October 11, 2024
You are known. You are seen. You are wanted. You are loved.
You are welcome!
We live in a world that tells us we must belong to certain group, look and act a certain way, and need to accomplish great things to be known, seen, and loved. The truth is: that is of the world, not of your GOD. The lies that compromise our minds of our true identity lead us to believe something different, but God wanted you know to last night that you are HIS. You are who He says you are ~ chosen, not forsaken, free ~ His beloved, His child. You are welcome in the Heart to Heart prayer group, but most importantly you are welcome in the Father’s House. There is a place for you to come and be filled with His living water every Friday night with us.
Starting with Who You Say I Am last night was such a declaration of that identity. The singing of that song stood out to me from members who have been coming for some time. It was that stance, that bold truth that took on the flow of the meeting. The volume when they sang made me believe that they know who God says they are and they claim it. Then, we moved onto Me On Your Mind, which was also profound because some of us believe we have to be a certain way in order to be worthy of God’s love and of the sacrifice He made for us, but He would have come only for us. He would do everything all over again if it were only YOU. There was a prayer in the book I’m reading that confirms this.
Heavenly Father, I believe that I am beautifully and wonderfully made. I trust that you look upon me and that you see me and that you believe I am very good. I believe, Lord, that you know me, intricately and intimately, and that you love me. May this be the source of my trust in you as you continue to lead me deeper into the mysteries of your divine life through the mysteries of this passing earthly life. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The Father by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Trust was a big word last night. Trusting in God is not easy. Surrendering to God is not easy. We want to control what happens in our lives. We want to make sure everything works out the way we want it to or expect it to. As we all know too well, that never happens. As we come to Jesus, each week every Friday (or any other moment), we are beginning to cultivate that relationship with Jesus. When you cultivate a relationship with anyone, not just Jesus, trust develops. You begin to see the goodness of God and the beauty in His plan even though the pilgrimage of life is hard. I think when I first stepped deeper into my faith, the right thing to do was just say that I trusted him or that I was able to surrender to him (I always liked to be a “good girl,” follow the rules, and do the right thing). However, last night, the truth that sometimes we’re just not ready to trust Jesus yet and the honesty in stating that ironically brings us closer to Him. In reality what provides for a good relationship is honesty and trust. Begin with your honesty and exactly where you stand with Jesus, right here, right now. And guess what? Whatever your answer is; wherever you find yourself, he’s right beside you, whether you know it fully yet or not, He’s right there. On some level, you have to know it because you walk out of your chair every week changed and different than you were before you walked into the prayer meeting. The more you cultivate the relationship with Jesus, the bigger your capacity is to hear him, know him, love him, and allow that relationship to bleed into every other part of your life.
I love hearing testimonies of honesty. Last week and this week we heard two testimonies of being angry at God. Thank you for this honesty! One of our teen members shared incredible wisdom about being angry at God. Sometimes I think when believe we’re angry at God that we turn our backs on him and that we stopped having a relationship with him, but being angry with someone means that you actually have emotion towards them. They matter. The relationship matters. So no matter how angry you might find yourself at God at this moment, in the past or in the future, know that you have not turned your back on him. With your honesty, offer that anger up directly to Him and let Him transform it. You don’t have to do a single thing.
A bold powerful message of gratitude came from one of our young members. She reminded us that even in the walks of life that are painful and difficult that we still need to offer up our gratitude to the Lord. In every circumstance of our lives, Jesus will make good out of it. He can transform any amount of pain and suffering into his glory. We can show gratitude for any circumstance in our lives. With that gratitude comes to consent to allow him into that place of our broken hearts and to let him put it back together, filled with gold dust, miracles, and healing in the cracks. Jesus is never outdone in generosity. She said said boldly, “Jesus, thank you for this difficulty and the joy that will be on the other side.” Already in her wisdom, she knows that on the other side of the difficult situation, there will be joy and glory on the other side of it. “Your world isn’t falling apart, it’s falling into place,” (Just Be Held by Casting Crowns). There are so many times I want to dismiss this, roll my eyes and say “no thank you Jesus,” this is too hard, but He protects and provides every single time. Sometimes it is big and obvious, but sometimes its’s subtle. Like last week, find the extraordinary thing that Jesus provided for you in the ordinary moments of your day.
God reaches you exactly where you are. If your eyes are open to his divine power, you will find Him. He is never early. A new member shared a powerful testimony of the small crumbs that led her to our group last night. It began years ago and became of a web of connections to Jesus. She received our invitation to the group the day before and shared with me that when contemplating on coming to the meeting she said to herself, “this is the invitation you have been waiting for.” Don’t you think every human being is waiting for that invitation? It warmed my heart and made me wonder how many others need it right now. God showed her signs, from people, to movies, to songs, and to life circumstances and it led her to Him last night. I Can Only Imagine…she brought that song to our group last night. An oldie, by my goodness, what a powerful claim. Our yes, our trust, and our surrender on Earth begins to mimic closer and closer to wait awaits us in Heaven. I can’t wait, but until then, may His will be done…on Earth as it is in Heaven.
I am so proud of the bravery in sharing last night! Thank you! I am so proud of the powerful prayer teams that provide each week with the words and healing we need ~ LISTEN to them ~ BELIEVE them ~ TRUST them ~ ~ FEEL them ~ LIVE them. The power of the words spoken during prayer teams are elevating to another level. It is pure gold and truth that you will not hear anywhere else. This group is rising individually and collectively. The freedom in your voice, your prayer, your power, and your YES is apparent. You are moving, don’t stop. Don’t be afraid to fall, Jesus will pick you back up. You are different now, there is no turning back. Keep leaning into his heart and into our group ~ the land of misfits! We are a beautiful family. This continues to be only the beginning.
