Psalm 42:11  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

My heart aches this morning for so many of you; I know you are facing overwhelming storms, heartaches, and frustrations and yet you wait for God to show Himself mighty in your situation.  Believe me, I have had, and do have those same types of things going on. In fact, it was just the other day that in my prayers I mentioned to God that I know my Daddy would be trying to fix everything that isn’t right in my life right now, and there could have been a “wake” of dead people behind me if my Dad could have gotten his hands on some of the people who have caused me such tremendous heartaches and pain, what’s going on Lord…… where are you?  Do you feel that way sometimes? I do! Can I just share some things God has shown me?  

I know we are usually taught that our opinion of God can stem from our relationship with our earthly Father and that can be good or bad, based on that relationship.  Well, here’s the other side of that concept; what happens when you have an earthly Dad who you are close to and who loves you so much that you can’t seem to do much wrong in his eyes.  You snap your fingers and “poof” there’s a pony in the yard, you turn 16 and they buy a new car that isn’t yours, but you are the one who drives it everywhere!  Oh, how your Daddy loves you!  That was me!  I really miss my Dad and I miss his love, yes…… that’s what I miss most; having someone love me that much ~ a Daddy and his baby girl.  What happens then when things don’t go my way now and I look to God and want him to fix it right now and I want that pony in the front yard?  Hello?  Where are you God and where’s my pony?  May sound trivial but let me share a brief version of a chapter in my life:

After my divorce and 13 years of single parenthood and multiple chapters of life, I was offered a job by a Christian organization in Tennessee.  I had two teenage daughters and a good-paying job that I enjoyed in Michigan but I had always believed that I was supposed to work in ministry so I took the job, much to the dismay of my daughters.  Just before we moved the house we were living in burned and we lost everything, brand new furniture, all of our clothes, you name it ~ everything!  (On top of it all, it was my parent’s house that I was taking care of for my Mom ~ ugh!)  Due to a tremendous “mix up” with siblings, I didn’t get any of the insurance money to replace any of our things so we were starting with nothing in a new area where we only had one couple for friends.  I was let go a month and a half after I moved, (I had never been fired in my life!) I could have filed a lawsuit for the lies that were spread when in all seriousness I was let go in order for them to pull off some crazy ungodly stuff that I was asking too many questions about, but I don’t believe in doing that.  At that point, I felt like God was telling me to take some time and focus just on Him, and take the time to grow, so I spent day and night reading my Bible, doing Bible studies and just seeking His face!  I started to get behind on my car payment so I took a job as a server and called the company to let them know I would pay the payment I was behind on and that by the end of the month I would be caught up.  They said ok and then on my first day at my new job,  they repossessed my car!  Seriously?  I wasn’t even 2 payments behind!  Thankfully, the serving job was at a restaurant I could walk to!  

Ok, so that is part of the chapter, but I don’t want this to get too long.  What I am trying to share with you is this:  life happens, what are you going to do with it?  I am human too so there are times I do wish that God was like my Daddy who spoiled me, but there are more people than just me to consider.  He doesn’t bail us out of every single situation right away because sometimes we need to grow, sometimes someone else needs to grow and sometimes He is working on that other person to sell the pony!  No, God doesn’t always snap His fingers and fix everything.  We have to trust that He sees the whole picture.  Life here on earth isn’t easy.  The Bible is full of stories of heartaches and struggles.  David was a man after God’s own heart and yet faced a lot of life.  None of us are exempt from heartache and struggles, the question is; will you trust God?  Will you seek His face and continue to ask Him to show Himself mighty through it all?  He does love you and He is working even if you can’t seem to see it right now!  Are you sure you are looking for your answers in the right places?  Are you certain He isn’t telling you to move?  Ask Him!  Seek Him!  Ask Him what His dreams are for your life instead of demanding yours ~ He always has a better plan!

I am sorry if you are hurting this morning!  I hear your heart, I do not sit here and write from some pain-free, struggle-free or heartache free life.  It’s all of the struggles and heartaches and pain that have brought me to the understanding, as strange as that may sound, of the fullness of God’s love!  I have spent sleepless nights praying, telling Him that I would need Him to wake me up with the energy I would need the next morning, only for Him to wake me up in some goofy way, that was obviously God that would make me laugh and get me going!  He is precious!  He is wonderful and He wants to have that kind of close relationship with you, so you can trust Him, knowing that He does want His best for you and He is working on all that you are facing.  He will give you the strength you need and guidance if you seek Him and you can know that the best is yet to come, yes, even if it isn’t until we see Him face to face! He’s got you and He wants you to know that life on earth is imperfect and sin destroys, satan steals and lies, but your hope will only be found in God ~ what have you got to lose ~ give Him your all!  You can trust Him to get you through!

Quote:  “Life begins when you do!”  ~ Hugh Downs

I love this song:  “I Speak Jesus” by Here Be Lions

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Ladies, I am so excited to share with you that my book is now available.  This would be great to buy and give to someone who is struggling or for your Ladies Group to go through together, or even for someone who doesn’t know the Love of God yet.  CLICK HERE.  The new book is a 90-day devotional to help you grow in your understanding of His love which in turn will give you hope and grow your faith.  ALSO: PLEASE, if you have ordered the book would you please go to Amazon and leave a review?  Thank you so much for your support in spreading the word!