Your Love Is Better Than Life
"O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.
Because Your love is better than life; my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:1-4)."
Jesus~the One my soul longs for; the only one who can satisfy my deepest desires. He makes my heart sing. He is the lifter of my head. He is my joy and strength. He is my salvation. He rescued me. He reached down from on high and saved me from the pit. I will praise Him as long as I live.
Life is not always easy, in fact, there are seasons when it is just downright ugly. Life can be so unfair. People can be so cruel and heartless. Circumstances can spiral out of control. What do you do when you are in one of those difficult seasons? Do you find yourself asking the question, is all hope lost? Or even worse, do you find yourself asking, has God forgotten me? The enemy would love for you to believe those lies~and that is exactly what they are, lies. I want to remind you of some powerful truths. Powerful truths from God to you.....today if you find yourself in impossible situation, if you feel as though you can't take another step, hold on my friend because help is on the way!
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall, God will help her at the break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46:1-7)."
God is with you. He will never leave you~He has given you this promise. He is your helper. God will give you peace in the midst of every battle, every trial, every storm that is raging in your life. He will bring you through to the other side, just as He did with His disciples. "One day Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side of the lake.' So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke Him saying 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him (Luke 8:22-25)?" As you can see from those verses, Jesus sometimes allows us to go through deep waters, but notice, Jesus was present the whole time. The disciples cried out to Jesus in their fear and He answered them by calming the sea and the storm. The disciples had taken their eyes of Jesus and instead focused on the storm swirling around them. Jesus asked them where was their faith? He is asking us the same question today. If you have trusted Christ with your salvation, can you not trust Him when difficulty comes? Can you not trust Him to provide? Can you not trust Him to take care of you? Is He enough? Can the God who created you and me and the entire universe with His breath handle our burdens? Friend, there is nothing too hard for Him! However it seems that when life gets hard and problems come, we tend to focus on our circumstances instead of the One who can solve them. When we focus on the problems, they keep getting bigger. However, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, our problems seem to fade in the light of His beauty and grace. It is only in His presence, that we find fullness of joy. In His presence, there is abounding grace and unfailing love. Friend, that is where we need to rest our heart, mind and soul~in the presence of the King. In Christ, you always have hope. Do you know just how much He loves you? "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are (1 John 3:1)!"
"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).
"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)."
Everything God does, He does in love and is for your good and His glory. Understand that He is sovereign and His purposes will stand. He is in control of everything. Because we live in a fallen world full of sin and darkness, there will be times of heartache, sickness, struggle and pain. But God can and will work it all for your good. Look at the words the Psalmist wrote in 119:67-72: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me Your decrees. Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling but I delight in Your law. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees. The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." God always has a purpose in our pain~to know Him more; to grow in Him. Trials get your attention...and as you cry out to Jesus in your trial, He will show you just how mighty, powerful, loving, compassionate and merciful He is. It is in the trial that you develop patience and perseverance. In the trial your character is shaped~you are being made more like Christ.
Trust Him! He will never fail you!
"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever (Psalm 37:25-28)."
Taste and see my friend, the Lord is good. His mercies never fail and His love is better than life!
I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.
Because Your love is better than life; my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:1-4)."
Jesus~the One my soul longs for; the only one who can satisfy my deepest desires. He makes my heart sing. He is the lifter of my head. He is my joy and strength. He is my salvation. He rescued me. He reached down from on high and saved me from the pit. I will praise Him as long as I live.
Life is not always easy, in fact, there are seasons when it is just downright ugly. Life can be so unfair. People can be so cruel and heartless. Circumstances can spiral out of control. What do you do when you are in one of those difficult seasons? Do you find yourself asking the question, is all hope lost? Or even worse, do you find yourself asking, has God forgotten me? The enemy would love for you to believe those lies~and that is exactly what they are, lies. I want to remind you of some powerful truths. Powerful truths from God to you.....today if you find yourself in impossible situation, if you feel as though you can't take another step, hold on my friend because help is on the way!
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall, God will help her at the break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46:1-7)."
God is with you. He will never leave you~He has given you this promise. He is your helper. God will give you peace in the midst of every battle, every trial, every storm that is raging in your life. He will bring you through to the other side, just as He did with His disciples. "One day Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side of the lake.' So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke Him saying 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him (Luke 8:22-25)?" As you can see from those verses, Jesus sometimes allows us to go through deep waters, but notice, Jesus was present the whole time. The disciples cried out to Jesus in their fear and He answered them by calming the sea and the storm. The disciples had taken their eyes of Jesus and instead focused on the storm swirling around them. Jesus asked them where was their faith? He is asking us the same question today. If you have trusted Christ with your salvation, can you not trust Him when difficulty comes? Can you not trust Him to provide? Can you not trust Him to take care of you? Is He enough? Can the God who created you and me and the entire universe with His breath handle our burdens? Friend, there is nothing too hard for Him! However it seems that when life gets hard and problems come, we tend to focus on our circumstances instead of the One who can solve them. When we focus on the problems, they keep getting bigger. However, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, our problems seem to fade in the light of His beauty and grace. It is only in His presence, that we find fullness of joy. In His presence, there is abounding grace and unfailing love. Friend, that is where we need to rest our heart, mind and soul~in the presence of the King. In Christ, you always have hope. Do you know just how much He loves you? "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are (1 John 3:1)!"
"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19).
"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)."
Everything God does, He does in love and is for your good and His glory. Understand that He is sovereign and His purposes will stand. He is in control of everything. Because we live in a fallen world full of sin and darkness, there will be times of heartache, sickness, struggle and pain. But God can and will work it all for your good. Look at the words the Psalmist wrote in 119:67-72: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me Your decrees. Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling but I delight in Your law. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees. The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." God always has a purpose in our pain~to know Him more; to grow in Him. Trials get your attention...and as you cry out to Jesus in your trial, He will show you just how mighty, powerful, loving, compassionate and merciful He is. It is in the trial that you develop patience and perseverance. In the trial your character is shaped~you are being made more like Christ.
Trust Him! He will never fail you!
"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever (Psalm 37:25-28)."
Taste and see my friend, the Lord is good. His mercies never fail and His love is better than life!
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