I woke up every day with a heaviness that drove me to my knees. I often found myself wanting to go home. I no longer live in my lovely country home. Often the question comes to mind, what is home? I now live thousands of miles from that house. Nine months prior, the Lord prompted me to start cleaning the house as if I were to move. I continued to do what was in front of me as I sought the Lord. Two years before this, I was approached by a friend’s husband, who prayed often for our little family, he encouraged me to seek the Lord if I desired to remarry. I took that advice, fasted, and went to the Lord in earnest prayer. As I prayed the Lord showed me a man, I repented and asked the Lord to forgive me for my mind wandering. This was someone I knew from my youth; he went to a small Christian school where my father had taught. I was not in touch with him, nor did I know him well, but this is who came to mind. Over a year later we connected through a mutual friend! I now sit here writing as Mrs. Love, married to the man I saw as I prayed! The year after we married, we welcomed a little blessing! To be in my late forties and raising a little one is amazing, crazy, and wonderful all wrapped up in the best package! I moved far from my adult children and the life I knew. I found myself sad and missing where I was and most of all, my family. It is not that I would trade one for the other, but the pain is real. God knows this! I wish I could tell you I never feel that way, however the Lord gives me peace when my days feel stormy and my heart aches.
In Genesis and Exodus, we read about how God brought Joseph through incredibly challenging times and ultimately into a place of blessing. In one day, he went from prison to the palace! I encourage you to read this amazing story of God’s sovereignty! Joseph was divinely led to a safe place, with provision and purpose for God’s plan. We see this continue after Joseph passes with Moses now at the helm, yet years later the ancestors found themselves driven from that very place. They were on the road to a better place and delivered from a life of slavery. They could not see what God was doing as they longed for the way things were. They kept looking back, taking their focus off God. God never left them; He was always leading! It is the same for us, sometimes it does not look or feel like we think it should or how it once did. Our deliverance lies in trusting a sovereign God. Trusting that He will lead each step of the way. We serve a faithful God who wants us to find our security and comfort in Him, not the things of this world!
We often define our home as the house we live in, a town or people that are close to us. Home is where the heart is, right? Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” That encompasses your wishes, desires, where you center your life. What is your life centered around? Pursuing the American dream, a house, family, job, success, in themselves these are not wrong things but are they your focus? Do they possess a more prominent place in your heart than God? Where do you find home? To have peace and joy again we must continually keep our focus on Christ! My home is in the Lord, wherever He guides me and directs me! I want what God wants for my life! My favorite verse is Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s mind plans his way, as he journeys through life, But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” Yet along this journey I have wandered here and there pursuing my own ideas, having attitudes that were less than honoring to God. I am not being dismissive; it is sin and sin separates us from God. He knows this about us and offers us His ever-abounding grace and mercy. When the Hebrews were delivered from the hand of the Egyptians they sang unto the Lord. They praised Him for bringing them into the land of promise and planting them on the mountain of His inheritance. “The place, O Lord, You have made Your dwelling among them, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established,” (Exodus 15:17). The Lord provided food for them daily, He did it in a way to evaluate if they would obey Him, and ultimately trust Him! From our perspective we read the accounts of this story and wonder how they could see all these miracles, the very hand of God and question if He was going provide necessities. How does that really differ from our lives? The earth points to a masterful Creator, He has given us a Savior who rose from the dead and saved us from our sins, He gives us life and breath! If you are reading this right now you have that! Will we trust our Creator to meet our needs? Will we trust God to provide a house for us to live? Will we trust God to create in our life the purpose that He designed for us? Will we trust Him for direction and answers?
In Exodus 16:8, God hears the people grumbling and complaining because they had grown discontent. Are we grumbling and complaining as we look at the circumstances around us, or are we praising God because we trust Him and who He is? What if we keep our eyes on Jesus instead of what we see! What if we choose to trust Him? In Exodus 14:14 it says the Lord will fight for you while you only need to keep silent and remain calm. Sometimes we need to keep our mouths shut! God provides a way and tells us to trust Him and remain calm! When we look at circumstances that are beyond our control it is easy to allow feelings to dictate and complain about the situation. When we look to Jesus for the answers, we find peace and contentment. He is our foundation, our dwelling place, and our source of provision. We can stop wandering about like the Hebrews, stop looking back and wondering. We choose Him and enter a place of contentment knowing that Home is found in Him!
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In Genesis and Exodus, we read about how God brought Joseph through incredibly challenging times and ultimately into a place of blessing. In one day, he went from prison to the palace! I encourage you to read this amazing story of God’s sovereignty! Joseph was divinely led to a safe place, with provision and purpose for God’s plan. We see this continue after Joseph passes with Moses now at the helm, yet years later the ancestors found themselves driven from that very place. They were on the road to a better place and delivered from a life of slavery. They could not see what God was doing as they longed for the way things were. They kept looking back, taking their focus off God. God never left them; He was always leading! It is the same for us, sometimes it does not look or feel like we think it should or how it once did. Our deliverance lies in trusting a sovereign God. Trusting that He will lead each step of the way. We serve a faithful God who wants us to find our security and comfort in Him, not the things of this world!
We often define our home as the house we live in, a town or people that are close to us. Home is where the heart is, right? Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” That encompasses your wishes, desires, where you center your life. What is your life centered around? Pursuing the American dream, a house, family, job, success, in themselves these are not wrong things but are they your focus? Do they possess a more prominent place in your heart than God? Where do you find home? To have peace and joy again we must continually keep our focus on Christ! My home is in the Lord, wherever He guides me and directs me! I want what God wants for my life! My favorite verse is Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s mind plans his way, as he journeys through life, But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” Yet along this journey I have wandered here and there pursuing my own ideas, having attitudes that were less than honoring to God. I am not being dismissive; it is sin and sin separates us from God. He knows this about us and offers us His ever-abounding grace and mercy. When the Hebrews were delivered from the hand of the Egyptians they sang unto the Lord. They praised Him for bringing them into the land of promise and planting them on the mountain of His inheritance. “The place, O Lord, You have made Your dwelling among them, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established,” (Exodus 15:17). The Lord provided food for them daily, He did it in a way to evaluate if they would obey Him, and ultimately trust Him! From our perspective we read the accounts of this story and wonder how they could see all these miracles, the very hand of God and question if He was going provide necessities. How does that really differ from our lives? The earth points to a masterful Creator, He has given us a Savior who rose from the dead and saved us from our sins, He gives us life and breath! If you are reading this right now you have that! Will we trust our Creator to meet our needs? Will we trust God to provide a house for us to live? Will we trust God to create in our life the purpose that He designed for us? Will we trust Him for direction and answers?
In Exodus 16:8, God hears the people grumbling and complaining because they had grown discontent. Are we grumbling and complaining as we look at the circumstances around us, or are we praising God because we trust Him and who He is? What if we keep our eyes on Jesus instead of what we see! What if we choose to trust Him? In Exodus 14:14 it says the Lord will fight for you while you only need to keep silent and remain calm. Sometimes we need to keep our mouths shut! God provides a way and tells us to trust Him and remain calm! When we look at circumstances that are beyond our control it is easy to allow feelings to dictate and complain about the situation. When we look to Jesus for the answers, we find peace and contentment. He is our foundation, our dwelling place, and our source of provision. We can stop wandering about like the Hebrews, stop looking back and wondering. We choose Him and enter a place of contentment knowing that Home is found in Him!
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