This week’s Connections is a selection from the new book by Yvette Jones. Be Extraordinary! Devotions for Ordinary People Who Want to Live Extraordinary Lives is “a devotional for those who want more than normal Christianity of following tradition; it is for those who desire to turn up the temperature in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ,” according to publisher WestBow Press.

All proceeds from Be Extraordinary! go to student scholarships at FPU. Books are available for purchase in the President’s Office in McDonald Hall on the main campus. Stop by or contact Gwen Burks at 559-453-2010 or gwen.burks@fresno.edu.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…Because you made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalm 91:1, 9-10)

Where do your run for shelter and protection when the storms of life bring feelings of jeopardy? Who do you talk to about the concerns of your heart? Who can you rely on? Who is your confidante? Who has your back when things seem against you? Who can you be yourself with and pour out your heart in honesty and truth? Who knows you better than anyone else? Whose friendship will never abandon you? Who will never leave you, nor forsake you, nor let you beg for bread? Who carries you through life when you are too weak to stand or walk? Whose love is enough to fill your life with contentment? These are just a few questions that have confronted me during my journey as I searched the Word and my heart for answers. I have learned by listening to the Holy Spirit that the Lord provides the safest place for me to run to when it seems my world is falling apart. I find that safe place in His presence—the place of prayer, the quiet place in which I meet with Him. He is the only One who knows me better than my husband, children, and friends. He knows how much I can handle and when the loads of life weigh me down. I also can pour out my heart and tell Him about all my struggles and insecurities and leave His presence with an assurance that He is able to accomplish the work He began in my life and bring it to completion. I don’t have to wallow in self-pity or low self-esteem because the Lord said He would be my confidence as I put my mind on Him. There is not a need in my life that He is unable to meet. People have failed me. Family and friends have abandoned me, but the Lord has been a friend who has stuck closer to me that a brother. He adopted me when my father and mother forsook me. He placed me in a family when I wondered the streets of cities alone, hungry and hopeless, by creating a family for a hopeless, homeless, and helpless barren woman. He has been the calm in all my storms. His words of encouragement have lifted up my head and heart many times that I could believe that my dreams can come true because the dream-maker is on my side. He has protected me in the midst of snowstorms and whiteouts and brought me to safety. All that I have needed to become the wife, mother, grandmother, and homemaker I am today has been provided by my heavenly Father and God. I cannot think of a safer place to run to than to the arms of the Savior. He is Almighty and will do amazing things for you if you would just give Him all the controls of your life. Let go and let Jesus be the Lord over your life. He wants to be your safe place. Storms will come, people will disappoint, family and friends will abandon and forsake you; confidants will betray your secrets, but the Lord will never leave or forsake you. He gives His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.