Get out of that Pit - Chapter 1

Get Out of that Pit - Our online study...Cliffs notes style.

(Feel free to add on)

Chapter 1: Life in the Pit

Book Excerpt

Life can be excruciating.  Crushing, in fact. The sheer magnitude of our worries can press down on our heads until we unknowingly descend into a pit of despair one inch at a time.  Something so horrible can happen that we conclude we’ll never be okay again.  We can blow it so badly we think God would just as soon we stayed under that dirt and out of His sight.  But, if we’re willing to let truth speak louder than our feelings, and long enough that our feelings finally agree, we can be far more than okay.  We can be delivered to a place where the air is crisp, the enemy is whipped, and the view is magnificent.

The Bible teaches that there are no lost causes.  (did you hear that, NONE) No permanent pit-dwellers except those who refuse to leave.  Every person can know the complete redemption of Jesus Christ, purpose for life, and fullness of joy.  No, life won’t ever be easy but the trade-off is a spin around Planet Earth that actually means something.

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

 and he turned to me and heard my cry.

 He lifted me out of the pit of despair...

  ...Many will see what he has done and be amazed.

  They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1,3

Too often we don’t recognize a pit when we’re in one or we only think of it in terms of sin, so it doesn’t apply, but that’s not the case.

You’re in a pit when...

You feel stuck, trapped.  The only option is to misbehave, act out (i.e., have a kicking and screaming fit, hoping your flailing can help you escape) or submit (i.e., consider you made your own bed and decide to die in it.)

The first option is coping through life. It feels like a rut or going nowhere, stuck.  So we DO stuff to try to change our environment, be someone other than who we are or sink ourselves in activity or mindlessness to escape... all in the hopes of having excitement and fun, but more importantly to NOT feel the pit we are in.  You name it, it’s been tried by the multitudes.  Drinking, partying, being a workaholic, live an alternative life, turning a hobby into an obsession, watching loads of tv or movies...we could go on.

The second option, choose to accept the feeling of being trapped and stuck, become hopeless and resigned to the lie that this is as good as life gets because of some past choices or things that have happened to you.  You grow numb and cold.

Either way, they are the lies we buy into and we feel stuck in the pit.

You see and recognize what is right
      but refuse to act on it.
   You hear with your ears,
      but you don’t really listen.

  Because he is righteous,
  the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
  enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
  They are fair game for anyone
  and have no one to protect them,
  no one to take them back home.

 Who will hear these lessons from the past
  and see the ruin that awaits you in the future? Isaiah 42:20-23

You can’t stand up because you feel ineffective and utterly powerless against attack. Can’t stand up to assaults, trials, or temptations because your feet are in the mud and more.  You make an effort, but constantly feel like your losing ground, losing the fight.  It’s overwhelming and you feel flatly defeated at times. 

To the ancient Hebrew, a pit was a literal or figurative reference to the grave...so it’s like being the living dead.  Satan digs the pit in hopes he can bury you alive and keep you there. You become a rather ineffective person in life and relationships. Satan can’t make you stay nor will God make you leave.

 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
 I can’t find a foothold. Psalm 69:2

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Ephesians 6:13

You’ve lost vision and you’re impaired by the darkness.  Can’t see the obvious,  become stiff necked, to focused on our sinking feet. We can’t see out, so we turn our sights in.  Nearsightedness breeds hopelessness.  Dim vision ages us rapidly and we lose our childlikeness.  We can be young and yet feel old. Heavy laden. Burdened. In a pit where vision is lost and dreams are foolishness.  We don’t have a sense or understanding of meaning and purpose for our life.

Beth refers to the final book in the Narnia story, The Last Battle, where Susan , who in the first book witnessed the death and resurrection of the godlike lion Aslan, looked back on her times in Narnia as “funny games we used to play as children.”  Susan ultimately came to the conclusion that the heavenly land of her childhood experience was nothing more than a childish fantasy because she was a “jolly sight to keep on being grownup.”

