Receiving Needed Truths

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (New American Standard Bible)

God’s desire to be in intimate relationship with His children is displayed in today’s verse. His longing for us to see Him as the lover of our soul and supplier of all our needs is clearly stated but often unrealized by many. The awareness of God’s offer to us is often born out of our places of emptiness, brokenness, and failure. Hence, the ability to receive His strength and help is brought about when we are willing to let go of our preconceived ideas and all the substitutes we have been holding on to. As long as there are any other voices we are listening to or hands we are holding on to, God’s words will fall on deaf ears and a closed heart.

This past weekend I had the privilege and joy of speaking at a women’s Christmas brunch. The two truths I shared with that small group came out of my own experiences of disillusionment and disappointment. I have heard it said that God must put to death the very things that hinder us from knowing Him intimately and personally. While the process of death was excruciating at times the resurrection of hope found in Him has been beyond description.

Although I have known Christ as my Savior for over three decades it took thirty years for me to embrace the truth that I was His beloved. I failed to see that in God’s eyes I am esteemed, dearly loved, favored, valued, and welcome. In order to see that, He had to first release me from the mindset that performance and a list of do’s and don’ts was the way to His heart. Letting go of what seemed so right and taking hold of what seemed so foreign was long in coming but pure gold when realized.

It took four additional years to begin to understand another powerful truth. That being, God’s willingness, desire, and ability to supply everything I need. Not merely my physical and spiritual needs but my deep emotional needs as well. As long as I had individuals to look to, I unknowingly kept God at arm’s length. Taking hold of His hand and receiving His filling and completeness came only as I lost or let go of my varied counterfeit messiahs (those individuals whom I looked to as a way to be fixed, filled, and healed). Looking to them for what only God can do was like entering an apple orchard and expecting to find oranges or bananas. Many were the times I partook of the crumbs of relationship instead of the feast God was offering.

God’s extravagant love and endless supply are now the gifts I open daily. While I still experience moments of failure, I am delighting in moments of victory.

Father, there were times I didn’t understand Your ways and the removal of my sources of security. But I now thank You for removing all that blinded me from seeing You and blocked me from hearing You. Amen.