Be Kind to Yourself

Your thoughts and the life you live are the steppingstones to who you become and who you will have to answer for, when you stand before God one day. I heard a sermon one Sunday that started a fire of truth deep in my heart. We do become what we tell ourselves is true, and the power of our inner dialog can build us up or tear us down. The truth is, no matter what station in life we were placed, no matter what someone else says or does,  no matter what happens along our journey, nothing should change the truth that God created each of us with complete uniqueness and a special purpose! With Him we can become all He has intended for us, without Him we cannot. God must be intimately involved in every aspect of our lives in order for the great things He has purposed for us to come to fruition! There is nothing we can do, or anywhere we can go that His love and grand design isn't with us! There is only one way to avoid or destroy it and that is to turn our backs on it!

Say nice things to yourself, be kind to yourself and respect yourself. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who is personal, powerful, kind, generous, sacrificial, gentle, just and full of mercy, grace and love! He sent His Son so that He could have an eternal relationship with you and He wants to be a part of all you go through! Respect the gift God gave you, YOUR LIFE, do lovely things for yourself so you can be fresh, healthy and full of energy for the tasks and services you choose to do and that God calls you to do. Stop wasting energy on negative emotions and actions...It just sucks the life out of you and leaves you ineffective. Toss any spirit of self-martyrdom to the side and reach out for help when you need it. Be co-dependent only on God! Pray for God to send blessings into your life so you can be healthy and able to go and be a blessing to others. It's okay to rest, take a nap, close your eyes and rest upon the King's lap. He is the Savior...... not you. All your worry, guilt, shame, fear  and over compensating will not give you any special powers to claim the title of "savior"! Only Jesus can give you the wisdom needed to be balanced emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually, no matter what your circumstance. Your busyness is only a distraction that is keeping you distant from all the blessings from God! He wants to give you peace in your troubles, joy in your day, strength in your challenges! Examine your heart....and choose wisely, for one leads to peace and the other to turmoil.

What lies, the prince of lies, satan, spreads to God's believers. That we must wear ourselves out by becoming martyrs to false idols such as, chronic distracting busyness, obsessions with being right all the time (control), co-dependency on selfish people and their demands, fear of being exposed for being "just plain human" in our weaknesses (not perfect),..... We carry blame and anger rather than love and forgiveness, feel alone when God says we are not, spew excessive complaining, exaggerate our duties to get some attention, praise or love, use worry to show we care about others rather than peace to show we trust God. The prince of lies has us convinced that if we were to "stop" all of that, then maybe, just maybe.....God wouldn't be there and we would be all alone. LIES! ALL LIES! Stop letting fear control you and let the Holy Spirit of love and power control you! Only you can make that choice.

Matthew 11:28-30, Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Don't wait till you are so exhausted and full of guilt, shame, fear and
worry to acquire wisdom and enjoy rest.
You may find that you have worn yourself out to the point of breaking
and that wouldn't be good.
Speak kindly to yourself and others, trust and rest in the Everlasting Arms.
God loves you dear one, and His love, mixed with your trust, is a healing balm for your mind, body and soul.

Psalm 62:1, My soul finds rest in God alone.

Psalm Eighteen

The cords of death entangled me, torrents of destruction overwhelmed me, cords of the grave coiled around me, snares of death confronted me. I cried out, my mind and heart were in distress. I was in deep waters and my powerful enemy was too strong for me. Disaster was coming for me, attacks from people and violence was encroaching upon my life!

We have numerous enemies that encroach upon our lives, cancer, illness, depression, loss, personal attacks from loved ones, friends and enemies, natural disasters..... There is no short of problems as long as you live among the living, that's for sure. When David in Psalm 18 speaks of his enemies, we can certainly put a myriad of titles that would apply to our personal situation. That's why the Psalms are so comforting, reassuring and validating. We can open our bibles to these sacred writings and find not only someone who understands but who also can provide all we need to have victory over them! The question lies in what each person defines victory as.

