Freefall to Fly - Jeff and Alyssa

“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” 

{Ps. 145:14}

Psalm 145 is one of my favorites. A beautiful song of praise to our faithful and powerful God. It exalts our Savior who is intimate with His children and who comes to our rescue. I highlighted this verse a few years ago, seeing the importance of humbling myself before the LORD. However, as I read it this past week, and then re-read it several times, I stopped on the first part of the verse. “The Lord upholds those who are falling…” Those who are falling. Falling. Tumbling down. Not perfect. Don’t have it all together. Messy.

The Lord upholds them. He upholds the messy ones. He holds on to those who are down. Who are in despair. Who are struggling. He is mighty. He is powerful. He is the Savior. Not us. He is the Rescuer. Not us. He is the one who holds on.

The past three weeks I felt as though I was falling. My emotions were all out of whack. I was disheartened. Sad. Discouraged. Not feeling well. Frustrated. I’m not totally sure why. I know I wasn’t feeling well, and I wasn’t guarding my thoughts. I took my eyes off of Jesus and placed them on myself and my circumstances. I chose myself instead of Jesus. I didn’t giving thanks. Didn’t trust Jesus. Didn’t hope in Him. I tried to hold on, only to give up. Surrender. Realizing I need Him so desperately. Falling at His feet. Crying out for Him. Letting Him take hold of me and hold me up. Jesus. My Savior.

How beautiful is a heart that surrenders. A heart that trusts in Jesus. That let’s go and reaches out for His hand—His hand that was outstretched this whole time. Not that I’m all cleaned up and rarin’ to go. I’m still messy. Still in need of Jesus. Still being worked out- through the Spirit. Still processing. But here’s the beauty in it—He’s with me. He’s close. He’s near. He’s walking with me, hand in hand. So even if my circumstances may seem difficult at times–if i feel overwhelmed, alone or anxious, I can still have peace because God is my God. God is a God of peace. He is a God of strength and help.

Beloved, do you ever feel as though you’re freefalling? As though you just keep tripping, and falling and you can’t get up on your own?

I just finished reading “Freefall to Fly” by Rebekah Lyons. I couldn’t put it down. In this book Rebekah candidly shares her free-fall. She opens wide her heart and intimately invites you in to hear her story, of how she fell—but that allowed her to truly surrender and be set free by Jesus, the one who holds us up. Moving to Manhattan with a family of three kids, a husband and two dogs, she went through a season of anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Crying out to Jesus, He rescued her, and set her life on a journey of meaning—using her God-given talents to make Him known. Not that it was easy, or overnight, but He proved faithful.

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This week I’m giving away two free books of “Freefall to Fly”! All you need to do is write a comment about your free-fall—and how you are still in it, or how the Lord came to your rescue and carried you through. Please include your email address with your comment. Have your comment in by Thursday night at 12 pm PST and I’ll announce the winners on Friday.

Whoo hoo!!! Free books! (The Bethke’s favorite!) Can’t wait to hear your stories ladies! Happy Monday!

{Also, if you buy her book on her site, you will get an original chalk art print by chalk artist, Dana Tanamachi, a $5 TOMS gift card, and a Freefall to Fly digital soundtrack. Swoon! Go to rebekahlyons.com/freefallbook to check it out!}

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