I wonder if any of you have ever felt like you were just beating your head against a brick wall? Or maybe have you ever just wondered why…why..why? Maybe even wondered if you were the “person” for the task at hand? Like, “God, I don’t want to do this and I am tired of this same problem!”

   Bear with me just a minute as I let some questions fly…  Do you find yourself in a state of fear about a situation that just isn’t going well in your opinion ? How about this..ever just want to say to God, “Please God..could you just go ahead and show me why this thorn is still there?”

   I am going to be transparent with you right here and now. I have asked every single one of those questions and I have felt the pain and the fear that accompanies them. I have cried out (aloud) to God..saying “I just don’t understand, I am weary, I am tired, could you just take this “thorn” away!!” You are not alone. I am not alone.

   2 Corinthians 12:8 ESV ~ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

   Even as I cried out, I felt The Holy Spirit saying to me..“Because there is a lesson in it. Trust Me. Everyone has their own thorn. “ Now, I am NOT going to lie to ya! I don’t like that answer..I don’t. See, like you probably, I want what I want. And what I want is for life to be easy. I am being real here. I am so thankful that I do hear and feel that immediate “no, no, no..trust me Heather..I will never let you down..it’s gonna be all good..just trust me” that comes from my Jesus. He keeps me straight and I am so grateful that I am His!

   Psalm 142:3(a) ESV ~ When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way.

   Allow me to share with you, a portion of Pastor Judah Smith’s message from last week at Catalyst. Judah is Lead Pastor of The City Church in Seattle, Washington. He is an author as well. Well, Pastor Judah asked a few questions also. Let me just share them with you..and as you read them, truly think about them.   Since when is Jesus not enough? Do I realize what I have in God? Since when did we have to supplement our Savior? Something else Judah Smith said was, “There’s no secret, Jesus is freely and willingly available to everyone!”

   You are probably wondering what in the world do these questions have to do with what Heather shared??

   It is simple. Those thorns, problems, reoccurring issues, difficult people, hurts, weaknesses. Those fears, and the weariness and just “banging your head against a wall” feelings. Jesus, Savior, Father God, IS ENOUGH.

   He tells us…MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU…

   2 Corinthians 12:9(a) ESV ~ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

   Since when is He not enough?

     We look past Him sometimes…all wrapped up in our pity parties..or woe is me attitudes.. When we simply need to just Come To Jesus. Lay our burdens at His feet. Trust in Him and Him alone. Realize that we are nothing apart from Him. Quit asking why and for the “thorns” to be removed and just Let God Be God! Quit trying to supplement Him with other people…and worship Him alone. His grace is sufficient..and He alone is worthy to be praised. Look to God alone when facing difficulty and Let Him Be Who He Is. And last but not least, quit expecting other people to fill a void that only God was meant to fill!

   Psalm 16:5 ESV ~ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.

   Amen…I love to study the Psalms..King David was real and he struggled just as we do today. He knew that the Lord ..alone.. was all he needed.

   My hope for whoever reads this is to realize that you are not alone. Not just because you aren’t the only one who has these feelings..but BECAUSE Jesus IS enough. Don’t look past Him.

   Until Next Time,

   When I was a little girl, I loved to make grilled cheese sandwiches. The only problem was, when I opened the cheese and removed it from the plastic it would sometimes break. Well, for some reason, I would throw the cheese away if it broke. I suppose I thought that it wasn’t any good if it was broken.

   My parents were youth directors at one time and we regularly had teens at the house. One was in the kitchen when I was throwing away my “no good” cheese,  and couldn’t believe what I was doing. My mom had to explain to me that the cheese was okay. Being broken, didn’t make it “no good”. Being broken, didn’t make it unusable.

   This leads me to share with you: Just because we may be broken or defective, doesn’t mean that we are unable to be used by God.

   In fact, God used some of the MOST broken and defective people to do His work and to help others. God doesn’t see us as throw-aways or no good. He sees individuals that He created and can use to bring Him glory if we are obedient to Him.

   It is in the broken places that He can fill in the cracks with more of Him and less of us, making us stronger because of Him. Because of His strength.

   God took the time to make each and every one of us..the easy to love people and the not so easy to love people. He is not going to give up on something that He created. It’s us who give up on ourselves and others, not God.

   Psalm 147:3 (NIV) ~ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

   The broken places in us…they are part of what makes us unique and useable. The broken places can be used to help others who may be broken also.

