Seeing God when you can't see God

As I share the Lord, people often say to me that it’s hard to believe in a God that lets so many bad things happen. My answer to this is biblical and it is that if you live your life separated from life‘s handbook which is the Bible you will not see God in everything. He’s not some big God up in the sky and you’re some little peon down here on earth. He is a triune God which is made up of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. By his nature he is a God that is relational. He created human beings so that he could have a relationship with us. Each and everyone of us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and did the one thing that God asked them not to do (Genesis 3), that changed the beautiful plan that God had for his creation. He used to walk in the garden and spend time with Adam and Eve, but, after they rebelled against his will a new plan was put into place. It was a new story that had to be told of a lost people who needed a Savior. We are made up of body, mind, emotions and spirit, not to mention family, community, local, state, national and world affairs… so to think that you can run the show of life on your own and save yourself and the world is a delusion. There is a God, he created us, and to be with him forever we cannot earn it on our own merits. God does not let sin into heaven and he cannot be in the presence of it. The sweet story is, that if we ask Christ into our heart as our savior and ask him to be the Lord of our life we can then stand before our Father in heaven when we die! He will not see our sin but he will see us through the filter and the blood of Jesus Christ his son (John 3:16). It’s a very simple story with a rough road getting to the end but he promises never to leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).

The one thing you’ll notice in life is if you look at the big story you will not see God. However, if you look into the personal lives of the people going through trials and tribulations, you will hear stories that are so magnificent and miraculous because that’s where God works. Yes, the world is a mess and It’s because of greed, pride, unforgiveness … Which are sins! Our sins! God sent his son because we cannot save ourselves. Christ died at Calvary for you. Christ took the beatings, the slaps in the face, the spitting and cursing and ultimately the horrible death on the cross for you. He was separated from his Father because he bore our sins upon himself! He did what we can’t and that’s why we need a Savior. The only way to the Father is through the son (John 14:6) Christ is the way, the truth and the life. He never promised an easy life! Don’t expect life to be smooth. Who ever promised you that???? He promised to be with us through the fires, floods, traumas, losses…. (Isaiah 43:2), to comfort us, teach us, prepare us, strengthen us… so that we can take that message of his unfailing love to the lost. James 4:8 and Jeremiah 29:12 each tell us that if we draw near to God that he will draw near to us. If you have the courage to seek him, you WILL find him. This life is not about us being comfortable. It simply is about getting all that you need from God and then going and serving others. I pray you seek him and your life becomes one of gratitude rather than one of complaining. God is real so get real with him.

Faith and Orange Juice

Have you ever made fresh squeezed orange juice? You'll know that you have to squeeze a lot of oranges to get a very small amount of juice. That's how Faith also works in your life. Each time that you are in a situation where God in his loving ways begins to squeeze you to build your faith, you will see your faith grow and fill you, if you allow yourself to see him in those hard-pressed times. He starts us out in the same way as an infant does. Small steps, small trials and small squeezing to get us used to growing up in him. If you allow yourself to see him as you take this step and ask him to build your faith you will begin to see yourself filling up. A few of these trials may bring you to where you are filled up past your feet and you will see that you will start to walk in different directions, making better choices and stopping yourself when you know the way that you're going isn't pleasing God. If you continue to see him as he fills you with faith through precarious times you will be filled past your waist and you will notice that you will know when to sit and rest and wait for him to work or to rise and put on the armor of God and take up your sword and go fight a battle. As we continue allowing God to build our faith and fill us with it soon you will see your heart being overtaken by it and saturated in it. Your desires begin to align with Gods. As it continues to fill us it will go past our mouth and change the way that we speak and make it more pleasant to our Lord. It'll rise up above our eyes and we will begin to see him rather than our tough times and we will begin to see that nothing is impossible with his help. And as we mature some of the trials may become darker and harder but if we allow him to press us with less evidence of him being present soon our mind will be soaked with faith through the Holy Spirit and we will see ourselves standing tall and strong in his righteousness rather than our own failable strength! Yes, faith is like orange juice and if you want it bad enough you'll go through the squeezing. 