Excerpt 2

Through the pages to come, some of you will recognize your pits.  For most of you awareness won’t come because you suddenly see how bad you are, but rather because you will wake up to how bored you are.  The lack of light and fresh air has lulled some of us to sleep.  Getting out begins with waking up.  And (this may be the hardest part) with being willing to feel again. In Psalm 40:2 David exclaimed,

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
 out of the mud and the mire.
 He set my feet on solid ground
  and steadied me as I walked along. 

According to Psalm 27:6, high upon that very rock “my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me.”  See what Satan has to lose when you get out of your pit?  Not only are wonder, hope and vision natural when our feet are set upon a rock, but so is our vantage point from which we can see the enemy’s activity around us.  (Incidentally, there’s no one on earth Satan would rather see in a pit than someone with godly vision.  Just ask Joseph.)

Are you bored with life?  Is life exhausting for you?  Does it seem like your just doing stuff to avoid the pit feeling?  Are you in a pit presently?

We’re going to talk more about the ways we get into pits and the ways we can get out in the coming weeks.

Ever feel like you're in an inescapable pit?

In the deepest parts of us, below the surface, no matter how hard our exterior shell is...those layers of armor and toughness to protect ourselves; we all want to be known and loved.  We don’t spend much time, if at all, talking about our deepest fears, our pains, our sorrows, or even our dreams, our desire for love and acceptance.  Perhaps we think it shows weakness, more likely we’ve been hurt and we don’t want to risk it again.  The people we love failed us, let us down, injured us, jaded our view of life.

Now you’re left empty and afraid; feeling lonely.  You may even be surrounded by people, friends, family...but there is a disconnect.  They don’t even know how bad it hurts.  They don’t know about the internal discontentment with life, the stirring in your soul for something more, something meaningful...they wouldn’t understand if you tried to tell them, at least you think.  So you smile and go along for the ride, but you’re slowly dying inside.

The love you seek is not what you think it is.  It’s not romance or even friendship; it is intimacy.  For your innermost self to be known by another; a deep relationship. To be accepted as you are and loved in spite of yourself; unconditionally.  Is there such a thing...does it exist?  We desperately want it to, what a relief that would be. 

However, the days roll on and the aching continues and grows.  It becomes unbearable at times and leaves your numb inside.  You’re just going through the motions.  There are moments when you just want to feel something, anything.  It doesn’t matter.  You feel trapped in your circumstances, tied down by the weight of what feels like a meager existence or perhaps the feeling that it will never get any better than what you have now.  You are desperate to break out, but from what?  You don’t really know. It’s a living nightmare in some ways; empty, empty, empty.  

You feel exhausted from just thinking about it.  Time to crawl into bed and escape into a dream.  Perhaps it’s worse, escape takes the shape of a bottle, a pill, a warm body...anything for some temporary relief.  Some short term pleasure, a fleeting moment of happiness, a distraction or even just forgetting about it for a short while - we cope.  If only that were enough, but it’s not. Matter of fact, it somehow makes it worse.  The void, the emptiness, gets bigger so we cling to our choice for coping even more.  We spend more time with it, increase the frequently...but it only intensifies our thirst for relief even further. Our coping mechanism might even be considered healthy by any standard, but it’s purpose and effect are the same.  It is a vicious cycle we can’t seem to break.  Something has to give.

In the mix of all of this we begin to feel a sense of worthlessness, insecurity...if we weren’t feeling that way already.  We become super sensitive to the words others use to define us.  Anything that sounds negative cuts like a knife inside of us.  We may not show it on the surface, we fight like mad to cover it up, but we hurt desperately.  Somehow it almost feels like we are unloved, even if others tell us differently.  We may even feel unlovable, flawed somehow...broken, unfixable.

Some days we don’t even think we deserve to be rescued from this mess or that it’s not possible.  Others we could practically cry out to be saved, please, at any cost!  Who do we cry out to, who can help us?  We’re frustrated...it seems hopeless.  Pointless to even try perhaps.

Every day our thoughts destroy us a little more, our perception of life as we see it.  We value our life, we value our family and our friendships.  We have expectations for the way these relationships should be.  Either what we have created in our own minds or perhaps what has been created for us on a tv show or movie.  There is this ideal picture; if we could only have that!  Everything would ok.  Instead, they seem hollow or superficial, disjointed, forced, painful...I don’t know.  They consume a lot of energy just to maintain and they are full of injury.  Over and over you’ve been burned, cast aside, made to feel insignificant, belittled, controlled, abused...and here we are again; worthless.

