"Vengeance is Mine"

"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
   Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
   Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?"
             Habakkuk 1:13

When I read this, I thought of all the children who suffer at the hands of their "protectors."  Coming from a similar situation, it angers me.  I have often asked God why he doesn't stop the pain and suffering and why he allows his innocent children to be victimized.  It is hard to consider that God doesn't care about the suffering of his children, after all He sent His Son so that all may commune with Him eternally.  However, it is equally unfathomable that He would allow His innocent children to suffer. 

However, there is a hope.  This hope is voiced in Nahum, one of the minor prophets. 
"The Lord is slow to angerbut great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished." (1:3a)

We know the phrase "vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,"  which comes from Romans 12.  However, I always had a hard time with accepting that God would avenge the wrong done to me and to those I knew, but the verse from Nahum gives us more of a hope that we will be avenged.

I do not promote harboring anger or seeking revenge or vengeance for the wrong you've experienced.  Recognizing that God will bring about vengeance is simply a step on the road to healing and forgiveness.  I pray that as you read this God begins your journey to healing.

My Comforter

Over the past few weeks, I have seen God as my provider and sustainer.  Given this, I spent time reflecting on the aspects about God I have seen.  He is Savior, Friend, and Comforter, among others.

Of these, God has most often been my Comforter, especially as I dealt with my past and struggled with my insecurities.  He would oft remind me that I am valuable to Him and have a purpose in the world.  He would teach me about finding security in myself and my relationship with Him.  No matter how often I would forget, He patiently reminded me that my life is His and He has a great purpose for me. 

This came into focus when I felt so worthless that I contemplated just giving up.  As I struggled through many sleepless nights and lacked ears to hear His voice, He patiently called me back.  When I came close to following through, He held me back and reminded me of His great love manifested in His church.

Here I am, 3 and half years later and He is now far more than a comforter.  He is Lord of my life and my story is not about me.  It is about God who loves us so very much that He would give His own Son to be the ultimate sacrifice.  How awesome and amazing He is! 

If you do not Christ as your Savior, there are many of us who are willing to share the truth of a God who would love you that much.  If you do know Christ as Savior, God is there with you every step of every day.  All you need to do is look to the cross and trust Him to save you.

Value In Christ

Recently, I ventured back out on the dating scene again.  Though it was not as successful as I had hoped, I learned the reward of being secure in who I am. 

As little as a year and a half ago, I had next to no security in who I was.  I felt like I needed a man to give me worth, even if it meant giving more than I wanted.  After yet another relationship ended, I decided to take a hiatus from dating and focus on my spiritual walk.  Through finding a church that challenged me to grow, I began to really understand that God values me and wants me to place value on who I am and my relationship with him.

I believe that He wants the same for you.  You do not need anyone to give you value. You are valuable as you are.  After all, "before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Consider this truth.  While this specifically speaks to Jeremiah and his call as a prophet, the same truth applies to each of us.  God knew us, knows us and sees who we have yet to become.  And he consecrated us. 

Will you take this challenge, to seek value in God?  Will you trust that He gives you value and that you are valuable as you are? 

This week, I challenge you to seek God's truth.  Seek what His word says about the value He places on you, His creation.

Here are a few verses to get you started:
Jeremiah 29:11
1 John 2:2

Also, meditate on Christ's crucifixion and why He died for man.

All Things For Good

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

How awesome is that? God works ALL things for good. Any hurt you've experienced falls under this category. That abuse, those harsh words, pain of rejection. God uses all of these for good.

Challenge: Reflect on hurts that you've experienced. How can God use this for good?

Forgiving as Christ forgave

How can I not forgive when Christ suffered more than I know and yet He forgave?

This question has been on my mind the last few days and especially as I meditate on His death on a cross.  Christ suffered false accusations of guilt and rejection be His own people.  He suffered on a tree, crucified with criminals and treated horribly.  And yet, in all of this, He cried out, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34)

How can I not forgive when He forgave those who beat Him and sentenced Him to die?  And how can I not seek His forgiveness and seek to be as Christ who chose to be a sacrifice for our salvation from eternal punishment?

Christ the Savior

Savior: a person who saves, rescues or delivers. (Dictionary.com)

Christ saves us from our sin and from ourselves.  He steps in at our darkest hour and brings out of the darkness into the light. 

In the ten years that I have known Christ personally, He has shown me this multiple times.  The first challenge was deliverance from my sin.  As I grew in relationship with Christ, I learned just how much He saved me and wants to save all people from sin.

Perhaps more personal to me was when I reached a point of such desparation and depression that I turned to thoughts of serious self-harm.  As I struggled to turn away from this depression, I saw God at work in my life.  He stepped in and walked with me through this dark time.  He saved me from myself and from my past.  And He saved me from this to His plan to bring Him glory.

I pray that God would work in your life and reveal His great love and salvation. 

Picture Perfect

Remember school photos?  Parents would dress up each child in the best clothes and send them on their way to school.  A few weeks later, a package would be sent home with the beautiful photos.

A few weeks ago, I browsed through photos of myself as a child and was saddened to see the light gone out in such young eyes.  Such a perfect picture thinly veiled the pain inside a young child.  How often we see this reality.

Fortunately, life goes on and we have a chance to rewrite our story by changing our future.  What are you doing to rewrite your present and future?