Welcome

Welcome to Heartsprings, where I share what springs forth from my heart for God and His people. I pray that what you find here blesses you and draws you nearer to your Heavenly Father who loves you like no other.

In His love,
Brenda :-)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Mindful of Us

Mindful (Psalm 8:4) Strong's Number: 02142 - Zakar (zaw-kar') Verb
Definition: to remember, recall, call to mind

God is mindful of us - you and me. He didn't create us then move on to creating something else and forget about us. He recalls us and remembers us. He calls us to His mind. He has so many thoughts of us that we could never count them (Psalm 40:5). His thoughts are of each of us individually, not just mankind as a whole. He knows how many hairs are on my head according to Matthew 10:29-30. He knows how many hairs are on YOUR head. How amazing is that?! My husband and I are pretty close, but we have no idea how many hairs are on each others' heads. God knows us so intimately that I don't think we can truly fathom it. It's comforting to me, when I think no one understands what I'm going through and I'm tempted to feel alone, to know that God knows it all. I am not alone because GOD knows what I'm going through. He sees, He knows, He has a plan. I love a man with a plan! It gives me hope to know that what I go through in this life is not for nothing. Better yet, it fits into some divine plan. That is such an awesome thought to me and gives me such a sense of purpose. I don't believe that anything in my life is too big or too small for God. He can use it all!

God thinks of me, knows me better than anyone else ever could, knows all that I go through in life, and will use it all for His purposes. Thank You, Father, for that hope, sense of purpose, and assurance. You are awesome!

His Sovereignty Brings Joy

I read in my devotional this morning that God's sovereignty is something that should bring us joy, not apprehension. That really stuck with me because I have been one who wanted to be in control and hated the idea of relinquishing it to someone who might make me suffer. I was sure that if I turned over every area of my life to God, He would allow some terrible tragedy to befall me all for the sake of "growth". What I wasn't getting was who God is.

He is my Heavenly Father, full of love, grace, mercy, and unconditional love for me. He works all things for my good and He has plans to give me hope and a future. Anything that comes my way is for a reason and has crossed His desk first. Yes, He has allowed some trials for the sake of growth and I've survived every one of them. They have made me stronger and drawn me closer to Him. Being closer to God is worth my life because without Him I would have no life anyway. When I think of it in those terms I can indeed be joyful that my loving, merciful, and gracious Heavenly Father is sovereign.......and I'm not! Hallelujah!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Increase My Trust

The prayer of my heart today is this; "Knower of all things past, present, and future in my life, I'm grateful that You "get" everything I'm facing today and I pray You will increase my trust in You. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen."

"I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul." -Psalm 31:7.

Sometimes there are things I go through that no one can really understand. Even if I try to explain it, they just can't "get" it without having experienced it themselves. I am in such a place in my life right now and it's a lonely place to be. There is One, however, to whom I can turn and in whom I can confide. My heavenly Father gets everything I go through. He knew about it before it ever happened and He sees the light at the end of the tunnel long before I do. He IS the light at the end of the tunnel. He knows how to get to the other side of what I'm going through and He'll lead the way if I but trust Him.

Therein lies the challenge really. It's difficult to trust when you can't see where you're going. Have you ever had someone take you by the hand and tell you to close your eyes while they lead you to a surprise? Did you relax and let yourself be led, or did you hold out your hand, feeling for obstacles and stepping cautiously? Trust is a difficult issue, more difficult for some than others. A lot of us humans have terrible control issues as well as trust issues. We don't trust anyone else to control things as well as we will, or in the way we want them controlled......including God. We don't trust the Blessed Controller of all things to do a good job of controlling things. Why? I think it's because this world we live in looks anything but controlled. We see things careen out of control constantly and wonder where God is in that. it doesn't LOOK like He's doing His job. However, as children of God, we walk by faith and not by sight. We believe what God's Word says about Him and about His plans for us and this world. Our children don't always understand the things WE do. To them, it doesn't look as if we have their best interests at heart when in fact, that is our top priority. It's the same with us and our Father God. We have to trust that, in spite of how things look, our Heavenly Father has our best interests at heart and He's got it all under control.

Heavenly Father, Blessed Controller of all things and Lover of my soul, help me to keep my focus on You and not my circumstances. You have overcome the circumstances. You are greater than any challenge I face today and, in fact, You will face those challenges with me and help me through them. Thank You for loving me that much and for being The One I can always rely on to "get" me. Increase my trust in You I pray, in the trustworthy name of Jesus, Amen!