AUGUST 15, 2023

 “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

PSALM 103-104

13As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

14for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

16the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts. (103:13-18)

ROMANS 14

 7For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

JOURNAL 

God created us to live in community. We are just wired that way. God actually exists in community...Father, Son, Holy Spirit. So to live isolated and alone is definitely not the healthiest version of a human. Community is where we thrive, contribute and it's really just good for our souls. Yet there is a danger when identity becomes lost in the need for community acceptance. Community is where we live out our God given identity...not where we find it. 

Over time and through many many struggles I have come to accept that God is the only true place to find my identity and answers.  It seems that the closer I draw to God the better I understand myself...flaws and all. I can then see clearer that his intentions for me and life only make sense when I stitch my soul in permanent concert with his love. 

This then becomes the anchor that I need to weather storms and also to enjoy the peaceful moments of life. For without that anchor I would be in danger of drifting from myself and attaching to people, places and things that can never give me identity. With this anchor I am able to live and love in ways that bring life instead of consume it. Oh this seems so simple...I am thankful for the grace of God that covers me when I fall short.

16So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;

the one who relies on it

will never be stricken with panic.

- ISAIAH 28:16