My life, His story, His glory

A little bit of a weird moment here: I’m sitting here on my couch, with my big brother, watching Iron Man 2, I’m hardly paying attention to the movie cuz I’m reading (bookworm alert) but then I glance briefly at the scene where Anthony Stark is watching his father say: “What was and always will be my greatest creation: You”. And I was so moved, it was such a God moment; I’ve been feeling like crap the last few days, my laptop broke down on me, school starts next week but then God goes and does something like this. I’m His masterpiece, He could’ve made me any other way but He made me this way - with the family that I have, with the color skin that I have, with the heritage that I have - friends, isn’t that amazing? The perfect One, the Master Creator made you, He has you in the palm of His hand, He smiles down at you everyday saying , “the best thing I created was You”. And He says that to all His kids. Isn’t He amazing? I just wanna kiss Him and hug Him. My daddy is too good.

freedomreigns:

Jesus, the perfect Son of God, came down to Earth and died a horrible death for your sins and saved you and I both from the hell that we deserve.

If that isn’t the most humbling thing in the world, I don’t know what is.

God could give us all the riches of the world; fame, money, popularity, vanity - but for us, He has something better; Himself.

I’m at an amazing place with God right now - see, surrender used to be the most terrifying thought to me. I mean, laying down my plans, my dreams, and even some things that I enjoyed, letting go of friendships, certain mindsets and ideas, just so I can pursue His call with reckless abandon - that was scary. But when you ask for His help, when you get serious with Him and say, “Okay, this is me, Lord, I’m a mess, I don’t want to surrender but I know that You want it for me, and I want to start wanting what You want, I want to see things the way You see them, I want to see the world through Your eyes, I want to change” - at that very moment, He begins a work in you that only He can accomplish; trust me, there is no one who else who could’ve brought this kind of change in me. If you’d met me three years ago, you would never have thought that I’d ever be this person now. But you know what I want above everything? Above success, good grades, a good future, good friends, a nice life, the nicest clothes, all of that stuff? I want surrender. I want to live a life that is just His. That I too, just as Martin Luther King said, can say, “Anita doesn’t live here anymore, Jesus lives here”. 

God is too good. I’m supposed to be preaching a sermon at my family church this Sunday and I was just telling my leader over there that I don’t think that I can do it because I didn’t feel as though God had placed anything on my heart but He just did! And the Word couldn’t be more relevant, or more straight from my Father’s heart, I’m so excited to share it on Sunday! Please, help me praise God, He’s the best!

Much love,
Anita x

I was thinking this randomly today when I was having breakfast. I remember a quote, “sometimes the Lord calms the storms, and sometimes He calms His child” - I was trying to decipher which one would benefit us most in the long run and God is a very purposeful, He wants the best for us in every way and everything that He does is out of love so scenario A) The storm rages, we cry out for Him, He calms the storm and then we sigh with relief and go, “Oh, I hope that doesn’t happen again” scenario B) The storm rages, we cry out for Him, He calms our hearts, and after this storm passes, we’re not so afraid of having another storm because we know that even if He doesn’t calm the storm, we will have peace, in Him, so we’re a lot braver, our faith is stronger and we trust Him more. Can you imagine what scenario B must look like to someone who doesn’t know the Lord? They’re expecting you to be freaking out over whatever form or shape your storm might take but you’re not. They see you everyday, and you’re not breaking down, and you don’t look like you’re filled with dread. You’re fully aware of your storm, but it doesn’t take away your peace. This builds trust in your Father, and there’s nothing that He loves more than a child who will look the storm in the eye but then look back at Him, embrace Him, and say, “it doesn’t matter, I’m safe here”.

Tamar experienced the terrible trauma of being raped. But her future was greater than her past, so she gave birth to a child who became a progenitor of our Lord Jesus. What an honour! Wounded one, you can come through this painful experience and sing the song of the overcomer. By God’s grace you can learn to live in the present and let go of the past. How? By spending time in God’s presence and allowing His love to touch the hurting places within you. Give all your secrets to God - and leave them there. He can take the misery out of the memory like you take the poison out of an insect bite; then your healing will begin. Job, who lost his health, his wealth and his family, lived to see these words fulfilled: ‘You shall forget your misery; you shall remember it as waters that pass away.’ Go ahead, stand in the stream of God’s grace and release it. Let it all go. It was night, but now it’s day! Let God hold you safely in His arms. There, you can allow the past to fall from you like a garment. You may remember it, but you won’t have to wear it any more: ‘You shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid’ (v. 19). No more pacing the floor, no more bad dreams, no more fear of tomorrow. Shame has been removed and grace enthroned. Rise up in Christ’s name and take authority over every memory that keeps you linked to the past. Allow God to heal your scars, break your chains and set you free.

(via Word For Today)