So...I’m not actually writing a super long note tonight...like normal. I just wanted to express a few things on my heart. There is definitely more to come as I go through the process that God is taking me through right now. Anything that I think is worthy of sharing with you guys that will possibly help and that I can share...I will definitely share throughout the next couple of months. God is definitely walking with me through something right now...unlike anything that I've gone through before. And although the process is painful and a lot of things still have to be revealed by God...I know that this is something that God is taking me through so that I can be at the place that I need to be for Him. This is a season of refining for me and of letting the flame of God's love and Spirit burn away anything in my life that is getting in the way of my relationship with God...So...I think that's all I want to share tonight as far as what I'm going through...but...the reason why I wanted to write tonight was simply to express the cry of my heart to God tonight.
I think it's so easy to be hurt or confused. It's so easy to be bitter...so easy to get angry. And..sometimes those emotions aren't necessarily something that we should avoid. Sometimes those emotions help in the healing. But...tonight...I don't want to talk about all of that. I don't want to express hurt or pain or confusion. I simply want to express thanks to God. This is the cry of my heart...
"Thank you Jesus for great friends who love You more than they love life and love others as much as they love themselves...Thank you Jesus that there are true men and women of God in my life. Thank you for placing them there for a specific purpose and time. Thank you for the opportunity to pour into their lives as they pour into mine. Thank you for sincerity and truth and wisdom. Thank you for new beginnings. Thank you for peace that passes all understanding...Thank you for healing that goes beyond anything that we could get from anything or anyone else but You...Thank you for restoration...Thank you for the promise of a future filled with You and greater things. Even in pain and confusion..You are God and I am so grateful for that. Thank you Father for forgiveness...for the ability that we have to forgive those who hurt us....And God...thank you for trials. Thank you for trials and situations that test our faith...that make us cling closer to You...that make us realize that You are God, and we are not, and only You are totally good. Thank you for ORU...for the opportunity to get an education at the most awesome university in the world. Thank you for men of God here that desire You more than anything else...who fight against injustice...and stand up for the hurting, broken, lonely, and weak. Thank you for women of God who stand up for purity and aren't ashamed to take the sword of the Spirit in their hands and fight the lies of the enemy. God, I am so thankful for You tonight. Thank you for taking away sin and replacing it with unmatched...incomprehensible freedom and purity. Lord...thank you for sweeping me away in Your love. I understand that this is a process and that anger, fear, hurt, pain, and confusion are emotions that...through your love and refinement and giving those feelings to you...will bring healing. But...tonight God...none of those emotions matter. I just want to say thank you in the middle of the storm. Thank you for being with me in the valley. Thank you for your unfailing love that penetrates deeper than any wound...any rejection...or any pain. You are God...and You are my Love. I trust in You God. You are my Portion. :)"
Ok...guys...so I know this was a little different and probably a little weird, but I just really felt led to express my heart. Sometimes you just have to let all of those negative emotions drive you to be grateful. Be grateful for the great things God has put in your life. You are not alone in pain...in hurt...in confusion. You and I have a God who loves us so much, and who never leaves us hurt and wounded. His love is consuming and renovating. Let Him love you...and take you through the process of drawing nearer to His heart. Just like the journey I talked about in my last note...Grab His hand...and get ready for the most intimate journey of your life. If you're going through a hard situation...thank God for the things He has given you...and grab His hand, being prepared to dig through some intense, sometimes painful emotions...But...His love is bigger than all of that...and the other side of the process is better than anything you could have imaginied. Let's just trust Him together...:)
Goodnight Guys,
-Joe
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