Moses is one of my absolute favorite Bible characters. He was a man who made many mistakes, had his shortcomings and flaws out on display for everyone to see, felt weak when he needed to be strong, and didn’t feel up to the task when God called him.
I can so relate. I’ve messed up more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve allowed fear to cripple me, hold me back, and cause more sleepless nights than a newborn baby.
And weakness…oh, my goodness.
I’m always praying, asking God to place an “Aaron” in my life. Someone who is more eloquent than me. Someone who can speak on my behalf. Because if I’m flat out honest with you, I just don’t feel like I have what it takes to lead this ministry most days.
Moses may have stuttered his words, but I mess mine up more times than I care to share.
Moses wore the label “Speech Impediment,” and I’ve worn the label “Learning Disability,” which has made both of us want to push someone else in front of us. If only we could hide so others wouldn’t see our disabilities up close.
And yet in spite of our weaknesses and brokenness, God chose to use us anyway… and He chooses you too, sweet friend.
In today’s verses, we see Moses at the end of his life. He has learned to walk with God through life’s ups and downs, and he knows this truth first hand: GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU.
When Moses was weak, God made him strong.
When Moses was cowardly, God made him courageous.
It’s amazing to see what Moses was like when God first called him compared to Moses at the end of his life… after he walked closely with God for 40 years.
Because of Moses’s personal relationship with God, he was able to encourage the people of Israel – and most importantly Joshua – challenging them to be strong and courageous. How? By spending time with God, by trusting Him and taking God at His Word… by believing that God would do what He said. Moses learned how to be strong and courageous from trusting God and seeing Him work time and time again in His life.
It was Moses who saw God part the Red Sea and allow the nation of Israel to walk across on dry land.
It was Moses who saw God judge the people of Egypt for their disobedience and captivity of the Israelites.
Because of God’s faithfulness in Moses’s life, Moses was then able to speak into the lives of the next generation and say, “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid! Your God goes before you just like He did for me!”
And that’s what we need these days.
We need women in the older generations to give hope to those in the younger generations, saying “Be strong and courageous!”
We need to hear from women who have walked with God and have testimonies of His faithfulness from their personal lives – women who not only know this truth that Moses shares in Deuteronomy 31 but women who have also experienced it!
We need to hear from women who have weathered life’s storms and can testify that what Moses says is true – Jesus will never leave them for one moment to battle their storms alone.
And so I ask you today: will you be a “Moses” for the next generations? Will you be brave and courageous by sharing from your personal life about God’s faithfulness? Will you share with the “Joshuas” of today about how God has been faithful to you and how His words are true?
Oh, how we need to hear more stories of God’s faithfulness! We need to hear testimonies of how God’s Word is true not only in Bible times but in our day too. We need to be reminded of His faithfulness in the past and His faithfulness in the present.
Moses commands us to be strong and courageous in whatever battle we are facing. Whatever land God is sending us to, we are not to be afraid. Our God is with us. Let’s be strong and courageous together!
Let’s Talk: Today, please share stories of how you have learned through your walk with God how to be strong and courageous! Share with us how God has been with you in your storms of life and how you have learned to be brave. We need to hear your voice and the testimony God has given you!
Love God Greatly!
We are in WEEK 2 of our #BrokenAndRedeemed study! If you’re just now joining us… you can grab a copy of our Broken & Redeemed journal on Amazon here!
We also have a corresponding kid’s Broken & Redeemed journal geared for children in elementary grades. You can grab a copy on Amazon at this location.
Grab your favorite beverage, crack open your Bible, and together let’s rejoice with the broken and redeemed of God!
