“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) NLT

There are some who believe my constant journaling is what keeps me sane, calm and even keel.  And while journaling has been a comforting way to vent my feelings since middle school, it’s Who I run to rather than what I do.

It’s God who enables me to keep pressing forward in this race called life.

It’s God who I seek in the midst of my foggy days.

It’s God who reminds me that He qualifies me for my purpose.

It’s God who is without a doubt my Rock, my Fortress, and my Refuge.

It’s God who I reach for when I am utterly alone.

It’s God who I call on when I am afraid.

It’s God who I still trust when things don’t turn out the way I’d hoped.

It’s God who is my Defender when I’m mistreated. 

It’s God who helps me encourage others when I need encouraged too.

It’s God who lifts my chin and dries my tears.

It’s God who speaks who I am when the enemy tells me who I am not. 

It’s God who’s taught me patience and bloomed me while I wait.

It’s God who circled me out of “religious and pharisaical beliefs” and taught me in the way I should go.

It’s God my friend— it’s always 100% God.

When I’m told I’ll never be able to accomplish this or that, it’s God who says I can.

When the enemy hijacks my thought life, it’s God who helps me capture and squash those wicked whispers.

When I begin to ravel myself up in the chains of comparison, it’s God who says… Girl stay in your own lane I designed for you. 

When our negative world comes closing in, it’s God who ushers His positive promises into the forefront of my mind.

When my path become a treacherous uphill climb, it’s God’s “victorious right hand” that holds me up. 

My strength, my shaping, my remaking, my persevering, my patience, my sanity, my calmness, my even keel — my everything I am today is from God.

And as you go through this week, keep in mind…

every thing you rise above,

every stronghold you break,

every chain you unravel,

every negative thought you squash,

and every ounce of strength you muster up to put one foot in front of the other,

It’s God my friend… it’s always 100% God.

Dear God, we thank You and praise You for all You’ve done in our lives. We ask You to continue to pour into our lives, put a hedge about us and protect us from the enemy as we lean into You daily. You are our Source of strength, our Rock, our Fortress, our Refuge, and our Defender. You are our everything Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.