liv4hvn

Bobby was a daddy’s boy. He went with his father everywhere; it was like they were one person. One day Bobby was riding his new bike down the street when he saw a pair of headlights coming straight at him. In one moment he found himself thrown off his bike and hitting the asphalt with great impact. His head was split open, his body lay there almost beyond recognition. He was struggling to breathe. Blood was pouring everywhere.

Now his father happened to be outside when the accident happened. He went up and kissed his little boy’s face as the ambulance drove up. He was sobbing and he too could barely breathe. HIs agony was so deep seeing Bobby lying there almost lifeless. All of a sudden the father looked up only to see the driver who hit his son. He was unscathed, completely drunk, and on top of all that, he was yelling horrible insults at the young boy. “Hey you idiot, what were you doing in front of my car.” “You deserve to die.” “What does your life matter anyways.”

Needless to say the father was outraged. Every fiber of his being was burning with hatred towards this man and he wanted to kill him. This was his fault that his son was near death. He went to approach the man when he heard his little boy whisper, “Daddy, I need you.” He got in the ambulance with his son and held his little hand. Tears were pouring down his face. How could this be happening? In the middle of the ride to the hospital, the EMT’s face turned white. Bobby was gone. He had taken his last breath holding on to his daddy’s hand.

The drunk driver spent several years in prison behind bars before he was released. A year later he was walking down the street and felt a horrible piercing pain through his chest. Blood was pouring out and he heard Bobby’s father shouting, “I told you I would get you.” “You’re a beast; you’re an animal.” “You deserve this”. With that the man took his final breath.

Now this is a tragic story but the reactions of the people in it were understandable. The little boy crying out to his father, the father sobbing as he kissed his son and held on to his tiny hand, and the drunk driver, so intoxicate that he could care less about anyone else. The outcome was conceivable. Bobby passed away, the father was filled with rage, and the drunk deserved what he got.

Now I want you to think of another story. The people in this story are very similar to the ones above. There was a Father, a son, and an evil pack of men. Except in this story the reactions of the people are completely different.

There was a father, who had a son. Everywhere the Father was, the son was. They had the perfect relationship. Their love for each other could not even be put into words. One day the father sent his son into a dark place where he knew there were a crowd of evil men lurking. He knew his son would get beat to a pulp while his enemies were yelling insults at him. He knew His son would even die there. He told His son what would happen to Him in that dark alley and the son was in agony but he said, ” Father I wish there was some other way, but i if this is what you me to do, I will do it.”

The son was sent out into the night as the father stood nearby. He saw the men coming up with their clubs and weapons and the father’s heart was breaking. What could be worth sacrificing His son; His only son. As the men came behind Him, the first one took a blow at the Son’s head with a club. Some others took large nails and started stabbing Him with it , while others crushed His chest so that He could not breathe. His son was dying and then He did the unthinkable; He poured out the wrath that the men deserved onto His son. He then turned his back on him and ran over to the bad guys, arms held out. The men thought He was going to kill them and then something else happened. He swooped them into His arms and gave them a huge hug saying “You guys are the ones I felt were worth the sacrifice. I forgive you and I love you. All you have to do is accept my forgiveness.” Several of the men wept and accepted the gift, feeling completely unworthy of the sacrifice. Others completely rejected the gift. The Father had willingly sent His son, the son had willingly gone, and the enemies were the ones they both did it for- so that they could be adopted as sons also.

If you look at this through spiritual eyes, don’t you see Calvary. The Father sent His Son into a world where He knew He would be crucified and marred beyond recognition. He knew Jesus would die. Not only that but He knew He would need to pour out His wrath, that his enemies deserved, onto His only Son. The Father’s heart was breaking at the thought, but He felt that the sacrifice would be worth the results. His Son willingly walked into this dark world.

You and I deserved the wrath of the Heavenly Father for our sins, but He willingly chose to pour it out on Jesus. Not only that, but in His Son’s deepest darkest hours, when I’m sure He just wanted to reach out and comfort Jesus, He turned His back on Him, leaving His Son to cry out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” The Father then held out His loving arms to us, held us in His embrace, and said “I forgive you, if you are willing to admit you were wrong and accept my forgiveness.” Indescribable. Unexplainable. Love beyond words.

When you think of Calvary, dear friends, I want you to think of the great sacrifice of Jesus but I also want you to think of the great sacrifice of the Father. He gave up His Son, His one and only Son, so that you and I could be adopted into His family.

