Tag: rest

Small Things with Great Love

The Lord first laid this verse on my heart a couple of months back with regard to a personal initiative that I believe He is calling me to take up. Someone who absolutely delights in chronicling everything that Jesus tells me in multiple journals, I made a quick note.

But as I did, a really funny thing began to unravel in the days and weeks ahead.

What began as a fancy name for a future enterprise slowly morphed into a most stunning personal revelation. Seeking to share what I have learnt, allow me to welcome you to a tiny segment of my personal walk with Christ called,

“Small Things with Great Love.”

I believe that it was Mother Teresa who first contrived this phrase in her well-known adage,

“We cannot all do great things. But we can  do small things with great love.”

Though there is much to say about our faith walk with the Lord, what I love most about it is that it can all be summed up into one simple law, the law of love – ‘and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mark 12:30-32, ESV)

More often than not, I feel that as children of God who are learning to walk with the Lord, we can tend to overcomplicate things. We can start to think about our calling and destiny in terms of something quite spectacular and grand which will happen, ‘one day when.’

One day when I get my degree and start my practice..

One day when I get married and start my ministry..

One day when I get my breakthrough and the path ahead is cleared..

But what I have discovered is that all we ever have is the ‘here and now.’ As long as we are sowing in love in our lives on a daily basis, we can be rest assured that whatever the Lord has promised us in the ‘then and there’ will manifest most organically as a result of our humble obedience and loving devotion – right here, right now.

1.Loving God well

Our primary calling in life is to know God and love God. I have learnt by experience that what this basically means is a lifestyle of unbroken fellowship with the heart of our Perfect Father, something which doesn’t only happen in and through our  spiritual disciplines like prayer and quiet time with the Lord (though those are really important!), but rather in and through the beauty of an authentic heart-to-heart connect with the Lord through the hours of our day.

In my own personal walk with Christ, I have discovered that one way to effectively put this truth into practice is to remain in a relational dialogue with the Lord as we walk through whatever it is that we are called to in our day-to-day life.

Whether it is in the context of family, community, business, workplace or ministry, what confounds us is never beyond the wisdom of heaven. I have learned the value of taking my questions to Jesus, instead of striving to find solutions in my own limited strength. What inevitably follows is not only a satisfactory response from God that promises resolution, but also strength and strategy for the journey as I embrace my process, knowing that God controls the outcomes and therefore, they remain secure.

The net result of such a lifestyle, friends is a deepened and more dependent relationship with the Father where He leads, and we follow. Walking in humble steps that keep Him involved in our daily lives not only demonstrates our love for Him, but also brings the awe and wonder of God into our otherwise mundane lives, keeping the adventure fresh and exciting.

Love, I’m learning, is its own reward.

2. Loving ourselves well

Fuelled by the transforming power of grace, rest and self-care; I am also learning the power of loving myself well. We cannot pour from an empty cup, but for my cup to run over, I not only have to receive the love of God for me in its fullness, but let my experience of that love transform the way I see myself and love myself.

Grace
Talking of grace, our Father personifies it fully in the person of Jesus and as I take my cues from Him, I am learning to not be too hard on myself but rather give myself the kind of grace that I receive from the Lord too. Letting Him teach me to understand myself with mercy, not judgement has one of the most challenging yet satisfying part of my  journey to wholeness thus far.

Though the times I fail or falter are many, learning to correct my posture in such times from self-condemnation to self-compassion has begun to awaken me to the truth that God does not call me to a life of perfection, but rather perspective. I wasn’t created to have it all together, but rather to bring all the messy parts of me to Jesus, letting His perfection fill in the gaps. For in Him, I am complete. The Lord couldn’t have said it better when He spoke thus to apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

And because it is, I am learning to let go and let God. Letting God not only inhabit those spaces of my soul where His power is made perfect in my weakness but also take over as it relates to the situations and circumstances of my life, which brings me to the topic of rest.

Rest
Friends, though there are many ways to practice rest, I have found that they are all rooted in one common truth – trust.

Our most basic human instinct is to have control, but the word of God says that love always trusts (1 Corinthians 13:7). Control has to do with fear, but love will inspire trust. As image bearers of God being transformed into His likeness which is the purest love ever, a huge part of our process with the Lord has to do with releasing control and replacing it with simple, childlike trust.

