Here I Bow Down
Oh goodness, every week I am caught off guard by God's words to me. And let me tell you, this week was no different.
To be honest, in the past weeks and months, I have struggled to hear God's voice in my life. I've always found peace and comfort when I pray and worship. And I've felt those same things in church on Sundays and at small group on Tuesdays. But I never heard God speaking to me. It had actually been a while since He had personally spoken to me and I found myself praying more and more in hopes to hear His voice.
Here's the thing: my life is busy. I work a full time job that even takes time from me when I'm supposed to be off. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I wouldn't trade it for anything at the moment. I am just constantly responding to emails and calls and working on posts for our social media accounts. And when I'm not doing that, I'm at home trying to get my life together there. I'm taking care of my dog, spending time with my husband, cleaning, cooking, paying bills and trying to find time to get together with those people I care about. Then there's small group on Tuesdays and church on Sundays. I am constantly moving and working and sometimes don't have time to sit and meditate and think.
It's no wonder I don't hear God speaking to me. I'm so busy talking and listening to others, that I don't take time to listen to Him.
A few weeks ago, I decided to get up a little earlier every morning and go out to our church property and pray and listen. I remember clearly the first day I did this.
I was sitting in a chair on this property and looking out at the sunrise and suddenly, there it was. A whisper of hope and promise. A voice speaking to me so clearly and with so much love, I was brought to tears. It had been so long since I had heard that voice and to hear it in that moment of silence brought me to my knees.
So, I started going back. Time and time again. I would wake up a little earlier than normal and on my way to work, I would stop at this plot of land and pray and listen.
And boy, let me tell you...the stuff that God tells me out there is breath taking.
Since then, I have heard so many promises of life and grace and mercy. I have heard Him tell me I am worthy of everything...that I matter to people on this Earth...that I matter to Him. I have cried into His arms when life seems like too much to bear. I have yelled at him for things that don't seem fair. And yet He comes to me time and time again and tells me how loved I am. He tells me that He was plans for me and that I shouldn't question His ways because His ways are good.
He broke my heart in pieces and then built it back up again stronger than ever before.
This past week, I've been struggling with a lot. I've had nightmares from my past come back to haunt me...things that torture me in the wee hours of the morning, telling me that I'm worthless and weak...words that brought me lower and lower. To the point of breaking down and sobbing in my husband's arms Saturday night because I felt so helpless. I felt so weak and I was tired of feeling that way.
This past week was the first time in about a month that I hadn't once been to our church property to pray in the morning. My work schedule changed and I was given the chance to sleep in a little longer and I took that. In doing so, I sacrificed my time I spent with God every morning and look what happened.
Satan latched on to me and began to dig into me. He took this week as a chance to pull me further away from God. He lied to me over and over again. He pulled at my heart and dragged me down.
Sunday morning, I went to church still feeling this distance from God and from everything I am. I listened to this sermon about God doing immeasurable things for His followers in the Bible and all they did was put their faith and trust in Him. Suddenly, my fog began to clear. God was calling me back to Him.
Our pastor, Josh, talked about doing two weeks of intentional prayer on our church land starting this week. He talked about just going up there and praying over the land and over our lives and the lives of people we know. I knew at that moment what I had to do.
This morning, I woke up late and was rushing to get everything together before work. I left later than I wanted and honestly thought I wouldn't be able to have my morning chat with God and Jesus before I had to be at work.
God had other plans.
There was no morning traffic on my way to work this morning and by the time I was about to pass the property, I still had 20 minutes to get to work on time. So I pulled into the dirt drive, parked, got out, and started walking.
You guys...as soon as I put a foot on that land, God was there beside me. Holding my hand and whispering those sweet, sweet promises of love and mercy and grace. I very quickly reached a sign with one of my favorite verses on it and immediately fell to my knees with tears in my eyes. And I felt all the weight from this past week being lifted from my shoulders. And I felt God whisper to me:
"Daughter, you do not have to carry these burdens any longer. Give them to me and I will carry them for you. Cast all your anxieties and fears to me. I will build you up stronger and braver than ever before. Just put your faith and trust in me, my child."
When I tell you guys that this broke me, I mean it really broke me. I was on my knees on this plot of land, bawling my eyes out. And all it took was two minutes of silence on this land.
I don't know exactly what it is about this land, but every time I'm there, God speaks to me in some way. And if that isn't a true God-thing, then I don't know what is. What I do know is that I will be trying to make time every morning for a five minute quiet time on that land, praying and letting God speak to me.
Whenever I am on this land, too, I always am brought back to the same Chris Tomlin song, "At the Cross (Love Ran Red)". This song was meant for this piece of land and you can't tell me differently.
