Tag Archives: God catches every tear

God loves us in our mess

imageThis FB photo struck a chord with me, especially the last quote:

“(God) doesn’t (only), love some future version of you; He loves us in our mess.”

 

He loves the messy parts of our lives where faith meets doubt and confidence meets fear. He understands our struggles with actually living out what we believe. He invites each of us to be completely honest with him, to tell it like it is – that sometimes we are angry with him, or disappointed, or we feel he is so distant. He gets it.  But when we’re done venting and crying, let’s also cry out to him,

“Lord, I don’t want to stay this way. I want to feel your presence, I want to feel the warmth of your embrace, of drawing close to you. Despite how I feel right now, yet still will I praise you and put my trust in you. For you alone are worthy of praise.”

 

Yes, God loves you and me in our mess. We don’t have to get cleaned up to come to him. In fact we never could. If we could get our act together on our own power, what was the purpose of Jesus dying on the cross for us? We can’t do it, but Christ in us can! And the truly great thing is, if we cooperate with his Spirit, he won’t leave us where we are. He will transform your life and mine in ways more wondrous than you can imagine, even if your circumstances don’t change.

 

image So let’s give it up to the one who sees us where we are, who hears our every prayer, catches each of our tears, who has your name written on the palm of his hand, and relentlessly reaches out to draw us all closer to him. He’s calling you right now, in the messy parts of your life. He loves the messy parts along with everything else. He’s a big God. He can handle it. And so can you…if he’s in charge.

 

 

Praise in every season

 

Do You Know How to Praise Jesus in Every Season?

 

Cindi McMenamin, national speaker and author of When God Sees Your Tears tells of her nephew Escher praying for breakfast just before he went to Disneyland:

“Dear Disneyland Jesus, Thank you for this day. Thank you for this food. Please keep us safe and healthy. Aaaaaa-men.”

 

His mom related that Escher had prayed to ‘Dinosaur Jesus’ after going to a dinosaur exhibit. McMenamin writes: “I couldn’t help but smile and think that little Escher was simply transferring the excitement of the blessing he was about to experience to the Blesser who was making it possible. I love that Escher knows Jesus is Lord of the dinosaurs and Lord over Disneyland, as well!!”

 

Jesus loved when the children came to Him. He encouraged His followers to have the faith of a child… even like those who pray to “Disneyland Jesus” who gives good things and “Dinosaur Jesus” who brings us the adventure of discovery. But how about the difficult times we face as adults and children. Can we pray “Dear Cancer Jesus” or “Dear Loneliness Jesus”? Sometimes it’s hard to pray at all. Many of my prayers have been simply, “Dear Lord,” or even a wordless groan left to the Holy Spirit to interpret to my Heavenly Father. But we must still pray and give thanks that Jesus is Lord not only over the mountain tops but the valleys of despair, not just the days of bubbling joy but also those filled with disappointment, rejection, sorrow, and pain.

 

Without praise, all we have is despair. 

 

Meeting God in every situation we face allows Him to use both the Disneyland and the Heartache experiences to transform us into His image. We forget but that is the sole (and soul) purpose of our life in Christ, to become like Him. Everything else flows from that. Yet, none of us want sorrow, grief, or pain. We’re sure we can become more like God without them. It’s hard to pray to “Chronic Pain Jesus” and “Job Loss Jesus.” But in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, either Jesus is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. As we pray to the Jesus of All Seasons, He brings us to the simple faith of a child like Escher, a faith that honors Him as the Lord over everything, even our hurts and disappointments.

 

Perhaps you will find several opportunities throughout today to pray to “All-Loving Jesus” whatever circumstance comes your way. Let your prayers be simple and your words few. Let them build your trust in the one who carries you through the good times and the bad. Do not be afraid to let your prayerful tears flow. They do not go unnoticed. Our loving God sees them and catches every one.

 

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” – Psalm 56:8 New Living Translation