Friday I had an appointment that I had dreaded for weeks. I kept it off of my mind pretty well til the week of. I really tried to work through my feelings and kept saying out loud, "I trust you, God."
The day of my appointment I got mad. I went to the appointment mad. Why was I mad? It finally hit me when I walked in the building that I was mad because I have moved on and I do not want to relive bad memories. I had let the devil put negative thoughts in my mind. 1 Peter 5:8-10 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
God has restored me and made me strong! If it was not for the hard times I would not be where I am now. I am grateful for those hard times because so many blessings have come from that journey.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” God has never left me. I just needed to focus on the blessings and not the baggage.
Those times that are most difficult in our lives can leave us with the biggest blessings. While going through we may have to really look for the blessings but they are there. Instead of carrying in blessings I had been carrying bags of burdens. God knows I cannot handle all of that myself. It weighed me down and exhausted me. God wants to carry all of the baggage for me and He will BUT I have to hand it over. Its like I have my own emotional bellman!
Good for you Jill, good for you :)