The Stuff that Life is Made of..."

"Where do you find your strength?"  The question came to me in the middle of the night.

The answer came just as quickly.

I knew immediately where I 'should' look, but I also knew that so very often, the place I should look is sometimes the very 'last place' I go.

When life is the hardest, we often find ourselves in a crumbled heap at the foot of the cross. Maybe we don't even recognize where we are..

But isn't it true,..that when we hurt the most, it is in those moments
we realize how much we need something or someone to heal our wounds.

And the only One qualified to heal is, the very One who has risen above His wounds.

When we are at our wits end, we discover that He is the only One who can hold us together.


But what about the 'stuff ' that life is so often made of.....

From simple aggravations, and annoyances, to major frustrations,..... from low self esteem, forgetful husbands, anxiety, depression, nagging children, whiny teenagers, gossipy friends, cheating spouses, long awaited answers to prayers, bullys, endless searches for companionship, to self doubt  ...and the list goes on and on.... 

I am certain our daily 'stuff' is different for each of us and changes from day to day...


So lets pretend for a moment that He is asking you the same question that awakened me.

He is whispering.."Where do you find your strength?"

*Are you looking to friends and family for words of encouragement ? What if they don't have the right words or they are not around when you need them most??....

*Is your strength found in the bottle or other drugs ?....Eventually the bottle runs dry, you sober up and nothing has changed...

*Are you blaming the past ?...Our past can never be undone or outrun...but it can be built upon...

*Do you look to others for approval ?...God alone, sees your heart and He loves you right where you are...

*Are you beating yourself up, and somehow thinking that you deserve it ?....You don't deserve that and you are the only one who can decide to allow Him into your brokeness. 

There is really only one place you can go to really heal the wounds...And when you go there, you realize that
He has never let go of your hand,
He has never lost sight of you...
In a crumbled heap He finds you and restores your brokenness when you look to Him for your strength..
Joel 2:25 
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten..."

Some of us hope for this more than others, and yet each of us know,...
It is time...It is time!!...to lift our eyes..to the hills...and take Him at His Word....

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1