Tag: God

Painful Places, Polished Purposes

- dannalundstrom

  
Hey friend, 

When you are deep in darkness, gripped by grief or fraternizing with fear, Jesus is not shaking His head in disappointment. He is not ashamed of your tears. He bottles them, and holds them close in His care. He knows it is His strength, not yours, that saves.  Be true to where you are. 

 Sometimes we have to settle in painful places while purposeful ones are being polished. 

 Sit with your sorrow and pause in your pain, for they hold holy purpose. Once Jesus is ready, He will dim your darkness, lavish grace upon your grief and hand carve a deeper faith out of your fear.  

Jesus your children are parched. They are on dry, dusty roads they never would of chosen. None of us know why you have allowed these journeys, but if they must be, give fresh springs of living water to sustain your children as they travel. Place friends along their paths that mirror your benevolence, giving them mana for each moment. Allow your glory and your grace to be the story at the finish line. Your will, not ours Lord.  Amen.

Generous Grace

- dannalundstrom

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Grace, Father.   We need your grace.   There are times we confuse our sovereign design with our sinful desires, and we need your grace.   Generous grace.   In moments, we judge and are judged for that, Lord, we need your grace.   Generous grace.   We seek happiness above holiness and self-gratification is often the motive of our hearts.   Oh, how we need your grace.   Generous grace.   May we receive and reciprocate it, Father.   Generous grace.   I need it every hour of every day.   Your generous grace.   Thank you, Jesus, for the ultimate sacrifice of security for us, your children.   Grace.   Generous grace.

Just Believe

- dannalundstrom 4 Comments

 

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Hey, you, That valley you are traveling. The one that is cutting you up as you wait; ripping your heart apart with worry, and making it hard to get up, dress and put on a smile. Yeah, you know the one. If you only knew! Sometimes in my desperate prayers for people I love; I cry out to The Lord, “if they only knew what I know. If they could only see what I see. They would be at peace. In my plea The Lord said back to me, “I feel the same about you.” Your pain is just a prelude to an eternal purpose. Battles are where beautiful souls are born. Your worry is a welcome invitation for a deeper relationship with a loving Father while you wait. He knows.. He sees. He hears. He loves you and knows the plans He has for you. Your job is just to believe.

Purpose is the Best Prescription for Pain

- dannalundstrom
  
Eventually, the dense fog of grief begins to lift from the riddled road it has walked us down, and we begin to see ahead again. Life does not pause for our pain. It marches on and so must we, not as we were but as we now are; changed by the chiseling refurbishment of suffering. The best prescription for your pain is to give it a purpose. Many have traveled before you and many will after you. God’s intentions for us are never futile. Ask Him to begin revealing His purpose to you, and watch as beauty arises from that broken road. 2 Corinthians 1:4~4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

The Life Is Not the Last Chapter

- dannalundstrom

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I am as inadequate to the world as the world is to me, and when we learn that is as it was designed to be, that is GRACE.

Thankfully this life is not the last chapter.  As it is now is not how it will end.  For those who have resigned to their insufficiency and submitted to belief in a sufficient God the story ends differently.  Our temporary life concludes with an abolishment of pain, suffering, evil, fighting and discontent.  These things, the broken things, are all around us and seemingly more prolific every day.

Life isn’t fair, and on the surface of many circumstances God seems an unjust God.  That is the treasure of the Bible, however. God’s word warns us of it all, injustices of every kind.  Just as we have been apprised of the tragedies of this life so have we been promised a great trust in the next.  

The last chapter is ironically the beginning.  The beginning of a life free from a world imbued with pain and suffering.  We have this great hope, friends.  By grace for all those who have believed through faith and not of our own adequacy, (Ephesians 2:8), the crown is ours.  

The story has a beautiful ending free of tears and tragedies.  The story ends with a new beginning.  A beginning that has no ending and cast amidst perfect peace and triumphant joy.  Our hope is not here in this frail and fleeting place.  For that, we may all rejoice!

Embracing Change

- dannalundstrom

When our familiar becomes foreign, normal becomes new and usual becomes unknown; it feels as if a piece of our life is gone forever, and it is. Lost. It will never be as it was again. It is the dying of a part of us that is so deeply rooted and known that it is painful to imagine how life will look moving forward. It is a challenge to gently and fondly hold, and remember what was so that we may courageously embrace what is.

Overcoming the sting of circumstances we do not wish, nor would we choose does not mean we are happy. It does not mean we are complete, unbroken or perfect. It means we are at peace.

God tends to script our lives in such a way that eventually brings peace to our pain.

