In Repentance & Rest You Shall be Saved!

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.” (Isa. 30 NIV)

For a long time, this scripture has kind of haunted me.  

Have you ever read the Bible and – suddenly – a verse jumps out at you like it’s alive & you realize God is speaking directly to you?  

This was one such verse for me… but what made it a lot freakier was that I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT.

Clearly, God is not one to waste our time (or His).  If there’s anything I’ve learned in my years of following Him, it’s that God doesn’t mince words - so when He speaks something, I sit up taller & listen. 

So tonight when I read an “assignment” on Beth Moore’s blog (an adorable & wildly popular Christian teacher), I did what any good teacher’s pet would do: my homework!

Her assignment?

1) Read Isaiah 30:15-18 (in 3 versions).
2) Write which one spoke most to you & why!
3) Look up Webster’s definition of a “threat” [which pertains to the Scripture]. 
4) Reflect on what’s threatening you most in your life lately.
5) Then consider how you’re “fleeing” said threats you’ve been faced with.

So, guess what her assigned passage was?  Yup, the scary one that’s been following me around for years.

After reading each version, my favorite was this one (New Living Translation):

“This is what the Sovereign Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, says:
‘Only in returning to Me
    and resting in Me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
    But you would have none of it.
You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt.
    They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’
But the only swiftness you are going to see
    is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!
One of them will chase a thousand of you.
    Five of them will make all of you flee.
You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill
    or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.’

Blessings for the Lord’s People

So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him
    so He can show you His love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
    Blessed are those who wait for His help.”

My friends… do you realize what God’s seemingly been saying to me all along?

Come to Me for help.  Quit running to those you think can help you or the solutions you THINK are the answer - because they will only turn out to be your enemies!

If there’s a word I can delicately use to describe me, it might be the word “stubborn”.  Those who know me well might agree (and then we may throw down in fisticuffs :)

When I think I have something figured out, I HAVE IT FIGURED OUT GUYS!!  So you can get outta my way now!  (I think Solomon had a few choice words – or chapters – for know-it-alls).  

But for reals, stubbornness is NOT a beautiful or godly trait [though it's served me well at times!].

Maybe, just maybe, God has been longing to be gracious to me for many years… but I’ve tied His hands.  Maybe my own stubborn streak – me thinking I had it all together (which a casual observer of my life could challenge) & that I had the solution figured out – is what’s kept me from finding the rest & peace I’ve been seeking.

I have to honestly ask myself this question ~ & maybe you can, too:  

Have I really been chasing my own solutions, convinced they’d bring me peace & rest, when I only needed to wait for GOD to help me & give me HIS solution to find the peace I’ve been desperately seeking?

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.”

And that’s the part that’s haunted me most: But you would have none of it.

I’ve rejected His help, so I didn’t receive it.  I forged ahead, sure of my stubborn self, and chased away any semblance of peace & rest I could’ve received!

I can’t count how many times I’ve struggled over an issue & continued to diligently peck at it, push & press against it, trying to whittle it away to nothingness – equivalent to me spinning my wheels or jogging in place.  

Yes, I had plenty of activity going on & appeared to be moving forward – but I was staying put. I haven’t actually been going anywhere, but I’ve been exhausting myself trying so hard.

It’s me flipping out on the bow of the boat, trying to keep from capsizing, when I’ve forgotten Jesus is on board peacefully sleeping through the tempest without a care.  It’s me forgetting He’s there until the crisis is so acute that I’m spent on my own – and I remember to go WAKE HIM UP. Jesus climbs up to the bow with me and says peace be still.  And only then does my storm cease.

God’s solution is for us to REST & let Him handle the problem.  We still work hard, but we must cease trying to make life happen on our own terms, or without His hand to guide & lead.

My favorite part of the Isaiah passage, one that I never noticed in connection to the first part until tonight, is the ending… it’s soooo SWEET!  And so like our loving God!  (In NKJV):

“Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

God is WAITING to be gracious to me. 

He’s WAITING with His solution to every problem you & I have.

He’s WAITING to take that burden off our shoulders & replace it with a lovely, much-needed vacation from the stress of carrying it.

Rest simply means we trust Him to handle it – we don’t fret, worry, push, pull or drive it forward when it’s the wrong answer, or the wrong timing, or the wrong everything.

We are blessed people when we wait on God’s help, not conjure up the answer to our problem ourselves.  STRIVING is the opposite of rest.  

Beth Moore’s whole point of this exercise was for us to identify what THREATENS us in our lives to take action apart from God?  What tempts us to “take matters into our own hands” (and how’s that workin out for ya, haha)?  

