of a girl, Katy Andresen, who found out she has stage 4 cancer and it is in her bones. I met Katy years ago when I went to Florida to visit my brother while he was in Bible school. I can't say that I know her all that well but I do know that she is one of those sweet people who leaves a great, lasting first impression.

It has been less than a week since I heard about Katy and this battle she is now faced with but within that week, a group started online to pray for her. I joined and invited others to do so as well and I will continue to pray for her and her friends and family. As I sent the link out to others though, I realized there were already hundreds of people in the group and I know that group is only a fraction of those actually praying for her but I realized how amazing it is that people all across the world are connected...through Him.

"Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

It is such a priviledge to be able to "bear one another's burdens". It can be so comforting to know that there are people out there, talking to God (the one who created all!) and they are talking about you. It's something you can only get by being in God's family.

So please, pray for Katy. But also, look around and pray for those around you as well. Bear someone's burden with them today and when the time comes when your burden feels too heavy, before you know it, you'll have a brother or sister in Christ, come along side you and bear that burden with you in prayer.

I love being a part of His family. It's the best.

Just how He is...

I had a rough week last week. It started out good. I mean, any week that starts out with the Hokie Pokie and the Chicken Dance is bound to be a good week, right?

Well, it came to a screeching halt on Tuesday. It was just a regular day at the office. Actually, it was a really good day at the office. I had 2 compliment calls from customers - in the same day! However, for some reason, in the afternoon I just got hit with this overwhelming feeling that what I do is worthless.

I have so many desires to serve God, to fulfill the desires He's placed within me. I'd much rather spend my time writing or doing photography than sitting in a cubicle talking about health insurance, taking on every body else's problems. I was struggling. Struggling to be content. This has a tendency to be a domino effect...once I find discontentment in one are my life, all the other areas where discontentment could be found suddenly arise.

By Wednesday I had plenty on my list of things to be discontent about and I definitely let it effect me. I know better though. So I prayed that afternoon that God would help me to be content.

Well, guess what?! He answered that prayer.

Wednesday night I go to church and the preacher says, "Open your Bibles to 1 Timothy 6:6".

If you are not familiar with that verse, here it is: "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Do you ever have those moments in church where as soon as something is said, you all of the sudden have a feeling that everyone else just left and you are the only person sitting there to get preached to?

That would have been me on Wednesday night. The preacher talked about being covetous and he was speaking more in terms of monetary and materialistic coveting and although I may not always covet those things, there are still things that I covet and God commanded us not to covet...period. He didn't just give us a a list of things not to covet, He said don't covet.

As I drove home that night from church, I couldn't help but smile and chuckle. I was really thankful that God heard and answered my prayer. "Amy, you asked for help with being content? Okay then, go to church and listen up!"

Just like that.

That is just how He is...

He hears our prayers. He loves us. He cares for us. He provides for us. He thinks about us.

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with thee." Psalm 139:17-18

That is just how He is...

Commited?

Commitment:

1. responsibility: something that takes up time or energy, especially an obligation

2. loyalty: devotion or dedication, e.g. to a cause, person, or relationship

I made a commitment on Wednesday night. It was a commitment to God. While kneeling at the altar and discussing with the Lord the things He had stirred up within my heart during the preaching, I made a commitment to Him. He told me if I was serious about this commitment, I ought to mark it. Write it down so it can be a reminder.

Isn't that what we do with most commitments these days? If you decide to go to college and put forth the time and effort and money, the end result of that commitment is reflected and remembered with a diploma? When two people decide to get married and commit themselves to one another, don't they also sign a marriage certificate? When you purchase a cell phone, a car, or a house, you sign a contract, which documents your commitment, right?

Yeah, God gave me some pretty convincing reasons on why I should document this commitment. He had good foresight (as always) too, because today, I needed a reminder of not just the commitment I made with Him the night before, but also a reminder of how I felt when I made that commitment.

I have had trouble sleeping lately (and by lately I mean for the past few months...) but last night was glorious! I slept like a log. All night. I don't remember when or if my alarm even went off this morning. If it did, I managed to turn it off...and continued to sleep. Until 7:27 am. (I usually leave for work at 7:30.) So I woke up and went into panic/frenzy mode all morning - got to work (just in the nick of time). Whew. Spent all day answering questions and taking on everybody else's problems. The day seemed to drag by slower and slower.

The last thing I wanted to do was rush home, change clothes and go street preaching.

But I made a commitment. A commitment to stand in the gap. A commitment to tell them. A commitment to not be ashamed...to not be afraid. A commitment to really, fully , whole-heartedly do what I can to fulfill my responsibility of the great commission.

But I had a headache. Actually, my whole head was throbbing.

But I made a commitment.

Could I really not hold up my commitment for 24 hours?

