Good morning, friend. You do not have to be perfect today. You are only called to be who God has created you to be in each circumstance He places you. Sometimes that looks messy and sometimes manageable. It may look like wrestling and it may look like rest, but always fighting to honor the hope we have in the One who sees, knows and loves you just as much at your worst as He does your best. You are loved!
Friend, you have only been given enough for right now. Every moment you are being given just enough to get you to the next step. Looking from today towards tomorrow will only offer you anxiety and worry.
This second, tomorrow is only a possibility, not a promise.
Stay focused on your now, not your later. Life is supposed to be lived in the present tense, but that is so hard for our minds that are prone to work so feverishly in the future. Looking back while trying to walk will likely cause us to stumble while looking forward leads our life to stall.
Don’t lose the fascinating presents of today worrying about the fallible probabilities of tomorrow. Embrace the treasures of today. No matter how much we try and figure tomorrow out, it is in the capable hands of our Creator not in the clingy hands of our control.
You are loved.
Time and again I ask the Lord, why Lord, why? In his gentleness, he answers, because my child, I love you, and I know you do not understand, but I do.
We do not have to figure it all out, friends. Steady scrutinizing lends unstable souls; while restful residence under the shady sovereignty of God brings a peaceful silence to our searching hearts. Because He knows, we do not have to. Because He loves us, we can trust as children that He is holding our best securely in His sacred hands.
If you find yourself searching for answers today, dear one, remember Deuteronomy 29:29~ The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them. And when you feel the uneasiness of uncertainty knocking at your door, invite in the assuring promise The Lord has given us in Jeremiah 29:11~ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
You are loved.
It takes great courage, faith, and intentionality to feel the grief of our cross while anticipating the gifts of its resurrection. To feel the burden without hope of the blessing is a victory for the opportunistic enemy who since the Garden of Eden wants us to believe that God is holding out on us. We must resist feeding our minds on his lethal fruit, and feast on The Bread of Life. It is one thing to believe, but an entirely different thing to LIVE as we profess to believe. Our walk must be congruent with our talk. Self-congruence does not mean we are happy all the time, (that is not the gospel), but hopeful, yes! Hope survives where happiness does not. You are loved.
We all have to die to different dreams and realities every day. Sometimes they are for ourselves, our children or someone else we love. Those desires are hard to let go, and often we get up each morning and have to surrender them all over again. It is painful.
There is a great hope, however, right in the midst of the death of our dreams. We have this glorious gift of choice that affords us the ability to choose a victorious or victimized perspective. If we frame our thoughts in victory, we can look our dying dreams in the face and say, that may not be an option anymore, but God’s sovereignty always stands.
Whatever dreams you are dying to friend, instead of fretting about their death, focus on their direction. This is not always easy; I know! However, believing in The Lord’s promise that He has a plan that will prosper all His children, (Jeremiah 29:11), we can face those dwindling dreams and say, Father I do not like this new picture, but I cannot wait to see your purpose.
Life is a lot lighter under His yoke! (Matthew 11:30) You are loved! #selfiesermon #preachingtoself
Time 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!
One of my biggest challenges is not residing in my identity as an adored daughter, but resting in my reality as an accepted sinner. The deeper my intimacy with Jesus grows, so do the clarity of my flaws.
The depravity of my heart is why the good news of the gospel is a matter of life. Yesterday our pastor quoted one of my favorite Tim Keller quotes.
” The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
So often I forget what I know and find that I am not living out of the freedom of the gospel, but out of the fear of failing an idol (self) that says I matter more than God? Where I am seeking approval from is a crucial question I have to ask myself daily.
Where are you living from today, friends; under the exemption of Christ’s yoke or the enslavement of your own? On this day of celebrating labor, I pray we may all embrace liberty. Matthew 11:28-29 ~ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
You are loved today just as you are.
When I was growing up, it was all about me. When I was in college, it was all about those friends and that guy. When I became a mom, it was all about the kids and family. All of the above mentioned, (emphasis on self-included) have failed me, and in this life will continue to do so. Now that I understand that, it’s all about a Savior, who although I fail him every day, he approves of me still! Today and every day, may I remember it is all about Him!
Yesterday I put myself down.
I put myself down to a friend; a new friend that I had not even known five minutes. She was kind enough to speak truth back to me. You see the thing about light is; I am really good at speaking it into other people’s lives but not always my own!
I put myself down yesterday, not even an hour after I wrote these words; ‘To believe we are anything less than His beloved is to deny the work Jesus finished on the cross. I do not want to do that, but I do every day when I feel or say I am not enough.’
Yesterday with my new friend my flawed theology confronted me. I walked to my car, and my head was hanging. The mind missiles started to fly to the roar of something like this; “What kind of person tells everyone else to believe they are enough but cannot believe it about herself?” “You should be ashamed!” And I was, ashamed.
By the time I got to my car, I knew I had to go to The Lord and repent. I didn’t need just to repent for what I said, but also for my unbelief. I am very grateful I put myself down yesterday because The Holy Spirit used the circumstance to convict my heart, and it was a successful conviction.
Many times I have to go through an experience to have a conversion.
It is in the midst of deep exposure that I evolve. Praise God He does not leave me where I am. His instruction usually stings, but purpose is always a product of pain if I have the proper perspective.
So, today, as I have been meeting the demands set before me, I have been intentionally practicing my status as a beloved daughter of The King. I repented there in my car yesterday for my unbelief, now the battle is in the fight to believe and rest in my identity as His.
Thank you, Jesus, for loving a ragamuffin like me! Where are you not believing you are enough, friends? Will you ask The Lord to show you if it is not already clear? Lets fight to believe together! Proverbs 27:17~ As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
To believe we are anything less than His beloved is to deny the work Jesus finished on the cross. I do not want to do that, but I do everyday when I feel or say I am not enough. Jesus is enough in our place. He is our worthiness. He is our righteousness. He is our adequacy. Our work is to believe and live in the freedom of His gift. That is hard work, but entirely possible when we are spiritually healthy! Counter every negative thought today with, I am His beloved. You are loved, friend.