Philippians 4:4-7 - "Exhale"

Sometimes life is not what we want it to be. Sometimes there are things that happen to us that seem like we are going to not be able to continue to live. It is those times that we must take a step back and ask God what He desires of us. Then the key to living a life pleasing to Him is to listen to what He tells us. Unfortunately, in our humanness we do not always listen. We may feel like He isn't speaking so we make decisions on our own. We may manipulate people or circumstances to get things accomplished. When we do these things, we will not be truly happy because we are not living in His will. We can be grateful He doesn't walk away from us when we do such things but instead draws us closer. The state of being one finds themselves in when life is like this is confusing. It is where happiness is far, far away from us. But we must remember that God never promised us to be happy. He desires to see us blessed. When we are living a life for Him, we are very blessed and for the most part we are happy. But at times the things we are dealing with take away our happiness but we must never allow them to take away our joy of being a child of God. 

• It's OK to reflect back to see where we may have stepped out of God's will but it's not OK to tear ourselves down in the process. We all make mistakes and His grace is there for us. 
• It's OK to question God and to even be angry with Him but we cannot stay in that place of being.
• It's OK to be emotional when disappointed but we must not sin in the process of expressing emotion.
• It's OK to not feel better quickly because healing will occur in His time not ours.

I am reminded of the words to a song Plumb sings called "Exhale"....

Just let go let His love wrap around you
And hold you close
Get lost in the surrender
Breathe it in until your heart breaks
Then exhales,
Exhale

Yes! We must allow the Lord to heal our broken heart. We must realize there are times He takes us through tough times to get us to go deeper with Him. There are also times He allows 'bad' things to happen to see how we will react to them. There are also times the enemy gets a foothold into our lives and plays havoc. No matter what the case, the Lord is there to love on us and bring us stronger into relationship with Him.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for loving on my friend who is feeling so lost. Thank You for giving her exactly what she needs today to get through this day. I pray she will seek You in a different way today that will enable her to experience Your hope and Your peace. Father, life is so hard at times yet You are always there to strengthen us. I pray for those struggling with situations to draw nearer to You. Lord, today is a day filled with opportunities for me to be You to so many people. I pray You will flow in and through me in a mighty way. Fill me to overflowing ...ooze out of me...may Your love show in my words and actions greatly. Thank You for being My Life. Amen.

SaveSave