I know what mine are.  Do you?  

And now our biggest question is – God, what does it look like to wait on You with this?

I’m curious what your thoughts & ideas are!  How do we wait on the Lord for His answers, instead of chasing after our own?  

What does ‘waiting on the Lord’ look like?  I pray He shows us how.

xoxoxox
~Summer

 

My Peace I Give to You!

Is there an area of your life where you consistently lack peace?

No matter how many times you’ve tried to “get it under control”, you can’t.  It gets the best of you and seems to mock you, putting your flaws on parade in front of you and other people.

Then congratulations!  You’re human, having a human experience.

So what if the solution for humanity’s common struggle is surprisingly simple?  Not easy necessarily.  Simple.

I have a question for us.  What is the hallmark of Jesus’s presence in our lives?  In every biblical situation where Jesus was present, what was the result?

He said it Himself: Peace.

When He rules an area of our lives – instead of our feeble attempts to control our behavior or our less-than-effective ways to muster up our own confidence/ courage/ strength – we can rest in Him.  We surrender the control we presume we have and give it to the One who actually does.

Jesus calmed storms.  He healed people of real ailments like blindness and lameness and bleeding disorders.  He encouraged an adulteress and lovingly spoke with a lady who’d been married five times and was living with her boyfriend.

In each scenario, Jesus righted things that were out of order in each person’s life, things that weren’t in line with His perfect plan for them.  He doesn’t want people to be sick, lame, diseased, or having sex indiscriminately.  And He didn’t want His disciples to perish in a storm.

So He showed up and brought His peace with Him.  

When each person came to Him with their need & limitations (their broken body, messed-up relationships, storm-tossed ship), He brought His authority over the situation and BAM!  Magic happened.

Miracles, actually.

In order for Him to do the same for us, we must admit we can’t do it ourselves.  That we can’t control our over-eating, we can’t heal what hurts inside our hearts or even figure out WHAT hurts us so much, that we can’t ever make “enough” money to satisfy our limitless pit of wants, that we can’t bring back a miscarried child or undo abuse we’ve endured.

We can’t do it.  We are humans, having a human experience, and that human experience is that WE LACK CONTROL.

The sooner we recognize our common limitation, the sooner we’re able to get help from the One with none!

I can tell you from my own life that He waits and allows us to make our own poor choices before “interfering”.  He will not rob you of your God-given freedom of choice!  God will let you continue on your broken path, messing up your life, trying to gain control over everything and everyone around you (or appearing to gain control, that is).

Sometimes He’ll allow reminders in your life to show you that you aren’t in control, such as illness or financial struggles or a failed relationship.  Is that His will for you?  Likely not.  But He wants you to come to depend upon Him because your life will never make sense until you do.

So why don’t we just stop the crazy cycle and get off the control train?  Let’s admit we don’t have it under control and that we never did!  And then let us – in that same breath – ask Him to take control of our lives.  NOT IN A CREEPY WAY – He is not a control freak!

He will only take over the areas you’ve given Him.  But until you surrender them to Him, those areas of your life will be in chaos.  Please take it from me!  But if you’re a true control freak, you likely won’t take my word for it, will you?  I know I wouldn’t have before I went through my own storms.  I was master of my own ship, or so I thought.

Surrender.  He asks for your surrender over each area, lovingly, gently, but firmly.  You can choose to… or cling to a delusion of control and your life will continue spiraling downward.  You’ll burn other people along the way and waste your life as a sinking ship.

Wherever Jesus reigns, peace rules.  If Jesus is not in charge, chaos ensues.  

Give Him authority over every part of your life – especially the outta control ones – and watch Him change your life.  And quiet the storm in your heart – the struggle for control.

The Best Revenge

“It ain’t heavy if you don’t pick it up.”

It sneaks up on you.  Fine one day, you find yourself changed a short time later.

You may have heard the story of how to boil a frog: Put him in cool water and slowly heat it up.  By the time the little guy’s aware how hot the water’s become, he’s halfway-cooked.  Works every time.

Bitterness is like that.  A friend, spouse, coworker, family member, even stranger hurts you.  You get angry (rightfully so)–but don’t release it.  So it hangs on.

Hebrews calls it a “bitter root”, and if it isn’t uprooted it blooms into a full-blown tree bearing poisonous fruit.  And what else does Heebs say bitter roots do?  They defile many.

