Archive for the ‘Comfort’ Category

“Behold, I will do a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19).

The snow globe enclosed a peaceful landscape. Serene and still, everything was perfect until I picked it up. The slightest movement created a snowstorm.

My world feels like that at times. I try to maintain a modicum of control. It works well until the unexpected happens. The balance shifts and suddenly all I have organized is slipping and sliding.

“A place for everything and everything in its place,” has been my life’s motto. But just when I have it all together, one challenge collapses my carefully erected world. I prefer the accustomed, habitual, and business as usual. However, safe, comfortable, and predictable are not God-words.

Letting go is never easy. A phone call in the middle of the night, a dreaded diagnosis, a toddler’s first steps, the first day of school, handing a teen the car keys, relocating to another city, a new job, or different ministry responsibilities are just of a few of the pivotal points in life.

Change is often fraught with emotion, worry, fear, and dread. How will I go on? What will happen next? Will my children be okay? How are we going to make it? I never asked for this!

We live in a changing world. Family dynamics evolve, friends come and go, and health issues are inevitable.

The Scripture repeats, “And it came to pass.” It is one thing to read about changes in the lives of others but something else entirely to face our own. However, change is unavoidable. All that comes into our lives will pass in time. Nothing ever comes to stay.

Our past experiences may leave us apprehensive about God’s desire for change. When we read of His promise to do something new, we may wonder, “And what does that mean? Is it something I will enjoy?”

Perhaps the “new thing” He refers to is whatever we need. Do you need healing? Are you emotionally battered and scarred? Are you looking for answers? Does your family need a divine intervention? Are you struggling in your walk with God? Does your faith need a boost? What is lacking?

Throughout the Word of God it is confirmed, He will be — He will do whatever we need. It is the loss of control and right to dictate these changes that is unsettling.

Indeed, God is always at work in the world. He is creating new lives, new hearts, new beginnings, and His mercies and compassion are new each morning. Yet we are reluctant to trust Him.

An aging friend related to me the grief process following a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. At first she behaved as if it were not happening to her. She ignored it. But when it did not go away, anger replaced her denial. She felt betrayed. It took time, but she realized that while her life had changed, it was still good. Her life had value. She had significance.

We grieve over many things besides the death of someone we love. Events transpire in our lives that leave us shattered. Loss of control is never easy.

Why do we resist change? The unfolding of the seasons confirms life is about change. The stillness of winter erupts into sunshine and blossoms, increasing heat ushers in summer, summer fades into autumn, and fall foliage heralds the coming cold.

Some changes blindside us, and leave us reeling. The stages of life are inevitable, and we prepare ourselves as they approach. Other alterations we dare not avoid, not the ones God has planned for our lives. Missing out on anything He has for us is dangerous and not an option.

God is a God of change. He wants to remake us inside and out. This transformation began with repentance, when we turned away from our old lifestyle. It continues each day with a commitment to become all He desires.

We prefer to linger in secure places. However, for God to give us something new, we must be willing to let go of what we now grasp. This new thing God is doing in our lives is a process that will last a lifetime.

For us to receive more from God we must be willing to let go and let God have His way in our lives.

Lately God has placed a few loved ones in my path who are feeling low and defeated; their dread and anguish crushing my spirit and breaking my heart. The best and only thing I could do for each one of them was to say – “Give it to God” because I know with all my heart that He is the ONLY one who can help them where they are in their journey.

If you are also feeling this way, rest assured that our Lord is there for you too. Here are some things you can do to strengthen your faith and hope in tomorrow.

Pray and read His word daily

Start each day with a short Bible reading and meditation before you begin your day. Just dedicating 5 minutes to God each morning will radically change your day. (Do it every day and you will start to see a noticeable difference in your life within a very short time.) Pray more than once a day, as often as you can and everytime you feel down or sad, alone or defeated. Read not because you have to but because you long to know Him better, the King you serve, the Creator who crafted you, the perfect Father who loves you unconditionally. Even when He is correcting you He loves you because that is what perfect fathers do.  Do not say that you are being punished! Those are lies created to hurt you and keep you down. Instead, Rejoice! In the midst of your tears, in the core of your struggles, Rejoice that you are being lifted out of the valley and into the light.  

Love. Joy. Peace. Warmth. Grace. Mercy. Comfort. These are God.