If you are in the darkness, wouldn't light be a welcome blessing? But what if the light wasn't provided for your eyes but for your heart? Verse 28 says, "You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning, You turn my darkness into light." I can attest to this blessing because when I was swallowed up by a deep darkness, God always filled my hearts lamp with oil so that the light of His truth would get me through! Two examples that gave me a mental picture and kept "hope" always before me were, the movie, "The Shawshank Redemption" and the saga of the Chilean miners. I was under great distress in my situation but I had a beautiful, warm, clean bed in which to lie. Many people in the world can't say that! There were no physical enemies that were pursuing me with threats of violence. Many people in the world can't say that! I was free to worship my God through it without fear of death, I wasn't imprisoned, I wasn't trapped! Many people in the world can't say that! My home wasn't swept away in a tsunami, I had all the comforts of home. Many people in the world can't say that! I was loved and not alone. Many people in the world can't say that! Did my situation take me to the marrow of my existence? YES, it did! Did I have more to be thankful for than to complain about? YES!

Our pain, grief, loss, illness....should always be grieved properly. But from one person who has scraped bottom, I can tell you that no matter how dark it may get, God will keep your lamp full with oil! And, through that internal light, we must learn to not become bitter but blessed. When we have troubles we instinctively get tunnel vision that focuses only on that issue and obsession takes root! No one wants problems in their life, it's our natural bend to desire progression and reward. So when life throws us a monkey wrench in our self-controlled life, we tend to magnify the issue till we can get rid of it. Problem is that we don't always have that kind of control. God, whether we can see it or not, always has a plan and will take our trials in His own hands to form a narrative for each life involved. That plan is bigger than us and beyond what we can comprehend. So dear ones, that is when we have to loosen our grip, take a deep breath and say, "Thy will not mine be done, O Lord." Jesus did that for us at Calvary, why would we deserve to escape problems and trials when the Son of God had to surrender to His Father's higher purpose, which was our salvation!

I know, life is not fair, but child of God, He is good and we must find our peace with Him that He knows what is best. Whatever your enemy is right now, or maybe it's your friend or a family member that is fighting a battle, this is just a part of what God has to say through His Word.....I AM your rock, your deliverer, your refuge, your shield, your salvation and stronghold. I will reach down from on high and take hold of you, I will draw you from the deep waters and rescue you. I will support you and bring you out into a spacious place because I delight in those who seek righteousness. My way is perfect and My Word flawless. I will prepare you when you must go into battle, I AM your rock, I AM there for you. Your enemies will lose heart, but not you. I will be faithful to save the humble. Psalm 18 closes with, "The Lord lives! Praise be to my rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me....who saves me from my enemies.

If you are a tepid believer, then you will most likely question God when things don't go your way. But, if you grow to trust Him and believe that He is in every circumstance, you will find a peace that is beyond your own ability or comprehension. His Holy Spirit will fill you with comfort, power, wisdom, grace.....all that you will need! Just do three things when troubles come, ask yourself, "Who is the One who can get me through this? And He will always be the One to answer, "I AM." Then, seek Him, (read your bible (start with Psalms:), go to church, get a friend of faith, spend time alone with the God who loves you, talk and listen to Him through His Word). And thirdly, for every problem you have, find 3-5 things that could make it worse and thank God you were spared of those, for it could always be worse! God will bring light into your darkness, sometimes by bringing it to you and other times by bringing you to it. We have victory in all things through Christ.

Psalm Seventeen

As I read today's Psalm, verse seven especially jumped out at me. "Show the wonder of your great love, O Lord." This has become a staple in my prayers for others. Whether praying for family, friends or just someone I see as I'm driving by, I ask God to let them see His great love for them. There isn't anything in this life that can take us down if we are aware of His agape (unconditional) love for us. We all have struggles that threaten to disengage or derail us from what we consider comfortable, safe or familiar. Those struggles can come in many forms such as financial, emotional, physical, mental or circumstantial and anything that challenges our "normal" life is scary and unsettling. It's only His love that steadies us.

