I haven’t had many words lately, and if you know me, that’s saying a lot!
– It may be the pandemic, or it might be our own personal struggles and pain as a family.
– It also could be the political strife and division, or the discomfort of learning about injustice and leaning into the acknowledgment that hundreds of thousands of children who are horrifically exploited and abused through trafficking.
– It may be the grief and loss that my friends are experiencing or just the emotional, mental, and spiritual fatigue this year has brought.
I don’t know about you, but our world seems so very loud – opinions, statistics, right and wrong, policies – and it’s left me with a lot to process and with very few words.
Each time as I sat down to write (I have at least five different blogs that I’ve started and remain unfinished) over the last few weeks, I felt God saying, “Jessica, the world doesn’t need another voice right now, it needs Me. It needs My voice. My truth. My reassurance. My Presence. The world needs My voice to be louder than the rest and so you share My Word and lead your hearts to worship.”
And so, as I write here today (finally in obedience, Ok God, I get it!), I won’t have any fancy sentences or quirky stories, I’m simply and most powerfully going to guide our hearts to God’s truth – His voice – and lead our hearts to worship through prayer. As we praise God for who He is and remains to be, even in the midst of the most challenging and chaotic season we have probably ever experienced, I believe that the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7). So let’s adore Him for who He is today and always will be – let’s choose to magnify His voice and rest in His presence.
For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).
Psalm 125:2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s wrap-around presence surrounds His people, protecting them now and forever (TPT).
*God, I thank You that there is no part of me that is not surrounded by Your love, protection, and presence.
*Thank You for seeing where I am going and being mindful of what I have just walked through.
Psalm 94:19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul (NASB).
*God, thank You that I do not have to live in a state of anxiety, worry, or stress.
*God, bring Your truths to my mind, and may they overwhelm all the lies from the enemy.
Psalm 145:14 The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads (NLT).
*God, I worship You for being compassionate and sympathetic towards the pain I am experiencing.
*Thank You for being near and championing me in my weakness.
*Open my eyes to see the practical ways You are helping me up and lifting my burdens.
Psalm 145:18 You draw near to those who call out to You, listening closely, especially when their hearts are true (TPT).
*God I adore You for being present and near in the finest details of my life.
*I worship You for being so vast and extraordinary, yet are present and listening closely anytime I speak Your name.
*Help me to call out to You first with any question or concern I may have.
Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow their tears as seeds will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee. They may weep as they go out carrying their seed to sow, but they will return with joyful laughter and shouting with gladness as they bring back armloads of blessing and a harvest overflowing (TPT)!
*God I worship You for being a redeemer and restorer.
*Help me to trust that my story is not finished yet and in faith, believe You have armloads of blessing and an overflowing harvest awaiting me.
*Give me the perseverance to sow seeds of obedience even in the midst of this season.
