This is What I am Feeling...Despite not writing the crux of this
This is what I am feeling...I did not write what follows this introduction. I write this note post-Obama address on healthcare and knowing that the last note was about Ted Kennedy's death and what I believe the response of the Christian should be. I wanted to respond to what I heard and what I still believe. I pray for our president and I never elevated him to savior status...I already have one. I also know that the job of reclaiming this nation is as much on me as it is on him and I must operate with that assumption. It is my job to stand up for those who are downtrodden...thats my job first and I require any government that is going to represent me to defend the defenseless. Note: Social Justice is my slant on the Gospel...the Body of Christ must be his hands that reach down and pick up and heal, and his feet that will walk into seemingly unsalvagable situations, His heart needs to be ours that breaks for the broken, His mind needs to be ours that unendingly creative in ways to break down walls. But, I am not going to repreach, reititerate an entry.
Moving to this prayer...I borrowed this from my friend Brittany Wyche (who also borrowed it) but God knows that this is my prayer. So let us wait and I pray this will bless others as much as it has blessed me.
"I feel lost, weary, lonely, overwhelmed, and have taken so many wrong turns. You know the plans You have for me. Order my steps! I feel stuck in life between the questions 'why?' and 'when?' Before I give up and shut down with an 'I don't care anymore' attitude, please meet me right now where my needs are.
Reveal to me Your blessed assurance in a way that I could not doubt Your presence and provision in my life. Change my heart, thoughts, and words. If there are no doors of escape from my circumstances, teach me to endure with courage, faith, a plan of action, and a sound mind. Restore my hope and joy with your driection and protection.
Lord You have my full attention. I listen only to You. I surrender my whole heart and life to You with confidence that You are able to make all things work together for my good. I turn my attention away from the enemy of discouragment and turn my face to You, my Redeemer, for strength and provision.
Lord, thank You for loving me just as I am. Thank You for never giving up on me even though I sometimes feel full of shame, anger, and fear. Thank You for your mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Breathe on me today with a fresh breeze of love, peace, and comfort. Restore me in the broken places. I'm tired and I rest in Your promise that Your eye is on the sparrow, and Your eye is on me.
I am taking deep breaths, exhaling the stress and trusting Your word. I am feeling stronger now and give You thanks in advance for my unusual blessings and breakthrough. I will stop counting my bruises and start counting my blessings. I realize now it's time to take better care of myself.
Thank You Lord for the remembrance of Your wounds and Your resurrection power. This inspires me to rise and roll away the stone of my cave of depression and isolation. I am alive. I am still here. This is a day I have never seen before. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I rise today in Your love knowing that my pain can change. And so it is!
In Jesus' name, Amen."-Jewel Diamond Taylor
I co-sign this with Jewel (whom I don't know...but we are bound together by this prayer and by the great God to whom it has been prayed)...So, I must keep pressing because greatness is on the other side. We all must keep pressing....God has not and will not leave us.