Category: God

God

Be Still

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I’ve never been good at sitting still. Not that I’m hyper or anything, I just would rather be doing something. I like to get stuff done. I’m pretty much always working on a task, whether big or small. When the Lord tells me to be still I pay attention. Being still sounds like you need to be laying around, doing absolutely nothing. That’s not the case.

Being still is stopping what we are doing in our attempts to fix something we cannot fix, then placing our faith, focus, hearts, and minds on God. He is in control and He will take care of whatever is concerning us. The NASB says, “Cease striving”; that really speaks to me. The Lord is telling me, “Stop! I’ll handle it. I am God and you are not”.

The first part of Psalm 46 gives great insight into verse 10.

1 God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah (ESV)

God is sovereign over everything. We do not have to fear. He will help us and He is right here in our times of trouble. Because of His power, authority, and glory we can stop our feeble attempts to remedy a situation and trust Him to take care of whatever problems are before us.

There is nothing in this world that will bring the safety and security that God does. He is our refuge. Only He can fix the unfixable. Only He can heal, restore, and provide what we cannot. He is Almighty God. He reigns over all. He will be exalted.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10, ESV

Nothing surprises God. What puzzles us is permitted by our Lord, for reasons too profound to grasp. It is put together in the counsel of His own will so that it fits perfectly into His plan for His glory and His purposes. As His servant, I say in response, “I will not fear. Though I don’t understand it, I will not fear. Though You take something that’s deeply significant to me, though You allow a catastrophe to strike, I will not fear. I will not blame, I will not doubt, and I will not question.

Charles R. Swindoll, Bedside Blessings

Be still, and know that He is God.

Love you all,

Meghan

Heavenly Father,

You reign over all. You are awesome Holy God. Help us Father, to trust You when facing difficult situations. Nothing is too hard for You to handle. Strengthen, protect, and provide for our needs. Thank you for your constant presence, and willingness to help us in our times of trouble. Help us God, to be still and remember how mighty You are. There is none like You. For anyone facing difficulties right now, help them to let go of their troubles, that they have no power to fix on their own, and place them in Your mighty hands. We love you God, and we praise Your holy name.

Amen

God

God’s Ways Are Perfect

meghanewhite

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This stunning flower is from a carrot. I never pulled up my carrots from last summer and just let them be, resulting in the most gorgeous flowers. The term for this is called bolting. It’s a survival mechanism in plants when conditions are no longer ideal for the plant. The plant is producing seed to continue on. There is no longer viable fruit or vegetables after bolting occurs, but the seeds remain. New life will emerge.

It would have been great to enjoy a large bunch of carrots, but that did not happen. There were a few carrots early in the summer. Later, the unbearable heat made it challenging for me to do much work in the garden so the carrots were neglected. However, along with the stunning flowers, I pulled up this gargantuan carrot.

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It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this carrot is massive. Bigger than any I’ve ever grown. That’s what happens when you leave them through the winter. I will not eat it, but it sure was fun to find that in my garden.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

God’s ways are perfect. He made every plant, fruit, and vegetable. Only God can make something beautiful from a plant in distress. The fruit is no longer viable but the flower produces seed which means new life can continue. That’s not how I would do things, but I’m not God. I would have chosen an abundant carrot harvest, but I would have missed the stunning flowers. Sure, lots of veggies was the goal, but the circumstances were not ideal, and the plant was in distress.

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Psalm 18:30

Whatever God allows is perfect. The hard things, painful things, and beautiful things, He allows. God’s way is perfect, not easy. Sometimes, His way is quite difficult for us. But He is a shield for us who take refuge in Him. He will help us. We don’t always understand His ways, but we can trust that He is faithful, and is working everything out for our good, and His glory.

We can trust God in all things. His ways are perfect.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your faithfulness and your perfect ways. Thank you for always working in our lives and turning beauty from ashes. Only you can do that Lord. You are our defender and protector as we take refuge in you. Help us, O God, to trust you more and give you everything that we are holding onto. Help us to place our fears and worries into your capable hands.

Amen

Love you all,

Meghan

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Photo credit: Meghan E. White

God, Trials

Remember What God Has Done

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March 9th, 2021 was a day that started out quite normal. Tom was getting some lab work done to prepare for hernia surgery. We had no worries about his tests. I went about my day, and had just finished my grocery shopping. I was waiting at the red light across from our neighborhood. Very ordinary, regular stuff.

My light turned green, and I drove across the intersection. Immediately, my peripheral vision noticed something moving at me fast, very fast. It was a car. I knew I would be hit because there was no escape. Wham!!! I was struck on the front driver’s side so hard that my head slammed into the window. It was like slow motion. I thought to myself, “I’m going to be injured. This is bad.”

I waited for it all to stop, and somehow my vehicle made it to the side of the road. I called 911 and it was like a circus with police, and tow truck drivers. As I was standing there in complete shock of what just happened, Tom texted me that he was being sent to the hospital for blood transfusions. I quickly sent him a text back letting him know about the accident. We were both at the mercy of God, and other people, to take care of us.

Looking back at a very difficult time in our lives I see God’s hands. He protected me in the car accident. I walked away, and so did the other driver. We both could have been killed. I sustained very minor injuries and my brain seems to still work properly. Praise God!

Tom’s journey to recovery was a long one involving blood transfusions, hospitalization, surgeries, never ending lab work, lots of bad news from specialists, and many unanswered questions. He was in tremendous pain for months because of a catheter. The list for my husband’s suffering is a long one, but he never complained. I see God’s hand over Tom, and his health.

