I Am With You

¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;
       do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
       I will strengthen you and help you;
       I will uphold you with my righteous right hand- Isaiah 41:10

      I have to be honest, I struggle with acceptance. I realize that as a Christ follower, His love for me should be enough. But of as late, I been forgetting how much God does love me. Last night I went to my church for a meeting of Christian businessman, and at first felt really overwhelmed. A few ran their own business, and being the only one in the room with a clear disability left me feeling alone. I think all men struggle with the question “How do I measure up?” to other men, and for a man who had a loving father speaking in to his life, that question is easier to answer. But for me and guys like me who didn’t have their dads we can feel adrift in the sea of life.  We feel like we are alone to figure this thing called manhood out on our own. Add a disability to the mix, and you can imagine the storm that goes on in a person’s heart. I have always felt rejected. My father chose a life of drugs and alcohol over me. When he died, his obituary listed my five half-sisters but not me. His side of the family has never reached out to me. So, driving home last night from church my heart was heavy. I was thinking about all of that and started to cry. I tried fighting it trying to be tough but cried anyway. Sometimes, the best prayers are our tears. Fast forward to today I was reading my men’s devotional bible Robin got me and Isaiah 41:10 was the key verse. It reminded me that  through Jesus, I’m accepted by God. As I read this verse I was filled with God’s love. I heard him saying to my heart, Michael, I am with you. I will strengthen you and help you. God is a good daddy. He is there for his children and this verse speaks of that truth. I just feel a weight lifted off of me today. O how I wished i had a dad growing up, but It humbles me to know that the Living God knows me and is Fathering me to true manhood in him.

When your mother and father forsaken you.

I am with you

When people reject you.

I am with you.

When you feel alone

I am with you.

When burdened by your circumstances

I am with you.

Praise God for his unending love.