Known and Loved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVVlMQved8k

You Know Me ~ Steffany Gretzinger

 

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.

~ Psalm 139:1 NIVUK

 

What do athletic socks, a fake plant, and a watermelon have in common? They were all birthday gifts given by women who know me. They know what I need, can handle, and enjoy. Gifts are fun to receive. Some gifts will make you laugh, some will bring you delight, and some will touch a tender spot in your heart, as you realize how well you are known and loved.

 

David, the youngest and smallest son of Jesse, expressed his awe of God in the Psalms. Though David may have been overlooked by his earthly family, his heavenly Father knew and loved him completely:

You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely, (Psalm 139:2-4)

You are familiar—intimately acquainted—with all my ways… David felt safe in the hands of his God who knew him: his praise and doubts, his rejoicing and rejections, his good deeds and mistakes, his wins and his faults. The Lord knew all these things, and still loved him.

 

We all long to be known, and loved, like that. The same Lord who knew and loved David, knows and loves you. Our Father knows, loves, honors, cares for, created, designed, corrects, disciplines, and teaches us in a personal way. He knows your past and is fully aware of the things you’ve endured and had to overcome; He’s seen your future and knows the preparation you still require to be victorious; He was with you yesterday, He’s journeying with you now, and still, He loves you. You, dear child, are fully known and fully loved.

©Heather Potts 2022

Breathe. Remember.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGLVDttSKxA

Never Lost ~ Elevation Worship

O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness–Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! ~ Psalm 68:7 AMPC

Has hard news ever slammed into you? How did you overcome the overwhelming feelings?

Over the past few days, Psalm 68:7 was the focus of my reading. It was as though Holy Spirit wouldn't let me read past that verse, though I didn't know why. Was there a lesson I needed to realize? Saturday night, I received the answer when we heard upsetting news about a loved one. At first, I blew off the emotions. Later, however, my emotions felt like a pool about to burst and I cried. 

After my tears, however, I took a breath, and I began remembering all the times and trials the Lord brought us through to victory. Why did this have to be any different? The truth is, it's not. God is no respecter of persons. What He did for one, He'll do for another, including healing and protection!

What are you facing, already this year? I'm sure the enemy hasn't wasted any time telling you to be afraid. Today, instead of looking at what might happen, consider a new tactic. David said, "Come and hear, all you who reverently and worshipfully fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me!" (Psalm 66:16 AMPC). Now is the time to remind yourself of all the times God has helped you overcome. Recall the victories He's brought forth in your life. Remember the times He went to battle for, walked ahead of, and marched into the wilderness for you.  

Today, don't focus on the news. Instead, breathe deeply and remember the goodness and faithfulness of God, who loves you!

Heather Potts 2020

Threat Terminated

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ~ Ruth 4:13 NASB

Did you ever consider that the attacks against you aren’t about you at all?

The enemy knew what Ruth’s descendants were called to, so he positioned his attack against Ruth. Ruth was a Moabitess and he assumed if he could take away everything, she’d crumble and go back to what was familiar. But the hand of God was strong on her and even when her mother-in-law begged Ruth to leave, Ruth refused. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, became bitter when her husband and both of her sons died. In her despair, Naomi felt it would be better to be alone, but Ruth wouldn’t leave. Ruth’s decision would forever change her life and the lives of countless others.

Last August, God told me to attend our church’s weekly morning prayer meetings, where we pray over our community.  At one of the meetings, God gave me a vision of our children—not just my girls, but the whole community of children who are currently being raised up—reaching out to, loving on, caring for, encouraging, healing, and helping those who were lost, hurting, and in need of a Savior. Then Holy Spirit said to me, “It starts with you.” He said my girls have a calling on their lives, but their journey will be strengthened as my marriage and walk with God are strengthened.

The next generation needs us to fight the fight before them, pray for them, and cling to God and His calling for our lives. If Ruth had not stuck with Naomi, had not gone to work in Boaz’s field, she and Boaz would not have met, married, and become great-grandparents to David… The enemy knows God’s plans for our lives and it makes him afraid. So he hunts, attacks, wounds, and keeps coming after us all in an attempt to keep us and future generations from fulfilling God’s plan.

If you are under fire and it feels like the hits just keep coming, one after another, declare as David did: “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me,” (Psalm 56:3-4 NASB).

©Heather Potts 2016