This week I can’t help but look back and remember God’s faithfulness to us during a very dark time. He was there the whole time. God never left us, and He never will.

When going through a difficult time it can be easy to focus all our energy on the problem, and then worry and fear creeps in. The difficulty can be so overwhelming that we can’t see beyond it, and we forget entirely, that God is on our side.

A quick fix to this feeling of fear and dread is to remember what God has done for us in the past when we thought for sure there was no way we were going to make it. But we did make it, because God took care of us. He did it before, and He will do it again.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Exodus 20:2, NASB

The children of Israel had short term memory loss while they were in the desert. The Israelites were miraculously set free from the Egyptians by the Lord. Yet, they forgot what God did for them time, and time again. A problem would come up and they would complain and do something foolish, like make a golden calf and worship it.

Over and over again, God says to the Israelites “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” He was constantly reminding them what He had done for them because He knew what they were capable of by forgetting Him. Idol worship, breaking the commandments, forgetting who God was, and ultimately hurting themselves, were just some of the bad consequences of their selfish choices.

God will never break a promise. He made a covenant with the children of Israel. So when they cried out to Him, He answered.

So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. Exodus 2:24-25, NASB

God was for the Israelites, and God is for you.

Are we any different than the Israelites? I have panicked when God doesn’t do what I want, when I want it. Then I try to fix things my way and it’s a mess. God graciously picks me up and helps me out because of Jesus, and His mercy and forgiveness.

Remember what God has done in your life. The times He showed up when the situation looked impossible. He provided, protected, and healed. He held you, comforted you, and spoke right to your heart. Write them down. Look back on them regularly. Thank God for His faithfulness. He’s not going to leave you.

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Hebrews 13: 5b-6, NKJV

Love you all,

Meghan

God

Sometimes We Just Need Held

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The other day I was deep in thought at the grocery store. I was looking at the fresh herbs deciding exactly how much basil to get. This is important stuff. Fresh basil is a big deal. As I was considering recipes and portions, a baby’s cry interrupted me. To my left a young mom was attempting to console her little baby boy. He was having none of that. His cries continued until she picked him up.

Suddenly the sweet little angel was calm because he was in his mama’s arms. Without even thinking about it I said, “Sometimes we just need to be held.” The little guy smiled at me. Memories of my own little babies when they were fussy flooded my mind. The precious young mom and sweet baby went about their shopping. We passed each other a few more times. The baby boy started fussing again when he was placed back in the shopping cart. He needed to be held.

Sometimes we need to be held. It does not matter how old we are, or how mature we are, or how long we have been a Christian. We need to be held in the arms of God. We need to be comforted, and nothing else will do to calm us down. We will never outgrow our need for comfort from our Heavenly Father.

It’s humbling to be in that much distress that we need comforted. We can’t rely on ourselves, we must rely on God. The deep pain and heartache are reminders of our need for God. We cannot live this life effectively on our own. We were never meant to.

What great encouragement to know that our God will comfort us, hold us, and carry us just like a little baby in need. It is a reminder of our human frailty. His love for us is beyond measure. God will not let go.

When we are comforted we then get to pass this on to others. It doesn’t end with our needs. God wants to use us as vessels of His love. We can hold that person who is in trouble. Maybe they need picked up, dusted off, and held. We all do at some point.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NKJV 

Love you all,

Meghan

 

 

Father God,

Thank you for your compassion and mercy. For those who need comforted right now, draw them to you. Comfort them with Your peace and love. May they experience Your supernatural presence. Hold them, and encourage them. Restore their hope. Heal their hearts. We praise You and thank You.

In Jesus name,

Amen 

 

 

 

 

God

Known by God

meghanewhite

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There are 17,000 Union soldiers buried in Vicksburg National Cemetery. The vast majority of tombstones say “Unknown”. Thousands of grave markers with no name. Were these men really unknown? Of course not. They had mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and children who knew them. Unfortunately the makeshift grave sites during the Civil War identifying these soldiers were gone by the time a national cemetery was created.

I looked at row after row of these unknown soldiers thinking of their families who knew them well. The generals and high ranking officials have grand memorials with statues of bronze, yet the enlisted guys have simple markers with a number. God knew each and every one of them. They were known by a loving God.

Who knows you? Does your husband or wife know you? Maybe your friends know you. Your siblings might know you or your parents. Sure we all have people in our lives who know us better than anyone else, but who knows you the best? God knows us better than anyone, even better than we know ourselves.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.

Psalm 139:1-4, NIV

Our creator, God, knows every single thing about us. He knows when we sit, and when we rise. He is familiar with all our ways. Before we say a word, He knows it completely.

God knows our struggles, our heartache, our deep pain. God knows our sins, and bad choices. God knows our ugly thoughts and our deepest needs. God knows every single thing about us, and still loves us like no one else can. God’s love for us is perfect.

Every person has the desire to be known. There is only one who knows us deeply, perfectly, lovingly. God knows you and He knows me. Do you know God?

There is only one way to the Father, that’s Jesus.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6, NIV

The God of the universe knows you. He made you, and loves you so very much. No one knows you like God. If you are feeling invisible or unknown, please be assured that you are known and you are loved by God.

God is always there, watching over you. Even when you think no one sees or cares, God does. He loves you passionately and will pursue you all the days of your life. God knows you, really knows you, like no other. You can trust Him fully. Do you know Him?

May you feel the deep abiding love of God, who made you and knows you. You are known.

Love you all,

Meghan