Reflection
Strengthen Your Feeble Knees
I am constantly reading through the Bible, but I like to use a different Bible version each time I read. I cycle back around to some of the same ones, but breaking it up helps to notice verses that are easy to read over when I have them memorized. The latest verse that jumped out at me is Hebrews 12:12-13. The New King James reads as follows:
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
I’ve always read this to refer to others, that it is my job to help encourage those who are downtrodden. Reading the same verses in the NLT the other day gave these verses a whole new meaning:
So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.
How many people feel ill-equipped to help others because they are struggling themselves? I get there easily. That shouldn’t stop us from reaching out to others, however. I think it’s important for weaker Christians to realize that everyone struggles. I have looked at others at times and wanted to be like them because they seem so strong in their faith, and some do better than others at holding on to strength, but we don’t see the fears and insecurities that may lie underneath the surface. If you, like me, find yourself struggling more than you think you should after walking with God for so many years, don’t give up. Strengthen your tired hands and your shaky legs and keep trudging the straight and narrow path so that others can find it and easily follow. Who knows? Maybe someone will catch up to you and help to carry you a while as you catch your breath. Regardless, we owe it to those following us to find us faithful so they do not become weary and lose heart.
Navigating Relationships
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ~2 Timothy 3:12
I hate it when people judge my motives or don’t understand a situation which I am not at liberty to explain in full. It’s hard when others have an idea of how they think a Christian should respond to such a case and, in their view, I am not doing the “Christian” thing. I am honest about the areas that I know I struggle in, but I fight hard to honor God in the way that I interact with other people. It’s just that everything is not so cut and dry. Following are some things that I have wrestled with through the years that not everyone will agree with, but I hope they encourage someone who feels as though they have failed someone. You may have … but not necessarily.
1) A relationship requires two people to make it work, but it only takes one person to tear it down.
2) Truth is not always in the middle. Sometimes one person is straight out lying.
3) Despite popular opinion, forgiveness does not always mean reinstating a relationship. It is important to forgive. Definitely. But sometimes you have to release a person into God’s hands and realize that you cannot help him or her. You cannot be everyone’s savior, so it’s important to know who God has placed in your life and who He hasn’t.
4) Sometimes bad things really do happen to good people. OK. We all know that no one is really good, but you understand what I mean. God can and does discipline His children, but you cannot judge your relationship with God based on your circumstances. Evaluate it, sure, but if you are at peace in your walk, know that sometimes God allows things to happen that you will never understand this side of Heaven. This does not make Him less good than He has ever been. If anything, it is a time to draw closer to Him than ever before and allow Him to comfort you and help you to grow evermore in trusting Him.
Back to my opening statement: You can’t expect everyone to understand every decision that you make in life. Rumors may fly as people judge you more harshly than they should. It’s hard not to be hurt during those times. These are the seasons you find out who your friends really are, and it may be painful to realize you don’t have as many as you thought you did. Keep going to the Word. Pray for God’s guidance. If you are convinced that you are doing what God is asking of you, don’t look back. Keep clinging to His hand and let Him fight your battles. It’s human to want to fight back or justify yourself, but sometimes it’s best to not answer a fool according to his folly (Proverbs 26:4).
I wish you well as you learn from the Father the best way to navigate your sticky relationships.
Keep Standing
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ~2 Timothy 2:22
I was told of a man who had a sin issue. He had reportedly prayed for years, asking God to take away the desire to sin but, since it hadn’t happened, he came to the conclusion that God must be OK with it. Otherwise, the man was convinced that he would magically stop sinning. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have heard similar beliefs. People criticize Adam and Eve for blaming others for their sin, but even they knew better than to blame God.
In the above verse, Paul tells Timothy to flee youthful lusts and to pursue righteousness. That is the crux of Christianity, the part that makes us different from the world. If it were easy to stop sinning, more people would do so. The fact is that sin is constantly dangled on a string in front of us until it looks overwhelmingly tasty so that many lose their self-control and go after those youthful lusts which lead them straight to the gates of Hell. Some see what’s coming and turn around before they get there, but many refuse to see the warning signs until it is too late.
God is not a genie whose job is to obey our commands. He created us with minds, wills, and emotions. When you become His child, He begins to change your heart and your desires, but you have got to surrender those things to Him. You have to be willing to take the path of escape that He provides. If you don’t, He is not going to force you to do so.
