or maybe it's because i do my best thinking up here.
well, whatever it is, i'm at my kitchen post tonight.
and i have this overwhelming feeling that with Jesus, i cannot lose.
it's a good thought, one that was born at an addisen lunch last week, but then i think maybe it was born a long time ago. 2012, a long time ago. maybe this 'no losing with Jesus' is the basis of what faith is. that we are free to live because we trust Jesus. and we know He is good, we know He wastes nothing, we know His love.
can we lose? but really, can we lose?
small scale, little life, we can audition for a play with no fear because we have nothing to lose. we can sing in a choir and try out for a sports team and apply for a job and try new things. we know if we don't make it, we are not valued any less and we are loved just the same. we gain the experience and we tried and failing is okay and we can do the things that we love. yes, the idea of nothing to lose fits right in.
but loss. lindsay, life is full of loss. are you sure that with Jesus, there is still, still, nothing to lose?
but yes. yes. oh, yes.
cliche christianity aside. let's really get deep, let's really get in there. don't be afraid.
life is so broken. toss a stone, just take a step, and you'll meet and interact and exchange pleasantries with someone that is hurting. it's loss. it's ugly. it's sad. it's grief. don't let anyone tell you differently. can you see it? people hide it, but everyone is fighting some sort of battle. this is a side note, but will you help people fight? we need each other. we're tired, help us fight. even if only to remind us we can just put our armor on.
but then, ever constant, ever louder, is the presence and the power of God. because we lose, but can we really lose? with Scripture in front of us and the Word of God in our hearts, the ever breathing, living active, Word of the living God, who does it say God is?
what is true? what is real? what do we believe?
the Lord is the keeper of your life (psalm 121)
the Lord will keep you from all evil (psalm 121)
the Lord hems you in behind and before (psalm 139)
He hears your cries (psalm 40)
He draws you from miry pits (psalm 40)
He gives you a new song to sing (psalm 40)
God is a refuge for us (psalm 62)
we can pour out our hearts to Him (psalm 62)
He is continually with us (psalm 73)
He holds our right hand (psalm 73)
He guides us with His counsel (psalm 73)
afterward He will receive us to glory (psalm 73)
the Lord restores your soul (psalm 23)
He is a very present help in trouble (psalm 46)
He has loved you with an EVERLASTING love (jeremiah 31)
He will turn mourning to joy (jeremiah 31)
the Spirit helps us in our weakness (romans 8)
we are more than conquerors through Him (romans 8)
He has overcome the world (john 16)
with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace and receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (hebrews 4)
when you have stood the test of remaining steadfast under trial, you will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him (james 1)
draw near to God and He will draw near to you (james 4)
When the goodness and loving kindness of God appeared, HE SAVED US not because of works done by us, but according to His own mercy, poured out richly through Jesus Christ (titus 3)
and that's barely just the beginning! there's a whole Bible full of that Truth. i gasp with joy at the remembering of each one because it's just that good. isn't it?
and so there. His Word is true. can it all apply, that there is nothing to lose, with God who has gone before us? in loss, pain, is there always asset? no really, search, come to know, don't just say it to be true. do you believe it? believe Him?
with that kind of Love, there is no fear.
my feet are now completely in my kitchen sink and i'm really comfortable (is that weird? maybe don't answer that). and from this spot, i rest assured (only to rest assure myself again when i wake up tomorrow) that God is unequivocally, unabashedly, unashamedly GOOD. He's a restorer. a redeemer. that's His character, that's who He is. He loves without condition, His mercies are new every morning, His very character is grace. He's holy and good and compassionate and gracious and just and loving and fierce and mighty and powerful.
And He created you, and He created me, and He knows about your hurts and He hears your cries at night and He knows about your broken heart. He knows about all your weird habits and He laughs and loves it because He created you to be uniquely wonderfully weird. He knows what you love and He loves your passions too because He's gifted you with them. He knows your thoughts and He doesn't think you're crazy or dramatic or immature or a mess. He says 'come as you are' and He welcomes and desires and wants to sit in your brokenness with you. 'I know you're weary,' He says, 'let Me take it.' He knows the pain and He hates the sin and He entered the mess and He sent His Son Jesus to die a painful death to carry it all, to face the wrath to save us, and He invites us in. He knows the plans you had for yourself and He knows what you desire because He made you that way and He says oh but give Me your plan, TRUST ME.
He knows your story, every last detail, and He's working (He's ALWAYS working) and He's making things new. He's in the business of beauty to ashes and restored pain and forgiveness and repentance. He's good, He's good, He's not neutral about you, oh no no no He is not. He created you, He fiercely loves you. He is faithful, He will not let you down and He will not abandon you. He's present in your loneliness. He has not left you to falter or to 'just figure it out already' or 'get over it, why don't you' or 'i'll talk to you when you get your life together.' He's not HUMAN, He's God. we can stand or sit or lie at his feet in a crumbling mess and whisper, building to a scream or a shout, help. He wants to build our character and transform our faith. He uses what was meant for bad and He creates beauty.
and your story, He knows it! there's not one piece or part or detail that catches Him off guard or sends Him reeling or surprises Him. He knows, oh He knows. because He's good and because He loves you. He's faithful, yes He's faithful. He loved and died for us while we were still sinners, can you imagine that goodness?
He doesn't look at you and feel annoyance. He doesn't look at you and shudder in disappointment. He doesn't wish you would shut up or stop asking Him the same thing over and over again. He looks at you and He thinks, "oh, but there's my son. there's my daughter. I love him! I love her!" that's what He thinks about when He thinks about you.
He knows your weariness. "come to Me," He says. "wrestle, cry out to Me, I will answer you. don't fear! I have you, I've got this, will you let Me?"
ah. that's who God is. i write it all to remind myself and to read it again tomorrow and the next day and the next and also the next.
because He will set you free.
(that truth is so good, maybe i should get it tattooed on my foot. haha already did. late night jokes)
let's believe together. come on, let's dare to believe Him. let's dare to be bold and believe what we can't see but believe what we read in His Word. let's write to remember and pray when we forget and tell the Gospel to ourselves in every breath that we take. let's be grateful, yeah? let's live open hands, let's hope because Jesus is our hope.
it's hard, but let's do it. let's help each other and let's do it. let's tell each other every day He's a God who wastes nothing. let's surrender every day, let's believe every day. in the hard of life, let's do it. because in the darkest hour on the cross, wasn't that when we were set free? the purest, most beautiful form of life? let's remind each other. let's beat back the fear. let's choose Love, His Love. will you do it with me?
hopping down from the kitchen counter. so, see you soon?
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