If you're reading this.....and you live around these here parts......what do you think about all the storms we've been having lately? Kinda scary, huh? I'm not sure I've seen that much water pouring thru our yard in a long, long time!!! My poor little garden took a beating!!!! There were lots of damage around this area, from lightning strikes, tree limbs falling, streets flooding, power outages!!! Last Wednesday night it came a monsoon while we were at church and I could have sworn the roof was going to cave in on us as we sat in the sanctuary, it was soooo loud...and lights flickered a couple of times!!!!
How many of us face storms in our life, similar to the storms of nature? Things sometimes seem to just come up out of nowhere and hit us like a ton of brick, and often leave lots of damage....physically, emotionally, and spiritually....that it might take years to get over....and even possibly leave us scarred for life!!!!
I received an e-mail last week from a sweet young lady I've known for several years, but just got to know better recently. She shared with me some things that she has been going thru and having to face and how they have affected her. A day or so before I received her message, I had a pretty rough day dealing with something going on in my own life....and I kept thinking to myself all day that maybe God was punishing me for something....and I even had in my head the specific thing I thought He was punishing me for...something that happened a long time ago, I had already asked forgiveness for....and knew He had forgiven me....but Satan keeps reminding me of every chance he gets!!! As I wrote this young lady back, I felt God speaking to me to share these thoughts with her...
"I do believe that we all have to pay for our sins, one way or another....but when God forgives....He also forgets....so, if He forgets, how can He continue to punish us for something if He doesn't even remember it?!?!"
Do I think God wanted only her to hear those words????NO!!!I hope they helped her....but He was speaking to me, too!!! I had never really thought about it in that simple of terms before....that if He forgets something...then, how can He keep reminding me of it? It's Satan who keeps bringing it back up....and making me doubt!!!!Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!
Ooooh that's a good post Deb as I've also wondered the same thing - you know that God was punishing me for my previous sins. But now I see it from a whole other angle - thanks for that :)
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