You Make Me New

I seemed to be "caught in the gloom" today. Memories of past and broken friendships and the feeling of being a failure at everything have seemed to "haunt me" all week. I know that the Enemy has been bombarding me with lies... but it is so hard not to give into them. Satan has a way of making our troubles seem to "consume us"... he makes our troubles seem like they are the only things in the world. But guess what? Our troubles do NOT define us. What defines us is how we handle our troubles. When things in our life get hard Satan tries to make you dwell on the lie "Look at how big my problems are." But the good news is we have a Savior. When tribulations come we should be saying "Look at how big my God is!" He WANTS to take our pain away. He WANTS to carry the load for us. 

I came across this verse today:

(Isaiah 30: 18-21)

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

   therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
   Blessed are all who wait for him! 
People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left , your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

This passage brought tears to my eyes. The Lord wants to be gracious to me? I walked outside and looked up at the big beautiful sky that He created. You know what? It seems that I have been so wrapped up in my tribulations and my distress... that I completely shut God out. I stood there and looked out at all of the beauty that surrounded me... and cried for forgiveness. 

The Lord IS gracious. He is my fortress in times of trouble. He is the rock that I cling to. 

(Zephaniah 3:17)

"The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quite you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing."

You make me new, O LORD my God. You have saved me.