Keep this question in mind….“Who am I when all is stripped away?”
As I was warming up for my run at the park last weekend I was listening to my iPod and the song “All I Need is You” by Hillsong came on. Anyone that’s heard this song knows it is a slower paced song…I usually enjoy running to fast tempo. I felt like the Lord was wanting me to continue to listen to the song…so I did. Here are the lyrics to the song…
“Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear You speak
You Won’t let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
Got every reason to be here again
Father’s love that draws me in
And all my eyes wanna see is a glimpse of You
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
One more day and it’s not the same
Your Spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Saviour once again
Where would my soul be without Your Son
Gave His life to save the earth
Rest in the thought that You’re watching over me
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
You hold the universe
You hold everyone on earth
You hold the universe
You hold
You hold”
As I was listening to the song…it builds up during the bridge and I just started running and couldn’t stop. To think that our Creator holds the entire Universe in His hands made me feel very small…but at the same time extremely important that He “holds” us all. Not drags, or pushing along, or putting us on a shelf…He holds us. The word “hold” means “to have or keep in the hand; grasp. To set aside; reserve; to remain faithful; to remain valid.” God spoke to me that He is all we need & that He will sustain us, that He will be our very breath of life. That without Him I am nothing.
I haven’t shared much about this but I’ve been dealing with some health issues. It started back in July and I won’t go into great detail but I just felt “off” and not like myself. I had severe dizziness/off balance and just felt overall…bad. I kept putting it off saying “I’m not getting enough sleep”, but it continued to get worse…to the point one evening I passed out. That led me to the doctor (which I’m not a fan of going). I went and one physician checked my thyroid levels and diagnosed me with Hypothyroidism (an under active thyroid). I started treatment and 3 months later…not feeling better…at all. One doctor had told me another possible diagnoses and sent me to have a brain and spinal MRI…came back perfect (Praise God). I continued to feel worse…not knowing what was wrong…and that is the worst feeling ever! I am very in tune with my body…esp. after having an all natural birth and knew something isn’t right! I finally got an appointment with an Endocrinologist (after a 2 month wait) who is a natural doctor but will treat with prescriptions if needed (if natural tx doesn’t work). I listed out all of the symptoms and he said I have a feeling I know exactly what it is. He did a full metabolic blood panel. My blood-work came back and we found the issue…your normal thyroid antibodies are supposed to be 0-20 and mine were 735(WOW :0)and was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroidism! This immediately gave me some relief to know that something is going on but at the same time scared me to death…what is going on, what is Hashimoto’s, how will this effect me?? I’ve always been so healthy and have experienced no health issues at all. All these thoughts rushed through my mind…stealing my peace and rest.
See, my body thinks that my Thyroid is a foreign object in my body and is killing it. The problem is…your Thyroid is your master gland of the body and controls/regulates pretty much…everything in the human body. Hashimoto’s is the #1 cause of Hypothyroidism in America but most doctors just stop and give you a prescription and regulate the “thyroid stimulating hormone” but not the antibody/flareup which is what causes all the yucky symptoms. Long story short…the doc put me on some natural supplements to take down the inflammation. I can tell a difference and I’ve only been on these supplements for about a month. I know the Lord can heal and restore our bodies…but I am so thankful that the Lord has given this doctor the knowledge to help me. (It’s great that my doctor is a Christian as well and has pictures of stories in the Bible where Jesus is performing miracles.)
Through this time…God has been dealing with me. While running, this one question kept playing in my mind…”Who are we when all is stripped away?” The reality of this world is not perfect…in fact we live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. Our minds cannot contemplate why these things happen but this is where I feel faith is birthed. We must understand that God sees and holds the entire universe & that we just see what’s right in front of us. I believe God uses trials to reveal His glory and to make sure His children are where they need to be. After thinking all this through…it led me to the question again..”When all is stripped away who are we?” When money, relationships, jobs, social statuses, homes, cars, churches, gyms…etc are gone who are we? Do we find ourselves empty, alone, confused, restless, in need, dry, anxious, depressed etc…or do we find ourselves full of joy, comfort, peace, well rested, satisfied, confident, fearless etc.
I just knew the Lord was speaking to me because my flesh/body has just felt horrible lately and I was so concentrated on my health and wellness that I wasn’t putting all of my trust in Him. The bible says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phil. 4:6
In church the following Sunday, Pastor Andy said, “This year is the year God wants us to come forth. It’s not all going to be fun or pain free, but He’s going to bring things to the light and deal with them.” It was such a beautiful message and spoke to me so much! I feel that God is bringing some things to light in my life that I wasn’t aware of…I’m thankful for this season of wisdom and spiritual growth.
Living on this Earth is not about us glorifying ourselves, our possessions, our flesh, our desires but lining up our hearts and minds to Him. In everything we do…glorifying Him and out of that comes perfect peace, joy, comfort & rest.
On the glorious day when we stand face to face to our Creator, our Lord, our Saviour, all will be stripped away…everything except our heart and the condition it is in. Our physical bodies will be gone, our aches and pains will be gone, our nice cars and homes will be gone, our relationships and people we worked SO hard to please will be gone, our fancy jewelry and stylish clothes…will all be gone. The one thing that will remain is the Lord. He is the one thing that is constant through every trial. He is the only person we should live for. Yes I believe we should all do our jobs to the best of our ability and work hard on relationships, be healthy and take care of our bodies but not get distracted and miss the whole point of life. It is simply….living a life that honors and points others to our Creator.
I pray that this speaks to those who read it. I pray that God will continue to bring things to light in my life that I need to deal with. I pray that everything I do will glorify and honor Him…pointing others to Him. I pray that when all is stripped away that I am…humble, compassionate, faithful, trusting, honoring, joyful, helpful, well rested but most of all…completely living for Him.
xoxo,
Jess
JessFox 