With all joy and peace

source: Pinterest

Let me share something with you. I may be a fully grown, married 24-year old woman; but at my very core I'm still a shy, timid little girl. A girl dealing with insecurity and low self-esteem. A girl that struggles to place the fullness of her hope and joy in her Father. 

And yet, God chose me to be His daughter. He decided that I would be a recipient of His incomprehensible, unquenchable, amazing grace. Do you know just how huge that is?? Our God is a perfect, pure, holy God. No one can be as righteous and holy as Him. I am a sinful, broken girl who doesn't deserve a single speck of His love or forgiveness. But God didn't just grudgingly give me a little bit of Himself, he freely gave all: through His only son Jesus, an overflowing stream of forgiveness, love, eternal life... and joy! Such deep, satisfying, soul-quenching joy. Have you experienced this before?

Knowing this should fill my heart with an overwhelming desire to get to know my Savior and His Word more intimately; a desire to tell others about this peace I've found, which I haven't found in any other pursuit of this world; and a firm sense of security in my identity, because Christ loved me just as I am. And sometimes, it does!

But sadly, there are other times when I forget the goodness of God's grace. There are so many things my world tells me to do: to find identity in my strengths, to spend my life seeking things that will pleasure me. Being the sinner that I am, I foolishly try to chase these dreams. But they're all such dead-end pursuits. I come out feeling more insecure and unsatisfied.

It's in those times that I desperately need to remember what God has done in my life, and throughout history. On a daily basis, I need to remind myself of the Gospel. So although I write this partly to share with you God's work in my life, I also write this for me: when I'm overcome with discouragement and insecurities, I will read this and remember God's faithfulness.

So I'm going to write out my testimony here, gradually and part by part. I never want to forget what the Lord has done for me, and how He's allowed my heart to experience such peace, joy, satisfaction.

For now, though, I end with this: my earnest prayer for myself... and for you.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  
- Romans 15:13