“Why can’t I find or change the circumstances, the person or people to make it all better?  To find relief and comfort” you ask yourself.  It feels like your running away, but from what and where to?  You don’t know, but the sensation won’t go away. So the question becomes, have you had enough? Are you ready to give up?  The hard truth is we’ve tried just about everything haven’t we...nothing is working.  Why? Because we are doing life our way and failing miserably at it.

You may have tried religion or spirituality.  Maybe you worked hard at being a good person and living an honest life.  You could have gone the route of living for the moment and doing whatever makes you happy and brings you pleasure.  Perhaps you are a Christian doing all the things Christians do; going to church, participating in Bible study, serving in ministry at the church.  Yet, with all these different ways of doing life...these feelings still plague you.

I have wrestled for a couple weeks now with this post sitting unfinished of how to bring the answers.  How can I boil down the solutions to one blog post, making it applicable?  Oh, believe me there is a way out, I know because I’ve been there too!  You don’t have to stay in this place any longer and the alternative is simply beautiful!

Beth Moore describes this sensation as being stuck in a mirky, muddy pit, being unable to escape.  That’s one good way of putting it.  As a matter of fact, I would like to explore the situation from this viewpoint as Beth writes about it in her book, “Get Out of That Pit.”  I propose you join me in an online study of the book over the next 10 weeks.  What  do you have to loose?

Go buy a copy at a Christian book store or order it online.  If you are not a Christian, don’t freak out on me!  I’m not asking you to join a religion...we gonna talk about this problem specifically and talk about relationship.  If you are a Christian, don’t freak out on me!  If you resonated with this entry then you don’t have it all figured out...good news, neither do I!  You’re in good company.  We’ll work on it together.  Also, I realize Beth Moore has been “branded” as women’s studies...get over it!  Send me a facebook message, email or blog comment if you might join me.  We’ll start in a week, so get to it!

The hardest lesson I ever had to learn

What do you value most? Your job, your car, your house. Maybe your values go much deeper, you would say your family, your kids, your health, your spouse. Those things are good and it would only seem right to place a high value on them, but we would be wrong in doing so. For years I placed great value in my wife and my relationship with her. I pretty much worshiped her, held her up on a peddle stool in my eyes. I remember I used to tell her that if she snapped at me in the morning I was crushed and useless for the rest of the day. It was true and I thought it was a good thing that I placed so much importance on her. I found my identity in her, my self worth (value), because I valued her so much. Do you know what I’m talking about? Of course you do.

What if you lost what you valued most? Would it destroy you, crush you? It almost did for me, until I learned the hardest truth I ever had to face. The values that I had were all misplaced. My marriage, it would be gone one day, in death at the very least. My kids, on loan from God entrusted into my care. My house, my car, my money, my job, my time…it is all His from the beginning. I simply had to admit that truth to myself. It isn’t mine, it is all His.

My identity was misplaced as well because of my flawed value system. Bluntly honest, I found my worth in her, in my job, in being a father, a friend etc. Because of this I was in bondage to this identity and value system. When things fell apart Satan exploited it to cause me great pain and agony. To keep me in fear and panic, to spend a lot of time asking “what if” questions regarding the past, present and future. When something threatened my “values” my world came crashing down and I couldn’t even function sometimes, the pain and anxiety was paralyzing. Can you relate?

So what changed? Beginning to understand that it all truly belongs to the Lord and that my value, self worth and identity should come from Him alone. Again, in all honesty, that was a bitter pill to swallow at first, but it soon became the most liberating fact of my life outside of salvation. As I rebuilt my identity squarely on my life in Christ, creating a value system solidly on valuing the things of God’s heart, on pleasing Him and living in His will for my life; Satan suddenly lost all power over me. His strongholds in me were torn down and the chains that weighed me down were broken and stripped away!

