The One Who Sustains...



Well, we have been back from Christmas Vacation and a Mission Trip to Honduras and we have still heard NOTHING. It seems like every week we have several people ask how the adoption process is and if we have heard anything yet. Our response..."Nope! We are still waiting." These days I find myself longing for a new answer. At the same time, I realize and keep reminding myself daily, God's plan is far greater and far better than anything Nate and I could ever imagine. With all this waiting, I imagine it to be a pretty outstanding plan!

I had the opportunity to sing with our worship team this past Sunday and we sang a song that really spoke to me, called "Made Me Glad," by Hillsong. Here are the lyrics...

I will bless the Lord forever
And I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
And he has set my feet upon a rock

And I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord....

You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Whom have I in Heaven but you?
There's none I desire beside you
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord...

You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need

You have me glad
And I'll say of the Lord....

I have been thinking about those words this week and just feel extremely grateful that we don't have to live on our own strength. We have a God that loves us, is our strength, and no problem, no doubt, no hurt, NOTHING, will move us because of his love for us. He is our rock. That's pretty powerful stuff.

At youth group last night, I asked for my teens to answer the question anonymously, "If you really knew me you'd know..." The answers blew me away. Some of them answered this way, "If you really knew me you'd know..how truly insecure I feel daily...I am super shy and very self conscious and I hate myself...I'm more insecure than I let on...my Dad is bipolar...that the happier I act, the sadder I am...I'm broken inside...I've never had a father figure from the day I was born...that I'm in pain 90% of the time and that not having anyone around to actually be there for me really hurts."

Wow! I came home thinking about those teens that I have the privilege to minister to each week, and my heart was burdened. The reality is, it isn't just teenagers. We all to some degree carry around burdens, hurt, disappointment, and more. The greater truth is, we have a Creator God who loves us, knows us, carries us, and chooses to be our strength. I have been reading Isaiah in the recent weeks and read this passage (Isaiah 46:4) this week, "I am he who SUSTAINS you. I have made you and I will carry you. I will SUSTAIN you and I will rescue you." I looked up that word SUSTAIN and it says to support, to keep going, to uphold.

Maybe we just need to be reminded today that although the journey is hard, we are not alone. We have one who SUSTAINS us, one who gives us STRENGTH, and because of that truth...we will NOT be moved.

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