I struggle with breaking generational chains. I feel I have come a long way in my walk with the Lord but still have a long way to go. I make a point to get up send study every morning first thing. I have found that I get more from writing in the soap method you guys have put together thank you for that. But I hold a verse a day and I live it out if something comes up I recite that verse and and seeks it’s peace from it. Send if I need more than that I put praise music on. It’s a daily struggle with kids and trying to teach and train especially when the are so strong minded. Please okay for me that I can show God love, and teach my children according to his word. And to break generational chains. I am weak, but God has equipped me like moses now it is time to march forward and be courageous for the I Am. I set in fear sometimes but how am I brave now in know God is with me, I ask what are you trying to teach me Lord. I tell myself to be who. God wants me to be not who others want me to be. And by the way in my room on my bathroom door is a bunch of quotes like the one above and more. Palms 119:96 my perfection is limited. Perfection through God is boundless.
I am right behind you with this!! As women this is a hard job but yet I have peace I am doing this. Some days are tuff because I am standing different from every single person in my family and alone but I just try and think of the blessing at the end.
So very true!! We love them so much but it can truly be a struggle. Even sometimes when roots come to the surface within me. But I praise God he does know my weakness and loves me anyway. I pray that things work out for you, we can be the closest thing to the Bible that they get to see. Praying you can be a witness to them. It’s a struggle I know but they are always watching……
Jennifer, love your heart to please God. He sees your willingness and is going to give you strength to keep moving forward. When we fail, He will give us grace to turn back around and get back on track. God sees you, brave mom. He is going to bless your littles as you continue to pray over them and point them to Jesus.
Blessings,
Lyli
Thank you for your kind words, you brought tears to my eyes. I sure hope so 🙂 thank you for all that you do. I pray God blesses you.
God is faithful. I have seen God work in some amazing ways. One being our children had a bone condition that effected the way they looked. God showed me that it was Him I needed to trust and not look on the outside. This son has gone on to earn a degree and will be getting a PHD. God uses the hard things to show us we can rely on Him and He will bring us through.
Daline I’m so thankful for mamas such as yourself that encourages their children that limitations and differences can’t stop us. What a blessing you are to your son!
This devotion is SO timely in my life. I was asked to share my faith story in my church last Sunday. To say public speaking is not my thing is an understatement! But I said yes with no hesitation because to not share how God’s glory has been revealed to me over the past 3 years simply felt like disobedience. In the past 3 years I have lost a marriage I thought was unshakable, have been laid off or forced out of 3 jobs, forced to move out of a home that brought me comfort and stability and numerous other losses that come along with divorce. I turned to God for hope and strength because quite honestly I had none of my own. I delved into scripture and “stumbled upon” (this was no mistake) the Love God Greatly Bible study app. God spoke loudly and clearly that I had depended too much on my husband for stability and my self worth was tied to the perfect life I tried to portray. When that pretty little life crumbled into ruins God was there. He was faithful to his promise to provide my every need and showed this to me over and over so that it could not be denied or ignored. He spoke clearly to me that my self worth comes solely from Him and I am precious and valued beyond measure in his sight. God gave me the courage to share my heartbreaking story and the “happy ending” that he is faithful to see us through and he works ALL things for good for those that love Him. I realize now I had chained myself to an unhealthy relationship and depended too much on a man who could not provide the spiritual guidance me and my daughters needed, so he broke those chains. After sharing my story my faith community embraced me, told me how brave I was to be so vulnerable and told me I was an inspiration to share their own stories of faith. It was an incredibly loving and humbling experience. God can use a broken, quirky, flawed person to be a witness to his faithfulness. I thank God for the opportunities and strength to share my story and will continue to do so. I am getting remarried this month to a faithful and faith-filled, flawed, loving, broken man who values me in a way God values me…just as I am. God is so good!!!
Thank you for this post. It was truly a blessing to me this morning. I pray that God will continue to bless your ministry.
“And the Lord, He is the one who goes before me.” I have to look back, back in time to really understand this. Please Lord, don’t let me sound hollow in my words, or what you have brought me through. I have to go back to the beginning to tell my story. The verses I hold on to that brings me there are: Psalms 18:16 & 19. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.” And that is exactly what happened to me. Boy was I in deep waters, and deep sin. God was the last thing on my mind. I could not pick myself up-I could not take myself to God-He came to me! Grace and mercy. Verse 19:” He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” This is God, who has gone to the most remarkable lengths in order to win our love. God delighted on setting His love on me! When I doubt that I have a story to tell, when I doubt God’s love for me, I go back to these verses and remember. My eyes become clearer to God’s going before me through the 30 years that follow that time. His hand always in my life, tenderly and mercifully.
