Tag Archives: desperate

April 12, 2013 · 8:42 AM

Go Ahead & Be Angry

I had a conversation last night with a friend who is going through a difficult situation. They tried to give me all the religious answers they thought I wanted to hear. I finally stopped them. I said, “I don’t want to hear what you think I want to hear. I know what you’re going through. It’s ok to be angry right now.” Silence. “You’re right. I am angry right now,” the voice on the other end finally said.

I directed them to the scripture in Ephesians 4:26 that says, “Go ahead and be angry. You to well to be angry – but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge.” It’s not a sin to be angry and upset. It’s ok especially when you have a right to be upset. God just doesn’t want us to use that anger against the person who wronged us. I shared with them how angry I was and the things I had wanted to do.

Thank God I never acted on the thoughts that entered my mind while I was hurt and angry. If I had acted on them, I would have missed out on the blessings I now enjoy. When you’re going through a difficult time where you’ve lost everything, you think you have nothing to lose because you don’t have anything. That’s a dangerous place to be.

It’s important to pay attention to the thoughts that enter your mind when you’re upset. It’s easy to entertain them. It’s easy to slip off into a fantasy world where you are deceived into believing you can get away with anything. The enemy sends thoughts into your head in a Trojan Horse. They start off harmless and end up with you really contemplating going through with them.

Scripture is clear when it comes to thoughts like that. II Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “We use God’s mighty weapons , not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning… We capture rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” When we entertain those thoughts that would take us from being angry to sinning, we allow them to take root in our minds and to build strongholds. We are to take those thoughts instead and teach them to obey Christ.

I know that’s easier said than done. It’s easy to entertain the thoughts that let you do what your flesh wants to do. It takes God’s weapons to break them down and teach them to obey Christ. It takes discipline. Usually you are missing those things when you’re hurt and angry. I want to encourage you today if you are hurt, angry or discouraged to know it’s ok to feel that way.

Emotions are given to us by God. He knows we need to vent at times. He knows we want to curl up in bed, pull the covers over our heads and pretend that today doesn’t exist. That’s why he said, “Go ahead and be angry.” He just doesn’t want you to do something stupid with that anger that would stint the future He has for you. Don’t limit what He can do through you because you are hurt and feel you have nothing to lose. This too will pass. You will survive. I’m proof of it. It just takes time. God still has a future for you even when you can’t see it.

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April 2, 2013 · 7:55 AM

Lord Help!

I love Psalm 107. It talks about people in all kinds of situations and were all at the end of their ropes. He talks of those who were wandering aimlessly, those who were hungry, those who were having difficult times that caused them to live in darkness and gloom, those who have turned from God and rebelled, and those who were enduring a storm longer than they thought it would last. In each case, the people cried out, “Lord help!” And He came to the rescue.

In their cases and in most of our cases, we wait until it is an act of desperation to call out to God. It must be the way he hard wired us. We try to do everything on our own and in our own strength. I’m the first to admit that I’m the same way. I don’t think it’s so I get the glory and not Him. It’s more of an “I can do this” attitude. I don’t need anyone’s help. I got myself in this mess and I’ll get myself out.

Meanwhile, God is patiently waiting for us to call out, “Lord help!” He wants to rescue us. He wants to deliver us. We say, “the Lord is my shepherd,” but we don’t let Him shepherd us. We don’t let Him lead us to the still waters or the green pastures. When we go our own way and fall into distress, He is there looking for us to lead us back to safety. He’s not content to leave us in our situation simply because we’re headstrong and moved away from the pack.

What I’ve never understood about God is how He continues to love me no matter how far or often I move away from the heard. It’s a love I don’t deserve. None of us do. We all do things that get us in the situations listed in this Psalm. There also times where life just happens. There’s nothing we can do about it and don’t feel like we deserve it. Even in those times we have a choice. We can either have a pity party while life continues to rain on us or we can cry out, “Lord help!”

