The summer is almost over already?!? π©
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Hey beautiful friend, β It is crazy to me that summer is almost over! Anyone else? πββοΈ β Look back over the past 8 months of 2024 has been eye opening. Between moving, my daughter turning 4, my son turning 2, my husband changing jobs + working overnights right now, some marital challenges, and me pivoting in my online business it has been a WILD ride, y'all. That isn't even mentioning anything that has been going on around the country + the world. Girl, It's. A. LOT! β But nonetheless God has been constant. He has been consistent. And I am so very thankful for that! β In the world winds of life God is gracious to be with us. He is merciful towards us. And He also allows us to go astray if we so choose. But it is His loving-kindness that leads us to repentance. It's the reminder that He is that loving Father who wants the absolute best for us. β And that is why God spoke to my heart to focus on being "Anchored in August". Because with all of the craziness going on... I had lost my anchor. β I had become like the person James 1:5-8 talks about. β We see in verses 6-8 it says:
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
β ~NKJV (emphasis mine)
When we lose our faith we lose our anchor. And when we lose that anchor we become double-minded + unstable in ALL of our ways. β I liken it to a moldy strawberry in a container with other strawberries. If one strawberry begins to have mold and it is not dealt with then the mold will slowly grow over time to overtake the 1 strawberry. But the mold won't stop there. It will also contaminate and begin to mold the other strawberries that are perfectly good all around it. β That is what it is like in our hearts + minds. If there is a place in our hearts that are wounded or beginning to doubt God then, similar to the mold on the strawberries, that doubt will begin to infection + spread to other thoughts or beliefs we have firmly stood on for so long. β So if we doubt God's sovereignty, His strength, His desire for our good, if He is listening, if He truly loves us, etc., etc. Then we can easily begin to fall away from God altogether. Which is NEVER a good thing. β Last year about this time God spoke to me about the Loveless Church in Revelation. And He showed me how I had become like them - doing great works but had lost my first love. I did virtual events on that topic + how we can love God with our entire selves as His word commands. This year God spoke to me about another church in Revelation that I had become like. And this time it was the Lukewarm Church... π«£ Ouch. β My doubts + fears about the future, my shrinking back, and leaning to my own understanding instead of running to God had caused the fire of my faith to slowly diminish over time... BUT GOD!! I am so very thankful that my story doesn't end there! Because He is so faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him (2 Timothy 2:13) and I AM GRATEFUL! HALLELUJAH!! β So I got down on my knees and searched for what God says about that Church. I knew He said to repent but I also knew there was another part I was forgetting. And as I read those words that God has for the lukewarm ("As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." v.19) I wondered "how do I just become zealous again?" π€ β A few days later God put on my heart to fast, and I did. And it changed me, my friend! Not the fast itself, but responding to the Holy Spirit's nudges, submitting to God, and just being honest with Him during that time. He reminded me:
β Now, I have not arrived, and I am still working on these things. But with these reminders + revelations, as we listen + respond to God, we stoke that fire of our faith again with each movement we make toward and with Him. β So if you are in the same boat today, feeling like you are just being tossed by all the craziness going on around you, I'm here to encourage you to go back to your anchor - Jesus Christ. Purge your heart to Him. Let all the slimy, yucky, bitter, frustrating things that have been eating you up inside come out of you and lay them at the foot of the cross for Him to heal + handle moving forward. β Take it ALL to Jesus. He already knows. He is just waiting for YOU to acknowledge the truth. And although The Lord may chasten you, remember that chastening + rebuke is because He LOVES you, And it is SO MUCH BETTER to get that from the Lord than being far from Him + letting those things continue to eat at you and contaminate the good fruit God has cultivated in you. β If you want to chat about this 1 on 1, reply to this email. I'd love to encourage you more! I love you, my beautiful friend. I am here for you. And I am thankful to be part of your journey in this season. β ~Sarah β β β |