He is Always There

In my time with the Lord today I began reminiscing with Him about my life. I pictured different events and thought about how He was with me through it all. I remembered the scary and sad parts of my childhood. Abuse, pain, and heartache had left me broken... but He was there…

I thought about when I was 11 years old, laying on my parent's bed watching television.. It was a Saturday night, and I was home alone. My parents were working late at the pizza parlor they owned.

My mom called and informed me that she had hired a French woman who told her all about Jesus in her native language. She quoted John 3:3 and Romans 10:9 to me and told me that if I wanted a relationship with Jesus I needed to repent of my sins and ask Him into my heart as my Lord and Savior. I hung up the phone and instantly slipped off the bed and fell to my knees and prayed that prayer...He was there. It's what I had always desired and had been searching for! That's the night my life and healing process began. Does that mean I was instantly perfect? Nah...

He was there a couple of months later when I went on my first youth event with my new church and got caught smoking in the bathroom. He was there as I struggled with sin, anger, and rebellion... yet His love for me remained steady and strong. He was with me when life took some terrible turns, and I felt it just wasn't "fair". He heard my complaints and my immature rants when I wasn't sure if it was even worth living.

He was there when I totally sold out to Him and began ministering on the streets and to everyone I knew. He was there when I spent hours in His Word and presence, passionately pursuing Him as I fell deeper and deeper in love with my Savior and Lover of my soul. Life in the Secret Place became more tangible than my fleshly existence and painful memories.

Our lives have many twists, turns, and seasons. There are things we wish we would have done differently or not done at all and there are things we wish we never would have had to experience. It's all a part of the growth process. When you mark that moment in time when you've given your heart to Jesus and you keep moving forward, persevering even when you mess up or the mountain seems too high to climb... one day you'll look back and realize, He never left you nor forsook you. He was there all along, loving you, picking you up and dusting you off when you fell. He was teaching you new things and allowing you to grow through every blessing, mistake, and painful experience. He's a good God and He brings about such beauty and growth through all the intricacies of this life we live.

Trust Him with the reigns of your life. There is such peace in knowing He is with us through it all. Trust that the road you are on is leading to an incredible destiny as you hold on tightly to His hand and yield to His molding process. He's always there with YOU!

Matthew 28:20 (NKJV) "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Isaiah 61:3 (NLT) To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV) But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

John 3:3 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to Him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Romans 10:9 (NKJV) That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT) Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.