Connie,
Love the sweet verses you shared. Yes, we need to look back and see how far God has brought us . We are not who we once were — by His grace. Praise God. He’s still working on me, and I am so thankful. Blessings to you as you continue putting feet to your faith!
Lyli
Connie, I “get it” and have “been there/done that.” Thank you for sharing this. We have experienced God’s grace first hand and continue experiencing it to this day. We’re here in LGG–a place to continue growing/maturing. PTL!
I accepted Christ into my heart when I was 8. When I was in college I knew Fod had called me into the ministry. At the age of 26 I married a man committed to full time youth ministry. We moved to a town 3 hours from one set of parents and 8 hours from another. In the past 12 years we have suffered the loss of both of my husbands parents and 3 pregnancy losses. But God has also blessed us with 3 children. One of whom was born after my placenta abrupted at 35 weeks. An event that kills many babies. A long time ago God spoke to my heart that was anxious about living so far from family. He said “I have called you here. I have placed you here. And I will take care of you. ” and He has. We have been surrounded by friends at every turn in our road. We have people we can call in the middle of the night and even though they are not blood family they come running to our aid. God has been faithful.
Lacey, thank you for sharing your story with us. The journey of faith is full of highs and lows, but the journey is sweet when we support one another. I love the part of Moses story where he was too tired to pray, but his friends held up his arms. Together, we will keep pressing on. — I am so glad that you and your hubby have found your tribe in the place God has planted you.
Blessings,
Lyli
“As for God His ways are perfect” …through years of infertility and again when my mom was killed by a drunk driver the pain was overwhelming. I clung to this verse. I did not understand it…especially moms death but God is perfect. “The LORD God omnipotent reigns was also a go-to truth. Then came a car accident that robbed us of two children and left me in hospital for months. Oh my, those same verses were all I could cling to. I continued to read God’s word even when some days nothing really took hold. While in hospital but finally out of ICU, a man I had not known before came on his lunch break to read Scripture with me and pray for me. I could not even hold a Bible for months. How I needed this. Now for the past two years the pain of rejection is worse than losing mom, Daniel and the baby but those verses keep me going along with the truth that God is good and does good. Just last week I feel God has assured me that in this situation “the things that are impossible with man are possible with God.” This time though it is a daily, sometimes hourly struggle, to keep going, to hold on to truth and not be swamped by lies. God’s word is my anchor. Teaching a Bible study weekly keeps me going. Ministering to others is a wonderful help. Yet, I struggle to move past the pain to do what I know needs to be done.
I am praying for you, Kathleen. Keep praying to your Heavenly Father to hold you in His arms and help you up each step of the way.
I love this passage in today’s blog, “We need to hear from women who have walked with God and have testimonies of His faithfulness from their personal lives – women who not only know this truth that Moses shares in Deuteronomy 31 but women who have also experienced it! We need to hear from women who have weathered life’s storms and can testify that what Moses says is true – Jesus will never leave them for one moment to battle their storms alone.”
It gives me courage and causes me to ask, am I willing to share my story? Am I willing to reveal the darkness of my journey, along with the light?
Yes! I will stand and I will say ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord!’ He has brought me through widowhood into a new family. He’s soothed my heart when I lost a babe. He’s walked with me through the trials of parenting. He has given me strength when I am weak. He is faithful!
What Has God brought you through?
Dawn, your beautiful heart shines through your words! Thank you so much for sharing your testimony of what our awe-inspiring God has brought you through!
