Butterfly

So I've been holding onto this painting for a while... this was an assignment for my class. And it was the most frustrating project I'd ever had to paint. Now, I'm not saying this to sound boastful, but I know that the Lord has given me a gift with art, with creating. And still, even with my talent, this thing challenged me to no end!

Here's the lesson I'm trying to get at: no matter how "good" we are at something, we are not God. We are nowhere near His almighty power. And we therefore are powerless without Him. We NEED Him. With our very being, our souls cry out for our Abba. Yes, we can do some neat things on our own, but with God, we can accomplish extraordinary ones! If we took the time to reflect on our years, we would see just how much His Majesty and power has directed, strengthened, and empowered us!

For me, my mind initially goes to my baptism. For those who do not know, my church does not practice infant baptism, but instead, each individual chooses to be baptized when they have chosen God for themselves. And so, my baptism took place in April 2017, and I was terrified! Being in the spotlight, public speaking, talking about my most personal connection to Christ, all those things terrified me (they still do, honestly). And ONLY BY HIS STRENGTH, did we, God and I, get through that baptism.

Since then, time and time again, He has led me to challenges. That's the thing about God; often He leads us to trialing times, to storms. But He doesn't guide us and leave us! Instead, like the great Counselor He is, He walks us through our storms, facing the wind and rain with us. Side by side, through the challenges, in Him we may confide. We NEED our Savior to save us from the storms, and we need our Father to strengthen and support us with His strong arms.

When we lean on Him, letting Him carry us through the hard times, letting Him into our hearts, then He works. And then we thrive. Accomplishing all the good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). God uses IMPERFECT people to do INCREDIBLE things. All for His glory. And oh how He is worthy of our praise!