"I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land." Psalm 143:5-6
These were the words of David when he was overwhelmed, frightened and unsure of which way to turn. How many times have we lived these emotions only to wake up one day and find that we have been delivered from our circumstances? There was no one action that delivered us but One person alone - Christ Jesus.
There have been times in my life when I look back in amazement that I made it through specific seasons. Certain seasons brought the rains of refreshment and the breezes of joy while other seasons brought the shattering of earthquakes and the swells of high waters. Many times of suffering leave us with the aroma of bitterness and anger if we do not submit these emotions to the Lord for healing. Our look backwards will focus on regret or gratitude that God has delivered us and remained faithful to carry us through all times. By meditating on the different ways He has worked our circumstances to our benefit it allows us to "spread out our hands to Him" and release the anger, frustration and bitterness of previous situations and enjoy the peace and healing that is ours through Him. To spread out our hands is to release anything your fist so tightly holds such as the leftover emotions of a time foregone.
Remember, bitterness looks backwards while love looks forward. Bitterness and love cannot reside in the same heart. Spread open your hands to the LORD and allow Him to fill them with blessings.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Emerging Faith
“You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn.” Psalm 18:36.
Many times in life, we barely brush the dirt off our feet from one valley before we find ourselves deeply entrenched in another. We cannot lift out feet from the quicksand that seems to immobilize us.
Through the times that we feel we cannot step another step, walk another path and cry another tear God stoops down to sustain us and broadens the ground beneath us to allow our pilgrimage to be more steady, firm and free of failure. Through the emergence of our faith our path certainly becomes packed more firmly with His foundation of strength, perseverance and stability. Our path leads to eternal life with Him in Heaven and keeping our ankles strong in the Word will ensure our direct path free of detours.
All detours lead back down and the path of most resistance will grow us spiritually and broaden our faith to give us firm footing. Choose your path carefully so that you will not twist your ankle!
Many times in life, we barely brush the dirt off our feet from one valley before we find ourselves deeply entrenched in another. We cannot lift out feet from the quicksand that seems to immobilize us.
Through the times that we feel we cannot step another step, walk another path and cry another tear God stoops down to sustain us and broadens the ground beneath us to allow our pilgrimage to be more steady, firm and free of failure. Through the emergence of our faith our path certainly becomes packed more firmly with His foundation of strength, perseverance and stability. Our path leads to eternal life with Him in Heaven and keeping our ankles strong in the Word will ensure our direct path free of detours.
All detours lead back down and the path of most resistance will grow us spiritually and broaden our faith to give us firm footing. Choose your path carefully so that you will not twist your ankle!
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Faith Test
"Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness - this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all" Nancy Guthrie, Holding On To Hope.
Let's face it - life hurts! Seems like there are seasons where the rains keep flooding, the clouds stay dark and valleys get deeper. Just when the sun tries to peak through the clouds a storm arises as quickly as afternoon summer thunderstorms. So how does one equip themselves with the sufficient protection from these seasons? We clothe ourselves in faith for a better day, a better way and knowledge of a perfect God. When we begin to question God's character based on our circumstances our faith begins to erode and despair seeps through the broken ground.
Christ never said our walk would be easy but He did say our walk would be shared, shared with the One who loves us most, shared with the One who carries us when our feet cannot move one more step. Carol Kent in A New Kind of Normal states that we will all face a faith test. “It is that moment in time when what we have always believed about who God is and what He allows to happen in our lives intersects with the reality of our experience – a head-on collision between our faith and the hard facts of an impossible situation…Will we cut and run from our relationship with God, or will we rely on Him and believe His character is still good?”
As the waters rise and the valleys deepen my faith chooses to believe I can trust God, I can depend on Him and in the end God will bring me the sweet spoils of victory!