A truth that I have always been reminded of, despite where I was at in my walk with God, is that He is so faithful despite my faithfulness. I have struggled at times in my life to be close with God and hear where He is leading me and to have the courage to be obedient. Despite my disobedience, He has remained with me and forever faithful. He has saved me from countless consequences of my disobedient and ungodly behaviors- I’m sure because he had a much greater story in mind for me than I had for myself at the time. He has truly worked all things for my greater good, even when I jumped on a job offer that I thought was from Him because I selfishly wanted it so bad. I don’t have many stories about me being courageous and acting on God’s instruction, however that is what I’m working towards by doing these LoveGodGreatly devotionals. I do believe He has a great story for me and I want to fulfill His purpose with and for me. So I draw on my experiences of His faithfulness so as I feel Him leading, I can be courageous in following.
I’ve gone through my husband having an affair, him drinking and becoming quite hostile, losing a lot because people have found out about the affair and chosen to stay away, like it was my fault. But by the grace of God, I am healing and seeing the light of day.
This past Sunday night I met a young wife that is going through the exact thing. She’s only been married a few years, but still her pain is as real. I saw brokenness in her eyes. I know that brokenness. I know that fear. I know when everyone is telling you to leave. But your heart is anxious and you don’t know what to do. It’s not that simple.
So I shared some of my story with her. I told her she wasn’t alone. I gave her my number and told her she could call me if she needed anything.
If I can help one wife that’s going through what I did and she knows that she’s not alone, then it will have been worth every tear I shed. No one should have to walk that road by themselves.
Oh my sweet Marie! It’s a hard thing for others to understand or comprehend. Even in the church the counseling most receive is “leave”. But when we “choose” to stay, “choose” to love rather than leave we need to be surrounded by support.
I want to say I see you. I know the struggle to overcome and to be made whole again. It’s a journey. You are a strong women and never let anyone tell you different. It takes great strength to stay, to face the pain and heartache, to accept what was done and “choose” to journey together into your future inspire of what was.
After I began my journey of healing I prayed “Lord send them. Send them to me and I tell of YOUR victory. I will pray. I will shake the gates of hell for their heartache, for their marrieages.” God has been soooo faithful! Because I’m willing He sends them. I’ve wept tears and felt the heartache with so many. That I will never forget what God did in my marriage to restore it after the destruction.
God bless you for reaching out to her. ? BIG hugs ? to you!
I am older and God has been with me for many many years. Protecting and sustaining me. As a rebellious teen and into my 20s he kept me safe. In my 30s I turned to Him and started praying and asking Him to be in my life and to fill me with the Holy Spirit. I didn’t really understand what that prayer meant except I would be a better person for it. Then in my late 40s I went through a divorce, infidelity and forsaken by the man I had loved for 25 years. I crawled into Gods haven and stayed there many many nights and days until I was strong enough to start reaching out to help others.
I am remarried to a wonderful Christian man and God has given me the best life ever. I am so blessed!
Give yourself to God and trust in Him obey His commandments and live as an example to others. Pray to do His will daily and for Him to increase your territory.
Happiness and blessings will be the result.
Such beauty in redemption!!! Thank you sweet friend ?
I thank God everyday of my life and family, for giving me strength and courageous thinking with an attitude of peace,humble and the love of Jesus within me and teaching the ways of be more righteous
Hesitation, doubt, dismay, and fear have been my companions often in my life.
And yet God has been faithful to me. One concrete way I can see this is through my marriage.
My signs: 40 years of marriage to my husband; a 50 years of marriage celebration this month for my husband’s brother & wife; 68 Years of marriage for my husband’s parents.
This requires faith at the beginning. Faith in the midst of hesitation, doubt, dismay, and fear in difficult, hurtful, seemingly impossible situations over 40 years. And truthfully faith at the prospect of 10, 20, 30 more years knowing that life is continually revealing weaknesses and challenges. Yet, historically, He has shown Himself faithful to His people, He has shown Himself faithful to my people, He has shown Himself faithful to me!
