A PLACE OF REST

What is emptiness?
What is a void?
What is that pain we feel that makes us paralyzed to everything around us,
numb to not only ourselves but to others
A feeling of no worth, to ones self or to anybody else, a feeling of being
stuck and never getting anywhere,
Will this ever end we ask ourselves

It hurts so badly I feel so empty

These are real and true feelings we all face and have experienced or are
experiencing now. These thoughts and emotions come and go and are no
respecters of persons. Man or woman. It loves to torment them both.

In feeling these emotions and hurts our human reaction is to treat it, to kill
it, to fill it with something. We as people think we are not supposed to hurt,
suffer or to experience pain. Its a very natural response our body has. If
we touch something Hot that will burn us, our brain is sent a signal, saying
OUCH that hurt! Dont touch a hot stove again! Your brain forever
remembers to not touch the stove. And it keeps reminding you your hand
hurts, so over and over again your brain is being sent this signal of the pain
that the finger just experienced. DONT TOUCH THE STOVE AGAIN!!!!!

What I want to ask you today is this, Is the brain telling you about your
hand being burned and hurt so that you can go run and take something to
kill the pain as fast as you can so that you can then go run and touch the
hot stove again?

Is the pain there for us to numb it, so that then we can burn ourselves again
and again.
NO, the pain is there to tell us something isnt right, dont touch the stove its
hot or you will burn your hand off to where it just completely melts,

Our emotions are infinitely the same.

There is a reason God placed emotions in our human brain. Go back to
the scripture of Man being made in GODS image from the very beginning in
Genesis it tells us we are made in his image and likeness. So guess what
Yes that means God has emotions. He made us in HIS image in His
likeness. If in fact we believe the scriptures are true. Which I know That
everything in this bible is the inspired WORD OF GOD! He told us WE
Carrisa, kimmy, Shanna, Jenny, Debbie, Tim, AJ, Seth, Dain, Matt,
Shanae, Trace, each one of us- all of us are made in the fullness of God
himself. So is it a mistake that God himself placed in us To FEEL Hurt,
pain, disappointment, Sadness, emptiness, loneliness. Absolutely NOT.
Nothing God ever did is or was a mistake. So why do we try to KILL the
Pain? Like it is not supposed to be there? Just as our hand that was
burned on the hot stove tells us OUCH that hurt!!!! Dont touch the stove
again! Our emotions are telling us when we are hurt, lonely, disappointed,
sad, empty that there is something not right inside ourselves. What created
the hurt? What caused the emotional pain to be there?

We often times are so tempted to try to run away from the hurt. Hide from
it, or kill it.

I have had the honor and privelage to talk with many of you about your
personal hurts that you all are going through or have gone through. And I
have told many of you as you have sat across from me with tears rolling
down your face, asking me, Libby I just want the pain to go away, I just
dont want to feel this away anymore. And I am here to tell you, that I have
sat many a night talking with Jesus telling him the same things you tell me,
God I dont want to feel this away any more, I dont want to hurt.

And not ONE time has he ever said, Libby this is the last hurt you will ever
go through. He never promises me that I will never hurt again.

When we experience the pains of life and the hurts and disappointments of
life it is not a BAD thing. In fact it is a realization that you are to the end of
yourself. It is a realization just as the hot stove says dont touch again,
your pains of life are saying I am hurting and dying here, God I need you to
take this over. I am at the end of what I thought I could do! Take control of
my life, take control of my situation.

NOT oh God I am going to run from this situation, hide from this situation
bury my head in the sand about this situation, BUT GOD I GIVE IT TO
YOU TO FIX IT! And as you are fixing it, I am going through the PAIN.

Turn with me to Psalms 23

I am going to read it from the New King James Version and then I have
also broke it down from the Hebrew as well to give us the in depthness of
this psalm! IT IS so powerful!

Psa 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me
beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me.
Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.



The Lord, God himself, Jehovah
HE is My Shephard, He is my Keeper, he is my friend, he is My ruler,

I shall Not WANT I shall Never
lack; I shall never fail, or be less than He who, is my Jehovah, MY GOD
My keeper, My friend, My ruler he who is my friend, that is who makes
me to lie down, He makes me to fall down, to lay, to sit, to make rest -
SIT DOWN JUST lay HERE
Where is he having us sit , lay at?
God OUR Friend is having us to lay
In Green Pastures, what are the green pastures, they are a home, a
pleasant place. My friends and family ( he wants us in a pleasant place, he
wants us to rest in this pleasant place)
Then it goes on to say, He leadeth, who leads, my friend, my keeper, my
ruler, oh yes, Thats my God, yes he leadeth me beside the still waters
HE protect, sustain carries us, feeds us, guides us, leads us (gently on).
Over, through the
repose 1. freedom from activity (work or strain or
responsibility)
2. the absence of mental stress or anxiety
3. a disposition free from stress or emotion
peacefully, comfortable, ease, quiet, rest (-ing place)

peaceful waters..