Psalm 145:8 says, “The Lord is close to all who call on Him.” He is waiting for us to call on Him. We often think we’re too far away from Him or done so much that we can never go back. I’ve been there. I was embarrassed and didn’t want to deal with facing those whom I thought I had let down. When I was near my lowest a friend said, “Boy, what are you doing? You need to get your butt back in that church where people know you and love you!” I gave every excuse I could as to why I couldn’t, but none were good enough.

Don’t let pride stand in your way of calling out for the Lord’s help today. Don’t make excuses why you can’t go home. His ear is listening for your voice. His eyes are searching all over for you. Jesus said that He would leave the 99 to find just one. You. You mean the world to Him. Don’t delay. Cry out today, “Lord help!” I promise you that He will come running to you. He will save you and rescue you.

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February 27, 2013 · 6:48 AM

Sleep in the Storm

I was reading in the Old Testament this morning. I went to the minor prophets section of it. For some reason, I typically stay away from that area of the Bible. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not as familiar with each of them as the rest of the Bible or if it’s just when I get that close to the New Testament, I get excited and want to jump ahead. Anyway, I read through a couple of them and I came upon a verse in Haggai chapter 1 that stood out to me. It said, “I am with you, says The Lord!” What a powerful reminder from God today.

We all need to hear that verse. God is with you today. No matter what you are facing, what you are going through or what the doctor says, God is with you. There’s a peace in knowing that. My mind goes back to the disciples when they were crossing the sea. Suddenly a storm came over the mountains and caught them by surprise. The boat started taking on water. The thunder was so loud they had to scream to talk to each other. Lightning was flashing brighter than ever. The boat was being rocked and tossed by the waves. Then someone remembered that Jesus was with them.

They went down into the ship only to find Him asleep. How could He sleep through a storm? It was simply that He knew His Father was with Him. The disciples really didn’t understand what it meant at that point to have God with them. They woke Him up in panic and chastised Him. In Mark 4:38, they said, “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?!?!” Jesus, looked at the storm and said, “Peace. Be still.” Then He asked, “Where is your faith?”

Ouch. They didn’t understand that God was with them. They allowed the storm to cloud their vision. Maybe you’re going through a storm right now. The waves of trouble are tossing you around. The lightning of bad news keeps striking in your life. The thunder of circumstances are so loud that it’s hard to hear God. You’re taking on water and you feel like you’re sinking. I’ve been there. Panic sets in. Stress keeps you from sleeping or eating much. Thoughts of worry creep in and cloud your vision. If that’s you, I want to remind you what Haggai 1:13 says, “I am with you, says The Lord!”

In our Sunday school class, we have a confession we read each week. It says, “The Lord is with me. The Lord is in me. The Lord is for me. The Lord is one with me. I am with The Lord. I am in The Lord. I am for The Lord. I am one with The Lord.” I think that’s a good prayer and reminder for each of us today. We need to not forget that God is with you. He is in you and He is for you. If He is for you, what storm can be victorious over you? You, like Jesus can sleep in the storm.

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February 1, 2013 · 7:11 AM

God’s Antidote for Poison

I was watching a sales skills video yesterday of Brian Tracy. In one of the segments, he said, “You cannot like anyone else more than you like yourself.” The problem, he pointed out, is that most people don’t like themselves very much. Their inner voice points out their negatives. His remedy was to say out loud, “I like myself. I like myself. I like myself” over and over until it becomes ingrained in your fibers. It was kind of funny to watch to be honest, but there was a lot of truth there too.

Each one of us has that inner voice that speaks to us. Each one of us also has a label that has followed us through life. That voice in our head speaks it to us over and over every day. It tells us why we’re still single when everyone else is married. It tells us why we’re too incompetent to get that promotion. It tells us why no one will ever be our true friend. The list goes on and on. The problem is that that voice is creating your perceived reality.

