Where does your strength come from??

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

I'm so glad that God laid this verse upon my heart today, because it is a truth of which I needed reminding.  I am writing out these thoughts in hopes that someone else out there can relate, and that maybe this truth with encourage you too.

Part of life on this earth is facing and experiencing rejection, heartbreak and suffering.  These are moments when our heart is wounded a bit or our cup is tipped over, and the water just spills out all over the place.  For those who do not believe Jesus is the source of all satisfaction, there is no choice but to try and fill the cup again with the things of this world:  material possessions, entertainment, escapism, the approval of others, the acceptance of friends, alcohol, etc.  But for those of us who do call Jesus Lord, we have a choice.  We can follow after the world OR we can take our empty cup to the source of Living Water and allow Him to fill it.

Making the right choice in these situations is so very hard.  Its so much easier to react in anger or have a pity party, or to go to someone else to gain love and acceptance.   I find myself at this crossroads today--and I have found myself here many times before.  There is no doubt that there were times when I chose the easier route--the wider path--if you will.  But I know all to well that going down that road only leads to more emptiness.  So, I know which road I need to take, but honestly, I just want to meditate on my circumstances.  Sometimes I think we like to just wallow in our pity a bit.  We say to ourselves, "Just give me some time to wallow, then I'll move on."  Yes, we should have time to grieve and yes, sometimes we need time to think things through.  But, we don't have to wait to take our pain to our Savior.  I can tell Him right now how I am feeling--I can cry out to him and express every emotion I am feeling.  He can take it.  He can transform it.  Though this circumstance is temporal and passing, God is the strength of my heart and my portion FOREVER.     Temporal vs. Forever.   Hmmmm.  I think I'll take that narrow road after all.

So what does taking that narrow road look like?  Well, for me it is asking for His help, His strength, and His wisdom.  It is acknowledging that I am weak, and that I need His strength to get me through.  It is going to my index cards where I have written down scripture for just this kind of battle, and speaking them out loud.  It is choosing to sing praises to Him, even when my heart is wanting to be hard and calloused.   This doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge my struggle.  Yes, I acknowledge it--but I can't let it dictate my choices or what I believe about myself.  You know what I have been saying in my mind and out loud over and over again?  "God loves me."  I am his child and he knows my struggles.

Jesus Christ, more than any of us, knows what rejection and pain feels like.  He experienced every emotion, every painful experience that we experience today--yet was without sin.  We try to avoid pain at all costs, but Jesus Christ willingly walked right into those painful situations.  He laid down his life--because this was His desire.   Yes,  Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves you!  And because of this love we have a great hope.  One day, all our tears will be wiped away and there will be no more night and no more pain.  All will be restored and our hearts will forever be full and satisfied--never again tipping over and spilling out.

Our God has come to save!  He holds us in His hands.

These are lyrics from a song that I will be singing tonight as a part of our praise team at church.  I just received the call today asking if I'd step in.  I saw that this song was on the list, and was amazed again at God's timing, and how much He wants to express His love to this fragile heart of mine!


"When darkness falls and sorrow finds me
This joy, I know comes in the morning
When all seems lost and strength is fading
This hope I've found is everlasting...

Our God has come to save,
He holds us in His hands
His promise will remain
His Kingdom has no end...

God has come.