Hi there Bon Mot readers!! I'm Lauren from Living By Faith and it's a joy and honor to be a guest blogger while Sarah's on her trip - I'm thrilled to be with you today! : ) I thought long and hard about to write and I confess that I came up blank for awhile. That is, until Sunday, when I heard one sentence in the sermon that stopped me in my tracks and struck a chord in my heart."He meets us in places where we think He is not."
Where would you go if you wanted to get away and spend time in the presence of the Lord? Would it be the living room couch with a cup of tea and your Bible? Would it be a quiet bench in the park with birds chirping and the distance sound of children laughing? What about the church you grew up in, would it be there? When we think about all the places we could go to meet with God they are usually quiet, peaceful, serene, wonderful places that bring us happiness. There is nothing wrong with that - that's a good thing! But, I have found (as have many others) that God is with us in the times when we never expect Him to be. It's those times of extremity when we think He can't possibly be in that situation...
Like the night I got home from the hospital after losing our first baby. Despair doesn't begin to cover what I felt as I lay in bed. I begged God to show me He cared and to give me something to get me through. I opened my Bible and the pages fell to Isaiah 54:10 "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord who has compassion on you." In that moment I knew He was there. I was in His presence.
Or how about that horrible day when our foster children were taken back to their parents? I went through the motions of packing their things while they took their nap. They woke up just 10 minutes before the social worker arrived and we sat on the coach with them trying to explain and love on them. As we buckled them into their car-seats in the back of that van Avery looked up at my tear streaked face and said, "it's okay - Jesus with me when I go bye bye car." He was just 2 years old. The van drove out of sight and took my boys away from me forever I sobbed in the front yard... but God was in the backseat of that van... as impossible as that seemed.
I've gone through many experiences and been in so many places in life that I never wanted to be. I've wondered, how can I praise God in this? How can I worship in this experience? But then God shows up, and in His presence it suddenly doesn't seem so difficult to sing praises to my Father... it just seems right. It's that moment with Jesus that makes all the suffering worthwhile...
I have asked God for a mountain top experience and there I assume I will meet Him. But instead here I am... and here is God... with me in the painful, difficult moments... with me when I never thought I'd find Him... with me when it's hard...
Absolutely right!!! It is strange but God makes us realise him at the most un thought places and times.... It is beautiful
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post Lauren. I completely agree with you. Even in the times where I've completely lost hope and given up on Him, He still comes and comforts and loves me. I'm going to have to write that quote down.
ReplyDeletethis is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteit's so comforting knowing that He is with us ALL the time-not just in the good times. and the things that we are suffering through He is suffering as well, right by our side.
i love that quote!
I love this post, Lauren!!! So beautiful and so achingly true! The moments I've felt Him the most have been when I've been the lowest and His arms have held me up.
ReplyDeleteSo very true, Lauren! Such a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteLauren - that's so true! I had never thought of that before. We WOULD prefer a peaceful meeting - but God so often meets us in our pain, our despair, our unworthiness. I think it's His way of urging us forward in times where we would rather strike our fists against the seemingly overwhelming brick wall. It reminds me of the footprints poem: "It was then [those hard, almost impossible times of trial] that I carried you."
ReplyDeleteLauren, it an amazing post, I almost cry when I read it!!! It´s so true!!! Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteOh you have no idea how this hit me. I just lost my beloved dog (only 1 years old) a few days ago, and even as the crushing pain eases a tiny bit, I feel so lost without him. And yet God is the one who blessed me with Romeo to being with, and God is blessing me now with friends and family who are loving and supportive. It's so hard to realize, especially as we suffer, but it's so true.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Wow, very powerful and moving. This was so beautiful and a privilege to read. Thanks for sharing the wisdom of your heartache. It's so true that God's presence is often where we least expect it...
ReplyDeleteLauren, I am so glad that you were guest blogging today. You will never know how much I needed this post. As my family goes through what we sometimes see as an impossible situation, this is Truth that I must remind myself to rely on. Thank you~
ReplyDeleteI feel God with me all the time. When I smell a flower or watch the sunset, I am overcome with his love more so than when despair threatens me. I realized while reading this touching post, perhaps I am not listening for the whispers. He is shouting to me with the sunsets and perhaps whispering with the tears. Thank You for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteI've read that story about your foster children before, but just reading that again brought tears to my eyes!!!!!
ReplyDeleteVery powerful and touching post! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Lauren. He is in the everyday things if we look and open our eyes we can see His hand & Him working in every situation. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
MImi
Very nice post. Really makes you realize God is with us ALL THE TIME!
ReplyDeleteWow! So powerful! Love this...such amazing truth!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing post! It brightened my day!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much truth here. Sometimes I feel God's presence even more through the difficult seasons of my life. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteAhhh this is so inspiring. God was in that backseat with him, and is there always.
ReplyDeleteIf I could pick anywhere though, and the times when I feel most connected to God, are when I am in nature. On the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I just feel such a connection there.
Although I've felt a deep connection through the hard times as well, being out in nature is a bit more enjoyable.
Thanks for this post! I've been thinking about my prayer life a lot lately and my focus is usually on finding a place of peace and solitude. Sometimes I even begin thinking wrong thoughts that God will not meet me until can secure some time in that place, but that's not the truth. God wants to meet me right were I'm at. It's all a matter of me inviting Him into every aspect of my day to day life.
ReplyDelete