~ "There are NO coincidences..."

‎...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love...(Eph 3:17)

No, I did not plan to put this verse here. I never plan anything ~ I leave it all in God's hands. My guess is that he wasn't done telling me what he started yesterday.

The other day, while spending a few quiet moments with a friend, she had asked me how I live alone. I was honest, I told her the truth. Somedays are easy, some days are hard. I try very hard to put all of my trust in God, but the bottom line is, I am lonely. We began to talk about God's love being sufficient - which, of course, it is. My comment to her (as the tears began to roll down my face) was that "if we are created out of love, why, then, would we not want love?" I do pray that the Lord will send me a companion.

We desire the "human" love of others, we desire a companion, a partner to get through this world with. Today, Christ does dwell in my heart - through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit! What I believe, what I know to be true of God's love for me, is that it is something that cannot be touched by anyone or anything! There is no comparison to make when it comes to him sending my Savior to lay his life down. His love is endless. His gifts to me are priceless.

Once we are "established" in his love for us, the possibilities are limitless. But we have to get to that point first! Here comes that nasty word again - waiting - on God's perfect timing in our lives. We may be ready, but perhaps the "partner" he has in mind for us, is not. I know he's not going to send me someone I have to "fix", someone I have to "teach" - he will send me someone who is right for me out of his design, not out of the world's design. He will send someone I can grow with, spiritually; not someone who will drain all the "spirit" from me. He will not send me someone that will leave me "unequally yoked". He will send someone who will lift me up, not put me down. He will send me someone who will love me for me, the person I am today.

God's love does sustain me. In those quiet hours of the night when my mind wanders to him in prayer and I tell him what it is that I would like, I know that he does hear and does know and has in mind for me something so perfect, that I could never have found on my own anything better. He has brought me to this place and time in my life for a reason. I don't question it. He knows why. And in all of that, I will continue to lift up his name in praise, witness to those I can and give him my full attention!

Let Christ dwell in your heart. Let your faith in him and the love he has for you be enough to sustain you. He has plans for your life - he will not fail you!


(Photo by Susan Beaver)

~ "ONE God: Father, Son and Spirit..."

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man...(Eph 3:16)

Roughly translated, this verse is asking that the Lord strengthen us from within by the Spirit! It is something we all need if we are to get through this earthly existence. We need to call on the Holy Spirit to give us strength in our times of doubt, our times of trouble, our times of pain and our times of anger.

That was something I could never quite "get". I understood the "Father" - God, the creator, the ultimate authority. I understood the "Son" - Jesus, the man God sent to be crucified on my behalf. But I never understood where the "Holy Spirit" played into all of this. My image of him is a dove, descending upon the apostles with a ball of fire in a picture I'd seen somewhere.

The Holy Spirt is that part of God that lives in each of us. It is where our strength comes from. "But doesn't our strength come from the Lord?" you ask. The third part of the trinity IS the Holy Spirit - just as Jesus and God are one, the Holy Spirit is also one with them! He is whom God sent to guide us until Christ's return. He didn't leave us alone to cry to the ceiling - he sent us a part of himself that lives in each of us, waiting to be awakened and nurtured. We nurture that Spirit through the Word ~ falling in love with God all over again! His are the arms that lift us up when we are too tired to walk. His are the arms that hold us when we cry. He is God, he is Jesus, he is the Spirit. That spirit dwells in each of us and we have an obligation to release it by loosing the chains we place on it! The chains of "consensual" sin, of greed, lust, immorality, and flagrant disregard God's word. Once awakened, we realize that God IS all we need, all we want, all we desire! The "wants" of the flesh are still there, but the power they have over us seems to take a back seat to the desire to be closer to God! "Oh, Satan, you are in trouble now" is the thought that came to my mind when I realized (truly realized) that God IS a part of me, that Jesus IS a part of me through that power of the Holy Spirit! He gives us the strength to stand up and say NO! It's the ultimate power trip! To know that I have the power of God living within me has to be the best "high" ever! The realization that I was created in God's image is one thing, but to truly understand and know that he lives within me is something that cannot be described - it has to be experienced!

Let yourself find that Spirit of God - let it fill your soul with the power of God - there is nothing you cannot do when led by the Spirit! He will open doors you never knew existed and your walk upon the earth will be changed forever!