A Concrete Character.

:: May I recognize God for who He is in all circumstances.

I've been chewing on this prayer all day. It started really resonating with me as I began applying it to previous seasons of my life - it caused me to recognize Him as redeemer and healer of all painful circumstances.

- this then furthered me into applying it to all the uncertainties I have in regards to my future - it caused me to recognize Him as a counselor, provider, and a God who is kind to His people...

then there is the here and now - and if I could grasp what the very essence of God is in the moment to moment - how different would my heart be? I think our hearts are transformed the more we are saturated with the concrete truth found in who God distinctly is.

What if I could live a single hour knowing whole heartedly that God is, for example, The Creator? Would I still get infatuated with Cezanne and Lautrec paintings at the Getty Museum?

What if I could live a single day wholly trusting that He is The Wise Shepherd... would I then still find such foolish comfort in the wisdom of the world? and would I continue looking to others to validate my own homegrown wit?

What if we actually believed that only God is wholeness. Would you still be settling for that human induced relationship that gives the illusion of a complete and happy you? Would we still search out quick fixes to the turmoil sin inevitably has caused within us?

Thank you Jesus, for everything You are. You are enough. The essence of who You are brings freedom to those who simply seek Your identity.

I think it is strangely important to fix our minds on the concrete characteristics of who God says He is in our everyday moments, rather than fixing our minds on things that were once dust.

Hallelujah to the King.

My heart is surely fixed on a God who has responded to my cries in the midst of my hopelessness, discontentment and grief. I have successfully endured, and been obedient through a season of calamity. I am drowning in tears as I am finally seeing the fruits of a heart that has been purged, tilled and turned. This process has entirely changed the rhythm of my heart, the depth of my mind and the vitality of my lifestyle. Hallelujah to the King.

Reparation is the very least He has given me. Beyond, He has given me His eyes to further carry out His glory to the end of my days, as I have a truer perspective in all the things that have yet to come and the things that remain behind me. Hallelujah to the King.

Situational imprints of His hands have guided me into recognizing and believing in who He says I am. Running with that perspective of truth I am wholly capable of being fearless, wonderfully wise, humbly confident and... simply enough in all I do.

When I am given a glimpse of His kingdom here on earth; the sin, the shame, the pain, the injustice, and the lies that have been part of my life do not hold a place of comparison. The forever blooming existence of a Father who will make all things right enables me to truly desire His will be done, in all things.

Hallelujah to the King.

Psalm 84:11

My Lord God is a sun and shield.

:: He painfully reveals, yet He is a trustworthy protector

He bestows honor and favor.

:: Remaining in truth, despite it's pain, leads to freedom. The fact that we can find freedom in Him is favor on our lives

He withholds no good thing from those whose walk is blameless.

:: God fine tunes our very essence so that we may have the wise and true perspective to see the irrefutable goodness He gives

Ecclesiastes.

I am falling head over heels for this book. I've read it a few times but this time it's strangely intriguing and whispering sweet little things to my heart.

I love how King Solomon takes profound statements and insights while etching them into his own experience. It's beautifully written. Ultimately, Solomon finds that the meaninglessness of our lives, only find meaning while being handed over to God. Our lives are to be wholly centered around the existence of God. He captures, so well, the discontentment found in the lives of those who search for satisfaction and worth in their expeditions, scrutiny, and studies.

Overall, I got the idea that Solomon believes man has a inward conscious that cannot deny the existence of God. He believes this because of how our lives look when we live counter to our initial design and purpose...Well, that's what I understood it to be.

THAT, is a profound understanding of how flawless God's ways are and how nothing can twist His goodness. There is no way to discredit His plan - because as we try to manipulate it, it becomes all the more in plain sight. Furthermore, when we walk away from His plan the more obvious our meaninglessness becomes - thus discrediting our plans and validating His. So flawless!

There is so much more that is jumping out at me but I want it to be concretely in my heart and mind prior to posting it.

Gifts.

Relationships are a great gift.

Lately I've been feeling as if I'm greatly missing out because God hasn't placed them in my life. Specifically, the romantic ones. I've even gone to the extent of looking at other women in my life, wondering what the heck they've done so right that God has given them the gift of a beautiful union with another person. The evilness in my heart is exposed. I've only dated 2 people my entire life and I have never been in a relationship that I pursued with unhealthy motives or in perceived brokenness. So, in my head I was left wondering why God withholds things from me while blessing others.

God has been provoking a new way for me to look at all this. It is a gift to be pursued by God and this thought ignited a new focus and reality for me.

In this season, God is giving me a gift beyond any gift I've ever dreamed of. He wants to bless me with a heart that is content and at peace in all circumstances. He is giving me the gift of spiritual growth, truly being refined in this emotional circumstance. He is itchin to give me the gift of a heart and mind solely fixed on the freedom He brings. Gifts don't come any more real, essential and undeserved. And foremost, He is giving me the gift of a deepened relationship with Him. I'm so captivated by a God whose work is beyond what we first see or initially fathom.

Lastly, God has made it clear that while He offers these gifts to all of His kids, not many actually accept. I could easily find a shallow happiness in a relationship I decide to stir up. I want the gift that penetrates and shatters the core of humanities brokenness and disconnect.

I am greatly favored, as God is allowing this pain to form the beautiful gift of wholeness, unity, and wisdom in my heart.