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The Healer of Our Souls: The Character of God

15. May 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: Anxiety, Depression, fear, From the Inside Out, God's still working on me, grief, Spiritual Growth · Tags: The Healer of Our Souls

This is another post in the series titled, The Healer of Our Souls. The posts in this series focus on how the truth of God’s Word brings healing to all wounded parts of our soul.To read more in this series, click here.

My heart is often fickle. I sing praise to God about His wonders and grace when life is going well. I testify to everyone about what He has done and how He has answered my prayers. But then once life makes a turn and I face an obstacle or a trial, I complain, question God, and doubt the very grace I once praised.

What is wrong with me?

When the circumstances in my life change from rosy to fair or even worse, does that mean God has changed? Is He only good if He is giving me good things and whatever I ask for? And what about when the trials linger, does that mean His power has diminished or that He’s lost His love for me?

While my head would say that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding “No” the truth is, my heart often responds with a “Yes.”

Oh, that God would give me grace to make what my head knows to be true to be what my heart lives out as truth!

The truth is, I project my own human limitations and expectations on God. This is why my heart questions His love, power, or grace when life gets hard. But God is not the one who changes, I do. I am the fickle Queen of Broken Promises, with swinging emotions and a distracted heart.

While I may be ever changing, there is one thing that is constant, dependable and sure. There is one thing I can count on when I journey through deep valleys and grope in the darkness of uncertainty. Like keeping my eyes on the level horizon when a storm rages at sea, there is one constant I can look to when the storms of life rage in my soul.

The character of God.

God never changes. He is always faithful and keeps every promise. He never tires, feels helpless, or loses his power. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” And he is always, always good.

Jesus prayed for the disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth” (John 17:17). It is the truth of God’s word which changes us, sanctifies us, transforms us-from the inside out. When it comes to the character of God, the more I study His word to learn about his attributes, the more in awe I will be. The more I dwell on the unshakable truths about God, the more I am utterly moved that he would ever love me. And my own love and trust for him grows as I splash in the joy of being known and loved by our amazing God.

Below are just a few of the attributes or character traits of God found in Scripture. Will you join me in studying and learning more about who God is? As you study these attributes of God, consider using them in your prayers. Thank God for each of his characteristics. Use them in prayers of praise. Confess how you may have failed to trust him for these attributes. Ask him to apply them to your heart so that you might have deeper faith and love for him.

Eternal: Genesis 21:33, Revelation 1:8

Infinite: Psalm 33:11, 90:1-2, 145:13, Hebrews 1:8-12)

Good: Psalm 25:8, 34:8, Titus 3:4

Incomprehensible: Job 5:9, Isaiah 40:28, 55:8, Romans 11:33

Omnipotent: Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 27:5, Matthew 19:26

Truth: Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 45:19, John 3:33

Faithful: Psalm 33:4, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Omniscient: 1 Kings 8:39, Proverbs 3:19-20, 1 Corinthians 2:10

Majestic: Exodus 15:7, Job 37:22, Jude 25

Supreme: Colossians 1:15, Exodus 15:1, Revelation 19:11-16

Gracious: Nehemiah 9:1, Exodus 34:6-7, Isaiah 26:10

Holy: Isaiah 6:3, Psalm 77:13, 1 Peter 1:15-16

Faithful: Genesis 28:15, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 10:23

Creator: Genesis 1:3, Jeremiah 27:5, 2 Corinthians 5:5

Accessible: Deuteronomy 4:7, Matthew 6:6, Ephesians 3:12

Immutable: 1 Samuel 15:29, Psalm 33:11, James 1:17

Just: Deuteronomy 32:4, Job 37:23, Hebrews 12:29, 1 John 1:9

Provider: Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:33, 1 Corinthians 2:9

Wisdom: Isaiah 28:29, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Colossians 2:2-3

Savior: Psalm 27:1, 68:19, John 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 1:9

Sovereign: Isaiah 46:10, Daniel 4:35, Ephesians 1:11

Love: Psalm 33:5,18, Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 3:17-19

Kind: 2 Samuel 22:51, Isaiah 54:8, Romans 11:22

Merciful: 2 Samuel 24:14, Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Perfect: Deuteronomy 32:4, 2 Samuel 22:31, Matthew 5:48

One and Only: Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Timothy 2:5

Have you heard this song by Kutless?

Sowing Seeds Through Our Stories

03. March 2013 · 7 comments · Categories: Depression, From the Inside Out, Gratitude Community, grief, Spiritual Growth

“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Psalm 126:5-6

Only God knows the number of tears I have cried in my life. My teen years were filled with more tears than smiles. I know I cried a river each time my one of my children were wheeled away into surgery. I’ve cried out in desperation to God over my failures as a mom. And I’ve wept over losses, failed dreams, and unexpected trials.

Source

As one who struggles with depression, tears are my constant companion. I’ve struggled with the weight of them and have begged God to take them away. The book of Psalms has always been a balm to my wounded heart, reflecting my pain and sorrow in its songs of lament. It was in Psalm 126 where God taught me that while the pain that accompanies my sorrow is hard, it is not without purpose.