Now thank God the story doesn’t end there. Three days after Jesus died He walked out of that tomb alive. Death had no power over Him. Several days later He ascended into heaven and took His rightful place at the right hand of the Father.

So when we get to heaven may we fall on our faces and shout out thank you to the Father who gave His Son, to the Son who gave His life, and to the Holy Spirit who opened our eyes to the greatest love story in history.

Have you ever heard the saying “this world needs Jesus now more than ever?” With all the horrible things happening around us it is being said more and more. We have wars, violence, earthquakes, floods, famines, senseless killings, and on and on the list goes. Can I share with you my thoughts on this saying. I believe it is completely false. Let me share with you why I think this way before you think I’ve totally backslidden or lost my mind.

This world does need Jesus, but this world has always needed Jesus from the beginning, until now and for all eternity- WE NEED JESUS. Do you realize that Jesus is the one who gives us life; not only eternal life but physical life? Every breath we take, every heartbeat, every aspect our body needs to live comes from who?- Jesus. Salvation, spiritual victory, strength to fight our battles, joy, comfort, peace, shelter, stability all come from Jesus.

The fact is we don’t need Jesus more in our trials, or war times, or in times of natural disaster or when terrorist have stricken; we just SEE OUR NEED FOR HIM in these times more than in times of peace or times when our life is running smoothly and our health is in tact. I had an example of this in my own life. I have had several big seizures recently where I felt as though I was dying. I was fighting for breath and felt like I was going to suffocate. In those moments I was crying out “I need Jesus”, “I need Jesus”, “I need Jesus”.

This got me thinking that I should be crying out every morning “Jesus I need you today”, “Jesus I need you today”, “Jesus I need you today.” My friend, and I’m speaking first to myself, we need to acknowledge that we need Jesus every nanosecond of our lives. There is not a time that we don’t need him. After we acknowledge our need we need to thank Him for His presence, His help, and His sustaining power.

So today, wether we are washing dishes, doing laundry, raising our children, fighting for our last breath, dealing with a new diagnosis, in the middle of war, or just living our every day lives, let’s just take time to cry out “Jesus I need you today and every day”. He will never fail to answer that cry.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14–16.)

So as most of you know by now I have a little obsession with succulents and I actually enjoy getting new garden gadgets to go with them. My latest addition is my solar powered watering can. It has lights coming down to look like it is actually watering the plants. During the day it is just an ordinary looking can but at night, oh what a beauty it displays.

Then I started thinking about what a wonderful analogy that little watering can is to our spiritual lives. You see, it sits there looking plain and useless during the daytime but it is actually absorbing energy from the sun. All day long the sun is pouring power into that can. So it is with us. We are planted by Christ in the place He has chosen for us. It may look like an ordinary place, it may be in the midst of a beautiful garden, or it may be hidden away where no one can see it, but wherever we are we need to be absorbing power from the Son. We need to stay put and bask in the light of who He is. He is a wonderful Savior. He is the Creator of all things. He is our Father, our Best Friend, our Guide. He is our loving Shepherd, who holds us close to His heart.

We also need to absorb his promises and remember that not one of them will fail. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He promises that He who began a good work in us will finish it to completion. He promises strength for our journey and joy even in the midst of sorrow. He promises heaven and an eternity with Him.

Our circumstances may seem too hot to handle sometime. The light may seem blinding but every ounce of that “sonlight “ is preparing us to shine. It is only in the dark that the beauty of that watering can is displayed. So it is with us my friend. In our every day lives we need to soak in the Son so that in the dark times we can have power, shine our light, and bring beauty to the blackest of nights. We need to remember, though, that we are not our own power source. So when trials hit us hard we need not despair because we know where our strength comes from- the all powerful Son. Just when we think we can’t make it anymore, remember that He is carrying us through. When others see us shining with joy in the midst of sorrow or beautifully displaying peace in the midst of chaos we can only do one thing- lift our eyes toward heaven and give all glory to the Son who supplied us with the power to shine.

