Sitting with the Lord this morning…

After making it through my first holiday season without my love. Very thankful for my family who embraced me and covered me. Thankful for the Holy Spirit who enabled me to make it through with grace. 

So this morning I was thinking about the future as most of us do at the beginning of the year. Thinking about how God has placed eternity within us. That tenacious spirit that won’t let us quit. That expectant spirit that keeps striving and reaching for greater. That hopeful spirit that energizes us for better days ahead. However, along with eternity comes the problem of the unknown. I want to say that’s an unfortunate problem but Holy Spirit enlightened my perspective that it is perhaps a fortunate problem to have. While the unknown certainly produces a level of fear, the antithesis of fear for the believer is faith. Yes something good can come out of the fear of the unknown for the believer. So I’m asking the Lord, are you trying to tell me that fear can produce faith? Most of my life I’ve heard that I should reject fear, pretend like it doesn’t exist, will it away. Then Holy Spirit reminded me of what the Lord spoke to Joshua in his fear… “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Instead of fear of the future being debilitating, it should remind us of God’s promise to us as he promised Joshua, I will be with you wherever you go. The only power we should give fear in our lives is to force us to our knees to hear from the Lord. We can bring our fears to the Lord. Holy Spirit is the greatest exhorter of our faith. He is the greatest encourager. David reminded us that there is no where that we can go from God’s presence as a believer. We always have an advocate, an encourager, a watchman in Jesus.

Holy Spirit speaking expectancy to my heart saying to me, “look for the open door.”

Often when a chapter closes we spend time thinking about the whys and hows of it all. I know I still do. When it comes to the loss of someone we loved, it doesn’t just go away. You don’t just get over it in a certain amount of time that’s comfortable for others. It’s a personal journey that has it’s ebbs and flows. It’s unpredictable and overwhelming. It is hard for others to understand how deeply it affects you. So grateful for the Holy Spirit who understands us better that we understand ourselves. As I sit with Him this morning, my soul is encouraged. I have a goal in mind beyond my grief and fear of the future. I will keep my eyes pealed for the “open door.” I’ve lost greatly in 2019 but I can say in faith that ALL is not lost. I have an open door in my future. Thank you Jesus! 

Just sharing my morning musings, encouraging you to make your fears work in your favor. Look for the open door. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

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