Psalm 126 refers to a time in Israel’s history when they returned from exile. The pain and sorrow of their captivity finally came to an end. Our own sorrow will not last forever either; there will be an end. Elsewhere in the Psalms, we learn that “weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” Spurgeon said of Psalm 126, “Hence, present distress must not be viewed as if it would last forever; it is not the end, by any means, but only a means to the end. Sorrow is our sowing, rejoicing shall be our reaping. If there were no sowing in tears there would be no reaping in joy.”

We must sow our tears. We can’t let them fall just anywhere, they must fall in a place where they can be planted and nourished. Our tears are not for us alone but are to be used for God’s glory. In planting our tears, we are promised that they will produce a harvest of joy.

Our Savior was familiar with sorrow; Scripture refers to him as “a man of sorrows.” He took on skin and walked among us, experiencing the same pain and suffering we experience. He wasn’t just here as a tourist, to merely observe what it was like to be human in a fallen world. He entered into the grief and pain of humanity and felt the agony of human life. But Jesus knew that “joy comes in the morning” and sowed his tears as he hung on the cross. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 12:2 that he did this “for the joy set before him.” And what was that joy?—our salvation and the restoration of our relationship with God.

How can we sow our tears? First, we must always bring our tears to Jesus. We need to lament in prayer before Him and know that he catches each tear in a bottle. He sees and cares about each and every tear that we cry. Our faith and love for him will strengthen as we trust him to use those captured tears for his glory. In prayer, we’ll plant our tears for the salvation of loved ones, for those hurting, for our own sin and for growth in our faith.

Matthew Henry wrote, “there are tears which are themselves the seed that we must sow, tears of sorrow for sin, our own and others, tears of sympathy with the afflicted church, and the tears of tenderness in prayer and under the word. These are precious seed, such as the husbandman sows when corn is dear and he has but little for his family, and therefore weeps to part with it, yet buries it under ground, in expectation of receiving it again with advantage.”

We also need to consider how we can use our tears to encourage others with the same encouragement Christ has given us. Our tears will reap a harvest for the kingdom when we reach out to others in the name of Jesus. God will not waste our tears. He collects each and every one and uses them in His redemptive plan. We can sow our tears when we tell our stories to one another. When we share our stories of hope in the midst of pain, of healing from wounds, and of resurrected joy, God uses those stories to reap a harvest in someone else’s life.

We may not see the final harvest of our sowing. But we sow because we trust that God will weave our stories of sorrow into the Greater Story of Redemption. What we can’t see now will make sense in eternity. Each of our stories are important to the final tapestry of grace. We have to sow in faith and believe that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.”

When life’s circumstances bring sorrow, may we sow our tears in prayer. May we trust that God will not waste our tears but will use each and every one. May we reach out to those God has placed in our life and share our stories with them. And may each tear we sow be used for His glory, bringing in the harvest full of eternal joy.

What is your story? How might God be using your tears in His Greater Story?

Linking up with the Gratitude Community, sharing God’s endless grace in my life: (#2118-2132)

that our tears are never wasted

that God uses each one

that one day we will see the full harvest of joy

that Jesus knows and understands the tears we cry

that Jesus was willing to take on all my sorrows at the cross

that one day, all our tears will be wiped away forever

that my own tears remind me that this world is not my home

my Indelible Grace station on Pandora:)

celebrating the return of Psyche with my besties and all things pineapple

seeing God at work through prayer

the way He works in and through our weakness

going to see Casting Crowns with my husband, just the two of us

my youngest asking me to stay for a sleep over in his room:)

making the Great Wall of China with my son as a homeschool project-so fun!

To Walk Alongside the Hurting

18. September 2012 · 20 comments · Categories: Anxiety, Depression, friendship, From the Inside Out, grief, Spiritual Growth

You’ve seen her before. The one who always sits in the back at church. She averts her gaze, fearful that her eyes will give away all her secrets. She never says much and quickly goes on her way. You want to help, to reach out, but you’re not sure…what if her problems are too much? What if you don’t know what to say? And what if her problems remind you too much of your own?

Source

Scripture calls us as Christians to love one another in the Body, to build one another up, encourage one another, and spur one another on in the faith. It’s hard to do those things for people we barely know. When small talk is the deepest level we’ve gone, we can’t encourage or build up another person. For some circles, it’s not acceptable to be real and honest. We keep our problems and secrets to ourselves. Perhaps we’ve been hurt or misunderstood in the past. Maybe we don’t even know how to let someone else in to see who we really are.

God has given us one another in the body of Christ to speak words of truth and hope into each other’s soul. When two people who have the Spirit residing within them share real life with one another, there is a power at work within them. When we go beneath the surface and speak life affirming words to one another, it stirs the Spirit within, awakening hope.

God will often bring someone into our lives with whom He wants us to encourage. It’s never an accident when we are put in the path of someone who is hurting. When that happens and you wonder what to do…

1. Just listen: You don’t have to know the answer to their problems. You don’t have to take away their pain. You are not there to make their life all better. Just be present. Listen without judgement. Don’t be like Job’s friends who assumed they knew why Job was suffering.

