Many years ago I took a road trip with my husband as a passenger in his 18-wheeler. He was an owner operator at the time which in layman’s terms means he owned his own rig. The road trip for me started in Vegas then up to Northern California and then back to Florida. I still remember the trip to this day.
I didn’t realize how frightening it can be traveling up and down the mountains with cargo behind you which pushes and pulls as you go especially when going down a descending hill. On our journey I learned about runaway truck ramps. They are upward inclines parallel to the mountain roads which allow trucks to safely stop if need be. A scary thought indeed. I saw an actual sandstorm in the distance. Quite startling especially when I learned if you get caught in one your vision is impaired until it passes. I saw tumbleweeds blowing around and huge cacti. Granted, the scenery at times was absolutely breathtaking. But the most memorable part of the trip was this. It was the day where we had stopped to rest, and when we started back on our journey, there were visible storms all around us. Sometimes just to the left. Sometimes just to the right. Sometimes to the left and right. Sometimes behind us and sometimes in front of us. As we drove through some of the storms the rain was brief. Sometimes not so hard rain where we could still see clearly through the window but sometimes big enormous drops of rain where we could barely see until it stopped. As we continued to ride through storm after storm, I saw glimpses of a rainbow at three different times. I never saw a full rainbow from arch to arch though. I penned this: Just because the eye could not see the full rainbow, arch to arch, it did not mean it wasn’t there. Just because we may not see God, in the midst of our storm, does not mean HE is not there. HE promises never to leave us nor forsake us. The partial rainbows, to this day, stand as a reminder God is with you and me and HE is keeping us through the storms of life. HE is the I AM. God’s promise is TRUTH and our ever present guarantee that HE is there no matter what. Hence, a trip to remember. The ride of my life. Be Strengthened and Encouraged in HIM, Liz When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 NIV For HE HIMSELF has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Hebrews 13:5b NKJV In wrapping up this “Let it Be” series, I thought about God’s Name El Shaddai. During my research of this particular name I ran across the word bountiful to describe HIM and it just resonated with me. Yes, HE is a bountiful God. Yes, the might of God has inexhaustible stores of HIS bounty. From HIM comes every good and perfect gift and HE never wearies in pouring forth HIS mercies on HIS people. HE is more than ready to give than to receive. Bountiful!
Now, let’s reflect back on my journey to hear. And how God didn’t have to give me a word of comfort but because of HIS mercies, HIS compassion, the inexhaustible stores of HIS bounty, HE did. Bountiful! And then HE gave me purpose in the midst of the journey. Writing. Strengthening and encouraging others through writing. Glorifying HIM. Bountiful! And then HE grew me. Bountiful! HE helped me to grow to trust in HIM. Bountiful! HE sustained me. Bountiful! HE provided for me. Bountiful! HE was faithful. Bountiful! Sufficient. Bountiful! Gracious. Bountiful! The ONE who gave me a dream. Bountiful! And then HE healed me. Boun—tee—FUL! I don’t know specifically where my life journey will take me moving forward but I do know this. I trust in HIM. I believe in HIS promises and I cannot wait to see more of HIS promises fulfilled in my life. In the meantime, I will continue to write and strengthen and encourage others across the globe. And watch and see and believe. I pray that everyone who reads this is strengthened and encouraged in their journey to trust in HIM. It doesn’t matter what is going on in your life you can trust in HIM. In the beginning it may be tough to see the trees from the forest. Trust me. I know. But hang on. Let it be. Whatever it is. Persevere. Believe in HIM. When you cannot believe in anything else believe in HIM. For HE is bountiful. Be Strengthened and Encouraged in HIM, Liz And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. Genesis 1:3
The first time God speaks we see that HE creates. In the book Zola's Introduction to Hebrew by John Parsons, the author states: ”Unlike God, we do not literally create reality by means of our words, but we do interpret reality. We evaluate it, make decisions based on our assessments, and we shape the contours of our experiences by means of the words we use. In short, each of us is responsible for how we describe reality and whether we will align our words with the truth of reality. We are given the responsibility to properly confess and to believe the truth.” Hmmm. Okay. I confess. When I think about my Christian life for years I didn’t really understand this. I didn’t really understand the power of God’s Word and the deep significance in what it means to believe. But through trials, time, victories, time, disappointments, time, seemingly defeats, you name it, I held on to HIS promises and HIS word and grew to trust HIM. And. Not. The. Circumstances. I grew to trust HIM more and more as I studied HIS Word. As HE took me through and I experienced life in HIM! And then one day I realized I understood my responsibility. My responsibility to properly confess and believe the TRUTH. The Word of God. Again, no matter what! I close with this. For those of you who are facing something that threatens to change your life completely and you have no control over it, heck, even for those whose life is just grand, trust in HIS Word and continue to trust in HIM! As you do you will find TRUTH. The TRUTH that applies to your situation. Then confess the TRUTH and Believe. In the end, know God is changeless, omnipotent and faithful. And I just imagine Jesus saying to us, “You have MY WORD!!!” 😉 Be Strengthened and Encouraged in HIM, Liz And I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up MY hand and swore that I would give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage. I am the LORD [you have the pledge of MY changeless, omnipotence and faithfulness]. Exodus 6:8 In Exodus Chapter six, God said to Moses, “I AM the LORD”. HE goes on to say, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty [El-Shaddai], but by MY Name the LORD [YAHWEH – the redemptive Name of God] I did not make MYSELF known to them [in acts and great miracles].”