We’ve all been the unfortunate recipient of a bitter person:

• The family member who always explodes over (minor) issues
• That man at work who brings his trademark derogatory attitude and snide comments with him each day (yay!)
• The pastor who vents from the pulpit and becomes hardened, ungracious, even judgmental (not in my experience, by the way)
• The bitter ex-boyfriend/girlfriend who just can’t move on/get over “what they did to me”

Maybe we’ve played some of these roles ourselves.

Forgiving is tough.  People say or do things that affect us for years, decades even.

• Reckless spending, debt and poor financial choices (someone with access to our money)
• Infidelity
• Fraud
• Abuse or neglect
• Harsh, hateful words
• Name-calling/stereotyping
• Driving under the influence
• Slander/gossip that colors people’s opinions of us
• Alcoholism

This list is endless.

The greater the hurt from someone’s actions, the more tempting it is to hang onto and the harder it is to release.

As many lives are spoiled by bitterness and a lack of forgiveness as by almost anything in the world. People go through physical and emotional breakdowns because they refuse to forgive others. The longer we carry a grudge, the heavier it becomes. We cannot afford to harbor bitterness in our soul….

Forgive and be forgiven. And then forget it. This is the secret of spiritual health. Keep short accounts with God and men. Dont lock bitterness and guilt within the closet of your soul. Allow the Holy Spirit to shine His divine spotlight in your heart. Let Him clean out every closet in your soul. Then claim Gods wonderful promise, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

-Evangelist Luis Palau (emphases mine) :)

Is such a burden worth hanging onto?  It only grows larger and heavier with time.  You risk losing your heart, your love for others, your joy and happiness, your peace, and healthy relationships (because you’re suddenly suspicious, thinking they’ll do the same thing to you that so-and-so did).  I know because it’s happened to me.

After years of carrying a burden of bitterness, I had this epiphany: Forgiveness is the best revenge.

Isn’t that what we want when we stay bitter–for them to suffer for what they did?  We want to “get back at them”, for someone to pay for their poor choices.  We instinctively understand that whole eye for an eye aspect of justice.  In OT times, a lamb lost its life.  Nowadays, we know Jesus paid.  And if someone refuses to accept His sacrifice to cover the sins they’ve inflicted on others, well then God said one day He’ll judge them.  “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”  And that day may come for them sooner than later–even on this earth.

So if we know justice will be served and then leave it in God’s hands, let’s do ourselves and everyone around us a favor and let it go.  All of it.

We’ll free ourselves from the burden of repaying that person back.  We’ll leave room for God’s wrath (way better than ours anyway!).  And we’ll free ourselves to live without their influence guiding our choices anymore.

Yes, they hurt us.  But do we want to allow it to continue hurting us?  No way.

Forgiveness is truly the best revenge.  If this is our response, we’ll win that scenario every time.

Take the advice of one of our country’s most influential leaders to ever walk American soil–a man who overcame incredible hatred during his lifetime, lost his very life to hate and had every reason to return the favor:

“I’ve decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear.”  -Martin Luther King Jr.

Your Redemption is Near

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.

-Romans 13:11-12

Today this Scripture was highlighted to me.  Your redemption draws nigh!

Redemption is His glory at the end of a long, difficult road.  God is weaving His redemption into each of our lives every passing day.  He is making our lives beautiful, turning what the enemy meant for evil into good.

This is the story of how He redeemed me.

Redemption from Pain

College and the years after brimmed with deep pain and darkness for me.  Some people call it the “Dark Night of the Soul”.  This was mine.

During my teenage years I had some tough experiences, things people should never have to deal with.  What followed was a decade of indescribable pain.  Life was crushing.  I don’t know how else to describe it.

The first year was a blur; I simply don’t remember much.  Each subsequent year was filled with searching, grasping for something to heal my wounds.  Utter desperation.  Despair.  Teeny glimmers of hope after all seemed lost.  And extreme confusion.

I turned over one stone only to uncover more.  There were LAYERS to this thing, this mountain of pain I held inside.  What was the answer?  What did I need most?

I realized I faced a choice: Deal with my experiences with my Healer’s help, the One I’d walked away from years prior, or turn away again to other ‘lovers’.

By the grace of God, this time around I chose Him.

As the pain intensified – which often happens on the road to freedom — I shrank back in fear, a shell of myself.  I sought Him, but leaned heavily on other crutches to make it through.  I didn’t want to unleash a torrent of struggles onto others, and I struggled to trust them, so I fumblingly turned to God again and again.  I slipped, yes!, but I returned to His feet.  I sought His heart for me.  I sought His salve and His touch… but I didn’t fully trust Him either.  Intimacy terrified me, so I played peek-a-boo with my Saviour for much too long, thinking He wouldn’t approve when He saw me up close.