2. Look beneath and to what is happening in the heart: Seek to really know them and what is going on in their heart. Get past the superficial. Find out what God is doing in their life. Explore with them where they are in the journey. Everyone’s story takes them down different roads. What is their story? How is God drawing them closer to Himself? How is He shaping and molding them?

3. Encourage them with the truths of the Gospel: You may not be able to solve their immediate crisis, problem, or circumstance, but you can remind them of the truths that never shake or falter no matter how much the circumstances may cause them to tremble. Truth: they are a treasured possession of God (Ephesians 1:14, Isaiah 43:1), Truth: they are a dearly loved child of the Father (Ephesians 5:1), Truth: they are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), Truth: they are an heir of the Kingdom (Galatians 4:7), Truth: they are pure and holy in the sight of God (1 Corinthians 1:30), and Truth: God will continue the work He started in them (Philippians 1:6).

4. Pray with and for them: Ask to pray for them, out loud or even write a prayer down to give them. Be sincere. Too often in our Christian circles we say we will pray for someone and then fail to do so. Ask for specific things you can pray about. Pray for the power of the Gospel to be alive and at work in their life. Pray that they would remember and appropriate the truths listed above.

5. Be real yourself: It is hard for someone to be honest with us if they look at us as though we are perfect and that we have it all together. Be honest about your own battles and the way God has worked through them. Show them that you, like them, are imperfect, yet saved by grace. We are all messes. We all struggle and falter. But we have the same Savior who died to rescue us.

We need each other. We can’t do this journey all alone. God gave us community in the Body of Christ to help us run the race. Sometimes, we ourselves will stumble and need a fellow traveler to help us back up. Other times, God will call us to encourage someone else who is struggling. Let’s reach out to those who are hurting, trusting Christ to give us the wisdom and encouraging words to say. May we strive to be a community of mutual, authentic, and transparent believers who seek to do life together.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Linking up with:

and Intentional.Me

A Farm, a Garden, and Life Forever

26. June 2012 · 22 comments · Categories: God's still working on me, grief, Spiritual Growth

I’ve seen both the emergence of life and the ending of how life was defined, all in the same place.

As a child, I spent many weekends at my aunt and uncle’s farm. I raced my sister to the silo, grabbing pieces of corn to the throw into the pen. The hogs would grunt and run over to us, leaving hoof prints in the slimy mud. Nudging their snouts at the cobs, they would squeal with delight and quickly gobble up their feast. “Can we get more?” we’d beg our uncle and run back again to the silo to retrieve more ears of corn.

Summers were spent running and exploring the acres of land. I’d stand on tip toes, push my face against the glass of the small wooden structure and watch the feral barn cats play in their little home. They were too wild to pet or make friends with so I simply watched them climb over the all the old furniture in their little barn, scratching and clawing to their heart’s content.

We also enjoyed chasing the dogs, searching for frogs in the pond, rolling in the grass, visiting the barn-all that makes up a childhood spent on a farm.

I remember visiting on a day when piglets were born. I walked into the barn to watch, wide eyes as my uncle helped deliver a wet, tiny, squealing baby pig. To my young eyes, it was both gory and amazing at the same time. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched him give those tiny piglets their first shots.

It was my first year of high school when I cried even more while at that farm. We were there for our typical weekend visit when I hear my aunt and my parents talking about something serious. I learned that day that my aunt and uncle were getting a divorce.

Shock and confusion filled my heart. I deeply loved both of them and couldn’t understand why they couldn’t love each other. Though I had plenty of friends from broken homes, this was my first personal encounter with divorce. I began hearing horrible things about my uncle from my angry, hurt, and bitter aunt. The air was stifling with bitterness and anger, suffocating my chest. I remember wanting to shout, “Stop it! Just stop it! This is my uncle you are talking about!”

The innocence of childhood ended abruptly that day. Sweet memories of days spent exploring the farm became tainted by relationships torn apart. My aunt soon moved out and I never again returned to that farm.

Our first parents experienced both the beginning of life and the ending of how their life was defined, all in the same place. They enjoyed days spent exploring their garden, naming animals, and taking walks with God. Their life was innocent and carefree, lived in the moment and without fears or worry.

Then sin entered the world and their relationship with God was torn apart. Life as they knew it changed forever. Never again were they permitted to enter the Garden. Never again would they know life as innocent, simple, and carefree. Sweet memories of that place became tainted by sin and shame.

We all have experiences of joyful, carefree days. And we all have seen lives torn apart by sin. As long as we live in this world, we will continue to experience the cycle of new life beginning and of life ending. But the swords that barred reentrance into the Garden did not end the story of Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:15 promised a rescue plan, a way to bring God’s people back to Himself. Jesus fulfilled that plan through His life, death, and resurrection.

It’s because of Jesus that one day we will return to that Garden and to that place of eternal joy, carefree days, and complete innocence. When that new chapter begins, we will have eternity to explore the New Heavens and New Earth. Relationships there will never be torn apart. Memories will be created that will never be tainted by sin and shame. Life as we once knew it will be changed forever and forever changed for the good.

Do you look forward to that day?

Linking up with:

Word Filled Wednesday, Always Alleluia and Intentional.Me