One Breath At A Time

I am one of those girls that likes having a plan. I mean, I love spontaneous adventures..like LOVE them…BUT for day to day life I would much rather have a plan. And I get frustrated when I don’t have one. Lately I’ve been having those days where all I do is dwell on the storm of my current life. Each all nighter I pulled with every passing day just amplified my discontent. On Tuesday I pretty much had enough. I kind of just exploded. All I could think was, “how long am I going to be dangling here waiting for this to pass? How long am I going to have to avoid chick-fil-a before it’s safe to go and not be considered a stalker? (by an IDIOT to put it lightly) How many days am I going to be consumed with grief and sorrow? How much longer will I cry every time something reminds me of Pa? How long am I going to be dangling here holding on the Lord for dear life before I feel firm ground beneath me?” That’s a lot of questions right? Yeah…but the thing is every one of those questions that I was asking was misplaced. Most of my state of mind was from my lack of sleep, and the rest was because I wasn’t in the word as much as I should have been. On Tuesday night I actually slept and when I woke up, I was reminded of the promise Isaiah 40:27-31.

Why do you say, O Jacob? And complain O Israel? ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God.’ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary. His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. For even youth grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:27-31

Did you catch that? It didn’t say when things are hard I’m going to make it easier…the promise is greater than that. The promise is when we endure pain, the Lord will be there to renew our strength. He will give us the strength to take one more step when we are standing there in the middle of the storm thinking that we can’t. He gives us one more breath when we think that we can’t take another one. When we’re standing there thinking, “God where did you go? Can you not tell that I am struggling here? Do you see me hanging on for dear life? Can you not see that each breath gets harder and harder to breathe? Can you not see? And do you even care?” He’s saying, “I see you. And I am giving you the strength to take this step. I am faithful, always.. and I will give you the strength to take this breath. You can get out of bed, because I am giving you the strength to do it.”
Isn’t that awesome…and then with that encouragement came conviction, because God is so good.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:17-21

This passage just nailed me. Sometimes we water down the crucifixion, because we get uncomfortable thinking about the heavy price that was paid for our lives. We are not saved by gold…we are saved by PRECIOUS BLOOD. A parent can understand this more than I, but losing a child is a blow like no other. Nothing hurts more than losing a child, and God had to watch it happen. He knew he was going to have to send His perfect son to save this messed up world, but he did anyways because he loves us. Don’t water down Jesus’ death. Y’all he was beaten beyond recognition. He couldn’t even carry his own cross, because he was too weak. They mocked him and spit on him. Shoved a crown of thorns on his temple..He was hung on a cross and died a slow, painful death. The death of a sinner. A death that he did not deserve. The full wrath of his father upon him. Our father did that for us! It all goes back to the cross! It all goes back to the blood. It all goes back to the Lord. He is our Father who will give us the strength to take each breath that we take, yes, but he is the Lord. He is the great judge. And he judges impartially. Don’t get caught up in yourself and lose sight of who the Lord is and what He has done.

Confession time...

I am a harry potter nerd. There, I said it. But while everyone’s favorite character in Harry Potter is one of the core three…I have always been partial to Fawkes. Now, for other Harry Potter nerds out there I won’t have to elaborate, but since I’m guessing that a great deal of y’all are not HP fans I will elaborate. Fawkes is Dumbledore’s phoenix. Fawkes is my favorite, because as a child I was memorized with the fact that it turned to ash and then was reborn. As a little girl when I started reading Harry Potter, I realized that there was so much more to it, but now as a young lady about to turn 20 I know why it always amazed me. When we give our life to Christ we become phoenix like. We were dead in sin, enemies to the Lord, and unworthy to be called children of God. We were essentially ashes, but when we realized that we were dead and realized that the Lord has so much more for us, and repented from our trespasses we were made new. We were reborn! Just as phoenixes are reborn! Isn’t that just awesome!? We traded our ashes in for beauty and wear FORGIVENESS like a crown. And we can lay every burden down at the foot of the cross! Every single burden that we have, ever single sin and temptation that we face has been paid in full! This doesn’t mean we get a free pass and can do whatever we want, but when we do get bungled up in our temptation and let Satan enslave us to our worldly desires, we have the Holy Spirit to awaken us and convict us of our sin. We were not made to be enslaved…we were made to be free! And we have the power inside of us to be free! The coolest part is when we repent and completely turn away from our messes we are forgiven and are considered clean and pure in front of the almighty father! Isn’t that just so cool! So come! Taste the living water, and walk with the lover of your soul. The mighty warrior who loves and fights for alongside of you and fights for you!