“Holy Carrots!”

Hello friends! I hope you your week was full of joy. That seems to be a delicacy lately. The world seems to be spinning in a web of uncertainty, and tragedy. It feels as if media sources are in a competition for ”Most Depressing Coverage”, and believe me, they all are winning. If we aren’t careful, we will allow the fear and the darkness to overshadow the things that give us joy. But we have so much to be joyful about! No matter what is going on around us, it doesn’t change who is living within us!”Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” -Romans 12:12 I love this verse so much! Our minds, in all of it‘s complexity, could still never fully comprehend the fullness of what that means to have God living inside of us! If we aren’t paying attention, the enemy will slip his contacts right over the eyes God gave us to see through, and blind us in order to rob us of the treasures, the resources, the abundance we have inherited as children of the Creator of the Universe. Not today, Satan! Check your eyes, remove those contact lenses, and friends grab a plate, I’m serving up some ”Holy carrots” today! Haha! It’s okay if you laugh, I did too!

”That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.“- Ephesians 3:17-19

Last week we talked about the importance of knowing our Heavenly Father. It is literally impossible to walk in faith without really understanding the One whom we are entrusting our entire existence with. Can we start right here? Besides creating the entire Universe and everything inside and out of it, He is the One who lovingly created you and me. Not even we know ourselves as intimately as He does. Every strand of hair has it’s own number and perfectly placed. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”- Matthew 10:30 Not even I know how many strands of hair I have! Do you? Can you imagine trying to count every strand of hair you have? Wow! I can’t say that I’d really have any desire to know. I could think of many other ways to spend the countless hours that would take, starting with a relaxing, quiet bubble bath! Ohh, but to our Father, every single strand matters!

“You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.”- Psalm 139: 13

”Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! Oh, God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore. When I awake each morning, You’re still with me.” -Psalm 139:17-18

We so willingly entrust doctors with our physical ailments. We entrust friends and family members with our personal struggles. We entrust machines to take internal looks at our body and tell us what problems are hidden away inside of us. This is wonderful, by the way, and so necessary! We need the gifts and talents that God wove into His beautiful people. We need friends. We need fellowship and support. But nothing inside the realms of this Universe can satisfy every need. Your doctor can hook you up to the most intelligent, advanced machine there is, but it cannot see your soul. You can tell your friends your deepest secrets, even the ones you hide in the deepest crevice of your being, but they cannot hear the cries of your soul. Not even we know ourselves that deeply. There is only One who can soothe our soul. The One who created it.

“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence. You know every step I will take before my journey even begins.”- Psalm 139: 1-4

Stay with me friends, we are going to go deep for a moment! We are the masterpieces, but we are not the potter. We are the branches, but we are not the root. Listen again, we are merely the clay, at the mercy of the potter’s hands. We are the branches hanging on to the tree only by the grace of the root’s life support. What I am saying is that we can’t do life alone, literally! This goes for every single person on this earth. Your doctors, your friends, your family members, your support system, while they are a wonderful blessing to have, they are branches on the same tree, depending on the same root as you!

”Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”-Psalm 103 1-5

Jesus is the only way! And we can lean on Him and trust Him. You can come to Him dirty and broken. You can come naked and afraid. Let Him cleanse You. You don’t wash before you shower, so come just like you are and let Him wash you and clothe you in His glory. Let Him warm you in His strong arms. Sit and be still and let Him hold you and turn His face toward yours and marvel at His beautiful creation. It’s okay if you are exposed. “Things that are hidden cannot heal”. <Bishop T. D. Jakes, Woman, Thou art Loosed.> It’s okay if you are scared because you don’t know what love really feels like because you have experienced so much pain. He has heard your cries. He has felt your weeping. ”And He said, ”What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”- Genesis 4:10. Oh, how he sees us so much differently than we see ourselves. He has been waiting for this moment for you to turn and simply allow Him to show you how deeply you are loved. Listen to me, you can trust Him. He adores you.

“Actually, God considers all of humanity to be prisoners of their unbelief, so that He can unlock our hearts and show His tender mercies to all who come to Him”-Romans 11:32

Remember those lenses we were talking about earlier? The ones that the enemy loves to sneak on our eyes because we are so numb and distracted by the circumstances surrounding us? The enemy will make you feel stuck and hopeless and trapped in your fears and your pain. He’s banking on you to see through those lenses of despair. If you aren’t careful you will start making your decisions from a place of fear, and not of faith.

”For anything we do that doesn’t spring from faith is, by definition, sinful.”-Romans 14:23

This sounds kind of harsh, but let’s pick it apart a little bit. Fear is from the enemy. When we start making decisions rooted in fear, then we are in a partnership with Satan! Can you imagine how many times, from God’s perspective, that we were standing in front of Him, with our arms locked with Satan, having an argument over our circumstance? You can’t be in agreement with the enemy and God at the same time. You have to choose.

Maybe you were passed over for a promotion, and the disappointment was raging inside. The enemy slipped on those lenses and all you could see was how much of a failure you are. Your break is never going to come. Somebody else is always better. And God is standing there begging you to open your mouth, and though you may not feel it yet, speak it out in faith that He who started a good work in you will finish it. (Philippians 1:6). I’m not good enough? You tell the enemy right now, “ I am fearfully and wonderfully made!“ -Psalm 139:14 You are more than enough and the only reason that you didn’t receive that promotion is because the one around the corner is far better. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.”-Jeremiah 29:11. Speak life by your faith, and set it in motion by the direction you start walking. ”You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”-James 2:24. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”-James 2:26

Friends, I hope that you ate well today. I hope these ”holy carrots” nourished and strengthened your eyes of faith . We are going to continue building on the character of our Lord and Savior next week. Until then, I encourage you to spend some time alone with God. If you don’t know where to start or what to say, just be still and let Him hold you. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” - James 4:8

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please widely open our eyes. Let us see You, in every bit of your glory measured up against every situation surrounding us. Let us come to your mercy seat and rest without fear as we draw in strength from just the smallest whisper of Your voice. Let us breathe in the vapors of Your words that create life so effortlessly. Fill every hidden crevice of our being with Your Holy Spirit. Empty us, Your vessels, of anything that separates us from feeling the gift of Your presence, and replace what you have removed with the overflowing joy and peace that only You can provide. Whisper again, “You are Mine” into our being and remind the depths of our soul exactly who we are: We are Yours. You are the King of Kings and the lover of our souls, and because of that identity, there is no impossible circumstance that can defeat us. Hold us tight, Father, as we call on You to protect us. With every perfectly imperfect fiber of our being, We love you and we thank You for loving us back even more! In the precious name of Jesus, King of our Hearts. Amen.

Be blessed friends!

-xoxo-

-Bethany Hope