I am discovering that when I do what the Psalmist describes in Psalm 56:3, ESV “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,” I immediately enter into a place of deeper rest as a result of placing my trust in the right place – Him.

Not in my limited ability, and not in the broken state of my circumstances, but rather in Jesus – the author and perfector of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). Each time I sense fear creeping up, tempting me to take control, I have to be very intentional about acknowledging that the Lord is sovereign – over every nation, every household, every heart. And if He said it, He will do it.

This is a gentle reminder that I give myself several times a day, and the more I do, the more I am able to trust Him and the more at rest I am internally.

Self-care
The third counterpart in the realm of loving ourselves well that I have found, friends is self-care.

Taking the time to engage in an activity that serves to rekindle our passion and zest for life while simultaneously connect us to the heart of the Father is a wonderful way, I believe, to remind ourselves that we are worthy to be taken care of, to be nurtured, to be replenished.

A personal revival is always at the core of revival in our families and communities. Though there are several things that we can indulge in, I have learnt that commiting to what is most authentic will be the most fruitful.

For some of us, this can look like catching up with a trusted friend over coffee at Starbucks. For some, it can take the form of reading through a fictional novel that transports us and stimulates our imagination. For some, it can even be fixing a jigsaw puzzle in the cosy comfort of their home, while for others, it can look like long walks and evening strolls with Jesus.

Let me share a true story at this point. On the other side of having begun this post, I found myself thrust into an unexpected trial. Since my temperament is basically like that of a finisher, I had kept a target of 2-3 days when I would write, finish, edit, pray and publish. However, the process that the Lord had in His mind for me, was quite different.

Though I don’t believe that He causes our troubles, I do believe that He uses them for our development. And this much I knew, I had hit a valley.

As the Lord shepherded me through this difficult time, I learnt how to love myself well in a whole new way. Walking out the impact I had endured hand-in-hand with the Father, I was compelled to give myself grace even if I never completed what I had begun. And perhaps, especially then. I was inspired to take adequate rest not only physically, but also spiritually as the Lord challenged me to trust Him to complete that which He had begun. Any voice of self-condemnation was replaced by the voice of self-compassion as I took the necessary measures to heal, recover and rebound well.

Coming out on the other side, I am so pleased to share that as a result of learning to love myself well through this time, I have come forth more refined, more rested, more whole, more free and more empowered. I also feel better positioned to love my neighbour more authentically because I know what it is to love myself the way God loves me.

3. Loving our neighbour as ourselves

I believe that God deposits the seeds of a prosperous future in our present. We are summoned by Him into a lifestyle of daily devotions and daily missions where it is not so much our ability that qualifies us, but rather our availability before the Lord. 

The people that He has called us to love and serve are always around and about us. So, I will share here a couple of questions I have started asking God in prayer that have empowered me to be the hands and feet of Christ to help those around me:

– Who can I help today?
– Who can I encourage?
– Who can I pray for?
– Who can I bring loving correction to?
– Who can I forgive and bless?

As I write these questions for you to ponder, I am struck by the fact that all these questions have one thing in common –

‘Who.’

I feel we can often stumble over the ‘what’ in terms of our calling/destiny. My own experience testifies. But what I am learning and seeing is that the Lord wants us to pay attention to the ‘who’ – His son or daughter that is right in front of us. And as we do, He promises to make all things manifest in His perfect way and timing.

In other words, the question perhaps is not so much as, “what am I called to do?” as it is, “who am I called to love?”

Personally, this approach has been hugely rewarding for me. I have since found myself more present in my day-to-day life. Whether it was organising a vehicle for a young girl stranded on the street desperate for a ride to her destination, fetching medication to aid the recovery of my auto-rick guy, or agreeing to speak the truth in love to a family member; walking in tune with the rhythm of the Father’s heart postures me to be more aware of and attentive to the needs of the people that God has placed in front of me – right here, right now.

For it is our obedience in the here and now that is instrumental in unlocking the realms and doors of our destiny in the then and there, simply because all that we are and all that we do is grounded in the primary call of beholding and becoming love.

The value that God places on love above all else is clearly revealed in the passage that says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, ESV)

I believe that God here is saying that no matter how accomplished we are, no matter how much knowledge we possess, no matter how theologically sound our doctrine is, if we have not love, we have nothing at all.

