Deep waters

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.  -Psalm 42:7

The message was not gentle. It was a hard truth when it dawned on me that, although God cares about my health, my comfort, my dignity, and my finances, He is more than willing to sacrifice any or all of those things to bring about the heart-change He is looking for in me.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  -Isaiah 55:8-11

And yet He is patient and persistent. He never left me; He just put me in a place where I ran out of options. When there was nothing else I could do to fix my situation, I turned to Him. I realized that everything I had ever been, received, or achieved had been a gift from Him. That was the place He had wanted me all along.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not  sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God..."  -Isaiah 43:1-3

What did you hear in the story this time around? Anything there that rang true for you? If you need to pick it up, tune in to the July podcast here: https://www.convoynwa.org/audio/.

It's ironic, isn't it? Gotta surrender if we want to win!