i'm trying to be still

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

- Psalm 46:10

This broken leg stuff is for the birds!

I am a relatively active person, meaning I am involved in a lot of stuff.

Between my responsibilities at work, church and the non-profit groups I work with, I am on the go probably 18 hours per day.

And then, poof – broken leg.

Forced rest, no weight bearing.

OK, God – I think you are telling me to slow down.

I have a little more down time now, I’m trying to spend it with God.

I know He is talking to me - maybe I need to be still, and listen to Him.  

are you ok?

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

- Romans 5:6

A friend or acquaintance passes you in the hall and says “hello, how are you?”

The natural response is “fine” or “good” or “ok”

But what if you are not fine or good or ok?

Many of us struggle with depression, whether it is short term or long term, it is there.

It is OK to not be OK

Song reference!

Shame says you've gone too far this time

Shame says you've finally crossed the line

Shame says you have to hide away

But shame is shattered by amazing grace

So come just as you are

Bring your broken heart

Your secrets and your scars

You were never meant to carry all this weight

Let your walls come down

And let the tears fall out

And know that Jesus loves you just the same

It's ok not to be ok

It's ok not to be ok

This, this is where the healing starts

This is where the light can crush the dark

Here, inside your pain, inside your doubts

Here is where He's gonna meet you now

Bring your broken heart

Your secrets and your scars

You were never meant to carry all this weight

Let your walls come down

And let the tears fall out

And know that Jesus loves you just the same

It's ok not to be ok

It's ok not to be ok

You don't have to have it all together

You don't have to have it all together

You don't have to have it all together

So come just as you are

Bring your broken heart

Your secrets and your scars

You were never meant to carry all this weight

Let your walls come down

And let the tears fall out

And know that Jesus loves you just the same

It's ok not to be ok

It's ok not to be ok

It really is.

Whenever you feel unloved, unimportant, or insecure, remember to whom you belong.

You are loved more than you will ever know by someone who died to know you.

no more tears

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

- Revelation 21:4

I have commented several times that when I hear something more than once, I feel like it is God telling me to pay attention, cause this is important.

This verse keeps popping up everywhere over the last few weeks.

It comes at a time in my life when I am doing a lot of crying and having a lot of pain.

I think God is telling me that it is ok to cry, for now.

Because things will get better.

Maybe not today, tomorrow, next week, month or year, but things will get better.

Good things will come, because God is in control.

don’t give up

I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

- Ezekiel 34:26a

It is so easy to get tired and discouraged when you are waiting for things to happen.

Think about how Peter felt, after a long day of fishing to come home with empty nets. 

Fishing was his job, how he supported his family!

But Jesus told Peter to throw the nets out one more time, and even though Peter was doubtful, he did as Jesus asked.

What happened next was a net so full of fish that Peter and his shipmates could barely pull it in!

It is hard to get up every day and praying for the things you need and want.

But don’t give up, because you never know when you are going to be blessed in abundance.

That’s a lot of fish!

what are you doing?

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

- Romans 7:15-17

That is a pretty profound thought, isn’t it?

How many times have you been in the middle of a situation and thought “what am I doing”?

How many times have you looked back at things in your past and asked “what was I thinking”?

We all start out each day with good intentions, right?

But then our bodies decide to switch directions and even though our spirit wants to love and be kind, we end up falling to temptation and sin.

This is not surprising, because we as humans are pitifully weak.

One of my favorite lines from a movie is something like “Your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash” (flashback to the 80’s and points if you know the movie!!)

Jesus tells us to stay close to Him, stay focused on Him and He will guide us when we stumble.

I want to be able to look back knowing I did the right thing by Jesus.

foreigners in a foreign land

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household.

- Ephesians 2:19

All over the news we are hearing about immigration, legal and illegal.

This is not a new concept, think about the number of times that God’s children traveled to foreign lands.

When Israel fled from Egypt.

When Israel took back the promised land.

When Jesus was traveling, preaching, He was often in foreign land.

After His death and resurrection, the disciples continued to travel and teach of Him.

We are not foreigners and strangers, we are children of God.

This is not “our” land, it belongs to God.

So if this is God’s land, who are we to determine who gets to be here?

looking ahead

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

- Philippians 3:13

We often take what has happened in the past and dwell on it.

Stop.

Don’t live in the past, you can’t change it.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Move forward, build your relationship with God, let go of the hurt and anger of the past.

Forgive and be forgiven, love and be loved.