Let's face it - life hurts! Seems like there are seasons where the rains keep flooding, the clouds stay dark and valleys get deeper. Just when the sun tries to peak through the clouds a storm arises as quickly as afternoon summer thunderstorms. So how does one equip themselves with the sufficient protection from these seasons? We clothe ourselves in faith for a better day, a better way and knowledge of a perfect God. When we begin to question God's character based on our circumstances our faith begins to erode and despair seeps through the broken ground.
Christ never said our walk would be easy but He did say our walk would be shared, shared with the One who loves us most, shared with the One who carries us when our feet cannot move one more step. Carol Kent in A New Kind of Normal states that we will all face a faith test. “It is that moment in time when what we have always believed about who God is and what He allows to happen in our lives intersects with the reality of our experience – a head-on collision between our faith and the hard facts of an impossible situation…Will we cut and run from our relationship with God, or will we rely on Him and believe His character is still good?”
As the waters rise and the valleys deepen my faith chooses to believe I can trust God, I can depend on Him and in the end God will bring me the sweet spoils of victory!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Breathing Love
"Loving is the supernatural attitude of the Christian, because love is the nature of Christ. When Christ has His proper place in our hearts, we do not have to be told to love - just as we do not have to be told to breathe. Eventually it must happen, because loving is as natural to the spiritual person as breathing is to the natural person." - John MacArthur
In a world filled with instant gratification, self-focus, and anything but loving attitudes it is tough to find many people who truly "breathe" love. I am extremely fortunate and blessed to be surrounded with a network of family and friends where love is endless. We spend our lives searching for a specific love, a specific feeling and specific ways where we can feel love but what are we doing to breathe love on others? At some point, love always involves sacrifice, growth and loss. Christ did not shy away from these to experience love. He lived His life with total abandon in the arena of loving others as demonstrated with the sacrifice of His own life as loyalty to His Father. He knew to love His Father was to obey His will and to gain His life Christ would have to lose it on earth.
We are to be imitators of Christ who anchored every action on earth in love and sacrifice. Love does not come natural for we were born with a sinful nature, a selfish nature and a nature of self-focus. There is a dormant love that lies in the center of our heart which can only be activated by Christ's spirit. When the Spirit, the throneseat of Christ, becomes positioned in the center of our lives Christ rules from within us - not out of Book or from Heaven above. The Spirit is God-consciousness and the soul is man-consciousness according to my precious Grandmother. With Christ on the throne He rules from within, trial by trial, tear by tear and moment by moment. All this is anchored in and powered by love, an eternal love with a "hands on" approach instead of some unapproachable ruler who sends in proxies.
The soul responds to whatever it has placed on the heart throne whether the ruler is Christ or the world.
In a world filled with instant gratification, self-focus, and anything but loving attitudes it is tough to find many people who truly "breathe" love. I am extremely fortunate and blessed to be surrounded with a network of family and friends where love is endless. We spend our lives searching for a specific love, a specific feeling and specific ways where we can feel love but what are we doing to breathe love on others? At some point, love always involves sacrifice, growth and loss. Christ did not shy away from these to experience love. He lived His life with total abandon in the arena of loving others as demonstrated with the sacrifice of His own life as loyalty to His Father. He knew to love His Father was to obey His will and to gain His life Christ would have to lose it on earth.
We are to be imitators of Christ who anchored every action on earth in love and sacrifice. Love does not come natural for we were born with a sinful nature, a selfish nature and a nature of self-focus. There is a dormant love that lies in the center of our heart which can only be activated by Christ's spirit. When the Spirit, the throneseat of Christ, becomes positioned in the center of our lives Christ rules from within us - not out of Book or from Heaven above. The Spirit is God-consciousness and the soul is man-consciousness according to my precious Grandmother. With Christ on the throne He rules from within, trial by trial, tear by tear and moment by moment. All this is anchored in and powered by love, an eternal love with a "hands on" approach instead of some unapproachable ruler who sends in proxies.
The soul responds to whatever it has placed on the heart throne whether the ruler is Christ or the world.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Guaranteed Joy!