Prayer ~
Praise You for Your faithfulness Father God! Praise You that You are unfailingly dependable in Your self existence and goodness. Thank You for the abundance of help, strength and forgiveness You have given me and that You offer to me for the future. May Your Holy Spirit continue to bring this to my remembrance in the times of hesitation, doubt, dismay, fear that will come. Thank You for Jesus. In Jesus Name and for Your glory alone, Amen.
Kathy we need more speaking out from the generation of “never give up” women. In my generation we so easily quit, give up or throw in the towel when we come to the hard places. When we see flaws we throw it away instead of hanging on.
Thank you for your inspiration today!!!! May we all have the endurance and faith in God as you have shown so that we can say we are celebrating our 30th, 40th or 50th year together ?
I am one of those older Christian women. There is never a reason to fear or be in dread. Not of an enemy, a change in circumstance, the unknown. The Lord my God goes with me. He will never leave me or forsake me.
I have seen God work time and time again. Always for good. I have learned that when difficult, painful, unexpected times come, I must first call to God. *What do You want me to do? What do I need to learn? * The answers may not come right away. But as I seek God, as I cry out my pain and sorrow, He changes me. Prunes another bitter, or greedy, or prideful, or impatient branch so love, peace, kindness, patience, gentleness grows instead.
Absolutely beautiful Debbie!!! THANK YOU!
I am currently in the midst of my earth shattering, life changing event. But through God’s immeasurable love and all-knowing care, I am not only surviving it, I am greatly thriving in spite of it!
It began several years ago at the time my pre-teen son began to show signs of puberty, sexual curiosity, and much confusion. My dear, sweet, darling son was growing up on me, and there were some things going on that were beginning to concern me. There were a few really big events in a scattering of many smaller, yet equally concerning, ones. Over the course of about 4 years since approximately age 11-12, these events intermingled with our daily life with increasing frequency. It had become my cause to find a capable avenue to assist my son in working through whatever was going on within him. Trying to find help for my son became the most challenging and exhausting thing I had ever dealt with. It had become a fight, with door after door closing and no doors opening; no answers for help being found.
On December 6, 2016, I received the most devastating news of my life. My son, my wonderful, kind, 14-year-old son, engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with my very young nephews while they stayed the weekend in our home just days before. It is difficult for me to say those words out loud and even more difficult to post this on the internet where it can never be destroyed. Telling this story is unimaginably scary. At this moment, I am being held in the loving care of the Lord’s righteous right hand because, despite my fear, He wants me to tell this story. There is another woman out there that needs to hear this and to know that she is not the only one. She is not the only one who has called the police on her child for this reason; she is not the only one who has racked her brain trying to figure out where she went wrong and how she is responsible for this; she is not the only one who has had to tell herself over and over that she was not and is not a bad parent despite this; she is not the only one who has completely crumbled at the feet of the Lord, wailing and moaning and weeping because there are no earthly words for this pain and sorrow, loss and mourning. Whoever you are…you are not the only one. And you are not alone.
For a while, I just wished for the world to stop turning for a bit, but it wouldn’t. In the first weeks, my reality would shift between constant phone calls, and making the heaviest of decisions in a split second to this excruciatingly long, deafening silence. My husband and I craved for answers from authorities to know what was to expect around the next curve. We had our rug torn out from under us and we didn’t know what our afternoon looked like, let alone the next day or week or month; the uncertainty and not knowing was pure torment. One afternoon, I took to Google and fearfully typed in the words that no parent ever fathoms to put together: juvenile sex offender. And what I found, I know that I know that I know was straight from God. The very first search result was for a program in my state that is a national program model directed by one of our top universities’ psychology department. It is a specialized residential treatment facility for this very thing! As I read through the overview of the program, I knew that this was exactly where my son needed to be. It was describing the exact kind of help that we had been searching for but were unable to find. I knew at that moment that this is where God wanted him to be. And I was beginning to understand why this had all happened. God was providing help for my son that I could not! Tragically, the only way that he could be eligible to receive this help was to be in the custody of the juvenile correction system. I was in a state of overwhelming awe because I was truly seeing God work in such a big and visible way, yet the circumstances were totally heart shattering.
