The Shadow Behind You

 My dear daughter. 

I am the shadow that stands behind you and goes before you. 

Daughter I am fighting for you. I am standing, larger than life, behind you with My sleeves rolled up ready to fight your battles. 

I'm standing behind you so I can see every attack coming your way, so every enemy sees Me there, bigger, stronger, fighting for you. 

I stand behind you equipping you, preparing you for battle. I stand behind you so My shadow goes before you, overcoming battles that will never reach you. 

I go before you so My path will guide you.

Daughter understand I am with you, I am fighting for you. I am your shield, your warrior, your protection, your victory, daughter I stand behind you, I go before you, I am yours.

Greater.

 Dear child, hear my words and let them take root in your heart.

I AM GREATER.

Greater than your sorrow, Greater than your suffering, Greater than your depression, Greater than your losses, I. Am. Greater!

I am Greater than your triumphs, Greater than your successes, Greater than your accomplishments, Greater than your greatest pride, child I. Am. Greater!

 

Are you hearing? Do you understand?

I am Greater than that moment that broke your heart, Greater than all that you have lost, Greater than what your father said, Greater than what that man did to you, Greater than the words crumbled you, Greater than the love your friends denied you, Greater than the illness debilitating you, child I. Am. Greater!

 

And because I am Greater you can breathe. You can rest, assured in the knowledge that I am with you, and I'm greater than all of it. 

First

 Seek God first. Look to God first.

Whatever action you're taking, 

whatever stand you're making,

whatever crisis you're facing, 

 

Look. First. To. God! 

 

When you're dealing with

    heartbreak

        heartache

mental atttacks

    physical attacks

        spiritual

            just to many attacks

 

Seek. Your. God. First!   

 

        First.

Before you even blink. 

Before your next breath.

before you shed your first tear,

before you take one more step,

before you call that friend,

 

Look. To. Your. God! Seek your God, first!

 

 

                                                                                ~     

We all have our knee jerk, gut instinct, automatic reactions. Someone sneezes we say bless you, you stub your toe and exclaim ouch......or curse. You have a bad day or something crazy happens you call that one friend first to tell them. Your child has a fever you go to your favorite remedy. 

But what would our lives look like if, in everything we did our first reaction was to look to God. If the instant we felt that heartache from a friends betrayal, before we reacted to their unkindness or ranted to a friend, we first sought God. If when you're woken in the middle of the night because your daughter is hacking and has spiked a fever the first thing we did, was pray?  Let me be the first to confess my first reaction to life in the big, little, momentous and everyday things is not always to look to God. That's not even my first reaction half of the time, especially in the everyday living of life. Yesterday though I sat in church listening to a song and was reminded that regardless of life, I can, I long to and need to, run to my heavenly father again and again and again. Then as I heard my pastor say those words. Seek God first. Look to God first and God whispered the challenge into my heart. 

 

Are you child? Are you seeking Me first? Are you first looking to me?  I see your struggles, your tears, your joys, your life. I see you. How will your life change, how you will your situation, how will you change, if you look to me first? Do it. Make it a habit, make it a way of life, make it your gut instinct and watch what I will do. 

 

So friends I dare you to take up the challenge with me. Lets change how we live our every day. Lets change our first instinct so that the first thing we do in everything big and small, is to seek our God, first.  

 

 

But God

 When we are wear and broken hearted

When we are facing storms and attacks

When the struggle is to great, the burdens to heavy,

 the temptations to great. 

When we have little or maybe nothing left. 

Were in a battle we cant win, but God can

But God.

The truth of these two simple words will change you. Will lift your head and heart high with hope. Wherever you are in life, whatever your facing start with those two words. But God.

Lord I cant see through this storm! But God can.

Lord I can't carry this pain anymore! But God can.

Lord I can't keep fighting this battle! But God can. 

Whatever life has it might seem to much 

 

But God is your comforter

But God is your warrior

But God is the light that guides you,

But God is the peace giver

But God is the King and the Victor.

But God can, He has, He is.

Wrestle

Wrestle until your breakthrough happens.

Wrestle through the night, through the pain, through the tears.

Wrestle until you realize why you're wrestling the first place. 

Wrestle until daybreak, when you can see clearly what you couldn't at night, 

wrestle until things look differently.

