Put Your Son to Death

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Are you familiar with the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac? If so, you’ll recall the time God put Abraham to an incredible test, by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son. Without hesitation, Abraham readied himself and his son for the trip. You can read the entire account in Genesis 22.

Sometimes, in our world today, we set up certain things that we’ve placed ‘off limits’ to God. Our kids, job, health, marriage; our security. We say, “Have anything you want, Lord, but not this – not ____. This means too much to me, and I can’t let you have it.”

If you know how the event ended, you know that Abraham did not withhold his son, his precious, beloved boy, from the higher calling of obeying God. With a faith that reaches the pages of the New Testament, Abraham exemplified for us, what it means to truly Trust in God, and God counted it unto him as righteousness.

Oh, that we could each display such an all out trust in God!

When we face disappointment and blame God, or suffer through trials and become bitter, we miss out on the Joy of Trusting Him.

We must choose to rewire our thinking. What if through that trial, that burden, that disappointment, that loss, God can display His intimate hand of comfort, grace and provision to us? Would that make it worth going through the heartache?

One of our precious kids suffered a really unjust situation, and was hurting terribly. It was so hard to watch her go through the pain, as she wrestled with the unfairness, and the uncertainty that followed.

We talked for a long time about God’s purposes, why He allows what He does and what He wants from us. I urged her to take a blank piece of paper and draw 5 or 6 lines on it.

“Sweetheart, I’m asking you to go to the Lord, and pray. Tell God that you trust Him, and that you are ready to record some of the wonderful things He is going to bring about because He has allowed this painful thing in your life.”

She looked at me through tears. Fighting back my own anguish on her behalf, I explained. “God doesn’t just bring us from something for no good reason. He has chosen to allow you to leave that place of comfort, where you were happy and content, for His own reasons. And we must trust Him. And now, we must look for what He is bringing you INTO.”

If we are going to follow Him fully, then we must be ready to walk away from good things, where we find our security, and follow Him, who IS our security.

Over the days, as she was reminded of God’s faithfulness, sovereignty and love, we saw her heart begin to heal, and her trust begin to grow. Her situation hadn’t yet changed, but her willingness to see God’s plans through the heartache had.

We were so proud of her, as she wasn’t resentful of the people who had done this to her, and began to express her trust in God. We’d better believe – He WILL reward such a pure faith!

Wouldn’t it be awful to miss seeing God work some marvelous things on our behalf, simply because of our own lack of trust in Him and His goodness?

Imagine! Too often, we are digging our heels in, kicking and screaming to Almighty God who LOVES us, demanding Him to let us have our trinkets, when He longs to give us His treasures! Oh, what a sad forfeiture of potential blessing when we refuse to trust our loving Savior.

I want my faith to deepen, and my heart to be more full of trust in Him. But the only way to do that is to allow room for God to be at work, so we might grow a bit more in our understanding of His awesome might and unfathomable love. What an incredible chance to see the intimate hand of Almighty God at work in my situation and in yours, just by embracing whatever He brings our way, knowing that ultimately it’s for our good and His glory.

Here on Earth is the only place we get to put all of our eggs in the basket of God’s faithfulness. This life is short – I don’t want to miss out on seeing His watchcare over me, because of my own frail inability to grasp that the God who created the entire universe holds me in the palm of His hand, and He loves me, and is more than able to accomplish whatever His will is for my life, if I will only surrender my own weak plans in exchange for His wondrous ones! 

You never know what’s around the corner in this journey called Life. But God does. And He alone holds the roadmap. Will we trust Him to navigate our journey, knowing that He loves us and is working on our behalf?

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Perfect peace is waiting for those who fully trust God.

What are you holding onto that might be preventing you from seeing God’s love for you today?

Are there things you’ve grown bitter about, not wanting to let God heal, so you can move forward into some marvelous new adventures with Him? 

Let’s talk about it, you know – between friends.

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Roots of Bitterness

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I listened carefully and with sympathy to the woman who shared her story of pain. There was room for legitimate grief in what she had experienced. But the thing I began to hear the most was the thread of bitterness woven through her narrative. Years earlier she had been neglected, abused, misused, and unfairly treated. She had suffered at the hand of someone she had trusted. And she blamed God.

As I sat there, a phrase jumped into my mind that my dear Mom used to use with us girls: Mental Attitude Sin. I remember if one of us shared a woeful tale of some hurtful situation, she would listen and let us unburden ourselves; but it stopped there. “That was a painful thing you endured. But now you need to let it go and not let it develop into a sinful mental attitude on your part, honey.” Boy those were painful lessons.