But that’s not what we learn from His precious promises to us.  God shows His heart for His beloved, despite their repeated betrayal, in Hosea:

Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but He will heal us;
He has injured us
but He will bind up our wounds.
After two days He will revive us;
on the third day He will restore us,
that we may live in His presence.
Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.

-Hosea 6:1-3

Ever so slowly, light shone into my prison.  God entered and chased away my shame, one lie at a time.  He began stripping me of old habits and destructive cycles, revealing to me a new abundant way of life.  Then He did a remarkable thing.  Like His word says, He gave me a new name!, one spoken to me in the depth of the pit: JOY.  I stared back at the man who spoke this over my life, this word of faith, through the eyes of deep sadness and pain.  Joy — me?  He said I’ll bring joy wherever I go?  Wow!  How unthinkable in that season, but how like our Creator to make us into the unthinkable–something glorious–when we could’ve never accomplished it on our own.  How beautiful!  :)

One painstaking step of faith at a time, I learned to trust my Creator as He showed Himself most trustworthy!  This word became true in my life:

The LORD sets prisoners free,
the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.

-Psalm 146

This story of redemption is yours, and it is mine.  And it is life-changing when we share it with others.

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!

Revelation 12 teaches us invaluable information about our redemption, our salvation:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of His Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.’

To overcome our mutual enemy, each of us must share our story in our circles– proclaim our freedom, God’s redemption of our pain!  Scripture says “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”  Speak it.  Share our travels.  Surely somewhere along the way, we will meet others struggling through areas God has given us victory in.  With these people we are compelled to share that freedom is possible, they are not alone, and such beauty awaits them on the other side. 

And that’s why I share mine.

Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
So He subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind,
for He breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron…
He sent out His word and healed them;
He rescued them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.

-Psalm 107

Do you see it?  Despite our self-made prisons and self-imposed chains, God breaks down bronze gates and iron bars.  This is redemption.  It is God giving ear to our cries in our distress.  It is our powerful Saviour rescuing us from every kind of death.

Hallelujah :)

Beauty from Ashes

God didn’t just save me from darkness.  He saved me to someplace, a place He carved out for me before the world began. (Thanks to Beth Moore for this revelation!)

Ten years after the nightmare began, after believing no man would brave peering into my brokenness or would find beauty there, God gave me my heart’s desire: He made me a radiant bride!  I didn’t think this time would actually come.  If my tough experiences had taught me anything, it was that I’d always be in ‘waiting mode’.  Yet, that assumption proved false.  Even now I find it hard to wrap my mind around how far He’s brought me.  Me.  Redeemed.

Yet here I am.

My mom called my attention to this recently at my “early birthday” celebration, words I can’t forget.  She said that despite the long journey I’ve taken — the pain and sadness, my desire to get married earlier than I did, and the painful waiting period that ensued — when my time arrived, God blessed me with two weddings, two honeymoons and all kinds of two-ness (two becoming one)!  [Yes, we had two wedding celebrations: our wedding day with parents and pastor, and a huge one with all our loved ones.]  As she said this, instantly this verse flashed into my mind:

Instead of your shame
   you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
   you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
   and everlasting joy will be yours.

-Isaiah 61:7

[and in the Amplified]:

Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

Before marriage, I felt shame.  Many of my God-given dreams hinged on meeting the right man, starting a family and creating a life together.  But my dreams tarried.

Yet now I see how the Lord has turned each of these challenging times around for my good.  Each painful season changed something in me that needed to be changed, and each tough path I have traveled thus far has shown me new pathways to healing and freedom that I now share with others.  God has made “all things work together” on my and my husband’s behalf, and in the process He has made (and continues to make!) our story soo beautiful!

A year ago I would have never envisioned the life I’m now living every day.   I recall one moment last spring when God whispered to me, in my utter despair, “It’s always darkest before dawn.” He knew that after enough time passed and life didn’t happen as I’d imagined, hope died in me.

But God is faithful!  Eight months later I was blessed with two totally unique weddings — one flanked by New Mexico’s gorgeous snow and mountains and the other surrounded by Florida’s sunshine, sand and palm trees — and two honeymoons, when I’d only dreamed of one!  Both days were exceptionally beautiful.

Wow!  Did I deserve such grace after the places I’d been?  Or after failing to believe that He cared for me and would bless me one day?  No I didn’t.  Yet, that’s what grace means.  It isn’t earned or merited.  It is freely given.

