Wow. I feel honored that you stumbled across my page. Whether it be by accident, a gravitational pull, or an invitation from a friend, I know this is not a coincidence, but a divine appointment.
I am a strong believer in spiritual appointments. With all my heart and soul, I believe that God is the ultimate orchestrator of all things good. Nothing happens unless it first passes through His hands. Yes, even the bad stuff. And on this page, you will find messages that are full of hope, pointing to the One who is good.
Simply put, God is good because God is love.
I know that sentence may have prompted some deep feelings inside of you. It may have been fuzzy and warm because you have experienced unconditional love in your life. If you’re like me, it may have spurned some bemusement as you’re not really sure what that means—you have experienced self-sacrificing love but also have endured some painful wounds from loved ones. And you may even be on the other side of the scale—told you were loved but were abandoned and stabbed in the back over and over again. Love has left a bitter residue in your mouth and you just want to spit it back out—kind of when you take a sip of a banana-peanut-butter-smoothie—yuck! Well, In my biased opinion of course!
Whatever experience you have had with love, no one can attain the kind of love God has for us. We all fall short and are tarnished with sin, whilst God is absolutely perfect and holy, unblemished and untainted by sin. God’s love is: pure, reckless, agape (the truest and highest form of unconditional love), and holy. His love is set apart from ours in every way.
We grasp an understanding of God’s love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (I use the Passion Translation here but feel free to look it up in a more standard version):
"Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one's achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up."
I believe this is a divine appointment because you were made to experience this agape love from the Father above. You were made for Him. You were created to enjoy life abundantly with the Creator of your heart. Every one of your innate desires is completely fulfilled in the presence of God.
So, why does life feel empty sometimes? Why do bad things happen and this world appears so bleak and hopeless? Why are families torn apart, sicknesses happen, tragic deaths occur, and the unending cycle of addiction rampant among the people that God loves so much?
Because sin happened and sin is still happening.
Long ago, when God created the heavens and the earth with just the breath of His mouth, He created the first man: Adam.
"Than God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." ~Genesis 1:26-27
When Adam and Eve were created, everything was good. They lived in a garden that was filled with all they could ever want or need. They were in the presence of God daily. Adam and Eve had a perfect and passionate union with one another that was untouched by desires of the flesh, sin, competition of other relationships, and comparison of others’ success, significance, and appearance. They were completely in love with each other, with God, and with the beauty of the world. Nothing could simply be better! And God instructed them to be fruitful and multiply; to fill the earth and subdue it. His plan was to fill the earth with a community of people who would fellowship with one another in perfect unity as well as with God. It was a perfect plan…
…that is until someone told Eve that God was withholding something from them.
Don’t you love it when you are completely enjoying your life, content with yourself and others, satisfied with all God has blessed you with, and then somebody points out what could make it better? And thhhaaaannnn…that’s all you can think about! Urgh!
This is where we fall into the trap of temptation and our evil desires. Just as Satan (disguised as the snake) taunted Eve, declaring that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would fulfill all the longings of her heart and the wisdom of the Lord with a bite of its tasty morsel, so Satan taunts us as well, luring us deceptively to desire things that could and never will fill our souls.
Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, they were driven from the perfect garden, for they were now marred with sin. See, we think God is not good even in that one sentence! But what we do not know is that God did this for their benefit—for our benefit. See, the garden had another tree called the Tree of Life. Now that Adam and Eve were tainted and subdued to death, which is the punishment for sin, if they were to eat from the Tree of Life, they would live in that destructive state forever. They would forever be separated from God and His perfect, agape love. In His love for us, he banished Adam and Eve from the garden. Though their physical body would die, their spirit could still have a chance to be reunited with the Father of Love. And this is through His redemptive plan: Jesus Christ.
What an incredible redemption story! Through Jesus Christ, we are all redeemed and made a new creation! If we lay down our lives, take up our cross, and follow Jesus in this lifetime—even in this tarnished state—we will never have to endure separation from God ever again! This is the ultimate story of hope and what I live for every single day. My hope is renewed daily because I know no matter how bad things get here, nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus!
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:38-39
What an amazing truth! Don’t you feel more hopeful just reading that?
I know so many bad things happen in this world every day—to you every day—that I can’t begin to fathom or imagine. I’ve had my share of hurt, trauma, and disappointments, but I am also aware that there are others who have it so much worse than me. I’m not here to gloss over your hardships. I can only try to understand from your point of view. I really do emphasize with the ache that is deep within your soul. It feels like it will never leave and is your constant companion. I am not bringing these words of encouragement to you to wave away your grief—I hope to offer a little bit of hope in your corner and to let you know that someone Greater is in your corner too. I can’t promise your pain will ever get better or go away in this lifetime…I can only point you to the One who can make it better and more bearable. I can promise you through God’s Word that there is abundant joy waiting on the other side of this life!
If you were to open the little bottle that I hand you with a written note inside, you won’t find fortune-cookie encouragement. I try to be raw, vulnerable, and honest with my stories. Yes, sometimes funny too, because we all need to laugh! It really is good medicine. If you were to open the letter, you will always find me pointing everything I say and do to Jesus. I simply cannot write without giving Him all the glory! Also know, my little notes can’t begin to do for you all that Jesus can!
Within this page, you will find me sharing all kinds of crazy things! Anything the Spirit prompts me to share, I do. It’s not always popular with our culture, but that’s okay. It may not be popular with what you were raised in or believe in, and that’s okay too. I’m not here to offend anyone, I’m here to share the Truth of Jesus Christ. And sometimes…the truth hurts. Until you allow that truth to sink in, convict you, and set you free!
"Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, 'When you continue to embrace all that I teach you, you prove that you are my true followers. For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom in your lives." ~John 8:31-32
So, thank you for visiting this page. Geez, thank you for reading all the way through! I pray you will find hope in these posts and encouragement in the words that you read. I pray you leave my page smiling with a warm confidence in your heart that things aren’t as bleak as they seem. Most of all, I pray you know Jesus more intimately and long to grow in your relationship with Him. That’s all this girl could ever hope and ask for!
Be blessed, dear friends, and know that I am praying for you. <3
Anastasia Daniel