Just Sing

I will sing in the task I am to hold

I will sing in the dark and the cold

I will sing on the rough rugged road

I am safe when I sing where I am told

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Be happy (in your faith) and rejoice and be glad hearted always; Be unceasing in prayer; thank God in everything (no matter what your circumstances may be) for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again - Rejoice!

1 Peter 4:12,13. Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you are participating in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

I urge you brothers and sisters to look for God's grace, mercy and love in your suffering, weakness or anger. HE IS THERE.

James 4:8. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

God Doesn't Blink

God is not a genie, he's a trainer. Do you ask your trainer at the gym to just make you strong, healthy and fit without the work out? Would a warrior just run into battle without learning the skills of the sword? Do people become professionals such as doctors or nurses by just winging it? No, they commit themselves to years of training. So, why do you ask God to just blink and deliver you when you're sick or weak? He is a spiritual trainer not a genie in a bottle that gets you over your problems. The process is where the lessons and growth are learned and exercised. God wants to get you through your trials not over them. Athletes do not wish for strength, they train and sweat for hours upon hours, years upon years.

Maybe your health problems are a result of stress, where you can make lifestyle changes in your management of emotions and time. Possibly, they are from an accident which left you disabled, maybe your mind needs a work out plan where you train your inner voice to speak more positive with hopeful thoughts rather than thoughts of defeat. Many people suffer physical maladies and the way to healing is in a diet change or exercise plan. It will always be THROUGH our issue that we find freedom and build character, strength and courage. God never delivers us from a lesson but he walks with us through it. He is right there to encourage us as he trains us for our purpose.

Pulling ourselves up by the boot-straps sometimes proves to be unsurmountable and we fall into depression which only exacerbates our helplessness. How do we rise up when we FEEL so overwhelmed? When it seems like God is not there. When we can't hear his voice. Well, there is actually a story in the bible that tells us exactly where God is when we are feeling afraid and alone. It's in the book of Song of Songs in the old testament. In chapter 2, verse 14, the Shulamite maiden and her lover are calling out to each other with cries of deep love. In verse 14 her lover calls to her, "My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice  is sweet and your face is lovely." In this allegory it is said that we are the maiden and Christ is our lover. Similar to the new testament where we are the bride and he is our groom. Notice that he is calling out to her and asking her to trust in his voice and to follow it. He longs to see her face and hear her voice.

The cleft in the rock can represent many things but as I see it (and this is only my interpretation) the maiden is calling for her lover to come to her. She has found a comfortable and safe spot in the cleft of the rock from which to coo. However, her lover calls to her and encourages her to leave her spot of safety. He's not coming to get her, he is calling her to come to him. Now, if you can imagine a cleft in the side of a rock mountain similar to the ones you see goats balancing on! It would be terrifying to step out of there and try to scale the ledges. I would compare it to us having to leave our comfort zones to follow the voice of Christ. Our comfort zones could be our sick beds, our complaining, excuses, blaming, distractions... But our Lord is calling us out. He wants us to trust and follow his voice, to scale our mountains of fear and go to a higher place. Each victory though, leads us to the next challenge and then, to even higher places.

So, my friends, I encourage you to ask God to call for you, seek his face and he will be with you every step of the way. In my personal experience I have displayed stubbornness, pity parties, whining... anything to keep me in my comfort spot. God however, loves me too much to leave me there so he keeps calling and calling till I reluctantly rise up and finally ask him what he wants. Everytime, he tells me that he wants me to come to him. He wants to see my lovely face and hear my sweet voice. He reminds me of how long it's been since we sat together while talking, laughing or crying. I can't help but rise and follow his voice. You ask exactly how I do that? I get up, wash my face and open my bible and devotional. I draw near to him in any way that I can and most times he energizes me to do even more. Each effort on my part is matched with his power. I have to admit that there are some days (because of my health issues) that I can barely rise but it is at those times that he sits with me while I rest in him. I've given up on continuity in my life-style. The depression of set-backs because of my limitations proved to be too discouraging. So, I rise each day never knowing what I will be able to do but one thing I know for sure is that my God will be there. 