Now I have a new identity in Christ, He is my value and I have much value in Him. So as the storms rage around me I do not fear, I do not fret. There is no pain or anxiety and there is no sorrow; only joy and peace. I worship Him alone, to Him all my praise and adoration is given.

My wife may never come home, but I will rejoice in the Lord still. More calamities may come my way, but they will not injure me or cause me to stumble. “There is no fear in (His) love. But perfect love drives out fear...” 1 John 4:18 Please don’t misunderstand me. I love my wife dearly, more than she will ever understand. I would love nothing more than for her to come home, but it does not define me, the marriage is not what I live for anymore, it is not my purpose.

Satan can no longer exploit those values for pain because the value is not there to be exploited. Also, I’m not saying they are of no value, but in comparison to His glory, they are mere shrinking shadows of what they were previously.

This also allows us to live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 with greater ease and clarity. If our value was perfectly in Him alone then it would be impossible to threaten our values, which means that jealousy, envy, pride, selfishness, etc. could not exist. Take a look for yourself: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love never fails.” For example, if we value His love instead of the love from others, what is there to be demanding of?

Like I said, the hardest lesson I ever had to learn, but also the most liberating and instantaneous in its effects on me. This is the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. I fully believe this is the beginning of understanding that has the potential to free you from all kinds of grief and medication.  It will also make for better relationships, better marriages and release us to live the way we were designed to live.

So what is it that you value? Where is your identity found? Is any of it misplaced, holding you back from an abundant life?

Here’s to freedom!
Brian

Today’s song

This may throw some of you completely off, but I think it is interesting how secular music has some great worship lyrics sometimes. They just miss out on who the object of our praise, worship, adoration and affection should go to. Here is a perfect example.



Halo by Beyonce

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light

I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
To pull me back to the ground again

The words you may not want to hear

They say that philosophy teaches us and confronts us with what we already know. It brings subconscious knowledge to the conscious level. “Self knowledge is like a lost innocence, however unsettling, it can never be un-thought or unknown.” Michael Sandel, Professor at Harvard University. Simply put, once we become aware of the truths that are deep inside us, in our moral compass given by God, we are confronted with the truth at a conscious level. We can’t go back, once we know, we know. This is my warning to you today before we proceed. If you choose to read on there is no going back. It will force you to confront some difficult truths.

What goes into a decision or choices we make? There are different internal forces that pull at us aren’t there?

Emotions
In one corner we have our emotions: anger, sadness, happiness, excitement, etc. How well do our emotions serve us? When we are angry, for example, and we allow our anger to direct our actions…do we feel good about those actions when we self judge ourselves after the fact? If we were honest we’d have to say usually not.

What about when something “forbidden” comes along and it makes us feel so good, it makes us happy…are our emotions leading us in the right direction? The Bible tells us that “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know! I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.” Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

How many times have we heard or said something along these lines:

“If it makes you happy (or insert feel good)”
“Go and find happiness”
“I feel at peace with my decision”
“I feel like it is the right thing to do if…(or it’s best if...)”

These common statements seem to indicate that if we simply follow our emotions we are in good shape, but the Bible indicates otherwise. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 NASB Where you read the word “flesh” you can plug in the words “desires” or “human nature”…i.e. emotions, feelings or wantings. There are times when it might feel really right and still be so really wrong. Where does that come from? “…even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” 2 Corinthians 11:14 NASB He is the greatest deceiver is he not?

Logic & common knowledge
So if our emotions tend to lead us down the wrong path, then what? Logic, common knowledge…that must be the answer! Statistics are easy to get or hear from someone as to what happens in most circumstances, how people react or feel about any situation; the final outcome. The stats are supposed to indicate “normal” or “common” behaviors in our society; what most people do. They tell us what to expect and therefore we should act accordingly.

This goes right along with “just part of life” arguments that should go down like a spoon full of medicine that makes it all o.k. Have you heard this one, “it’s only natural to…” Fill in the blank. The word natural comes from the word nature, remember, meaning flesh. (see above) Chalk one statement of common knowledge up to being derived directly from our emotions. Brilliant. This is where our logic stems from.

