Tag: isaiah

When You Are Ready, Run Friend

- dannalundstrom

c906e19c5f3fa56976c39a937f60729dTime heals all wounds; so it has been said, but whoever coined this was possibly confused by the challenge of wounds of the heart and soul. I am certain this is not true, but will submit that maybe it lessens their sting.

Healing is not just a passage of time but a process of purposed pain.

We cannot wait out deep wounds; rather we have to press into them when we are ready for renewal to begin. The mending of mangled hearts is hard work. It takes courage and the perseverance of a marathon, not a sprint. There are no short cuts. It is facing the fire and walking straight through.

As children of King Jesus, we can do this, though. We can enter the furnace with the confident assurance and walk into the affliction that has seared our souls. We are going to get burned up a little, but not consumed because we have a Father who is walking beside us and buffering our burns. Isaiah 43:2 ~When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

I often got splinters as a child. I dreaded them with a heart-pounding fear because I knew those intruders would have to be removed to stop my pain. My parents would burn the end of a needle to sterilize it before dislodging the splinter. The process of removing the splinter was painful and often involved digging, twisting and pushing of the needle into tender parts of my flesh, but my parents had carefully prepared the process, not because it would prevent present pain but because it would preclude future infection.

The healing of our hearts is like this process. Jesus is removing our splinters to prepare us for His purpose. He carefully prepares the way, and it burns. He knows it is presently going to hurt, but more importantly He knows it is eternally going to heal.

No one can tell you how to mend the heaviness of your heart, nor can anyone give you a timetable. There is no instruction manual or twelve step program for personal pain. No one should tell you to disown your feelings through the process. It is important to remember, however, that feelings ARE indicators, but they are NOT inditers. The enemy will use them that way; to discourage, distract and derail your progress. When he begins charging you with weakness, insufficiency, or whatever his poison is, remember the importance of removing and replacing. It is not enough to eliminate incorrect thoughts; we also have to replace them with infallible truths from God’s word.

God bless you on your journey to heal, friend. It will be a bumpy road, but not bare of hope and hidden treasures that will encourage your heart. Isaiah 45:3 ~And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness–secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

When you are ready friend, run to your pain, not away. It is when we face our giants that we win the war. You are loved!

I Am Guilty

- dannalundstrom

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I am guilty!!!
Isaiah 53:7 ~He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word.
Here I am Lord. Make me more like you. May the concern of my heart be you, not me. When I am right with you no one else needs to know, understand or see; yet I turn my back and look to man for validation. I take way too much to the phone before I lay it at your throne. Turn my thoughts to you Father. Because you know and you see, let that be enough to be well with me. Amen.

Now it Springs Up

- dannalundstrom
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These tulips were not there two days ago.  As I pulled into my driveway this morning, they were the first thing I noticed.  I was quick to see it is symbolic of why God is doing in my life; new growth, new things, and that only He is capable of taking situations that appear barren and hopeless, and quickly make them new.  Find hope in empty places, friends.  He is able!  Isaiah 43:18-19 sprung into my mind as I saw this new evidence of life this morning. ~ Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.  Now it springs up.  Do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  So many things in our world look hopeless, but only if we depend on people or things of this world to revive them.

Dancing in the Darkness

- dannalundstrom

It was one week ago today that we said see you later pop to my dad.  This is what was on my heart that day.

Today we honor my dad; not his finalization, but his freedom. The last twelve days have been a tornado of emotions. Last Saturday, the day my dad truly became alive, we were gathered at his side. There had been inadequate time for me to open my Bible the five preceding days. That day seemed as if it would be the same, little time.

Then, a lull happened and everything was quiet.  In hindsight, it was a unique calm, as if not of this world. One of those special moments we rarely recognize until they are written, gone from our grasp, but forever etched in our hearts.

Soft music was playing, and my mom was at my dad’s side.  I sat down behind her and opened my Bible. The verse I landed on was Isaiah 45:3 ~ And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness–secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the one who calls you by name.

It was when I was reflecting briefly on this verse that my dad took Jesus’s hand.  I have gone back daily since last Saturday to that same verse. In reflection, I realized it has been the truth of my travels here. These twelve days have been excruciating, and they have been extraordinary.

I know many of you are enduring dark seasons right now, too.  Sometimes they become so oppressive that our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds become clouded by the dust swirling around us.  When I view this world horizontally, it becomes too much to bear.  When my perspective is eternal, I find gratitude even in grievous places.

God has a way of depositing hidden treasures deep in our discouragement.