Habakkuk 3:19, "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."

Reading source: Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Rescued

I shared a lot of personal things and at the end God spoke through his Spirit and it is powerful! I'm not going to spell check or edit this because the writing of it has left me exhausted. God be with you. 

As I sat weeping uncontrollably while watching a show on tv, my heart was angrily speaking to my mind. "Where was God when I was being assaulted!" Of course this girl on tv was going to be rescued but that's not real life! In real life horrible things happen. While I was basically screaming at God and wallowing in my stronghold of worthlessness I felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit begin to consume and cover me. His voice which was strong yet warm and loving began to speak to me. But first, let me catch you up on how I ended up with the scars that held me in bondage.

Years ago when I was younger there were five events that happened to me that ensured me that I was of no worth. These happened after the loss of my mother which devastated me and started that voice within me that told me I wasn't worth living for. I've been a child of God ever since my young twenties but in my youth I always straddled the fence of worldliness and righteousness through Christ. My disobedience led me to places I should not have been but on the other hand wickedness also comes to find you. Below are the defining events. I'm going to skip a lot of detail because this is a blog post not a book.

I remember the first event when a group of boys chased me down and pinned me to the ground. They began to take my pants off and I recall feeling so helpless. My friend was screaming at them and I don't know what happened but they released me and dispersed. The second event took place at an outdoor mall. A gang of boys picked me up by my legs and arms and carried me the entire length of the mall while I screamed and struggled for help. There were people and couples with children that just watched but no one helped me. My friend kept yelling at them to let me go but they took me in the ally behind the store and pinned me against the wall. They were a motley crew that we called "The gutter gang" and as they began to take my pants off someone in their group but standing back further  said, "That's enough, stop." They released me and my friend and I ran. The third time took place when I was leaving my job as a bar waitress. It was about 3 am in the morning and as I got into my car a man entered the passenger door. He instructed me to drive and soon arrived at a big mansion in the city. He took my keys and entered the house. I could see that he put the keys in his coat pocket and through the big front window he put the coat in a trunk behind the couch and then went into a door and closed it. I ran into the house and retrieved the keys and ran back out. He came out of the door moments later, naked and confident and saw that I was in my car. He motioned to me that he had my keys but I held them up and I drove away quickly. The fourth episode happened when I went on a trip with a new boyfriend to a cabin up in the mountains. He turned out to be a sociopath and needless to say he tormented me, hurt me badly and threatened my life over and over. It went on for three days until he threw me out of the car at a bus station in a very dangerous place in the middle of nowhere and hundreds of miles from home. The fifth time happened when I was in my 30's. I was gardening in my yard one morning before I had to go to an appointment. I noticed a man lurking in the ally and he was still there over an hour later. I had to leave the house so I pre-planned to open the garage door and get into my car fast and lock the door just in case he was dangerous. I'm so glad that I did that because as I opened the garage door he came bolting into my garage and as I locked the door he was putting his hand on the door handle. We caught eyes and he exited the garage. I pulled out and called the police but he was gone when they arrived.

    It was only a year later that I was hit by a tidal wave of emotions that took me down. They say that's how it happens. You survive a trauma and at some unexpected time, years later it hits! All the memories and emotions flood your brain which sends a signal to your body that you are overwhelmed and consumed with fear. You start to shake, sweat, cry and your world spins out of control. I started therapy and over the years I learned ways to protect myself and still be able to function in life. It took a long time but slowly I healed in many areas and was able to recover to a point. No one really understood the fear, abandonment and torment that I lived with everyday. I looked normal on the outside but I was a terrified child inside. I covered those emotions with alcohol and anxiety for many years which of course resulted in a myriad of health problems. Each year I would heal a little more as I lived a healthier life-style and continued in counseling. I also immersed myself in Jesus and I began to become a woman who was strong in her faith. God and I have been through a lot together. My pain was his way into my heart.

