God cares about me.

This morning I woke up ‘late.’ However, I have been relying on the Holy Spirit to wake me up for some time and now that seems like a very absurd statement. What do I mean? I pray before lying down to sleep for the Lord to wake me up when He desires for me to start my time with Him. I changed this way of operating a few months ago when I realized that my quiet time was more like a routine that I got into - waking at 4 am to spend time with Jesus. I was having a hard time getting up in the mornings and after praying I decided to trust Him in this area and it has been interesting to see Him in action. Sometimes it is several times a night that I awake knowing in my spirit that I am to pray for something, at times it is specific like a certain family member and others it is something general like a nation or a project. Other times, I am wakened to a peace so sweet and a love so strong that it draws me out of bed and into His presence with eagerness. I realize it is not quite the usual discipline for believers but until He changes my heart to do differently I am sticking with my Holy Spirit alarm clock. Back to this morning…

Well when I went to bed last night I was in a lot of pain from my injury and when I woke up this morning (slept straight through!) the clock read 6:29 and my arm was hurting just as badly as when I went to bed. Pain killer had definitely worn off. I was going to be late getting to work (Praise God I can flex my hours like I can!!!) I was trying to read my daily reading (John 17) in a rush when I felt that the Lord was trying to tell me that He woke me when He wanted and that today I was to totally trust Him. I stopped reading and got ready to leave for work. Driving in the pain was really bothering me (hard to drive a manual transmission with one arm) and I was listening to worship music but not really entering into the worship. I felt like I wanted to just have a good cry and call someone who would understand and really empathize with me. Ever felt that way??

Then it was like the absurdity of it hit me! WHO?! Who could I call at 7 a.m. that: 1) would not care that I was interrupting them or possibly waking them. 2) would even be able to understand the pain and the frustration of my injury. 3) would be able to empathize, comfort me, and actually help me feel better. I thought through my list of possibilities and came to the conclusion that no one I could call on my cell phone (I couldn’t even use it while driving one-armed!) would I dream of calling because while they may fill some of the needs, I didn’t believe they could fill all of them. Call on Jesus! The words to a familiar song echoed in my head and my heart and soon my mouth!! I began to praise Him, I began to call on His name and glorify Him. Peace and comfort is probably the most precious commodity in my opinion. That is what I had. I drove on into work with a secure awareness of His love for me, knowing that He does fill my every need and even those I don’t know I have yet. God cares for me!

So what?? Well as I was walking from my car into the building I got a beep indicating that I had a message on my phone. It was a simple text message. “Be encouraged God loves u so much!” sent at 7:19. Now, my heart started singing because this person had no idea what God was doing or what I needed but obviously they were obedient to the Holy Spirit and He used them in a very powerful way! God cares about me! He cares about you too!!

Eternity

Some days I feel like I should just start walking with a sandwich sign-board on me declaring “Repent now for the time is short!” or maybe “Eternity is forever… are you ready?” The urge sometimes to start shouting out the truth as declared in His Word to everyone I see can be overwhelming. I have found myself asking the Holy Spirit “Is this of God or of me?” Scary and yet very exciting because the urgency wells up and with it an excitement to see what God is getting ready to do. Will I be ready? Will my lamp be lit? Will my oil be full?

Some of you are already thinking.. “She’s lost it finally! Must be the elbow or the constant pain she is in..”

Just sharing what is on my heart. Praying you are ready too. Do you know what God has to say about Christ’s return? Have you studied His Word to prepare yourself? When He surprises you will you use the excuse “I didn’t know what all that stuff meant!” or will you admit your lack of preparation was due to complacency. How do you know if what you think about eternity is true? Have you searched it for yourself? Just asking… I do not want my Lord to ask me at the time of Judgment why I didn’t warn you or teach you what His Word says about eternity.

If you have any questions now, please send me a note or post a comment.

In His Eternal Love,

Danae

No pain, no gain!

I think that orthopdeic specialists must have a warped sense of humor.. well at least the one I saw yesterday. The cast is off and physical therapy has started and I have never felt like such a big wimp! The object is to maintain mobility and heal quickly but the cost is MUCH PAIN. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and calls! I am so blessed to be a part of the Body of Christ and it is evident in all that has happened how much we need one another.

So if you are feeling like God is not using you or cannot use you, take this bit of advice and make yourself available to 'the least of these' and watch Him do miracles! He has showed up in a mighty way this week and I praise Him for sending to me, Althea in the ER, and Jessica from Dallas. Two Christian women who didn't know me at all but took the time to pray with me and encourage me in the Lord. He is so GOOD!