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Hello friends, Im sorry it has been so long since I have written, but I felt the Lord kind of had me on hold for a while. I was waiting for inspiration and today I said something to my mom and she said oh Jess, you have to write that on your blog. So here I am. lol

The past few weeks for me have been a complete roller coaster ride. On Father’s Day I was at my sister’s house getting ready to serve my freshly baked apple pie when all of the sudden I see my dad standing over me. I had fallen and had no awareness of what had happened and no one saw me fall. I banged up my face pretty bad and fractured my hand in 2 places. We figured I had just passed out for some reason. I was taken by ambulance to the ER. At the ER they super glued me head and discovered that my white blood cell counts were high. Two days later I was feeling light headed at home and so I sat on the floor. Again, the next thing I know my dad was standing over me but this time I felt like I was suffocating. It was the scariest experience of my life. I was crying out for Jesus and begging the paramedics to help me. I then found out I had stopped breathing and went stiff and started shaking. My dad had to give me mouth to mouth. Again I was taken to the hospital by ambulance. They said I must have had a seizure. They did a MRI of my head and while doing that they discovered that my carotid artery was “severely narrowed”. Obviously that was very concerning. They wanted me to have a special CT scan of my carotid artery, which I did. During that scan they confirmed that my artery was narrowed (although moderately not severely) up near my brain but more than that they said that my lymph nodes were enlarged and they suspected cancer. Also, they discovered that my C1 and T1 of my spine both were fractured. I then was told I had to have a biopsy of my lymph nodes. I went to ear nose and throat and the doctor could not feel the lymph node so he said he could not perform the biopsy. For this reason he had to send me to interventional radiology to have a procedure where it is done under ultrasound but I also was going to be given something to “make me comfortable”. Now for those of you who don’t know, I have had a bad experience with medicines that were supposed to make me out of it. When I had my feeding tube placed I was supposed to be “unaware” but I was completely awake and felt everything!!!!!! It was traumatizing to say the least. Due to this experience the thought of having a needle stuck in my neck while on those meds made me feel very very very nervous. I felt like I was going to vomit.

I was sitting before the Lord and having a conversation. I was telling Him I was overwhelmed by my circumstances. (As If He didn’t know) A fall (busting my head and fracturing my hand in 2 places), followed by a seizure ?(which we still don’t know if that is what I had), followed by finding out I had a high white blood cell count, followed by finding out I had 2 fractures in my neck and back followed by the news of enlarged lymph nodes that might be cancer….) LORD THIS IS TOO MUCH. Then a thought hit me. It is a simple elementary thought but it meant a lot to me. It’s as if the Lord was telling me, “Jessica, think about the word nervous. If you take the nerv (nerve) out of that word it becomes O US.” He was saying don’t look at the circumstance look at the fact that Oh its us, Jesus in I in this together.

My friend, whatever you are facing today may seem impossible. The waves may be towering over your head, the fire may be 4x hotter than normal, the lions you are being thrown to make look ferocious but don’t focus on that. Focus on the fact that Jesus is with you in the circumstance. He, with a word can calm the storm. He can walk with you in the fire and you will not be burned. Those lions that look so terrifying turn into pussy cats when they are in the presence of Jesus. Remind yourself of who you are walking this life with. The Maker of Heaven and Earth is on your side. The nail pierced hands of the Savior are holding yours as you trod this path of life. If He loved you enough to die for you than He surely loves you enough to cary you through the terrifying circumstance.

Needless to say, today I had my biopsy. There was some anxiety but there was also the peace that passes understanding overriding that anxiety. Jesus was holding my hand. I saw His presence in all the little details, even down to having a born again nurse.

I don’t know the results of the biopsy yet. Regardless of what it turns out to be, one thing I know for sure, I’m not walking through it alone. My Savior walks by my side. Life is not just about the journey but who your traveling companion is. As Christians, we have the best traveling companion ever. Those scary mountains can be a total adventure when you have the mountain mover walking with you.

So, my friend, let the joy of the Lord be your strength today. Look to Him and get ready for a hike you will never forget. Remember your trail guide made the trails and He’s holding your hand through it all.

“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:4

Those of you who know me, know that my license plate and my life’s motto is LIV4HVN or live for heaven.  Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about what makes heaven, well….. heaven.  If I am going to live for heaven, I better know what I’m living for don’t you think?  

What comes to your mind when you think of heaven? A place absent of sorrow- where pain is a thing of the past and has no place in the present or the future. Mansions that make Martha Stewart’s place seem like a dumpster dive. Gates of Pearl. Holding tightly to family and friends that have gone on before us. Streets made of gold. Chatting with Paul and Peter. Delicious food in abundance- without weight gain or high cholesterol. A mind at peace. A new body with the ability to do things that were taken away from you on Earth (for me it would be talking, singing, eating, kissing loved ones). A place with no more night. Oh just thinking of all of this makes me happy… but I don’t think this is what heaven IS. I think these things are descriptive words of the actual place. I’ve come to the conclusion that heaven IS the presence of Jesus.