Conversely, even if the areas of our calling and destiny seem a bit obscure, we don’t need to despair. We are encouraged by heaven to start small and begin right where we find ourselves. We can all learn to love God, love ourselves and love our neighbour as ourselves right where we are at. And as we do, the Lord promises to go before and do what only He can do.

So as we walk in radical obedience friends, may we be encouraged to remember that our tiny acts of faith executed on a daily basis will inevitably add up to a glorious destiny. For the liberating truth of the Simple Gospel is that we don’t really need to do grand things for God to make a difference, but only small things with great love.

🤍🎅🏻🤍

Lessons through Fall

“Spending time in the Sun with the Son.”

☀️👑

Friends, I have been ‘wintering.’

It has been a challenging time where the Lord’s Love has compelled me to take it slow and find the beauty in it. Having to match my pace with His has tried my soul in ways I can’t even articulate, but by His Grace, I feel I am doing much better now – being more rested, more whole, more free.

What I feel as a result, is that what most marks this season is ‘redefining productivity.’ By the world’s standards, I may not have been producing or creating much, but by the standards of the Kingdom, so much more has been produced in me, beneath the surface, in a way that is truly symbolic of Fall.

Sitting in the sun and basking in His glory have become my favorite winter activities. Digging in the Word while sipping some green tea mark my delight. Finding my rhythm in tune with that of creation brings such great joy, friends that I felt today to simply hop on and encourage you to ‘winter in’ with me.

What looks cold and barren on the outside often is growing deep roots beneath the surface. When growth is least suspected is when it perhaps is happening the most. It may not appear to be yet what was promised, but every oak tree was once a tiny seed.

May we know it, perceive it and sow it.

Even when its Fall. For the season of singing and pruning the vines will always come.

Until then?

Be still and know.

🌲🍁🤍

Rest

Take rest, beloved.

I know you are weary from it all.

The wait has been long, the confusion too thick, the disappointment too great or perhaps the loss too unbearable.

Friends, I’m slowly learning to take care.

When our emotions get exhausted and our souls seem to be missing the passion we once had, it’s time to slow down. It’s time to pay attention to the longings of our inner man that needs to just surrender all manner of striving and be still.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

(Psalm 46:10)

While there are many ways to rest and refresh ourselves, I feel that committing to what is most authentic to us is the most fruitful.

While rest càn be enjoyed in the stillness and serenity of creation, it can also take the form of a date with Jesus over a cup of cappuccino at Starbucks. It can look like fixing a jigzaw puzzle in the cosy comfort of your room, or even perhaps cooking your favorite meal in the kitchen against the backdrop of some gentle, soothing strains of music.

For me though?

It has recently manifested as some daily down time with Jesus over ‘mint water.’

As I stroll into my kitchen for breakfast in the morning, there it is. Sitting pretty in a glass bottle that my mother fixes for me, it is a most beautiful reminder to intentionally carve out some time that day to sip, to abide, to be.

5 mins.

That’s all it really takes.

But the worth and value of investing that time to reconnect, reset and revitalise has been life transforming.

It sends a gentle yet firm reminder to my soul that it deserves rest and is worthy of it. It helps me to know that I am not a cog in a machine. Rather, I am a beautiful Child of God who is blessed each day to be alive, to be free and to be at rest.

Jesus loves to give rest to us, friends. He knows us by name and holds us close. But the rush of the world that we live in can and does stifle our consciousness of it. So to combat this, what do we do?

We rest.

We cease all manner of striving for some carefully chiseled out time in the day to simply reconnect with the Source of it all, to breathe and to recharge for whatever lies ahead.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28)

I’m going.
Are you?

🧋🥤

Right here, Right now.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15)

It’s within the chaos of our world that I’m learning to find God.

Running between my home and the main gate to hand over a chunk of money that the delivery boy had mistakenly given me, I’m learning the sheer brilliance and importance of internal peace and rest.

My most recent revelation informs me that if I wait for the circumstances of my world to line up, I’ll be waiting forever.

But if I’m willing to let the Holy Spirit create and cultivate that sacred space deep within my soul that rests in the assurance that comes from knowing I’m a child of God, I have the opportunity to rest secure right where I am.

