Renewed, refreshed and rejustified

Life sometimes gets in the way of life. Everyday holds a new adventure.  I wake up and start this unpredictable journey. There is great anticipation as each second begins to unfold.  There are days that I am filled with an abundance of joy.  I feel like my whole world is perfect. My husband is grinning from ear to ear. The kids love each other. The whole house is clean.  The sun is shining bright.  Everyone is happy. Including Me. And then there are those days that are filled with uncertainty.  And often the uncertainty brings with it pain and confusion which equals STRESS. 


I am learning that there is a hope that is so much bigger than my confusion, pain and stress.  And that is the hope I find in Christ.  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.


When I lean on the wisdom and knowledge of my Savior my foundation becomes unshakable.  And by studying His word and meditating on His promises I will be able to withstand the storms the come my way.  In Romans 5 we are told that God pours out His amazing love for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit  I often forget that I have been give such an awesome gift. But when I wake up I see the awesome power in allowing Him, the Holy Spirit, to penetrate my every move.  I have a strength that is unmovable, unstoppable, unshakable and often unexplainable.  


There are many occasions where the Lord is calling me to sit at His feet.  I have spent many hours listening and soaking in His most beautiful words.  God's most precious words have guided me through some of the most painful times in my life. And recently He has made it quite clear that I need to be at His feet once again.  His question that He put on my heart and most beautiful answer was found in the book of Romans. "Who shall separate you, Kathleen, from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake you, Kathleen, will face death all day long; You are considered as a sheep to be slaughtered."   No, in all these things you are more than a conqueror through him who loved you.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you, Kathleen, from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39.


Wow, nothing I do can keep Him from loving me.  I just need to be renewed, refreshed and rejustified.  And it is only through faith in Him that this will come into fruition. All of these trails, tribulations and glorious moments in my life are character building.  And without my faith I am certain that I would be crushed.  I know that God has amazing things planned for my life and my eternity. He gives me an everlasting hope.  The small amount of suffering and hardship I have experienced and will continue to experience is not without reward.  It results in my ability to understand the magnitude of the love and grace He has pour out for me.   "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5