December 23, 2024

A Promise to Surround

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But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Psalms 5:11-12

If all God told me for the rest of my life was that He was my Shield, I would be okay. If all I heard was that I could trust in Him, and take joy in Him, I would be okay. Or if all I heard was that He would defend me, I would be okay.  But He doesn’t just tell us one or two of these things, He promises all that, AND on top of it all, He adds favor and love.

Joy is only one word I would use to describe how I feel when I step back and realize that He is my Shield.  On a day-to-day basis He stands in front of me, protecting me from the arrows that are being thrown at me and my family.  He is defending us against the attacks, seen and unseen.

For the LORD will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3:26

Because I know that He walks with me and protects me, I can walk with confidence and be joyful in Him. Even on the days when I feel vulnerable and alone, I know He is there, and I can lift my head and rejoice in all He does for me.

This week I am going to focus on the word “surround” used in Psalm 5:12.  Not only does our Heavenly Father promise this, but He does it in a way that ensures our ultimate protection.  He doesn’t say that He will guard our front or back, He promises that we will be surrounded.  So dear sisters, take joy in the fact that His promises remain true; remember that we are protected from each side; and that the One who died on the Cross for our sins, not only did that but gives us love, protection, and the joy we need to walk the path He has created for us on a daily basis.

  ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, the hedge of protection that You surround us with on a daily basis is not some random story told in our youth, but instead it is a reality that we are blessed with through every breath we take. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, amen.

Girls with Swords: Chapter 7- “Pressure” (pages 115-117)

As Lisa tells us about her “doubtful moment” it brings me right back to one of my very own doubt-filled moments….

It had been several months after my very last therapy session.  I knew in my heart of hearts that I was healed, but as I stepped into my counselor’s office that day, the doubt that had been filling in my heart since the last time I was in that room followed me in.  Even with a beautiful sign from God’s heart to mine that I truly was healed and made new, I still somehow let doubt get in the way.  As I was explaining all of my doubts my dear counselor asked me a simple question, “What are the things that you know that you know that you know are true?”

I am safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

I am loved. (John 3:16)

These were the only thoughts that I was able to muster up, but somehow they proved to be just enough!

Each truth above comes from God’s Word.  Apart from Him we have nothing, we are nothing.  God’s Word is our source for confidence.  He is our Source for power and protection.  He is our all in all.  He is our portion forever and ever.  He is all we ever need and He has come to RESCUE YOU AND ME from doubt and all of the hardships of life!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26

Knowing the truth is just not enough to keep the doubt away.  I have found that the more we “know” something, the more Satan tries to convince us that we don’t know anything at all.  Prior to this moment in counseling I had found the more confidence I had, the more doubt consumed me.  How does that even make sense?  It makes sense because my confidence used to come from the wrong source.  Think to yourself, do you find confidence from the shifting sands of circumstances or do you find confidence in our Mighty Rock?  It is still a struggle from time to time for me to let go of the false advertisements for confidence we find ourselves surrounded by in our world.  We think we know what we need—the best make-up, the finest clothing, the right man, the popular friends—the list goes on and on.  These false eye-catching traps just leave our hearts filled with doubt.  Truth be told, even the best this world has to offer will never give us the confidence that we can find in God alone.  Again, I know this is true because Scripture backs it up!

Proverbs 3:26 assures us, “…for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.”

We can have confidence in God because of His Word! When we fill our hearts with God’s truth, His confidence seeps into every crack and crevice of our soul!  God’s confidence in us will enable Satan’s lies to stay tucked under our feet as we press on in our journey with the Lord of our lives!

It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put His hand on you for something special.  When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words.  Something happened in you.  The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.  (1 Thessalonians 1:5 MSG)   

Knowing God’s Word will not suffice in the spiritual battle at hand.  I know this personally. Since I have started this study, God has been using many hardships to show me just how true it is that knowing scripture is not enough, and we must be trained to use it.  God’s Word is our training manual.  Everything we need to know is found in His Word, not the lies of Satan.  Our sword must be filled with the truth—God’s truth—which has the power to strike down Satan’s consuming lies and doubts.  As a princess warrior in training, we cannot let doubt consume us.  We must empty ourselves into God so that He can consume us.

The more we know who God is, the more we have confidence from Him in who we are created to be.  No two princesses of the King are the same.  We are all created for a unique and important purpose.  It is time to wash away the doubt caused from past hurts or maybe current hurts and hold tight to God’s promises that will never shift.  It is time to call out to God…He promises to answer.  All we must do is empty the doubts that have been filling up our hearts at His feet.  When we seek God with our whole empty heart, He will fill our hearts with HIS blessings.  No more room for doubts, only His love.

When I left therapy that day, I was supposed to write what I knew on a rock, to remind me of the solid hope I have in God alone.  I never did find a rock big enough to write down all the truths God has reminded me of since that night as I spent some time seeking Him.  Spend some time today thinking about the truth that you know that you know that you know God is craving to fill your heart with.

(From Christi & Colleen Dent:  Here is your Rock, Diane!  We made this especially for YOU!)

Rock_Diane

Let’s all echo Lisa’s prayer for us on page 117:

Dear Heavenly Father,

May we, Your daughters, be one with Your heart and heaven’s purpose.  May our very lives be an intricately woven expression of all that You long for us to live, touch, see, hear, and have.  Make us one.  We submit to Your process.  Have Your way in the fiery forge and in the baptism of water.  Shape us into something so fierce and flexible that every facet of our lives would declare Your love and power to save.  In Jesus’s name, Amen!

Thank You Jesus!

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Day 4 of our Anniversary Celebration!

Well, have you enjoyed our week long celebration so far???  We sure have!  I can’t wait to tell you what our next giveaway is! Another exciting gift!!

How many of you struggle with taking care of your body physically?  If you are like me, you want to, but maybe you just don’t know how to get started!  You don’t know the first thing about eating healthy, or what exercises may be right for you, and so on!  Well, we want to bless one lucky winner with a ONE-HOUR SESSION with Wellness Coach / Fitness Designer Crystral Breaux!!

Breaux Announcement

I am so VERY EXCITED about this giveaway.  Crystal is new to Girlfriends Coffee Hour, but she is not new to wellness, fitness, or blogging!  She not only blogs for GCH, she blogs for CreatedWoman.org, as well.  She offers some amazing wellness tips and fitness advice in both blogs!  Beginning in June, Crystal will begin taking your personal questions and answering them on her blog right here on Girlfriends Coffee Hour!  No matter what your question is about (food, or fitness, etc.) she will address them on our At Home with GCH blog the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.

The question of “where do I start” is just one “comment” away!

All you have to do to enter this drawing is read today’s blog and then make a comment below in regards to what God spoke to you in today’s blog!  That’s it!

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE COMPLETED BY 8PM CST TONIGHT.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON OUR FACEBOOK COMMUNITY PAGE, ON MAY 11th.