His word promises us,

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten –
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm –
My great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will My people be shamed.

-Joel 2:25-26

Repaid me He has.  And this is just the beginning of my story.

His promises are so beautiful because they are so true!  He will give us beauty for ashes, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  That’s just what He’s done (and continuing to do) in my life.  And that’s just what He’s doing in yours.

Our Final Redemption

God’s final promise of redemption will greet us in the next life.  It is such a glorious promise!  Savor each word because this is His promise to YOU and to me, to all His children, in the place He’s preparing for us:

“Though you were once despised and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
a joy to all generations.
Powerful kings and mighty nations
will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.
I will exchange your bronze for gold,
your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
and righteousness your ruler.
Violence will disappear from your land;
the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
Your days of mourning will come to an end.
All your people will be righteous.
They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with My own hands
in order to bring Myself glory.
The smallest family will become a thousand people,
and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

-Isaiah 60

Until heaven, God will be working redemption in our lives here on earth.  Each broken part of us He redeems, each wound He heals in this life points us to our final destination and the Ultimate Redemption of mankind.  God promises a heavenly home where the sun never goes down!  Tears are not cried!  Unfathomable now, but it will be our reality later–just as I could never have hoped or dreamed or expected the life I’m now experiencing daily.  I couldn’t have even wished for the love I now know in marriage.  And this is just a glimpse of what’s to come.

I’ll leave you with God’s best promise of all.  See for yourself–Ephesians 3:14-21.  Let’s always remind ourselves and each other that we can trust God because He is faithful! 

Sweet, Sweet Scripture

I like Scriptures.  They are positive.  They bring JOY!  If we practice them, we will walk in great health, peace, and prosperity in our souls.

Scripture is beautifully-written, indeed the most beautiful writing in existence.  Some may argue with that, but that’s OK by me.  I will always contend that God is the best Author of all.  In fact, He created you and He created me.

He is so creative!  God created us in His image, meaning we are creative too (wow, how humble of Him to allow us to share this remarkable trait!)  Creativity is an amazing quality, a powerful force, yet our Father found delight in sharing it with us… I believe it’s an intrinsic quality in every human being.  Just think of some of the most creative people you know: Didn’t their art inspire you?  Draw you in?  Touch some deep part of your heart and soul?  That’s God shining through them!

God is also light.  That means He does not — indeed, cannot – deceive.  He is honest through and through.  WOW!  Can you imagine never having bad motives?  Never pretending to be something/ someone you’re not OR misleading someone that you had pure intent when really you wanted glory, affirmation, money, status, power, or some other self-seeking desire?  Not Him.  He is pure of heart, pure of mind, pure of intention.  I’m reminded of the Scripture describing a man named Nathanael as one “in whom there is no guile”.  Jesus is described the same.  That’s exciting to me that Jesus Himself qualified Nathanael’s character as a man without guile.  Exciting because IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US!  One of my deepest, most heart-felt goals is to be a person in whom there is no guile.  That is my plea for my husband and my fellow church members.  I know God can do this in us — He can make us people of pure intent, pure heart, pure motivations.  But note the key word: pure.  To be pure denotes a purifying experience that burns away impurities.  I believe holiness is one of God’s chief goals and works in His people.

I wonder… do we tremble at the thought of Him?

Do we bow in humility when presenting our requests at His throne?  Do we realize we’re bowing before the Maker of heaven and earth?  Wow!  I know I forget that more often than not, and that needs to change.

Repeatedly it’s been burning in my heart that my heart needs help.  God, I often seek my own glory…. my own comfort…. friendship with man instead of friendship with the Man.  I seek the wrong things.  I stay busy instead of staying still.  And I repent — but do I really?  Because my history keeps repeating itself.

But then You intervene.  And suddenly I’m doing things I never dreamt I’d be doing!  Or old habits that clung to me for far too long begin fading away!!!!!!!  SUDDENLY, as in the blink of an eye, I am FREE to be …. You?  No no, You IN ME.  YOU IN ME — the unique expression of You as only I, Your unique creation, can be.  WOW!

How magnificent and wonderful and beautiful this creation is!  I am at times in awe of who I am when You show up in me.  But when You don’t, all I tend to see are vainglorious attempts at winning praise and affection.  Half-hearted attempts at, well, anything.  Emotion-led living.  Judgmental thoughts, a sharp tongue, and that ugly demon pride.

