I just realized it's been over a year since
my first blog post...CU-RAY-ZEE! Looking back, I cant believe how far spiritually, physically (
Kaiafit <3..check it out), and psychologically the Lord has brought me since then. I've moved out (once again) from the parentals house, met the
love of my life, started down the path to nursing, and gotten in the best shape of my life, all in 12 short months. Not that I think all my trials are past me...believe me I know there are many MANY more to come as life unfolds. But, I feel that I have the faith and tools to get me through whatever life throws at me, God willing.
This blog has afforded me a space to truly express myself,
house my inspiration, and
share my faith. Posting to it has become an important part of my routine, something I truly look forward to. It has reinvigorated my love for writing and helped me to work though difficult situations and emotions. When I first sat down one afternoon in July of 2010, teary eyed, heartbroken, beaten down, searching for an outlet for the pain, I had no idea what was in store for me.
I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
~ Jonah 2:2
Because of one little devotional, supplied by God, my perpective on life was changed and my hope renewed. I still have that tiny slip of paper posted in my cubical to remind me that when life seems dark, difficult, and meaningless, we may indeed be in the belly of the fish....
July 17, 2010
Rescued
To most people, being swallowed alive be a sea creature would be considered a bad thing. And yet, in the dark and strange stomach of a giant fish, Jonah the Prophet gave thanks. As frightened as he must have been, and as awful as the situation semeed, Jonah knew that it was, in fact, a rescue. God snatched him out of the watery belly of death and plopped him into the belly of a great fish.
It makes me wonder. How often, when life seems dark, stinky, and unfair, am I really in the "belly of a fish?"
God promises to hear our cries for help, but He never commits to send help in the way we'd expect. In fact, our God specializes in unusual rescues. Who else would have used grasshoppers, a snake on a stick, and stone in a sling to solve His people's problems? Who else but our unusual God would use the death of His own Son to rescue His children?
Sometimes my bad situations might actually be deliverances. God grant me the grace to recognize my surroundings, and, like Jonah before me, to give Him the glory when He comes to my rescue.
Have a lovely week!