Shameful.

That's why I am glad I wrote down my commitment. I didn't have a choice. Headache or no headache. Comfortable or not. No matter if I was tired or energized, worn out and drained or pumped and ready to go...I made a commitment.

I opened this post with the definition of commitment and I want to be sure to address my purpose for doing so. Many these days do not hold up their commitments (take divorce rates for one example). People back out of their commitments all the time.

People including Christians. I am sure I am not the only one who has ever gone forward during an invitation and have knelt down and prayed with God and committed something to Him only to let some time pass and before you know it, that commitment is broken.

My commitment to go street preaching tonight fit into the first definition of responsibility. I made a commitment to those in charge of it that I was going to be there (obligation) and it took my time and energy to go. I am glad I did. It was worth every moment of my time.

But the main reason I went tonight, in spite of the throbbing headache and empty stomach that growled, was definition #2: loyalty: devotion or dedication, e.g. to a cause, person, or relationship

I desire to be loyal....to Him. to be devoted....to Him. to be dedicated.....to Him.

His cause becomes my cause. He is the one person I did it for. We often do things to be an example to others, which is great and needful, but first and foremost HE needs to be the person we do anything and everything for. Thirdly, I have a relationship with Him and by serving Him tonight by standing on a street corner holding a sign with His words on it, well, that was time I got to spend with Him. It was time that offered an opportunity for growth in our relationship. That opportunity would have been lost had I decided to not go and run my errands instead.

His cause is worthy. He is worthy. My relationship with Him is worthy.

"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5

I want to be committed.

A good word

The other day I was encouraged when someone gave me a good word. It wasn't much. It didn't take much effort on their part. They simply were walking by, saw me, said a little sentence of encouragement and they went on their way.

But that one sentence meant something to me.

It meant they said something, when they didn't have to. They could have kept on walking and never said a word. It means that they meant what they said. They noticed something about me or something I had done and they remarked on it. They went out of their way, for just a moment.

That person may not even recall what they said to me, but I have thought about it numerous times in the past few days. It reminded me of a verse from Proverbs
"Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad." Proverbs 12:25

We have the opportunity to take a heavy heart and make it glad...all it takes is a good word.

Who can you give a good word to this week? Do you know someone with heaviness in their heart?

My heart wasn't heavy at the moment of the conversation but I know it will be heavy at some point. It is at those moments when our "good words" come to mind. Good words that have been spoken to us and you know what, my heart does become glad when I think on and remember those good words.

Driver's Seat

You remember, being a kid and when you were going on a ride with your parents, one of your siblings always shouted out, "I call shotgun!"

I usually wasn't the quickest one. (It took me awhile to catch on to the rules of Shotgun.)

But as I was reading my Bible the other day, I came across this verse: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7

It is a common verse, I know. But this verse is one of my favorites and as I meditated on it throughout the day, I decided to put it into my new category of verses that I am going to call Shotgun Verses. These are verses that remind me that through this life, I want shotgun!

I understand this thought goes contrary to what the world and what society teaches but I want God in the driver's seat....not me. I want Him to be in control. When storms come down the road, I'd rather be able to trust in Him to get me through safely (and He does...every. single. time.) I know that if I were in the driver's seat of my own life, if I were the one calling all the shots, setting the speed and deciding which turns to take, I would mess it up and who knows where I'd end up. I know I would for sure be lost and would probably be too proud to ask for directions.

But when God is behind the wheel, I can relax. First of all, it reminds me that I am not alone.
"Let your conversation be without covetousness: and be ye content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

That's right. He promises in His word that He is and always will be there. I don't have to travel this road alone. I can be content and know that He is always there, right beside me.

Secondly, I can trust that we are going in the right direction.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12
As humans, we think we know what is best for us, we think we know which way is right, which road to take and which direction to follow after but those ways only seem right to us. We ought to trust the navigation to the One who hold tomorrow and can see the road ahead, filled with obstacles, pot holes, pain, despair, joys and triumphs.
"He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness and honour." Proverbs 21:21
Follow His ways, and indescribable blessings will abound.

Thirdly, I can trust that when He is driving, all of life's major milestones will come to pass when He knows I am ready for them. "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him..." Psalm 37:7
Along the road, there are intersections, red lights, stop signs and dead ends but I can put my trust in Him to guide and direct me in the way He would have me to go. I can hop in the passenger seat and just go along for the ride. I can let Him worry about the weather conditions, I can let Him worry about the other drivers on the road, I can let Him choose the directions and the stops along the road.

"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in thy righteousness." Psalm 31:1

He is good driver. A great driver. The best driver I know. He protects me, loves me and guides me. I call shotgun and when I get to Heaven, I know that with Him as my driver, He will "deliver me in thy righteouesness."