“Promises””- Maverick City Music
“Though the storms may come And the winds may blow, I’ll remain steadfast And let my heart learn when you speak a word It will come to pass” “Great is your faithfulness to me Great is your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same I will praise your name.” “I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He’ll never let me down” Hello, today I sat down to write with no clear direction of what I wanted to communicate. I simply was listening to “Promises” by Maverick City Music and was inspired by the truth and encouragement found within the lyrics and wanted to share what it brought to mind. As I have written in my past blogs, my life currently has been painful. Almost each day has been full of unanswered questions, loss, fear, and a deep stinging loneliness. And I have to admit, in these times it has been hard to remind myself of who God is. It is far too easy to slip into a state of utter hopelessness with a shattered lens of life; questioning the plans God has in store. But even in the heaviest of times, God’s faithfulness ceaselessly seeks me out. Here are some of the way’s God has been faithfully working within my life. This past week I was finally able to see a doctor and get important tests ordered! Another way He has been faithful is that after many years we were able to find the root of one of the problems I have been experiencing since 2020 and I now have an eye appointment scheduled to hopefully get to the root of that and seek big improvements! Even in the hardest of times, I can see God faithfully working in and through all these things. It is not by my own strength that I have been able to keep fighting and moving forward each and every day. It is also not by my own strength that I am able to have faith, hope, or joy in the midst of my circumstances. It is yet another example of God’s faithfulness as He works within my heart. By reading His word, and allowing His truths to pour over each and every area of my life I am able to have a foundation built within me that cannot be shaken! In the depths of my weaknesses, His power is revealed as He equips me and provides me with a strength, hope, and faith that propels me through the storm. The Lord has given me all that I need to take each step. His word is the fuel to building a firm faith. When we shift our heart’s to a position of praise; actively speaking His promises and truth over our lives we are able to re-shape the way we view our broken circumstances because we are reminded of the faithfulness of the one who holds us and such circumstances in His hands. One way that I have been able to remind myself of these things is through songs such as “Promises''. Worship through music has always been one of the ways I feel most connected to God. So each day, I sing and sing these lyrics about who God is, about His faithfulness, and His promises choosing to allow them to mold my perspective and lens. I am not saying that this is an easy thing to do, once again it is only through Christ’s power that this shift and hope can take place within our lives and within our sufferings. It is a daily process of surrender. Each dayI have to intentionally remind myself of God’s character and His promises to me. The violent screams of sufferings can shatter perspectives, lens, and all hope. I know that all too well. To those reading who may feel shattered as you walk through a fierce storm yourself, I hope you take a moment to fall and simply rest before God. It is my hope that you do not try to hide your brokenness, He is not scared of it. Rather He welcomes all your shattered pieces and He longs to make you whole by the power of His perfect love. May He lead your weary soul by streams of gentle waters and renew your spirit by the power of His word. Though the storms may come, and the winds may blow we can remain steadfast by anchoring ourselves in our faithful God. I pray that His truth would paint bright rays of rich hope and deep joy over your life so that you may have a lens full of hopefulness as you remember His faithfulness each and every day. Here is a prayer I said today..I fell before God asking Him to give me the strength and ability to trust Him through my present storm and those that may come in the future. “Lord, I come before you full of shattered pieces. My life does not look the way I would wish it to. I am weary and I am tired. And if I am being honest, many times I deeply doubt you and the plans you have for me. With my limited understanding it is hard for me to grasp why you have allowed these sufferings, but I am surrendering all of this to you. Lord, I want to be utterly and completely anchored in your truth. I know you have told us that storms are bound to come, and here I stand within the eye of one. In the midst of the winds that whirl around me I want to cling to your truth tightly and allow it to be a firm foundation that not even the fiercest of storms can touch. Lord, please help me to do so. Help me lean into your truth, trust in your character, and stand firm through each and every storm. Amen”. To those that have taken the time to read this, thank you. I pray that these words would encourage you within your own journey. God bless you. -Mikayla Kent
