I am completely amazed by God. I am lost in His wondrous
love and grace. In my last blog,
“when your hurting� I was swarmed by overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and
anger that was disguised as sadness. I have been walking in a season of grief
these last few months and learning to let go of many things. God has been especially dealing with sin
issues and purifying my heart.
While packing my things (because I am moving), I found a
picture that my teammate Courtney drew for me, while on the mission field. It
was simply a heart covered with water. Courtney wrote, “ I don’t why, but I
feel that God is washing you clean.� I just smiled when I saw it again because I knew it was and is the truth. Everyday He
is making me ready to see Him face to face someday. I am being transformed in
His likeness. I may not understand this season, but what I know for certain that
my God faithful and will carry me through.
He will do this for you as well! I do not know your
situation. You may be in a season just like mine. Trust in the Lord. I am
telling you TRUST IN THE LORD. He has something better for you. His outcome is
always for our good. We may not see it until later, however it is still GOOD.
I wrote a blog, “Your love never fails� while in Thailand
and I was going through a season then as well. I just wanted to share with you
again.
“My last night in Cambodia, I was invited out to a worship night with
few of my squad mates. My teammates decided not to go. I walked into that night
broken and burdened with a load, in which I thought it was for my team.
Casondra, my dearest friend, was asked to sing (spontaneously), but I didn’t
know that she was actually asked to sing over me. Her words penetrated my
heart so deeply that I fell to the ground weeping. I was overwhelmed with
such sorrow and a squad mate came to me and said, Kerry, what are you holding
onto that you need to let go. Immediately, I repented of my pride and asked the
Lord to forgive me for not being an instrument of truth. I was holding back
from my team and refusing to walk with them on their journey with the Holy
Spirit.
I had no idea I was holding back because I was angry with the Lord for changing
my team. I thought that this change would be good for me. Cambodia though was suppose
to be my month, so I thought, and it broke me that I was in the middle of
nowhere with people I didn’t know and who didn’t even know me.
All along, there was God, saying to me, Kerry, I was
there even in the midst of your sadness, I was there when there was no words to
pray, I was there when you hid yourself in the darkness, I was there when you
tried to mask your pain, I was there when the thunder grew much louder, I was
there when Satan tried to take my place. I was there. I was there and I am with
you still!
Why is it so hard sometimes for me to grasp the infinite love of Jesus?
Even when I disappoint or fail Him, He continues to love me. I was called to my
team, Citizens of Hope, to encourage and walk with my teammates into fullness
of Christ’s presence. I am no expert of the fullness of God and haven’t
even come close to tasting it, but I am supposed to run the race with my
teammates. Instead, I tried to do it on my own. Pride never gets you
anywhere; that is the honest truth.
Even now, despite all I still need to learn; I can say that Jesus, “you make all things
work together for my good.”
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it
on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6�
I was listening to Charles F. Stanley,
while taking my client for a van ride and I thought his message “Turning Our crisis
into an opportunity� was important to share as well.
1. Trust that God is working everything in your life for
your good.
“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love
God, to those who are called according to His purpose� (Rom. 8:28).
2. Believe that our heavenly Father is in control of
everything.
“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules
over all� (Ps. 103:19).
3. Accept that the Lord’s ways are higher than ours.
“‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the
LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than
your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’� (Isa. 55:8-9).
4. Refuse to make quick judgments in the midst of a
crisis.
“Thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest
you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength’� (Isa. 30:15)
5. Focus on the Father instead of the crisis.
“O our God . . . we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming
against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You� (2 Chron. 20:12).
6. Avoid dwelling on the pain.
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within
me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence� (Ps. 42:5).
7. Recall past crises and the opportunities that
followed.
“They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He
also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted
in me� (2 Sam. 22:19-20).
8. Let go of your anger immediately.
“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do
not give the devil an opportunity� (Eph. 4:26-27).
9. Submit yourself to God’s will.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths
straight� (Pr. 3:5-6).
10. Demonstrate a spirit of gratitude.
“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus� (1 Thess. 5:18).
11. Determine to view the trial as a chance to see God at
work.
“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is
good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD� (Lam. 3:25-26).
12. Refuse to listen to unscriptural interpretations of your
situation.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. . . . The wicked have
laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts� (Ps. 119:105, 110).
13. Remain in constant prayer, listening for the Father’s
instructions.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of
thanksgiving� (Col. 4:2).
14. Do not give in to fluctuating emotions.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my
portion forever� (Ps. 73:26).
15. Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.
“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will
bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him� (Ps. 37:5-7).
My
deepest prayer for those who read this blog is that you understand that God has
not failed you. You are not alone in your situation that you are facing and God
WILL bring you to a place of rest and joy once again.
Keep
your eyes on Him dear children of God