Peace does not evolve by chance. One must be available to the works of the Spirit to reap Its fruit. Looking when we do not see, believing when we do not understand, listening when we do not hear, and fighting for it all when we are weary. In the midst of staying faithful, little fountains of gratitude are born in the middle of all our grief. The light of gratitude ultimately overcomes the darkness of grief.

One secret to mastering this mystery is found in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 26:3~You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You.

Embracing every big and little re-direction is part of life. Some are happy, and some are sad. One glorious day, though, everything we knew, and everything we lost will be familiar again. Nothing eternal is lost forever. If you are facing a new normal, God is extending His hand. Don’t lose hope friends!

For all my family, I love you all so much!

But God

- dannalundstrom

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Jesus lived to see you. He died to save you. He was resurrected to sustain you. He sees what you are walking through today. He will rescue you from the pit of despair if you take His hand. He will comfort you in order that you may find confidence and joy in Him, not your circumstances. Every time doubt and fear intrude your space today fight back with two words; But God. He is already in the midst.

God is Always in the Midst of Our Mess

- dannalundstrom

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Around 5:30 this morning we were jolted awake by the most terrifying, booming noises and sounds of shattering glass. All this set off our glass shattering detector on our alarm, triggering that chaos as well. To be shocked out of a deep sleep to that kind of noise is paralyzingly. It sounded like our house was being bombed. All I could think of was where my kids were and getting to them, but I could not move.

Praise God the only casualties were material things. This was a very heavy mirror. We did not move the pictured chest that was against the wall, pre-fall. The force of the mirror thrust the chest out into the room. Everything on the chest, two lamps and a heavy, leaded glass bowl full of cut glass decorative ornaments, was shattered.

One thing survived untouched. That is a special picture of Carter and Macey in the black frame that has always been in that exact place. The picture not only didn’t break, it didn’t even move. Of all the things in the zone of destruction the picture frame was the most vulnerable because it is very light and made of weak material, yet it prevailed without even a nudge in another direction. Interesting!

This photo does not do the mess justice. Chards of glass spanned three rooms, floors are badly scratched and debris is everywhere. None of this is going to Heaven with me except my children, and I think the status of their picture so sweetly reminds me of that. Thank you God for all the little blessings in the big messes of our lives. A photo is worth a thousand words; Your words of faithfulness and protection.

It’s the Eternal

- dannalundstrom

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All things not eternal are eternally out of date. ~C.S. Lewis
Meditating on this allows me to take an inventory of my life and let a lot go! We can leave the comparisons, accomplishments, victories, defeats, credentials, resumes, mistakes, losses and so on behind. A performance mentality leads to a worn out mentality. There is no reciprocity between here and Heaven except for a surrendered and repentant heart. Our acceptance of our inadequacy qualifies us more than our adequacy ever will. Allow that to make life lighter today.

I Am Weak but He is Strong

- dannalundstrom

 

There is a misconception that Christians should always feel happy and comfortable, but that is untrue. The Bible illustrates this for us with countless stories of struggle. My truth is that many days I feel more ragged than refreshed.

In my distress I cry out, please, Father let there be purpose in this pain. Allow me to understand your plan so my eyes may see with clarity, my ears may hear without strain and my heart may abide without aching. Then, as an obedient daughter and follower of Jesus, I know I must sum up my plea with; your will not mine be done, Father.

And that is hard, but that is holy.

I think, however, when we get to a place in our lives that we can end our prayers as Jesus did just before His death, that is a great blessing. It means our truest heart’s desire is to be operating within the will of God. It is only in the confines of obedience to Him, not self, that we will experience the steadfast joy of the Lord.

I take great comfort from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10~ Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

As a child I sang it; I am weak, but He is strong. Now as an adult I am accountable to not only understand it but stand under that life-giving truth. That does not mean I am not sad or weary at times. It means I can reflect the character of a loving and faithful Father despite what storms are brewing around me.

Father, thank you for the Bible that shows us time and time again this life is less about happiness and more about holiness. I am grateful for the life of your son, Jesus, who lived a perfect life amidst unimaginable suffering so that we would have a model by which to persevere. You complete us in all the areas we are incomplete. You mend all the places we are broken. You have already written the script of our lives from beginning to end. Every struggle and every success, you know the path and the divine plan. Equip us to rest in your oversight as we sometimes walk very difficult roads. Help us to remember you have adopted us as your children, and we do not have to live as orphans, but as safe, provided for children. Grace, Father. Give us grace for ourselves and grace for all who intersect our lives. Thank you for loving us. Amen.