Let’s set the stage. The Israelites are in Egypt serving as slaves. The LORD sends Moses to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to no avail. Before Moses’ arrival in Egypt the lives of the Israelites could be considered tolerable. I guess because they had become accustom to the way of life. A life of bondage. But each time Moses asks Pharaoh to let the Israelites go the Egyptians make the Israelites lives more and more unbearable. So let’s just say the Israelites are not fans of Moses. But eventually Pharaoh lets the Israelites go and the Israelites leave Egypt following Moses. Imagine following someone into what you think is a better life and you really don’t know them. Imagine getting to a place where it seems like it’s impossible for you to cross or get past. The Israelites are staring at the Red Sea and wondering how in the world are they going to move forward? How are we going to get pass this obstacle? Then God speaks to Moses to part the Red Sea. As Moses and the Israelites walk thru the parted sea you have to wonder what they were thinking. If they wondered what if these invisible walls holding the sea back come down and then we drown. Did they fear or walk with confidence? Did they walk boldly or run? Now, imagine looking back and seeing your enemy on your tails and thinking you have got to be kidding. What have we done? And then seeing the invisible walls disappear just as miraculously as they stood. The collapse of the walls. The collapse of your enemy. The one who held you in bondage. For so many years. Drowned. You have been liberated. Rescued from captivity. Freed. Redeemed. By God. Redeemer. YAHWEH. Imagine Moses reflecting back on the word of the LORD. Realizing that through this miraculous experience and the life experiences which had transpired previously that God revealed another facet of HIMSELF. The redemptive God. The God of great miracles. It didn’t happen like Moses might have thought it would but it happened just as God had said. As Moses walked out his calling continuing to watch, see and believe. Totally amazing God, huh? 😊 Yes, totally amazing. Be Strengthened and Encouraged in HIM, Liz You know its been eight years now since I suddenly and unexpectedly lost a significant portion of my ability to hear and was now earmarked as profoundly deaf. I struggled for months and in the end it was determined that I was unable to perform at the level needed to remain effective on my job so therefore forced to leave my place of employment, my place of financial security. I remember in the midst of my crisis, God gave me a word. Yes, right in the middle of one of my meltdowns. Back then I had them often. The words HE placed on my heart were to a song. The song? “Let it be”, by the Beatles. The words written across my heart were part of the chorus. Just imagine. In the middle of a major crisis I hear the succinct melody along with the words “Whisper words of wisdom – Let it be! …. There will be an answer – Let it be!” I actually changed some of the words to the song and made it my mantra for quite some time. The song rings in my heart today even as I pen this.
And I can’t help but think about Simon Peter’s “deep fishing expedition” in Luke Chapter 5. I thought, Hmmm, it was after this specific “expedition” Simon Peter, and his partners for that matter, lives were transformed. As a result Simon Peter and his partners left their occupation trading in their way for Jesus way. Jesus then tells them I will make you fishers of men. In other words, follow ME. Think on this. Jesus asking Peter and his partners to follow HIM is kinda like saying let it be and I will transform your life. Trust in ME. Go deep with ME. Life will never be the same. Oh, how I can relate! For me, it took a life altering event for me to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. There I was. No job. No future per se at least not in the industry I had spent my last 25 plus years flourishing in. And lots of time and silence. But I grew to trust in Jesus with everything and HE totally changed my life. HE gave me hope. HE gave me joy. HE gave me so much more than I ever expected. In closing today, my hope for you is that wherever you are in life that you lean on, rely on, depend on, be confident in, just trust in HIM and let it be. Be Strengthened and Encouraged in HIM, Liz |
Hey There! I'm LizFounder of Ezra728 with a purpose of creating inspiring messages to strengthen and encourage primarily us gals across the globe. Guys, don't fret. You are definitely welcome, too. Archives
March 2021
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