Good morning,friend! How you think today will dictate how you feel! Don’t feed on the lies of shame, feats on the love of your Savior. Reject the deceit of guilt and rest in the donation of grace. Train your thoughts to be huggers not haters. You are loved!
Good morning friend. Never lose your hope but lighten your hold. We were never meant to cling so tightly to our people, our ideas, our dreams, or our desires. God has been teaching me this lesson over many years. It has not been easy learning, and at times it is completely painful. I will never master remembrance of this under the sun, but while excellence is not possible, evolution is. Our desires are not wrong, but when they morph into demands, they become problematic. Lay that which is monopolizing your thoughts, managing your mind and forestalling your freedom at the feet of Jesus. He longs to give you rest, but until we get out of the way, He cannot work. Psalm 37:4 says~ Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Do not misunderstand as I did for so long; those desires will be His desires chosen for us that he will knit into our hearts so sweetly and softly until we realize them as ours. Father, may we all open our hands today, letting go of our “perfectly” painted portraits so we may walk guided by your ethereal authority, not our erroneous aspirations.
Perhaps one of the most painful places to live is the place of being misunderstood. No two people live their lives alike. Accept people for who they are, not who you want them to be. Love people where they are not where you want them to be. Each person’s life is their choice and responsibility. When we make it ours, the outcome is resentment and ruination.
If
We could all assume the best about each other.
If
We could all believe that people’s intentions are meant for good based on their scope of knowledge.
If
we could all respect and treat people the way we wish to be respected and treated.
If
we could focus more on our commonalities than our differences.
If
we could celebrate life for what it is instead of what it is not.
If
we could all focus on what needs improving in ourselves instead of others.
If…
maybe we could be beacons of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control in a dark world.
If
I, if you, if we…
what an impact on this world we might see!
Yea, it is the end of one of those hard days when you feel beaten, battered and bruised, sometimes literally. Your heart has been spun up and wrung out. Emotions have swirled through your body like a tidal wave leaving you feeling washed out, weak and worn. You have been fighting all day for this person, praying like the persistent widow for that situation, enduring physical pain necessary for healing, and filtering waves of grief and gratitude that amidst it all, curiously still co-mingle.
There is finally a lull of silence with the parting of the sun; your soul settles slightly, and you know you must choose to either concede or conquer the day’s chaos. Then comes a gentle reminder that you aren’t in this alone. He’s in the midst of your pain. He is present with your people, and he is bigger than that situation.
At the end of days like this, I am so grateful that the Psalms are in the Bible. Many days I am living them as sure as I am breathing; crying out for relief, reassurance, direction, strength and forgiveness. Then, when the commotion begins to settle slightly I reach deep within to find despite it all gratitude, thanksgiving, worship, and redemption slowly start marching along to the beat of my broken heart. I take a breath, and each one becomes a little deeper, a little deeper, and finally I enter a state of ailing rest, remembering that tomorrow, should she come, holds new mercies, strength, grace and fuel for the road ahead.
Today must be released to the past, and it is then when I hear the soft but resolute roar;
I will try again tomorrow!
And you friend must courageously commit also to engage again tomorrow with a fresh mind and hopeful heart! You are loved.
I started my first seminary class last night. I have to say I felt slightly displaced as one who thrives on application among the academics. It is no surprise that the things that stuck with me the most were the points that immediately spoke and applied to my heart.
Our teacher told a story about a young boy who would always wear his underwear, otherwise know as under britches (lol), backward. His dad would always say, son, turn your under britches around. Time and again they would be on backward, so the dad finally asked the child, “why do you wear your under britches backward? The young boy replied, “Dad, I want to see the big picture.” The big picture was Spiderman and all his friends.
I have been thinking about that, and how we have so much going on in our lives that we sometimes can get so bogged down in every detail that we miss the bigger picture.
The ultimate picture is this; there are so many things of this world that I see and do not understand. There is suffering, there are tragedies and illnesses that break my heart, and I am tempted to ask, why God? Why do you allow all this? I have been diligently practicing before I ever get to the why to remember the Who.