You see my friend, without the Giver of Joy there could be no absence of sorrow. Without the Light of Life the darkness cannot be overshadowed. Without Someone to praise there can be no heavenly worship. Without the Bread of Life, no other substance would satisfy. Glassy seas would only reflect the tempest brewing if the Storm Stopper were not present. A new body would be just an empty shell if the Giver of Life were not there to fill us with purpose and meaning. Jesus is what makes heaven heavenly. Being able to stare into the eyes of the One who gave up everything to save us is what will bring the joy. Falling at those nail scarred feet and worshiping with all that is in us is what will make us know we are home. What a day that will be!

Do we have to wait until heaven, however, to enjoy its benefits.  If heaven is the presence of Jesus, then we have heaven here with us on Earth- for He promised, “behold I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”  Matt 28:20.  Now you may be saying, “look Jessica, I don’t know what your circumstances are like but mine are anything but heavenly.”  My body is racked with pain, my husband left me for another woman, my boss just fired me and now how am I going to provide for my family?  I clean dishes and fold laundry and homeschool until my mind is about to explode.  I just lost the person I loved most in this world to a horrible illness. My house has so many repairs that need to be done that I can’t keep up.  My son is rebelling. …”  and on and on the list may go.   I think of the persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe who are put in “hellish” circumstances.  Some are thrown in prisons that make American prisons look like the Hilton Hotel.  Others are beaten so badly that they barely escape with their lives.  Husbands are killed and women widowed at a young age.  Some young ladies are forced to marry non-christian men and they are abused every day.    Sounds like Hell on Earth doesn’t it?  But if you ask these saints, they would say they were privileged to suffer for Christ.  Why- because they live with the joy of heaven in their hearts.  Jesus is their life.  They can have glimpses of heaven in their hells because Jesus is there with them.  On the other hand you can have people who have “heavenly” circumstances here on Earth but are living with “hellish” hopelessness.  They have the cars, the women, the high paying jobs, the fancy houses, the thousands of Facebook followers, the esteem of everyone around them and yet they live with empty hearts.  Why?  Because Jesus is not with them in their “happy circumstances.”

So my friend, when I say I’m living for heaven, what I am declaring is that I’m living for Jesus.  Jesus is my life. He is my hope. He is my joy.  He is my Best Friend. He is my Savior, He is my reason to live.  Without Jesus heaven would be hell, but with Jesus even our hellish circumstances are glimpses of heaven if He is carrying us.

Choose to live for heaven today so that eternity will just be a continuation of the walk you were taking with Jesus.

Today, as I reflect on the meaning of Good Friday, I have to ask the question “what is good about Good Friday?” Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples and arrested by an angry mob. One of His closest friends denied that he even knew Him while the crowd shouted “crucify Him”. Whips sliced His back as people spat in His face. Soldiers nailed Him to a tree that He had created. People cried out,” He saved others yet He cannot even save Himself.” The wrath of the Father was poured out on Him while He cried , “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” Jesus who knew no sin, was literally made sin. Everything that everyone had ever done wrong was charged to His account. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but this does not sound “good” at all. In fact it sounds horrific, unjust, and evil. Darkness was seeming to triumph. Satan was cheering as the blood was pouring out of the Son of God.

Yet behind the scenes, God was working out everything for the good. Jesus was forsaken by the Father so that I could be forgiven. He was condemned so that I could be set free. He gave His very life so that I could have life eternal. He bore the crown of thorns so that one day I could lay my crown before His nail pierced feet. He faced agonizing darkness so that the light of HIs glory could burst through the blackness of my heart. He was forsaken by friends so that we could walk with the very One who will never leave us nor forsake us. Yes, my friend, His cup was filled with wrath and judgement (the very sentence I deserved) so that my cup could be filled with love, acceptance and forgiveness. Every sin of mine is now washed by the blood. He triumphed over Satan and defeated death so that I would only have to face death’s shadow. Oh the depths of love that Jesus has for us. He faced hell so that we could have the gift of heaven. What a heart of compassion God the Father has that He would send His Son to save a dead dog like me. Jesus alone can take the worst of the worst and turn it into something beautiful. He can make beauty from ashes. He definitely did that in my life. He took this selfish, angry, sin sick girl and wrapped me in the robes of His righteousness. He turned my darkness into light and snatched me from the path leading to hell and put me on the one that led to the gates of heaven. The day that could have been the darkest in history is now good and it is a story filled with triumph and forgiveness. Thank You Jesus for Your sacrifice. You deserve all the praise, glory, and adoration because of all You did and all You are.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my sweet friends and loved ones. Today, obviously got me thinking about love. Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, if people truly knew me, would they still love me? If they knew about my checkered past, if they knew my hidden thoughts, if they knew my struggles, if they knew my messed up feelings, if they knew the pain behind the smile, if they only knew……… My friend, I have been there. Sometimes, we feel messed up beyond repair and too far gone for love. I just want to remind you that there is Someone who knows everything about you- every deep secret, every cob web laden part of your heart, and yet loves you immensely. You may not love Him; in fact you may be in complete defiance of His will, but He loves you just the same. He loves you so much that He gave His very life for you. He went to the cross and died for those very things that cause you shame. He took on your sins, your pain, and your sorrow and made them His own. Jesus Christ went to Calvary, and while His arms were stretched out wide on the cross, He was saying “I love you” in ways that words cannot express. We can do nothing to earn His love and we are so undeserving of it. We cannot work to make Him love us more and we cannot fall so hard that He loves us less. All we have to do is accept His gift of forgiveness. He’s holding it out to you today. Will you grab hold of it? My friends “God proves His love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 There is no greater valentines day gift than that. Jesus is waiting to be your True Love. He will never let you down, He will never forsake you, He will never stop loving you. Give Him your heart today and enjoy the best Valentines day you have ever had.

