Tag: God

Remember and Rest,Friends 

- dannalundstrom

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.

God Is Looking For Endurance, Not Eloquence

- dannalundstrom

108196178-2I 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.

Won’t You Come Home

- dannalundstrom

 

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.

Even If, Friend

- dannalundstrom


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.

Faith,Not Feats

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

3eec0d24125490b3a8f2123ff53708b0I am not good enough. I will never be good enough. I could never be a Christian because I can not get my act together to qualify. If you ever find yourself thinking these thoughts, you are right about all except the last one. You, NOR I will never be adequate, but Jesus was enough on our behalf. Being good enough is not and never was up to us. WE are perfectly acceptable and accepted as we are because He was and is sufficient, and He completed us by imparting His righteousness to us as a gift that we receive by believing. We are justified by faith, not feats. I hope you rest easy tonight knowing you are enough, friend! You are loved!

An Absolute, Not an Aspiration

- dannalundstrom

7bd381d2f808be7d282e66205a0ee75fHeavenly Father, (blank), is so very hard. I do not understand why it has to be such a struggle, but I trust you know what you are doing and that it is for my gain and your glory. Please keep my heart and mind faithful to you and your promises as I walk this path. When I hit a bump as I travel, lift my eyes to see and tune my ears to hear you.

I know that thing that is cutting you up, keeping you unraveled and desperate for relief is exhausting you, friend. Fight to Remember today that your hope is not in the easing or extinguishment of that situation that the flesh so desires, but in A Savior who says I am on your side and in me your eternal hope is an absolute, not an aspiration. You are loved.

It Is As It Should Be

- dannalundstrom

bc132f69f397d9a249d001d500cf39f4Be careful not to spend time wishing you were somewhere else, someone else, or something else, that you forget to live as yourself. It is so easy to compare every part of ourselves, but that only leaves us feeling inadequate. If we truly believe God does not make mistakes, then we must believe that everything about us, and every situation surrounding us, is as it should be. Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; they go under because of the water that gets inside them. Guard your hearts and minds, friends. Nothing about you or your circumstances was a mistake. You are a masterpiece in the making and the circumstances surrounding you are advancing the Artist’s work! You are loved.

Are You Running a Marathon or a Sprint

- dannalundstrom

Psalm 66:16 says, come and listen all you who fear God, and I will tell you all He did for me.
We need to be encouraging one another with our experiences with The Lord and with His word.  The beauty of God’s word is how it imprints our hearts and ministers to us in our times of need. 
The truth is, whether we are running life as a marathon, renewing and committing ourselves to God daily or running as a sprint under our authority and sufficiency; both are challenging.    What the first gives us that the latter does not is perseverance and the ability to reflect the character of our Savior not the chaos of our situations.  We can fall in all the pot holes along the race, only to rise, dust ourselves off and keep running. 

When we are right with God, the circumstances and conditions of our race do not define us, but they depict Who lives inside of us.  I would much rather be eternally equipped for the marathon of life, than dependent on myself or someone other than Jesus, to run this race with me. 

When I fail to present myself consistently before The Father, renewing my mind daily, life gets messier than usual.  

Are you pacing yourself for the marathon or sprinting towards the next check off the list?  I often need to remembered , repent and rest.

Rest Before You Run

- dannalundstrom

Sometimes I reach and run before I rest. Have you ever watched a relay team run? As one runner is getting close to the next member to pass off the baton, he starts running a little as he is reaching his hand to grab the baton to begin his leg of the race. If the runner is not careful to rest his hand a moment on the baton, he will miss it. Sometimes I am like a relay runner, I reach and begin running, but I do not rest my hand long enough to securely grab what is about to be handed to me. As I wait expectantly on The Lord to direct my steps, it is often tempting to begin running before He has given me the “baton.” I am prone to run ahead of Him, and when I do, my path is forged by my plan not His purpose. Why is rest so hard? As He controls our steps, so does He command our stops. I am much more comfortable with the steps, but am learning the value of a sovereign stop. When I am busy, I cannot hear clearly. My listening is distracted and directions, if I hear them, are not clear to me. I do nothing well that I have not first paused to fix my eyes and attention on first. If I do not rest my hand on what God is giving me long enough to confidently grab hold, I can not run my leg of the race and finish well. What are you running ahead of today? Where do you need to take a step back and rest quietly as you wait on the “baton?” God isn’t going to make us miss His race. The danger is that we will run ahead of Him and miss it ourselves. Remember today, friend, rest must always precede running.

He is Soverign Over Us

- dannalundstrom 5 Comments

We all have circumstances in our lives that we wish were different, and this reality is one of the easiest places the enemy entangles us. You may be in an unstable marriage, parenting a prodigal child, facing addiction, disease or significant loss. Whatever the challenge you have been given may be, it may not have come from God’s hands, but it did go through His hands.  It is hard to live amidst our struggles and remain joyful when we traverse difficult paths. The great danger is that as we walk our routes, it is tempting to compare our journey to another’s. Comparison tricks us into thinking others have it easier or have been given favor. Comparison is a liar, and we believe her far too quickly. Observing others casts darkness into our lives, and it is easy to begin fantasizing about a more comfortable life.  We must recognize fantasy for what it is; a fraud who draws you into his web with unrealistic thoughts of “better things.” In the life of a believer, there ought to be nothing better than walking well in obedience the road our Master has assigned us. Perseverance is not possible if we are self-focused. It is impossible if we are contrasting our journey with someone else’s. It is when we fix our eyes on Jesus, insulate our hearts with His Word, and our desire to please our Savior overshadows that of pleasing our self, that we endure and our weeping is joined by worship, purpose enters our pain and joy joins our journey. Consider 1 Corinthians 7:17~And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don’t think I’m being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches. (The Message). I pray today, friend, that you and I believe in the plan of our good and faithful Provider as hard as it may be. He is in the midst of every heartache. Fight to be still and know that He is God, and He is good. When we live as though He is sovereign over us, His strength and peace will equip us as we travel. You are loved!