https://anchor.fm/tammy-glover/episodes/Can-These-Bones-Live-e16k904
Sit back, relax and be encouraged. The season finale of Balm for the Soul with Tammy Nicole Glover podcast is now available.
Can These Bones Live Podcast
Tag: God’s love
My Father’s Choice By Tammy Nicole Glover
What is man that God is mindful of him? The Maker of all the heavens and earth. The One who created man from dust and breathed into his lungs. Who am I that God would choose me? It didn’t matter how deep in sin I was in. It didn’t matter how much I pushed Him away from me, His love for me never wavered. He still chose me. Even when my voice was too weak to call out, His ear was inclined to the cries of my heart. He kept track of every tear. He felt every wound inflicted on my soul. He never looked at me with contempt, only with complete compassion. Messy, filthy and unruly, yet I was my Father’s choice. Knowing all the bad choices I would make, All the times I would turn my back on Him, He chose me to be His beloved daughter. He allowed His Only Begotten Son to bear my sins, Die on a cross and take my place in hell. More powerful than a phoenix rising from the ashes, He rose from the grave with the keys of hell Overcoming death, overcoming darkness, All for the single purpose of bringing me salvation. He has created me for a time such as this. To boldly proclaim the good news. I am not the only chosen one. He also chose you. Will you answer His call and choose Him? “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 KJV “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV
Lord, Don’t You Care? By Tammy Nicole Glover
As my heavy eyes finally begin to close and I drift off to sleep, I’m jolted awake. “Help me, help me,” my father yelled across the hall.
I don’t remember the last time I had slept for more than a couple of hours. It felt like he had been battling cancer for an eternity, but it had been more like a couple of months. His pain was increasing and the cancer that ravaged his lungs had moved to his brain.
I dragged my sore and weary body out of bed to see how I could comfort him. He didn’t want me, as such was the case most nights. He wanted my mother. I tried to explain that it was three in the morning but he insisted I get her anyway. With a heavy heart, I went upstairs to wake her, knowing she was working on as little sleep as I was. Swollen feet and legs, she made her way downstairs, pausing to offer up the only prayer she had strength to give. “Oh Father,” she said and continued downstairs.
I went back to my room and crawled into bed. After listening to my parents’ exchange for a few moments, I held the pillow to my face to muffle my cries. “Lord, don’t You care that we’re drowning in grief and pain? Where are You?”
As I retell the events of those months to a good friend, she looks at me in astonishment. “I’ve worked in hospice home health care for years and that was one of the most traumatizing experiences I’ve heard,” she said. “The fact that you’re even able to sit here and talk about it without breaking down is the power of God.”
Those few months while my father was sick were the worst and most painful of my life. I was gripped with intense depression, fear and anxiety. I was overwhelmed with holding down a full time job, caring for my mother who was battling her own health issues and a dying father, all with very little help. It didn’t feel like God was with me at all. However, now that I’ve been on the other side for a few years, I can see that He was.
I was so physically and emotionally exhausted back then it could only have been God that helped me function. I functioned so well that people who didn’t know about my situation had no idea what I was going through. It was only God’s strength that helped me to overcome so many fears during that time. He did care that my family and I were struggling. He brought neighbors to give us rides to the hospital and to help care for my father. He also brought friends to comfort us with prayer.
When we’re deep in a storm, it’s hard to think straight. All we can think about is surviving. We can feel so alone. We desperately search for someone who will see and rescue us but when no one comes, we look to God and ask why He doesn’t care about us. Why has He allowed such torment in our lives? I’m reminded of Matthew 8:23-27, where Jesus’ disciples faced such a situation. They found themselves in a boat during a violent storm. As the darkness enveloped them, their faith started to waiver. The boat was tossed to and fro, water poured into the boat, it looked like they weren’t going to survive. They looked at Jesus, peacefully sleeping oblivious to the danger, the One who had confidently told them they were going to the other side. They frustratingly ask Him, “don’t You care, Lord, that we’re about to die.”
Jesus calmly got up and told not only the storm but them, “peace, be still.”
It’s when we are still we can feel His presence. We can hear His calming voice. When we start to panic during the storm, we can’t hear, we can’t think, we can’t see. I don’t know your situation. I certainly can’t pretend to know why you’re going through what you’re going through. I can’t tell you how long it will last or why God has allowed it to even happen. I can’t even tell you that believing God is with you is going to magically and immediately change your situation. You will probably have to go through it for a while and it will be painful. God never promised that we wouldn’t have to go through the valley. He only promised He would never leave us nor forsake us and that we will get to the other side.
My prayer for you is that as you read these words, you are reminded that God loves you and He does care. I pray that you can find a moment to be still and feel His peace which transcends all understanding and hear His voice which speak words that are a balm to your soul. May His strength help you to fight another day.
“I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.” Psalm 120:1 NIV
Imperfectly Beautiful By Tammy Nicole Glover
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14
With a slightly lazy right eye, she peered back at me. It was nothing anyone would notice unless they were really paying attention. I really paid attention. I saw all of her. The hair that refused to grow any further than her shoulders, the slight wrinkles that formed when she frowned. The extra rolls around her waist. Everything she thought was an imperfection. I found fascinating.
She didn’t like to be in the spotlight, years of being teased when she was younger made her shy away from attention. The more she tried to hide, the more people gravitated to her. What she didn’t know was that her strength, compassion and determination drew people to her. She had a tranquility about her. She wasn’t afraid of quiet moments, she embraced silence. Her words were carefully thought out revealing not just intelligence but wisdom. It was wisdom that could only come from sitting in the shadows, listening and watching those around her.
