There really is so much to write…so much to tell…about the overflow of God’s Counsel, preparation, love and provision the past two weeks. The Lord has provided abundantly…extravagantly…and His love is truly overwhelming.
The Lord prepared me for Emma’s birth with several sermons and devotions…the following prepared me as I began to sense fear creeping into my heart prior to delivery:
“Trust me and don’t be afraid, for I am your Strength and Song. Think what it means to have Me as your Strength. I spoke the universe into existence; My Power is absolutely unlimited! Human weakness, consecrated to Me, is like a magnet, drawing My Power into your neediness. However, fear can block the flow of My Strength into you. When you relate to Me in confident trust, there is no limit to how much I can strengthen you.
Remember that I am also your song. I want you to share My Joy, living in conscious awareness of My Presence. Rejoice as we journey together toward heaven; join Me in singing My Song.” -Jesus Calling
This was so pertinent to my concerns that day and filled me like nothing else. It prepared me…as well as a reading from the Word that reminded me…”To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Just in case the worst case scenario happened right? Perhaps you have as vivid an imagination as me and can relate to how the Lord speaks to me!
I also had a sermon pop up in my e-mail that talked about the humanity of Jesus prior to Emma’s delivery. It described him as the scrapper, the prophet, the passionate/weeping Priest, and the laughing King. He reminded me that Christ HAS suffered and He will be with me. It talked about the Lord and the wide variety of human emotions that He experienced here on earth, the limitations of the human body He experienced, the grossness of bodily functions (can you imagine coming down from heaven as God Himself to be one of US?), …it was one of the most wonderful sermons I have read. As I was praying for grace, strength, and dignity in giving birth to Emma, the Lord sweetly prepared me…”this won’t be dignified Dawn!” He was right. There was no dignity, but He was there and prepared me for everything I would feel and experience, and was my Strength and Song. He delivered me from fear and gave me peace prior to labor, as a special reminder of a sweet friend’s newborn baby–Selah–a reminder that life wouldn’t end when Emma arrived, but we would bring her into a home of peace and would worship and praise Him for it.
He reminded me that trust and thankfulness were to be my guide and would keep me close to Him. He reminded me that He was IMMANUEL–God WITH US…that God’s idea of holiness is daring to be so close to us. He reminded me that Christianity does not so much offer solutions to the problem of suffering, but rather it provides the promise of a God who has suffered and is with us in our suffering. He told me that strength and boldness comes from a certainty of identity and mission. He told me that if I receive what He gives, the Spirit, who baptizes with fire, a new heart, and eternal life, the transformation shall make me strong and the definition of life will get into me. He told me to ask for more fire so I can be bold.
The Lord told me that in order to “let my light shine,” I must step back, surrender myself, and let Jesus simply shine IN me.
And He gave me this verse: “I love you Lord, you are my strength.” Psalm 18:1
Out of the OVERFLOW of COUNSEL!!! This is my wonderful Counselor…He truly walks me through each day and the variety of emotions I experience from day-to-day…these are the words I shall remember and treasure that God gave me prior to Emma’s big day 🙂
Walking in Faith 