HIS Side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wPE7PYdXuc&list=RD6wPE7PYdXuc&start_radio=1&t=75

I Won’t Let You Go ~ Switchfoot featuring Lauren Daigle

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. ~ Psalm 23:1 NIV

Last night, I dreamt I tried to call some friends, but used a payphone instead of my cell. With each misdial and failed attempt, I grew angrier. When I finally reached them, they asked how I was doing. I said I was overwhelmed but given some time in worship and in God’s presence, I’d have a whole new perspective.

The world is full of distractions and the devil loves to use each one to draw us further away from intimacy with God. Just as he did with Eve in Genesis 3, the devil plants seeds of doubt in our minds telling us that God is holding out on us and He cannot be trusted. Doubting God’s faithfulness is the root of fear and anxiety. The more fearful and anxious we are, the more we find ourselves grasping for facts that aren’t typically Truths.

Fact: Protests and mayhem are happening in several cities across the country.

TRUTH: You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy…I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. ~ Psalm 61:3-4 NKJV

Fact: There’s been talk, in some cities, of dismantling local law enforcement.

TRUTH: …Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; Not one is missing… The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. ~ Isaiah 40:26-29 NKJV

Regardless of what’s going on in the world, we can get overwhelmed, scared, and anxious if we focus on it too long. But when we draw away with Father God for a while, we get a whole new perspective on things. It doesn’t make the bad things better, but allows us the opportunity to rest in Him, as we allow Him to draw us to His side.

©Heather Potts 2020

Comfortable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BhTAJ49MQ0

Nothing Else ~ Cody Carnes

Comfortable has two sides. The first is a Valley of Struggle, where you wait for God to move a mountain. But after months and years of waiting, you get comfortable in your pain or mess, assuming God won’t change it. The second is a Land of Enjoyment, where you give and serve a little, but not inconveniently. You’ve heard of the Valley of Struggle, but don’t want to give up your comfortable lifestyle, so you try to drown out the feeling that it’s not all about your comfort. You argue your case: Why do I have to be the one who’s uncomfortable? What about my comfort? Though you feel justified, you don’t have peace.

I was at a Bible Study when God first challenged my comfort, asking me to give away a railroad nail I carried. I got it five years earlier, during a sermon on forgiveness. God wanted another girl to have it, so she’d feel the same freedom I’d received. I argued my case, asking God why it had to be my nail. I was 23 when God asked me to give away that nail. Today, God continues to draw me out of my comfort-zone. Most recently when I asked God, “why,” He whispered, “As soon as you get too comfortable, you stop growing.”

Jesus said that He didn’t come to be served – to be comfortable – but to serve, setting aside His comfort to reach a world that needed the comfort of the Father, (Matthew 20:28). Uncomfortable could mean taking your elderly neighbor to get his hair cut, serving food to the homeless, praying with your co-worker, reaching out to an estranged loved one, or giving away your nail so another can feel the freedom of forgiveness. Giving up a little comfort looks like being the hands and feet of Jesus. Maybe God will take the little comfort you gave up and give a whole lot of comfort to someone in a Valley of Struggle.

‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ … ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ~ Matthew 25:35-36, 40 NKJV

©Heather Potts 2020

I'm a Runner who Perseveres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRi_4-Qfq2U&list=RDSRi_4-Qfq2U&start_radio=1

Believer ~ Rhett Walker

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus … ~ Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

I’m a runner who perseveres.

I’m not a quitter.

It’s not in my blood, because it’s not in HIS!

Everyone has an identity: what they see and believe to be true about themselves. Father God sees your identity as defined by who you are in Him. When God calls you by name, revealing your identity in Him, it changes you. It changes the way you think and act but doesn’t make the road easy. But just as not all roads are smooth, neither are they all bumpy. If you drive through our city streets, you’ll find some newly paved roads, some with patched potholes, and some with potholes big enough to swallow a small child. As you grow in your relationship with God, you’ll begin to see yourself the way He sees you.

Your identity is written throughout scripture, and for everyone who overcomes, God has a new name written on a white stone that is shared between you and He, (Revelation 2:17). Five years ago, when I began seeking the name God had for me, some friends shared their names. Beloved and Victorious were among them, with each name being as unique as the recipient. On October 26, 2015, God called me His “one who perseveres.” Within a few days, He gave me the accompanying scripture, Hebrews 12:1-2.

Your identity – the truth you believe about yourself – helps you push ahead or causes you to fall back, to get up again or stop trying. Your pastor, teachers, parents, and friends will help to shape your identity. However, only Jesus is the source of your strength, courage, and true identity.

I’m a runner who perseveres.

Who are you?

©Heather Potts 2020