Love That Never Runs Out!

For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:5 

We all know that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin.  That is love!  BUT God didn't stop there, did He?  God has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love!  He fills our hearts so full that we cannot help but share God's love with others.

Does this mean we will be perfect in sharing God's love?  Nope!  We will make mistakes and missteps, but God has already provided His forgiveness for us.  You see, one of the benefits of love is hope!  When we share God's love with others, we give them hope!  With hope comes a boost to their morale and when their morale is boosted, they will share that with others.  

And the good thing, love is free!  And when we love God with all of our being, His love in us never runs dry!

Why Live In A World Of "Don't"?

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40

Have you ever looked at the Ten Commandments?  How many times do you find "Don't" in them?  Honestly, the concept that Christianity is about keeping a list of "don'ts" has driven quite a number of people away.  Let's face it, if all you hear are negatives then why be part of such a group.  Let me put it another way, if your supervisor only took time to give you negative feedback, how would your morale be?  How would your morale be if you knew you were under the microscope and people were just waiting for you to make a mistake?

In today's passage, Jesus was asked what is the greatest, most important of the Commandments.  Of all the "Don'ts" Jesus could have chosen, He chose to give a positive!  He told the Inquisitor that the greatest commandment was to LOVE!  First, love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Second, because of your love for God, you will be able to love others as much as you love yourself.  LOVE is the greatest commandment!

Now, how good are we at loving others as much as we love ourselves?  If you love someone, you will encourage, build them up, have their back, remember what it's like to be treated badly so you will do the opposite for others.  Love is about POSITIVE!   So, again, how good are we at loving others?  How good of an example did Jesus give us?

 

We Are David

Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants.” Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very scared.

1 Samuel 17:8-11 

 

The photo is of Andre the Giant comparing hands with Muhammad Ali.  You can see the difference.  Imagine having this giant standing in front of you yelling at you to come out and fight?  What would you do?  Yet, that is exactly what Goliath did to the Israelites.  And guess what?  The entire Israelite army was terrified!

 

Think about this now: What sort of Goliath are you facing today?  What is it that has you afraid?  What is it that has you anxious?  What is it that has you upset?  You see, our Goliath comes in many forms and in many ways, and yet the outcome is always the same!  God wins every single time.

 

David trust God and did what no one thought he would ever be able to do.  Remember the stipulation that Goliath put on this fight?  If Goliath won, the Israelites would become the slaves of the Philistines.  If the Israelites won, the Philistines would become the slaves.  And Israel pinned all their hopes on the kid names David.  David trusted God and won that match.  And when we trust God, we are David! 

Remember Them!

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:16 

 

Memorial Day...the day we set aside to remember the sacrifice of those military personnel who have died.  Honor belongs to them. Respect belongs to them. Gratitude belongs to them.  

 

Isaiah 43:1 tells us that God has called each of us BY NAME.  And today we are reminded that God remembers us always.  He has engraved us on the palms of His hands so we can never be forgotten.  Take just a moment, if you will, and thank God for those who have died in the service of this great country and remember!

What To Do Today

May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. 

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. 

Psalm 67:1-4 

What should we do today?  How about accept God's blessings?  We are blessed with every breath, every blink of the eye, every sight, sound and scent.  We are blessed because God loves us so much that He provided a way of forgiveness through grace.

We have been blessed and we should remember them.  Count them (especially when we are struggling or enduring challenges).  Remember, God never leaves us and never stops loving us. 

Reflections

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26 

 

I remember standing on the Training Pad, standing at Parade Rest, and listening to the "Welcome" speech being given by our First Sergeant.  He said, "MY job is to make you look good!  I will do WHATEVER I must do to make you look good!  Because when YOU look good, I look good.  And I LOOK GOOD!"  I have never forgotten that portion of his speech and have used it many times since.  He knew that our performance was a direct reflection on HIS leadership and in making us look good, He looked good.

 

Now, Scripture tells us that God made us in HIS image and likeness.  We reflect Him. We reflect His love.  We reflect His compassion.  We reflect His encouragement.  We reflect His peace. We reflect Him to the rest of the world.  Will we be perfect in our reflection of Him?  Not always.  But God is willing and has made a way for us to be forgiven and our mirror to be cleaned.  When we reflect God to others, we show how the Children of the King of Kings act toward one another.  

