~This devotional was taken from my book, Visions of Celestial Love.
For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; it is he who will save us. —Isaiah 33:22 NIV
Trusting God to be everything in our lives is truly an opening to the kind of peace we can only try to fathom. Many times in life we look to God for certain things, but not all things.
We have to understand that: He is our doctor, He is our pastor, He is our husband, He is our best friend, He is our keeper of finances, He is I Am. Just make Him I Am, and there shall be nothing that you lack…nothing of great importance anyway. To me, God is the One to whom I go in order to really vent. He’s become a safe place for me and like the shepherd-king David, I have found that I can release the passions in my soul before Him. He’s the kind of friend that sees my torment inside, and grabs a punching bag, holds it in front of Him and says, “Lay a few on Me.”
Sometimes I feel guilty and His Holy Spirit will coax me on, “Come on. Come at Me! Who else will you turn to? I don’t want you to go anywhere else but here.” So, I’ll start punching away my anger, my resentment, my fits of rage, my bitterness, my unforgiveness, my envy. It’s important to note that I’m not screaming at God during this gym prayer time. My anger is not toward Him (although I’d be lying if I said I’ve never been angry with Him).
My energy is spent in moaning, sometimes sobbing, or just really long conversations about the turmoil I feel inside and how I can’t seem to discern where it’s coming from.
Sometimes my prayers are as simple as, “God help me. God help me. I don’t even know how to pray right now, just help me.”
They might take a turn like this every now and again, “Oh God I’m so angry. I’m so depressed. I need You to give me the wisdom and strength to walk in the grace You’ve provided, in order that I may forgive. I know You’re not upset with me, but give me more of Your heart that I may be able to love and forgive like You.”
And amazingly, just like a punching bag absorbs the blows of fists—all of the junk in my system is released and absorbed in His divine punching bag. After it is done I have gained spiritual muscles, been cleansed inside, and He has thrown away the old bag in the sea of forgetfulness. He dusts His hands free and then gives me a spiritual shower, for by this time I am soaking in the sweat of my soul.
We are never too much for a God who is everything. We must trust Him to be just this—all. Whatever your need ask Him to come in and take total control. It will be much easier for you if you just ask Him to be everything now rather than later. Invite Him to come into all the areas in your life and pray for a heart that always has an open invitation to the Holy Spirit.
“A delightful book that reflects the praises from a heart that desires to abide closely with our Heavenly Father. Written in a style that summons us to experience a journey of deeper intimacy with a loving God. Ashley covers the foundation of the Christian faith that brings encouragement and assurance of God’s promises when faced with life’s challenges. Embracing our uniqueness and the safety of transparency before our Maker who cares about the most intricate details of our life. Yes, an invitation indeed from the One and only who can fill what are heart’s ache for.” — Jocelyn Reyna, Entrepreneur
Top photo by Nathan Cowley from Pexels