“So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit.” Genesis 37:27 “Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.” Genesis 37:29 “And Jacob recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.” Genesis 37:33-34 (NKJV)

Isn’t it interesting that within the span of a few verses, the 3 main characters in this well known bible story ended up naked? Joseph was just doing his job. He was just being himself and his brothers attacked him and stripped him naked. Reuben did not have the backbone to stand up against the crowd and when it was too late to fix his mistake, he ripped off his clothes in the shame of his cowardliness. Jacob suffered the heartache of incredible loss and in his all-consuming pain; he ripped his clothes as he suffered inconsolable pain.

The thought of actually being naked in public is nightmarish to me, but I understand the sensation of feeling so vulnerable and exposed, that it seems like everyone is staring at you.

Like Joseph, you probably have just been minding your own business or doing your job as best as you know how when you get blindsided by an attack that leaves you shattered and laid bare. You are made aware of rumors being told about you or you get wind of gossip in which you are the principal character. It sucks. You leave the comfort of your home feeling stripped naked with the eyes of the world staring in on your personal life.

Reuben made some big mistakes. I know you have made mistakes. I have made millions and sometimes, I have screwed up publicly and been left riddled with shame and embarrassment. Even though we are all sinners, it is awful to give the world a visible reminder of how messed up and sinful we are. We end up feeling helpless and undressed in front of everyone.

Jacob felt the intense grief of losing his precious son. The grief that comes when we ache over the loss of a loved one is universal, but we long to keep it personal. We live in a world filled with kind people who want to comfort and help ease the pain, but receiving consolation exposes our private wounds. When our heartbreak is raw, we feel unprotected and stripped bare.

We don’t usually picture Jesus being naked. It seems outrageously disrespectful and crude, but He was stripped bare for us on the way to His crucifixion.

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him.” Matthew 27:27-29 (NKJV)

Jesus, the Son of God and King of glory came down from heaven and was beaten, lied about, abandoned, mocked, whipped, spat on and stripped totally naked for you. He was left vulnerable, grieved and exposed. He despised the shame but endured the cross because He loves you.

He is the one who will help you when you are attacked. He understands the pain of grief and loss and He longs to comfort you, and He is the one who died, naked on a cross, for you. He promises to forgive you for all those embarrassing mistakes and sins. He sees every part of you; nothing is hidden; you are naked in front of Him and if He is the one you call “Savior”, He replies, “You are Beautiful.” Let Him cover up your nakedness with His robe of righteousness; there is nothing better to be clothed in.

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 
My soul shall be joyful in my God; 
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
 He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10 (NKJV)

An Excerpt from “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom:

“Fridays–the recurrent humiliation of medical inspection. The hospital corridor in which we waited was unheated and a fall chill had settled into the walls. Still we were forbidden even to wrap ourselves in our own arms, but had to maintain our erect, hands-at-sides position as we filed slowly past a phalanx of grinning guards.

“How there could have been any pleasure in the sight of these stick-thin legs and hunger-bloated stomachs I could not imagine. Surely there is no more wretched sight than the human body unloved and uncared for.

“Nor could I see the necessity for the complete undressing: when we finally reached the examining room a doctor looked down each throat, another–a dentist presumably–at our teeth, a third in between each finger. And that was all. We trooped again down the long, cold corridor and picked up our X-marked dresses at the door.

“But it was one of these mornings while we were waiting, shivering in the corridor, that yet another page in the Bible leapt into life for me.

“He hung naked on the cross.

“…The paintings, the carved crucifixes showed at least a scrap of cloth. But this, I suddenly knew, was the respect and reverence of the artist. But oh–at the time itself, on that other Friday morning–there had been no reverence. No more than I saw in the faces around us now.

“‘Betsie, they took His clothes too.’

“‘Ahead of me I heard a little gasp. ‘Oh, Corrie. And I never thanked Him…

Oh Dear friends, We need to thank our precious Jesus!

You and I were created to praise the Lord. The more I study scripture, the more I see how important this is to God. You see it from the very beginning. Every time God created something, He declared that it was good. It seems clear that we should follow His example and praise Him for how great His creation is. The psalms are full of praise. Moses, David, Daniel, Jacob, Abraham, Joseph, and Mary made a habit of praising the Lord. The Lord’s Prayer begins with a declaration of praise. The disciples and Paul and New Testament saints praised the Lord even when doing so was threatening to their lives. We are told to rejoice always…even in our suffering.

At the end of the Bible, we see in Revelation that every tongue and tribe and nation will praise the Lord forever and ever.

