Saturday, March 31, 2012

My Letter to Jesus

Have you written a letter to Jesus?  I have on occasions.  Here is one of them.

Dearest Lord Jesus,

        I can't express in words how much I love you. There is not enough English to tell you.  You have loved me more than any person on earth.  Thank you for walking through this traumatic time with me.  You have never left me for even a second!  I know You will always be with me and will always love me to my core.

        You are the God of the Universe, the Holy One, Majestic King, yet you call me friend, child, lover.  You are my Daddy God, Abba Father.  I can come into Your throne room and sit on your lap and You hold me until I stop crying and I can move on.  I can sit on your lap and laugh uproariously with You because You give me so much joy.  I can sit and just be quiet and listen to your heartbeat so I can clearly hear what You want me to do next.  You are my journey.  You are my adventure.  You have a wild plan for me and I look forward to the next stage, step, chapter of my life.  I look forward to what plans you have laid out for me in 2012 the "Year of Fulfillment" or others call it the "Year of Breakthrough". This is my year!  I claim it and all the promises You have made to me!

        Your dreams are grand, they are outrageous for me.  I open up my heart completely and let you in.  I trust you and desire to obey You.  I love you more than words can express.  Thank You for Your provision and unfailing love.  Wow! Lord! Wow!

Your child, friend and lover,
Shelly

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Guard Your Heart

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Do you feel disappointed or deserted by God?  During the time when your hearts is broken you are very vulnerable.  You need to be on guard and carefully watch what is in your heart.  Your heart can be soft and pliable or hardened toward God and the things of God.  There is a strong temptation to harden your heart toward God when in deep pain. 

If you have a broken heart and are willing to allow hurt to soften it you become more aware of God, more alive to His purposes in your life and more sensitive to His Spirit at work within you.  But if you harden your heart you will no longer hear his Word, accept rebuke or receive mercy.

Paul has an antidote to keep us from a hard heart.  Refuse to surrender to worry.  Tell Him your pain and your need and thank Him for allowing you to suffer for His cause.  Peace comes to guard your heart and mind.  This gift of God will nurture a soft heart as we keep talking to God.  Gratitude plows up the ground for the seeds of peace to grow.  A supernatural peace in the midst of pain is foreign and unintelligible to the world.

Be determined to emerge from sorrow with a heart softened to the Spirit of God.  Don't give into the temptation to allow a heart to be hardened by bitterness and resentment toward God and reject peace and grace.  It is a very dark place far away from the loving embrace of God as it describes in His Word: "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." (Eph. 4:18)

Keep my heart soft toward You, Lord,  during this incredibly hard time.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Don't Trust Everything You Think

I weep with sorrow; encourage me by Your Word.
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing Your instructions. I have chosen to be faithful; 
I have determined to live by Your regulations.
Psalm 119:28-30 NLT

Sometimes I hear my inside voice say, "I will never be happy again" or "life is over".  "I will be alone forever" or "Where's God?"  "Failure!" "Does God really love me?" or sometimes just questioning, "Why? Lord, why?"

David (the Psalmist) recognizes this voice and realizes we can't trust those thoughts.  He pens, "keep me from lying to myself."  We can be so deep in personal pain and so desperate to hear the truth we need to be on guard not to trust our negative thoughts.  We can lie to ourselves and these lies need to be refuted. I was following a jeep the other day that had a bumper sticker that stated, "Don’t trust everything you think."

Not only do we have to watch our own thoughts but well-meaning friends and family can mislead us.  When a loved one is hurting our natural tendency is to fix it and make it better. The free flowing advice of our friends can leave us confused. God's Word is the truth we so desperately long for through our weeping and grief.  We can be encouraged by the Word of Truth.

How do I keep from lying to myself?  Will I believe the negative voice in me or believe God's Word of truth?  The truth is Jesus loves me deeply.  He heals the broken hearted and binds up wounds (Ps. 147:3).  Do I deny my real feeling by quoting quips and clichés? Hardly! Honestly, I resent when someone quotes Bible verses and pats my back in a way that devalues my genuine heart and dismisses my deep questions.  I will confront my very real fears and my changes of feelings.  I will dig deep into the Word to find the truth to sooth my pain. I will choose to believe the Word of Truth! I will choose to be faithful and determine to live according to Truth.

Silence the voice of lies within me, Spirit of Truth, and heal my brokenness through the truth of your Word.  I choose to live and believe the Scriptures.  Thank you Lord, that you are constant during my roller coaster emotions!