I’m guessing the same holds true for you too, dear friend.

Standing beside a rather tall palm with the sound of water running down a wall, I felt Heaven touch earth. I found myself wanting to just be still. Be still in the stillness of His Presence, amid the wonder of creation. A gentle breeze caressing my face and restoring unto me the awe of my King.

Who is ever beside me, but longs for me to be still long enough to discover that reality.

Tracing my steps back home, I was a bit changed I admit.

I left with a photo to share with my friends here, yes. But something more than that perhaps.

A yearning to know what it’s like to really be still and know that He is God.

An uncommon peace and a supernatural rest undergirding my soul through all the chaos I’m called to walk through.

A simple child like trust in Father God that is of far greater value than pure gold.

A heart that rests fully assured in the sure and certain knowledge that the Lord is in control.

A life that wants to have the privilege of knowing Him deeper and fuller.

All because if I’ve been made in the image of God and I have, then peace and rest are my portion. And that too, right here. Right now.

Not one day when, dear friend.

Right here. Right now.

Be still, O my soul

We will not be moved
But we will watch You move
The mountains and the boulders
As You hoist us on Your shoulders.

Your footprints in the sand
A testimony of Grace
We never have to strive
As we lean in to see Your face.

Shining and reassuring
Bringing calm to our souls
Your smile that meets us
In bottomless pits and holes.

Nothing is too hard for You
So we humble ourselves
You’re meeting our every need
Our souls in deep catharsis.

It’s windy and gusty
The weather patterns are changing
You’re working behind the scenes
So we wait on You patiently.

Every care and concern
We surrender our all
Nothing do we withhold
From The One who gave His all.

🍃

The Good Shepherd

The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd.
I always have more than enough.
He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love.
His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.
That’s where he restores and revives my life.
He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure
and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness
so that I can bring honor to his name.
Lord, even when your path takes me through
the valley of deepest darkness,
fear will never conquer me, for you already have!
You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.
Your authority is my strength and my peace.
The comfort of your love takes away my fear.
I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.
You become my delicious feast
even when my enemies dare to fight.
You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit;
you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.
So why would I fear the future?
For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.
Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!

(Psalm 23, The Passion Translation)
🌿

An anchored adventure

I’ve learned that every scenario of life is different. It’s comes with a different set of situations and circumstances that are fashioned to propel us forward in our relational walk with The Lord. For it’s in the context of our journey with Him that true and lasting transformation occurs.

It occurs deep down on the inside of us where the Spirit of God gently touches upon the areas where God wants to upgrade our Identity in Him, making us more and more like the image of His Son,

Jesus.

One of the best descriptions of our journey with The Lord that I have had the joy of dwelling upon is as follows,

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from The Lord, who is the Spirit.”

(2 Corinthians 3:18, The Passion Translation)

We aren’t just being transformed, we are being transfigured. We are learning to partner with the person of  The Holy Spirit as He cultivates the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, within us. In every time frame, He touches upon the area that we need an upgrade in, to not only become more like our Maker, but as a result, even learn to live above the state of our situations and circumstances as surely as Christ did.

“God is not peripheral to the world. The world is peripheral to God.”

Consequently, as The Holy Spirit starts to work within us to cultivate one area at a time, all our situations and circumstances now begin to work in our favour. Abiding in Christ, we are no longer under the weight of them, for we are gliding far above them. After all, that’s what He promised us,

A life above and not beneath.

Which is why our souls hang on every word He says.

For the truth is that this life is one big grand adventure, and any adventure comes with a corresponding promise of uncertainty. However, what anchors us in the midst of this uncertainty is the absolute certainty of who God is for us, and who we are becoming as a result of being in a thriving relationship with Him.

It’s this adventure that compels us to engage with The Father’s Heart through a relational dialogue, a dialogue that downloads revelation from the Heavens above and through His Spirit, ensures that revelation is transformed into reality in order that we may not only transform but transfigure, from one degree of glory to another.

The image that The Lord led me to use for this post is one that is a pristine picture of a calm, placid sea. The horizon is clear and the sky is blue. The man with the oar looks ready for action, yet stilled by the majesty of the beauty around him.

