The Rollercoaster

Matthew 6:33

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Isaiah 41:10New Life Version (NLV)

10 Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good.

It amazes me how quickly we can loose sight of HIM and His purpose for our lives.  Over the past 3 weeks, there has been an emotional rollercoaster that many of us have been riding.  We all have so much to be grateful for, but the rollercoaster ride is exhausting.  Being out of a normal routine can be exhausting and confusing.  By the time “normal” rolls around, I seem to have lost my way and my purpose in a never ending fog.  I want to curl up with a bowl of ice cream and Oreos, binge watch a new series on Netflix, and do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.  So, none of that actually happened, although the ice cream and Oreos would have been nice, but I was lost.  I usually have my husband to help me snap out of the “funk”, but he was out of town.  Why did I feel lost?  Because I wasn’t truly leaning on HIM.   

God doesn’t intend on us to go through the valleys alone.   When we are at our weakest or feel the most broken, He is fighting hard for us.  He doesn’t, and won’t ever, leave us.  I know all of this, but so quickly I forget.  I think I have the attention span of a fly when it comes to relying on Him and regaining my strength in and through Him.  So no matter what rollercoaster you are riding, know that God is taking care of each and every one of the ups/downs/dips/turns.  

Be Blessed!

The Splinters in Life

2 Corinthians 1:3 -14The Message (MSG)

The Rescue

3-5 … He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.

8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us…It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

12-14 Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised. Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings in this letter. We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.

Last night Hunter, my almost 11 year old, had a splinter.  It was a tiny, but a mighty, splinter.  He didn’t want me to touch it, but wanted to take care of it himself.  It was the tiniest thing, but was causing him some pain.  After he successfully pulled it out, he asked why did something so small cause so much pain.  Then he followed it with a question that has been rolling through my head the last few weeks, “Why does God cause pain or bad things to happen?”  I looked at him and told him the truth, “I don’t know, but what I do know is that we learn from these experiences.   For example, I wanted to take control of pulling out the splinter, but you didn’t want me to touch it.  I had to sit and let you take control, which is hard for me to do.  Hunter, what you learned is that you can do something even though it can be painful.  The pain is temporary, but you survived.”  

Now I know that a splinter is a tiny, minuscule object compared to the pain and suffering that many of us have overcome, and still overcoming, over the last few weeks.   C. S. Lewis, who watched his beloved wife die of cancer, put it this way: "But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  

We don’t know what eternity looks like.  We don’t even know what tomorrow looks like, but what I do know is that HE works everything out for our good.  

My prayer today is that wherever you are is that you take a moment and truly pray for those effected by the recent hurricanes, Harvey, Irma, and now Maria.  Let’s use this opportunity to be HIS megaphone and reflect HIS love through our actions and words.  

Be Blessed!

Let your ACTIONS be louder than your words

James 1:22-25The Message (MSG)

22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

1 Peter 1:13 New Life Version (NLV)

13 Get your minds ready for good use. Keep awake. Set your hope now and forever on the loving-favor to be given you when Jesus Christ comes again.

Galatians 6:9-10The Message (MSG)

9-10 So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

This week, as I have witnessed actions in Florida from a distance, I have seen the good and bad come to surface on social media.  I am not there and am not living in the midst of the heat, sweat, and tears, which tears me up inside.  In these weak moments, we are the most vulnerable to  lash out, be disgusted with others, and think about the negative in the situation.  It can be so hard to not drown in the negative.  

Step outside for a moment and look at what you have around you.  Put your hand over your heart and be grateful for the thump you feel under you palm.  The destruction will be cleaned up and will be remembered.  However, actions will be remembered more than anything else.  Help others, build others up through you words, show a kind heart, and HE will be reflected in your ACTIONS.  

Be blessed!