God's desire is not to give us a comfortable and uninterrupted lifestyle that affords us only happiness and undisturbed plans. If left to our own fears we would remain root-bound and ineffective in life, so God transplants us constantly so we can grow and flourish, giving glory to Him and Him alone. Having peace, joy and a steady sense of safety comes only from growing. We think that if we don't disturb life and tread very quietly that we won't awaken the monster of problems but that's just a fantasy. If we aren't growing and enjoying that growth then we are just surviving and inwardly waiting for the other shoe to fall. We live in a constant state of worry, panic and doubt and those emotions destroy us!

How do we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (which are the fruits of God's Holy Spirit)? We trust Him. How do we trust Him? We read His Word and let it guide, comfort, instruct and bless us. We invite Him into our moments, our days, our circumstances. We take joy that He has given us His Spirit that inhabits, guides, teaches and comforts us in all things. The bible tells us that there will be troubles and psalm 17 is a perfect example of that. David is surrounded by trouble as King Saul is pursuing him to destroy him. David begins by crying out to God, "Hear me Lord, listen to my cries, give ear to my prayer!" He then makes the distinction between himself, a man of God, and those who are seeking to do evil against him. In verse 6, David's cry is not the emotional one that he began with but a confirmation of God's faithfulness, "I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes." David continues with, "keep me, hide me.... rise up Lord and confront them, bring them down, rescue me..." These are strong words from a heart that trusts God, a heart and mind that knows God's faithfulness and promises!

If we do not read our bibles, pray, go to church, fellowship, learn, grow, rest....in God's promises then we are warriors without a sword, and good luck with that. The troubles of this world will bump, bruise, cut and wear you down to a point where all you will cry out is, "Why?, Why God?, Why?" Wouldn't you rather be empowered by the same Spirit that rose Christ form the dead? Wouldn't you rather know that all things have a purpose and that you are supported and loved through all your trials? I read something the other day that profoundly changed my faith. I'm doing a bible study on the fruit of the Spirit by Beth Moore and there was a quote from Foxe's Book of Martyrs where John Foxe writes that, according to the ancient historian, Hegesipppus: Nero sought matter against Peter (the apostle) to put him to death; which, when the people perceived, they entreated Peter with much ado that he would flee the city. Peter, through their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But, coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to Whom he, worshipping, said, "Lord, whither dost Thou go? To whom He (Jesus) answered and said, "I am come again to be crucified."....... Did you get that????? Peter was heading for big trouble! He was headed to be crucified and as he went to flee, there stood Jesus, and the Lord made it clear that Peter would not go it alone! Jesus suffered and died with Peter, as He will do for everyone of His children when we face trials and troubles! We are NEVER alone!

We are promised the indwelling of God's own Spirit to go with us through this life and Christ Himself will be with us when we depart this life! The only thing that stands between peace and a vexed heart is doubt. With God there is power and purpose in every circumstance, without Him there is only confusion and bitterness. Dear ones, I know what I'm talking about because most of my life was spent not believing God. Oh, I believed in Him but I didn't believe Him. There's a big difference and I'm very familiar with it because I chose to blame Him for all my problems! But praise be to Him who loves and saves even the ones who shake their fists at Him! Yes, "Show the wonder of Your great love, O Lord!" He showed it to me when I didn't deserve it and no matter how many times you fail, He will pick you up, kiss your forehead and encourage you to carry on, all while He covers you with His mighty wing.

So, pray for yourself, for others, that He would show the wonder of His great love so we can be healed and continue on, giving glory to His name! He calls his children, "The apple of His eye." because we are precious to Him, so much that He died on a cross for our sins. "Tetelestai!", His final words cried out from Calvary....meaning PAID IN FULL. Oh, that we would never cease praying that, "THAT LOVE" would never escape our hearts and minds.

1 Peter 4:12-13, Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.

Revelation 3:8b, Jesus spoke, "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My Word and have not denied My Name."

Revelation 7:17b, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Jude 1:21, Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

God works best in the darkness because He's the only One with a light!

He is our hope. Stay close to Him.