Wrestle until you understand for sure just who you are wrestling with. 

Wrestle when you feel you've reached the end and just can't take even one more thing.

Wrestle until you have broken, than wrestle until you break some more. 

Wrestle until not just your situation has changed, wrestle until YOU have changed.

Wrestle until you are ready for the good that is coming next. 

WRESTLE!

And wrestle well. Daybreak is coming, coming with a blessing.

Impossible

Child. I see. I see your diligence and faith. Hear me when I say WELL DONE. KEEP GOING my faithful servant.  

You have served, you have trusted, you have surrendered, you have persevered, you have believed. See My pride and joy in you little one. 

But

Child I also see that burden you insist upon carrying. I see the chain and ball you are determined to drag behind you. I see the prison walls you have built around yourself and for my heart is breaking!

WHY? WHY!

These burdens and chains of heartbreak and anger, these prison walls of misery are  not what I mean for you. Do not you understand that I, YOUR GOD am the God of the IMPOSSIBLE? 

Where you are limited, I AM limitless!

Where you drain to empty and end I AM endless!

Where you are weak and weary I AM strong!

Where you are lost and wandering, I AM the guiding light!

Where you require faith and belief I AM!

I AM the God of heaven and earth, of mountains and oceans, I AM your God and I do the impossible for it is Mine to command!  I AM your God and I AM the God of the impossible.

When Heaven Doesn't Seem Wonderful.

Most times when we think of heaven we think of
                               Beauty.
                Perfection.
Wonderful.

MORE than that. Heaven is beyond every thing good and and lovely we can imagine.  When we think of heaven we think of a place that is free of pain, free of tears and sorrow. It is a place we long for, a place we deeply desire, a place BETTER than here. Heaven is a thought that stirs feelings of joy, excitement and hope!

But what happens when its NOT?
Because the truth is sometimes heaven doesn't seem so wonderful. When you wake up on a perfectly average morning and in one simple text, a few simple words your entire world flips upside down and crumbles. When without warning or preamble your father is gone, heaven doesn't feel wonderful!
When you're putting the six year old to bed and you need to be working on funeral plans but you can't leave because this tiny child is sobbing in a way no little girl should ever be, and you're trying to explain to this innocent six year old what death is and how her daddy is in a better place heaven doesn't seem wonderful. Because she is six she doesn't care about heaven or how it is free of pain and tears because she is in unimaginable pain and she just wants her daddy back and her suddenly confusing and scary world to be normal again and no, heaven isn't feeling wonderful!
When cancer withers the most vibrant person you know and you are forced to watch them suffer and slowly die and take with them a  light and joy that right now you'd prefer over heaven, heaven doesn't seem wonderful.
When in a moment of kindness a little girl looses her life in a senseless  moment of darkness and a mother is left to bury her daughter in a casket that shouldn't be that small, and somehow a teacher must explain tragedy and death to his third grade class heaven doesn't seem wonderful. Two men are reeling because they sobered up and now must face the terrifying reality that they are murderers. Police and paramedics have jobs to do but like the rest of the community they are spiraling. Only they have pictures in their minds that haunt them.  Heaven doesn't always seem wonderful.
When you're forced to say goodbye to someone you love because their body betrayed them, its failing. Your brother is dying and you know he's not ready, know what happens when he's gone, and understand you are powerless to change it or stop it, heaven doesn't seem wonderful.

Heaven doesn't always feel so wonderful, it feels like a thief! Taking your protector, your lover, your baby, your friend and confident and with them every good and beautiful thing in life.
It feels like heaven kills. Kills your joy, a piece of your soul, because they might be ok, free of pain and tears but you are not. You are in more pain than you knew it was possible to feel you've cried so many tears you could literally fill a river. The idea of heaven just isn't comforting or leaving you hopeful for a someday reunion. You just hurt.
Sometimes heaven doesn't feel all that wonderful, and that's ok.
Its ok because someday it will. It's ok because Jesus sees you. He see's your hurt and feels your pain as though it's His own. He will hold your tears and carry you through the pain, through the confusion and grief. When heaven doesn't seem wonderful, He'll be there. Heaven doesn't seem wonderful to our human hearts sometimes and that's ok. We don't understand and that's ok. We just need to hold on to the God who created our hearts, who does understand, whose already there.