Equipping Us For All We Need....

²¹ may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,^[a]
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

I took this picture this morning as I got up to begin my quiet time. The Lord had this gift waiting for me as I peeled back the curtains. The sun nestled perfectly in the boughs of the tree. It filled up every part of it that seemed hollow. It reminded me of His healing and loving light that filters through my heart. Even in the darkest places, His light brings strength, His light brings joy, His light brings a smile to my face. We cannot be a people of situations and circumstances. We cannot look at things through human eyes and with our flesh. We must reach higher toward Him and reach out toward community. Our circumstances and our past wounds do not define us. WE are as immoveable as God stands firm. My son has been struggling with different obstacles this year. As a momma, its the hardest thing to watch. I want to console him, I want to change the channel in his life to something pleasant, I want to harbor him from the pain and frustration. And yet, praying for Him to the God who created the universe, who created all life, who heals the sick…well He just might be able to do a little bit more than this momma in a tizzy. What I love and have learned from my experience is as God unfolds the rest of the experience, if we have an open heart-- we learn from it, we realize that He has just blessed us with another opportunity to share His glory. 

He brought this scripture to mind today from Hebrews 13:21,"may He equip you with all you need for doing his will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him. All glory to Him forever and ever! Amen"

Friends, we all have struggles and heartbreaks. I've had the absolute pleasure of sitting alongside so many and hearing their sadness, their frustrations, their fears. I truly believe our response to these situations is paramount. Honestly, I haven't always responded well. There have been times in my life, I'd shrink back from things quaking with fear. Like a child covering my ears with my hands and closing my eyes not wanting to see or hear what is happening. I've awoke in such an anxiety attack my sheets and pajamas are soaked, so uncertain of what the next day would bring. I have been there. I've been on my knees not in thanksgiving, but shaking my fist at God saying "how much longer?"  "Don't you see I've prayed, I've believed, I've been waiting." Much like me with my son, His heart is breaking with mine. He sees me. He is aware. And like this scripture says He equips us with all we need for doing His will. Don't miss that friends. Not for doing what our flesh wants, for doing His will. In my life experience, those two almost always don't line up. 

"May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him". On our own, we are not capable. I have tried the "on my own" approach. It failed miserably. Not only did it fail miserably, it gave the enemy a chance to whisper in my ear that I failed miserably. We need His power. It's a supernatural thing to believe in the sight of everything that looks completely bleak in a chapter in our life. It is by no other way than His way that we are brought through that wilderness. "Every good thing that is pleasing to Him." This is the hard part for me. This is the part I wrestle with Him the most about. You see, when I've been hurt by someone, especially someone I trusted with my vulnerable heart, I want to hurt them back. In my flesh, I want them to know how they've hurt me. When they act like what they've done doesn't matter, when they act like I didn't matter… I want to ask Jesus, "Today can vengeance be mine too?" And he sweetly shakes his head and smiles because He knows He created a firecracker when He made me. He often tries to channel that in another direction like any good parent knows to do. He is training me to respond in the way that is pleasing to Him, but He equips me first. I wonder how many of us are wasting our energy on a battle that is His? We simply need to show up and trust. We need to keep looking forward to the day when we can look backward and understand.