There is a double standard for us adults isn’t there? We tell it to our children like this, “Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right” or “if everyone jumps off a bridge does that mean you should?” Perhaps this is one of the reasons Jesus tells us to be like children. We’re just too grown up for our own good; can’t even make out simple black and white truth. We try to complicate it, justify our ways and make it NOT apply to us somehow.

So where does this leave us then? What is left to help us make good, intelligible decisions that are in our best interest? The kind of decisions that see past our own short sightedness; the tough ones that are good for us in the long run. Turn not to our emotions or our faulty logic, turn instead to spiritual truth. It is timeless, perfect in all matters of the heart, unfailing to steer us in the right direction AND it always has our best interest in mind.

Spiritual Truth
The more we read and learn spiritual truth from the Bible, the easier it is to apply in our lives cutting through the clutter of opinion, emotion and dangerous statistics that are only heading us toward the cliff. I’m frankly tired of being told the “odds” of things going a certain way or how things “most likely” turn out usually so as to influence my decisions and behavior. Listening to such nonsense only leads to my own destruction. Destruction of hope, destruction of my faith, destruction of my resolve in Christ and in character, destruction of ministry, destruction of opportunities to let God show me His plan and watch it carried out. That is a lot of bad stuff! I feel sorry for the ones who speak in such terms because I know they have already been defeated, surrendered, given up.

I have yet to run into a scenario that I can’t find an answer to in scripture and I don’t expect I will.  It was right in front of me all along! All my life I’ve been told that the Bible is an “instruction” manual for life, but just like any manual for a complex project to assemble; it’s no good, useless actually, if we don’t read it and the result is a messed up, half way assembled something or other. In this case our very lives; mine, yours and all the people we love. So I stopped trying to “assemble” (read-solve problems, find answers, make important decisions) on my own and started to dig in. The results are staggering!

The Harmony of the three
Emotions and logic do serve good purposes. Emotions, for example, are a good early warning system in danger and troubles just for starters. There are also times when the Bible says we can have “righteous anger.” Logic and common knowledge help us to use our God given brains. All of these come from God to work in harmony together. The problem arises when our emotions and knowledge are void of spiritual and scriptural guidance as the foundation for their employment.

Now we have brought to the conscious level what may have been suppressed or hidden in our hearts. I remember that day for myself. A little unsettling isn’t it, to face such stark truth? The question is what to do with it. When we self judge ourselves for our decisions, made in full understanding of the truth, what will our judgment be? You’re in the driver’s seat. Hopefully the answer is that we make better decisions rooted in spiritual truth, which will yield great things for us in our lives. It is a breath of fresh air to refocus our compass and head straight for the narrow gate.

Can people change?

What a controversial question. Can people really change? I’ve talked with many that seem to think that real lasting change is just not possible. “People are who they are” or “you can’t change their nature” or “it’s just the way they are and always will be.” Have you heard this before? I understand where the statements come from; it is the voice of experience.

“If you only knew my ex-husband, you’d understand. He’s been this way his whole life. That’s not going to change. Oh he’s made efforts over the years, but he always goes back to center. He may even find someone to make him truly happy, it just won’t be me.” I personally know a lot of people that either believe this line of thought wholeheartedly or they fit into the camp that is being spoken about.

I also know of several people who defy this logic to the highest degree. A certain despised tax collector named Matthew who was probably living quite high on the hog from his job in biblical days. Another is named Paul; he persecuted Christians with great fervor and pride at one time. Then suddenly these men came face to face with Jesus. At that moment they were different, changed men from then on. You can read about their accounts in the Bible, they became two of Jesus’ closest friends, disciples who spread the message of Christ and ultimately gave their lives for the very cause they once stood against and tried to stamp out.

I also personally know of couples who lived sinful selfish destructive lives. One such couple, a wife was sleeping around while the husband was drinking himself into a stupor on a regular basis. Another couple was heading quickly into oblivion together for a time getting drunk on a regular basis, and then it turned into affairs etc. A third couple were both thought to be solid in their faith until the husband allowed sin to slowly creep into his heart and his growing lust for the “greener grass” that would surely make him happy overtook him. Neither of them saw it coming, nor did he recognize that his heart was hardening. It was too late.

