So, yeah, I’m still here. I want to share everything — all. the. stuff. — God has been showing me and doing in and around me. I start pecking out words on the keyboard and somehow what I write seems small compared to what I’m experiencing. The words are not enough to explain and reveal the layers of all I’m learning.
But there’s also this other thing, this tugging awareness that sometimes what God reveals to me is not for public consumption. Sometimes, He isn’t teaching me so I’ll teach others … He’s simply opening Himself up to me so I can know Him more.
I have to admit, that’s weird for me. I’m a teacher, an encourager, a mentor. I am always looking for ways to sow into the lives of others, to help them grow, to dig in deep with them.
This place I’m at feels uncomfortable, awkward. Like getting a new a pair of shoes you love but not being able to wear them because they rub. I’m always aware of the new things God is showing me … but when I try to share them with others, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit. I’m just not sure what to with the uncomfortable places God brings me.
So I find myself quiet. I’m digging deep into the Word and wondering what comes next. Where is this leading? What is He doing? And, if I’m honest, when will it be finished so I can finally figure out how to explain it?
At Refine, I spoke about resting. I didn’t have my talk prepared. I just had verses written in a notebook. Scriptures God has used to challenge me to slow myself. One of them is familiar … Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God.
Just be still. I feel like that’s the whisper of God to my heart right now. And in that stillness, there is fresh knowledge, deep truth about Him, the God who calls me by name {Isaiah 43:1}. I’ve read those eight words, “Be still, and know that I am God,” countless times over the past year. Lately, though, He’s tugging me toward the rest of that verse. You may not realize there’s more {most of the coffee cups and inspirational prints leave the last two-thirds of the verse off}.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
There is a gentle voice nudging me deep into these words … Be still. Know Me. I will. I will.
He will be exalted. He will be exalted. Twice God reminds of this truth. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess HE IS LORD {Philippians 2:10-11}. He is offering me this beautiful hope and freedom … “Teri Lynne, be still and know me. I will do the rest.
As Holy Week is drawing to a close, I think that’s His invitation and reminder to all of us.
Be still. Know Me. And I will. I will.
I’m resting there and I pray you will as well.
How do you respond when God brings you to the uncomfortable places?
xo,
TL
image soure: canstockphoto.com
Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!! You just have no idea friend… absolutely NO idea how much I have needed these words. Just last night perched on the kitchen counter talking with Hubs I was sharing how I just don’t know if God hears me and if He will… because well He’s not moving fast enough. And this reminds me. That God can be counted on to keep His promises (Hebrews 10:23). Be still. He will. He will. xoxo
Oh my friend … I thought the hard part was being still. But really, the hard part is trusting He will …
Love you!!
Teri Lynne–every word of this resonates. Know that you are not alone in the uncomfortable place. The thoughts and reflections I find myself having about Refine feel very private. I think that is more than okay. Treasure the whispers you’re hearing, enjoy this stillness. This is a rich season of abiding and learning.
Love you
Oh my dear friend, those moments in Ohio are etched in my heart … not just the time at Salt Fork but also scrambled eggs and coffee at your table, just sharing our hearts and knowing He is enough — even when we don’t understand what enough is. Thank you for being brave … and for being tender and broken and honest. You truly are a gift to me!!
Love you so!
Oh, I hear you friend! Uncomfortable is where I am right now. I prayed what I’m calling the “broken” prayer at Refine (because God showed me there exactly how unwilling I am to be broken — how I am so stubborn, so intent on holding it all together). So I told Him He could break me… And. He. Did. Utterly. Now, I wait to hear how He will put me back together.
Sweet Beth, I am praying for you every day … and for your precious girl as well. I am thankful for your friendship and am here always to lift your arms in the midst of the battle!!
xo,
TL
Teri Lynne – Wow. Annie shared with me that during a rough time in her life, she was meditating on that very verse. It has come back to me time and again in the past week or so, I even looked it up in different versions because like you I LOVE words. Its been a fascinating study. Thank you for sharing that all of the verse is not contained in the first part but in the revelation that HE WILL and that it is coming 😉 So many private moments that I think God met with each of us in. So beautiful to know that He brought each of us there for a reason whether we discern at the moment what that was. I praise Him for drawing me to Him and amongst such beautiful, honest sisters.
I continue to ruminate on that image of the gold filling in the broken pieces … and how Jesus is the very thing that holds us all together. He is the pure gold that mends the brokenness of my life and makes it beautiful – for His glory. I’m thankful to have met you at Refine and now to call you friend, Janel!
Oh, I so get this. Feeling a lot of this right now, and honestly I’ve been a bit frustrated with myself for it. I needed the reminder that it’s just okay…to trust and rest in Him. It seems to come back to that a lot for me – trust. 🙂 Thank you for putting it to words. See, you ARE a writer! 😉
Love you lots!!
Sweet Ashlie, it is okay … but trust is hard. I think one of the greatest gifts of community is when we can walk alongside each other during the hard parts, even if we all we are doing is reminding one another, “It’s okay.”
Love you too!
I walked through the longest desert time. Over a decade. God was continually refining me through a series of bitter difficulties. This past fall, I just hit the wall. I almost reached the breaking point. And then God gave me a word: Integrity. He showed me that Integrity is more than doing the right thing. It is about living in His will for the sake of relationship. I already knew that part…but He went deeper. He promised me that Integrity is also defined as (1) stability and (2) wholeness, that staying in relationship means we can have stability and wholeness, in spite of the chaos outside of us. This was my life’s turning point. I thought I knew something like this before. But I didn’t really know it, because it always felt like it was for someone else, and not for me. But the Truth is not so fickle, instead it is dependable and trustworthy. I pray for your difficult season to bring you closer and closer to the Lord as you lean on Him.
http://girlsgrowingwithgod.com/integrity-and-authenticity-part-2/
“, this tugging awareness that sometimes what God reveals to me is not for public consumption”
So this is ringing true for me. As I journey through a new place and wonder what the Lord has for me here. His Words may just be for my heart.
At least for now.
Thanks sweet friend for saying this so clearly.
-stacey
Stacey, Hold those words close! And know you are loved by the Father and so many sisters who are honored to walk beside you in this difficult season.
Much love!
TL
Beautiful, Teri Lynne. Your words spoke to my heart then as they do now. And I hear what you are saying about how sometimes what God reveals is not meant for public consumption. I’ve felt that way about a lot of what went on at Refine. All these weeks later I’m still processing. So grateful to get to meet you and hear your sweet voice in RL.
Oh Laura, meeting you was, as they say, delightful! 🙂 And yes, the processing continues, mostly in private. And I’m okay with that … there may be a time for sharing but I have the deep sense He is teaching me something fresh and new – a gift just for me.