Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Joy is on your horizon

I know sometimes it feels like it's impossible to walk, but you can put one foot in front of the other. 

I have a new revelation of Jesus walking to Golgotha. He was beaten, bruised, bleeding...so much so, that someone else had to carry His cross, but still in all the agony & pain He put one foot in front of the other. 

That's how I know I can make it, because He did. 

You might be broken & hurting, but keep walking. Keep moving towards the cross. You'll get there. & then once you get there, lay everything down at that cross & let God consume it, and watch and see the new, abundant life that He brings you. 

It seems like such a contradiction to bring your pain to the cross, but if we do not lay it down how could we ever bear it? It is not ours to bear, for He already did. He took the pain we could not heal & healed it. He took the hurt we could not bear & bore it. He did it all.

No one ever told me that I'd want to hold onto my grief. Somehow in my twisted human emotions it made me feel close to my daughter, but Jesus took that grief & turned it into joy. That's His promise. I'm not losing memories of my little girl, I'm gaining healing & the ability to remember her without sorrow in my heart. I'll always ache for her, but that aching is not painful because I know I'll see her again. 

The sorrow you are facing is not your destination. Joy is on your horizon, keep putting one foot in front of the other & let the cross do it's work. He will not fail you. 


Friday, August 7, 2015

The argument fizzles...

A little nugget I've discovered...

The argument fizzles when I stop trying to defend myself. This works whether I'm right or wrong in the situation. 

It's the moment when I reel in my emotions & understand that I love this person more than how I'm treating them right now & there is a better, more productive way to have this discussion. 

When did proving my point become more important than loving this person? 

Discussions can be had without arguing, but arguing never produces real discussions. It can only produce hurt & confusion because arguments are all based in pride. The pride of being right or defending your own actions.

Pride is sneaky & insidious. It sneaks into your life disguised as hurt feelings or justification. It wants to keep the argument alive until the other person either apologizes or concedes.  

The Bible on the other hand tells us that pride brings destruction & that God resists it. It also tells us to be offended at nothing.

That's the goal we move towards. Letting him love us, so that we can love others. 

It doesn't mean we'll never have a spirited discussion, but if we can learn to discuss out of love then not only will our topic most likely get resolved, but our relationships will flourish. 

People are worth our patience & our relationships are worth our self-control. 

1 Cor 13:4 
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

James 4:6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Monday, August 3, 2015

That's my hope.

His grace is sufficient for you.

That means that no matter what you have to face, the ability HE GIVES YOU is enough to win over it. 

Whether or not the outcome is what you preferred, you have the ability to outlast & not just maintain, but overcome.

Paul said that he gloried in his tribulation. I'm not there yet, but I have hope that as my relationship develops with the Lord, I too will gain the kind of revelation Paul had. 

That's the promise of it all. As I decrease, He increases & God's way of thinking & seeing is so much better than I could ever fathom. 

Jesus didn't just die on the cross. He made an impact before, during & after the crucifixion. Regardless of your tragedy, if Christ is in you, you have the power to make an impact before, during & after it. 

That's my hope. That is His faithfulness.

I know the pain will continue to heal & I know God's grace will continue to be sufficient. 


Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19