"I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." John 16:20
Waking up this morning I have found guaranteed great news! The Word of God serves "fresh bread" every morning for whatever my hunger consists of. I try to make my devotions as real life as they can be so each can identify and apply to life. I am led by God each morning for the topic, the flow and the ending and never come to the computer with any preconceived topic. It is always provided through my Bible Study first thing.
As many of your know, yesterday some of my family sat "in proxy" for Beth at Sydney's classroom awards ceremony. Parents gathered together with their cameras wearing both smile and pride as they listened for their child's name with the accomplishments. They watched the cd outlining their children's involvement throughout the year with projects, field trips, classroom interactions, etc...They had a complete day with a complete family. At the end of the presentation the teachers had dedicated the Awards Ceremony to Beth for her courageous fight of cancer. I knew it would be a tough day because it was yet another "first" for me - the first ceremony Beth was unable to attend for Sydney.
I have a precious friend who is coming up on her one-year anniversary of the death of her son. She wrote to me yesterday to assure me that when we get through all of the "first's" there is relief and to ask for and hold onto the peace of God. For me, fresh death is felt at every "first". This first year keeps me entombed with isolation and darkness but with complete assurance the tombstone will be rolled away and the resurrection of my joy will occur. It is a guarantee I can count on thanks to the words of Christ in the verse above but until then the days must tick on and the darkness moves in and out orchestrated at God's timing and comfort. Restored joy will be the moment when light breaks through the cracks, the scent of fresh air filters in the darkness and echoes of rustling stirs beyond the stone.
We all face grief of all types and proportions that entombs us keeping us in the darkness for our "three days". The challenge is to adjust our eyes in the dark so we can focus on the Light beaming through the cracks of our heart and provide the hope in Christ's promise that our grief and mourning will turn to joy. I thank God for not only sending His powerful words of hope and promise but sending them through His children while in their own darkness such as my friends.
Waking up this morning I have found guaranteed great news! The Word of God serves "fresh bread" every morning for whatever my hunger consists of. I try to make my devotions as real life as they can be so each can identify and apply to life. I am led by God each morning for the topic, the flow and the ending and never come to the computer with any preconceived topic. It is always provided through my Bible Study first thing.
As many of your know, yesterday some of my family sat "in proxy" for Beth at Sydney's classroom awards ceremony. Parents gathered together with their cameras wearing both smile and pride as they listened for their child's name with the accomplishments. They watched the cd outlining their children's involvement throughout the year with projects, field trips, classroom interactions, etc...They had a complete day with a complete family. At the end of the presentation the teachers had dedicated the Awards Ceremony to Beth for her courageous fight of cancer. I knew it would be a tough day because it was yet another "first" for me - the first ceremony Beth was unable to attend for Sydney.
I have a precious friend who is coming up on her one-year anniversary of the death of her son. She wrote to me yesterday to assure me that when we get through all of the "first's" there is relief and to ask for and hold onto the peace of God. For me, fresh death is felt at every "first". This first year keeps me entombed with isolation and darkness but with complete assurance the tombstone will be rolled away and the resurrection of my joy will occur. It is a guarantee I can count on thanks to the words of Christ in the verse above but until then the days must tick on and the darkness moves in and out orchestrated at God's timing and comfort. Restored joy will be the moment when light breaks through the cracks, the scent of fresh air filters in the darkness and echoes of rustling stirs beyond the stone.
We all face grief of all types and proportions that entombs us keeping us in the darkness for our "three days". The challenge is to adjust our eyes in the dark so we can focus on the Light beaming through the cracks of our heart and provide the hope in Christ's promise that our grief and mourning will turn to joy. I thank God for not only sending His powerful words of hope and promise but sending them through His children while in their own darkness such as my friends.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Restoring Value
God's rescue doesn't just redeem our humanity; if we allow it to, it can also redeem the potentially negative and harmful ways we view ourselves." Fiona Soltes, "Ruth: Gleaning Hope", p. 96.
In a world where society and experience deems our value and how we see ourselves, it is difficult to remember the value we already possess – the perfect value we have in the eyes of He who created us.
