The God-sized Hole

I've often heard people say that we all have a God- sized hole in our heart - a spot that only He can fill. Today I read something that sparked some new thoughts. Maybe, as we begin to understand this hole, this emptiness, and we begin to see how we are really all one great big giant hole, maybe then He can step right in and fill it all up. He is a big God you know.

I'm so extremely grateful for people who are courageous enough to share their real selves, and their brokenness, with the world. Those are the people I truely admire - the ones who step up and say, hey, I'm not perfect, but here I am. People who show up as they are, perfect tools ready to be used by Him who knows no failure.

I want to be one of those people. I want to be courageous and real. I want to learn how to stop hiding, like most of us do. I want to stop trying to fill my emptiness with things that don't satisfy.

My God is a God of truth, hope, and love. And He has called me to share with others. That's my purpose in life. That's why I exist - to partake of Him, share Freindship with Him, and then let that flow out to others. A beautiful circle of loving and sharing and journeying together.

God's Economy

I kept asking God to change my circumstances, instead He changed me.

I asked God to change people, instead He gave me new perspective.

I asked for a way out of difficulty, instead He strengthened me to endure.

I asked for human support, He helped me see that He is enough.

I asked for the things I needed, He supplied all in Jesus.

I asked Him to show me which way to go, He said "It is I who am the Way".

I asked for help making choices, He said "I want you to choose Me".

I thought I knew all I needed to live a good life. But He taught me that only by dying can I really begin to live.

I asked Him to save me, He said "It's already been done."

I fought and struggled because it didn't make sense. He said, "Be still, and know that I am God".

I thought I had to do it all in my own strength, thought I had to figure it all out. Instead He gave me grace to see myself as I am, and He as He really is. I am nothing and He is all. It is He who calls, He who knocks, He who leads, He who protects and provides. He does it all, I just say "Yes, Lord". I in Him, and He in me. And somehow, through it all, He weaves the most beautiful love story ever told. It's a beautiful mystery :-)

^“ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11: 13-16, KJV)

“Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life, Where, in spite of all you can do, There is no way out, there is no way back, There is no other way but through? Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene Till the night of your fear is gone; He will send the wind, He will heap the floods, When He says to your soul, "Go on."

And His hand will lead you through-clear through--Ere the watery walls roll down, No foe can reach you, no wave can touch, No mightiest sea can drown; The tossing billows may rear their crests, Their foam at your feet may break, But over their bed you shall walk dry shod In the path that your Lord will make.

In the morning watch, 'beneath the lifted cloud, You shall see but the Lord alone, When He leads you on from the place of the sea To a land that you have not known; And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed, You shall be no more afraid; You shall sing His praise in a better place, A place that His hand has made”.--Annie Johnson Flint

The Gift of Suffering

For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. (Philippians 1:29 NLT)

Suffering a privilege? Really? What is it that motivates Paul to say such a thing? 

Recently I met a lady who is suffering. She has a little "hole" In her head where they removed part of her brain along with the tumor. Life is very hard for her, in many aspects, but yet she counts it a privilege to suffer for her Lord! She lost her ability to speak in surgery, but God gave it back to her and she uses it to praise and glorify The Lord. She lives to bless others, telling everyone who will listen (and even those who don't) how good God is, and how much He loves each one of us. God is using her in mighty ways. 

A friend recently shared this really big thought with me:

It's not about our story, but rather, it's all about His story.

God's perfect will for us does not include suffering. But guess what, He's a big enough God that He can not only sustain us through it, but He can actually bless us and others by it. Contrary to popular belief, we are not on this earth to be comfortable. We are in the middle of the most important conflict of all times. God loves us relentlessly, and He is concerned with our ultimate good, rather than our momentary happiness (though of course He delights in making us happy too). 

In suffering, we are given the opportunity to draw nearer to Him, to press in, to be strengthened in a way only possible in the midst of trial. If you ask God for the biggest, best, most incredible blessing He can give you, do you know what He will give you?

His only Son.

Everything comes back to Jesus. Jesus does not only give us good things, but He IS every good thing. Thus, if we have Him, we have all that we need, all that we could ever dream of! So if suffering leads to Jesus, then indeed, what a blessing and a privilege!

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne." (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT)

"For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT)

By God's enormous grace may we not only stay strong in suffering, but may we be blessed beyond our wildest dreams as we allow Him to work out His good purpose in our lives. He is utterly trustworthy, entirely good, and unfailingly loving. We have nothing to fear as long as He holds us. And may we thank Him for the blessing of suffering.

Shout it from the mountaintop

It's one of those moments where silence is simply impossible. It's one of those moments where I just can't keep from shouting out from the mountaintop - "Look what Jesus did for me!! He is so good!"

I wrote in my prayer journal "Jesus, did You really just do what I think You just did? Did You really just show up so clearly in my situation? So vividly, so boldly, so confidently, You proved that Your presence makes all the difference"

I wish I could clearly describe what Jesus has done/is doing for me, but it really kind of transcends words. But He is teaching me that the way to Life often involves great pain. And I have a choice. Do I choose the way of temporary pain and eternal life, or do I choose what appears to be the easier path, that really leads to destruction?

