“Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” (Song of Solomon 2:13) – Arise is a gathering place for women to build community and develop relationships. We meet monthly for breakfast, fun and fellowship, as well as other scheduled events. We come together to discuss and share Jesus, while providing opportunity to release women to serve, speak and lead. Our vision is to truly come away with our Father to grow in our God-given identity and purpose.Have you ever found yourself spending time with a really good friend, one you have known intimately for a long time, when out of nowhere you are surprised to see a new facet of who they are? You find yourself bewildered because you were confident you knew your friend very well but on the other hand you are pleasantly surprised by this newness that has come about.
I have been able to walk with God for a long time, through the ups and downs, I have seen His faithfulness and experienced His steadfast love. I have been satisfied with that because it didn’t occur to me that there was more of God to experience.
About a month ago, I was in a really bad place, my body was not well and my heart was broken over it. I woke up in the morning with my joints on fire, my bones were achy and my hormones were all over the place. I felt like my head was going to explode. I wanted so badly to roll over, in my bed, and cry my day away. I knew that was not an option for me, as I have three children who need me. Their Dad was at work, kids needed to go to school and my three year old would need my attention. I consider myself a strong woman and do not like to accept defeat easily. However, this day I wanted to fall into someones arms, cry and just give up. I didn’t want to push through, nor did I have the energy to do so.
Like any other mother would do, I got myself up, got everyone else ready the best I could, and just kept pushing through the day. Later in the day, I found myself in a moment that was all consuming set off by, simply, not being able to find my other shoe. I just stopped in the middle of my living room and put my head down, I shook my head and said to God “I’m so sorry that Im not well today, Im doing the best I can. I don’t mean to disappoint you” Then as quickly as I said that, I heard the Lord, in the most gentle and comforting voice, say “I’m not mad at you, I have compassion on you”
Up until that point I can say, without a doubt, that I hadn’t yet experienced the compassion of the Father toward me. I had been moved in compassion and felt Gods heart for other people but I never knew the compassion of the Lord toward me personally.
At that moment, I felt a weight come off of me and I felt His peace, that I love so very much. I felt relieved and restful, I found that my symptoms weren’t gone but my spirit was renewed with truth and blessing from my Father and I no longer felt that I needed to strive for anything.
I stood in the middle of my living room and smiled while my little girl brought me my other shoe. As I continued through my day and drove down many roads, I began to ponder what had just taken place. I was introduced to a facet of God that I had never experienced before, I wondered what else there was. I called my friend and shared with her what had happened and I began to ask her some questions that I want to ask you as well.
In your walk with God, what facets of Him have you experienced for yourself? What are the facets of God you have yet to experience?
Maybe you have yet to experience His divine protection over you or His friendship or faithfulness.
God has always been compassionate toward me but I was unaware of it, until the moment that God revealed it and placed it on me. I didn’t force it or even expect it because I didn’t know I was in need of it. I have always read that “The Lord is compassionate and full of mercy” but I either applied it to everyone else or didn’t go as far as understanding that, if He is compassionate and merciful then it is something I can experience as well.
I want to encourage you to tuck away with your father, who loves you so very much, and ask Him what new facet of himself that He wants to reveal to you and have you walk in. If you feel unsure about hearing His voice know that He has provided the Bible as a great tool to discover more of who He is. He is a God of justice and authority but He is also a God of deep understanding and love.
Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”
In that verse I can see that the Lord is gracious, merciful and just. I also see that He is kind and patient. That means that we can walk confidently knowing that, in our day to day, He is all those things to us.
The Bible says that we should give as freely as we have received (Matthew 10:8) So I want to encourage you to step out with the understandings you receive. Since the day that I was introduced to the Lords compassion toward me, I found myself very sensitive to other people around me who needed to experience His compassion as well. As you receive more and more understanding of His many facets, I encourage you to ask God what else He would like you to do with that understanding. Maybe He would want you to be a vessel of his healing or a vessel of His revelation. The Lord is faithful and desires deep connection with His children. You are loved.
-Christine Canas