Knitted Together For A Purpose

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13

As many of you probably already know, I crochet.  I make BUBBAs (Butt Ugly But Big Afghans) and give them away.  Now....I considered learning to knit, but the thought of two pointy things in my hands brought mental images of the bodily harm I would most likely endure, so I stuck with crochet. When I am working on these BUBBAs there is already an image in mind of how I want it to look.  Carefully selecting the colors so they complement with enough contrast to illuminate the message.  I know how I HOPE it will turn out, but I am prone to errors.

Now when God knits us together, He has an image He in mind for us.....HIS image.  And God knits us together so carefully and lovingly that we are perfectly formed for the mission He has for us.  He coordinates every aspect of our lives to prepare us to fulfill His calling for us.  You see, we are here for a reason.  We are alive for a purpose.  We have a mission.

I've spoken with people who say "I wish I knew what my mission was." Or "I have no idea why I'm here."  I felt the same way, and some days I wonder if I am actually fulfilling God's mission for me or am I trying to do God's job.  The fact of the matter, each of us was perfectly created for the mission that is as unique and personal as each individual.  No two missions are the same. No two people are the same.  Even identical twins have their own uniqueness.  

Your mission might be to reach out to someone others have ignored.  Your mission might be to share your story so they realize they are not alone in their struggles.  Everyone has a mission! If you worry about what your mission might be, or wonder if you are fulfilling your mission, ask God to show you and then keep your eyes and ears open!  God LOVES to show us.  

We LOVE A Fight!

Starting a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,
    so stop it before a fight breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14 

 

We love a fight don't we?  We watch them on television. Some place wagers on the outcome. When I was in school, a disagreement would very quickly explode into a fight the outcome would settle the disagreement.  We love a good fight even when it's staged, like 'rasslin'. But think about how much we love a fight and love to fight.

 

Don't believe it?  EVERY love based relationship has fights.  However, we have to decide what kind of fight we are going to engage:

 

We can fight ABOUT things that really don't matter (because the Pit Dweller loves it when we fight about the trivial). When we fight about the things that, in all reality, aren't important, what purpose does that serve?  Before engaging in a fight ABOUT something, consider this: "If I die right after winning this fight, what difference will it make?"  Yet fighting each other ABOUT trivial things seems to be our first instinct.  We would rather prove that we are the one who is "right" regardless the cost to our relationship than to take the time to simply talk it out calmly and even agree to disagree.

 

Instead of fighting ABOUT things that really don't matter, what if we spent our energy and effort fighting FOR the relationship?  God tells us over and over that we are to love each other, and every relationship based on love (yes friendships are included, like it or not) are worth fighting for.  When Jesus took all the cruelty that we could inflict on Him, He was fighting FOR us because of His love for us.  When we fight FOR the relationship, we are fighting a common foe who is attempting to destroy the relationship.

 

The best fight of all eternity has already been settled when Jesus defeated the Pit Dweller by rising from the grave FOR us.  

Celebrate?

This is the day the Lord has brought about.
We will be happy and rejoice in it.

Psalm 118:24 

 

I admit it, I am not exactly a morning person.  I am not one who normally (or abnormally) jumps out of bed in the morning ready to embrace the day.  I have a process.  First, slowly ease out of bed one leg at a time. Groan, stretch, listen to the popping of my bones like bubble wrap. Yawn, scratch, and stumble toward the coffee maker.  After coffee is acquired, sit on the sofa and scratch Woody's tummy until I am sufficiently caffeinated to head to the shower.  I may be sluggish on the start, but I am still grateful for the opportunity to wake up and have another day.

 

Now, what do you think would happen if we embraced each day as a gift?  Let me put this a different way: If you only have today to live...what would you do?  How would you treat people?  How would you make the most of your day? How would you show God that you are grateful for today?

 

More times than not, we are so engrossed in our own routines that we don't even take time to look at the gift of the world around us that God has openly shared with us.  We get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget how fragile our lives really are.  We get so inundated with tasks, reports, requirements, and expectations that we seem to have no time to be happy or share our happy with anyone else.  Why do we do that?

 

Here's a hard question for you: When you stand before God's throne, will our routines, meetings, expectations really matter?  When God asks you "I gave you today, what did you do with that gift"? How will you answer? Isn't it time to look up and around and embrace today for the gift that it is?