I have encountered numerous couples who all share a similar story line. I believe God put them in my path to encourage me and open my eyes to the truth. Every single one of those couples has been redeemed from the pit of despair, sometimes neither one even wanting to work it out! All of them said they believed change wasn’t possible at one point. Then there was a moment for each of them, they came face to face with Jesus. He transformed their hearts and healed their marriages when the world around them said it just wasn’t possible. They now sing in chorus that they have twice the marriage as before!

If we don’t believe change is possible, we don’t leave room for God’s grace and mercy, his unfailing love. You say, “But they are already Christians! Wouldn’t they have changed already?” I have been a Christian since I was young, I knew I was saved and going to heaven. I even felt like I was a good Christian, doing good deeds, going on mission trips, etc. Let me tell you something though, for as good as I thought I was, perhaps even book smart in the Bible, I was “sucking up the field” in reality. (Pardon the crass language.) There are those who have faith in Christ who are saved. They live BECAUSE of him; they have the promise of eternal life. There is also discipleship. They live FOR him; they have all of his promises written on their hearts and take him up on them.

The truth is I was a becauser…I wasn’t the husband I was called to be, I thought I was a good guy with a good heart doing good things for good reasons. I wasn’t the father I was called to be, I thought I was a fairly involved dad who deeply loved his children. I wasn’t the leader I was called to be, my ego would have told you otherwise. I wasn’t even the friend I was called to be, although I would have given you the shirt off my back.

No, it wasn’t until this storm hit and I came face to face with a living God who held on tight to me. It wasn’t until I was willing to step out of the proverbial boat in the middle of my personal storm to meet Jesus walking on the water, to keep him in my focus so I wouldn’t sink; only then did I begin to transform into the man he called me to be. To die of self daily and live for him; all those words he spoke in the Bible began to come alive in my heart. I am my own best example of people being able to change. So you can challenge me on this one if you want, but the proof is in the changed lives that I have come into contact with, one of them stares at me in the mirror every day.

In Christ we can be husbands that desire to be servant leaders, having our spouse’s best interest at heart in every decision. We can create a warm and safe environment for our wives to flourish and help develop their walk with God, together as one. In Christ we can truly understand how to cherish our children who are on loan from God. We can raise them in the fruits of the Spirit and draw them closer to God as well. In Christ we can put our ego aside and our own ambitions and ask God what his will is for our lives, in ministry and work. In Christ we can reach out to strangers, call them our neighbor and love them as Christ loves us.

People can change, just not on their own accord. They need to come face to face with Jesus and be willing to follow him instead of just using him as a life vest for salvation. This is the path to an abundant life, amazing, full of joy and contentment. “I pray that you…may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17-18 (NIV) He wants it for all of us. He’s waiting for us to take him up on the offer.

Jesus is very fond of you and so am I,
Brian


Today's song: Among The Thirsty - I'd Need A Savior
The video isn't great, but you can hear the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5bza6rIrs

How many names can I use to explain the love of my Jesus,
the life that he gave and so many times will I praise you today.
I lift up my life ‘cause you’re always the same
And my offering to you I bring

Chorus:
Your name is Jesus. Your name is Jesus.
You’re the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You’re what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross you knew
I’d need a Savior.

How many songs can I sing to proclaim your wondrous love and beauty so great?
What would I say if you brought down the rain and everyday
I walk through the pain my heart would still say…

(Chorus)

You’re what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross you knew
I’d need a Savior.
I’d need a Savior
I need you, Savior

God's incredible economy

God weaves such a wonderful tapestry in our lives. Our lives intersect and meet in ways that can only be described as divine appointments. We don’t always recognize them for what they are. Have you ever thought about the impact you have on another life through a simple gesture or word of encouragement? Have you ever stopped to consider how grand God’s economy is? How his love and truth impacts a life and is then spread through that person to another and on and on. How big is the ripple? How far reaching are its effects? Even from a ten thousand foot view I doubt we would see the full scope. The impact of God’s touch as it spreads across one life to many in a sea of faces; individual lives in need of help, healing from hurt.