For me, and for any followers of Jesus, we can expect hard roads and dark nights ahead. But in this one moment, I want to lay down a "stone of rememberance" and recognize and proclaim, that Jesus came through (and He's not done yet). He will always come through, especially when the night seems darkest. He is so good! His love is so deep! 

So today is a shout-it-from-the-mountaintop kind of day: I once was blind, but now I see, amazing Grace, His Truth sets me free! Taste and see for yourself just how wonderful He is.

Room in the Inn?

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" 

Luke 2:7 ESV

Much has been said about the injustice of the King of Heaven being born in a stable. How lowly a birth place for such a Man. But today I started thinking about the inn, about the innkeeper and the other guests there. How sad that they missed out on such a magnificent experience! I wonder if things would have turned out any differently if there had been room in the inn? It seems like it was for good reason that the rooms were all full. I imagine they were all weary travelers, probably good people, thankful to have a place to lay down and rest. But there was still no room for Jesus.

What about in our hearts? Is there room for Jesus? He longs to fill us with blessing, but how can He if it's already full? There's lots of good stuff that can fill our hearts and lives. Friends and family, helping others, religion; none of these things are bad, but is there room for Jesus? And honestly, He is not content with just a little corner. He wants it all, every nook and cranny He wants to fill to overflowing. That's how the blessing flows out to others, when we are so full of Him that we can't hold it all in. 

I like the open hand metaphor. Instead of clinching life so tightly, trying to hold onto all the things we think we need, it's choosing to allow God access to all of us. In openness we find great freedom. God is free to clean out all the yuckiness, all the cancer, and replace it with more beauty than we can ever imagine. I wonder how many blessings I've lost out on because I simply didn't have any room.

"Anyone who tightly guards his life will lose it, but anyone who loses himself in reckless loving will gain eternal life"

~Jesus (paraphrased by Chris Blake)

This Christmas may we choose to offer Jesus a most wonderful gift: a heart with the vacancy sign out, stripped of all pretense and pride, ready to be filled with His love.

He is mine forever!

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. (Psalms 73:26 NLT)

I've been feeling a bit discouraged and overwhelmed lately. I've come a long way through this part of my journey, but I'm kind of ready for the scenery to change a little.

Tonight God reminded me of my current special verse (above). I just recently read it in a new translation and I realized how life-altering this concept is. The strength of my heart is not in my physical body, or even in my spirit (emotions or mind), but instead it is God who is the strength of my life. A force completly outside of me and my circumstances. And because I have accepted Him, He has promised to be mine forever! In the grand scheme of things it matters not whether I am weak or strong, because Jesus is more than sufficient. He remains my strength, meaning that my human frailty does not alter His great power, and neither does time. He is, was, and always will be.

I am encouraged! I don't need to spend my time worrying about doing all the right things, being successful in this world, or even my weaknesses. He has it all covered, and will never, ever leave me. My job is simply to stay close to Him and allow Him full access, keeping my eyes trained on Him.

I'm having trouble really fleshing out this concept, but the big change for me is related to learning to rely fully, completely, only on Jesus. He is big enough that my circumstances don't affect His ability to accomplish His purposes in me and in the world. There is no need for striving on my part to try and make myself be what I think I'm supposed to be. Thus I will learn to be more content in my circumstances because I know it has all passed through His hands first. My God is big, he loves me incredibly, and He is mine forever!

Living daily in the strength of Jesus, the journey continues :) Not too much longer now!

Blessed Hope

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:13 KJV)

Jesus. Our Savior, Lord, and Friend. Our Blessed Hope. He alone makes life worth living and is everything to us. Looking forward to the wonderful day when His physical presence will be the ultimate realization of our daily hope.

I Saw One Weary

I saw one weary, sad, and torn,
With eager steps press on the way,
Who long the hallowed cross had born,
Still looking for the promised day;
While many a line of grief and care,
Upon his brow was furrowed there;
I asked what buoyed his spirits up,
“O this” said he—”the blessed hope.”

Verse 2

And one I saw, with sword and shield,
Who boldly braved the world’s cold frown,
And fought, unyielding, on the field,
To win an everlasting crown.
Though worn with toil, oppressed by foes,
No murmur from his heart arose;
I asked what buoyed his spirits up,
“O this!” said he—”the blessed hope.”

Verse 3

And there was one who left behind
The cherished friends of early years,
And honor, pleasure, wealth re-signed,
To tread the path bedewed with tears.
Through trials deep and conflict sore,
Yet still a smile of joy he wore;
I asked what buoyed his spirits up,
“O this!” said he—”the blessed hope.”

Verse 4

While pilgrims here we journey on
In this dark vale of sin and gloom,
Through tribulation, hate, and scorn,
Or through the portals of the tomb,
Till our returning King shall come
To tkae His exile captives home,
O! what can bouy the spirits up?
‘Tis this alone—the blessed hope.

(http://en.adventisthymns.com/1985/lyrics/441-i-saw-one-weary)