Loyal to a T

Naomi's husband had died.  Both of her sons had died leaving behind their wives, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi decided to go back to her hometown and told her daughters-in-law to go back to their own families.  A discussion ensued.  After much discussion, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and returned to her family.  However, Ruth refused to leave Naomi.  

Ruth was a bit stubborn and absolutely refused to leave. To make her case, Ruth made a vow which should be used in weddings today.  "Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!' When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.'" (Ruth 1:16-18)

Did you catch her loyalty?  "Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and be buried."  That is pretty loyal to invest your entire life in someone.  She vowed to never leave Naomi.  Ruth was just that stubborn and dedicated to the Mother of her now dead husband. 

Let me ask you something, would you do the same for your mother-in-law?  Okay, would you be this loyal with a friend?  Is there anyone you would be this loyal to?

Before you answer, remember the last part of Ruth's vow to Naomi: "May the Lord punish me severely if I allow ANYTHING but death to separate us!" THAT is quite the vow!  Now...who could you be this loyal and dedicated to?

 

It's All In How You Look At It

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

John 10:28-30 

 

This has been a rough week.  Ever had one of those?  One of those weeks where you just can't seem to get anything right?  When these times come around, I have the tendency to come down hard on myself.  I will doubt myself. I will berate myself. I will also tend to not like myself.

 

But it is in these times that God will allow me a short pity party and then He will remind me to change my perspective. He will remind me that I am His and nothing....absolutely NOTHING can change that.  He will remind me that Christ came to this earth, giving up everything He had in Heaven, just so He could love me, understand me and save me.  I will be reminded that my Abba holds me in His hand and protects me and loves me.  I will be reminded that there is NOTHING that can ever separate us from the love of Christ. 

 

He will remind me that the negativity is from the Pit Dweller and to let it go.  He will remind me that the Pit Dweller has no power over me because Christ died for me.  He will remind me that as a child of the King of Kings, I should hold my head up and remember just whose I am.  And when I look at my life from that perspective...I'm not drenched, I feel the rain and welcome it!

Weighed Words

Worry weighs a person down;
    an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Proverbs 12:25 

 

How does it feel when someone discourages you?  You hear the harsh words, the harsh tone of voice and your heart sinks.  The words weigh you down.  Discouragement is HEAVY!  Is it demoralizing.  It is awful.  So why do we do it to each other?  

 

I visited a church several years ago where the pastor seemed to only preach gloom, doom, and guilt.  I visited 5 times hoping he would preach something positive, but each of the 5 times I visited, I left feeling as though I had been chewed out.  I came for encouragement but instead was pounded with discouragement. On my last visit I asked the pastor why he only preached such harsh sermons, his response was "I tell people what they need to hear."  I thanked him and never returned.

 

When you talk to people, do you encourage or discourage?  Are you a positive or negative person?  Do you talk with people in the same way you would want others to talk with you?  When you deal with others are you one of those people who only have discouraging things to say? 

 

Being encouraging takes a conscious effort!  Yet when we encourage someone, we build them up.  When we build them up, that reflects positively on us.  Thus, encouragement is a win-win situation.  Try it! 

Mobility

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

1 Corinthians 13:4 

 

Have you ever thought you could do a better job that those above you?  I have.  Not only that, but I was put in a position where I had the responsibility of supervising a team of 15.  Let me tell you, it was nowhere close to being as easy as it appeared.  It was extremely stressful and frustrating.  Yet we all want to move up in our jobs.  Many want to have higher titles at church, so people will respect us.  We seem to be all about the "pecking order."

 

Yet look at what Paul is telling us about love.  It is NOT jealous and it is NOT bragging and it is NOT pompous!  Paul, who had the pedigree of pedigrees, reminds us that position in this world is fleeting and should not be a source of pride!  As a matter of fact, Paul reminds us that we are to "Regard others as more important than ourselves" (Philippians 2:3).  Why would we ever do that?  Because of the example of Christ who gave up His throne to be born in a stinky stable.  Because of the example of Christ who gave of the adoration given Him by the angels so he could be rejected on Earth and killed as a criminal.  Because of the example of Christ who put on a servant's towel and washed the feet of the Disciples.  Because of the example of Christ when He said, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last" (Matthew 20:16).

 

What is so important about pushing to get ahead if that is your only focus?

We Are Rescues!