I honestly just had to share what this piece of land is doing in my life right now. It is making huge differences in my life and I can find my hope and peace in Christ right there, on my knees, bowing before my gracious God. I urge you to step out onto that land sometime in the next two weeks. God is doing amazing things through our church and through this land. I am living proof of that.
To be honest, in the past weeks and months, I have struggled to hear God's voice in my life. I've always found peace and comfort when I pray and worship. And I've felt those same things in church on Sundays and at small group on Tuesdays. But I never heard God speaking to me. It had actually been a while since He had personally spoken to me and I found myself praying more and more in hopes to hear His voice.
Here's the thing: my life is busy. I work a full time job that even takes time from me when I'm supposed to be off. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I wouldn't trade it for anything at the moment. I am just constantly responding to emails and calls and working on posts for our social media accounts. And when I'm not doing that, I'm at home trying to get my life together there. I'm taking care of my dog, spending time with my husband, cleaning, cooking, paying bills and trying to find time to get together with those people I care about. Then there's small group on Tuesdays and church on Sundays. I am constantly moving and working and sometimes don't have time to sit and meditate and think.It's no wonder I don't hear God speaking to me. I'm so busy talking and listening to others, that I don't take time to listen to Him.
A few weeks ago, I decided to get up a little earlier every morning and go out to our church property and pray and listen. I remember clearly the first day I did this.
I was sitting in a chair on this property and looking out at the sunrise and suddenly, there it was. A whisper of hope and promise. A voice speaking to me so clearly and with so much love, I was brought to tears. It had been so long since I had heard that voice and to hear it in that moment of silence brought me to my knees.
So, I started going back. Time and time again. I would wake up a little earlier than normal and on my way to work, I would stop at this plot of land and pray and listen.
And boy, let me tell you...the stuff that God tells me out there is breath taking.
Since then, I have heard so many promises of life and grace and mercy. I have heard Him tell me I am worthy of everything...that I matter to people on this Earth...that I matter to Him. I have cried into His arms when life seems like too much to bear. I have yelled at him for things that don't seem fair. And yet He comes to me time and time again and tells me how loved I am. He tells me that He was plans for me and that I shouldn't question His ways because His ways are good.
He broke my heart in pieces and then built it back up again stronger than ever before.
This past week, I've been struggling with a lot. I've had nightmares from my past come back to haunt me...things that torture me in the wee hours of the morning, telling me that I'm worthless and weak...words that brought me lower and lower. To the point of breaking down and sobbing in my husband's arms Saturday night because I felt so helpless. I felt so weak and I was tired of feeling that way.
This past week was the first time in about a month that I hadn't once been to our church property to pray in the morning. My work schedule changed and I was given the chance to sleep in a little longer and I took that. In doing so, I sacrificed my time I spent with God every morning and look what happened.
Satan latched on to me and began to dig into me. He took this week as a chance to pull me further away from God. He lied to me over and over again. He pulled at my heart and dragged me down.
Sunday morning, I went to church still feeling this distance from God and from everything I am. I listened to this sermon about God doing immeasurable things for His followers in the Bible and all they did was put their faith and trust in Him. Suddenly, my fog began to clear. God was calling me back to Him.
Our pastor, Josh, talked about doing two weeks of intentional prayer on our church land starting this week. He talked about just going up there and praying over the land and over our lives and the lives of people we know. I knew at that moment what I had to do.
This morning, I woke up late and was rushing to get everything together before work. I left later than I wanted and honestly thought I wouldn't be able to have my morning chat with God and Jesus before I had to be at work.
God had other plans.
There was no morning traffic on my way to work this morning and by the time I was about to pass the property, I still had 20 minutes to get to work on time. So I pulled into the dirt drive, parked, got out, and started walking.
"Daughter, you do not have to carry these burdens any longer. Give them to me and I will carry them for you. Cast all your anxieties and fears to me. I will build you up stronger and braver than ever before. Just put your faith and trust in me, my child."
When I tell you guys that this broke me, I mean it really broke me. I was on my knees on this plot of land, bawling my eyes out. And all it took was two minutes of silence on this land.
I don't know exactly what it is about this land, but every time I'm there, God speaks to me in some way. And if that isn't a true God-thing, then I don't know what is. What I do know is that I will be trying to make time every morning for a five minute quiet time on that land, praying and letting God speak to me.Whenever I am on this land, too, I always am brought back to the same Chris Tomlin song, "At the Cross (Love Ran Red)". This song was meant for this piece of land and you can't tell me differently.
I honestly just had to share what this piece of land is doing in my life right now. It is making huge differences in my life and I can find my hope and peace in Christ right there, on my knees, bowing before my gracious God. I urge you to step out onto that land sometime in the next two weeks. God is doing amazing things through our church and through this land. I am living proof of that.
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