and in that knowledge I take refuge....

I sit here tonight and to the core of who I am am overwhelmed with the lovingkindness and tenderness of our God... in such a small way I have come tonight and seen as He has taken oh such amazing care of my soul....

As questions arose in my heart over issues that are too lofty for me and too weighty for me to consider... as thoughts came to try and tear at my heart... as I pondered the ways of man and the thoughts and intentions of man I heard my Father speak and watched as He painted a picture of His heart and as He shared His heart with me that which I had thought about and that which I had considered and that which came to bring harm was washed away....

I laid in my bed thinking about things that were transpiring around me... things truly out of my control.. on many different fronts I have watched and am watching as events play out around my life that affect me and yet seemingly have a life of their own

I must put in here that I don't jump thoroughly into specifics here to protect or to be vague but because there is enough in the world and each in life that each person can place within the confines of this story their own and yet the message of "But God" comes to bear in all our lives and journeys ..

The anxieties of this world can eat at our hearts until we are so riddled with fear that we are ineffective and dead... if not in actuality just rendered so useless by fear and fatigue that we are unable to operate in such a way as our truest nature as sons and daughters would have us be able to....

In reading 1 Peter recently an understanding of why we are called (1 Peter 5)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

All our anxieties can be cast upon Him because He cares for us.. He cares for us.. each and everyone of us and in that knowledge we can rest.. and in understanding His care we are given the greatest tool to stand against the prowling of the enemy... in knowing that our God.. creator of Heaven and Earth cares for us we are empowered to resist the enemy and to stand firm in the faith that we are children of a Father whose affections know no bounds.. whose affections are stronger than anything on earth or beyond.. whose affections strengthen and establish us...

His affections establish me and as found in Psalm 40 speaks of...

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.

In times and places where we end up feeling more like Joseph having been thrown into the pit by brothers... or falsely accused by employers.. or forgotten by fellow inmates... we can trust in the Lord and know that our footing is assured... and that a day where the promises come forth and the dreams that God has given come into reality ..

Beyond any promise.. or any dream coming true I say this... I am His... I am His daughter.. I am His friend.. I am His .. I am the one He loves... and that truth beyond any spoken promise or granted dream is what I rest my head upon.. that He cares for me.. and in that knowledge I take refuge....