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post I was watching a show and it was stirring up an anger deep with me. My old inner voice showed up and was telling me that I wasn't worth saving and that God had abandoned me. We all know that voice right? That self-deprecating voice that rears its ugly head when we are feeling weak. That is the voice of the enemy and as the bible says, he seeks to devour and destroy. But, Gods voice is greater and more powerful! As I sat there weeping and blaming God for not rescuing me during those terrifying times I began to hear a voice within me rising up. If you're not familiar with the book of Job in the bible when God says to Job, "Now listen to me." then you HAVE TO read it (Job chapter 38-42) WOWZER! This voice is the Spirit of the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD and it's speaking to me while I'm in one of my darkest places. It was a Psalm 42:7 moment for me when Deep called unto deep and His waves and billows rushed over me. God spoke and this is what he said, "Why did those boys let you go? Because I rescued you. Why did that gang release you? Because I rescued you. Why did you escape that mansion? Because I rescued you. Why did you survive at that cabin, in the dark desert where you were thrown out and at the dangerous bus station where evil was all around? Because I rescued you. Why did the man looking for prey not get you? Because I rescued you. I have rescued you even when you didn't know that danger was near. I have rescued you even when you went against my will and direction. I have never left you or forsaken you. I have been and always will be with you. There is no place that you can go that is beyond my love for you, even unto death. Do you think I am not there when my precious children are ravaged by the evils of this world? Do you think that even when they are killed that I am not there to rescue their souls and usher them home? I enter the most dangerous places and I rescue every soul. I meet with them as they are perishing and when they gaze into my eyes of love they give themselves to me and I take them in my arms. I rescue the lost, the broken, the overwhelmed and the tired. My love transcends any love that you know. I rescued you, I will continue to rescue you until we break bread together in heaven. You were not alone, you will never be alone. I am in the hottest fire, the deepest sea and the most sinful places. My Father sent me to walk into the crack houses, the homes of rage and abuse... I can see each soul, not as they are but for who they can be in me. You may not be able to see how my love works but I'm asking you to trust and believe that it is boundless. Read My Word, Know My Word and Live My Word. Now go, and tell someone about this free gift of love.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world (YOU) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 8:31-39, Jeremiah 29:11-14, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6

The Tree

  An Allegory  

    It's the deep of winter here in the northeast when all of life turns to black and white. Most days are dreary and spent inside. Where did all the colors go? The flowers, birds, sunshine, picnics and gatherings seem like lost memories buried deep under the frozen ground like graves. Our front doors are like prison gates as the frigid winds lurk just outside like guards keeping us locked in. The tedium and mundane play like a record stuck in a groove, over and over. Newness and creativity seem to ebb and flow depending on our mindsets or energy levels. All of life somehow hangs on to a frayed string of hope that this too shall pass and we will feel warmth and energy again. Where is God?

    I saw him in a tree yesterday. He stood there stripped of all his luscious leaves. The birds had abandoned him and only the woodpecker stayed to chip away at his carcass. Surrounded by frozen ice he sat alone on a bleak hill. I asked him, "Why aren't you showing your glory? We need to see your majesty! You seem to be worn down just like us! Where is your power and might?" As I stood there presuming only silence as a response, I heard him.

