Hope is Rising

8:36 AM


Last Sunday, I sat in church with Josh and Michelle Isaacs. I was missing my home church of Hutto Bible but knew Sugar Creek Baptist was a place the Bible was taught. The sermon was on dealing with stress. Together the church quoted Isiah 40:30-31.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

These verses are ones I've had memorized for years. I even sing them. (GT and the Halo Express anyone?) However, as I said the words with a couple thousand people at Sugar Creek Baptist, I knew this was what my heart had been craving.

I've been pretty open that 2017 was a tough year that left me with a lot of wounds. Some people have commented that the tone of my blog is different and I've seemed sadder. Well, it's true. The last few months have been a struggle. Not only was I trying to heal, but I was also facing some new challenges within my own heart. Two weeks ago, I realized that I needed to do what normally needs to be done: surrender my dreams once again into the loving hands of Jesus and find contentment. I shed some tears, changed the way I was doing some things, and let go.

This week, while my schedule has been crazy, I've felt peace. This Sunday, as I walked in the woods, I realized that my strength had been renewed. I've been waiting, clinging to Jesus for my strength because I felt so broken and weak. Now, my strength has been renewed.
  • I walk into Hutto Bible and don't wish I could melt into the floor when people start talking to me. 
  • Women's Bible study on Wednesday isn't as daunting as it had been. (Being around large groups of people has been hard, couldn't you tell?)
  • I'm enjoying both my jobs right now. 
  • While I'm missing my writing time, I know that I will get back to it soon.
  • I'm talking more about the future than the past.
  • The pain that seemed to be constant over the last year is finally easing and even gone for so many things.
I've changed. I'm not the same person I was. God is still using my experiences to shape me more into the woman He wants me to be. He is cultivating humility, dependence, and many other things. This week, I have felt that renewal strongly, the wind beneath my wings helping me to rise once again. Hope and strength are rising within because Jesus is my home and strength. 

What has God been doing in your heart this week?

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