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

1 Corinthians 1:13-14 

 

I like rescues.  Matter of fact, I have found that rescue pets are the most loyal, loving, and grateful companions.  Rescues, I'm convinced, know where there life was going and are so happy that they were saved from that fate that they bond themselves with their rescuer.

 

Now, I am also convinced that God uses ALL of His creations to get His message to us.  We are not pets, but consider the parallels.  Our lives were headed in the wrong direction and the outcome was not going to be pleasant.  Then God rescued us!  Through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, we were saved from that dreadful fate and we were adopted as children of the King of Kings, Creator of Everything!  Did you see that?  WE are HIS children now!

 

Shouldn't we be grateful, loving, loyal, and happy? Take just a moment to thank God for rescuing you and adopting you. 

Qua-nah

Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

Proverbs 27:4 

 

It's seductive.  The way you look at someone else's life and secretly wish it was your life or you secretly wish their life would suddenly take a nosedive.  The daydreams of being able to see their wonderful life with you in the scene instead of them.  The desire that grows to HAVE that life or their things...like most seductions, it starts out small.  A passing thought. A sight. And it builds into full blown jealousy.

 

The Jewish word for Jealousy is Qua-nah which means "to be intensely red."  Have you seen someone who was so jealous that they were actually red-faced angry?  I have.  It's not pretty.  And people don't tend to enjoy being around such people, which feeds into the intensity of the jealousy.

 

Did you know that God will withhold what we desire in order to give us what we need?  This is why I am not a follower of the "Name It And Claim It" crowd.  God will withhold that new house in order to give you the ability to provide for your family.  Yet we look at the THINGS other people have and we become fixated on that and want it to the point of craving.  Guess what?  Jealousy is actually our being angry with God for not giving us the things we want. Sound like the actions of a spoiled child? Yep!

 

But here's the best remedy for jealousy....focus on the love that God has for you in providing what you NEED!  Love drives our jealousy!  God's love destroys jealousy!

How Contagious Are You?

I want you to show love,
    not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me
    more than I want burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6 

 

Kindness really IS contagious!  Think for a moment how contagious are you?  Do you exude kindness?  Look carefully at today's verse.  God is telling us that He wants our relationship, not our "holy acts."  Let's face is, how easy is it to make offerings yet still ignore that person who may be shy?  How easy is it to drop a few bucks in the plate once in a while, yet still not give a second thought to the grumpy coworker who might just need someone to listen?

 

You see, relationships take time and effort.  They tend to start slowly and increase in depth over time.  But how good are we at building relationships?  Especially with people we might not consider "worthy" of our time and effort.  What if God took the attitude that He would only want relationships with those He deemed "worthy" of His time and effort?

 

But God is LOVE!  And kindness is a result of love!  Since God wants to have relationships with us, who are we to judge others as to their worthiness for a relationship with us?

World's Strongest

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who is 6'9" and weighs in right at 400 pounds. At 29 years old, he is the World's Strongest Man.  The feats of strength he performed to gain this auspicious title are mind boggling!  If you have ever seen the Game of Thrones, he played the part of "Mountain."  This is quite an intimidating individual and enormously strong, and yet.....

When 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" Jesus was talking to Hafþór as much as He was talking to you and me.  The burdens we ALL carry are not the burdens which can be seen, save only by those who truly know us.

Think of the burdens we tend to carry: 
"Oh no, the refrigerator broke, how are we going to afford a new one and what about all the food that will spoil." 

"Why do these people want to yell at me for something I have no control over?"

"My child is in the hospital and is so sick the doctors are stumped."

"I just can't seem to understand what the professor is talking about and if I fail this test, I lose my scholarship."

"I've worked hard all my life and now I am tired, but don't have enough money to retire."

There are millions of similar burdens we carry within us and they will build up and build up until we implode into full blown depression. Each one is a distraction, taking our attention off the One who offers to carry our burdens for us.  Let me ask you, How many burdens do you think Jesus is carrying?  And yet He reminds us that He wants to carry ALL of our burdens.

Jesus carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carried them all the way to the cross and laid them all down at the Throne of God having washed them in His blood.  How often do we Thank Him for that?  How often are we mule-headed and tell Jesus "I've got this" only to waste so much time and energy in worry and inner turmoil? How do we get rest from our burdens? By taking Jesus at His word and let Him deal with them.

Think about it. 

