This morning I have so many thoughts, lessons, convictions swirling around in my mind I felt a little overwhelmed as I drove into work. I talked with God about it but thought it would also help me to put some of them in writing.
I laid out a beautiful sermonette to John last night about how we need to trust the girls and God during these teen years when we can’t really control what happens and we oftentimes have to just sit, watch and pray. Then today I woke feeling anxious. God rewound the tape from my “message” last night and played it back right in front of me – the nerve! Living by my own words is tough today.
If I really trusted Him completely I wouldn’t worry. So, I’m practicing faith and trust, leaning on Him even though I still feel uncertain. Sometimes letting go hasn’t been that hard but there are days…
What if my daughters choose ways and lifestyles other than what I hope for them? Continue reading →
When I got a cancer diagnosis more than 5 years ago, my dad sent me this poem. I’ll never forget sitting at my computer that morning reading it and how it renewed my hope. Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder of what is true and what is not. Fear can distort perspective big time! I post this today in honor of my many friends who have fought cancer – many of whom have beat it and are living strong today. I also post it in honor of my friend’s Aunt who is facing cancer now.
Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit. – anonymous
Whatever you’re facing, no matter how ominous or threatening it may seem, know that it can’t keep you from or remove you from God’s love.
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 NLT
There have been times when choosing to praise God in spite of something traumatic happening in my life brought healing. It may not have come at the very instant I made the choice to speak or sing something to God, but it came. For some reason, when you force yourself to shift your thinking away from pain, disappointment, discouragement, fear, or worry – if only for a moment – to proclaim the things you know to be true, it’s as if God cuts a slit in the dark shroud that’s suffocating you and allows a shaft of brilliant hope to shine in. Courage grows, freedom shows it’s beautiful face again. When we say or think, “God is still the God He was before” or “God is still on the throne” or “He never changes, He is still faithful, He still cares about me” or any number of truths like these we’re taking a step toward Him, putting ourselves out there, with arms reaching forward in faith. We’re waiting for Him to make the next move and pull us closer, to refine us, to beautify us, to do a miracle and somehow bring something good out of something completely awful. Sometimes we have no idea how any good can come out of what we’re facing, but we trust. We praise.
I guess that’s the ticket – when we praise in spite of circumstances we are proclaiming our faith. We are saying “I still believe, God. I don’t feel You, I don’t see You. I don’t hear You right now. But I’m choosing to believe that You’re still good and You’re still there. You’re still God.” The Bible tells us many times that faith pleases God. In fact, it tells us that without faith you cannot please Him. Many of his people in the Old Testament, before Jesus came to save them from sin, were justified simply because they had faith.
Choosing to praise in pain or any trial also gets our eyes off of ourselves and back onto Jesus and the purpose He has for us. We can begin moving forward rather than being stuck knee-deep in sinking sand or muck.
I watched a video today of a worship leader from the Hillsong Church in Australia who endured a terrible disappointment and loss, yet chose to praise God. Watch it and let God speak to your heart. Listen to the lyrics of the song, too. This has become my new favorite.
Along the Narrow Path 