Life in the Spirit, I imagine is much the same. The spiritual condition of our hearts when fixed on Jesus remains peaceful because He is the Prince of Peace. His peace is not because of circumstances, but despite circumstances. His peace is a gift freely given and simultaneously, a fruit that we can allow The Holy Spirit to cultivate within us, regardless of circumstances; and sometimes, because of them. The horizon in the natural can seem cloudy, but when viewed through the lens of the promises that God gives us, that same horizon now looks promising because our vision has become aligned with His and His vision is never cloudy. Its a clear and confident, “Yes” and “Amen” to the new scenery that His promise has just revealed. The skies above may look overcast, but our souls don’t have to be downcast.

Why?

Because they hang on every word He says and every promise He makes.

His promise is like an oar in our hands. Like the man in the picture above, we too hold on to it and before we start to run with it, allowing ourselves to be stilled by the majesty of the beauty of The Love that surrounds us is something we can learn from the man that I’ve talked about so much.

For in my experience, the journey between where we are now and where His promise beckons us is a space where our souls hang on every word He says and can most assuredly rest in The Love that is here to stay. His word is a sure path from the “here and now” to the “then and there.” It is given to us to empower us and equip us and invite us into a walk where when wholeheartedly partnered with, we have said, “Yes” to an adventure that will not only see us receive word upon word as rivers of living water that freely flow from His Heart to ours, eventually resulting in an extravagant confluence where we see the fulfillment of the promise that He spoke over our lives, but was made possible only because we were first humble enough to become obedient to every word He uttered and wise enough to rest in The Love that spoke the word in the first place.

The Love that says He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Love that declares that nothing can separate us from Him. The Love that goes before and stands behind. The Love that moves mountains and splits seas wide open. The Love that left Heaven behind so we could have Heaven in our midst. The Love that perhaps even a million different words written over a million light years will never be captured within, for He is way beyond.

Way beyond and still within.

Still within to help us transform and transfigure, navigate and traverse, steer and sail, fly and soar.

But before we do, He ensures that His sheep know His voice, run with His word and rest in His Love.

For The Love that we rest in will ensure that the rest is history, altering the very course of our Destiny.

All to the praise of His glory!

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

The deep blue sea.

What’s true in the natural, is also true in the Spirit. Life in the Spirit always has times of what we call, “flow” and ebb.” As surely as the sea has its tides and times, we do too.

We too experience times that produce enormous activity and fruitfulness; times which inevitably give way to times of rest and renewal. The flow always will lead to an ebb, and the ebb, I’m discovering too has a flow.

The flow in the ebb.

The flow in the ebb is a flow of healing and strength. It’s when our soul seeks to rest in the soil that made it, taking in the nutrients that it has to offer. Nutrients that look a lot like love, grace and strength. Nutrients that are the very lifeblood that fuel us in our ongoing journey with The Lord. Nutrients that bring a sense of wholeness, restoration and regeneration in to the deepest crevices of our being; reviving and revitalizing us from deep within. Nutrients that form the very substratum of the ground that The Lord is preparing within us to prepare us for what He has prepared for us.

The hustle and bustle of our daily lives will continue. But I’m learning that when we enter into the period of the ebb, we are slowly learning to travel from a place of rest which comes when we have first carved out a space with The Lord who IS our rest. It comes from being intentional about the rest we seek. It comes from a deliberate choice to want to declutter and realign. It comes from asking our peace to rise up in the midst of noise and distractions. But above all else, it foremost comes from having taken the time to let The Lord pour into us before He gets ready to pour through us the very nutrients that made us whole; the love, the grace, the strength.

It’s the flow in the ebb.

It’s the flow in the ebb which when tapped into gives us the much needed unction and inspiration to want to step into the next dimension. Instead of calling it the flow, I’ll call it the deep blue sea.

The deep blue sea is where we are no longer paddling, but are ready to wade through the waters. Where our hearts have moved to a place where we want the taste, touch and smell of the sun, sea and sand. Where we are eager learners and swift surfers. Where we deftly ride the wave of circumstance, because the rivers of living water stemming forth from our innermost being are just so much stronger.

The deep blue sea is where the Love of our Savior is perhaps, revealed even more. His Love that has us signed up for a life full of adventure. His Love that is a constant through the adventure. His Love that, in and of itself, IS an adventure.

