A little while back, I had the pleasure of meeting a couple from a small town in Texas. Their names are Mark, and Paula McDonald. They lead a Real Estate Business, and are doing very well.
Getting to know them better during a couple of other meetings led us quickly to realize we had a mutual acquaintance in Christ Jesus. Becoming friends with them was the natural thing to do, and so we are.
After our last meeting, Paula said, “I have written a Book I would like to share with you.” I said of course, and she sent it to me. It is about her walk in this life, the things she has lost, and the very special personal love of the Lord she has found in it all. I am going to quote a small section from the book to use as our foundation for the Good News Message today.
This section finds her in the midst of a devastating loss. We pick up with: “During this time I was invited to attend a women’s retreat. I did NOT want to go. I was bitter, angry and boy was I sporting an attitude! I was not in the right mind to be around a lot of smiling women, God however knew I needed to be there. He had a plan for me that I could not see at that time. I begrudgingly agreed to go and remember arriving at the retreat, flashing a fake smile and just hoping to make it through the weekend without ripping anyone’s head off. I was just hoping it would go by quickly so that I could return to my ‘pitiful Paula’ of brokenness. My private despair felt like a safe haven. I certainly didn’t believe that this retreat would do anything for me.
In one of the very first sessions, the speaker asked us to go and spend some time alone with God. Our assignment was to discover a special and personal name God had just for us. I trudged off to a corner not believing for one minute this exercise would do anything for me. I remember haphazardly flipping my Bible open and randomly turning the pages God in His awesome and loving Glory led me to Deuteronomy 33:12. ‘Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him. For the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.’ I sat there in stunned silence with tears streaming down my face. That word BELOVED simply jumped out of my Bible and into my heart! Not only had I received the most precious name, ‘Beloved’, I was also given a beautiful and comforting picture of myself sitting on Jesus’ lap. I could see my head resting on His chest just as a child would be in a father’s arms! Wow! From that moment, the mending of my soul was finally able to take shape.’
God, The Holy Spirit, spoke through the pages of the Word to tell her she was His Beloved. That she was ‘Beloved Not Broken’. Other things happened in her life, and her family, more than you would ever expect in one person which she tells of in the Book. But this was a truth that never failed her. She always knew she was ‘Beloved Not Broken’. This is the name of the Book and you can get it on Amazon. The Lord gave it to her in the form of a Workshop for Women. She used the lives of strong women in the Bible to put it all together, and now Teaches it to Women in need. Her contact info is in the Book.
BELOVED, is Abba Father’s name for each of us, but some of us do not know that, or simply do not believe it because the enemy has convinced us that He does not care. But oh, how He does. How important it is for us to know who we are, and who is with us in all things. Paula has gone through many things, but after each one, blessings came. Mark and she have been married for six years now They are raising her 6 year old Grandson, Cayden. They have merged their families into one, and they are one. They work side by side daily, and are blessing the many in their part of the world. They know who they are, and what the Lord has done for them. They know without question they are His Beloveds.
Let there be no question in our mind, soul, or spirit if we are going through a season of tough times – we are ‘Beloved Not Broken’. Let us rest secure in Him, for we are greatly loved.
His Blessings and His Favor to you, and yours, God’s Beloveds. Walk in His peace, and His grace.
Poppa B.