“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.” Psalms 23:4
Something good broke in me yesterday. I wrote the blog post Monday and talked about how I have been feeling in what I have been facing a lot of over the past several months. It felt like a culmination and apex of feelings that day. It didn’t feel like I could face much more and I know that life doesn’t stop and more things will come. What was I supposed to do with that? There could be more to come and I felt like I couldn’t handle one more things. I didn’t even think about how to get closer to God so that He could comfort me through this, not that day. And not many days leading up to that day.
Yesterday though, God got through without any effort from me other than to be still and cry. Tears were all I had left in me, so I fell on my knees and cried. I am so grateful today that I did, I woke up with a much lighter heart and though it is an ugly day outside, I feel better than I have in weeks. God promises us so many things in His word, but I forget about comfort. I pray for His comfort many mornings in my daily prayer, but I don’t truly think about His comfort. What does comfort look like in the season I am in? I believe that He wants me to think on, His promises. This morning John and Stasi Eldredge read aloud Psalms 23 and when they got to verse above my heart leaped. I knew I needed to hear that today. I will meditate on the truth today, He comforts me in everything.
Nothing we go through is a surprise to God. It all has to go through His hands to get to us, and He knows what pain it may cause in our hearts and He does care. It may not feel like it in the midst, but that does not mean it isn’t true. He is always working things out for our good (Romans 8:28) even when we can’t see it in the moment. That is why He tells us to praise Him in the storm, not only praise Him but consider it joy to walk through the storm (James 1:2). Once I reached the end of what I could do to help myself in this season, I decided to praise Jesus in it. Guess what? He changed me.
The love of God never fails, I just have to look at what the truth says. His comfort while I feel like I am walking the deepest valley is still enough and I will praise Him as I walk through all of it and remember that He does care for me (1 Peter 5:7). What broke was me, my pride, my reputation, my everything. He wants me to know I am enough and that He has all of this in His hands. He is restoring my soul even as I write. I am so grateful to be in God’s family and I know good will come.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NLT
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” James 1:2
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7
As Beauty Unfolds... 