Process of You Are Still

You are still. These three words have been the focus point for me these past few weeks and all of last semester. I never thought I would use those words as often and with such grave importance as I have grown to use them. It starts with something way earlier than saying them though. You see those words, they start with realization, then experiencing and letting go, and ends with trust and contentment.

Let's just start with the beginning, with brokenness and hopelessness. We all have experienced something be it big or small that has left us hurt. Some of us have been hurt so bad that we have run away from the anguish, from the sorrow, from the piercing pain that comes with thinking about it. So, instead of looking at it, we put up a wall, a mask to pretend that it didn't happen and we run. We run as fast as we can away from ever having to look at or deal with the pain that has been bestowed upon us. Some of us take our hurt and we say that we've got everything under control and we can find our own way of dealing with it and our own way of healing. We do so completely away from God because this is just a small thing and we don't need to bother God with such small things. After all, God is a big God who is in control of the universe who doesn't need to look at the things that we can deal with and we are just small people, how could He care about just one person and their small problems?

Saying the words You Are Still takes first realizing that there is brokenness in your life, that there are things that have happened that hurt, that are not fun to think of, that you wish had never happened. It takes realizing that God is a big God, yes, but also that He is a God that cares about YOU, that cares about everything you think about and everything you go through, no matter how small. He LOVES you, it takes realizing that and recognizing that He wants an intimate relationship with you.

Then we walk through it. It's not that we recognize the hurt and then we find immediate healing without ever having to walk through what it was that hurt us, what it felt like to be hurt, what thoughts and events occurred that dug the knife in. We walk through it, we begin to feel for the first time. We see what it was that hurt us, we deal with the river of pain that we built that fantastic dam for. And it hurts. But we continue to walk through it, because we have a reason for doing it, we have a hope that is being restored as we walk and talk about it with the Lord. Because, we're not just walking through our pain for the sake of walking through it; we're walking through it because Christ has promised healing and we are holding on to the promise with our whole lives. And we are giving up the reigns to all of our hurt to the Lord as we walk through our anguish. We are putting these emotions and tears at the feet of Christ. And you know what, He's catching them before they even hit the ground and He's looking at us with Love so fierce we are overwhelmed to experience it.

Then the words come. Then the You Are Still is uttered. As we are in anguish, as we are sobbing uncontrollably, as we are feeling for the first time the things that we've spent our life running from, we utter the words: You. Are. Still. "God, You are still good. You are still in control. You still love me. You still have a good plan for my life. You are still faithful. You are still forgiving. You are still with me. You are still accepting. You are still calling me Child. You still see me. You still catch me. You are still who You say You are." And as we utter these words we see a transformation. A transformation from the lies that Satan has spent so long convincing of us into the Truth that God has placed in our lives that NEVER change or alter. We see a transformation from all that we are not into all that Christ is. We lay our pain at His feet and find the healing He places in our hands. We find freedom from the anguish we've been chained to all this time. We find the reason for the cross, and in that we rejoice.

You Are Still Everything. Thank You Lord!