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It\u2019s a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s hard, but it\u2019s worth\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like me, the children of\nIsrael were a stubborn people. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord implored\nthem to return to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In returning and rest you shall\nbe saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. But you would\nnot. ~ Isaiah 30:15<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you would not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve been there. Have you?\nHave you felt so entitled to your pain that you didn\u2019t want to let it go? Have\nyou ever allowed your heart to become calloused from the blisters of wear and\ntear as you try to figure things out yourself, thinking God has abandoned you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But God wouldn\u2019t let go. He\npursued me with His love! His mercy and grace, so undeserving, washed over me\nmingling tears of great sorrow with tears of thankfulness that the Lord my God\nloved me still and remained faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, even in my ugliness \u2014 He. Loved. Me. Still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isaiah continued in verse\neighteen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, the Lord will wait,\nthat He may be gracious to you; And therefore, He will be exalted, that He may\nhave mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who\nwait for Him.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He waits<\/em> for us to return to Him with our whole\nheart, and soul, and mind, and strength. He waits. And while He waits, we learn\nthat He alone is our hope. Our joy. Our peace. In turn, we<\/em> learn to wait for Him \u2014 expectantly. For in the\nwaiting we learn who He is. We find confidence in His sovereignty. His\npromises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We learn to rest in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then He will give the rain for\nyour seed with which you sow the ground, and bread of the increase of the earth\n\u2026 There will be on every high mountain and on every high hill rivers and\nstreams of waters (verses 23, 25).<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A cool breath of wind\nwhispered across my face. I knew it was the Lord. He was teaching me something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned back on my elbows in\nthe freshly mowed grass and looked up at the summer sky. Thunderheads lined the\nridge, towering above me. Behind a particularly ominous cloud, peeked the sun.\nJust a bit, but enough for me to notice its brightness \u2014 just enough for me to\nremember that, although covered by the storm clouds, the sun remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sat up and pulled my Bible\nclose \u2014 I wanted to know what the Lord was showing me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I found it in the next verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound. ~ Isaiah 30:26<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nrealize these verses are referring to the second coming of the Lord Jesus, but\nGod\u2019s Word speaks into our lives today. I know that I know<\/em> that\non the grassy hill beside my home beneath a summer sky, He spoke to me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of my darkness, His light\nwill shine. Darkness will flee and I will see clearly His beautiful face and\nwalk in the glory of His Name. He will bind up my bruised spirit and heal the\nstroke that pierced my heart, severing it in two. He will do this like He\npromised as I offer my wounds to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in due season, if I faint\nnot, He will give rain for the seeds planted deep into my heart \u2014 seeds to\nstrengthen the faith of others, seeds to offer hope when there is despair,\nseeds to bind up the wounds of others and lead them to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear\none, God is no respecter of persons. What He has done for me, He will do for\nyou \u2014 if you\u2019ll let Him<\/em>. Will you let go of that which is\nkeeping you bound in chains? Will you trust Him to make you whole once more, to\nuse this pain you\u2019re enduring to grow roots deep tapping into the Living Water,\nto grow wings as of eagles that you might soar into the heavenly heights?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like me, you\u2019ll find that\neven in the ugliness of your heart, His love remains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wounds of the heart can grow bitterness. Ugliness. Anguish, or distress.<\/p>\n Or \u2026 wounds of the heart can grow good seeds of grain, crushed to produce life-giving bread to feed others. Deep faith can grow with roots steady and strong. Eyes can open to see abounding grace and the abiding presence of the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":21910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1551],"tags":[3760,3765,3762,3761,3764,2578,3766,2794],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/wheat-field-3.jpg\")
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