You Do NOT have to Fight this Battle

Sometimes the Lord speaks so clearly:

"You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the
salvation of the LORD. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid
or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.’”
- 2 Chronicles 20:17 (HCSB)

"I've got this"

So things in our house, as always, have been crazy. It is at these times that three words are sometimes more precious out of Joe Tidwell's mouth than, "I love you". These three words comfort me, make me smile, and make my heart stop pounding everytime. The words are. "I've got this". When I can't make sense out of our schedule or am overwhelmed by the complexity of a situation, all I need to hear is,"I've got this". And he just does what needs to be done and I fall more in love with that man every time.

And the same thing is true of our heavenly father. I have felt Him so close these past few weeks as we have faced some moments that could change our life forever. He gave me a peace that should not have been there. He gave me friends who would text me Bible verses like 2 Corintians 10:5 where He says to take every thought captive. To not dwell on the "what ifs". Or Psalm 46 where it says, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea." He has calmed me and whispered every single time I start to lose heart, "I've got this". He can take care of every overwhelming decision and health scare. He's got it. There is no need to be anxious because my God, the God of the universe, He is more than capable to walk me through the valley and He is capable to get my little family through the valley as well.

I started reflecting on all the times where my life has changed paths, where it started to look different than what I thought. They all came to me like a sequence out of a movie when someone is having a flashback. It goes like this:
"I'm joining the Marine Corp", "We are moving to Virginia","We are moving to Oklahoma", "We are moving to North Carolina", "I am deploying in August","You are having twins", "Your mom has cancer, Joe","Your mom died last night, Joe","They are here, Grace and Laura are here!", "Welcome home, Joe", "I am deploying again", "We are moving home, mom", "I'm pregnant, Joe", "It's a boy!","He has pancreatic cancer, Sharon","I'm pregnant Joe and I don't know how!","Bob died last night","It's a girl", "We are taking your daughter to the NICU", "Your dad is in the emergency room", "Your dad is in surgery Joe","He is not going to make it through the night, Sharon, come say goodbye","We are going to do a CAT scan on your son's brain", "They found something in my pancreas, Sharon","They found a lump in my breast, Joe"--it goes something like that.

All the times the phone rang and I wished it had not are burned in my brain. All the times I looked a doctor in the eye as they gave me news I didn't want to hear are all there for me to remember when I am going through the valleys. But God was there too. As 2 Corintians goes on to say in chapter 11, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In every moment whether I saw Him or not, He gave me the grace and peace necessary to get me through each moment. HE provided a comfort only He could give and used His people to share His truth day in and day out to my weary heart and body. And today as I get good news back from the doctor, I am reminded that whatever the outcome would have been, "He's got this" every single time.

Worthy Lessons to Remember

We have a bit of a black cloud over us this week. There is so much going on with our family right now and I just wanted to remind myself and the kids of some verses about revenge. There are people around us who want to bring stress into our lives for their selfish gain and it makes us sad. Relationships have been severed and the whole situation is hard to handle. But what makes our perspective different than the one bringing the pain is our good God. He is in control and He has our good in mind. I have shed tears but have been given such peace through the following scripture. He loves our family and while this might be a refining period, it is for our good and His glory. My prayer is that we come through this with dignity. Here is what I am clinging to right now:

Romans 12:17 - "Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody."
Proverbs 20:22-"Do not say, "I will pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the Lord and He will deliver you."
1 Peter 3:9-"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you might inherit a blessing."

I will be honest and say that all sorts of thoughts went through my head as we found out this person's intent yesterday but I was reminded to take these thoughts captive and remember that I serve a BIG God and a GOOD God. We are to act ABOVE reproach and He will take care of the rest. God has been so faithful in making us aware of some bitterness creeping in. Joe and I know that we have been given so much-I don't mean material wealth but the gift of a wonderful home life, healthy children, a sweet marriage and many family and friends who are praying for us right this minute. I hope that as you children read this one day that you know that money and stuff you aquire do not matter. It all goes away in the end. May you know that your treasure is in heaven not here on earth. May greed not blind your life and ruin your relationships. And that's all I'm going to say about that.