Franklin Five

Over the past month, I have felt the enemy's attack in a real way. Tim has felt it, too. Yet, I have felt God's protection around me, and He has spoken sweet words of love and encouragement that have strengthened my heart at times that I have been so discouraged.

In three different ways at three different times, God brought two verses to mind that I knew He wanted me to hear. Sometimes, God uses repetition to get our attention. This is one of the verses:

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God first brought that verse to my mind last week as I was feeling very weary over the potty-training issues. I just felt like I couldn't wake up the next morning and do it all over again the next day. Then, my life-long best friend emailed the verse to me. Later that day, someone in my Bible study read the verse aloud. God has used this verse at another time in my life, and I wrote it on a sheet of paper that stayed on the fridge for months. God's word is more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. Psalm 19:10

The second verse He used to encourage me this week is

Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

First, this verse came to my mind, and then I heard it in a song on the radio. Finally, it was part of a scripture reading in church today. Again, this verse was special to me when we first moved to Nashville for Tim to go to grad school. Tennessee is full of beautiful hills, and often when I look at the hills around our city, I think of this verse. Help from the maker of heaven and earth-where could you find better help than from Him?

I am so thankful and in awe that the maker of heaven and earth, the creator of all things, and the God of this universe cares for me. He sees my daily struggles that in the grand scheme of things are quite small. He speaks to me in real ways, and He longs to encourage my heart.

In worship today, we sang a beautiful song entitled One True God. Here are some of the lyrics:

You're the God of the falling fire.
You're the God of the coming rain.
You're the God of the gentle whisper-
Surely You are, Surely You are

The one, true God-
Strong yet beautiful,
Just yet merciful,
Proving yourself to be
The one true God-
Never changing, but
Still mysterious
The infinite, yet intimate God.

The part of that song that really made me think was the very last verse in the chorus. God is infinite yet intimate. He is amazingly huge, omnipresent and omniscient, and yet, He knows everything about me and wants me to know Him. He knows and loves and ordains the days of a little girl in Africa, and He knows and loves and ordains the days of a woman in Nashville. Somehow using His creativity, His wisdom, and His compassion, He is working to bring the two together.

Infinite, yet intimate...

our God.