But You in me — that is a sight to behold!  That is where glory emits from my being….. because You peek Your head out and are free at last to use my feeble hands, my weak knees, my limited resources to do Your unlimited work!  To achieve the impossible.  To reach the ‘unreachable’.  To push harder and longer and endure well past my breaking point.  You, Sir, can do anything.  Through me.  Yes, even through me.

Most of us are well aware of our shortcomings.  But I like what my pastor said recently — if we as the Body of Christ operate together (as one), we don’t have to experience the pain of our weaknesses.  We don’t have to suffer on behalf of what each individual is limited to, not only because we all have CHRIST IN US (“the hope of glory”) but also because we can lean on Christ in each other to get us through.  And Christ is a beautiful thing, indeed the beautiful One.

But we must let loose our dead nature for the alive Christ to burst forth!  Our flesh only drags us down and keeps us — where else? — but on earth.  Taking on Christ’s nature and removing our dead selves allows us to soar in the heavenlies with Him.

Christ, who is our peace….

He is our peace.  He keeps us there, in peace, and at peace with one another.  He is the Keeper of the Peace and the Bringer of the Peace!  When we link arms and join hands, we are emulating Christ Jesus.

So what are we waiting for?  Why don’t we dive into the Scriptures?  Why don’t we — ahem, ME! — stop wasting time and FOCUS instead on Him, on His words to us, on what He may wanna teach us?

Why are we scared?  He only wants to remove the dead, whittle away the impurities, bumps and lumps!  He is making us beautiful, truly beautiful, what every woman longs to be (and every man longs to be near). 

John 8:12: Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I Am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Don’t we want the LIGHT OF LIFE?  Don’t we want Him to illuminate our soul, riddled with passionate lusts that the heathens are controlled by, and bring peace and healing there?  Don’t we want Him to rise up in our spirits and spread love, glory, humility and wholeness wherever we go?

Do you want to touch the blind — and them see?

Do you want to comfort the brokenhearted — and bring healing to their loss?

Do you want to snatch the hell-bent from the flames?

Do you want to cooperate with our Father in the greatest Redemption story ever told?

Then what are you waiting for?  Go.  Do it :)  Just don’t do it alone.  Take Him with you — and invite other people to share the journey.  For our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak.  Let our kind Father’s Holy Spirit illuminate His word to you, one verse at a time, and see how your spirit comes alive.  See how He bursts forth and overcomes even your fleshly temptations, your temperament’s failures, your habitual behavior.  He can, has, and will continue to conquer all.

Benefits of Wisdom

 

The Benefits of Wisdom

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
   the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
   and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies;
   nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
   in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
   and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;  
   those who lay hold of her will be blessed. 
 
-Proverbs 3:3-18

Communication: To HEAL or HURT?

Here’s a question to ask ourselves:

Is my communication helping or hurting this situation?

Is what I’m about to say/write able to bring people up or down?

No, seriously.  Ask yourself this whenever you’re tempted to write a volatile email or spread juicy gossip.  I know it’s juicy.  I know it’s like that itch you MUST scratch.  Put another way:

If they were here, would I say this – the same way? 

Maybe you would.  Maybe you – can I be direct? – struggle with being a jerk.  Then there are others, the less aggressive, who find it hard to confront people directly.  So we go to others when we’re hurt, seeking sympathy, but instead build walls and tear down other people’s relationships.  All to alleviate our own desire for revenge. 

Lately I’ve witnessed the major destruction such words bring to relationships, people slandering each other.  This is the worst kind of insult: Behind your back, when you are defenseless.  As believers in Christ, we need to be mindful of  the incredible power of our words.  Are you building people up or tearing them down?

Jesus has a word for us in this department.  A lot of words.  Hang onto your britches! 

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’  -Matt 18:15-16

Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’  -Matt. 18:21-22

If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  -Matt 5:23-24

Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  -Matt. 7:1-2

And Solomon:

Hatred stires up strife, but love covers all sins.  -Prov. 10:12

These wise words teach us this:

1. First forgive.  I know it’s hard.  We’ve all been backstabbed, betrayed, used, abused.  But your quality of life hinges on your forgiveness (or lack of).  If you want a joyful life, you must forgive; there’s no other option.  Take it from one who learned the hard way: Grudges only destroy you and your relationships.  If you’re upset with someone, forgive them before approaching them about the issue.
2. If someone’s hurt you, GO TO THEM.  Don’t tell your boyfriend, sister/ aunt/ mother, or cubemate.  Let that person know they hurt  you and give them opportunity to explain, apologize or make amends.  Has someone ever done this for you?  What a relief that they approached you instead of telling half the town or posting angry Facebook statuses!  On the flipside, have you ever had someone do the opposite: tell your entire circle but you that you’ve offended them?  I have.  The result?  Division, misplaced anger, mega damage control.  People, let’s handle conflict responsibly, like adults.  Put your big girl panties on and deal with it head-on. 
3. If someone else is upset with you, go to them.  Do not delay!  Waiting simply gives our enemy time to weave division, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and gossip/ slander.  God makes it clear He’d rather we reconcile with others than receive our gifts.  Reconciliation first; giving second. 
4. QUIT JUDGING.  You are not your neighbor’s judge – GOD IS.  If you simply must get something off your chest about someone else, aim it at God.  He knows what you’re thinking already, and He’ll likely give you a new perspective.  For me He’s made me aware of my own failures (which He’s forgiven me of constantly) or opened my eyes to their viewpoint, the motivation behind their behavior, and His compassion for them.  Pray to Him - ask Him to help that person grow in the area of their failure.  Ask for His grace to let it go whenever they mess up.  Search scripture for similar incidences.  It is replete with wisdom on how to treat other people, none involving your vengeance!   You will be BLESSED by following this advice!!

If you have a grievance with someone, go to them today.  Refuse to talk behind their back.  People are more reasonable when you open the door for them to share their feelings and perspective with you.  You may gain valuable insight into their heart/ behavior.  If they’re unreasonable, take someone else with you.  If that doesn’t work, brush it off and move forward; you tried your best. 

This works anywhere: Home …. the Workplace …. Church …. Small groups …. Friends.  Quit adding fuel to the fire and backbiting/ gossiping.  Stop attacking and finger-pointing.  Be humble enough to admit your mistakes and give others grace to do the same.  If we’d follow this, it would stop untold amounts of drama in our lives! 

One last benefit:

A gracious woman attains honor  -Prov 11:16

Yes, forgiveness brings you honor!  I’m reminded of Taylor Swift’s gracious response to Kanye at last year’s VMAs.  Hats off to her for controlling herself when many would have reacted less kindly. 

As the Apostle Paul would say, Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And as I would say - Much love.  Go spread it around :)
XOXOX Summer

Addicted

In the words of John Mayer, we all self-soothe somehow… me?  Music.  People.  Cooking.

What are yours?  When life’s edgy, money’s low, pain comes, or you’re alone.. where do you turn?

We’re all designed to be comforted.  I know I need it. 

Like today… my ambitious plans for the day were scrapped by a sudden need for rest and peace.  After spending my morning with a friend, I found myself needing encouragement this thunderstormy afternoon.  But my friend was on an airplane elsewhere.

Far from family and lifelong friends, I have just a few trusted Atlanta friends right now.  I’ve met loads of people, but trust takes time.  For reasons such as distance and others, sometimes people can’t be there for us… so we learn to turn elsewhere.  

Without human comfort, many people seek unhealthy ways to escape pain.  This is a false comforter, and it’s meant to take your mind off the present and bring you elsewhere.  We call ‘em coping mechanisms.  Gone unchecked, our methods of coping become addictions, and the longer we feed them, the more fierce the battle for freedom becomes. 

Walking out one’s freedom can be excruciating because an addict has conditioned himself to send pain packing in the form of a bottle, a meal, or a host of other things.  He’s never learned to deal with life; he’s just run away.  To kick an addiction, he has to re-learn how to face troubles head-on.  In recovery, the addict often experiences for the first time emotions he froze out years earlier. 

When they break free, many former addicts say they feel like they suddenly ‘came to’, like awakening after a long absence.  How can that be?  They were living life one day at a time like the rest of the world, so where did they go all those years?

They fled the present.  They got so wrapped in the arms of their comforter that they detached from today.  They weren’t living their lives at all — they were running all those years. 

I’ve done that, too. 

Over the years I turned to people, but many didn’t know how to handle what I was going through because they hadn’t personally experienced it, or for others, they had but hadn’t dealt with it.  Where once we connected, I now felt a massive void with old friends and family who couldn’t walk with me through my experience. 

The more misunderstood and alone I felt, the more I burst to share with someone who could offer comfort or peace or answers.  I wanted to share with them the true me, including my story.  But to my surprise, I found most people wanted me to pretend my way through the healing process and ‘fake it til you make it’.  But hiding persistent pain unraveled me.  