Recently, I had the privilege of adopting a service dog.  Her name is Emma.  The minute I saw her face, I fell in love.  She has beautiful markings and the sweetest eyes.  I really knew nothing about her, except for her breed, but I just knew she was the one for me. The Lord did miracle, after miracle for me to be able to even purchase her.  I am super excited to meet her in person.  Yep- I have to wait….a whole 8 months.  Even though she is mine, and we paid the full price for her, she has to be trained.  In order for her to do her job the right way, she has to learn what it means to serve.  That got me thinking, how we too, need to be trained to serve our Master in a very similar way.

First of all, a service dog needs to learn to sit at its master’s feet.  When the master is not in motion, the dog sits right beside him or her.  We, as Christians, need to learn to sit at the feet of Jesus.  Others may be running around doing a variety of things, but we need to just sit.  We need to trust that the Lord knows when we need to start moving again.  We need to glean from His word and rest in His promises.  We need to “Be still and know that He is God.”  Sitting still is actually a tough task to master.  Many distractions can make us want to run in different directions but to actually just sit and rest is difficult.  In order to be used we have to know when the Lord wants us to just stay put or to go.

A service dog also has to learn to walk in step with its master.  Wherever the master goes, the dog is right by their side.  They do not pull ahead and they do not lag behind.  What a message for us as Christians!  We need to walk in the footprints of the Savior.  Our tendency is to run ahead of the Lord.   We try to grab our blessings, figure out our own problems, or check to see if the grass is greener on the other side. The Lord has to pull us back a bit and it may hurt our pride.  Either that, or the Lord asks us to do something, and we procrastinate and fall behind.  “My circumstances are too hard for me to do that right now.”  “Lord, I’m not fit for that job you are asking me to do.  “Later, Lord, later….”  It is then that the Lord has to give a little tug.  “No my child, I know the right timing and it is NOW.  Let’s go.”

A service dog needs to be aware of its surroundings but also focused on the task at hand .  It cannot be easily distracted.  It’s master may take it to a busy mall or a crowded city street but if the dog loses focus it can end in tragic results. As servants of the Lord, we too must learn to focus on the task we were made for.  We are IN this world, but we are not OF it.  Our task is to glorify the Lord and seek to help enlarge His kingdom.  Many things can distract us.  Money.  Fame.  Success.  Beauty.  Relationships.  Family.  Hobbies.  Even good things can distract us from the greater task that the Master has given us.  We need to run our race with our eyes fixed on the goal.  One minute of letting our guard down can result in a fall or cause us to veer off track.

A service dog cannot be sensitive or yippy.  It has to be trained to put up with children pulling at its tail or running in fits around it.  It cannot nip at that child.  Sure, the child may be irritating it but it is trained to just stay calm.  If we are going to be in the Lord’s service, we also cannot be overly sensitive.  People are going to rub us the wrong way.  Circumstances are going to seem unfair.  Our reaction cannot be one of anger or biting back.  We need to stay calm and trust that the Lord has our backs.  