The Bible is full of instructions for God’s children. It frustrates me when professing Christians excuse behavior or don’t believe that God really meant things that are clearly outlined in His Word. The Church needs to wake up and pursue righteousness! Don’t just open the door if it happens to show up; go hunt it down. Find people who have it and learn how to get it for yourself. The Christian life is not a passive existence; it is an active war. We need to be arming ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, the helmet of salvation, and the breastplate of righteousness. Don’t wait until the fiery darts of temptation are cast your way. Start now to equip yourself to stand. Then, having done all, keep standing.
What Do You Believe about God?
I have come to the conclusion that how you view God can greatly affect whether you stand or fall when trials come.
I have lost track of how many church leaders have fallen in the last several years. Whether they have turned their backs on Scripture, their families, or God Himself, I have struggled to understand why. If we don’t know where others are going wrong, how can we be sure to stay on the straight and narrow path ourselves?
I was visiting some friends a couple of weeks ago when the lightbulb came on.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us (1 John 2:19)
More Than You Can Bear?
Image by Ulrike Mai from Pixabay
Check Your Attitude
I confess that my attitude is not always what it should be, especially when I’m tired or surprised. Since it is impossible to predict every situation that might arise and since I do not always get the sleep that my body thinks it needs, it is important that I stay close to the Lord and try to be pleasant, even when I do not like how things are playing out.
We live in a world where the common thought is to not let others treat you badly, but sometimes when I listen to another’s story, I feel like they overreacted to the situation, and that what was asked of them was not out of line. It’s funny how it seems major when I am the one offended, but when I am not emotionally charged, I can evaluate someone else and see things differently.
Pride is a hard trait to overcome. It is “right there,” ready to surface at any moment. Many relationships have been severed by one or both parties being unwilling to lay down their pride for the sake of friendship or brotherly love. As much as I pray to stay in tune with the Spirit, I too can hit the place of feeling like it’s not worth it to bite my tongue and refuse to be offended when someone says or does something I don’t like. Life is short, however, and one day that person who said or did “the wrong thing” will no longer be here. It’s important that I not be the one to cause that riff with those that God has placed in my life.
I have been tested on this last night and today so this is my own reminder as well as something that I expect my readers deal with. Don’t let the sun set on your anger. Refrain from letting petty things cause you to be unkind. Ask for God’s help when you’re struggling. That’s what I’m doing, and I don’t doubt that He will answer this prayer of each one of us who seek Him.
Bridging the Generation Gap
I just finished reading As Iron Sharpens Iron by Howard Hendricks and, although the book was written to men during the Promise Keepers era, it gave me a lot of food for thought.
About ten years ago, I began to feel a void of older women who were willing to pour into a younger woman to whom they were not related. Although being an age that should render itself to both physical and spiritual maturity, I really wanted an older woman who would take me under wing, be a sounding board, give me counsel, pray with me when I needed it, etc. I decided that older women did not want that responsibility. They had lives of their own and were unwilling to invest their time and energy in that way.
On the flip side, I have heard older women complain that young women do not want to learn from them, and the more I have studied the last couple of generations, I must concede that they are right. Young women today tend to treat older women as though they don’t understand what today’s moms go through, as though life were easier when Grandma was raising children. Peers and blogs are the go-tos while the ones who toiled and sacrificed to bring us where we are today get overlooked.
Ever since I was a young girl, I loved to hang out with older girls. When I was under ten, those girls were teenagers. As a teenager, I preferred to be with women in their 20s and 30s. In my 30s, I found that my friends were often 10 to 20 years older than I was. And so it went. Now that I’m approaching 50, I still love to spend time with older women and am grateful for those who allow me to do so. I learn a lot by listening and observing them. But I also try to be available to my sisters or younger women who want to get together. I don’t know if I am inputting into their lives in any meaningful way, but I would rather make an effort than not do so.
I don’t know where you find yourself in the seasons of life, but I would like to remind you that you should always be learning and growing. Don’t neglect the older people in your life who might know a few more things than you give them credit for. But don’t fail to listen to young people either. You may be coming from two different worlds, but maybe you can help each other understand where the generation gap is and seal it a bit.
Random Thoughts 6/27/22
Hey Everyone, It’s hard to believe that the year is half over already. It’s amazing how much can happen in a six-month time period, but it seems like there is always something going on.
