Is it time to get up already? I turn over in bed to look at the clock through sleep soaked eyes. No, it's not time to get up yet...it's just happening again. The clock says 3:31. Dear Lord, I'm so tired...please help me fall back to sleep quickly before...too late...the thoughts come pouring into my head like a flooding creek bed overflowing it's banks. No! Please!? And then the tears come, as I curl myself into a ball, as the sobs wrack my body. This has become the normal routine of my nights. Weary from the labor of the day, exhausted from sleepless nights and emotionally drained from the sadness that has embedded itself seemingly into every nook and cranny of my soul and mind, I struggle to control the flood of hot, salty, tears. I begin to pray, as I always do, seeking relief, security, comfort, help, hope, in conversation with my heavenly Father. Daddy God? Yes child. I hurt. I know. I see your pain. Please make it stop. He sighs. We've had this conversation before, child. I know...but it still hurts. Please make it stop. Please take it away. There is a reason for this pain, child. There is a lesson for you in this journey. You will make it through this. And you will come out stronger in the end. I don't think so. Daddy, can't you see and feel my anguish? It's tearing me apart! Please, please do something!
Then I begin to pour out all the hurt, the sadness, the confusion and lack of understanding about the situations that have caused this wound inside of me. He's heard it all before...what seems like a million times. Still, He listens...and comforts...encourages. I wonder if the pain will ever subside.
He knew. Years down the road, the very thing that caused the pain, only pops up once in a blue moon and the heartache is but a memory. The pain is no longer endured. The lesson has been learned and another has begun...a different story line, not so much heartache, but still some self doubt. Daddy? Yes, child? Will this situation ever change? Will my life ever seem normal again? Am I making the right decisions? To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. But yes, dear one...your life will be normal again. As long as you hear and heed my voice, you are on the right track. Be patient. Rest in Me. But Daddy... Trust Me. Hold fast to My promises. I have great plans for you...for your life. I have a hope and a future for you that you would not believe! Hold fast!
Hold fast! Trust Him! Take each day as a step forward in His plan for your life. Don't give worry, self doubt or fear a stronghold in your life. This is what He is longing to impart to each of us. Every step that we take with Him takes us ten steps closer to His promises than one hundred steps on our own will take us.
Daddy God, thank you for whispering your words of encouragement and hope into our lives. Help us to lean on you for the strength we need each day. You said that when we are weak...you show yourself strong. Help us to see the lessons of our lives for exactly what they are...lessons...stepping stones to the grand and glorious future you have planned for us. Thank you for holding us close to you always.
