No Deal!!

In Exodus 33, the LORD told Moses that they were to leave where they were and go to the land that He promised them. He would send His angel before them and they could go into the land flowing with milk and honey, but His Presence wasn't going with them.

Can you imagine? Does that not just scare you senseless? In essence, you can go Moses, but I am NOT going with you. God told him the reason was because they were a stiff-necked people and He might destroy them on the way.

They were stubborn and they were stiff-necked and Moses knew it, but listen to what he says in verse 15, ".....If Your Presence does not got with us, do not send us up from here."

What is Moses saying? LORD if You don't go, then don't send us at all. WOW!!! I love Moses' persistence. What was God's response? "...I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." WOW ~~ WOW ~~~ WOW!!!!!

I love this whole exchange. I love how God loved Moses and I love how God loves me.

You see lately I have had a VERY hard road with this knee. It was doing so good. I was making tremendous strides and then.....the pain. I was overstretched in PT and my I-T Band and Hamstring tendon started hurting so bad it put me back on crutches.

It has been a very difficult part of this journey. Pain is always hard. Hard. But God is ALWAYS good. ALWAYS. This I know.

On Friday evening, I read about the Presence of the LORD NOT going with Moses. It stopped me in my tracks. Beth Moore talked about it in the video for the week I was on, and I was overwhelmed. You see, God started asking me to write something in my journal I just didn't want to write. To me writing this was a sign of weakness. It was ugly pride. That is why I didn't want to write it. I wrote all around it and then I KNEW what I had to do. I had to write EXACTLY what God was asking me to write. Oh He already knew it, but He wanted me to be obedient and tell Him EXACTLY how I felt. Exactly. So I did.

"I am tired of this pain." I didn't want to write those 6 words. But as soon as I did, there was a release and faith rose up in me. My fight was back.

I went in and shared with my sweet Mr. Winslow what God had shown me through these Scriptures and then I shared with Him what God had asked me to write and then I told him this:

I will go through the pain, BUT I WILL NOT GO THROUGH IT WITH OUT HIS PRESENCE!!!

And in that moment I understood more about pain, not just physical pain, but emotional pain, God has been with me all along. He has NEVER left my side, but now I was going through it knowing that I HAD to have Him with me every.single.moment. of this pain. I will go where He asks me to go, but NOT without Him. What a beautiful realization. He is always with us, but sometimes we have to choose how close He is to us. We can keep Him at arms length, or we can have Him right in our space, and I totally want Him in my space, all of my space. It is so beautiful

Be close to Him. Trust Him.

And you know what? My knee is better. And today I saw the doc and he told me that I didn't need to go to PT anymore. He said after the 3 month mark, it just takes time. So he told me he knew that I would do the work. And I will. I will do the work with God right with me. His Presence ever before me. I love Him so!!!

I hope this has made sense.

We are bracing for a HUGE winter storm, which I know so many of you are. Ice is heading our way and then sleet and then lots and lots of snow. We have a Blizzard Warning. I do not remember EVER having a Blizzard Warning.

My thoughts are with you Jacquie and all of NW AR bracing for A LOT of ice. Not much snow, but A LOT of ice.

So Be close to Him. Trust Him. Let Him Guide you. He will do it!!

Tomorrow is SSMT and the start of February and the beginning of a month of "love"ly posts.

I love ya,