I call it perceived because it is not the truth, but you have bought into it anyway. It could have started when you were a child and a parent, sibling, teacher or other influential person in your life told you that you weren’t good enough, smart enough, good looking enough or whatever. Your mind reluctantly gave in and it has become how you see yourself. Let me tell you that is not how God sees you.

There is a battle for your life and it is won and lost in the mind. If the enemy can get you to believe that lie, he can minimize your effectiveness. He can keep you from being who God called you to be. He would rather have you sit on the side lines of incompetence than in the game fully engaged. That’s where God wants you. He created you with a specific purpose and destiny that ONLY you can fulfill. God has a plan for your life, even if it has gone off course He can use that experience to fulfill your plan.

Proverbs 18:21 in The Message reads, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” Your inner voice has been poisoning your mind rather than nourishing it if you have been listening to it. You must change the narrative today! The verse said “you choose.” It’s up to you what you believe. You can trust that voice that says, “You’re incompetent. You’re not worthy. You’re ugly. You’re fat. You’re not worth it. You’re a disappointment. You’re dumb.” Or you can change that and believe what God says.

When that voice comes into your mind, change the narrative by saying out loud, “I’m a child of God. I’m a king’s kid. I’m competent. I’m worthy. I’m beautiful. I’m just the right size. I’m worth more than rubies. I’m God’s favorite (That’s mine, but you can borrow it!). I’m intelligent. I’m created in God’s image.” Say it out loud, say it often and continue until you believe it because it is true. You can believe what others say, your mind says or what God says. I choose to believe God.

Join with me in an exercise if you will. I want you to post a comment today. I want you to first put in what lie you’ve believed. Then I want you to write out your new narrative, the truth. If you know a scripture that backs it up, put that in there too. If you are unfamiliar with verses in the Bible, ask if anyone knows one for you. Lets work together to help each other get off the sidelines and get in the game so we can fulfill our God given destiny. I’ll start with mine.

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January 4, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Friends in Need

I have several friends going through some difficult times right now. Some have lost a parent, others have been given news that one of their parents has a terminal disease, one is fighting for her life in ICU and another going through a painful divorce. I’m sure there are others who have kept their struggles private not wanting to bother anyone else. This year has started off very difficult for a lot of people I know.

While every circumstance is unique, their pains and fears can be empathized with. When I went through a difficult period in my life, I was the one who didn’t want to bother others with my pain. People didn’t know how to respond. Some would say, “Time heals all wounds.” Others would say, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Then there were those who would not know what to say and simply say, “I’m sorry.” I’ve often thought about what could someone have said to ease the pain.

For me, I think there was nothing anyone could have said. Pain, loss and suffering are part of the furnace of life. It’s what molds us, strengthens us and pushes us onto other paths. There were no words that could have brought the healing I desperately needed. Looking back, I simply wanted someone to love me enough to stand by me in the hard times. Someone who would put their arm around me and say, “You’re not alone in this.”

One of my friends, who is going through one of these situations right now, once said, “When you have someone to stand with you through thick and thin, pain is divided and joy is multiplied.” While I can’t take the hurt, fears or questions away, I can stand with my friends to help divide their pain. Platitudes don’t bring much relief, but actions do. One action each of these friends can use right now is prayer.

When you struggle through difficult times like these, you need others who will lift you up and pray for you. When you don’t have the strength or words to pray for yourself, it helps to know that other believers are standing in the gap and fighting on your behalf. Psalm 28:7 says the Lord is our strength and shield. That’s what these people need. They need strength to make it through each day. They need protection from other things that would come against them when they’re down. They need peace that passes all understanding to come into their lives.

When there are no answers to the question of “Why”, God can still give peace in the midst of a storm. We may not understand why each of us experience these difficult times, but we can rest in the peace of knowing our God walks with us in difficult times. We can find comfort in knowing that God is still on His throne and He sees us in our dark times. He still heals. He still comforts. He still answers prayers. He still comes to those in need. May He do all of these to my friends in need and anyone reading this in need.

