WHY AM I SO EXCITED?!

So this may be the product of being over caffeinated. (Thank you Angelina and wonderful Baristas of the Clearwater mall Starbucks), or overly tired or whatever but I'm reading in the Psalms right now and I just HAD TO SHARE. Because the Word is so good and this makes me so happy.

Met with a friend today at Starbucks and had some real talk about the heaviness of sin and how dry spells in the faith are real and they feel horrible. I like to think of it like standing outside on a freezing night, you're walking around a house where you can see a warm fire, but you just can't find the door inside! You are freezing and just want to get in. You know you've been inside before, but you can't remember where the door is. Or more likely, you wont allow yourself to remember the way inside because it means you're going to have to take off this old grimy sweater of sin that you're holding onto. It's a dirty, disgusting sweater that when you looked at it, it promised warmth and protection from the cold, but in truth when you put it on, it was scratchy, super thin and smelled horrible. But you put up with it because you told yourself it would keep you warm.And it's turtle neck, so sometimes it feels like it's choking you and no matter how much you pull at it, it gets tighter around your neck. 

The longer you stand outside the further away the fire feels, but you remember. You remember sitting in the presence of the Lord and basking in His love and grace. It's the greatest warmth you've ever felt but you just can't seem to let go of the stupid sweater.

I was there last year for the majority of the year. I circled that house a million times trying to find anyway I could get in the house with the sweater. I tried crawling through the window, through the basement. I even tried running straight into the walls, but my flesh blinded me to the true way inside.

The Lord has liberated me of my grimy, stupid sweater and has pulled me once again. All I simply did was stop walking around and ask. I asked earnestly for the Lord to open the door for me, and show me the way.

So talking to my friend, who is kind of in the same place I was, I was reminded of how wonderful the Lord has been to me by bringing me to Himself once again. Then needing some time to worship Him and communicate with Him I opened up the Psalms and Proverbs, my favorite places in the Bible for direction and guidance. In Psalm 32 today I was reminded once again of how great God is.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:1-5

 Okay, first of all, AMEN! Like really? HOW BLESSED AM I? My sin is covered, and all I have to do is confess to the Lord. Truly confess my sin and I am forgiven. My sins yesterday today and forever are forgiven because of Christ's blood on the cross in my stead. I can't even understand it. I don't think I will ever fully grasp it, I only ask the Lord give me enough understanding to worship Him for it.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

He is my hiding place. When I need Him, He is there for me to rest in. Because lets face it, who of us doesn't need a time of rest sometimes?

JUST SO GOOD.

Love Always,
Christina