We are told to confess our sins and love our neighbors and honor the Sabbath and tithe and forgive and do lots of things, but more than anything else, we are told to praise The Lord.

The most important thing is to invest in our eternal relationship with God through the means of praise. Praising Him is not dependent on how well things are going or how good we feel. We are to praise Him before we see how He has “used it for good”. We praise Him because He is good and He is God.

We must always remember that the only thing we ever contributed to our relationship with Jesus is our sin… that’s it. We should never forget how He painfully paid for our contribution. He is worthy of praise for His sacrifice and power over death.

We are to thank Him for all the gifts He has generously given us, and we are to praise Him for being generous and kind and gentle and forgiving.

When I don’t feel very “praisey”, it is because I am focused on me or the gifts He has given me, or the painful effect that sin has dealt on my life. My soul is eternal and I will be praising God for eternity; my life is out of focus if the temporal keeps me from praising The Lord. When our lives are crowded with junk, we need to remove what is junking it up. We can get blinded by junk and lose sight of the savior.

I have also learned that I can and should clean out my life closet of the junk that is crowding it up. A couple times a year, I clean out the closets in my house. I throw or give away the things that don’t fit, are worn out or just not worn.

I have begun to do this with “my life closet”. I have purposely cleaned out things that wear me out or have no value. I have had to clean things up and let some unclean things go. When we clean out our clothes closets, we see all our pretty clothes and we smile over how neat and organized they are. Our lives will never be totally neat and organized, but when we clean out our life closets, our vision is not cluttered by the overcrowded mess of things that don’t fit in the eternal.

We were created to praise the Lord, and if we are not doing that, our lives are overcrowded. Oh precious friends, get to cleaning. You were created for more than an overcrowded life. You are precious and valuable. Praise the Lord for declaring that to be true. Praise Him today… no matter what. It is time to get started. Praising Him is something we will be doing forever.

“The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:2 (NKJV)

 

Let All Things Praise the Lord

“Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!

Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150 (NKJV)

 

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)

 

“After these things I heard[a] a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord[b] our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments.” Revelation 19:1-2 (NKJV)

I am pretty certain that nothing in my life is very unique or out of the ordinary. I am not saying that I am not unique, because of course, there is only one of me and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I just have recognized that my days are filled with unremarkable lessons and expectations. There is a sweet freedom in knowing that my successes, failures, heartaches and celebrations are not particularly noteworthy. The fact that life seems to repeat itself connects us to one another. We are able to share joy, empathize and advise as we walk along side each other through shared experiences.

My husband walks more closely along side of me than anyone and recently he was wise enough to help me see that I was stuck in a pattern that I needed to break free from. I have been confused and broken over a situation outside of my home and outside of my control. Because of my confusion, I have obsessed over it. I have felt the need to understand something that I just cannot make sense of. I pray and cry about it. I think about it all the time and journal and want to talk about it. I engaged in yet another conversation about this with Pat the other day and he responded with this advice:

“Catherine, You have grieved over this for long enough. The time for grieving is over. It is time to move on.”

As risky as his instruction was, he was so right. There is a time to grieve, but I needed to recognize when to let the grief go. When heartbreak happens, we need to deal with it. We need to cry and be consoled and be quiet. We don’t have to shake it off, but the grieving season cannot go on forever. When we get sucked into all-consuming grief for too long, it is hard to climb out. I think we need to be purposeful about how we rise from the ruin. I also think the first step is to acknowledge that we have been in a grieving season. There is a time to cry, but there is also a time to dance. There are so many reasons to dance. I have to remind myself all the time of our instruction to rejoice. We rejoice because this is the day that the Lord has made. We rejoice when we go through trials and when we are disciplined. We rejoice because we woke up today and because God is on the throne. We rejoice because it is what we were created to do.

If this is your time to grieve, take the time. Grief time is healthy and important. Heartache, loss, and confusion are so common. You are not alone and just about everyone on the planet understands grief and pain. You are surrounded by people who get it, and you have the ear and affection of THE ONE who understands better than anyone and who can comfort you like no other. He cares about your tears and will be there to lead you when it is time to dance again.

To everything there is a season, 
A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,
 And a time to die; 
A time to plant,
 And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,
 And a time to heal; 
A time to break down,
 And a time to build up;

A time to weep,
 And a time to laugh; 
A time to mourn,
 And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,
 And a time to gather stones; 
A time to embrace,
 And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,
 And a time to lose; 
A time to keep,
 And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,
 And a time to sew;
 A time to keep silence,
 And a time to speak;

A time to love,
 And a time to hate; 
A time of war,
 And a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NKJV)

Pat and I spent this week in Marco Island, Florida. It was a sweet time for us as a couple to enjoy each other and catch up with friends while Pat had business meetings. Because Pat’s days were filled with meetings, I had lots of time to be alone and walk on the beach. I love walking on the beach and never miss the chance to seize the opportunity. I had to bundle up for my beach walks this week. It was cool and very windy. The locals kept apologizing for the terrible weather. Apparently, they are used to calm seas with high temperatures in the 80’s in January.

