Saturday, October 19, 2013

Facing the Test...Returning!

Lamentations 3:40 - Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.

My ways have been lacking. There really is no need to test them and I hate to even bring it to the light that my ways are lacking.
Let me clarify – I have not lost faith. My God is an awesome God, He holds me up in His warm embrace of love. He is my strength, my breath, and my hope. I pray everyday, I turn my thoughts to Him and His will. His Son strengthens me and the Holy Spirit fortifies me.

Okay, I am really not trying to sound preachy or holier than thou…cause trust me, I am not. I fall everyday. I struggle everyday. Every. Day.
Doesn’t everyone? Every. Day? I think if you answer no, you are kidding yourself.

You may not even recognize your struggles, or if you do – you will not acknowledge them. Perhaps a certain river comes to mind. (De-Nile…Denial, get it? Haha – really, really old joke!)
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.

What kind of test can I expect?
I know, I know where I am falling short. And even in the admission, I am sure that there are more ways that I am falling short of living the life that our Father has envisioned for me. Yes, I believe that He has a life planned for me. Through everything that I have been through, all the good, bad and ugly I have experienced…I know He has a plan. The God of heaven and earth that has numbered every hair on my head – He has a plan!

Do I expect to know it in this mortal body? Can I fully appreciate it with my imperfect heart? Are there parts of my life that I cannot even begin to imagine the WHYs of? YES!
And, I suppose that is part of my test.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
I need to return to the Lord. I know it with my mind, I know it with my heart, I know it in my soul. I feel him calling to me.

How can I say that? How do I know? When I decided it was time to do a post, I went to my Happiness Mug (don’t know what that is, click here and see!) and pull out a Fortune. I pulled out, “You will make through the tough times, keep your chin up.” I just couldn’t.
Sometimes a Fortune Cookie can be incredibly insightful. But, tonight I couldn’t do it. I felt pulled to just type, “Bible Verse of the Day” into my browser bar…and Google brought me here.

Feels a little like being “talked to.” I just got called out. He wants me to return to Him.
Return to worship, return to praise, return to His house. He wants me to keep my chin up, to remember He has the Master Plan.

It is really hard some days to keep that simple thing in mind. I will pray for you – please pray for me!
~Live, Laugh, Love,
Vanilla Mama