He restoreth my soul
He, being my friend, my ruler, my keeper, he restoreth
He refreshes, he relieves, he retrieves he takes back my life, my body, my very
breath, my mind
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
He guides me in the way of rightness, being moral
For HIS name sake (for JESUS)
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Even though I walk and wander through a very narrow deep sided valley
shadowed with death, and guess what he tells us, even though we choose to
walk through this dark valley as unto a grave he says you have the ability
because I am in you that you will see NO BADDDDD I will see NO Bad, No
distress, no affliction, no wicknedness, no harm, no hurt

You can know that CHRIST NEVER LEFT YOUUU!!!!!!!!,
Why will we see NO bad, no affliction even though we ourselves walk
through this narrow deep sided valley shadowed by death, how can we SEE
NO WICKNEDNESS, because the scripture SAYS
FOR THOU ART WITH MEEEEEEEE
I am ASSURED, I AM CERTAIN!!!!! THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND,
that you are MINE AND you are IN ME!!!!
Jesus NEVER LEFT!!!!!! HE IS YOUR FRIEND HE IS YOUR GOD
I HAVE CHOSEN YES TO WALK IN THIS DARK PATH, BUT MY LORD
AND MY GOD I KNOW THAT YOU ARE with me and you are IN
ME!!!!!!!!!!

Thy Rod and thy STAFF
Your fighting STICK, and Your Walking Stick
They avenge me, they console me, they ease me
Thou prepares a table before me
You arranged you put in place a table a meal in my presence , In front of
me,
In the presence of my very adversaries, my enemies
You anointed my head with a special oil
My cup runneth over with satisfaction to have more than enough, wealthy
Surely - Truly
good good things, beautiful things precious things wealth joy and
kindness and love shall follow me run after me hunt me down all the days
from sunrise to sunset that I am alive and I will settle sit down in the
temple of GOD, in the Temple of the Lord forever!!!!!!!


People of God! HE HASNT LEFT you! Whatever you are facing in your
life Whatever trialS you are going through,

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your SAVIOR and LORD over your
life! THEN HE IS WITH YOU!!!!! HE IS IN YOU!!!! HE NEVER LEFT
YOU!

No guilt no shame not amount of pain ever needs to TELL YOU THAT YOU
ARE NOT WORTHY OF HIM.because we are WORTHY THROUGH HIS
PRECIOUS SON JESUS CHRIST! HE HAS CLOTHED US IN HIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS! AND HE NEVER HAS LEFT YOU!!!!!

THE SCRIPTURE SAYS YOU ARE MINE!!!!!!!

SO When you are at your lowest, when you are at your weakest point dont
try to crawl out of the deep valley by your own strength, DONT THINK
THAT YOU DESERVE TO STAY IN THE DEEP VALLEY dont try to kill the
pain as you are walking through your grave site where death is lurking,
noooooo

You hold onto what the WORD OF GOD SAYS!!!!!! Thats why we need
HIS words in our minds because when we feel all alone, when we feel
undeserved, when we fill like we have made too many wrong choices to
have a good life of peace and happiness, when we feel to shameful to step
into this church thats when we can pull from HIS words and say

God is with me! He never left me! I have his fighting stick in this hand, to
ward off evil and I have his walking stick in this hand to hold me up
because I am sooo weak and I am so filled with pain that I cant even walk
anymore BY MYSELF. I need your walking stick JESUS! HE says NO
PROBLEM MY FRIEND IVE GOT YOUR BACK!!!!!!!!!

I DONT CARE WHAT DECSISIONS YOU MADE TO GET YOU HERE ,
ALL I CARE ABOUT MY BABY, MY CHILD, MY SHEEP I AM HELPING
YOU TO THAT PLACE OF PEACEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

LETS DO THIS!!!!

God in all of his Glory and splendor is here today by and through His holy
Spirit to assure you that your life is not at its end! That he is here with and
in YOU to guide you to a place of rest.

Lay down my childand rest!



He is not disappointed in you, he wants to help you through the dark
valley!!!! AND HE WILL IF YOU allow him to HELP!!!

Let Psalms 23 be a constant reminder to us that NO one has to ever put us
in a place of NO peace! ITS NOT HIS will! He wants your life free from
anxiety He wants your life full of peace and love and happiness! AND HE
WILL GUIDE YOU TO that resting place!

Stay close to him, stay in His word, Stay serving and loving others through
this Body of Christ! Stay close to Gods people that He has placed in your
life! And KNOW when we are in our dark valleys that HE IS IN YOU TO
HELP YOU Out OF it, and once you are through it there waits for you and
beautiful table prepared for you, in the presence of all of those who
rebuked you who brought you down and didnt lift you up in your times of
trials and in front of all of those PEOPLE GOD HIMSELF YOUR friend will
pour the sweet fragrance of oil over YOUR HEAD anointing you and show
to them WHO YOU ARE and bless you beyond measure that it actually
says the blessings run after YOU! And you will DWELL WITH HIM
eternally FOREVER!!!!!!

Lets pray!

God you are our friend, you are our shepherd, you are our keeper! And we
are ever so grateful for you clothing us in Jesus righteousness so that we
can stand before you one day in your temple in all your glory and in all your
splendor reigning and living with you eternally forever!

Thank you Jesus for never leaving us! Thank you Jesus for forgiving us
when we dont choose your ways, but our own! Thank you for providing us
a way out and always giving us a new day to live in peace with you!

WE praise you Jesus, we thank you Jesus! We lay in the presence of your
holy spirit! Basking in freedom of no worries and no stress and no anxiety!

WE LOVE YOU JESUS!!!! FOREVER AND EVER!

Amen!