You could see and hear the white caps from our room. The waves were big, constant and aggressive and they ushered in tons of shells. We have been blessed as a family to travel to the beach every year, but our favorite family beach does not have shells. The shoreline in Marco Island was littered with them. You couldn’t take half a step without seeing starfish, sand dollars, conch shells, sea urchins and more. I started collecting the treasures and sat down to examine and admire all of them. The purple sea urchin was my favorite. The pattern on it was so precise and balanced. The color was vibrant and the detailed design was delightful. As uncomfortable as the cold and strong wind was, it was the vehicle that propelled the waves to rise, crash and disturb the sea floor. The effect of the wind brought in gems from the ocean, and allowed me the privilege of shell study and admiration. I discovered newfound beauty in the middle of an unbridled windstorm, and I was so blessed by it.

Knowing what I do about God, I know He created things for His pleasure and purpose. He made that purple sea urchin because it delighted Him to do so. He delighted in showing His godliness to me this week as I discovered the shell. I was able to praise Him for being a God who loves beauty, precision and detail. I was reminded about how every detail matters to Him and nothing escapes His attention, surprises Him or is beyond His control. He is powerful, and He is also beautifully intimate.

God often uses the powerful, aggressive and threatening storms in our life to show us something intimately beautiful. When we are swept up in the middle of an unbridled windstorm, the waves push us to our knees and propel us to study. We discover and are deeply comforted by “The God who sees” during these times. When the atmosphere is calm and mostly sunny, we don’t tend to stop and examine things; we mindlessly amble along, burning calories while singing a happy tune. There is such a sweetness in the storm that we don’t see unless we are in the middle of it. It seems that most of the time, we tend to wait for the storm to pass before we start praising God. We feel like we need an outcome in order to offer praise, but God didn’t tell us to wait for the rainbow to begin praising Him. He tells us to “Be Still and know that He is God.” We are the ones who are to be still; the storm doesn’t need to still….we do. We must be purposeful in the praising; we should look for the magnificent and delicate sea urchin while the wind is still roaring.

God has always used the powerful and aggressive to remind people that He is God. Windstorms are in His wheelhouse.

In Exodus 6-10, God told and showed Moses that Pharaoh, the Israelites and Egyptians would know that He was God as He displayed His power through plagues. In the desert, God heard the Israelites complaining and wanted them to know He was God by giving them manna every day (Exodus 16). God purposed his Lordship by showing Joshua and the Israelites that He is God when He led them across the Jordan River (Joshua 3).

God’s purpose for us is to know Him, glorify Him and enjoy Him. He is powerful to rescue us from plagues and He is merciful to provide us the manna and sustenance we need to survive in the desert. He goes before us when our enemies are ready to attack. He is the God who sees and He is powerful enough to subdue the wind, and tender enough to deliver gifts of beauty to brighten our day. Sometimes His most precious treasures are washed right up to our feet in the middle of our fiercest storms. Oh dear friends, take a minute to be still and praise Him for who He is and for everything He is doing.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;” Psalm 139:17-18 (NKJV)

“O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.” Psalm 89:8-9 (NKJV)

 

“In the beginning was the Word.” (John 1:1) “The earth was formless and empty and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the deep waters.” (Genesis 1:2)

I recently wrote an article about self-correcting mistakes. In the article, I encouraged you to seek wisdom and allow the Lord to help you establish your steps when you are confronted with trials and difficult decisions. A number of you had follow up questions and comments regarding how we are supposed to do that. How can any of us know what steps to take? How do we know that God has given us wisdom when we ask? Is there a formula for wisdom?

As surprising as it may sound, the answer is “Yes”. In our formless and empty darkness, where we are burdened by fear and confusion, we can seek and find wisdom. James tells us:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (NKJV)

The wisdom of God can only be found in His Word, and when we seek His will and submit our need for wisdom, the Holy Spirit hovers over us and lifts us out of the dark sea of confusion and chaos. There are many deep things of God that we will never be able to understand while we are here, but we can be assured that the challenges that God has allowed us to navigate today are ones that can and will bring Him glory. He loves to impart wisdom and when we receive His wisdom, we also get the promise of peace.