    "Oh, child I AM here. Just as I appeared on the cross that gloomy day at Golgotha. Stripped of my luscious purple robe of majesty, the world appeared to have gone black and white. My friends and followers abandoned me and only my enemies stayed to pick at my carcass. Surrounded by frozen hearts I hung alone on that bleak hill. There was no way out and the guards made sure that the nails kept me prisoner. Darkness fell over the land and upon me was heaped the sins of the world. Even my Father had to look away.               I gave you that day at Calvary to remind you that even though the branches are bare and the fig tree produces no fruit, I AM alive in the darkness. Inside this tree that you are staring at is an intricate plan. It may look defeated to you but to me I AM working. Nothing is dead, nothing is out-of-control! The DNA of all living things is conducted by me. I have written the symphony that it will play, the steps it will dance and the songs it will sing. I will unveil the warmth of the sun and push forth blossoms. I will send the honeybees to do their work and the birds will build their nests with no worry. The ants will never tarry, the fox will hunt and the sun and moon will rise and set as I have commanded them. There is not even a stone that sits where I do not tell it to. The snow caps will melt bringing glacial milk to the valleys where your crops will grow and fresh waters will flow. I AM right here my child and there is nothing that can change that"

    As I stood in wonderous awe I could now see that the tree that appeared dead to me was working furiously within its DNA. At a microscopic level God's love and purpose was alive and fierce in its purpose. The epiphany that God is not dead in our darkness blew light into my spirit and life into my soul. "I AM here, he told me. No season, no challenge, no temporary defeat, no depression, no sickness... can extinguish me. I AM the light and life forever more. NEVER FORGET that that dark day at Calvary, when the tree appeared dead was only the gateway to the day of resurrection. You may suffer for a short time but I PROMISE you that after every darkness there will come the day of light. There is no power in heaven or on earth that can keep me from shining my light on you so you can rise from the cold earth and blossom. Don't ever confuse stillness for ineffectiveness for most of my work is done in silence. Never presume me unable or distant. The tomb cloth will soon be removed and I will place the robe of righteousness, my righteousness upon you. Your winter is coming to an end."

1 Peter 5:10, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered for a little while, he himself will restore, support and strengthen you."

    God has put in us, through His Spirit, a DNA that belongs to Him. He is interwoven into you literally. Nothing can separate that. Where ever you are, He is alive and working IN you. The tree that appears dead and lifeless is hard at work inside planning for spring.

Clean out the Closets

This is a re-post of an article that I wrote a few years back. I feel led to share it again. I believe it is good wisdom on starting anew. God bless and Happy New Year. From God's heart to mine to yours, Sincerely, Dee

In our relationship with God we can choose several ways to try and avoid Him. There's tip toeing around, trying to hide our shame or guilt, pretending that if we don't look at Him then He won't notice us. Or we live a tepid Christian life that just does the minimum and it's enough to make us feel good about ourselves. Then there's busyness, where we stay so busy that, "There just isn't time right now Lord, for me to stop and discuss this!" and we hope He forgets about it. I played these games for years and all it did was make me feel awful and I missed out on living a guilt and shame free life! When we finally figure out how much God loves us, and that He knows everything anyway, whether we tell Him or not, that's when we can exhale and start breathing again!

We can talk to God about everything, no matter how ugly, dark or repulsive it may be. He already knows about it and He wants you to be set free. He died on the cross for you, and the exact same sin that you're worrying about right now, has already been nailed to the cross and forgiven. The processes we have to go through here on earth to heal from our sins and its affects is for our benefit. His love and forgiveness is unlimited as long as we accept Him and His gift of pardon on the cross! He always responds to our human failures with love, compassion and discipline. Yes, I said discipline, but don't let that scare you because discipline is not punishment! It is a lesson of love that He uses to teach us, just like we teach our children to not touch fire again. We will actually come to love those lessons because they draw us nearer to His heart and His deep ocean of love. We won't be afraid to come to Him with everything after experiencing that unconditional love. Judgement and condemnation is not how God deals with His children because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. In John 12:47 Christ tells us that, He did not come into the world to judge us but to save us!