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October 18, 2012 · 7:10 AM

Is God your everything?

There have been times when I’ve faced things that didn’t make sense. There have been times when I didn’t understand why I was going through something. I’ve had those moments when I’ve cried, “Make it stop.” I’ve been to the dark places where you question everything. There’s a place where I’ve questioned my faith, God’s existence and life itself. It’s scary to be at the end of your rope and to question letting go. I found that even in those places and moments God is there.

He is not afraid of you asking the hard questions. He is not scared to go there with you. When it seems everyone else has abandoned you and you are all alone, He is there. When life has broken apart and all is lost, He is there. He is an ever present help in your time of need. He is shelter from the storm that won’t stop beating you down. He is strength when the bottom falls out again. He never fails.

I’ve learned that when I’ve come to the end of my rope, when my strength gives out, His grace and strength are sufficient. I don’t think most people get to experience God this way. Most don’t want to. It’s a high price to pay in your life to get to that point. When you’ve lost all, He becomes everything. When He becomes your everything, you are never the same. You don’t look the same. You don’t act the same. You don’t think the same.

Once you hit that point in your life, God quits being a convenience and He becomes a necessity. I’ve lived my life both ways. I know what it’s like to have Him around and use Him when it was convenient. But I’ve also been to the point when there was nothing but me, Him and a whole lot of darkness. I’ve been to the point where He became so real it was as if I could reach out and touch Him. It took me getting to the point of desperation before that happened though.

I know that’s how it happened for me, but I don’t think God wants to wait until we get to that point to become our everything. I think He would rather hold that position in our lives even when things are going fine. Whether we are riding high on the mountain tops, struggling with the climb up, falling down or stuck in the valleys of life, God is there and He wants to be a necessity in your life. He wants to be your strength. He wants to be more important to you than your next breath.

Yes, more important than your next breath. You rely on your next breath for life, but do you rely on God for your next breath? When God takes that place in your life, He is no longer a convenience. He is your everything. He is your life. He is your strength. He is where He wants to be in your life. I’ve had moments where He was there. Keeping Him there is the hard part. Paul got to that point too. In Philipians 1:21-22 he said, “For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity]. If, however, it is to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference [I cannot choose] (AMP).”

When God has become your everything, your next breath doesn’t mean very much. If it doesn’t come, I’ll be ok because I’ll be standing in His presence in the next second. If He grants it, then I’m here to do His will and to be fruitful. God’s power and presence in your life can be so powerful and so real, but you have to learn to trust Him with your everything. For me, it took getting to that dark lonely place where I was hanging by a thread. You don’t have to wait until that point though. Wherever you are, reach out to Him and make Him your everything today.

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September 19, 2012 · 8:15 AM

Don’t Give Up

I have several close friends who are going through some difficult times. Many are in desperate need of God’s touch because doctors can only do so much. Others just need a breather from the waves of bad news that keep rolling into their lives. I’ve been there myself a time or two. You probably have been too. You might even be there now, but even though you feel alone in the situation, you aren’t.

It can feel empty sometimes when friends, who don’t know what else to do, simply say, “I’ll be praying for you.” You really want them to throw you a life preserver and pull you from the water that you’re tired of treading. You know there’s nothing they can really do for you, but you wish someone could. You cry out to God, but it seems you’re prayers are falling on deaf ears. The answers you seek don’t come and you’re left with more questions.

When answers finally come, they aren’t really what you were seeking. You’re confused and your faith is shaken. You start to wonder if you’ve done something wrong to deserve this. You think that maybe God is punishing you. You drift into the fog of uncertainty and begin to wonder if God really exists. The only thing you do know is that you feel pain, uncertainty and confusion.

