Our Weak Love

               Have you ever tried to buy something for someone who already has everything?  It is a near impossible task.  You could ask yourself, "Is my gift really good enough?"  or "Are they actually going to use this?"  or "Why am I doing this?  They don't really need this anyways."  I have found myself in this conundrum a few times in my life.  

              It's impossible.  


              We could easily feel the same way with God.  "He's got it all.  What could I possibly bring  Him, the God of the Universe, that He doesn't already have?" or we could easily fall for the lie, 

     "I am a mess.  There is seriously nothing I have to offer."  

             But there is something He wants that only we, in our uniqueness, can offer.   There truly is something that undoes His heart.  It causes His heart to explode with a rush of delight and overwhelming joy all in one fell swoop.


             It's our weak love.  

             Yes, we can give it to Him on the mountain tops, which maybe seems easier.  Loving Him and seeing Him as the source of our blessings instead of cherishing only our blessings can be a test of our love.  

             But what is most challenging is to keep loving Him in our valleys;  In our mess and our stress. It's in our deep pain, sorrow and disappointment; when it feels hopeless and like all is lost.  We can all relate to trudging through those seemingly endless seasons. 

     
            What does loving Him look like in the most difficult terrain?
             ~ getting up in the morning.
                ~uttering a weak "yes" in surrender.
                ~ whispering under your breath "I trust you." when its all shaking.
                ~telling Him how you really feel.

         What it evolves into:

                 ~ singing
               ~praying
               ~holding onto His Word
               ~forgiving

        This undoes His heart.  The smallest effort to turn to Him in our pain and weakness melts Him.  I can just imagine Him exclaiming with delight, telling the angels, "Look at her, she still trusts me!" or "Look at him, He still hasn't given up!"  

             He seeks to strengthen that one.  He is drawn to our weakness.  He isn't afraid of it.  



       And we need to hold onto that truth: We all have a gift to bring.  Everyday, all of us.  We have something to give Him that no one else can give.  Its our weak, yet unique love.

                   

Daniel offering me his unique gift. Still undoes my heart.

My prayer for today:

          Father, help me offer you the gift you offered me first.  Only I can give you this gift.  Make me as consistent in my love for you as your are for me.  Help me to trust you in the darkest of valleys and on the highest of heights.  Help me offer you the gift of my weak love. 


"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9




           

Peace in the Storm

          He isn't in he waves of emotions and the fleeting, anxious thoughts.  Nor is He in the swirling winds of confusion or the gusts of uncertainty.

          Wait for the peace, like Elijah who stood on the mountain.  He had just been through his own emotional storm. He had fled swift driven by fear, after a malicious death threat shook his soul. A storm, earthquake and fire all came before that tender whisper he was desperate to hear. Don't move until you hear that tender, kind whisper that settles your soul; that puts you in perfect peace, resounding repeatedly deep on the inside.  It's not always what you want to hear but it's always what you need to hear. 

      There was an obvious lesson for myself I apparently needed to learn again.  Recently, I had been through a storm.  The spinning thoughts and topsy turvy emotions had attempted to hang a heavy dark cloud over my soul.  But God's love is brighter.  His peace is stronger. Like Elijah, He didn't want the storm to have a grip on me, but for me to have authority over the storm.  And like Elijah, He wanted me to realize God's voice, though tender,  was still more mighty and tenacious than the fiercest of life's storms. 

          Read 1 Kings 19:9-18

      Prayer for Today:

                Lord, help us find you as our peace when the storms of this life-our circumstances, our emotions and confusion-try to rattle us.  Help us not give way, but help us find You as our place of peace, even in the midst of the storm.  Help us not act in haste, but to wait on your peace to move forward. Don't let the storms of this life have a grip on us. Show us the Truth: Your gentle voice is much more powerful and your grip is much more tenacious than any storm.

       

         

     
       
       

Storm over the Ozarks