May 10, 2023

by Kimberly Hobbs 

EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Guest writer: Laurie Sammarco
Pembroke Pines,  Fl.
(Lamentations 3:17-24)
“I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I hoped from the Lord. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. 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. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.”
God delivers us from our sufferings. He grabs hold of our face in His nail-scarred hands and keeps us from looking every which way so that we are focused only on Him.
As He stares into our tear-stained eyes, God speaks of a love that is endless and says, “Keep your eyes on me.” All else is sinking sand.
The joy that is found in knowing that He is our strong foundation is the joy that brings us through all circumstances.
Let your heart rejoice as it states in the Hymn “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee.” “Hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.”
You are God’s wildflower that brings great joy by the showering of His love. You, as the wildflower that has the power and strength to grow from dirt and lives to show its beauty, that is YOU. God has graced you with the capability that sustains you and helps you rise above the rubble of life’s cruel misfortunes.
NOTHING will keep you down. God is VICTORIOUS over all, and through Him alone, you will be too.