Right Before Your Eyes

Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings...
~ Psalm 17:8

Do you pause long enough to see that which is in front of you? What is God trying to show you today? When you pray for His protection, do you also seek to know His heart?

The Edges of His Glory

By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways;
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?
~ Job 26:13-14

If it is God's Will...

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
~ Mark 1:40-42

It can be confusing praying for God's will to be done. We think, "God is good. Surely therefore it must be His will that He will heal my child, my spouse, my grandfather, (whomever)..." But that is not always the case. God decides when and how He will heal, if He chooses to heal at all. He may choose not to heal, so that His greater will may be done in our lives.

My 20's were book-ended by the loss of each of my parents, first my dad and then my mom. When my dad became ill, I was only 21. I thought for sure God would heal him...I could not imagine that it would be the will of God to take my dad at 54 and leave my family and me without him. But He allowed my dad to die.

My mom became ill when I was 29. She and I prayed to God to heal her, and I had faith that He could if it was His will. But....again God chose not to heal. I was in shock. My mom was gone; it was so final. God, I thought, had failed me. My heart still aches 12 years later as I sit at my desk and write about it.

But as I look back I see now with clarity God's hand in those situations. My dad's death made me question more deeply the truth about God, life and death, heaven and hell, and who Jesus was...and what it all means for me and my life. It began a very confusing time for me, a time of deep and fervent searching. But in all of this turbulence, God was there, gently revealing Himself to me. He became real to me, my Father in Heaven, my safe refuge.

I have to admit to you that when my mom died, things did not go as well. Suddenly everything about God scared me. I was in shock that He would allow her to die in a matter of only weeks. I thought surely God knew I would not be able to handle the blow He had dealt me, the feeling that a part of my flesh and my identity had been torn and ripped from my body and my heart had been crushed. I was scared. God scared me. He still does at times.

But now I see that God was revealing Himself to me. God is Love, and sometimes love hurts. But if God had chosen my will and not His, I would not be who I am today. I now know compassion, tolerance, grace, forgiveness and understanding in ways I would not have experienced if life had gone smoothly and God had healed my parents and spared me the pain of losing them in my 20s. I now am a joyful, well-adjusted, grateful young woman of 41 who loves God and experiences Him daily. There are times I am in awe and fear of His power, and His love does not make sense to me. But the Bible says,

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways." says the LORD.
"For as the heavens are higher then the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
~ Isaiah 55:8-9

I choose now to believe that in God's infinite wisdom, His will is better than my own, and I trust Him.

Are You Burdened?

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
~ Matthew 11:28-30

This verse was pointed out to me by a friend about 15 years ago, before I became a Christian. I have always found this verse comforting, calming, and reassuring. In these past 15 years since then, it has also proven to be true. I have found rest for my soul in Jesus.

Rest for Today

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.
And He said to them,"Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
~ Mark 6:30 - 31

A friend pointed me to this verse this week, a reminder to take time to rest in the midst of busy-ness.

Perfect Peace

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
For YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
~ Isaiah 26:3-4

We can have peace in the most uncertain of times if we learn to put our trust in God to handle the details of our lives. It doesn't mean life will get easier and our problems will disappear. However, there is peace in knowing that God is ultimately in charge of our lives, every breath we take, and we are not created to handle life on our own. In fact, to try to handle life on our own is to take the position of power from God. It just doesn't work.

Great and Mighty

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
~ Jeremiah 33:3

An Attitude of Gratitude

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
~ Proverbs 15:13

Choose today to focus on your blessings.

The God of Second Chances

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
~ 2 Chronicles 7:14

Sometimes we don't even know we are on the wrong track until we realize that God has a better plan for our lives, if we would just turn toward Him. He is always ready to hear our prayer and show us a better life.

Safe With God

You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
~ Psalm 119:114

Crowned With Glory and Honor

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
~ Psalm 8:3-9

Humble as a Bumblebee

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
~ James 4:10

Trust Him

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
~ Proverbs 3:5-6

I am finally learning to trust God fully. If you've been hurt or betrayed, as most of us have, this is easier said than done. But the trusting is worth the rewards.

God of Comfort

For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you."
~ Isaiah 41:13

Begin Today

Delight yourself in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
~ Psalm 37:4
As I have grown to know God, the desires of my heart have become more in line with His plan for me. What more could I want?

God of Mercy

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
~ John 8:3-11

Pressing On

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 3:13-14

This beetle looked to me as though he was doing his daily push-ups...a reminder to us to be diligent today as we press toward our goal of the upward call of God.

With Wings Like Eagles

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have not might
He increases their strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
~ Isaiah 40:28-31

Welcome to Reflections of God's Love!

When You said, "Seek My face,"
My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
~Psalm 27:8

The idea for this blog was born from the desire to share with others little timeless morsels of God's Holy Word along with photography and art which celebrate life. Each day is God's gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift back to God. I pray you feel uplifted today!