I don't know about you but I have been in a place where I need to be frequently reminded about the power of God.
My family and I have dealt with so many spiritual attacks the past couple of months that I barely have time to shine my Armour before the next attack comes.
I have had to CHOOSE not to be offended by people who have hurt me dearly, my faith is being stretched to new limits and I have questioned why I even asked to go deeper with the Lord.
Ever been there?
The thing is in order to go deeper you have to be vulnerable ( susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm) I'm surprised my picture isn't showing up after the definition.
I have decided not to write this jewel about the people or circumstances that have caused attack or harm. Instead, I'm going to share a story with you a man named Robert told me. A story/reminder I desperately needed to hear so I figured you may need to hear it too.
Robert told me that he has a neighbor that for days had a rolled up McDonald's bag and large soda cup sitting on the railing of their fence. You know how little things can drive us crazy sometimes, well for Robert it was these two objects. He said he would pull into his drive way and all he could see were that bag and cup. As if the manicured lawns and cozy porches suddenly disappeared and all that was left was a neon sign pointing to this heap of garbage that overpowered the otherwise lovely home.
"Why don't they throw their trash away?" he would ask in the privacy of his car as he jeered at his neighbors obvious disregard for keeping their other wise nice neighborhood status quo.
He confessed he never went over and threw it away, he would just grumble from inside his car and shake his head in disgust.
Of course I'm exaggerating a bit but you get what I'm saying we have all been lured into this trap of insignificance.
Well his attention was quickly taken off this irritating scene because he now had a bigger problem, much bigger, hurricane Irma was heading straight for Florida.
Robert shared his own feelings of vulnerability with me regarding the storm. A feeling we all experience when things are totally out of our control. I think we all felt a lot like this diagram!
Robert, almost involuntarily, out loud said a familiar prayer from the safety of his vehicle "GOD help me!"
He then pulled his car up closer to the house for safe keeping and something caught his eye in the mud. He got out to find a small purple cross, which he pulled out of his pocket to show me as he narrated his miraculous God moment with me.
He said he knew God was telling him everything was going to be OK. That He was with Robert and as His word promises, He will never leave us or forsake us. Robert did what he could do to prepare for the storm and left the rest up to God.
After a night of major winds and rain the worst part of the weather was over. The next morning Robert went outside to assess the damage.
The first thing he noticed was a large tree that blew over and landed strategically in the yard just missing his home. No coincidence there. He looked down his street to see a mass of debris covering what was once a very tidy road.
A quick scan left then right, heart still pumping a little quicker as the realization of what could have happened registers to the brain. A concerned turn of the head to ascertain his neighbors well being, and then he saw it.....
Right there in plain sight the McDonald's bag and soda cup still standing on his neighbors very thin, exposed railing!!!
This is the actual picture Robert took himself!
Gems I get chills even as a write this to you. GOD is still in control. I love that first He gives us something sweet maybe even sentimental to meet us where we are emotionally and remind us that He's got us right in the palm of His hand. Then He doesn't just show up, He shows off! HE gave Robert and I a reminder that HE IS GOD. The ONLY explanation for that "garbage" to still be there was God sending His own message. HE is bigger than nature, bigger than hurricanes, bigger than physics! He still controls the wind and rain, He can knock over a huge tree while keeping a small bag in place. He still does the impossible!
The thing is Gems on the outside we can look like big solid Christians. We may know all the right things to say or do but when the big, unavoidable, out of control storm hits who are we?
We may appear to have lots of testimonies and adventures with the Holy Spirit but do we have shallow roots?
I took this picture because it summed up exactly what I'm talking about.
Before the hurricane came this tree appeared pretty solid, but one good storm a tree without roots can be history. Yea it can be picked back up and re-planted but it has to grow roots to withstand the next whirlwind.
Just like us, we can go through a storm and maybe get knocked over for a while but God will pick us back up and replant us in His word if we choose, but we have to grow roots to stand against the uncertainties of life.
I was definitely in a personal hurricane, still am. I have control over nothing I can't fix the situation and I'm completely vulnerable. I have to choose wisely who I let speak into my life. I have been laying low for weeks because the only voice I want to hear is God's.. I went to New York to visit my sweet sister and honestly thought about not coming back.
I have counted on a small group of people to have faith for me on the days I don't have enough of my own and I'm beyond thankful for them.
I have needed people to tend to my tree so my roots can grow deeper. God uses the most unusual circumstances, like that bag and cup, to remind us of His power and I'm so thankful for those moments even if they shake every branch on my tree.
Yes the winds are still blowing and like the diagram I don't know my next direction but I do know God does and it's a good plan.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11
Thank you Robert for allowing me to share your God story. It inspired me and I pray it inspires my faithful Gems.
