Weakness

"The LORD determined to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line,
He has not restrained His hand from destroying,
And He has caused rampart and wall to lament;
They have languished together.
Her gates has sunk to the ground,
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The law is no more.
Also, her prophets find
No vision from the LORD.
The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground, they are silent.
They have thrown dust on their heads;
They have girded themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
My eyes fail because of tears,
My spirit is greatly troubled;
My heart is poured out on the earth
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
When the little infants faint in the streets of my city."

-Lamentations 2:8-11

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
THUS I HAVE SEEN YOU IN THE SANCTUARY,
TO SEE YOUR POWER AND YOUR GLORY.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul is satisfies as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
FOR YOU HAVE BEEN MY HELP,
AND IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS I SING FOR JOY.
MY SOUL CLINGS TO YOU;
YOUR RIGHT HAND UPHOLDS ME."

-Psalm 63:1-8

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

-2 Corinthians 12:7


It is unceasingly amazing to me every time I see truth throughout Scripture. How many times must I hear the God's strength is perfected in my weakness? How many times must I hear and not truly believe and own this truth? God has pushed me. He has stretched me. He is growing me, this awesome Father I have. To despair He will lead me to capture my heart, my attention, and my weakness. Our need for God is striking. God is moving to make us feel our need.


O Father, how I need You
Grateful am I for grace
My lonely desire to please You
Between You and I adds space

I long for someone to notice
To soothe this ache I bear
Other distractions entice
But show not Your intimate care

Move in this frustrating silence
Your grace is sufficient alone
Despite all outside appearance
In the midst of all that's unknown


I trust You.

TRUTH!

Ah! Okay...just home from Edge Preview...and I will post more later, but here's my last journal entry...God spoke to my heart through another Edger...and it's awesome. She gave me the Revelation verses and my heart rejoiced. Here:

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."
-Revelation 12:10, 11

TRUTH! YES!

Thank you, Lord, for Dana.

O Truth!
How lovely, divine, and full of grace!
Beauty in the darkest night
My heart sings at the glorious sight
My eyes uplifted to Your long-searched face!

O Spirit!
My inspiration from Authority sovereign
To inward chambers of my heart, my mind
Even mountain tops of my soul You climb
Called to praise this day, and again!

O Power!
How strong, courageous, and giving of peace!
Giving voice to Your story
With conviction and victory
Found perfect in the least of these!

Lamentations

"Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," say my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
The Lord is good to those who for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him."
-Lamentations 3:19-28

Susan Whitley sent me this passage. It seems sometimes that rejection and loneliness are great and evil shadows that come into our lives and darken our understanding of God's sovereignty. This passage is such an amazing reminder that God is always working with a purpose. Loneliness does not mean that one is forgotten, nor does rejection mean that one no longer has acceptance in anything. God has a purpose for making us poor and empty, too, making us long with greater intensity for the hope that is sure to come. Salvation continues. Hope continues. A greater dependency on God is experienced. And this dependency is not displaced, for great is his faithfulness! Great is His power to sustain! So I am able to sit alone and be silent, since the Lord has given me emptiness in all except Him. My good is only found in His nearness, my peace and power.

To His glory,

Ashley

Struggles and Prayer

I just spent an hour replying to Susan about trust and prayer and God's faithfulness and struggles. I am so grateful for our correspondence. Her honesty challenges me. God is so great. He is awesome and breath-taking and beautiful and perfect. He is my all in all...and all I have to give is myself--a living sacrifice. My life is Yours, Lord. I have been bought with a price. I am so valuable to You, and yet I am nothing in myself. Build in us skyscrapers of truth. Make us spiritual beacons. Take these ruins and this destruction and build Your own City of Glory. We confess that we need you and that our one purpose is to proclaim Your name. Your testimony is ours. Your story is on our lips and with our mouth we cry out for more understanding of Your plan. We seek wisdom in You and You alone. You alone are our good and your nearness is our joy. Thank you seems so shallow a phrase to express my deepening gratitude for Your eternal gift of salvation. Your love leaves me breathless, yet tears also have their place in my ever-failing flesh. We are encouraged that even when we are faithless, You remain faithful. This You have done that we might proclaim Your glory and not our possessions, nor talents, nor anything else given us by You. Your glory is all we desire to see. Your righteousness is mighty and unwaivering. Your love is unfailingly sustaining. Your justice, great and steadfast, deepens Your love; and Your love affirms Your justice. We love You. We praise You. It is You. It is You who brings beauty to the darkened corners which would otherwise ever hold ashes. It is You who renews our strength. It is You who fortifies, who rebuilds, who claims, who accepts, who affirms, who calls, who adopts, who sustains. Your nearness is our good. You, O Lord, are our refuge. You, O Lord, are our everlasting Help in trouble. To You, O Lord, be the glory for Your work. Your glory demands our praise, and your sacrifice demands our all. And we give, for we are so in love with You. We yearn for Your kingdom to reign in our hearts and in our friends' hearts and in the nations. We stand in awe of Your greatness. Give us hearts that are pure in a desire for Your will. Give us Your love, Your mercy, Your kindness, Your patience and grace.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."--Ephesians 3:20-21

Treasure

So this morning I went to breakfast with my mom, my sister, and my grandma. My mom gave my sister and me an early Christmas present--nativity scenes! ^_^

Naturally, when I got back home, I couldn't wait to set it up. As I was unwrapping all of the figures, I noticed that the only one that had extra wrapping was the little Jesus. My heart swelled as I thought what a great treasure my Jesus is. I thought of the importance of the gospel and how this special treasure is given to us, that we might advance it....and also protect its truth.

2 Timothy 2:2 says, "These things which you have heard in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

We have been entrusted with a treasure, the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us cherish and keep it, proclaiming truth from a heart that treasures truth.

To His glory,

Ashley

No Plan B

Though it is late, I could not shake the urge to write here what God has shown me lately. This weekend, I went to my mom's church, a new branch of Calvary Chapel by her house. Man, did God want me there on Sunday.

The message was taken from Acts 27. Paul is a prisoner on a ship that gets caught in a treacherous storm. Basically, Paul tells the Roman soldiers on board that unless everyone stays on the boat and rides through the storm, they will not survive. In response to this, the soldiers cut the ropes of the row boats (I don't remember the technical term for the little boats that take you from the ship to the shore). Doing this, they eliminated any other option that they might have in case God did not keep His promise. There was no Plan B. God was all they had.

So I am going to eliminate my Plan B. God is my only hope...and He happens to be the best hope of all. I wait with expectation of salvation and abundant life (for today and tomorrow).

Oh and they were saved and stuff. :)

He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

All to His glory,

Ashley

"Sono stato crucifisso con Cristo; non sono piu' io che vivo, ma Cristo vive in me! La vita che vivo ora nella carne, la vivo nella fede nel Figlio di Dio il quale che mi ha amato e ha dato se' stesso per me."
-Galati 2:20

:)