1 Peter 2:9 states “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” Romans 8:17 states “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”
The Scriptures go on and on about our value through the eyes of our Creator without reserve. So… how is it that those who have hurt us seem to have power over our value? With every bad decision they make we immediately feel value as a person (woman) losing pulse whether consciously or subconsciously. When my daughter went through her 8 years of drug addiction it was not uncommon for you to meet me and within an hour you would have heard my mom resume – “We had her in church since birth, we are very active in her life, we disciplined her, we had her in youth group, etc…” and the accomplishments went on and on.
You see, that was my way of saying, “I need to tell you my value was there somewhere. I have lost my value because I have lost control.” Your value has nothing to do with your husband’s or children's choices. Your value is who God created you to be. God’s value doesn’t change when we sin. He remains the same all powerful God with the same value. Such is the same with our situation when someone wounds us. When they stray we may change how we see ourselves but it doesn’t change who we are in value.
Jennifer Rothschild is the author of "Fingerprints of God, Recognizing the Touch of God in Your Life.” She writes, “Value is determined by price paid. Christ paid the ultimate price with his life deeming us valuable enough to suffer and die for us. Even when we do not feel valuable, we still are. Even when we do not feel noticed, God’s eyes never leave us. Even when we do not feel his touch our lives reflect His hand. Even as the darkness surrounds us, we can be sure that He sees us.”
Just because we cannot feel the sun’s warmth on cloudy days doesn’t mean the sun has lost its value – its warmth. The clouds do not change the sun’s value. While our trus value cannot be changed through our circumstances, the way we see ourselves through our senses or emotions may change. The true food to maintain our healthy value is to choose to believe who God says we are apart from our emotions.
He formed us according to His image and He values and esteems us. Value comes from the creator. God assigns our value and worth apart from man’s approval. The challenge with people whose decisions strip us of our value is not to accept their lies about us but to remember our value as we relate to God.
We are who God says we are and our value is not defined by our circumstances.
In a world where society and experience deems our value and how we see ourselves, it is difficult to remember the value we already possess – the perfect value we have in the eyes of He who created us.
1 Peter 2:9 states “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” Romans 8:17 states “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”
The Scriptures go on and on about our value through the eyes of our Creator without reserve. So… how is it that those who have hurt us seem to have power over our value? With every bad decision they make we immediately feel value as a person (woman) losing pulse whether consciously or subconsciously. When my daughter went through her 8 years of drug addiction it was not uncommon for you to meet me and within an hour you would have heard my mom resume – “We had her in church since birth, we are very active in her life, we disciplined her, we had her in youth group, etc…” and the accomplishments went on and on.
You see, that was my way of saying, “I need to tell you my value was there somewhere. I have lost my value because I have lost control.” Your value has nothing to do with your husband’s or children's choices. Your value is who God created you to be. God’s value doesn’t change when we sin. He remains the same all powerful God with the same value. Such is the same with our situation when someone wounds us. When they stray we may change how we see ourselves but it doesn’t change who we are in value.
Jennifer Rothschild is the author of "Fingerprints of God, Recognizing the Touch of God in Your Life.” She writes, “Value is determined by price paid. Christ paid the ultimate price with his life deeming us valuable enough to suffer and die for us. Even when we do not feel valuable, we still are. Even when we do not feel noticed, God’s eyes never leave us. Even when we do not feel his touch our lives reflect His hand. Even as the darkness surrounds us, we can be sure that He sees us.”
Just because we cannot feel the sun’s warmth on cloudy days doesn’t mean the sun has lost its value – its warmth. The clouds do not change the sun’s value. While our trus value cannot be changed through our circumstances, the way we see ourselves through our senses or emotions may change. The true food to maintain our healthy value is to choose to believe who God says we are apart from our emotions.
He formed us according to His image and He values and esteems us. Value comes from the creator. God assigns our value and worth apart from man’s approval. The challenge with people whose decisions strip us of our value is not to accept their lies about us but to remember our value as we relate to God.
