Taking Courage
Wait upon the Lord.
No.
Not yet.
Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).
These gentle whispers from the Lover of my soul have never swallowed easy. Not sure they ever will. It’s just not in my nature. But with His help, I am leaning in to take hold of a courage I don’t always feel and an obedience I probably wouldn’t choose on my own.
In my flesh, I want to be saved from the fire…instead of being saved through it.
In my flesh, I want to walk on the water…not just survive the flood.
Can you relate?
But here’s what I am learning…[ctt_hbox link=”XabUd” ]Sometimes God doesn’t save us from hard things. Sometimes, He saves us through them.[/ctt_hbox]
Let’s face it – sometimes life is just plain hard and we don’t always have a way around those hardships. Sometimes our path leads us right smack dab through the middle of the fire and the flood. Sometimes we feel more bruised and bloodied by our current circumstances than we are hopeful about the future we have yet to walk.
I confess that there is no stillness or rest, peace or hope within me without His grounding, His Truth, His Promises. Speaking them over myself, and those I hold dear, is the only way I have been able to find my way back to hope and peace in this often-broken ground that I walk.
This week, I want to share some of those Promises with you. Perhaps you, too, are waiting on Him. Perhaps you are working hard to trust Him deeper and open your hand wider. Perhaps your skin is crawling with the unknown and the hard and the scary. And you, like me, just need a drink of cool, heavenly water, a sweet reminder of all that is always good, and always true, and always full of hope.
Certainly not an exhaustive list, but here are a few of the Truths I have written upon my walls, my mirrors, and above my desk. I pray that as you read them you, too, will be encouraged to take heart and keep opening that hand a bit wider, trusting Him a bit deeper, and lifting your eyes a bit higher…
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Philippians 1:20
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, … (20) We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 33:18, 20
You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:114
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 84:11
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him…
Nahum 1:7
The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10
The song I want to share with you today is the new release from Tenth Avenue North, called “I Have This Hope.” I heard it for the first time earlier last week while driving in my car…and I haven’t been able to get the chorus out of my head ever since. Such a sweet reminder. Be blessed. Be encouraged.
With joy for the journey,
Sarah
