I am weary too, my friend. Don’t let these posts ever fool you… I solicited my best friend to assist in GO [she doesn’t want any recognition so just pray for GO leaders if you pray for us], while I “recover” (it’s still progress, just feels oh so slow).
Keep leaning on Jesus, our Risen King and Savior – my friends. And never forget, you are SO loved by our Creator and we are always here too (we don’t respond instantly because of multiple chronic illnesses – but we check our pm’s and comments).
Still, YOU matter SOOOO much!!
Let me leave you with a snippet of Matthew 11:
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” [verses 28-30 NLT]
Right now, I think of two sets of Scriptures. One of which is Daniel 1:21. Daniel remained where the God of the Universe placed him.
“This is how Daniel came to serve the royal court, a position he safely held until the first year of King Cyrus when his Persian army conquered Babylonia (The Voice).”
He didn’t focus on what was behind him. He stayed, knowing God was (and is) in control – – even if his circumstances didn’t change.
My circumstances right now are quite difficult, but I can still be grounded in my faith. The foundation is solid and centered on Jesus Christ, our Savior, which the Bible reaffirms as I come and sit in His presence.
What I believe has not changed, simply because I have a broken ankle and restarted seizures. The God I know is still the very same!
How I approach God has definitely changed. “We” have been working on digging deeper, so the foundation of running to Christ is even better. (Or, that is what we are working on. We are trying to work on some unpleasant emotions related to my broken ankle..)
And, how I carry out my faith is beginning to change too. It looks different when you can’t get out of bed. I won’t say it is bad, just that it is different. I have walls to break down and am learning to lay down the weight of my own anger and stubbornness.
To be grounded in my faith means to keep remembering what I believe holds true. The Bible teaches and trains me about what is true – about my God and everything else. I don’t have the space to share all of the Scriptures I am thinking of. So after you read this, look up Psalm 27 and Matthew 25.
In times of trials, how are we holding onto what is true about God, our Savior Jesus, prayer, the Bible, the world, Holy Spirit, and let’s face it… everything else?
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence (2 Pet. 1:3).”
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).”
These also come to mind. I think, my heart is being greatly prepared for my Psalm 119 Bible study. Would I rather study than trial as my preparation for any kind of Bible study? Absolutely! But, who wouldn’t?
The Lord is the One is in control. The Lord is the One teaching and training and pruning this girl. I am excited for the spiritual fruit that comes after trials. I, like anyone, loathe the actual pruning process (John 15 is a good Scripture on this too!).
I am clinging to Jesus and resting in Him, knowing He is the One grounding me in my faith… and it is all about Him, not my efforts. I am trying to break from some of my responsibilities right now, and it is a hard thing.
So pretty please, pray for my speedy recovery. And I thank you in advance.
* All Scriptures are in New Living Translation unless otherwise noted. *
For Gracefully Overcoming, my goal is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Bible with those who are hurting.
Lately, I am finding myself in that desperate seat of needing to be ministered to.
Since before Christmas, I have experienced a slew of different things – which keeps knocking me down.
Ohh friends, how I need you.
Pray for me.
Check on me.
Scan the comments on Facebook to see how you can “pitch in” and love on another who is hurting.
While I am used to suffering, as I consider the last 13+ years, this is a whole new ballgame for me. I mean, COVID (& bronchitis & sinus infection), return of seizures after many years (2 ambulance rides, ER visits, and 1 surgery within a span of 2 weeks), a broken ankle in 3 pieces, which did include surgery, and now trying to discover the best way to eat in order to limit pain as much as humanly possible.
I just need a whole lotta Jesus, rest, and friends to love on me. Sorta handcuffed to my bed right now. Which I don’t know, maybe it would be easier if I didn’t have COVID brain, I don’t even know.
The Lord is doing lovely things in my midst. He is showing up in all of this. I am just going through a lot. So keep praying and reaching out. And, I thank you in advance!
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT: For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.
James 5:16 KJV Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
“May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”
Romans 15:13
Remember this: His yoke is easy and burden is light.
We are invited to come to Jesus. To run to Him as His beloved and even children of God. No limitations on coming toward Jesus, as far as He is concerned.
He has fully covered and painfully atoned and reconciled us to Him.
So, why can’t we just come and leave everything at His feet? Why do I still come, stressing out *as I am praying* and carry a load that my human heart is not equipped for?
While I don’t know that actual answer, I can come and cry to my Savior for His beautifully skilled help to lay it all down.
I love verse 3. We may be human, but we have access to the King of all Kings so our weapons are supremely better. Because of our access to the Father through our Savior Jesus Christ, we get much better weapons. So, let us use them. We don’t need to keep on losing… Let us stay saturated in the Word of God and in communing with our Risen Lord!
As He teaches me to pray, He will show me how to increasingly depend on Him. One of my Scriptures today is Ephesians 6:10. “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!” (NLT)
This is how I will fight andwin my battles – using the Lord’s weapons which is far, far greater than my own.
Perhaps 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 says it best, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.”
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart,
and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16.]
For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.”
Right now, commercials do whatever they can to cunningly bring us back to the Garden of Eden where all our discontentment began in the first place. While we could buy into the lie that we need more stuff, we need to remember the words God gave Paul in Philippians 4.
But before we go there, how about we go back to where it began? In Genesis 3, we see Eve, the woman, falling for the serpent’s lies that God was keeping something good from us. And so, she ate the forbidden fruit and even invited her husband Adam to join her [well technically, she handed it to him].
God was not keeping anything good from her.
Not then. And not now.
It is easy to be allured by all the Christmas deals right now. And if we really needed whatever “that thing” is that you are convinced you cannot live without, the Lord would (and will) provide!
“How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me.Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.” – Philippians 4:10-14, NLT
Philippians 4:10-14; New Living Translation
It is hard, but perhaps the Christmas gift we need now is to surrender every want and need to our LORD and Savior Jesus. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to give you contentment, in the midst of your suffering. And I am right there with you, I saw a “must have” item right now myself. It is easy to battle discontentment. I was wrestling with the discontentment of my sinful flesh. Like a two year old, we want things and the Lord has to tell us “no” too. He has to Father His children, too. Because, He is a good, good Father! But, contentment is a process. Or, it is for me. I need His contentment in many areas of my life. But, telling myself “no” to something I definitely don’t need.
In Romans 8:28 and Psalms 84:11, we are given two amazing promises to hold onto! I need to write out these promises and hang them in my bedroom.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Romans 8:28
“For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”
Gracefully Overcoming 