Jesus is our safe place! He doesn't want you to be afraid of Him, He wants you to run to Him, grab on to Him and feel free to release anything that is holding you in bondage. Picture yourself as a child and leap onto His lap, wrap your arms around His neck and find peace there. If you were to describe a perfect friend, He is that friend! He will listen to you, empathize with you and teach you how to live a life of freedom. His compassion and mercies never run out because He loves you unconditionally. Do you have a hard time grasping the idea of hugging God or looking into His eyes when He isn't actually physically there? So did his disciples, but Jesus told them that He would have to leave them and go back to heaven but that His Father was going to send a helper. He told them, (John 15:5-15) that He would no longer be beside them but that the Holy Spirit would come and be inside them! The Holy Spirit can't be summed up but once you invite Jesus into your heart and His Spirit comes to reside in you, there's nothing else like it! He will guide you, comfort you, teach you and get you through everything!

Our Savior came to set the sinners free not imprison them. He didn't come to hang out with the chief priests and the people who appeared perfect. No, He came to ordinary men and woman who knew they needed a Savior. He came to the sick, the poor, the broken, the hurting and the lost. He came to heal, love, save, comfort and redeem! We all can be free if we confess, receive and believe in the God who left His Holy position in heaven, took on human flesh and dwelt among us! We all have a free will and we can choose to accept Him as our Savior or we can go and live our lives our own way. He will never force His love upon us because that's what free will is...He wants us to choose to love Him!

Let's assume you're going to accept Him into your heart and life. What about having to change, that's scary! We all have dark closets that we don't want anyone poking around in. We've all done this...when we have company or a party at our house we stuff things into the closets to make the residence appear all together and tidy. We only want people to see the perfect us and would be appalled if someone intruded by opening a closet door that we had designated as off limits. Jesus will never open that door without your permission and if you do allow Him in...He won't be shocked because He already knows what's in there. It's us that have all the hang ups, not Him! The longer we ignore that closet and keep Him out of it, the worse that closet becomes. Dark closets begin to mold and mildew, they get spiders, mice, germs, dust, cobwebs and the vermin will even nest! The floorboards and walls will begin to deteriorate and most of the good items in there will become ruined along with the junk. Ever watch Hoarders? Do you have a dark closet in your heart? Invite Jesus in and He will be with you every step of the way.

It's human nature that the worse a problem gets, the more we avoid it! We put off opening up those closets because it all seems to daunting to deal with. Let me tell you something about closets, whether they be in our home, mind or hearts...you have to make a big mess before you can get it orderly! You have to first have the courage to open it, then you have to start pulling things out and making piles, ie: one for the thrift store, one is for garbage, one is to clean and keep and maybe one pile for things you have to return to people and so on it goes. I happen to be one of those people that loves to clean things out and have order but most people are not like that! They hate the thought of doing it and especially having to do it alone ! Satan will even get involved and start whispering in our ear, things like, "Ah, leave it in there, you don't have to deal with it, it's not bothering anybody." or "You're sick, tired and afraid already, why make things worse!" or "If anyone were to find out about your sin that you're hiding, just think how humiliated you would feel!" and the lies go on and on....

These are some truths that dispel the lies...#1: Opening the closet and confessing is not the scary part! It's the fear, guilt and shame you feel by hiding it. I opened a dark closet in my mind and I invited Jesus in to help me with the clean-up and it wasn't bad at all. I'm not saying that the process wasn't very difficult, I'm just saying that it wasn't what the enemy was making it out to be at all! There was love there, not condemnation. The worse part was all the anxiety and panic that I felt prior to doing it, and thinking that He would be ashamed of me and punish me. But none of that happened, all He did was sit with me and help me through it all. It was wonderful and I hope whoever is reading this will dismiss the lies in their head and just get to it, so you can begin to have freedom and live again!