Patient?

Love is patient and kind.

1 Corinthians 13:4 

 

Almost every wedding ceremony has the reading of Paul's first letter to the Corinthian Church where he lays out what Love is.  Let me very clear about this: True Love is HARD sometimes!  Why?  Have you ever tried to love someone who is in a foul mood?  Have you ever tried to love someone when YOU were in a foul mood?  Love is challenging!

 

You see, true love is NOT disposable!  True love is a daily DECISION!  Every day we must decide to love and, let's face it, some days the decision is easier to make than others.  That's why LOVE IS PATIENT!  Patience is staying in the journey for the long haul, and that is what true love is, a journey.  

 

There have been times I have been very impatient in love and the result was a lot of hurt feelings, anger, frustration, and worst of all...silence.  Why was I so impatient? Because I wanted MY way and MY way only.  Not a good way to journey.  But one of the awesome aspects of God is He is the God of second chances.  Imagine if you only had one shot at love and if you missed or messed up, "Sorry, but you lost. Thank you, enjoy your lonely life."

 

But God is not like that, instead He expects us to learn from our errors so we, hopefully, don't make the same mistakes again.  God is the God of Second Chances and THAT proves He is patient with us.

Why Do We Argue?

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

James 4:1-3 

As a child, my brother and I would argue.  Especially when cooped up in a car for those family vacations.  We would argue about who was looking out of whose window, who was taking up more of the back seat, who was touching who, and on and on. We would argue until Dad started to slow the car and head for the shoulder, because we knew EXACTLY what would be coming next.  More than once, Dad told us to get out and run to the sign and back or just run in circles so we could get that energy out before the belt did that for us.

Well, guess what? We, as humans, tend to argue and fight about pretty much anything. Think about some of the things we argue about.  Will Jesus come back before, during or after the trying times? Here's the thing, Jesus will come back when God says so and not before. So what purpose does arguing serve?  

We argue because one group or another believes differently than do we. So what? My job is to be a source of God's Love.  Those who choose to believe differently are no less worthy of God's Love than anyone else. 

We argue about skin pigmentation.  Why? Do we not need the same air?  Do we not love? Do we not weep when we are hurt?  When the only difference is skin pigmentation (which NOT ONE OF US had a choice in the matter) then why make it a source of argument?  

You see where I'm going with this?  We tend to argue because of differences that, in all reality, are irrelevant.  The message of Jesus is to: 1) Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and 2) to love others in the same way you love yourself.  So if we are so busy arguing and fighting, what does that say about our relationship with God, and what does that say about our view of ourselves?

God created each of us as unique, yet in His image.  Isn't it about time we started remembering that? 

Keep Calm? Are You CRAZY?

If you believe that being a member of the Clergy means we are free from frustration, irritation, and the desire to use unkind words (and in our minds punching someone), then you will probably want to steer clear of Ministry as a career.

Let me explain: on Wednesday, I had a calendar full of events and appointments.  I had planned very carefully how to make it to each event and appointment early so I could have time to gather my thoughts, pray, and then go into action.  However, when I make plans, God proves that He has quite the sense of humor because every single driver I got behind apparently had no clue that the vertical pedal on the right makes the car move.  No matter which lane every car I got behind slowed down.  So much for arriving early (although I was early for the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service).

When it came time for a hospital visit at Lexington Medical Center, I got stuck in the traffic on the exit ramp for almost an hour (whoever designed the traffic flow for that location should be shot).  While making that visit my phone was blowing up with robocalls from spoofed numbers (and I seemed to have called myself twice).

Stopped at the grocer to renew my supply of office candy.  I had 4 items in the express line.  The person in front of me had food enough to find the source of the Nile.  Therefore, that was another 45 minute wait in line at a grocer who only had 2 lines open. After ringing up all this customers purchases, out came the coupons (many of which were expired which led to a rather heated debate), finally the purchase was made and the customer had to look at every item on the receipt to make sure they weren't being over charged.  Because of this lengthy exchange, I was a few minutes late to a Swearing In at the Sheriff's Office.