It’s in these moments that you find out what your faith is made of. It’s here that you learn to trust God with everything in your life. When there is nothing that anyone can do to help, you have a God who is there to sustain you in those difficult times and to give you hope for victory. When all you have is Him, you have more than enough. You may not be able to see past today, but He sees your tomorrow.

In II King 6, Elisha had been telling the king through divine guidance where ambushes were set up to attack his army. The king of Aram was furious because his plans kept getting foiled. He accused his officers of leaking information to the Israelis, but one of them knew of Elisha and told him what was happening. The king put a bounty on Elisha’s head. They found out where he was staying and traveled by night to surround him.

The next morning, Elisha’s servant got up early and walked outside. He became fearful because they were surrounded and cried out to Elisha. Elisha got up walked up to him and said, “Don’t worry about it. There are more on our side than on their side.” I’m sure the servant looked at him like he had lost his mind. Elisha then bowed his head in prayer and said, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” At once the servant was able to see what Elisha saw. There was a mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding the other army.

Today, even if you can’t see beyond the circumstances that surround you, I pray that God will open your eyes. May you see that God is on your side and He is fighting for you even when it seems that no one else is. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world is the way I John 4:4 put it. I’ll tell you what I told my friend yesterday, “I don’t always understand what God does either, but I’ve learned to trust His plan and answers even when they don’t make sense.” You are not alone and God’s answer will be what’s best for you.

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August 8, 2012 · 7:43 AM

Knocked Down, but Not Out

A few years ago, life knocked me down. It took the wind out of me when it did. It was hard to do things that were once normal. Everything took effort. An effort that I didn’t have the strength to give. Sometimes just breathing took every ounce of energy I had. It was a tough place to be. I was lying flat on my back wondering how to go on, if I should go on. The easiest thing to do was to give up and stay down.

Have you ever been there? Maybe you’re there now. Sometimes life throws some pretty hard hits. It doesn’t seem fair how, why or when things come our way to knock us down and off the path we were on. You didn’t ask for it or deserve it, but it happened anyway. You have to make some pretty tough choices when you’ve been knocked down. Life changing choices.

Here are some choices I made that helped me.

1. Don’t lose heart

The first thing you want to do is to give up. That’s because that’s the easiest choice, but it’s not the right choice. When the wind is knocked out of you, it gets hard to breathe. Life comes crashing down on you and you’re left wondering if you have anything left. You do. It’s in these times that you have to reach down inside you and find who you really are.

In John 14:1, Jesus told the disciples not to lose heart. He told them to believe in and to rely on Him. When we get knocked down, it is a chance for our faith to grow. When you can’t rely on anyone else, rely on God. He’s the one who is there with you even when you can’t see Him. He’s there to give you heart and strength to move on from where you think you will be forever.

2. Stand back up

One of the hardest things to do when you’ve been knocked down is to stand back up. You may not feel like you have the strength to do it, but you do. It’s inside you. You just have to dig deep to find it. Standing back up is an act of courage. It tells life that it may knock you down, but you will not be counted out. You are here to fight. You are here o win.

Proverbs 24:16 says even if you are knocked down 7 times, the godly get back up. No matter how many times you get knocked down, get up one more time. You are able to do it and each time you get up, you are stronger for it. I kept telling myself, ” What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. If I can survive this, I can survive anything.” You can survive this, but you gotta get back up!

3. Move forward

It’s not enough just to stand back up though. You have to take a step forward even if you don’t know what way “forward” is. Staying still can’t be an option. Where you were is where you were knocked down. You have to move past that area of your life o you can recover. There is hope, there is help and there is healing; but you must move forward to get it.

Philippians 3:14 and 4:13 are your new best friends. Read them, repeat them and cling to them. They say, “I press on toward the goal” and “I can do all things through Christ.” Your goal right now is to press on (forward). You can do it by the power and strength of Jesus. Your faith is what will carry you on. Find someone who can help along the way. You are not supposed to do this alone. They may not understand what you’ve been through, but that’s ok. They have the strength you need to move forward.

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