Doubts & Reassurance

"I remind myself of all that you've done, and the life I've had because of Your Son. Love came down and rescued me, Love came down and set me free, I am Yours, I am forever Yours. Mountains high, Valley low, I sing out and remind my soul that I am Yours, I am forever Yours. I am Yours, I am Yours, all my days, Jesus, I am Yours." ~Kari Jobe

"I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me, I know that You will never forsake me in my weaknesses, I know that You have come down, even if to write upon my heart, to remind me of who You are." ~Kari Jobe

          If we are consistently finding ourselves in a place of doubt or worry and needing reassurance, we need only to return our focus to Jesus, to reflect on who scripture says that He is as well as  to look back on what He has done in our own lives up to this point. He has been faithful, He is faithful, and He will continue to be Faithful. He's got it, so I don't need to. He'll work it out if it's meant to be worked out, otherwise all the manipulating in the world won't change the outcome and oftentimes will just make it worse by our meddling. I have really had to rely on the Spirit's strength inside of me lately for this very thing because I am such an initiative, take charge type of person that I often run ahead of everyone else involved including God. Again, this goes back to that whole learning to see the beauty in the process. That is definitely the major theme in my life lately. The first 3 months of the year, it was seeing life's interruptions as divine interventions and learning to be obedient and submissive in that, and now it seems that we have moved into this new theme of not just seeing, but enjoying the beauty of the process. Anyway, God gave me this really cool vision/picture in my head as I was having one my own little "I need to be in control" freak-outs. Well, not quite a freak out, but hopefully you get my drift... ;-)
      In this vision, I could see myself sitting in my car and I'm driving around without a GPS and in a strange and unfamiliar place that I have not been in before without the slightest clue of where I am, where I am going, or how to get there. And God is sitting there next to me saying, "Julia, you seem to really like pressing that gas pedal, but it's not doing you any good, because you do not know where you are going. Let me help you. First, I need you to put your foot on the brake, put the car in park, get out and switch sides with me. I know exactly where you are going, what route you need to take, what stops need to be made on the way, etc. I don't need a GPS, but I planned this route out for you long before you were born, and while I may not always drive the speed that you would like me to go, I promise that for each portion of our trip together, it will be the exactly right speed that you need, so that  you will arrive exactly when you are supposed to, not too soon and not too late either. Also, go ahead and enjoy the journey and the scenery. Appreciate the beauty of the process." The great part about these pictures that He gives me is that I can sit there in my mind and visualize stopping the car, getting out, and going around to sit in the passenger seat. It's a visual surrender that says, "God, I am choosing to trust You in this, please guide in the path that You have laid out for me." (So hard, but so worth it.) :-)