It is in the dim places that the growth laden, secret riches from God’s hand become undeniably accentuated.  I was not forsaken this week, and neither was anyone in my family.  We have been given some heavy and layered loads, but they were not void of the promise in Isaiah 43:5. Time and time again the Lord has revealed himself.  We do not drift in disillusionment alone.  When Jesus is our choreographer, it is possible for our souls to dance even in darkness.
He pads our paths with priceless pearls of peace that bring grace to our grief.  We must be watchful to see.

One of my biggest challenges is to abide freely in what is, rather than to shackle myself to what should be.  I cannot imagine that we are that different.  I pray this for us today, friends:

Father hold our hearts to a standard of hope within the haze of pervasive pain.  Let us speak the truth when we tremble.  Unite our hands in faith when we fear. Focus our eyes in the realm of the eternal and not the earthly.  Equip us to trust where You have us, not where we think we should be. Believing in You is the inviting part, trusting You with the devastations of our lives is the intentional part.  You know this of us, God.  Give us fountains of gratitude in our grief and grace for our journeys.  I praise you for knowing and loving us intimately enough to call us all by name.  Thank you for your enduring faithfulness.  Amen.

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!

Running After Dirty Water

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

About a year ago we added a puppy to our family.  She has brought a lot of joy to our home.  There have been some ups and downs as there always are with a puppy, but more and more I notice the positives.
Yes, she is a dog, but she is also a teacher.  It is amazing how God can transplant His presence and instruction into any person, place, thing or situation.  Like a chameleon, God’s truths adapt to all surroundings. As we become familiar with Him, we develop a keen eye and acute ear for His presence, and the areas where He is convicting our hearts.

I see valuable lessons in the life of our puppy every day.  By the way, her name is Paisley, which means, the church.  It only fits that she would bear a name that is indicative of a place where people go to learn, grow and feel loved.

Loved.  Is that not the deepest inclination of so many hearts?  Few people this side of the garden know a more pure, rich form of unadulterated and genuine love than that of a dog.  If only I were half as good most days as I am every day in Paisley’s eyes.  If I loved like her,  always unconditional, cheerful and consistent, how my joy would multiply.  She is an example of how to love and be loved with no hesitation, terms or conditions.  She is an example of how Jesus loves us!

Many people have reported this kind of organic love and loyalty of dogs.  Although it is a highly important lesson, and one I am thankful she reminds me of daily, God has revealed much more to me through Paisley.

There is an area on our sidewalk that forms a corner.  Dirt and rainwater collect there, making it a well of dirty water.  This dirty water has become an alluring temptation for Paisley.  She has fresh, clean, life sustaining water available to her all day.  Her water bowl sits in the same place, and it never moves. Invariably Paisley will scratch the door to go out in order to run for a drink of the dirty water.

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Yesterday in my frustration of her repetitive, wrong and potentially hazardous behavior, I went out to stand guard over the murky water.  As I was walking towards her with her head down drinking, a teaching moment transpired in my head.  I am a lot like Paisley!  I have a Savior, who is always present and immoveable.  He provides an abundance of fresh, living water to me every day.  I know that. I know where the living water is and Who it comes from, but how many times in my flesh born tendency do I opt for dirty water?

I am running after dirty water every time my eyes, ears, heart, and mind become attracted to the idols of this world.  I run after dirty water each time I try and maneuver my plans into alignment with my wishes, not the will of my Father.  I am drinking dirty water when I worry or plan excessively, which in reality is control indigenous to unbelief. I am resorting to dirty water when I lose my patience with my children, husband or someone who thwarts my purpose, or threatens my misplaced righteousness.  I am running to dirty water when I forget prayer as my first line of defense and look for solutions inherent of the world.  I am running after dirty water when I look to anesthetize a desire in anything outside of Jesus.

There are so many instances I run after dirty water.  It is comforting to me that Jesus is not surprised by this.  Nor is He disappointed in me.  His well of nourishing water is always available, and it rests under an umbrella for sinners like me who need to run back and find a refreshing drink in the shade of His amazing grace.

Whose water are you drinking; that drawn from the soil or that flowing from The Savior?  It is never too late to switch sources. This verse in Isaiah is equivalent to a cool, cleansing drink of regenerative water.

Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.”

Father, forgive us all the times we run for dirty water.  You know this is our sinful inclination.  You also know our hearts true desire is to grow in obedience to You.  When we squander our focus, gently redirect our gaze back to you, the only source that will adequately quench our thirst.  May we find rest in your patience and grace.  Amen.