LIFE IN BLOOM

Learning How to Flourish in God's Grace

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Why I’m Glad God Promises Not to Leave Me

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”- Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV84)

“I know who goes before me.  I know who stands behind.  The God of angel armies is always by my side.” – Chris Tomlin, “Whom Shall I Fear”

Every day I have some experience in my life that makes me even more grateful for the presence and work of God in my life.  Usually these experiences happen on my job, but they also happen in traffic, at the grocery store, on campus, and many other places.

As I think on these situations and my response to them, my thought is usually something along the lines of, “Man, I’m SO glad I know Jesus, because if I didn’t I’d have totally handled that situation differently.”  This is largely true- when I think of the ways that I handled situations prior to being saved, I shudder and shake my head.  Of course now that I’ve been changed and that I know better, I do better.

But the truth is, I’m glad God promises not to leave me, because if He did, I would totally mess things up.  I don’t know that I’d majorly mess things up, but I can definitely see myself getting into trouble, and having to call out to Him for help.  I, by myself, handling situations on my own, am like the kid who gets left home alone before they are fully mature enough to handle it.  Am I going to burn the house down?  Probably not.  Am I going to do something careless that could cause a big problem later?  Maybe.  Am I going to do something little, that by itself won’t be a big deal, but over time would be?  Most likely.

The truth is, I need God to stay with me to save me from ME.  And because I know that I need Him to save me from me, I’m glad that there’s the promise that He will always be there- because I’m always going to need Him to lead me, guide me, protect me, and save me.  In the same way that I have yet to outgrow the need for my mother’s wisdom (even though I’m almost 30), I will never outgrow the need for God in my life.  As I grow and mature, I still find that I’m my biggest challenge- or as I’ve heard it said elsewhere: “My greatest enemy is my inner me”.  Sure, I’ll encounter challenges and obstacles in the world, but if I’m able to handle the internal, I’m confident that I can handle the external.

Be encouraged- God has promised not to leave you…which means He’s still there!

Peace and Blessings!


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Be Nice or Be Quiet

I have very little patience for people who say mean things.  I know that sometimes people don’t always mean to, but it still bothers me.  I feel like there are so many areas of life where we hear negative things (especially on the news), that we should hold ourselves accountable to saying nice, positive things to each other.

Now, I will also acknowledge that this is difficult.  There have been quite a few “bite my tongue” or “Lord, hold my mule” moments in my life (or in the last week).  I still have to fight the urge to not pop off and say the first thing that comes to mind when I feel that someone has approached me in the wrong way or has verbally attacked me.  I often tell Preacherman that I’m glad that there’s not a scrolling marquee on my forehead because I’d find myself in some trouble in certain situations.

However, for 2013, I’ve decided that I REALLY want to be purposeful and intentional about the words that I speak.  And as I continued to think about what it means to mind my mouth (or rather, getting my mouth to mind my mind), I arrived at this: “Be nice or be quiet”.  It’s probably not that much different than what I learned as a kid of , “if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.”  But sometimes, we don’t take hold of those lessons as we should as children, and we need to learn them again as adults.

But on another note, this has been my approach to any situation that threatens my peace of mind and my confidence.  The devil is real, and his ability to attack our mind is real.  And if he can attack my mind, he can steal my peace, my confidence, my joy, my hope, my salvation.  So, I feel that for this year, as I’m believing God for great things, I must address the enemy.  I can’t expect him to be nice or to play nice, but I don’t have to listen to him- and I can tell him to be quiet.

I can choose to listen to the foolishness of the enemy, or I can choose to fill myself with my word, with positive music, confessions, and affirmations until I have effectively tuned him out. Be nice or be quiet is more than what I choose to say to others, but it’s also about what I choose to say and HEAR myself.  I’m believing God for FAR TOO MUCH this year, and the devil won’t talk me (or have me talk myself) out of my promise.

Be mindful that the voice of the devil comes in many forms- it can be the nagging uncertainty that you feel after you’re excited to try something new, or it can be the “friend” who’s never able to share in your joy about your accomplishments or aspirations, or it can be the person in your family who never thought you’d amount to anything.  Be mindful of those voices and be willing to tell them the same thing you’re telling yourself: BE NICE OR BE QUIET!

Peace and Blessings!