     We can choose to allow God to mend us back together. As a little girl, I didn’t “get” the fact that when I put the broken piece of cheese on the bread and grilled it, that it melted back together. God does that for us..if we let Him. He fills in the empty places and makes us whole again.

   Proverbs 8:17 ~ I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

   Psalm 32:7 ~ You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

   Just look at how Moses, David, Saul, Matthew, Peter and Jephthah were used by God.

   Moses – insecure, talked with a stutter, shepherd, murderer –> He led Israel out of bondage and into the Promised Land. (Exodus 3)

   David – shepherd boy, last-born, adulterer, friend-betrayer, disobedient –> God called him a “man after His own heart”..because he was repentant and had a heart change..and was obedient. He is also known for slaying Goliath and as Israel’s greatest King. (1 Samuel 16)

   Saul – impulsive, jealous, plotted to kill David because of his jealousy, father to Jonathan (David’s friend) –> He was 1st God-appointed King of Israel

   Jephthah – son of a prostitute –> God chose him to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. (Judges 11)

   Matthew – tax collector –> chosen by God to be an apostle and a Gospel writer. (Matthew 9:9)

   Peter – fisherman –> chosen by God to be an apostle and a leader in the early church. He wrote 2 of the New Testament letters.

   What about Hannah? (1 Samuel 1) She was a homemaker whom God chose to be the mother of Samuel.

   These were all imperfect, regular people. People that by the world’s standards were useless or nobody special. Yet, because of who God is, and because of their obedience and faith…God did use them for good!

   Don’t doubt God…with Him ALL things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

   Only God can heal you in the broken places. He can use you to bring others to Him. He can use you…just like he did Moses, David, Hannah and all the others.

   Until Next Time,

Welcome back!! The Lord laid something on my heart to blog about yesterday. Yesterday was a busy last day of school for us and then I had a momma/daughter afternoon with my girls. Last night I had a chance to write a little..and this morning I was able to finish it. I really hope you are blessed, challenged and encouraged by these posts that Jesus lays upon my heart to write.

Philippians 4:19 (NIV) ~ And my God will meet all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

The only thing that can truly fill you completely..fill an empty hole or void inside, is Christ and Christ alone. Do you look for someone else to fill a void when you should be looking for Christ Jesus to fill that spot? Most everybody has at one point or another in their life… People will never meet all of your needs. If you are looking for a friend, or even your spouse or significant other to fill an empty spot in your soul…you are going to be disappointed and you are also setting the other person up to fail. It just isn’t possible for you to have complete peace and joy apart from God.

HE is the only one that will never let you down.

Do you find yourself putting your hope in how others make you feel? How is that working for you? It doesn’t work too well for me….Jesus Christ is the only one who is and always will be consistent in His feelings toward me. He loves me no matter what. I am extremely blessed to have a husband, children and whole family that loves me..but even they can let me down ..even though they don’t mean to. Do you see what I am saying? Even the people in your life that treat you extremely well will do things( even though they don’t mean to) that will rub you wrong or hurt your feelings, etc..

When we depend on other people for our happiness..joy..peace..and contentment, we are putting God second. If you are an authentic believer in Christ, He HAS to be 1st. If you feel lonely or let down in a relationship with someone..GOD wants to be that someone who fills the void inside. In fact, the Bible states that anything that we put before our relationship with our Heavenly Father is an idol. According to Scripture, we are to have no idols before HIM. When we base our joy on anything other than Christ, that becomes our god or idol.

Exodus 20:3 (NIV) ~ You shall have no other gods before me.

Don’t get me wrong, relationships with others here on earth are very important and necessary. They just should never take the place of your relationship with your Savior Jesus.

~ Depending on someone to make you feel good about yourself all of the time is just unrealistic..unless that someone is Jesus.

~ People will let you down whether they mean to or not..God never will.

~ Because of the fact that we all have different personalities, up-bringing, views, and opinions, it is impossible to be able to please someone all of the time. (people..not Jesus)

~ When you are able to surrender it all to God, and completely put your trust in Him..then you will begin to look to Him alone to fulfill your needs (emotional needs especially).

I hope you see through all of this that I have written that Jesus loves you and can meet every single need you have. I hope you know that you don’t have to feel alone..He is waiting for you to run to Him. He never leaves us..we leave Him. He never walks away..when we do, He is right where we left Him. Let Jesus love you..let Jesus meet all of your needs.

I am praying for every single one of you that reads this…God bless you all!

UNTIL NEXT TIME!