When fear hits our lives, we can do nothing but pray, and while God expects His children to be confident in Him in the midst of the storms, He equally desires them to rely on His steadfastness during those times of calm.
There will most definitely be, stages in our lives where there are no storms, nor crisis, and when there are, we are to trust and still rely on the same staying power of God that is revealed to us during those times of uncertainty and worry.
If we are learning the lessons that God wants us to learn during those hard places, then we will find that it will be harder for the enemy to break our trust and reliance on God when we are not stuck between those rocks and hard places.
As our reliance on God grows, it gives way to peace and oneness with the Him, and that sweet friend is what our human heart is really seeking; to have Oneness with the Father!
Rest for us will only come as we give God our full and total devotion. He shares us with no one or no other thing, that hinders us from total surrender to Him.
It's a call for holistic love, not just a part of you, but your entire self given to God to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength", which encompasses your deepest emotions and desires. Your entire life and essence. Your intellect, your thoughts, and understanding and your physical power and all your capabilities.
We are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and all our souls, and all our minds according to Deuteronomy 6:5 and when that happens, we become a great joy to the Father, and we are allowed to see Him in the Light that He longs to show Himself to us in!
The function of the heart is where our decisions and choices are made. May we be mindful of these things in the upcoming new year as we strive to obey and love God with our whole hearts!
Hold Fast,
-Bren
Brenda Parsons is a longtime contributor to your Tate Record. Her columns appear regularly on our Church Page each Wednesday.
