Tracie Miles
"Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8a (NIV)
A couple months ago, I found myself in despair. I had been hurt and felt betrayed by a friend. How was I going to fix the issues I was suddenly facing? My heart and mind were overwhelmed with the storm that had unexpectedly raged into my life.
One Sunday afternoon, I was feeling especially sad and worried about it. To hide my tears from my family, I wandered quietly into the solace of my bedroom. It was a rainy day and the room was dim, so I clicked on the lamp beside my bed. As the warm glow of light bathed the room, my eyes fell upon the little glass box a sweet friend had given me a few weeks earlier.
This beautiful engraved box, wrapped in a soft yellow bow, was filled with little slips of carefully folded papers, and on each slip of paper was an encouraging Bible verse. This would have been a wonderful gift in itself, but to make it even more special, my friend had inserted my name into each of the verses. When I read them, I felt as if God was speaking directly to me, as if He was calling out to Tracie, by name.
As I sat quietly alone in my bedroom unfolding each little slip of paper, tears streamed down my face. I read every verse silently, asking God to hear my prayers, comfort me, take away my hurt, and show me the way.
After a few minutes of intense prayer and focus, I became aware of God's presence in the room.
I felt Him wrap His holy comforting arms around me and pull me into His presence. Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. Instead of putting the papers back in the glass box after reading them, I spread them out all around me. Most were in front of me so I could read and focus on them over and over. But I placed several to my right, several to my left, and even put a few behind my back.
As I sat on my bed, fully surrounded on every side by holy words, God impressed upon my heart that I was virtually nestled into His lap; the lap of my heavenly Father. The thought nearly took my breath away.
What an awesome privilege to be positioned right smack in the middle of God's Word. To be sitting in the lap of the One who created me. To be entirely physically surrounded by His truths. To see His written promises speaking specifically to me.
I realized I wasn't merely surrounded by slips of paper. I was surrounded by countless reassurances that He heard my prayers. What a gentle reminder that I needed to put my trust in Him, and I really could find rest in Him.
I thanked God for reminding me that when I seek Him, I will find Him, and for helping me see just how alive His Word really is.
Dear Lord, thank You for who You are. For the privilege of getting to spend time with You and sit quietly with You. Thank You for engaging in conversation with me, a broken and needy soul. Help me have the strength through You to overcome the obstacles that Satan would love for me to trip over. Give me the passion and commitment to continue seeking You with all my heart, even when life gets tough or people disappoint me. Thank You for always being there when I need You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
His Princess: Love Letters from Your Prince by Sherri Rose Shepherd
The Friends We Keep: A Woman's Quest for the Soul of Friendship by Sarah Zacharias Davis
To hear the rest of the story, visit Tracie’s blog – Seeking Peace in God’s Will
Application Steps:
If you are struggling with a problem in any area of your life, ask God to lead you to verses that can reassure you of His truths.
Write or type these verses out, inserting your name into each one, and spend some time sitting in God's lap this week.
Reflections:
Am I carrying a burden in my heart that I have not talked to God about yet?
Do I really trust that God hears my prayers and desires to work in my situation?
Have I sought God with all my heart, and listened intently for the truths that He wants me to know?
Power Verses:
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (NIV)
© 2009 by Tracie MIles . All rights reserved.
"Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8a (NIV)
A couple months ago, I found myself in despair. I had been hurt and felt betrayed by a friend. How was I going to fix the issues I was suddenly facing? My heart and mind were overwhelmed with the storm that had unexpectedly raged into my life.
One Sunday afternoon, I was feeling especially sad and worried about it. To hide my tears from my family, I wandered quietly into the solace of my bedroom. It was a rainy day and the room was dim, so I clicked on the lamp beside my bed. As the warm glow of light bathed the room, my eyes fell upon the little glass box a sweet friend had given me a few weeks earlier.
This beautiful engraved box, wrapped in a soft yellow bow, was filled with little slips of carefully folded papers, and on each slip of paper was an encouraging Bible verse. This would have been a wonderful gift in itself, but to make it even more special, my friend had inserted my name into each of the verses. When I read them, I felt as if God was speaking directly to me, as if He was calling out to Tracie, by name.
As I sat quietly alone in my bedroom unfolding each little slip of paper, tears streamed down my face. I read every verse silently, asking God to hear my prayers, comfort me, take away my hurt, and show me the way.
After a few minutes of intense prayer and focus, I became aware of God's presence in the room.
I felt Him wrap His holy comforting arms around me and pull me into His presence. Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. Instead of putting the papers back in the glass box after reading them, I spread them out all around me. Most were in front of me so I could read and focus on them over and over. But I placed several to my right, several to my left, and even put a few behind my back.
As I sat on my bed, fully surrounded on every side by holy words, God impressed upon my heart that I was virtually nestled into His lap; the lap of my heavenly Father. The thought nearly took my breath away.
What an awesome privilege to be positioned right smack in the middle of God's Word. To be sitting in the lap of the One who created me. To be entirely physically surrounded by His truths. To see His written promises speaking specifically to me.
I realized I wasn't merely surrounded by slips of paper. I was surrounded by countless reassurances that He heard my prayers. What a gentle reminder that I needed to put my trust in Him, and I really could find rest in Him.
I thanked God for reminding me that when I seek Him, I will find Him, and for helping me see just how alive His Word really is.
Dear Lord, thank You for who You are. For the privilege of getting to spend time with You and sit quietly with You. Thank You for engaging in conversation with me, a broken and needy soul. Help me have the strength through You to overcome the obstacles that Satan would love for me to trip over. Give me the passion and commitment to continue seeking You with all my heart, even when life gets tough or people disappoint me. Thank You for always being there when I need You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
His Princess: Love Letters from Your Prince by Sherri Rose Shepherd
The Friends We Keep: A Woman's Quest for the Soul of Friendship by Sarah Zacharias Davis
To hear the rest of the story, visit Tracie’s blog – Seeking Peace in God’s Will
Application Steps:
If you are struggling with a problem in any area of your life, ask God to lead you to verses that can reassure you of His truths.
Write or type these verses out, inserting your name into each one, and spend some time sitting in God's lap this week.
Reflections:
Am I carrying a burden in my heart that I have not talked to God about yet?
Do I really trust that God hears my prayers and desires to work in my situation?
Have I sought God with all my heart, and listened intently for the truths that He wants me to know?
Power Verses:
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (NIV)
© 2009 by Tracie MIles . All rights reserved.
Labels: God's Perspective, Identity in Christ, Overcoming, Prayer, Time with God, Trusting God
4 Comments:
Beautiful! What a lovely TANGIBLE demonstration of God's love. I am entirely inspired by this idea!!!
Thank you for reminding us of the Awsome Reward of drawing near to God: the reward of Himself. I'm gonna take some time to do that before the kids wake up. This testimony also encourages me to be thoughtful, creative, and purposeful in my gift-giving. It must've taken some time for your friend to write out all those verses...but it was worth it! That's the kind of friend I want to be.
What a wonderful gift!! What a wonderful friend to give it!!!
This is a week that I will need to constantly be reminded that I am surrounded by God's love. Thank you for starting my week this way, it will make things go so much better.
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