The bigger picture often alludes us, and we see the fallen, the evil, the travesties. Thankfully, though, we have a sovereign God who sees, knows and controls everything. It would strike us as insane that He would send His only son to die for someone else, but He did because He crafted the bigger plan far in advance. God promises His picture will prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). He promises a bigger picture that will ultimately be for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
We must not get weighed down in all the little details of daily life, friends. If we pick apart ever issue we don’t agree with or understand, life will become very laborious quickly. I know it is tempting. We are passionate people who seek clarity, but we must not let our pursuits and passions overshadow our purpose. John 6:29 says, Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one He has sent.”
Will you believe in Him? Will you remember there is a bigger picture that requires faith to sustain us? It will take effort, and it will not be efficient, but effective, Yes! You will have to fight, but you will find freedom! You will forget and struggle to realize, but you will learn to surrender and rest.
I am praying for you, as I ask for myself to resist the temptation to focus so much on the trees that I forget to there is a big, beautiful and mighty forest above and around all those trees.
There is a loving God who has His hand on every minor and major detail of our lives.
Remember, friends. Remember and rest.
I just don’t know what to do.
That really difficult situation that is ripping you apart, you don’t have to figure it out, friend. The decision is not your responsibility, but The Lord’s. Talk to Him. Don’t worry about how you sound. There are no style points for perfect prayers with The God. A simple yet powerful calling of His name, Jesus, Father, Lord, Abba, how dear those words must be to His heart to hear His children calling His name. He hears you. He knows the posture and the passions of your heart. God does not require eloquence, He recognizes endurance. Ask Him to clearly show you what path to take. He will answer. The answer may be scary, but once you walk in the shadow of His light, you will find an unexplainable peace insulating your heart.
Psalm 29:11~The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
When my heart is weighed down with worry, anchored by anxiety, when self-pity, condemnation, guilt, and shame are my companions, at the very core of all of them is one problem. Unbelief. It is incredibly important to my peace that I examine my theology daily, and recognize areas where I am not living out of the promises of God. Life without internal scrutiny is life without inner serenity. The consequence of unbelief is that I begin to live out of the peril of my circumstances rather than the promises of my Creator. We all fall victim to unbelief, and often unconsciously, but as with anything else recognition is the first step to redemption. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 3:20 and Philippians 1:6 are just a few of the verses I regularly have to ask myself, am I living as though I believe these promises? If my answer is no, and many times it is, I have to repent and ask God to help my unbelief. It is then that I am equipped to rest not just in His existence, but also His essence. Where are you not believing today, friend? Won’t you come home to the rich resources for which you were ransomed? It isn’t that life will become painless, but it will become more about the hope and character of Who is inside you and less about the hardship and calamity that is around you.
There was a time when I would head into every new year thinking maybe this will be the year. Maybe this year (blank) will change. Maybe this year (blank) will be easier. Maybe this year (blank) will be less painful. Maybe, maybe, maybe. In retrospect, all those maybes were born from a shifty hunger within myself rather than a sure hope in my Savior. No wonder the cycle repeated itself every year. I measured the success of my years by earthly fortune instead of eternal fruit.
My craving for certain circumstances to change is not wrong, and neither is yours. However, my concern should be more about spiritual maturation and less about situational modification. When I focus more on what God is doing in and for me, and less on what the world is doing around me, my outlook completely shifts; my joy increases, thankfulness thrives, I bemoan less and believe more. It is not that griefs dissolve, but gratitude dominates.
I know 2016 and his predecessors have left scars, friend. I know some have left you weary and wishing for relief, but although you carry those scars you don’t have to cower to them. Yes, they are painful, but if we are believing, we can know we are benefiting as challenging as it sometimes is to reconcile.
As you walk into 2017, I pray you tuck two very powerful words from scripture in a pocket of your heart and carry them into the new year with you. EVEN IF (Daniel 3:18). Even if (blank) does not change, I will focus on my Creator not my crosses. You are loved.
Each one of us experiences a duplicity within ourselves. A Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde dwells within even the best of people. Romans 7 confirms this to be true. This reality could be doom and gloom, and it is for the person without Christ because it is a hopeless battle that cannot be won. However, for followers of Jesus, it is a hope-filled battle that cannot be lost.
I have semi-paraphrased the above message from a Tim Keller sermon I listened to this morning. If you would like to know more about this hope-filled battle that you cannot lose, feel free to contact me! It is not a fight for perfection, striving, trying or working harder. It is a freedom that offers rest, redemption, grace and salvation. You are loved!