I find the life with Jesus so beautiful yet the reality of hardships and afflictions are nigh. I have encountered extreme joy and adventure, while also suffering great losses.  I am sure many reading today are in some sort of struggle.  I wish I could tell you there would be little pain…yet it seems the most profound intimacy with Christ for me has come in my greatest sorrows. I am learning more about our Savior. I am seeing Him so tender still…and so patient. I continue to take many heart aches to the altar..I tearfully plea often, “Jesus help me.” It seems the simpler my prayers are mixed with the most wretched and desperate cries, come His presence and gentleness. I have failed Him much over my years. I have failed to trust Him, I have failed to obey Him, and I have failed to love Him as He deserves. Yet, He seems to be the one who still remains…regardless of my failures..

I tucked myself away tonight with the Lord, the tears were swelling so in my heart I could almost hear His beckoning to “come..” All I could do was bury my head between my knees again and pour it out. I am thankful it is the prayer of Hannah He hears….where no words are uttered just a deep heart cry.

I received a little text from a middle school girl who had frequented my place of daily ministry asking for prayer for her grandmother in a serious medical situation. Then remembering one I have been praying for as she tries to be free of drugs and trying to remain safe from a boyfriend who beats her…while on my heart was also one who was going through a personal loss whose heart was broken. I quietly mumbled, “Lord, I cant get to them all… and while on others thou does calleth, do not pass me by.”

I remember the passage of scripture He had me memorize this week in 1 Samuel 17:34 and I haven,t been able to read any further but only stare at this one for days. Certainly, it’s the heart of the Lord….but it should also be our hearts. So many wait help, encouragement, and even a rescue.

I take care of my father’s sheep. Any time a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, ³⁵ I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb.1 Samuel 17:34

Do we rescue people any more?

That requires a Christ-like love doesn’t it? A complete dying of ones time and resources…for the sake of another. I sit with many suffering in silence …no one has checked on them,  asked if they need anything during a death, divorce, or job loss, and the burden is tremendous. Are we prepared to drop everything and go during a crises? God’s priority is people, yet (myself included) we get busy with other things.

Where are we…the Church…?…are there widows in your midst? Is there an intentional strategy to care for the widows and orphans? Are our minds on other things of much less importance than the revealed will of God?

In this fight with Christ there will be tribulation…and many…some days full of glory and others full of despair. It is not for the faint of heart….you need to be close to the Lord or you will not make it victoriously. You will have to lean in and lean on. You will have to trust Him in every little detail and learn His voice with you intimately. You will have to learn to cry but learn to stand back up. You will have to learn to turn from the approval of others, the expectations of others, and please Him solely. You will have to fight for friends, fight for truth, and fight for your promised land. For the enemy will be standing on the very spot God has given you. Do not think it will be handed over on a silver platter…you will have to take down your Goliath. Possessing the land requires a fight. You will also have to fight for a tender heart or the pains of the fight will harden your own heart. Some days are easier than others….some days are full of clouds and others full of sunshine…His lessons are in both. You will have to die to all material possessions, expectations for your futures, self sufficiency, and anything that has now become an idol. For He is calling us to RESCUE people. In this, you will have to hold all things loosely and lay much daily on the altar.

There are Some Days…

There are some days you’ll feel like giving up

There are some days you’ll feel you may win.

There are some days you’ll feel like fighting

And some days you’ll want to just quit.

There are some days the sorrow is stilled more

There are some days the losses bring great grief

There are some days the smiling comes easier

And some days you’ll just soon not see.

There are some days when silence is welcome

And some days it cuts like a knife.

There are some days you’ll bury your head low

There are some days the Lord just holds tight.

There are some days the past is the past, yes,

But some days you’ll cry in the night

There are some days you’ll tire and be weary

Yet some days your strength reignites.

There are some days you’ll shine with a fierceness

And some days will shrink to the fear

There are some days the rain pelts like hail stones

And some days it falls soft as tears.

There are some days you’ll scream loud in anger

And some days you’ll patiently wait

There are some days you must just remember

The promise of rescue He made.

March 19, 2016

No matter which “some day” you are in…..He sees them all..

Love Much,

Shelly