I stood before the judge asking that she send my son to this place, three hours away from our home (and on the campus of one of the states’ juvenile prisons). I remember of Moses’ mother: “when she could hide him no longer”, giving him up to a place inhabited by strangers and enemies in order to save him. Like her, I fearfully stepped out on faith, trusting in God to save my child. And like the pharaohs daughter, graciously receiving the babe; the judge graciously and compassionately granted my request to me. This was indeed a victory, yet not one to be celebrated.
For the next few months, I retreated from the eye of the world for a time because it was just too much to put on a mask of normalcy. I didn’t attend church, not due to any anger with God, but because I knew that I could not sustain my composure under the loving inquiries about the absence of my son, who always accompanied me. And I was not ready to talk about what was going on; I didn’t know how to. But I clung to the Lord with all my might, for there was nothing else to hold to. My family could not support me the way I needed because they were going through this, too, in their own way. My husband was trying to, but he was not fully capable, for he possessed anger toward our son because we had found out that there and been an encounter with our daughter, as well. There was no human in which comfort could be found.
The Spirit lead me to dive into scripture, and as I began to pray and study, peace and rest and calm began to make its way into my days. At first my prayers were mainly sobbing and moaning and I finally, truly understood Romans 8:26-27, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches the heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” I was given inspiration to get out of the house, out of my thoughts, and to plant a garden. And before long, I began to realize that He was providing me with distraction from my sorrow and replacing it with comfort, peace and joy. Psalm 94:12-13 “Blessed is the one you disciple, Lord, the one you teach from your law; you grant them relief from days of trouble…”, and Psalm94:18-19 “When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
As I have carried on through this past year, continuing to eagerly pursue the Lord, His word, and His will, He has been doing a mighty work of transformation within me. I have developed a hunger for God that only grows hungrier and hungrier as I feed it more and more. This contentment and joy that I have now is beyond all human understanding, even my own; Phillipians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” 1 Peter 5:10 promises us that “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.” I had rarely been one to really see my life in scripture or the promises applied until now, but God’s Word is real and it is alive! People have commented that I am so strong but verily, verily I tell you that He sees in me what I am not capable to see within myself. And it is Him dwelling in me that is what I am not. Like Moses, I asked “who am I, Lord?”, I have also pleaded that He would “take away this cup from me”. But it is in His will and for His glory that my family should suffer this. For “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” Phillipians 4:13. Like the poem of the foot prints in the sand; many, many times (in fact most of the time), there is only one set of prints as He carries me in my weakness.
As I said in the beginning, I am not just surviving this, I am thriving and living a full, healthy, abundantly blessed and joyful life! I miss my son in a way that is simply indescribable. I still cry for him. I still worry over him. I pray for him unendingly and for all of the people who look after him and have influence on him. I do not get to talk to him, nor see him nearly enough. His treatment is progressing slower than my heart desires, but I am learning to understand that for his healing to be truly, totally complete, it MUST be done in God’s manner or it will fail. “Whatever it is that you desire God should give you, leave it to Him to give it in His own way and in His own time” -Matthew Henry. And while my son is not in my care and I have absolutely no control in his life, I can rest in knowing that he belongs not to me, but to God, and God will fight for him and protect him (Exodus 14:14).
I do not yet have the directing of the Lord as to how He plans to use this situation to touch and impact the world. But 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells me this: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” What I do know, is that I am going to be more that okay. He is fashioning me into a something so much more than what I ever was before. And that is something that I now rejoice over!
“The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.” Isaiah 51:3
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23
If you are struggling through a similar situation or feel led to reach out to me about any circumstance, I welcome the honor to come alongside you in any way that the Lord wills.
Living by Grace Alone,
Kira
[email protected]
I apologize to you all for the length of this. I just felt overwhelmingly led this morning to share my story and this was as short as I could get it. This was not just of me, but God speaking through me. I pray that this may be a blessing upon someone who needs to hear this story.
