Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
I can’t believe it’s been over three months since I last published a poem. That one was tied to a specific verse—Psalm 34:8—but this one is based on several verses from Psalm 139. It’s about how intimately God knows us. It’s short and simple, but hopefully, it’s a reminder of His wonderful love.
Five years ago, I published a post called How I’ve Tasted God’s Goodness Through Not Having a Boyfriend. In that post, I talked about God’s kindness toward me in not giving me a boyfriend because (in short) I wasn’t ready for one. I suppose I could give this post the same name because it’s about losing James*. Although he wasn’t technically my boyfriend, he was the closest thing I’ve had to one. And through the painful experience of losing him, God has again let me taste His goodness.
This idea of not giving up on love (i.e., not despairing as a single girl) has been on my mind a lot lately. Sadly, many single girls do give up on love—which leads them to become bitter and resentful. Sometimes it even leads them to settle for guys who aren’t God’s best for them. So I wrote this poem about not giving up on love to encourage my fellow single girls—and to encourage my future husband.
I know that I already wrote a New Year's post, but I had this idea for a poem that I couldn't not write (and when was the last time I published a poem on TTT?). You've probably been getting bombarded with a lot of content about growth and resolutions, which can be helpful but also overwhelming. I wrote this post as a reminder to myself (and to you!) that although it's important to strive for growth in our relationship with God, He has already sacrificed everything for our salvation and sanctification. And because of that, our faults and failures can be forgiven.
You know that crushed feeling you get when the guy you like starts dating someone else? I wrote this poem on the same day I found out the guy I secretly liked was dating someone else. Honestly, it was a very depressing day for me. But the purpose of this poem isn't to throw a pity party; it's to express my emotions and provide an outlet for you to express yours, too. You don't have to stuff the sadness down into the depths of your soul. You can take that sadness to Someone.
Friends, God doesn't just see you at your highest moments; He sees you at your lowest moments, too. I encourage you to read Psalm 69 in its entirety, but I included part of it at the end of this poem. Feel God's peace as you read it and rest in His presence.
When you get stuck in a works-based mindset, open up your Bible and see what God says about grace. It's true that the Bible contains God's commands, but it's not true that you have to keep all of those commands to become (or stay) saved. Read the book of Romans if you don't believe me. You'll discover that He was, is, and will be better than we ever could be.
I don't know if you're a control freak like me, but I do know that trying to be in control is exhausting—because it's actually impossible. The outcome may or may not be good if you manipulate the situation to get what you want, but the outcome will be good if you choose to let God have control of the situation.
As countercultural as this may sound, busyness isn't a virtue. That's probably not the message that you'll get from paying attention to social media, Hollywood, or maybe even your family members and friends. But that's the message that you'll get from reading Scripture. So before you start applauding yourself for having such a busy life, consider slowing down and taking time to rest instead.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 