Everyone is faced with tough decisions. We agonize over job and school choices. We pray and worry about relationships and how to navigate them. We fret over big purchases and investments. Family planning offers all kinds of opportunities for uneasiness. When faced with a big decision, I think I have always prayed for wisdom, but I am so insecure about the limits of my brain that I doubt my proficiency in making decisions all the time. I know I am not alone in my insecurity. Moses needed to see a burning bush. Gideon laid the fleece out twice. The disciples were racked with fear after Jesus’s death, and many of you likely doubt your own decision-making abilities too.

When we clearly see how inadequate we are, we know with certainty that we need help and direction from the one who alone is wise. I have been placed in the middle of a chaotic and worrisome situation. In my pursuit of handling it with wisdom, I have prayed and sought answers in God’s word. I asked the Lord to establish my steps, and I have come up with a solid plan of action, but I have been so ruffled and emotionally involved that I have questioned the appropriateness of my game plan.

God is so good! He doesn’t leave us hungry. He always has just the right answer and it gives Him joy to reveal those answers to us in His Word. As I fretted and wavered and longed for answers, the Holy Spirit was hovering and in His precious and tender way, led me to this verse:

“The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17 (NKJV)

I found my formula for wisdom. With this verse as my guide, I juxtaposed the established plan that I hoped and believed was the right approach and meditated on every facet in this verse.

Was my approach Pure? Have I asked the Lord to examine my heart? Am I looking for a temporary fix or an opportunity to glorify myself?

Does my plan promote Peace? Is there coldness or vanity weaving through my intentions?

Am I approaching this with gentleness, or am I looking to win or advance myself? Am I treating the situation and people involved in the way I would hope to be treated?

If something changes or the Lord reveals to me that I am wrong, Am I willing to yield and see a different course?

Am I being merciful? God has shown me so much mercy. My sins are forgiven because of His amazing mercy? Am I withholding forgiveness? Will others be blessed by my actions?

Am I so stubborn, off track or not grafted in to “the vine” that I am not bearing good fruit?

Am I showing partiality? Do I like myself so much or dislike someone else so much that I am acting unfairly?

Am I just pretending? Am I being a hypocrite?

As I meditated and let the Holy Spirit examine my heart, I was overwhelmed with peace. When decisions are wrought with unease, we need help. Life is full of tough decisions and perplexing problems. When our world feels like a dark, formless and chaotic sea, we have the promise of Light and God’s Word to stand on. We always have the Holy Spirit hovering over us to help us navigate the wisdom in God’s Word. In the beginning was the Word…and for today there is The Word, and in The Word is where you will find wisdom.

Be encouraged and be at peace. God’s Word is true and it sanctifies, cleanses, encourages, directs and nourishes. Let His word establish your steps.

“You heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Eph 1:13 (NKJV)

 

It feels inauthentic to share with you how I am learning through a tough time without giving nitty gritty details, but there are some things in life that are so wrong and hurtful, it is just stupid to let the offense pollute or swell. I feel so blessed to have been knocked down and to have had the opportunity to learn and grow. Everyone has stuff. There isn’t a person on the planet that doesn’t understand pain. As I have been dealing with mine, I have done lots of writing and journaling to help me remember and to help me mentally work through it. I have written lots of blogs that will never be posted. Pain comes in all shapes and forms; the one thing that is constant is the one who heals our pain. I have experienced anger, betrayal, confusion and fear while persistently seeking the Lord and His healing touch. His touch and His word do heal. It is incredibly beautiful to sit here today and write about the gladness He has put in my heart in the midst of a nasty storm.

Earlier this week, I shared with you my frustration with God. I wanted God to quit stalling and get to vindicating. I wanted Him to smite and punish and avenge. (Screaming at God). I was reeling around in my anger, and I hate being angry. I was itchin for a fight and I really hated the itch. I want to love like Jesus does. I want to forgive like He has forgiven me and I knew that He would have to do something miraculous on my heart if I would ever be able to glorify Him during this season.

God’s word, the prayers of the saints and the power of the Holy Spirit are the tools God uses to preform the miracles we cry out for. He fights for us.

I trust Him to fight. None of the details in my situation or yours surprises God. He is the God of truth and light. His light exposes and eradicates the darkness. A very wise friend asked me if I had claimed one specific bible verse during this trail. Although I hadn’t intentionally done so, there was a verse that broke through my pain and thoughts the hour all of this began. It actually was just a portion of a verse:

“Whatsoever things are true…. meditate on these things.” Phil. 4:8 (NKJV)

I have meditated on this verse and other truths for weeks now and I can say without hesitation that doing so has allowed me to rejoice.