To pretend you didn’t walk through pain doesn’t make it any less real, it only isolates you from the present and the people around you.  It hinders progress.  It encourages you to live on the surface of life, in a shallow contrived personality, not in your true self.  It beckons you to hide your heart, not unveil it.  So I learned that in order to move forward, I must acknowledge my past without dwelling on it, just simply say This is part of God’s story in my life.  He will redeem it. 

Our pain is not evil… but leaving people alone in it – that is evil.  In the words of Ben Harper:

My eyes burn with unshed tears
My body is weak from so many silent years
Too many people say goodbye before they say hello
Step into the morning and disappear

If we pass by a hurting person roadside, bleeding and broken, we in essence heap dirt on their grave because we’re letting them die.  It’s not always a physical death (the Good Samaritan comes to mind); sometimes it’s an emotional or spiritual death.  We cannot sit by and watch their hope die, their peace be stolen from them, without a fight.  Without helping.  There are some things in life people cannot bear alone.  Enter friendship :)

Human nature’s knee-jerk reaction is to run from ugly reality and towards shiny happy things, pretending life is always beautiful.  Not only do people run from their own personal pain but from yours, too.  For this very reason, pain often isolates us.  Nothing’s wrong with you for hurting; people just don’t want the reminder.  Your pain snaps them back to the present, the one they’ve been fleeing, and leaves them needing comfort. 

So now you’re asking- What’s the good news Debbie downer?  Hah, I’m glad you did!

The good news is we aren’t alone, ever, even when our closest friends aren’t “getting it”.  He is our hiding place in hard times, and Beloved that is not a pretty sentiment; it’s true!  As real as the chair you are sitting on is our Father above who watches, sees, and will repay any evil done to you.  He redeems pain (Ps 103:4), collects our teardrops (Ps 56:8), and demands payment from the thief, who when apprehended must repay seven times what he stole from you (Prov 6:31).  Vengeance is His; He will repay (Rom 12:19)! 

There is hope for the addicted.  Instead of reaching for what brings us fleeting comfort, let’s reach for Him.  Here’s a beautiful Starfield song demonstrating His presence even in our pain:   

In the shadows, I can hear Your voice
Singing to me
In the valley, I can hear Your heart
Reaching for me now
And I wait flooded with the strength of Your peace

You’re my defender, the shield of my heart
You are my hiding place
When terror surrounds me, You keep me from harm
You are my hiding place

In the darkness, I can feel Your light
Wrap around me
In my suffering, I can feel Your joy
Rising in me now
And I wait, flooded with the strength of Your peace

Here before You, Jesus
In this place
Here before You now
Face to face

Under the shelter of the Most High
Will I be saved, and will I abide

He is our hiding place.

Wagging Tongues

This issue is so on my heart today.  I hope my words spark change.

We all need to be listened to at times.  It is such a part of the human experience: to connect, really connect with other humans who are going through life.  Without this we shrivel up inside.  No man is an island indeed!  Every person needs to know they are safe to express themselves and loved as they are, quirky though they may be, especially in the Body of believers as our world and enemy try to daily tear us down. 

Sadly, I know a godly lady that has recently become the focus of much criticism in our circle.  It seems many believers are quick to judge fellow brothers and sisters for petty differences, from the way they talk to their heart’s motives, and then speak out against them, slandering members of their (and our) own Body!  I think many in the Body of Christ are deeply wounded by this very thing.  Where we should embrace each other’s differences, we fiercely attack them instead and reap division. 

I want people in the Body to be set free to be who God created them to be – not bound up by fear of attacks from other believers!  I’ve heard people say that their fiercest opposition and harshest critics often came from the brethren (in the church, not in their family).  Wow.  This should not be so! 

Beloved, we should be safest in the church.  Our hearts should be free to express themselves and our gifts flowing freely so we bring about God’s will wherever we go.  We should be one other’s greatest supporters, inviting others to liberty, not shame.  No stone-throwing.  Since when have wagging tongues become the norm within the Body?  How will outsiders “know us by our love” if we bite and devour one another?  Where is the Love among us that is the world’s hope? 

Jesus speaks some powerful words about judgment in Matthew 7:

Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

And Jesus’s brother James says this about the tongue:

Every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.  But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

And |sidebar| this I just found funny:

Instead, let our words be full of grace and truth!  May we encourage unity, that we may receive the blessing of Psalm 133:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
         For brothers to dwell together in unity! 
    It is like the precious oil upon the head,
         Coming down upon the beard,
         Even Aaron’s beard,
         Coming down upon the edge of his robes. 
    It is like the dew of Hermon
         Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
         For there the LORD commanded the blessing–life forever.