He Hears my Pain

In light of yesterday's post, "Stones vs. Peace" I want to share what my Heavenly Trainer is right now teaching me as He reveals more of just Who He is to me. Yes, the past several days have been really sucky, but I can still go to Him with it. He is so faithful that even when I screw up, even when I fail, even when I don't "produce" the fruit of righteousness that we're all taught we're to produce (tho for the life of me I haven't figured out how to do on my own! "Ta-daa, daughter, you can't do it on your own!"), even when I'm not glowing with perfection, He is there for me. He tells me in Ephesians 3:12 that "In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." WOW! He's teaching me, even this week, about perseverance, endurance, and HOPE by sending me to Romans 15: 4-6. That "hope", that truth-filled surety that only comes as He plants His truth in my heart through His living word and He reveals His heart to me. That hope, that solid, concrete evidence of His Truth, is unfolding like a rare flower in a field of my life's weeds and it's alive with His beauty, His resolve, His love. I am so filled with thankfulness this morning that I find it difficult to express how excited and yet humbled I am whenever He reveals His heart to me. As I open His Word His Spirit leads me to The Message version of Romans 5:3-5, which reads-"There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!" Romans 5:3-5 (MSG) Oh, the authenticity of my Father's love and nifty personality! That is what He is doing within me. Yes, I had a melt-down, but the neat part of all that is He understands, and I know deep in my heart, He hears my pain, receives it to Himself and will fill that pain with His love. It's just Who He is. That melt-down drew me more into His heart than I've ever been before. No, I don't "see" any changes outwardly at this point, but inwardly, His peace is filling me and I love Him all the more for that. True change is happening within me and it's all Him. Wow! Thank you Father. Thank you!