Showing posts with label tribulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tribulation. Show all posts

Completely Complete

 

Chris and I at the Bluff Park Trails

Last night I started a Zoom Bible study. We are studying the book of James. As I was preparing to teach the lesson, I got stuck in verse 4 of the first chapter. Remember that James is writing to the persecuted church, the Jewish Christians in particular. He was encouraging them in the middle of their tribulation. He encouraged them to find joy and be patient. That doesn't seem fair, does it? lol - As caregivers, we have a lot to do and I did not put those two items on my to-do list for today. My list looks more like survive and don't throat punch anyone. lol

I thought about that for quite some time. The audacity to write to people under extreme stress and tell them to be patient and joyous. (lol) Then, James says to let patience have its perfect work so that you can be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJ) Here's what really stood out to me. James was in essence explaining that God was still working in and for them, even in the midst of horrible persecution. He told them they could be 

  • Perfect (mature)
  • Complete (whole)
  • Lacking Nothing...
Even in the middle of their struggles. I began to think about this scripture as if James had written the letter to caregivers. It would read the same, right? Let patience have its perfect work so that you, caregivers can be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. I almost cried thinking about the promise of wholeness, completeness, and no lack we are NOT denied as caregivers. Even though we live in some tough circumstances - God still completes us. He still fills us. He is still our shepherd so we lack nothing - have no want. 

Our struggles, circumstances, difficulties, or surroundings do not and cannot deny us access to the God of the earth! Every promise in His word is still ours! He doesn't deny us even one thing because we are caregivers, we still get the whole package of grace, peace, salvation, and everything else. We are complete even in our broken circumstances. 

Today, I will turn my thoughts toward this completeness and wholeness we have in Him - even in our circumstances. My meditations will be on how He continues to pour His peace and presence out for us and on us so that we lack literally nothing. No good thing does He withhold from those who love Him - He never excludes us from good gifts because life is tough. He draws near to the brokenhearted. I'll meditate on all the things He gives rather than what life feels like it's lacking. I will trust Him with today - and rest in this God who completes us - will you join me?


Faith Looks Different In the Furnace

Life brings us a series of trials. Caregivers are not exempt from trials, tribulations and troubles. We don't get a we don't get a break from life just because we are in a caregiving role. Along with taking care of another whole person, we still deal with friendships, breakups, deaths of loved ones, births, marriages and all the incidents that go with life in general. There is no exemption ticket that protects us from the rest of life just because we are a caregiver. And I'm finding that eventually, we adjust.

Most trials will pass in time; or at least settle down enough for us to handle it. The things we end up facing in life have no impact on eternity. It may be rough and tough here in the present, but our inheritance in Him is not tainted or destroyed because of the sometimes lengthy trials we must face. 1 Peter 1:3-4 tells us that we obtain an inheritance that is imperishable, and undefiled and will not fade away.  It is being reserved in heaven for us. It's not going to disappear, we just have to patiently endure tribulations in order to get to it. But it will be waiting in full!

Faith can look different from in the furnace. It's not so much a way to escape the trial as it is to face it.  The furnace exposes our faith. Verse 6 tells us to rejoice in our trials because they prove our faith in the same way fire purifies gold. However, gold is perishable; it will pass away eventually. Our faith is not perishable, it stands through it all making it more precious than gold.

Our faith is working for us while we are enduring our trial. Faith is what carries us through, even when we don't feel it. I was asked recently how I had kept the faith during my trials. My reply was I haven't - it has kept me. Faith is what holds us together when it seems our world is falling apart. Faith is what carries us through the flood, through the fire and over the mountain. It really doesn't matter if we can feel it or not - it's there with us and working for us. Today may be a good day for you - or you may feel like you are holding on by a thin thread of hope. Either way - or somewhere in between faith is working for you to ensure you can walk through the furnace; to make sure you get to the other side.

Faith comes down to trusting Him. Today I will meditate on how trustworthy God is. I will trust Him with my situation and hold on to the truth that He walks through the furnace with me. I will think about how faith cannot be destroyed even by the most intense of life's fires. I will trust Him. Will you join me?

When I Fall

Ever have those times where it just all caves in on you all at once? Emotions run away from you while you get sucked into the huge black hole of the circumstance? (maybe it's just me!) Faith begins to wane and it seems like there isn't a big enough shovel to dig yourself out....ever been there?

 What's the worse part of it all is how quickly the enemy can come in and start throwing stones of condemnation at us while we are down. He tries to make us think that we are faithless because we haven't been able to change the circumstance. The next step he takes us on through the course of logic is hopelessness..like it's never going to be better or different...and we fall deeper and deeper into the emotional despair. Then he quickly picks up more labeled stones to try to get us convinced that we are not worth God's effort...he attacks our self esteem...until it seems there's not even enough strength to cry out!

 And then the most amazing thing happens - as quickly as it all hits - He washes it all away. Maybe He uses a phone call, a devotion, a song...But somehow surprisingly and instantly He lifts us out...

This is where Micah 7:8-10 kick in.  Do not gloat over me my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord Himself will be my light. It's not so much about where we are today - because battles will rage - it's more about the whole picture. God does not sit up in heaven with a big stick waiting for us to show some weak little sign of disbelief so that He can condemn us and say Yeah, I knew you couldn't do it... And He certainly doesn't jump on board with the enemy to beat us down in those moments of doubt...He patiently waits for just the right opportunity to lift us out...

 We cannot give completely in during those deep dark moments that we feel so far away from the real world..even though we cannot sense Him at all sometimes...He is there patiently waiting for us to gain strength and sometimes giving us the strength to care enough to search for strength! But He is there...waiting...He is here...He will take up our case!

Conquerors!

A very quoted scripture comes from Romans 8. Verse 28 is probably way overused and highly misunderstood! We tend to use it for everything in our lives that does not make sense. But it is so comforting to know that no matter what is going on in our lives He can somehow work it out for good, and for His own purposes. That sounds good, but I'm not sure we'll ever really understand it!

Further on in this chapter (one of my favorites!) is verse 31 - if God is for us who could be against us? I really love that scripture. It holds so true for all our Bible heroes that we've studied all these years.We just forget that it's true for us as well. Actually, we would not worry about this aspect too much if there were not situations or persons who were against us!

Immediately following this favorite is a list of some terrible things. tribulation, distress, persecution, famine...and that is followed by two things that I will meditate on today and I hope you will too. One - that we are more than conquerors in Him. Whether or not we are immediately facing stressful situations. We maybe don't fully understand what more than a conqueror is. A conqueror is a winner, but what would be more than that? And two - His unchangeable love for us.

It looks something like this. Just imagine that you've worked your way up the ranks to a successful position in a company. It's taken years and much hard work. You had to go to school and learn so many different things. Then find the right first job and work your way up in that company. It's taken you years of toil and stress to arrive but you have finally worked your way up to the top ranks and are now the CEO of a huge corporation. You  did all the work to get there...years and years of struggles and learning and hassle. you are a conqueror! Today you got your first check...and took it straight to your spouse! They are more than a conqueror! You did all the work - they reaped all the benefits!

Jesus did all the work for us - we just get to reap the benefits of His work in our lives. In this same passage, verse 32 stands out. Basically it says - God gave His son - why would He withhold anything from us? He is waiting for us to rest in Him today - so that we can reap the benefit of His work...and be more than conquerors!

The Stare

  Do you ever just find yourself sitting and staring at the wall? It doesn't really happen too often because, quite frankly, who has tim...