September 26, 2022
Photos by Alayna Meeker
I would like to give you some Scripture today as we go through these photos. Let's jump right in - Everyone likes to hate on Lamentations but look at chapter three. It is beautiful. It is life, raw. Let's look at it, verse 17:
"I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, 'My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.'”
Have you ever experienced this? A lack of peace? Hard times? Like, really hard times? I won't write much commentary but perhaps you know someone like this. You might call them a "Job". As in the book of the Bible. When everything you hoped for from life and/or from the Lord is stripped away? What is the heart's cry?
"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.'"
I love that so much. As with a lot of life, loving the Lord is a choice. We'll see later in this chapter about the Lord's love for us, but when life was hard and I turned to my Bible and this is where God opened it, this is the verse that stuck out to me: "I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'" Tell yourself. When it's hard, school yourself into meek submission. Oxen are called meek. Jesus is called meek. What does that mean exactly? Is meek equivalent to it's rhyme, weak? Yeah no. Meek means power that is reigned in under control. Submission means you're putting yourself under God Who is greater. He is my portion, He is enough, I will wait for Him. Maybe that "wait" is for His peace that the author was talking about. Maybe it's for hope, to be renewed. Maybe it's submitting to God in your situation, relying on Him in spite of circumstances until He moves.
"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young."
(Bo's tongue hahaha)
"Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.
For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."
The rest of the chapter holds so many good truths, I'd suggest it. I don't like to think about both good and hard times being from God, I prefer to think He simply allows them. But look at this,
"To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, to deny people their rights before the Most High, to deprive them of justice— would not the Lord see such things?
Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven..."
God sees when you are deprived of justice. He is in total control of everything: that means everything. But did we not just establish that the Lord is good and has unfailing love and new mercies every day? Is this not a comfort that God controls everything, that if He says it is good to wait on Him then it is good to wait on Him? Let us examine our ways and turn to God in heaven.
So good.
“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."
2 Samuel 7:22
"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Mathew 6:10
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
of Psalm 27
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:17-20
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
In Your Light, we see light.
Psalm 36:9
And [the LORD] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,"
Exodus 34:6
Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy 32:1-4
We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19
... So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 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 3:17-21
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Titus 3:4-6
...[God] Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:8 (ESV)
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
Colossians 1:21-23
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15-17
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42
Be in His Word and in His presence and be filled, my friends. It will not be taken away from you. Therefore...
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Lord, I rest in You.
Lord, I trust in You.
Lord, I hope in You.
Lord, I wait on You.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Psalm 143:8
**(The many faces of Bo...)
Real life, real time: Here is my heart today. It came with tears and frustration and imperfect bravery but I won a victory last night in the fight for freedom from sexual sin. After months of relative peace I had to practice what I preach. I went for a run. I went to my family to hear God's Word and receive prayer for victory -- beforehand. Totally unsure if I would win. But choosing to win for the moment. I realized my relationship with God is by faith, not my works. So I went to my knees before the Lord with tears of utter trust, "This is my offering, oh Lord. This is my life. I offer to You my contrite spirit, my body, my will, my desires. This is my act of faith, I lift them to You as I wait on You; and by my weakness, strengthen me to claim Your victory. Prepare me, here, for Your good works." Thank You for Your unfailing love, Lord. And as we cling to the cross and live in His resurrection we are strengthened. We are renewed, made new. We are His. And He loves us. I desired freedom more yesterday. Not easy, not perfect. I don't always win, I want to paint a realistic picture. But we can win. Don't buy the lie that you want to sin, it's false. Your flesh can kick and scream and seem loud but your heart of hearts doesn't want that. Don't buy the lie that you can't win forever. I realized the wrestling is good. The wrestling means I'm not numb, the wrestling means I have some fight in me. God is strong and mighty to save. I wasn't super into the prayer, but I said, "God, I'm going to give You a few more minutes to change my mind. Cuz I'm figuring this is just how it is, but You can change my mind so I'm giving You time." So I went for a run. I waited... on the Lord. And as I stopped to breathe and be and watch a distant lightning storm I talked to a cow haha. I said, "If I can say no when it's impossible... that gives me a lot of hope for tomorrow." I don't know if that encourages anybody, but we're not perfect. But it's okay to say so and ask for help.
Oh how the enemy wants you to keep quiet. But we stand in Jesus, fully loved, righteous and holy and loved. There is no condemnation here - just transformation to look more like my Creator.
My beautiful friend who took these photos was a huge source of encouragement to me this week, as she often is. She pointed me directly to my Savior. This is what we ought to do for each other, friends. She said to read a Psalm or Gospel and write ten things I learned about God. I randomly opened to Lamentations 3, hence the beginning of this post. I learned:
1) Hope is in the Lord's great love.
2) His loving compassion never fails.
3) The Lord is faithful.
4) His compassion is new every morning.
5) The Lord is my portion therefore it is good to wait on Him.
6) He is good to those who seek Him and hope in Him.
7) The Lord brings salvation, it is good to wait on Him.
8) The Lord brings conviction, it is good to bare it, and it brings hope.
9) The Lord controls everything.
10) The Lord hears when we call out to Him. He took up my case and redeemed me.
It is Good. Over and over He says that it is good.
Pointing each other to Christ-- this is the stuff forever friends are made of.
So.
She is a lovely photographer. Highly, highly talented. Bo was being impossible. If he looks stoned it's because he was sick and had pink-eye. My dress was three sizes too big and Alayna had to pin the back for me haha. She was in pain from being t-boned by a truck two days before (not her fault). It's not easy to photograph another photographer. The light was off, and to top it off I was having a pretty rough weekend and was highly pensive.
And she made me feel loved. I wasn't too much. Not just a tired, unsure mess. She showed up in spite of her pain to do something meaningful for me. She put in time and care, love and praise. I am forever grateful for her generous heart that thinks of others. And I want the whole world to know that here is a beautiful, God-fearing, God-adoring woman that seeks light, is filled with laughter, that is radiant as the sun in all that she does, a faithful friend, a builder-upper, a smart and sassy chick that I cannot imagine this life without. Alayna Reann, you are like a gem in a crown to me, and I love doing this life with you.
Thank you.
You are one heck of an amazing photographer. And one hell of an amazing friend.
**yes I just said hell, sorry, if you want to submit a better word choice you may.
With that I'll make my exit.
Love, Sarah
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