A Divine Portrait

Okay guys this is where I'm at....I'm totally, deeply, infatuated, sold out in love with God! I mean I've always loved Him, I've always had Him in my heart and all that, but I'm totally in love with HIM. Romans 8....I've read it a million times but I think that where I've been lately, spiritually, you know made my heart, my spirit need something that I didn't even know how to relay to God. So going to church these past couple Sundays has really been one of those times where I've known that God was speaking to me. He knows what I need better than I do and to see another layer of Him revealed has peeled another layer of callous from around my heart. Everything I learned today, I've heard before and probably knew, but it was where my heart was today, the Spirit had hold of me totally. He had control, my heart was with Him, not worrying or stressing or distracted. It was with Him, my eyes were on Him and that's why I think this lesson really spoke to me. Here's a few tidbits that really stood out to me today:

1. "don't be afraid" is in every book of the bible. How comforting, that in all 66 books of the bible, God addresses in some way our fear and reassures us to not fear. Sometimes, a lot of the time, that seems impossible because like pastor Tom said today, we tend to gauge our suffering by our last trial, while God on the other hand sees our life from beginning to end and the same time. He sees that we'll get through it and be stronger and closer to Him for it, but we see only with last trial and the "what ifs" of the current one.

2. suffering is "in bounds" in the christian life, not out of bounds. We tend to think that when were suffering its because we've made God mad, or we did something wrong, or maybe God in punishing us for something. The thing about this is that Jesus suffered. So if He suffered why wouldn't we. Period. But there's more to God. And justified as God would be to have us suffer for no reason, He doesn't. Suffering has a purpose, and it's never to punish us or make us afraid, God is so beyond that. Suffering can be to protect us, from overstepping boundaries or falling into a trap (2 cor 12:7). Suffering will usually help understand the situation better (job 42:3) , suffering forces us to align ourselves more closely with the Holy Spirit therefore depending more so on God.

There is so much more, but I really left with the overall understanding that I am a daughter of God, a co-heir with Christ. No matter what, when, where, who....no of that changes the fact that I am His daughter. I'll leave with this awesome verse, we've all read it, heard it but when we in the midst of a trial it can take on new meaning. And my prayer is that daily I will focus on the words, meditate on what they mean, even when things are good....

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

On final thought that just came into my mind....more than conquerors. I've heard it but never really thought about what that means. How can you be more than a conqueror? When you go into a battle as the victor. We've already won. Christ already conquered the grave, sin, the enemy and the world. So we are here in this present time, these daily battles as victors. Were more than conquerors because the end is already played out. We know who wins. We are sons and daughters of God!

Love you all!