{Recap} Living Proof Live Conference with Beth Moore

I've attempted several times to write about attending the Living Proof Live Conference this past weekend, but somehow even I can't find the words to encapsulate everything that I experienced and learned. So, instead of this being a long, drawn out post about the conference, I'm going to sum up what I have to say in a few short sentences.

"If it had not been the Lord who was on our side- let Israel {Jana} now say- 

if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, 

then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; 

then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; 

then over us would have gone the raging waters.

Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! 

We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; 

the snare is broken, and we have escaped!

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." 

Psalm 124 {ESV}

Take that first thought and let it run through your brain for a minute. If the Lord had not been on my side...

What? What would have happened? Where would you be?

What have you escaped from?

At the conference we were asked to let that sentence play out in our mind and record the answers. I recorded all the possible scenarios of my life if it weren't for God's loving influence and gentle intervention. And I was overwhelmed by the alternate path I'd be on.

You, too?

God loves us. God is for us, sisters. God's love and tenderness and longing for us stretches higher and farther and longer than we can fathom, is deeper and more gentle than we can imagine. There are times when I am faced with guilt and self-condemnation over my choices and actions, whether they be past or present, and a dark voice inside me whispers, "God is disappointed in you, Jana. He can't possibly love you as much now." But this is a lie. It is a lie in regards to my life, and it is a lie in regards to yours.

No matter who you are, what you have done, what choices you are making, or what actions you are living, God loves you. And He offers, oh so gently and oh so sweetly, an escape. Freedom. A new life.

Believe Him. Believe He is who He says He is. 

A joyful and abundant life of freedom is waiting.

{To read testimonies from the conference I attended, click here. If you are interested in Beth Moore, her devotions for women, or any upcoming conferences, please read more here. If you are looking for peace with God, click here.}