There were times I felt like she didn’t understand. Couldn’t I soak just a little in the luxury of harboring anger toward the one who had wronged me? Nope – not with our Mom. She would remind us that self-pity parties were dangerous events to host, because they appeal to our fleshly desire to wallow instead of heal, to let it fester instead of forgive, and can build a thick wall that hardens us to the truth of how to become truly FREE.

All these years later, I am very thankful for her Godly wisdom. So many people are trapped by the stranglehold of bitterness. Yes, there are hard and painful circumstances that are wrong, cruel and sinful; but life isn’t always easy, and God expects us to come running to Him with our burdens and hurts, not to nurse them into reasons to become angry.

When we allow the pain to fester, we are hurting ourselves most. The definition of the word fester is: to rot, mold, decay, putrefy, rankle, smolder, gnaw away, spoil, deteriorate. Is that really something we want taking root in our hearts and minds??

Hebrews 12:15 tells us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Roots are underground, out of sight, but left undisturbed, they grow and the “fruit” becomes evident. The fruit of the root of bitterness is resentment, heartache and left unchecked, hardness of heart.

So what is the solution? What should our response be to difficulty in life?

Hebrews 12:7-11, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Oh my dear sister, isn’t that wonderful news to hear?! I rejoice in the truth that God has designed even the hard things of life to become tools for good in His masterful hand!

If we willingly submit, even to painful circumstances, asking God to help us, and keep us soft and pliant for His glory, He will help us to endure – and bring us to the place where the “fruit” of righteousness and peace are produced in our lives. That gives me such hope.

This life is short – for the follower of Jesus, we have the hope of better things to come! Are we using the time we have here on Earth to forgive and release people from their sins against us, and to build a healthy and reverent submission to God? Or, are we working on making our root of bitterness stronger by staying out of God’s word and resisting His gentle prompting to come to Him to experience His healing comfort?

It’s a choice each person must decide for themselves.

What is your choice? Let’s talk – you know – between friends.

 

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Quirky Characters in The Family

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We’re all so different, aren’t we? I find it humorous to see how, though all from the same ‘root origins’, our own five kids are so unique. 

For example, if I am seeking guidance on something I’ve written, our beautiful daughter, Hannah, the eldest, will preface her thoughts by saying, “Ok mom, this is just my honest feedback, ok? I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” Then, with three more assurances of her dedication and love, she will be totally candid with me, offering praise along with some truly helpful advice.

Whereas our lovely daughter, Abby, second born, will say “Oh! I love it!” before I’ve even fully delivered it. She’s the one who uses emoji excessively (just like her mom – a fellow middle child.)  She doesn’t want to venture into an area that may even remotely come off as critical, a trait which I believe stems back to a minor life-forming event in her past – something I’ll share with you in a future post.

Then there’s Lydia. Our beautiful third daughter will give it a cursory glance and reply, “Hmmm, I don’t know. But what do you think of my new scarf?” She’s a delightful, witty girl who knows I highly value her opinion, so if I push just a little, she’ll give it up.

Next, our dear boys. Andrew, the older of the two will say with a bit of panic before he even reads it, “You’re not talking about me in here, are you?” He’s at that age where just bringing up his existence is grounds for embarrassment. But if you can get him to share, he has some amazing perceptiveness.

Finally our Noah, the youngest of our little tribe. Charming, delightful – so much like his mother – oops! Did I say that out loud? Well, we have similar interests, he and I.  He’ll read what I wrote, gladly offer a helpful bit of insight along with a hug, and run off to do something fun.  He is only 11 after all!

Each so unique. Each so uniquely gifted. Precious treasures from God’s hand to Mark and me.

Through the years as I’ve watched their personalities emerge, I’ve delighted in how awesomely creative God is, and it has served to remind me how diverse God’s family is as well.

If we have our ‘root origin’ – our faith placed squarely in Jesus’s work for us on the cross, we are in the Family of God.  Each with our own eccentricities, quirks, temperaments and perspectives. Each beloved by our Heavenly Father.

It gives me pause and reminds me: God wants us to work out our differences, give grace to one another and embrace the qualities each of us brings to our family of fellow believers.

I Corinthians 12:12 and 25, encourages us with these words, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ….so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

Do you find it easy to value other believers in your world who may hold differing viewpoints on non-sin issues, or is this an area of struggle for you? How can we spur one another on to let those differences among us become strengths that bind us instead of separating us? Let’s talk…you know – between friends.

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