I spent the last two weeks with Jason and Heather Thornton, some close friends from church, while my parents were on vacation. (I had a wonderful time, the Thorntons are awesome.) They have a 7-year-old son named Eli. Eli is so much fun; he is always saying something to make us all either laugh really hard or think really hard.
Wednesday night after church, we got into a pillow fight. Eli was standing up near the edge of the bed and I told him to sit down before somebody knocked him off the bed. His response?
(pumping his fist in the air) "No! I will stand, for the Lord is with me!"
That is probably not as funny to read as it was to experience, but it was one of those things that made me laugh really hard. Then later it made me think really hard. Do I have that same confidence in my God? That no matter what I'm up against, I will stand, for the Lord is with me? Whether it is a pillow fight or an all-out spiritual war, my confidence and trust should be solely and completely in my God. He is my strength and my victory. What do I have to fear when my God is with me?
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
"The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4)
"'Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:8)
These are just a few of God's many promises that we do not have to fear, because He is with us. We don't have to cower down, afraid we're going to get knocked off the bed. We can stand, because we know that He is there and He will either keep us from falling or catch us when we do. He is always there, even when we can't see Him, and we have our hope and our confidence in Him and Him alone.
And you know, Eli never did fall off the bed :-)
5 comments:
Now that you lived here for two weeks you know why I'm slow getting to this...:-) But I love that! (Not just because it's about my son, either.)
You have a wonderful way of simply redirecting us to the realities we often forget we live with when we live in relationship with God.
Thank you for inspiring me to be more aware of my reasons to not fear. I love you, and I love Him in you!
What you have written in this entry reminds me so much of Laura Kuester. The Spirit of our Almighty God reveals truth to her in powerful ways in the most simple moments of daily life. I miss her insights and the powerful revelations of truth that God shares with her. I am awed that my own daughter is so in tune to the Spirit and so willing to "be still and know that He is God" that you would catch such beautiful glimpses of who He is, and then take the time to share them with us. Thank You! I love you so much!
Lindsay! You are amazing! God is using you in such a powerful way to get His Word out! I really needed to be reminded of these verses. This leg thing kinda got the best of me last night and this morning--feeling down over it! Thank You for your gentle reminder of who God is and what we can all be through Him! His truths are so powerful and can truly change our outlook and lives! I love you ABATS! Nanny
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Good post.
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