"But He!"

 "But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid." (John 6:20 KJV) 

  "The LORD says, "Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. It's branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon."" (Hosea 14:4-7 NLT)

 Believe it or not, but there is always hope! Even when there seems like there is nothing left inside of us, there it is that you find your greatest hope, in your emptiness and humility; if you just surrender and put all your faith in Jesus Christ! Strange at it might seem, but those that abide in Christ will always find hope, even in their darkest days, the Light of Christ's love will become a beacon of Light in that darkness; but those that are pretenders and follow Jesus from a distance, they will always be discouraged by the Light, because the Light exposes who they are, and makes them weary; and they are not filled with hope, nor do they know what hope feels like. 

 I hope I have not offended anyone; but if I have, I hope that will be a self-awareness of something that might be wrong in your heart. Remember, it is never about us: it is always about Jesus! Besides that, if it doesn't kill you, you have the ability to be made stronger! That is, as they say, totally up to you; will you obey what the Lord is asking of you, or will you turn and walk the other way? Jesus is making it clear: "It is I; be not afraid!" 

 As much as I would like to think I have any sense of direction in any of this, I keep getting surprised by the shifting wind and the pounding waves. There is nothing we can do on our own; but Jesus, He is the anchor that holds my soul, no matter how hard the wind blows, or how powerful the waves might got, He is the Anchor for my soul! That is why we can choose to not be afraid: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" 

 Can you see yourself there yet? I hope not! We are not there until we are in His presence; but that is what we continue to hope for, by putting our faith in Christ Jesus, the One that gets in done! There is not any other way: we can't earn it, buy it, or make it out of something else; only Jesus can change our heart, making it brand new! I hope you see how that works; because we can't ask Him to do anything differently or make a new sacrifice intended for us: we are the one that must be made different; the sacrifice that must take place, is in us...

""O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me."" Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall." (Hosea 14:8-9 NLT)