When I Need to be Held by Ashanti Hoskins
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I'm gonna go out on a limb, be it a very short limb, and say, I think all of us have heard this lie:
"God won't give us more than we can handle."
No where in scripture does it say that. Actually, when I read the Bible, I see testimony after testimony of circumstances beyond man's control and a God who longs to be known and trusted through them.
In these times when life is more than we can handle, we need a safe place to dwell. We need to be held. My friend, Ashanti Hoskins, is sharing her powerful testimony - how the words of Psalm 68 became reality for her. I have been so inspired by her faithfulness and how she turned to God in one of her most desperate times, and I believe you will be too.
Ashanti has been married to her college sweetheart for 27 years and they live in Batesville, Mississippi. She is the mother of a college sophomore and a high school junior as well as the Assistant Child Nutrition Director for her local school district. Ashanti is aspiring to become a Christian writer, as it has been a push in her spirit for quite some time. She is a true "Jesus girl" who is striving to live her life on purpose for His purpose.
You can connect with her on Instagram @requel73 and Facebook as Ashanti Hoskins.
God is our dwelling place in the time of joy and sorrow.
As spring starts to makes its presence known, my mind travels back 24 years ago, when I gave birth to my first daughter during the Spring of 1999. As I birthed this beautiful little girl into this world; my husband, my mother and I quickly knew that things weren’t perfect with our new bundle of joy. As she made her entrance into this world, she was trying her best to catch her breath. As the medical staff kicked into action to save my child’s life, my mind went straight to prayer to my heavenly Father for healing on the behalf of our daughter.
As my precious Imani was rolled away in an incubator to be airlifted to the children’s hospital for treatment, I went to my dwelling place which is my Savior Jesus Christ. Over the course of the next three days, I was in constant contact with the hospital staff checking on the condition of our precious daughter. On the fourth day as we were preparing to go to the hospital to check our daughter, we received a phone call that no parent wants to receive. We heard the most devastating news that our daughter had left us on the most beautiful spring morning to go dwell in her eternal home in the arms of our loving Savior.
In that moment, I was overwhelmed with the tremendous feelings of pain, grief and gratefulness. Over the course of that fateful day, I mourned the birthdays, the graduations and all of the life milestones that we would never get the chance to celebrate with our precious daughter. As the day was coming to an end, I went to my dwelling place. In my dwelling place, I started to give my heavenly Father all my praise and honor. As I prepared to go that bed that night, these were the praises that fell from my lips:
Lord, I thank you for the ability to carry a child.
Lord, I thank you for the strength to birth a child into this world.
Lord, I thank you for Imani.
Lord, I thank you for my body.
Lord, I thank you for being a loving father.
Lord, I just thank you for being the great I AM.
As I think back on the Spring of 1999, I always thank God for being my dwelling place in the joyous times and the sorrowful times as He is to this present day.
As Psalms 68:3-4a states:
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name. - Psalm 68:3-4a
I praise God for granting my husband and I the privilege to become parents. We have given the esteem honor of raising two miracle children. Our children are now teenagers that we are raising to be God-fearing individuals, who love the Lord, show the love of the Lord to people and know that God is their dwelling place.
So, friends rejoice in the fact that we have a loving heavenly Father whose presence brings us great joy, hope, rest and peace.
I will leave you with this following scripture of peace and encouragement for whatever season of life that you may find yourself in:
Psalm 91:1-2 states:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. - Psalm 91:1-2
God is a sweet dwelling place!
Now, It's Your Turn!
Before opening God's Word, take a moment to pray and ask God to meet you there. Then...
Read Psalm 68 a couple times. Highlight what stands out to you.
Circle verbs or specific wording you notice.
Then, write down a bullet point takeaway based on this. "I-statements" help make this personal. Think of this as a challenge statement.
I will choose to praise God even on the sorrowful nights because I trust He is sovereign and He will hold me when life is hard and painful and confusing.
Then, jot down a question or two to think about today. You don't have to have the answer to this question now. And yield to the Holy Spirit - prayerfully ask God to search your heart and lead you to more truth and grow your faith through the Holy Spirit.
Where do I turn when life is more than I can handle? Has it brought me the peace I seek? Have I known God as my sweet dwelling place and experienced His comfort and compassion?
Again, we don't have to be Bible scholars and talk only in the thou's and art's of King James version to read this book. ...because when we pray before we read, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with us, guiding and teaching us.
Praise God for this!
And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.
Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.
The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.
I love hearing from you, so go ahead. Leave a comment. Be brave. Maybe your comment will speak life into someone else!
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