#2: As you pull each thing out of the dark closet you will have to make decisions like, "Do I keep this wound and allow it to be healed so I can cherish the scar as a reminder of my victory over it?" or maybe you'll pull something out that really belongs to someone else, like a hurt, an offence or a pain that someone else caused, but you've been holding on to it. "Is it time to let go?" You may come across something that you just need to hand over to Jesus and ask Him to fix it because you've never been able to do it on your own. Some things simply get thrown out, some may be things that remind you that you need to apologize to someone or forgive someone that hurt you deeply so that you don't have to carry that "ugly" in you anymore. There will be things that we need to face and take responsibility for and other things we need to clean up and preserve as reminders. Tears, sorrow, anger, bitterness, shame, guilt, resentments....they will all be in there and each one Jesus will be there to lovingly help you sort through, giving you new courage and healing your wounds.

#3: Your life will be so different after you do this! You're going to ask yourself, "Why didn't I do this sooner!" Once the closet is cleaned of the contents, the mold and cobwebs have been cleaned up, you've aired it out, finished any repairs and repainted, it's time to put a new light bulb in! That light is Jesus and His light is eternal and purifying! At this point it's up to you what you want to put back into the closet and if your going to keep His light burning in there. (Please read Matthew 13:1-23!) about the Parable of the Four Soils.) Some of us choose to go on with the Lord, letting Him love us and heal us, whereas, others choose to go back to the darkness. They will believe the lies from the enemy and their sweet memories of their time with Jesus will fade because they won't read their bible, go to church or have fellowship with other Christians. They'll  paint their closet black again and put junk back in there like before. But for those who choose abundant life they fill their new closet with the good things from God such as, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). The imprisonment they used to live in has been transformed forever to a place of freedom! Their mind, heart and souls are now open and full of light and God is welcome there anytime!

Isaiah 61:1-3, (Prophesy about our Messiah Jesus), The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good new to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God (justice), to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

Restoration

 Joel 2:25 reads, "I will restore back to you the years the locusts have taken.

Just as in the book of Job, God does allow calamity. However, in the book of Joel he also promises restoration. He will do anything to get our attention so that we recognize our sin and come to repentance. That's why Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day that the Lord has made; rejoice and be glad in it!" No matter where God has you, He is in it with you. He waits for us to release our grip on sin so that he can save us and give us good things.

Are you in a desert land? God wants to speak to you there. Give him your attention and he will draw near to you (James 4:8) He has plans for you, plans to prosper you; not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on him and come and pray to him, and he will listen to you. He will be found by you and bring you back from captivity." (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

Where do you find yourself today? Battling a promiscuous past and struggling with feelings of worthlessness, shame and guilt? Have you landed yourself in jail or prison? Is your marriage in shambles? Do you have a loved one or child that is out of control or on drugs? Are you weary from abuse? Are you battling an addiction? Has your bank account run dry? Are you living on the desolate side of life? Does depression come over you like a dark cloud. Do you fret and worry and now you are physically sick from it? Has anger consumed you to the point that it now controls you? Has unforgiveness become like vomit in your belly and you have no freedom in your mind or life because of it?

God wants to deliver you from it all. He wants to wash you clean. (See Ezekiel 16:1-14), vs 9-10, "Then I bathed you and washed you, I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin and clothed you beautifully..." God loves you and wants you to be his child. (read Romans 8:14-17) He will restore back to you the years the locust have taken. (Joel 2:25) He will give you a new heart and a new mind. (Ezekiel 36:26).

Blessed Redeemer, Transform me, make my sharp edges smooth. Turn my confusion into soundness and my sadness into joy. Wash me, dress me and crown me as your own. Fill me with your Spirit and never let me look upon false gods. Keep me from temptation and deliver me from evil. Renew my mind to see my worth in you. Set me on the rock which is you, who raises me above falsehoods. Let my heart rejoice in what you have done and be in wonderment for what you are going to do. Above all, send me to the lost, the hurting, the needy so they can see you through me. Thank you for restoration! Amen

Read Psalm 51