Scripture Series: Come Forth as Gold Card---It's Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello everyone!  So sorry that my post is a day late...I was not feeling well yesterday and chose to give myself a rest.  I'm glad I did as I actually recovered after just several hours of chills and fever.  Anyway, we started another Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) and I used our featured Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site) in my project today.  It comes from Job 23:10 which tells us, "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Many of us are familiar with the life of Job.  He was blessed by the Lord and He considered him blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.  Yet, little did he know that Satan (the accuser) questioned his integrity before God.  The enemy stated that Job's faithfulness was merely due to the blessings that God poured upon his life. So God allowed Satan to test him (yet with specific limit).  So many times, we attribute trials and suffering as a direct result of hidden sins we intentionally/unintentionally committed in order to rationalize what's going on in our lives.  Though the universal principle of sowing and reaping was established by God, there are also times (such as this) when we have to go through trials in life not as a consequence of sin but to demonstrate integrity and faithfulness to God in the midst of pain and uncertainties.  It's easy to say we love God when all things are working great in our lives but it takes a deeper relationship with the Lord to continue trusting and obeying Him when our lives are literally falling apart.  It's in those circumstances when we are rocked to our core and doubts on God's care for us goes into question.  The truth is we must never allow our experience/s to dictate our relationship with God.  People who are driven by emotions (feelings) are bound to be devoured by Satan.  Our feelings are deceptive but the Word of God speaks of Truth on who we are in Christ.  We are so blessed to be living in this period of time where we have access to the Written Word of God (the Bible) along with the historical accounts of what Jesus Christ did to redeem us from our bondage to Sin.  Through faith in His finished work (death, burial and resurrection) at the Cross, all of our sins were forgiven and He gave us authority to be witnesses for Him so that others will find the same hope we now possessed.  As we spend time in His Word, we become sensitive to His voice and obedient to His ways.  The Lord is sovereign and He is in control.  We should always keep that in mind and hold onto Him regardless of our circumstances.  When we go through intense fire, we should rely totally upon the Lord in order to overcome with unwavering faith.  Job was tested and he passed.   On our own effort, it's an impossibility.  But with Christ in us, all things are possible through the power of the Holy Spirit!

I would like to share the intro to the Book  of Job written in my Life Application Bible.  With all the devastation we experienced from hurricane Harvey and my city (San Antonio) narrowly escaping the devastation (all glory to God!), it is a message so timely that I really need to share.  Though many were overtaken by fear and had to do what they felt they needed to do in preparation to what Harvey was about to unleash in the State of Texas several days ago,  God gave me "peace of mind" (one I cannot explain) that kept me unmoved by the fear and chaos surrounding me.  Understand that I am not being critical to those that made preparations if they were led by God to do so.  I'm just simply stating that as God revealed something on the inside of me, I have to trust in what He said and dare not go against it.  God wanted me "to be still" in the midst of uncertainty and I was comforted by His Spirit through obedience.  However, my heart goes to those who were directly affected.  We are to continue praying and help meet their needs as the Lord enables us to. Anyway, back to what I wanted to share with you,  it says, "Trees snap like toothpicks or fly upward, wrenched from the earth.  Whole rooftops sail, cars tumble like toys, houses collapse and a wall of water obliterates the shore and inundates the land.  A hurricane cuts and tears, and only solid foundations survive its unbridled fury.  But those foundations can be used for rebuilding after the storm.  For any building, the foundation is critical.  it must be deep enough and solid enough to withstand the weight of the building and other stresses.  Lives are like buildings, and the quality of each one's foundation will determine the quality of the whole.  Too often inferior materials are used, and when tests come, lives crumble.  Job was tested.  With a life filled with prestige, possessions, and people, he was suddenly assaulted on every side, devastated, stripped down to his foundation.  But his life had been built  on God, and he endured.  Job, the book, tells the story of Job, the man of God.  It is a gripping drama of riches-to rags-to riches, a theological treatise about suffering and divine sovereignty, and a picture of faith that endures.  As you read Job, analyze your life and check your foundation.  May you be able to say that when all is gone but God, He is enough.  It is easy to think that we have all the answers. In reality, only God knows exactly why events unfold as they do, and we must submit to Him as our Sovereign.  As you examine the life of Job, emulate Job and decide to trust God no matter what happens.

For this Card, I used an image from Stamping Bella called "Uptown Girl Sunny is Stylish" that I colored using my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from American Crafts, the layered flowers from Prima, the brad from Recollections and the leaves were die-cut with a Fiskars Punch.  I added some glitters (Stickles-Crystal) and finalized it with some stitching.  I'm very happy with the result.

 COME FORTH AS GOLD CARD

 COME FORTH AS GOLD CARD LAYERS

 COME FORTH AS GOLD CARD INSIDE

COME FORTH AS GOLD CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Color Sisters---Photo Inspiration
Creatalicious---ATG
Create and Inspire---ATG
Createful Heart---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Scrap N Challenge---ATG
Tinker Dream---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
Creative Fingers---ATG
Simply Papercraft---ATG
Crafty Creations---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Sisterhood of Crafters---ATG

Have a gorgeous day everyone and looking forward to see your wonderful projects linked at our WAW Blog.  It will be nice to see the featured Word Art in your Challenge project but not mandatory.  As long as it's family friendly, inspirational and uplifting, you are free to link up to 5 projects.  Our sponsors for this week are Craftin' Desert Divas and All Dressed Up Stamps.  We should serve God for who He is, not what we feel.  He is never insensitive to our suffering.  Because God is sufficient, we must hold onto Him.