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Weep with me: This blog is called “weep with me”. Right now I am in a very painful time of life. Each day I am grieving my current reality that revolves around my chronic physical and mental conditions, and how those conditions impact so many areas of my life. Recently, I posted on social media about how I had to step away from a job I loved dearly in order to bring balance back to my health. It was such a hard hard choice to make and I am still battling its impacts. That final choice has resulted in a crushing storm of grief over my health and the unanswered questions and fears I have around it. I have really been wrestling with God during this time. I have fallen to my face completely heartbroken that all these many years later I am back to the same position of unknown with my health. I am back experiencing the same disruption in so many areas of my life. And I am back to the stinging loss of things I love and enjoy. As you can imagine this results in many tears and heavy prayers. One way that I am processing and leaning into this season is through prayers of lament. The definition of lament is “the passionate expression of grief or sorrow/weeping”. In the Bible there are so many examples of this. Even Jesus himself comes before God with lament. The process of lamenting enables us to dive deeper into developing our relationship with God- through honesty and transparency we are able to dig deeper into an authentic relationship. A quote from a blog on “DesiringGod” says this “Laments turn toward God when sorrow tempts you to run from him”. This process also helps us create a dependency upon God and teaches us to lean into the suffering and to trust Him within it. Each day I have found myself coming before God with a spirit full of lament. I have found myself expressing each and every sorrow of my soul. The Bible provides us many beautiful examples of this. Here are a few examples of it. Psalm 130:1 “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord hear my voice!” Psalm 6:3- “My soul is in deep anguish. How long Lord, how long?” These examples propelled me into breaking down my walls of hurt and anger! It pushed me to lean into my pain in order to discover more of God. What you read next are my most honest and vulnerable thoughts that I’ve battled with these last few days and have brought before God. But these thoughts do not stop in hopelessness. Rather it creates a space to then allow the word of God to reshape my lens, perspective, and suffering! “God, It hurts so much!” “I don’t understand why you’ve allowed so much pain into my life.” “I have prayed ceaselessly for healing, yet you have not delivered.” “Only new diagnoses have come my way, and I feel crushed to the bone.” “It feels as if every door open quickly comes to a close no matter how hard I try to pry it open it stays locked. “My soul sings songs only of a crushed spirit. Every ounce of my body cries in agony longing for these chains of illness to be broken from me.” “Depression claws it’s way into every crevasse of my life, swallowing up all hope! “How long God must this rain of despair pour upon every corner of my life.” But…it doesn’t end there. God faithfully steps into my suffering! And because of Him, His word, and His promises…my suffering and my perspective can be painted with the hope of Christ! Here is how His truth helps reshape my thoughts and suffering. You’re present within my pain and weep with me. Although you have not healed me physically, you’ve delivered a spiritual healing that provides enteral life. No physical healing of any kind can compare to the inner healing you’ve done within me. These new diagnoses do not define my life and I have a God who will work within and through them for His glory and His good! This pain does not go to waste. You’re the same when the door opens and when it closes. So thank you Lord for both sides, as you’re a never changing God who is faithfully good in all things. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit”. Although I may never have the chains of chronic Illness broken on this side of heaven, I have a father who saves me from my despair and enables me to continuing walking the road he’s called me to. God provides peace and comfort within even the deepest sufferings such as depression. He has not forsaken me and goes before me. Thank you Lord for this rain for from it growth will take place. I may not know when it will stop, but I will praise you in it because you’re the same in the light as you are in the dark. I hope this blog encourages you to weep openly with God! May this encourage you to bring each and every piece of your brokenness before Him. I pray you know that He weeps with you! You’re not alone in your suffering and you have a God who invites you to authentically bring each and every fear, doubt, and pain before Him…He does not leave you stranded in that wilderness, He comes running to overflow your cup with His peace, comfort, truth, and hope! So that your once broken reality can be one that is painted with hope! 🤍 God bless you. -Mikayla Kent. |
AuthorI'm just a 17 year old girl, who has a passion for Jesus and longs to encourage and connect with other people through the shifting seasons of life, and the lessons learned through them. Archives
July 2023
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