This continued all day, wherever I went.  So by the time I was ready to come home, I knew my blood pressure was probably at the exploding point, so I stopped off to calm down and have some coffee.  I re-read the devotional passage and had a few choice words for God because the passage was Psalm 131:2, "I have calmed and quieted myself."  David, the Beloved of God, must not have ever had such a frustrating day if he was able to calm and quiet himself!  And yet, perhaps he actually did have such a day because if he quieted and calmed himself then he was not quiet and calm before.  I could literally feel God's WHACK to my forehead.  Instead of lashing out at Him as I had intended, I had to confess my heart and ask forgiveness.

The second part of verse two reminds us that when a child is upset, they seek the comfort of their parent to handle and resolve what's bothering them.  That's what I needed (and still need) to do.  Then it hit me, yet again, God is the one in control of ALL things!  My frustration, irritation, anger, and unkind words were my effort to take over God's job and God used all the days events to remind me He truly is the one in charge.  When I finally realized that, Calm and Quiet replaced all that had been within me.

I'll leave you with Psalm 131:3. "O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—now and always."  God is God, and we are not, so let Him do His job.

Side By Side

"Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?"

Amos 3:3

 

A number of years ago, Dean Martin performed a song called, "Side By Side".  Think about this, is a journey possible if there is no agreed upon direction?  Is it possible for us to do ANYTHING together if the direction is not agreed?  Can we carry on a conversation when we can't decide the subject to discuss?  If we try then we are to idiots just talking to ourselves.

 

A church youth pastor wanted to emphasize this point by having a "Random Race."  Each of youth was blindfolded (it was held in the gym so there were few obstacles) and they were turned in different directions.  Then with the "BANG" of the cap gun they all started running.  However, the finish line location was never provided and everyone took off in their own direction.  How well do you think the race went?  I'll admit, it was pretty funny to watch, but the finish line location had never been agreed on, nor had the direction of the race been agreed on.  

 

Every day, we must agree on the direction we are willing to go with others.  Who are you willing to walk "Side By Side" with?  

There IS A Way Out

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 

2 Corinthians 1:8

 

This is not a topic many people want to consider, yet it is one of the extremely important because it can help save someone's life...perhaps even yours.

 

We endure a lot every single day, and if we allow it, we will carry it with us until the burden builds up and threatens to destroy us.  Think of it this way, take your every day stress and think of it as a stone.  The bills you have to pay (each one being a stone), the demands of the job (each one is a stone), the expectations of others (each one is a stone), dealing with family matters (each one is a stone), getting the children to all their activities (each one is a stone), keeping your relationships positive and meaningful (each is a stone)...you get the idea.  Now, each stone gets put into a backpack you have to carry everywhere you go, even in the shower, to bed, everywhere.  How long do you think it would take for you to get uncomfortable?  How about until you get overwhelmed?

 

Each stone, in and of itself, isn't that heavy.  Yet when we let them build up and build up without dealing with them, they can become too much fairly quickly.

 

Also consider those who have endured traumatic events and are now haunted by those events and are constantly replaying them in their minds unable to stop them.  The doubts, the questions, the self accusations, the self condemnations that scream in their minds are relentless.  Then add on the regular daily stresses and you can see how this can very quickly become overwhelming.

 

You see, when get overwhelmed, we start to despair.  Despair is the loss of hope.  When we despair, we tend to withdraw into ourselves because we have been trained to believe being overwhelmed is a weakness and if you seek help you are a worthless wuss.  This train of thought needs to stop!  

 

The reason there is help available is because help is needed.  However, if no one knows what's wrong, they cannot help.  

 

This thought of despair came crashing down on me over the weekend when I was informed that someone I knew had surrendered to despair and took his own life.  That should not have happened!  Yet, I now have to accept that it did and I was not able stop it because I had not kept in contact with him.  

 

Here are some things we need to understand:

     1.  We are NOT alone!  No matter what we are enduring, there is always someone else who has also dealt with or is dealing with the same or very similar situation!

     2.  If you can see no way out, reach out for help.  Reaching out is a great step to take!

     3.  Write down what's on your mind. Sometimes just the act of getting the issues out on paper or a Word Document can alleviate some of the stress.

    4.  Stay around other people!  We tend to isolate ourselves when we are feeling overwhelmed.  Keeping around other people can help distract us from sinking into despair.

     5.  Keep breathing!  That may sound silly, but remember life happens to us one breath at a time.  We cannot take more than one breath at a time!

 

Please, and I cannot ask enough, PLEASE reach out for help!   

 

"Weeping may only last the night, but joy comes every morning." - Psalm 30:5