When that still small voice speaks to you, it asks you to reach out a hand, step out in faith, to be there for someone else; to be selfless in the moment…what will you do? Allow yourself to flash through the grandeur of what God may be asking you to set into motion. Planting a seed that you may never see as fruitful this side of heaven is one possibility. You may, however, see a wellspring of new life burst forth in vibrant color that saturates the very life that needed it most and spill over into the lives of others. What will you do the next time you feel that gentle nudging, prodding you to do something as simple as offering a smile or fantastic as calling you to do the seemingly impossible? What will you do?

Father God, we don’t understand your ways, they are not our ways. We see a glimpse of your glory, your majesty, your sovereignty. You breathe life into us and sustain us. What Satan intends for ill you use for your good. Your will is done; the sun, moon and stars are at your command. May we be so humble and blessed as to be vessels to carry out your will, to shine your light through us, to spread your love through word and deed.
Amen

What if a trial is allowed in our lives to bring stronger faith and healing not to one person, but to many? Wouldn’t that be just like God! To bring about His purpose in an immeasurable number of ways through one common thread...that is His awesome economy of scale. Wouldn’t that be an interesting way of approaching it? It wouldn’t be about you at all would it? It’s not really about your problem, your difficulty, your struggle. It’s all about Him. What does He want to accomplish? How can you be an instrument of faith in this time, an instrument of healing for others by the understanding that comes through trial? What would that mean for your life? What would that look like? A greater purpose than your own…wouldn’t that be just like….Jesus.

Scripture Reference
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Would you believe me- July 21, 2009

Dear friends and family,
I hope you are well. I am better than could possibly be imagined. If I told you that I have seen more miracles in the space of a few months than in the course of a lifetime, would you believe me? If I told you that every day, every single day without exception, I have encountered someone who by divine appointment was there to lift me up or for me to share my story with as encouragement or share the wisdom I have learned through counseling to help them in their troubles, would you believe me? What if I told you that EVERY time Satan threatens my hope and starts to cast the seed of doubt that I am rescued in that moment, that EXACT moment, by a song, a verse, a text message, a phone call, a passing stranger…I could go on. Would you believe me?

I ask because I’m not sure I would have believed myself a few short months ago that life could be lived in the space of His will so abundantly. Oh I’m not saying that I didn’t believe that God takes care of me, loves me or that I wasn’t walking with Him before. Now though, it’s as if I am truly alive in the way He always intended. Each day, every moment He permeates my thoughts, speaks loudly to my heart, calls me to action to speak boldly on His behalf by the Spirit. Can you identify with me?

I have a new understanding of relationship, of communion with the Lord. If there is anything we hold back and keep for ourselves; whatever we don’t give over to Him…it creates loneliness, separation. In our loneliness, we cope. We cope because we are not with God in this area, we are alone by our choices. We may have a healthy relationship otherwise except with this one thing we won’t give to Him.

Our coping takes many forms and usually as an overindulgence of something; food, entertainment, shopping, work, sports, exercise, romance novels, video games, pornography, affairs, etc. We are searching to remedy our loneliness and the stress that comes with it. Have I struck a chord? It did with me.

I share this with you not to condemn anyone, but to show you the path to freedom. I share this because I love you. Jesus and I are especially fond of you. :) You may not feel like you need this message, but maybe you know someone who does. Who am I to share this with you? I am nothing, I know little. My knowledge is limited, but His ways are great. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Would you believe me if I told you such things as these?

Sincerely with all my love,
Brian

Today’s song- Hillsong – You hold me now

On that day when I see
All that You have for me
When I see You face to face
There surrounded by Your grace

All my fears swept away
In the light of your embrace
When Your love is all I need
And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold
In Your presence healed and whole
Let these songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suff'ring

You hold me now
You hold me now

No darkness no sickening
No hiding

You hold me now,
You hold me now

In this life I will stand
Through my joy and my pain
Knowing there's a greater day
There's a hope that never fails

When You're name is lifted high
And forever praises rise
For the glory of Your Name
I'm believing for the day

When the wars and violence cease
All creation lives in peace
Let these songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suff'ring

You hold me now
You hold me now

No darkness, no sickening
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

For eternity
All my heart will give
All the glory to Your name