When I first discovered her, she was encased inside an intricately built fortress. She had spent a lifetime building it with every heartbreak and rejection. By the looks of her fortress, you would think she was a woman who was without hope. However, when she peeked out the window one could see a glimmer of hope.
She was too beautiful to be hidden yet too precious not to be protected. I shouted affirmations to her. “You’re beautiful. You’re worthy. You’re loved.”
All to be drowned out by other voices yelling that she was ugly, unworthy and unloved. I didn’t know what else to do to get her attention. Until one day, I realized I was no longer on the outside looking in. I was inside her magnificent fortress. I searched the halls and in every room but I couldn’t find her. Frustrated and discouraged, I decided to give up. I started towards the door to never return, when I saw her in the corner of my eye.
“Finally,” I said as I turned towards her, only to see myself through a looking glass. My breath caught in my throat. With every tear, the fortress slowly crumbled.
Beloved, we are perfectly made and perfectly loved by an Almighty God. He created us in love. He loved us before we were even formed inside of our mother’s womb. We are so precious to Him that He gave His one and only Son to bear our sins and take our place in hell. We are worthy and we matter. It’s not because society, friends or family say so. It is because the One who created us deemed us so. Who are we to disagree with our Creator?
“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand.” Psalm 139: 18 NIV
Am I Still Loved By Tammy Nicole Glover
A string of what I thought were broken promises pushed me farther and farther away, until I found myself in the arms of depression. Too ashamed and embarrassed to admit I had slipped away and needed help, I pretended to be okay. I looked in the mirror and saw a familiar face but I really didn’t know who was staring back at me.
Tired of pretending. Tired of fighting. I needed a break from myself. A break from trying to be the perfect version of myself I thought everyone wanted to see. Always in conflict with what the world wanted, what my flesh wanted and what God wanted. Realizing the perfect version of myself didn’t exist, I cast myself aside. Staying in the room but hiding in the corner, I peeked out to reveal my secret to a couple of trusted friends but they fell silent and slipped away. I was alone. I slithered back to my corner and I decided to do whatever made me happy. I didn’t care if it was wrong or right. To my surprise, I was happy. No lightening struck me down, no plagues befell me. I only felt a sense of something missing. I missed the intimacy I had with God. I wanted to tell Him everything but I was ashamed and felt too far away from Him. Eventually, I found that the longer I went without talking to Him, the easier it was to live without Him, or so I thought.
Finally, one day God gently nudged me and whispered, “do you love Me.”
My heart answered, “yes, Lord.”
Then He asked me, “do you miss Me.”
Again, I answered, “yes, Lord.” With tears pouring down my face, I asked Him, “God, do You still love me. People who I trusted and thought loved me distanced themselves from me when I told them about my sins. People who represented You in a way that I had only hoped I could be like. If they, representing you, can turn away from me, how can You, who are Holy and Almighty still love me? Do you really miss me?”
His answer knocked me to my knees and flooded my heart. “I Am Love. I don’t ever stop loving My own. You only thought you were lost but you never left my sight. Now, beloved, are you ready to come back home?”
Yet again I answered, “yes, Lord.”
Even now that I have repented, received God’s forgiveness and been restored I still ask God if I am still loved. Whenever someone that knows about my past sins looks at me or even avoids me, I still feel unworthy of love. Instead of trying to hide my feelings, I take them right to God. He always kindly and patiently reminds me that He still loves me. Not only does He love me but He loves every single person He has created. We humans have a tendency to cast people aside and deem them unworthy when they look, speak or behave a certain way but God loves us all just the same. He can look beyond our anger, rebellion and hardness and see the pain, brokenness and shame that fills our hearts. Everyone matters to Him. He sent His Son, Jesus, to bear all of our sins. He died for us and took our place in hell all because He loves us. No one is beyond His salvation if they want it nor are they beyond His love.
If you have felt like you don’t have a place in God’s family because of who you are, what you did or how you’re currently living your life, please know that you are loved. No matter what anyone has said or how they have treated you, God loves you and wants you in His family. Those who have cast you aside may not know what to do with you but He does. You are not a mistake, surprise or an anomaly. You are His creation. He knew you before you were formed in the womb and He loved and treasured you. You are so precious to Him that He even knows the number of hairs on your head.
I know it’s not easy but call out to Him. Tell Him you’re hurting, scared and not quite sure if you can trust the love of someone you have neither seen, heard, nor felt. He will meet you where you are and provide whatever you need to heal. It’s not too late. He has been patiently waiting for you because you are still and forever loved.
The God Who Sees Me
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:18 NIV
When I feel invisible and cast aside, You see me. When it feels as if no one understands or cares, You see me. Even when I’m at my lowest and I just want to hide from the world and from You, I’m still in Your line of sight.
You see every scar that has ravished my heart. You feel the sting of every wound inflicted on my soul. Even though I’m scarred and bruised, You never turn Your face away from me. You still love me.
When I think of how much You’ve blessed me in spite of my flaws, I can’t help but ask why. Why would You want a relationship with such a mess? I hear You lovingly speak to my heart, encouraging and comforting me. You say, “you are my Beloved. When I see you, I don’t see your past, I see the future I have planned for you. I don’t see filth, I see you cleansed in the blood of My Son, Jesus. I see the person that I created in My image. I could never turn my back on you.
Thank You, Lord, for being the God who truly sees me and always loves me.
“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.'” Genesis 16:13-14 NIV
Balm 4 the Soul 