Kira, I weep at your transparency!!! Your God is going to redeem your son. The work He is doing in you is absolutely beautiful. He making beauty from ashes….in our deepest pains and sorrows He works in us and through us powerfully.
Thank you for sharing. Although I am not in the same situation God ministered to me greatly through your words. Our timing is not His and when there’s work to be done it does take time. He is always preparing us for what lies ahead. ? Thank you and God bless you and I will be praying for you.
Thank you for sharing this! I am in a different situation but can so relate to many of your words. We are seeking residential treatment for one of our children and it is a long, lonely battle. I understand your words about there being no comfort in any human being, only Jesus. I feel like we’ve been wandering in the desert with no end in sight, no guarantees that we will reach a destination. Yet I know God is here, so near, and I cling to Him until His timing reveals the next steps. Thank you for being brave and sharing your story of hope!!
Kira,
That God is working abundantly through your circumstances, it is CLEAR to see. What a testament to God’s faithfulness you are! What an inspiration. I felt God all through your testimony!
Kira,
My heart goes out to you and your family. Thank you so much for sharing how God is working in your lives! I pray alongside you, as I know many others are today, and lift up your son to Him. I sense great things will come from this experience and know this dark season will soon pass from your family! We are so glad you are with us. God Bless you and your family!
I had to smile as I was starting to think this week I don’t have a “calling” like Moses did…and I almost didn’t read this blog today! But in God’s providence I did. After taking some time the last three years to heal from the end of a 24 year marriage and empty nesting and back to full time work and the loss of dogs and some dear friends in a 6 month period, I don’t feel like I have a “calling.” And then there was LGG! My calling is to eagerly utter the memory of God’s abundant goodness to me as He carried me through this long storm. Thank you. I receive the calling and gladly will continue to rejoice in my Savior who is forever faithful and recount His faithfulness to me to the next generation!
Beth,
Thank you for sharing your story. We are so glad you are with us and that you read the blog today! I am praying that God continues to work in your life and that you continue to share with others. Thank you for taking up the challenge to be a modern day Moses and being a shining light to other women. God Bless you!
Wow! I really mean, wow! I have recently been praying for God to give me a sign if my assignment in life is what I think it is- the insecure feeling of not knowing if I’m following God or I’m following myself. This post truly made it clear and my heart is at peace from this moment I just experienced. I have been battling with the idea of sharing my testimony and how to do this, or if I even should for fear it might hurt others since it was their hurt that brought me to God. I feel like I’ve been so uncertain. Last week was my week of going through my brokenness, this week is confirming that I need to share that brokenness to prove our God is at work in every way. Thank you for this post and the profound meaning it had in my life.
Lydia,
Thank you for sharing how God is at work in your life. Know that we are praying for you and cheering you on every step of the way!
Jennifer, God is already using you my dear sister. I too am struggling with breaking generational chains, fear and anxiety as well as insecure, broken and abandoned causing me to be disobedient to our Father. I constantly beat myself up and crying wondering if things could have been differently had I just listened to what God has spoke to me. Lately, I have been crying almost everyday and I felt like I was falling into a depression. There are times I don’t want to get out of bed. It’s been getting better but I’m always questioning if I even hear from God when seeking answers to things I want to know. Last night, I read James 1:6-8 and I am learning to trust that God is providing wisdom to me because I do not want to be double minded and unstable. Last night, the Lord did speak to me and told me that I have so much compassion on other people that it causes me to have less compassion on myself sacrificing my own happiness.
In the study it mentions learning disability, that’s another area of struggle for me. Fear and lack of confident has been holding me back. I also feel dumb compared to others I work with. I have been holding myself back so much that my boss asked if I wanted to stay in the position I am in which is out of the realm of my social work degree. He says I don’t appear motivated. I was so shocked at the truth he was telling that I started to tear up. I have been feeling so stuck in life. I am 40yrs old no husband and I want to have a baby one day. My career is not where I want it to be but I feel God has me where I am for a reason because He has not opened up doors for me to go else where. But I know He is at work in my life and I have to stop sitting around waiting to see what He is going to do and move out on faith and allow Him to lead me.
