Just Like That

This past week has been a very trying week for me spiritually.

I have learned that no matter how well versed a person may

be in Scripture, or how well they believe they know God,

disappointment and discouragement can still reach them,

touch them, and affect them.

This week I felt the weight of discouragement.

I tried to pray, yet I still felt it.

I tried to sleep it off, yet it was still there.

So I did something different.

I shared my thoughts with someone I trusted—someone I

knew believed and trusted in God. I asked them to pray for me

because I felt vulnerable.

Thoughts that I normally would have fought off more

aggressively, I found myself entertaining—justifying them by

how I felt.

But regardless of what anyone does, says, or thinks, I am

responsible for how I respond.

At one point I found myself entertaining things that I would

have vehemently opposed before.

The next morning I woke up early, around 3 a.m. Immediately I

began to pray. I could feel the weight begin to lift from me, and

I began to thank God.

In my heart I purposed to avoid anything that related to the

thoughts I had been struggling with.

Not long after, I saw the Amazon driver approaching the door.

We spoke briefly and asked each other how our day was

going. That simple exchange turned into a conversation about

the goodness of God.

Afterward, I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to share

Jesus with someone.

But later that same day, I found myself again outside the will of

God.

I lay there saying, “Lord, forgive me.”

The next morning I hesitated about how to start the day. I

turned on the radio broadcast—104.9—and began listening.

As I listened, the Lord began ministering to my heart.

I began to cry out to God.

Seeing myself in God's light brought me to godly sorrow over

my sin. As I repented and cried out to Him, something

interesting happened.

I had been writing earlier with my fountain pen, not realizing

that my hand had become stained with ink.

When I noticed it, I grabbed a sponge from my table stand. I

thought to myself that this stain would need to be scrubbed off.

But when I wiped my hand, the ink disappeared immediately.

Right then I heard the Lord say in my heart:

“See, I washed it away.”

Just like that.

At that moment I felt the burden of my sin lifted and washed

away. I began to cry even more from the depths of my heart.

God’s Word flooded my heart.

Psalm 103 reminded me of His mercy and forgiveness.

Psalm 32:8 reminded me that the Lord instructs and teaches

us in the way we should go.

With my whole heart I began to praise the Lord, thanking Him

for forgiveness and for the awareness that God is in control.

He cares about even the smallest things that concern my life.

In His timing, things shift.

I am reminded that He is working things on my behalf.

Sometimes the words “No,” “Wait,” and “Stop” can be some of

the most protective words a person can hear.

They stand between us and dangers that are seen and

unseen, known and unknown.

Good intentions do not change or excuse disobedience.

Following Jesus cannot be selective. We must wholeheartedly

choose to follow Him all the way.

He is the lamp and the light.

Without Jesus, we do not know the way.

Just like that.

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to

forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness.”