Smile

~ DeborahMarie

red and orange autumn leaves on the ground and on trees beside body of water

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” Proverbs 31:25

As part of my quiet time, I have been reading through the book of Proverbs.  No matter how many times I read the Bible, I “see” verses that I didn’t see the last time.  That’s one of the beauties of God’s Word and why I never tire of reading it!

I had several verses marked in Chapter 31, but not verse 25, which is strange because this time, the verse practically jumped off the page!  Strength, dignity, smile, future!

Reading that verse, I pictured a woman with her head held high, shoulders back, and her eyes fixed on Jesus! Good or bad, she is smiling because she knows the One who holds her future in His hands! She is confident!

Two years ago, what I thought was going to be my future was shattered. My world was rocked, and everything changed! I would have crumbled under my circumstances if I didn’t believe in a sovereign God.

God is sovereign.  There is nothing that happens to us that He doesn’t know about and has first passed through His loving hands, and that includes finding out that after 34 years of marriage that your spouse committed a crime against his employer that sent him to prison.  That’s what happened to me.

Shocked, stunned, numb, and betrayed doesn’t begin to explain my emotional and physical condition, but my spiritual condition was still intact.  While the bomb was going off in my head, I could hear God’s still small voice saying, “Trust Me.  Forgive him.”  The moment I said, “Yes” to God, He gave me the grace and unexplainable gift to trust Him and to forgive my husband.

The road I’m now traveling is not one that I would have chosen for myself, but I wouldn’t exchange it for an easier one because of where God has taken me in my relationship with Him.

Life can change in the blink of an eye, and if your life, as you know it today, is stripped away, you will be left standing empty-handed unless your foundation is firmly rooted in Christ. When my life changed, I was thankful for every Bible verse I had committed to memory.  I was grateful that my relationship with God was right and that I knew and could recognize His voice.  I was thankful for every person who had taken the time to pour their life into mine through sound Bible teaching, and for faithful friends.  I was grateful I knew how to pray, and for every moment I had spent in His Word.

A favorite song of mine by Lauren Daigle is Trust In You.  I love this song, especially the line, “There’s not a place that I’ll go that you’ve not already stood.”  I do not fear or worry about my future because I know God is already there, and therefore, I can smile.

 

TRUST IN YOU
Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wandering
Never changes what You see
I try to win this war
I confess, my hands are weary, I need Your rest
Mighty warrior, king of the fight
No matter what I face You’re by my side
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So let all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You
You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

 

Photo by Jake Colvin on Pexels.com

 

 

 

 

 

Published by DeborahMarie

I'm a child of Jehovah God, a wife, and mother. My inspiration to write comes from the Word of God, and the goal of my writing is to influence people to follow after Jesus Christ. If just one person comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I will have accomplished what I set out to do. The name of my blog comes from knowing that God has been faithful to me, and I want to testify to His faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-23 "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." ~Blessings!

30 thoughts on “Smile”

  2. Thank you for sharing what must have been such an indescribably difficult part of your life with us. You are such a bright example of His love to me, friend ❤️.

    What you say is so true. God is what we hold on to when everything else falls away.

    And beautiful scripture and song, I love Lauren Daigle! She sounds like Adele 🤭 And she sings my heart.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You’re welcome. I encourage others to share their story, but have been reluctant to share mine. God gave me this story, and I realize if I want Him to use it for His glory I have to be willing to share it. You are a bright example of God’s love to me, too!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. You’re so brave Deb to share your story. The words you’ve spoken are so true. Christ has to be our foundation if we are to survive the hard and unexpected trials that come against us. Praying for you and your husband. 🙏🏿

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you. The Lord has been working on me to open up, but it is hard to do. If I want Him to use this for His glory, I have to be willing to speak about it and not shy away because God is doing good things amid our situation..

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re welcome. For me sharing thing’s is not that easy either. But you’re an inspiration and I’m thankful God is bringing good out of the challenges in your situation.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re welcome🌻. Although we are, God is never surprised when life takes a turn. He never promised we wouldn’t have trials, but has promised He will walk with us through the trial. Thank you for reading and leaving an encouraging word. God bless you, too!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Thankyou for sharing this, probably really difficult to do.
    Finding your strength in God, being able to forgive instead of holding on to anger with His help. Bless you Deb for showing that whatever life throws at us if we choose to be in Him we will respond very differently and HE will carry us through.
    Blessings 🤗💙

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Deborah, Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your testimony here of God’s amazing grace in your life. I totally get that, not for the same exact reasons as yours, but I do relate. And, you are so absolutely right in what you shared about how our trust has to be in God, in Jesus Christ, or we would not have survived. We would not survive! If God had not taken me through the things He has taken me through throughout my life, I would not be where I am today, doing what he has called me to do. I know this all too well. What he has taken me through has helped strengthen me in my faith and in my resolve to follow my Lord in obedience no matter what may come my way. So, I am so glad to hear you share a similar testimony to what God has done in your life in spite of and perhaps because of what he has taken you through. All glory and praise belong to God. Amen!! God bless you!! Sue

    Liked by 1 person

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