We are who God says we are and our value is not defined by our circumstances.
Monday, June 1, 2009
In The Whisper...
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:11b-12.
In experiencing drug addition with my daughter it encompassed so much more. Along with the drug addiction came other areas of chaos brought on by her choices. There were powerful elements of darkness throughout eight years that tore through our lives, shattered our dreams and destroyed our peace. I searched for God in all of this but my search was for a reason and an escape, not a relationship with trust. For four years I had been dreading her graduation day since I knew she would be absent. She had dropped out of school in 9th grade and hit the road drifting from one drug fix to another. My dreams of proms, graduation and sorieties had been lost forever in the raging sea of drugs.
One the day of her graduation I remember going on my back deck to experience head on the death of this dream. There would be no invitations to send out, no graduation parties to attend, and no photographs to find a home in our albums. My dream was about to dissipate like a vapor in the air. There is nothing more difficult than the realization that the hopes and dreams you have for the future of your child will go unrealized, unattained and unclaimed. All you can do is surrender your dreams, trust His way, and watch His unfolding of their life His style. I never thought I could survive that day but God's grace was so much more than the grief experienced.
As I sat on my deck alone waiting for the "coffin to be lowered into the ground", bracing myself for the burial of that particular dream, I noticed that all had gotten quiet. I had this intense peace envelope around me and experienced a calm I had never experienced before. It was like Mary peering into the tomb expecting to find death but death was not found. God was whispering to me a new freedom, a new life with a new way of thinking. With graduation, everyone would go about their unique and seperate ways. There would be no more "cookie cutter comparisons" of kids within this small community. My life would finally be private again as well as my daughter's as everyone would disappear into their own future paths. I both looked for and expected death in that situation but found life and freedom in the gentle whisper after all of the chaos in my heart and mind. That day was a turning point for me and my faith. I knew from there that there would only be freedom in my life apart from her's as I began living in the Spirit where freedom lives and soars!
Listen to the Spirit's whisper - it is much louder than your earthquake, wind or fires.
"Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom."
2 Cor. 3:17
In experiencing drug addition with my daughter it encompassed so much more. Along with the drug addiction came other areas of chaos brought on by her choices. There were powerful elements of darkness throughout eight years that tore through our lives, shattered our dreams and destroyed our peace. I searched for God in all of this but my search was for a reason and an escape, not a relationship with trust. For four years I had been dreading her graduation day since I knew she would be absent. She had dropped out of school in 9th grade and hit the road drifting from one drug fix to another. My dreams of proms, graduation and sorieties had been lost forever in the raging sea of drugs.
One the day of her graduation I remember going on my back deck to experience head on the death of this dream. There would be no invitations to send out, no graduation parties to attend, and no photographs to find a home in our albums. My dream was about to dissipate like a vapor in the air. There is nothing more difficult than the realization that the hopes and dreams you have for the future of your child will go unrealized, unattained and unclaimed. All you can do is surrender your dreams, trust His way, and watch His unfolding of their life His style. I never thought I could survive that day but God's grace was so much more than the grief experienced.
As I sat on my deck alone waiting for the "coffin to be lowered into the ground", bracing myself for the burial of that particular dream, I noticed that all had gotten quiet. I had this intense peace envelope around me and experienced a calm I had never experienced before. It was like Mary peering into the tomb expecting to find death but death was not found. God was whispering to me a new freedom, a new life with a new way of thinking. With graduation, everyone would go about their unique and seperate ways. There would be no more "cookie cutter comparisons" of kids within this small community. My life would finally be private again as well as my daughter's as everyone would disappear into their own future paths. I both looked for and expected death in that situation but found life and freedom in the gentle whisper after all of the chaos in my heart and mind. That day was a turning point for me and my faith. I knew from there that there would only be freedom in my life apart from her's as I began living in the Spirit where freedom lives and soars!
Listen to the Spirit's whisper - it is much louder than your earthquake, wind or fires.
"Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom."
2 Cor. 3:17
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