Look For The Lord

“O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate.
I will rebuild you on a firm foundation of sapphires
and make the walls of your houses from precious jewels.
I will make your towers of sparkling rubies
and your gates and walls of shining gems.”
Isaiah 54:11,12

I remember the first time I really read this verse…I was sitting in my “school room,” where I homeschooled my youngest two at the time.  A room I had so much pride in.  I had washed the walls, and put together shelves, and organized a bin with books and file folders and teachers’ planners, and all things education.  I had worked for the past 9 months in this home, cleaning out and making it a warm and inviting place where we as a family were beginning to heal from a hard season.  A place where we gathered in the den and watched ‘Dancing with the Stars” and had dinner picnics.

But on this day, I was looking to God’s Word for hope as Kyle and I faced the hard decision to let this house go.  This is the first verse that I turned to.  On this day, God was my Restorer.

See, He speaks to us in the manner that we need—at the exact time we need Him.  He will be what you need Him to be.

As I looked up verse after verse, I was overwhelmed by just how much God loves me and you. I know that on that particular day, God knew that I needed His amazing promises of restoration and redemption more than I needed words of conviction.  He is our Father, and our Creator.  He knows it all before any of it happens.  His grace goes before us and softens the hard things.  In that season, I saw so many little bread crumbs of manna.  A lot of times I wondered why did any of this really have to happen and did it really have a purpose.  And then I would go to His Word and read something like this:

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,
Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ,
will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10

After you have gone through _________, Jesus will restore you and God will strengthen you!  In other words, it will all be worth it and God will get all the glory.

Through the hard season, I was given a strength and endurance that I never had before.  And God knew that I would need that strength later on in life and He conditioned me for it.  So I learned to rejoice in this.  As Romans 12:12 says,

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

All trials and struggles keep us on our knees before God.  We learn to rely on Him and not ourselves.  Sometimes there is nothing we can do except rely on Him.  And really, those are the most beautiful times.  We have to trust Him and His goodness.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
Exodus 14:14

You only need to wait on Him.  He knows what you need.  He will come through.

And last, I want to remind you that you can make it through this.  Whatever you filled that blank in with, you can do this.  His power is enough and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  And rejoice, knowing that He loves you and He has already conquered and defeated this for you.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness,
so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

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Let us pray:  Dearest Lord, You are amazing and awesome and so worthy of our praise.  You know our coming and going and You are in control of everything. Your Word is full of hope and Your Holy Spirit guides us to exactly what we need.  Thank You for hope in the horrible, and for giving us treasures in the trials.  You have been there with us…through everything…holding us and loving us.  You are enough and You are always for us.  And for those still unsure, please give them the reassurance that they need to lean wholly on You for everything.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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