Most of all though, a good service dog will enjoy its Master and in return bring its Master joy.  It is true that we, as humans, need to be taught to really bask in the goodness of Christ.  Our first reaction, sadly, is to think of the negative and to focus on what the Lord has not given us or done for us.  We look back on the prayers that have seemed to go unanswered and we complain.  We need to retrain our minds to be thankful, first of all, just for who the Lord is to us.  He is our Rock, our Anchor, our Salvation, our Best Friend, our True Love, our Enough our Strength, our Reason for Living!  We need to take time to pour our love out on the Master for who He is.  Next, we need to remember all of the many good things He has given us.  He has given us salvation.  He has given us life.  He has given us family.  He has given us a home.  He has given us friends.  He has given us health…… and the list goes on and on.  The Savior needs to hear songs of thanksgiving rather than the noises of disgruntled saints.  We need to remember that “He does not withhold one good thing from those who love Him.”  Many of our “unanswered prayers” are really the Lord saving us from a disaster we would have unknowingly  brought upon ourselves.  When we learn to enjoy the Master, trust Him, and follow Him, we in turn bring Him joy.  When I get to heaven, I for one, want to see a smile on Jesus’ face and hear Him say, “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

So my friend, today remember we are in training for a lofty purpose.  We are in the service of the King of Kings and  Lord of Lords and there is no greater Master.

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th of July, the anniversary of our nation gaining its freedom or independence.  This got me thinking about the words independent and freedom and what they really mean to us.  After thinking it over, I propose that the greatest freedom is servanthood, and the greatest act of independence is to choose to be dependent.  You’re probably thinking I have lost my mind and that this quarantine has really driven me to insanity.  Let me explain though.  Lol. After reading this you still may think I’m nuts, but you may also perceive independence in a different light.  

Do you remember when you were little (and this still may be true today) and you always wanted to do things by yourself.  “No mamma, ME DO!!!! “Daddy, I don’t need your help; I can do it myself”’ are often words uttered by our kids.  I think of the day when a child learns to ride their bike without training wheels.  The take off is very unsteady, and then suddenly the ride gets smoother.  Ah, the feeling of joy that it brings to them.  “Look, mommy I’m doing it all by myself!!!!  Confidence fills their little hearts and they feel like they can conquer the world- just them and their two wheels.  What they don’t realize is that their father, is running behind them and holding the back of the bike so that they don’t fall.  Suddenly, the father removes his hand and CRASH, BANG! The child is face to face with the concrete.  They are scared to get on the bike again.  Once they gather up the courage to try one more time they wimpier “daddy please don’t let go this time.”

Often times we want to be free from the bonds of rules, or to do things the way we please.  We have grand visions for our lives and we know we can obtain the world if only we put our minds to it.  “I just need to be brave and strong and trust my heart.  I will not let anyone or anything stand in the way of my dreams.  I’m the maker of my own destiny,” is often the motto of many men and women.  “People have often failed me, lies have been told, backs have been turned and I have been left to stand on my own anyways; so who needs others!”   The heart is too broken to trust anyone and so we  stand alone- bold and fearless- yet on the inside longing for someone we can truly be dependent on.  Someone we can put the full weight of our burden on and know they won’t collapse.  Someone who will be true to their word.  Someone who is faithful.

I have learned in my life, that it is not independence that brings true freedom;  it is being dependent on someone who will never disappoint.  I have found that person to be Jesus.  He has promised He will never leave me nor forsake me.  His name is Faithful and True.  His love knows no limits, His grace is abundant, and His mercies are new every day.  He never sleeps nor slumbers.  His arms are always open wide, and He bids me to cast all of me cares upon Him.  He will never collapse under the weight of my circumstances or be overcome by my sea of doubts and fears.  He works all things together for my good and is completely in control at all times.  You see my friend, I would be foolish to want to be independent from such a person.  Sometimes, though, in my old nature, I turn to Him and say “ let go Daddy, I can do this on my own.”  The effects are certain- I crash and burn.  When He picks me up and dusts me off, I look to Him with tear stained eyes and say, “please Daddy never let go.”  I need Jesus.  My every breath is dependent on Him.  He is my all in all.  He died so that I could be free- free to serve Him.  You see, servanthood is a blessing when your Master is your biggest fan and loves you with all of His being.  You want to please Him; you are glad to do the tasks He asks of you because you are doing it for the glory of the One you love and you know that they are asking you to do it for your good.

You see, only in being dependent on God can we truly be ourselves; the way God intended us to be and only in being His servant can we find true freedom.  Just remember the price that this freedom cost;  the lifeblood of the one we are serving.  This year may we celebrate our dependence and stand proud and tall as we proclaim, “we are servants of the Most High God.”