Our year began with news of our mom’s death in January. Having lost my last two grandparents in the last three years, I thought I had finally experienced grief. The loss of a parent is a whole different ballgame, especially when that parent is still relatively young. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a spouse or a sibling. My heart goes out to those I know who have had close loved ones die in the last few years. I know now from experience how hard that journey can be.
Although Mom is gone, life for us goes on. God continues to open doors for my brother to speak, and I do not lack the perfect amount of editing work. Scripture tells us not to worry about tomorrow because God knows how strong that tendency is. For myself, it is easy to fret over things that I have no control over. Precisely because I can’t control those things. As if I am better at planning my life than God is. How He must laugh as I tie myself in knots wondering what I’m going to do if conferences dry up and manuscripts stop coming in. His laughter is not sinister, however. He wraps me in His arms and reminds me that He will continue to care for me. I pray that I will continue to look to Him and to grow in the trust that I need to have, O me of little faith.
Our family is no stranger to trials, and we are going through yet another one. As He always does, God brings songs and Scriptures to mind. Today, it was the Freemans’ song, “He won’t keep you from the trial, but He’ll sure keep you through.” I can testify that this is the case. That doesn’t mean that I don’t cry a lot and ask God to comfort and hold me, but I do know that He is here. He has not forsaken us. I trust that this test too will become a testimony. It just may take some time.
They say that the key to not focusing on yourself is to encourage others, and I acknowledge that this is a good strategy. It is not wrong to reach out and let your friends know when you are struggling, however. In the Christian life, meekness is not weakness. Most likely, someone would like to walk with you through your valley, but you must invite them to do so. The majority of caring people won’t pry, but they will be happy to pray if you inform them of your need.
I hope that you all are doing well and staying close to the Lord in spite of whatever is happening in your life. I’ve shared some of my struggles. Some of you are going through similar things; some are going through trials that are very different from mine; and some are getting a much-needed reprieve. Regardless of where you are at in the journey of life, don’t forget to daily thank your Father for His love and His goodness. Draw near to Him, and He has promised to draw near to you. May God bless each of you, dear readers. Keep the faith and try not to become discouraged. Before we know it, we too will be Home. I, for one, am looking ever more forward to that day.
Who Are Your Heroes?
If you ask a child this question, the answer might be Mom or Dad or maybe a pastor or a teacher. A teen would no doubt list a superhero, actor, or sports icon. I like how my pastor’s wife summed it up last night though. She said something to the effect of, “If someone hasn’t accomplished something for the Lord or exhibited Godly character, that is not a person I wish to emulate.”
One of the definitions that Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary gives for the word “hero” is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.” By that definition, I do have some heroes, but they are people that no one knows.
My mom was an amazing person. She wasn’t perfect by any means, but she raised six of us as a single parent, homeschooled us, started her own business, and emphasized the importance of really knowing God and hearing His voice.
I have several friends who have adopted children or have special needs children. These parents hold my utmost respect.
But my greatest heroes are people like my grandparents who were faithful to God, to each other, and to whatever He called them to do. Those are the people I want to emulate.
I should insert here that there is a difference between respect and idolization. If you put someone on a pedestal, they will inevitably fall off. However, as impossible as it seems, there are people who continue to run the Christian race as well as they can, and these are the ones you should be following.
In a world where apostasy is running rampant, I encourage you to get in the Word, read biographies of Christians of long ago who lived their lives surrendered to the Lord, find those who are seeking God with their whole hearts, and spend time with them. Ask God to make you one of those examples for others who need to see hope.
As you ask yourself what kind of heroes you have, I hope that your answer does not reflect pop icons but rather centers on people who reflect Jesus Christ. Our light will continue to be dim until we become more like Him.
CD Report: Oh, How I Love Him (The Fosters)
A couple of years ago, I was contacted by Andrew and Devi Foster, asking if I would listen to their CD and consider reviewing it. I learned from my mom to never promise a review before becoming familiar with the product, but I’m always interested in new music so I agreed to listen. Since that time, I have listened to it a number of times, and I am happy to be able to introduce you to this couple.
Smooth vocals along with songs that bring you into the presence of Jesus make this a CD that isn’t easy to tire of. Even if you’re not a southern gospel fan per se, I encourage you to listen to the clips on their website.
Songs included are: I Know What Prayer Can Do, The Beauty of His Name, He’ll Find a Way, You Must Be Born Again, and Down from His Glory.
I especially like this last song. I’ve listened to Jeff Stice play it many times and love the tune so I have appreciated getting to know the words as well.