Use and post these words in full plain site where you will see them often. Print them out and put them on your wall, near your computer, on your fridge, by your bed, where ever you can. Then anytime you look at them you can smile and rejoice because He is all of those things – and YOU dear one are his pride and joy, a son or daughter of the King in whom He is proud. The Bible says that you are "the apple of His eye" (I like that thought too . He is proud of you and only wants the best for you. He loves you. If you want out the valley and into the light then DO THESE THINGS. Trust me…. trust God… you may have lost the fight but the victory was won by God long before you and I were even born. The valleys can be dark and lonely but we all go thru them. There is no need to go through them alone when He is there, waiting for us to reach out to Him. We can sit and cry to no avail, or we can stretch out our arms and cry ‘abba, father” and surrender it to God, then allow Him to carry us through – but understand that He will do so only on His terms, or not at all.

It's not about being perfect.

Of course you’re not perfect. No matter how hard we try, no one can be perfect, that's why Jesus died for us. Mankind could not measure up to the rules of God. He had to die. He was the sacrifice that washed our sins away but in order to be cleansed we must first confess them with our mouth in total and complete honesty and in all humility, and then offer them up to Him.

Honesty is never easy.

It took me a year of being angry, hating my boss (and struggling with the feeling of such hatred) while I was enduring physical pain, suffering the loss of my father, battling a family court custody case, and resenting being squeezed out of a company I had devoted myself to, to realize the part I played in the bigger picture and my contribution to it all.  Not standing up for myself for fear of losing my job, the fear of losing my kids, my fear of this and my fear of that, I was choking and drowning in fear! I was crying out for God to help me but I was drowning in my own dread and emotion that I could not see Him standing right in front of me. I thought my prayers were going unanswered and I wondered about God..nearly doubting Him. The struggle seemed long and hopeless until one day I realized that it was me who was keeping myself locked up in my own fear.  Fear is NOT of God. Fear is the enemy's lie to knock us down and keep us off track. The Bible says that “the Devil is a thief and a liar”! Do not believe his words, he will do and say things to make you feel worthless, hopeless, sad and defeated. The longer he can keep you down in the darkness, the longer he can stifle the true light inside you that could be shining on others. Don't you see????? It's a trick. It's all a game to him.  “Fear not, for I am your Lord.” Says God.  God could not help me before because I was asking for His help but then I was going ahead and doing things my way, complaining and crying to others, my eyes were down in sadness and sorrow yet I wondered where He was and why He wasn't there to help. It was only after I was able to look up and beyond my own fears that I could see the Hand of God, waiting to lead me out of the valley and into the light of His love. My role was simply to follow and trust in Him.

"You ARE more valuable than gold or silver" says the Bible. Believe it.

If you want out, there is a way out, you just can't see it but it's not your job to see it. It's only your job to have faith and believe it to be true … to give it up to Jesus and allow Him to steer you out of it. The hopelessness I hear in others can only be mended by the true love of Christ, who is waiting for you to totally give it up to Him.

Keep eyes and ears open to Him.

 GGodGod speaks all the time, but our eyes, ears and hearts must be open to hearing Him and receiving His message. The Bible illustrates that God can speak to us in many different ways, thorough dreams like Joseph, visions like David or even thorough a burning bush like Moses. Other times he will place people in our lives, who have the words to encourage us when we are down. As Christians we are each a very important and special part of God's family. Spending time with other Christian brothers and sisters will strengthen you when you are down. But even if God was to shout out to you from the tallest building in your neighbourhood, the message will do you no good if you do not stop to listen for it and obey.  If you keep your focus on Him, He will take care of the rest – His promise, not mine.

Peace. 

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

Saint Francis of Assisi

^{Ps 77:13} Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?

^{Ps 77:14} You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

We witness God’s miracles in our lives each and every day; the sun rises, the birds sing, and we live and breathe them through the harmonious and spectacular beauties of life, love and nature. For those who choose to see, God opens their eyes to the miracles all around us and in giving thanks to Him for his goodness, He blesses us.  Paul tells us that: “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance.” ^{2Co 12:12 NIV}

Read Psalm 37 then recite the prayer below in your morning devotion:

Father in Heaven,

Thank You for blessing me with this day. I pray your wisdom guides me in Your ways. I pray Your hand leads me down roads I am intended to follow. I pray for shelter and Your armor of protection from the enemy. I pray for the opportunity to serve You and witness Your love and mercy this day. I am forever grateful for Your love, Your mercy, and Your abundant blessings over my life.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.