Less than a week!

So it's less than a week before I leave for TN for the summer! And I must confess my weakness. But not without confessing the Lord's strength. What I mean is, I have once again found myself in that place of just desperately needing my Lord. (Isn't that where we should be all the time?) I have allowed fear and discouragement to creep into the nooks and crannies of my mind, and that is not good. The Lord has not given us a spirit of timidity and fear, but of love, power, and a SOUND MIND. He has repeatedly commanded us to not fear, for the battle belongs to Him. And He has commanded us to consciously put on the armor of God to take a stand against the devil's schemes.

Today I was reading Psalm 41. Verses 10-13 caught my eye. They come at the end of the psalm, after David has told the Lord how everything seems to be crashing around him and everyone is forsaking him, even his best friend. And he asks the Lord to give him triumph over his enemies. "But You, O Lord, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that You are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen." We don't have it all together. Many times we fail the Lord; He knows this better than we do. Many times I find myself comparing my life to others', wondering why I can't be perfect like so-and-so. But who is perfect? Only the Lord. Many times I find myself being anxious or worrying about things, things that worry cannot fix (because worry cannot fix anything). I confess this to the Lord (verse 4.."I said, 'O Lord, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you'."). And I ask for victory over the enemy. And the enemy tells me that I have sinned too much, that the Lord is tired of forgiving, that He only has judgments left for me. Because that's what I deserve. Then I read verse 11, and I am reminded that because of Christ, God is pleased with me. Pleased with me! Not because of myself, or any good I could ever do (Check out Ephesians 2:8-9). But because of Christ. And verse 11 finishes by saying "for my enemy does not triumph over me." Satan can throw those fiery arrows (Ephesians 6..the armor of God). Oh wow, how he can throw those fiery arrows! But the Lord has given us protection. And our God, the Almighty God, has conquered death and Satan at the cross. And at the empty tomb. My Mighty God.

Sometimes we don't feel like we have anything to offer the Lord. And we don't. That's the beauty of the cross. That's the beauty of the Gospel. That God Himself came down.."[Christ] being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11) My God is Almighty God. My God is mighty to save. My God is the Everlasting God. And nothing can change that. Because He's God.