Journal the Journey

In every season of life, through the mountains and valleys, God has always been faithful… and He always will be.

Waiting.

It is way past my bedtime on this beautiful Wednesday night and I have spent far too long trying to make my internet connection work again. It worked perfectly all night until now. But I’m not going to let that stop me… So here I am, my fifteen minutes ticking away, with burning eyes and feeling a bit flustered from my lost battle with technology.

But I have some more to say about quietness. I shared Isaiah 30:15 yesterday, which is God’s Word telling me that only in returning to Him and resting in Him will I be saved, and in quietness and confidence is my strength. I don’t know if you noticed, but then this verse ends with a not-so-cheerful statement: “But you would have none of it.” Ouch.

God was speaking to a rebellious generation. He was trying to remind them of His goodness and their sinfulness. He was trying to talk some sense into them. They were His beloved, and He wanted them back. But they didn’t like being confronted about their sin and they certainly didn’t want to be judged for it, not even by the just King and Maker of all that had been so faithful to them for generations. They were rejecting God’s Word in favor of false prophets’ fantasies, my NLT Study Bible tells me in a footnote. Undoubtedly these false prophets glossed over, or even encouraged, their sins.

In the very next verse, God points out that instead of returning and resting in Him, instead of being quiet before Him in total trust, faith, and obedience, they decided to rely on human strength. They sought Egypt for help, believing swift horses would make them victorious in battle against their enemies. God warns them that this will be a complete failure in verse 17: “One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”

Coming from a God that has a 100% track record of being right and not lying, I think this would be enough of a warning to convince me to change my mind and return to Him. But would it be? I am human, and we humans tend to be very stubborn. And we certainly think things we see that seem strong and reliable to us are more worthy of our trust than our unseen Creator.

How is God going to react to His prediction of their failure- a devastating loss that He desired they not experience- because of their pridefulness, arrogance, their resistance of Him? The same way He reacts to us even today… Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What way is that? In anger or disbelief? Does He abandon them and us?

No. Thank God, no.

Verse 18 tells us:

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.”

He is waiting, and He is patient. Let us come.

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dezmellish

I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been calling Birmingham, Alabama home since 2013. I’m happily married to the sweetest, most selfless man I’ve ever known. Prior to meeting and marrying him in 2021, I was a divorced mom to three daughters for 4 1/2 years. When I remarried, I gained a fourth daughter. On January 26, 2024, we lost my Dad. He had just turned 92 on January 6. He moved in with us the week after Joseph and I got married in October of 2021, and we had the honor of being his caregivers for the last 2 years and 3 months of his life. I currently work full-time as a Fitness Director at the most wonderful country club, where I also have a full load of personal training clients. This is a job I have enjoyed since 2019. Prior to entering the fitness industry, I was an elementary/middle school tutor. I have been a follower of Jesus Christ since I was a child. God showed me that He was real and that He loved me in powerful, unmistakeable ways during some very dark and difficult childhood years. As an adult, my theology has changed quite a bit. As life circumstances crushed me, I began holding all of the things I had been taught as a child, teenager, and young adult up to the light of scripture. As a result, I deconstructed my faith before deconstruction was really a thing, but never abandoned my faith in the process. After living through harmful teachings that were founded on misuse of scripture, I am passionate about the integrity of God’s Word. Nothing boils my blood quite like seeing scriptures used for selfish gain, abused, and taught out of their intended context. I have been journaling for 25 years. This is my space of the internet to share the ways God has been faithful to me as evidenced in my journals, as well as anything else that is placed on my heart to share. I hope you find something here that positively impacts you in some way. All are welcome here.

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