There's Power In Staying

We are natural "planners" at heart, aren't we? We decide that we know best for our life, and begin to map out the how the what, the when and the where that God will bring certain things to pass.

Then in the middle of our planning, life begins to unfold differently.

The job you were believing in, never got offered.
The healing you were standing on, didn't manifest.
That relationship you were in, soon fell apart.
The raise you were hoping for, was given to another.

You planned on it.
You prayed.
You confessed scripture.
You had faith.

Yet things turned out differently.

You know, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, can be used as a perfect example.

There she was a young woman engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. Can you imagine the excitement and planning that was taking place?

The date for the wedding was set.
The location was determined.
She was dreaming of their home together.
The children they would have...

Then...right in the middle of her planning...God intervened.

An Angel of the Lord appeared to her, told her of God's plan, then declared that she was "favored of the Lord."

And there Mary stood. Impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and carrying a child that was not conceived of Joseph.

Carrying the Messiah was not apart of her plan.

Yet, she was favored by the Lord.

You know it's funny how when we are favored of the Lord, we seem to attract what we would consider, "trouble". The world points in a mocking fashion because our circumstances have taken a turn that completely contradicts what we have believed and even spoken.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a situation that seemed completely out of your control?

You see, God is interested in your Consistency in the chaos.

Will you still trust Him?
Will you still call upon His name?
Will you still press in?
Will you still have faith?
Even when things seem to take a turn for the worse, and all chaos breaks loose...

Can He trust you?
 

I need you to understand something right now:
There is power in staying.

When God calls you favored, yet your circumstances bring pain, will you still believe that His hand is upon your life?

Joseph was going to leave Mary. What was once a beautiful future, turned into a seemingly present nightmare. Why? Because God did things in a very unexpected, unrehearsed, and uncomfortable way. Yet even so, God's protective nature ensured that Mary was taken care of, and Joseph would soon be given understanding without confusion. The new couple both dug in their heels, grabbed one another's hand, and decided that they were going to walk this journey out together. They had faith although their future was uncertain.

Very often when God is working in your life the most, it is during that exact time that it will seem as if He isn't working at all.

The real question is...will you stay?
 

It is about having faith in who God is, rather than what you perceive Him to be doing.

There is power in your consistency.

Don't give up.

I'm in this with you,
Amy Basel

Psalm 119:1-3 - Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.