Dear One
You are not here, at this moment in time by some mere coincidence any more than you are on this planet by some random act of fate. I created you and I have a unique purpose for your life that you and only you can fulfill. Many things vie for your attention and affection, but your life is about much more than what you can see with your own eyes or touch with your own hands.
I love you, I love you so much that I sent Jesus to this earth so that you and I could be reconciled. His death was the ultimate expression of My love for you. In Jesus, My love is revealed, and I long for you to know the peace, freedom and forgiveness for which He died. I gave up everything I loved to demonstrate my impassioned love for you. Jesus' death for your life. His rescue is for all who call on Him as Savior, including you.
You may or may not be aware right now that you need to be saved. But beloved, you do. Your dependencies will not last and your securities will fail, but take comfort, because I know what tomorrow holds. I see you and I know your thoughts, fears, concerns and secrets. I know you better than anyone and I love you more than anyone ever could. It's My desire to lavish My love on you. So come to Me...I will give you rest. Come to Me...I will give you peace. Come to Me...I will carry you no matter what your life is or will be. Come to Me...and I will be your constant rescue.
Come to Me by coming to Jesus, who came for you.
Love,
Your Heavenly Father
Colossians 1:16, Psalm 139, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:31-32, Romans 11:33, John 18:3,; 1 John 4:10, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, John 17:26, John 10:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9, Romans 3;23, Mark 4:22, Matthew 11:28, John 14:27, 1 John 3;1, Isaiah 53
I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121
Do you ever get stressed out during the day because of homework you don't understand, or housework that doesn't ever seem to get done or perhaps chores just seem to keep piling up higher and higher because there are never enough hours in the day? Do you ever ask for help, or do you just expect it to come out of the blue? I never used to like to ask for because it seemed that it was a sign of my weakness or my inability to do something. Sometimes we think that the task will get finished sooner if we do not ask for help, or perhaps it is because we do not want to seem "weak" or "stupid" or "helpless" if we ask for help.
I personally have always had trouble asking for help, but I have also been guilty of expecting help to just come to me without having to ask for it. I can remember so many times that I would get frustrated while doing my homework and I would crumple it up and get angry, and my mother being the wonderful teacher and mother would come and smooth out the homework and put her arms around me and say "If you only asked for help, I would be happy to help you..." And there have been times in my marriage where I would get exasperated while folding laundry or cleaning up the table and instead of asking for help I would storm off, slam the door and leave my husband wondering what he had done. When he asked I would say "Why can't you help me?" and his simple answer (which would further infuriate me) would be "You didn't ask for help..." The more I thought about it though, you know what... they were both right. I didn't ask for help, so why was I expecting help to be given?
How many times are we like that with our Heavenly father? We wonder "God, why don't you help me? Don't you see I need your help, guidance, comfort, etc." I imagine that He looks back at us and simply says "You didn't ask for my help."
Psalm 121 is one of my favorite Psalms because it reminds me that the Lord is my helper! He is always there to help me get through my times of anger, sadness, anxiety, etc. He is the powerful God who created the sun and the moon and the stars, the oceans and all the living creatures within it and the world we live in and enjoy. But He also cares about me… the simple things in my life like when I slip or when I’m weary. He watches over not only the entire universe… but He also watches over me! He does not take a break from protecting me… He is always guarding my life, day or night. He keeps me from harm, He directs my steps, He watches over me!
What comfort these truths bring to my soul. When I’m weary and feel like I’m in a valley, I can look up and remember that the help I need comes from God. When I’m slipping, I have the promise that my God will always watch over me. When I’m discouraged and feel alone, I know that God is with me, protecting and guiding me.
Its easy to let feelings take control of our lives. But we have promises of God that do not change with the weather. These truths about God are true no matter how we feel, what we are experiencing, and no matter what struggle we face. Let us find comfort in our God who never changes.
Prayer: Thank you Father that I can look to You. Thank you for being the constant help that I need daily. Thank you for listening to me and comforting me. Thank you for your everlasting faithfulness. Give me the strength I need to keep looking to You in faith. I’m grateful that you are bigger than my trials, my fears and my struggles. I trust in You and I look to You alone for the hope and strength I need.
Ever since I was a young girl I have been fascinated with butterflies. There is something so beautiful and magical and special about butterflies that captivates the mind and the imagination. They are such delicate creatures and the grace with which they soar leaves us breathless and waiting in anticipation as we watch them.
This past summer I had the wonderful opportunity to witness the amazing transformation of a butterfly. My daughters found this caterpillar on some parsley that my mother in law had growing in her garden. It was not in the least bit beautiful or attractive, in fact it was quite ugly and disgusting.
None the less we took in this disgusting creature and gave it a home. We fed it and kept it healthy and watched as it grew. Day by day this creature "wiggled" its way into our hearts and our affections and then one day when we looked, it was in a chrysalis. We knew then that it had begun its change. Out in the wild this caterpillar might have made it to this stage, if some hungry birds didn't gobble it up, or if the summer rains and winds didn't drown it, but because my daughters had taken their time and showered this creature with love and affection, it was beginning to turn into something completely different.Within only a few days the chrysalis began to move and we watched as one wing emerged and then a second wing emerged. It was a long and tiring process for this butterfly, but my daughters again showed their love and compassion and gave the butterfly some simple sugar water, to help it regain its strength.
A few days later we decided to let the butterfly out into the wild. It was a tearful departure, watching the creature we had taken care of spread its wings and fly into the unknown. For the rest of the summer every time we saw a certain butterfly, we imagined that it was the same one that we had watched grow, develop, blossom and fly... and perhaps it was the same one.It wasn't until recently that I started thinking about how we as Christians are very much like butterflies ourselves. We all start our lives as caterpillars, crawling and not really drawing much attention to ourselves. Some of us are blessed and we are cared for by loving parents and that helps us to develop, but all of us have a loving and caring heavenly Father that is willing to do the same thing for ALL of us. He watches us daily, nourishes our souls with His "sugar water" and little by little we grow and develop into that beautiful soaring butterfly. What a beautiful thought, we are butterflies of God!
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