Everyone has a story to tell. When we make the connection between our story and God's great story, we come away with HIStory, which involves each and every one of us.
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"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." -Mathew 26:39  When difficult times arise, it is so easy to lose yourself in the abyss of despair. It feels like there is no way out and before we know it our situation, along with our feelings, have spiraled out of control. All we want to do is crawl up into fetal position and not wake up until it's all passed. Does this sound familiar? The abyss of frustration, anger, anxiety, sadness (you fill in the blank) is real. But if there is something I have learned and experienced during these difficult times is that there is hope! One by one my amazing friends arrived in my home this past Sunday. We planned an afternoon of tea time and sharing to get the year started off on the right foot. To our surprise, it turned into the most amazing time of sharing truths, hard truths. We shed a lot of tears as we heard all that each of our friends are going through during this season of life. But our time together didn't end with tears of despair. The Holy Spirit overwhelmed us with His presence and we encouraged one another. Each person had such amazing words of encouragement for the other - everyone shared, everyone encouraged. This is exactly what God calls us to do... But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. - Hebrews 3:13 We can not fix each other's problems. But the beauty of it is that we aren't designed to. Praise God He doesn't expect this of us. As my dear friend said on Sunday, "He has already planned our rescue." So our only job is to lift each other up in prayer and rest in Him knowing that He will do the rest. As I read this passage, I was reminded that we have a Savior that fully understands our despair... "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." -Mathew 26:39 When Jesus prayed this to His Father, He felt the weight of the world on Him. I imagine He too wanted to crawl up into fetal position and feel His Father's warm embrace. Jesus knew what was to come. He would face death for each and everyone of us. He would endure immense suffering every step of the way. He would be laughed at, spit at, flogged, tortured and killed through an excruciatingly painful crucifixion. It goes further than that - He would do it fully aware of what He would endure: abandonment from His own disciples, denial from the Apostle Peter, betrayal from Judas Iscariot, crucifixion from the Jews (His very own people through which he came into this world) and separation from His Father. After enduring temptation and ridicule here on earth, He still chose His Father's will and not His own. His temptation, pain and suffering were not in vain. We are reminded in Hebrews... For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. -Hebrews 4:15 These passages leave me with such a sweet aroma of love and warmth from our Savior. Let's fully embrace this verse. Let's celebrate it because He totally gets you! When you feel alone and like no one fully understands what you are going through, remember that He does! And He chose to come save you because His love for you is that immense. Pray this today: "What love! Oh God, what love! You empathize with us in every way possible. There is nothing under the heavens that you do not understand. Thank you for the cross, thank you for your love, for showing us how to love others and thank you for bringing friends into our lives to encourage us. Help us to be more encouraging to others, each and every day. We love you! In Your Son's name, Amen. Worshipping our High Priest, Damaris Avila Contact us: If you would like to be connected with a prayer group or would like to submit a prayer request, please contact us. Sharing: "These past four months have been some of the hardest I have ever experienced; however, when I heard this song, I was reminded that God is with me and He has NEVER left me. I don't know why God has allowed certain things to happen and I may never, but what I know WITHOUT A DOUBT is that He loves me. I hope this songs brings you as much blessing as it has brought me." - Belinda Kintner
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Damaris U. Avila lives with her loving husband and their two inquisitive and sweet girls. Through personal storytelling, she invites women to share and see themselves in God's story. She leads young girls through BeYOUtiful Girl Time, a sisterhood where girls are encouraged to become the women God designed them to be.
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."
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