As I write, the lyrics to a melody called, “You make me brave,” by Worship leader, Amanda Cook come to mind. It’s a song that I would sing in my earlier days of seeking The One who was already seeking me out. Let me share,

“As Your love, in wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You made a way for all to enter in

I have heard You calling my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So I will let You draw me out beyond the shore
Into Your grace
Your grace

As Your love, in wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You made a way for all to enter in.”

His Love that made a way for all to enter into the deep blue sea, where the ebb and the flow of the tides translate into the ebb and flow of our very lives. Where the waves that once looked daunting, now look inviting. Where the wind in our sails no longer depends on the atmosphere around us, but rather on The Love that has our atmosphere surrounded.

The deep blue sea is where the flow gives way to the ebb and the ebb gives way to the flow. But to The One that is above the ebb and flow?

Is The One to whom all I owe.

Integrity.

“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, The Passion Translation)

Years back, I had a revelation from The Lord concerning what we call, “tests.” He told me that He already knows me and what He has put deep down on the inside of me. He is sure. But He wants me to be sure too.

So the thing we like to call, “tests,” are only an opportunity for us to know ourselves. To know ourselves the way He does. For he trusts us. Tests are only sent our way to reveal to us who we are in Him. He already knows. It is for us to know.

This truth has been etched out by Him in my soul ever since. Even before something like a test comes my way, deep down I know that this is something God is using to only peel back another layer of who I am in Him. It is a tool in His Hands to not only reveal His Faithfulness as He walks me through it, but also something that on the other side, becomes a trophy of His Grace in mine.

Why am I writing about tests today?

Because truth be told, life towards the fulfillment of dreams and destiny birthed through the revelation of His Promises will be marked by them. They may come at times when we least expect them, but as His Own, we can rest.

We can rest as surely as Jesus slept in the back of the boat in the midst of a tempestuous storm. His disciples panicked and even thought that perhaps, Jesus didn’t care. When they accused Him of being unkind, He quickly rebuked the wind and the waves till calm was restored and the disciples left with an astonishing revelation as Jesus said to them,

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:38-40, ERV)

He simply wanted them to know that they too had the authority to do what He just did. Likewise, as His Children, we too have authority when tests and trials come our way. His Name is what gives us authority and His Character is the essence of our rest. His Name has defeated death and won life everlasting for us, then in the light of this revelation, can we ever be intimidated?

No.

We may feel intimidated, but it can never get the better of us. For He who promised is Faithful.

He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He promised to be an ever present help in times of trouble. He promised that hope will never let us be ashamed. He promised that even though we stumble, we will not fall for He upholds us with His righteous right hand. He promised that we have a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. He promised that He has hemmed us in, behind and before.

And because He has, we can rest for we know The One whom we have believed. His Love is constant and endless. His Mercy knows no bounds nor limits. His Grace is extravagant and all sufficient. His Majesty reigns and rules. His Supremacy over all things is incontestable. His Sovereignty makes all things possible.

He is the God of Love, Freedom and Purpose. When He speaks, He creates. And what He creates is what we have the privilege and delight to walk into as He takes us from one degree of glory to another. When He releases a promise from His bosom to ours, it not only becomes a guarantee of fulfillment, but also a guarantee that we will overcome.

Why?

Because He is watching to see that His Word is fulfilled.

Through every test or trial that we may encounter, we can rest in the integrity of The One who will be faithful to encounter us even more through it all. And my experience tells me with absolute certainty that when He encounters us, we never are the same again. For He makes sure that we become better than before.

And not just better than before, but even better acquainted with ourselves and The One whom we have believed. The One who not only breathed His very life into our being, but even the plans and purposes that He has destined for us to walk into. The One who enables us to put faith into action, and doesn’t let anything interfere with it. The One who overlooks all that we are not, and delights in who we are becoming. The One who has gone into all our tomorrows and yet is present by our side. The One who bestows upon us a newness of life rich with promises that are designed to bring us closer to the very One we are talking about.

For The One we are talking about is the truest person I know. And because He is True, I can trust. And when I trust, I can rest.

As I hasten to a close, the picture of the mountain that He has led me to use for this post has brought to remembrance one of the songs sung by Worship leader, Steffany Gretzinger; a song I’ve perhaps sung more than once,

“Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful.”

And He never changes.

Integrity.