I wish I learned as much during easy seasons in life. It would be wonderful if God conformed me to the likeness of His son through vacations, economic security, health, and beautiful celebrations. I learn more from difficult times. I spend more time on my knees, thirsting for God’s wisdom and seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance when I have been knocked down. Each time the howling winds of hurt knock me over, I grow and I get up. God uses all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), and what could be better than growing to be more like Jesus? We are to consider it pure joy when we face trials, because it is these very things that perfect our faith (1 Peter 1:6-9).

God is the one who reveals my righteousness. My battle is not proving how right I am. I don’t have to waste firepower shooting back at my enemies. The captain of Heaven’s armies is fighting for me. I get to sing and shout about how great He is. If I am really itchin for a fight, I am called to fight the Lord’s battles. I am a soldier equipped to fight for the poor and poor in spirit. God can handle my enemies. He has given me the chance to fight for peace, light and truth.

The devil is our enemy. He loves to wound and destroy. He sends in floods of wickedness and trouble, but God will establish a strong wall to keep the floodwaters from overtaking you. When we trust in His strength and capability, and let Him stand in front of us, we emerge from the floodwaters clean and beautiful. We don’t have to let anger and bitterness stick to us like the mud and silt of a disastrous flood.

We can come out of the furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and not even smell like smoke. (Daniel 3:27)

God is so good; His grace is Amazing. His mercies are new every morning. Let Him fight. Trust Him. Rejoice in the trials He is using to sanctify you. Do not let bitterness and lies leave any nasty silt on you. He is with you in the furnace and if you meditate on whatsoever things are true, you can come out of the furnace radiant. Instead of wallowing in the pain inflicted, sing about the savior. Embrace the chance to be a sweet aroma; Leave the pain of the burn behind without a scent of lingering smoke.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Phil 4:8 (NKJV)

I walk crooked. When I don’t pay attention to my stride or if I am tired, my heel will strike my inner ankle. After a long jog, my socks are stained with blood on both inner ankles. Some of my tall shoes have chunks missing from repetitive strikes and the dark scars on my ankles are permanent. You would think I would learn. It really hurts to repetitively bang and kick your ankle. A more discerning person would embrace these kicks as self-correcting mistakes and then never kick herself again.

I wish I could say that I am a person who only has to make a mistake once in order to learn. I am not. I am sure that the lion’s share of my mistakes are parenting mistakes. Today marks 20 years for me as a parent. I have messed up a lot of things as a mom, and thankfully, I have learned from a lot of these mistakes. I always intend on being a good mom. I want to inspire and encourage and teach, mold and love my kids in the best ways possible. I have read books and listened to lectures and prayed for guidance, and my kids seem to be doing OK, but they have had to forgive me for a lot too. As much as I love all four of my kids and as great as my intentions are, I am a sinner and an imperfect parent.

As I have made parenting mistakes, I have learned from them. The structure and environment that the 4^th child is living in has dramatically evolved from what it was for my first-born. When your best intentions fail and wound, it is only prudent to scrap the original plan and readjust. I have found that the easiest way for me to screw things up is when I am tired, confused, or not paying attention.

We all get tired. Life is exhausting and confusing. When we get distracted, it is so easy to get off track. I am navigating something right now that is uncomfortable, painful and confusing. I know that I need direction and help if I am going to be able to glorify the Lord and keep a sure footing. I need Him to help me establish a plan.

Because life, learning, relationships and parenting are all tough tasks, we need direction and help in our preparation to tackle them. When we are tired, emotionally raw, confused or distracted, we need to have an established plan in place.

It is vital to be in relationship with the Lord. I need time alone with Him. I crave His word, comfort, counsel and direction. I need Him to establish my words, work and steps. On my own, I fall into a pattern of pain and confusion. When I go out unprepared, emotions, confusion and exhaustion distract me. I need a plan in place. I need established steps. I am told that God will provide these, but I need to spend time with Him so I can understand His plan.

It doesn’t take long to figure out that going solo is a self-correcting mistake. You are not perfect and you can recover from your mistakes. You have a friend and leader who can set your feet on the right path and establish your steps. He is the only perfect parent. He has been at it much longer than 20 years. He is eternal. Nothing surprises Him. He is wisdom and truth and peace. He longs to spend time with you and help you establish a plan for navigating through the obstacles in your path. Trust Him. He is gentle and will always pick you up when you fall. He promises to establish your steps.

“A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (NIV)

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NKJV)