A Good Word From His Heart To Yours.....

All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Psalm 21:2

Would you believe this Scripture has come up three different times for me this week, and the first two times it was on the same day? I learned a long time ago that when the Lord allows this to happen, He's trying to get my attention the first two times. And the third time, well, it's kind of like the proverbial slap on the back of one's head, saying, "Hey, take notice here! I'm talking to you!"

I've been thinking alot lately about the power of our words. We have the choice to build up or tear someone down with them. Not only are we able to do that to family, friends, acquaintances and strangers, we also do that to ourselves at times!

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Ever hear that one before? It's a lie, a lie, a lie! Words have the ability to wound, to scar, to cripple and cause the spirit to die within. All may look great on the outside, where it's easy to mask and disguise what is going on within. On the inside, however, it can be another story altogether.

I remember growing up feeling out of place, like the ugly, fat kid. I've been overweight for as long as I can recall and high school, especially, was not an easy time. The names people give you when you're not like the in crowd can be mean, to say the least. The best way I found to deal with it was to joke along with them. Did it change how I felt inside about the names? No, but it did make it easier for me to deal with the people doing it.

Because of things like that, I've found myself championing the underdog quite often. I don't like to see people teased unnecessarily or picked on because they are different. We are all different, each in our own way. God has created us that way, to be unique individuals. None better than the other.

What does this have to do with the verse? Well, I think we often take liberties with what we say and don't think about the impact it can have on another person. God knows our hearts. He really does.  He is fully aware of the attitude of our hearts when we open our mouths and say something. To make it more personal, He is totally aware of where my heart is when I open my mouth and knows whether I've thought about what I'm going to say and what kind of an impact that is going to have on the person I'm talking to ....or for that matter, about.

God knows us better than we know ourselves and we should examine our hearts often.

To encourage you today, there is a word that I read earlier this week that just so encouraged my heart. It was part of a prophetic word the Lord gave Julia Loren on New Years' Day. I am copying most of it here for you from the article I read from Elijah List (https://elijahlist.com/) this past Sunday.

This is what He is saying, to you:

Jesus: "Do you remember the day you first met Me? Or awakened to the idea of Me and found it so appealing that you struggled and pitched and rolled about like a ship in heavy seas, fighting the wind and the sea instead of running with it? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember when I opened your eyes to understand the Scripture and see Me in Word and Spirit? What amazement filled your mind as you 'saw' with the eyes of your heart? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember surrendering to Me head first? Heart second? Life consecrated, baptized, and coming up out of the waters unsure that anything was different but knowing that you had reached the point of no return – that you were now Mine and I was yours, forever? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember how I stood patiently by, listening to your objections, taking on your rages against the injustice of life, letting you release your anger and pain and suffering, your hands beating against My heart as if you could break Me open and spill forth answers that would calm your heart and make every mystery of man's free will and My dealings with the world make sense? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember the first time you felt My embrace as a Father enfolding His beloved child, the smell of My robe, the warmth of My expansive chest big enough to encompass the world but small enough to hold only you? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember how you felt when you were betrayed? So demolished by some man or woman that you felt you would never recover? And how I came to you, lifted you up when you were lost in your own pulsing blood and raging fear and blinding pain, screaming wordlessly deep within yourself, in a place that lay beyond tears, in a place where only I could reach you? And one touch of My love, one word of knowledge, one healing vision, set you free? I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember when satan stood before you and what happened next? I was so proud of you then, the way you overcame the enemy and did not give in that time. Oh you may think you failed other times but that time, I saw in you a reflection of Me and knew with a Father's joy that you would become more like Me than you ever thought possible. I loved you then and I love you still.

"Do you remember the first time you felt the overwhelming waterfall of My love raining down on you and knew that all would be well and that I loved you then and I always will?

"Do you remember that My hand is on you to bless you and that you are not a failure? That you have not missed your calling? The very fact that you get up after a fall and start to walk towards Me again and again, is an act of faith and trust in My faithfulness that speaks time after time, of the fact that I will never cast away anyone who comes to Me and am One who forgives infinitely. Even in your times of doubt and shame, do you know that I loved you then and I love you still?

"Do you remember your love for Me?

"Because I remember My love for you – every moment of every day – I love you still.

Those words, "I loved you then and I love you still", have so encouraged my heart this week and have come back to me many times during the course of my days and nights. It isn't always easy to focus on the positive when the negative wants to drag you down. But this is what I know....that as I follow Him wholeheartedly, He will lead, guide, keep and sustain me. He will fight my battles for me and He has good words He wants to speak to me.

What an awesome example He is for us! I'm glad that the attitude of His heart towards me is one of love! Because of that, I am, indeed, blessed beyond measure!

May He bless you today in ways that reaffirm to you just how much He loves you still!

Because of His great love for us,

Sue