And they will know us by our LOVE...

Ever since last Saturday night's Bible study I have been thinking a lot about this: "And they will know us by our love..." How powerful this is, and yet what does it really mean for us as Christians? There are so many ways to love a person. We can love by throwing our arms around them, we can love by just being there, supporting the person no matter what. This may not mean supporting their choices, but walking along side them through it all.

And then there is the kind of love where we walk away and allow God to love where we can't; maybe we are called to love someone through prayer, to trust that God has a handle on the situation.

I meet so many people throughout my week. Working as a waitress, I meet people constantly. And then there is the people I already know, people I work with, friends, family. Am I really showing God's love to them, and am I doing it to bring honor to God or so that other people will see what kind of Christian I am? I hope it's the first one, but often I'm afraid it's the second. I want Christ's love to shine through me, and to live and love the way He intended. Sometimes it's just super hard to figure that out...

Deliverance

So I do a short devotional everyday, and today when I did it I was really looking for God, you know? Have you ever had those moments where you are like' God, I just really need You to show up right now, because I can't do this alone.' ? Well that's definitely where I'm at.

So I was reading my devotional by Beth Moore, and todays was called "Filled, not just Fixed." One thing she said really hit me hard: "The vacuum in every human life does not yearn to be fixed. It yearns to be filled. God can deliver us from a terribly oppressive stronghold, but if we don't fill the void with Him, we are terribly susceptible to relapse."

I feel like this is not pretty, but it's where I'm at. I want to be filled with God, to be identified by Him alone, and yet I find myself so often looking to be filled by other people and things. My prayer is that I would continually look to God to fill my life, and that He would surround me with people who would encourage me to do just that. If you could pray for me, that would be awesome. = )

The God who is always there

God placed Psalm 121:3-8 on my heart. It says,

"He will not let your foot slip-

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore."

Wow. When I read this, it feels like taking a deep breath in. It's so overwhelming how big our God is, and how much He thinks about us, how often I am in His thoughts. It's hard for me to even begin to understand.

I feel so overwhelmed with life sometimes; I often feel like I'm just one small person in the middle of it all. I get tangled up in my worries, and I forget to hand them over to God, or worse yet, somewhere in my mind I tell myself God can't handle them, or God has enough to worry about, when I know nothing could be further from the truth. God wants every part of me, to the point that He wrote down specifically what He does for me- He won't let my foot slip, He will always watch over me, He will watch over every aspect of my life, and keep me from harm, both now and forevermore.

I know this is switching the topic a little bit, but have you all listened to "You Loved Me Anyway" by Sidewalk Prophets? Well if you haven't, you should. = ) There is a line near the end of the song that says, " See I am the man who yelled out from the crowd for Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground..." This verse has affected me so much. I am that man, yet my Lord loves me anyway. I think that is one of the many reasons Psalm 121:3-8 blesses my heart so much; not only do I get to know God loves me, He gave me a list of the ways He loves me. Oh, how I love my Lord. Every time I am tempted to despair, He picks me up and puts me in His glorious presence. <3