I believe God is leading me to marriage ministry one day. So, for now I have been pushing myself to start somewhere until he takes me where He is leading me. I have been praying for Him to provide for me to get training for marriage coaching and decided I will start a blog based on my dating experiences. I have no idea what I will say but with the verses from yesterdays reading I know God will go before me. I am broken but I am ok as well. I know God is at work in my life and His plans for me are good and not evil. I know he will make all the crooked places straight and is working all things for my good.
Where to begin? I’m 53, have 4 kids (only 1 17 yr old still at home), married to a priest for 28 years. I’ve come through many fires, not unscathed or unchanged, thank God. I’m thankful now for what I’ve been through. It took me a long time to be able to say that. I’ve been abused and neglected as a child; beaten, abused, cheated on and divorced by my first husband (and more that I don’t talk about publicly because it would damage others to know it all); drug and alcohol abuse because I didn’t know how to handle the pain; neglect from my now hubby (he has since learned how to love, hence the 28 years of marriage ❤️); 3 miscarriages; taking care of my mom during her time w early onset Alzheimer’s disease and dealing with her death; and my health – I have lupus. Yep, I’ve been through the fire. I can testify that I know without a doubt that God was with me every second, every step of the way. How to share what He’s done for me.. idk how to say it, but He’s blessed me so much. He’s my everything and I am in complete joy and peace. The only way that could happen after everything ive been through is Him. He’s saved me. He fills my heart w hope. I know now there’s nothing that will separate me from His love.
Meg,
Thank you for being so brave to share your story with all of us! I can relate to so much of what you have been through because I have been there myself. God has truly blessed us and carried us through those dark times, no doubt about that! I can also respect the privacy of certain areas of your life so not to cause harm to others. No worries, God knows. He was there carrying us through those times and protecting us, and continues to do so today. Please know you are being prayed for, and we are so happy you are joining us. God Bless you and your family!
This was an absolute wonderful blog post. Thank you Angela, this was so encouraging for those times when we just don’t think we are up to the task.
I am an older woman and I struggle with sharing, not how God has kept me and given me strength, but with the circumstances He’s brought me through. I’ll be brief, ’cause I gotta get ready for work…
In my first marriage I was married to a man who tried to be the Godly man he knew he should be, but, ….he had some anger issues….not physical abuse but a lot of emotional stuff. We had two daughters, one adopted at five and one a newborn. My parents hated him and the feeling was mutual. I liked his dad, but his mom was a career woman and my husband was not her favorite, so our kids weren’t either. Fortunately we moved 1500 miles away from them. Our youngest died at eight from cancer, my mom died five weeks later, my dad had died two years earlier, my husband walked out a year after our daughter died, leaving me with a very hurt and rebellious 17 yr old. As soon as she could leave she did, and now, 13 years later, I still haven’t heard from her. I remarried, he is the older brother of a friend, but he became an alcoholic shortly after we married. I had been the secretary of the senior pastor of the church, but they fired me after he got his DUI, so I became without any family (I was an only child), and without a church family or a job. But these last few years I have developed a much stronger relationship with the Lord. I’ve had to lean on Him when everything else came apart. I’ve stayed with my husband, and pray constantly for him to return to the Lord. He doesn’t drink and drive anymore, and only occasionally drinks, so that aspect is much better. He’s now disabled and I am the only breadwinner, but God always provides. We’ve not returned to church but that’s ok, too. So many church members are showing their true judgmental colors and we just don’t need that. They separated from me when I had all the loss, and totally rejected me when he got the DUI. Don’t need that kind of people in my life. God brings those He wants me to have relationships with. All in all, I’ve learned to trust Him more.
Thank you Angela for your honesty like Moses. It’s so refreshing. I love reading your posts on the blog. I can very much relate. So open, so raw and human. 🙂
Janet and Catherine,
Thank you both for being with us and sharing your personal stories. We are praying for you both! God Bless you and your families.