Tag: understanding

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Wilderness

The story of the Israelites is interesting – it is apparent that, at some point in life, their condition is our condition. Take, for instance, the Israelites that were delivered from Egypt. They had NO faith…none. Time and time again, after God showed them who He was – they kept on turning their backs on Him. How many times do we turn our backs on God because of lack of trust and faith in Him? A lot! We continue to doubt the promises of God and allow those thoughts of doubt and unbelief cloud how we see who He is and who we are in Him. This, ultimately, leads to a season in the wilderness – wandering aimlessly.

I can personally say that I have just gone through a wilderness season. I lost sight of the promises of God on my own life and let stress, strife, and the lies of my past get a hold on me. No matter how GREAT the things God brought into my life, I couldn’t see PAST the issues of my past. And so, I was sent into the wilderness. I was sent into a place that was very lonely, scary, and I wasn’t sure when I was going to be free from wandering.

My first week “in the wilderness” – God woke me up one morning and said – “Brooke, you need to get excited!” My first reaction was “Um, what?” “Yep,” He continued, “you need to get excited because something great is about to happen!” What was God trying to tell me? He was saying that, just on the other side of the wilderness is my Promised Land. All I have to do is ENDURE it and trust HIM & do what HE tells me to do – not what others think I need to do; not allow others to put me down, get me down, tell me how awful I am because I am in the wilderness; not allow the Devil to tell me I am no good; just do what God is asking me to do.

When the Israelites finally made it to the promise land, they saw huge walls that seemed impossible to tear down. God never ceased to have a plan, though. His plan was that His people were going to get this land and all they had to do was follow His directions, no matter how absurd. He asked Joshua to bring the men of the camp with him and walk around the city six days…just walk. On the 7th day here is what happened:

15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.” 20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

Joshua 6:15-21

Don’t let discouragement get the best of you – it is already ours. We just have to let those who currently inhabit it to leave. Am I saying that God is casting people out of your life? Maybe – we may need to have some people cut from our lives in order to move on. We also need to have things cut out of our lives – thoughts, actions, habits, etc. Sometimes that is a hard concept the swallow, but don’t resist. Understand that God has our best interest at heart and will not do anything to us without a reason. (Jeremiah 29:11)

If this stuck a cord with you – if you are going through a wilderness season, know this – God has a solution – just give it all over to Him and let Him fight your battle.

Lord, be with your people. Show them who they are in YOU and now who they are to anyone else. Help them understand that you do NOTHING to hurt us, but do everything to help us. Teach us to let you tear down the walls in our lives that keep us from your promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

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Cleaning the Wound

There are very few people who have never been really hurt emotionally…and most of those are probably still in grade school. The older we get, the more we find ourselves hurt. As we walk through life, it doesn’t matter what we do, who we serve, or how we live our life…we will get hurt. Sometimes, we set ourselves up for that hurt and other times we do absolutely nothing to cause that hurt. Either way, the hurt is a result of living in a fallen world. How do we get over that hurt, though? There is a chance that the process to heal can, in fact, be painful too.

The journey toward healing is very interesting. As a counseling student, I met many hurting people and there was one thing that every case had in common, walking through the pain to receive healing can be the hardest thing we will ever endure. Why is that? It all depends on the levels of hurt, how long it took us to deal with that hurt, and where we currently are in our development…or how many parts of the journey we were forced to skip because the dysfunction of those around us. Regardless, it never is easy to get over the pain of this life.

Is healing worth it, then? Absolutely!!!! We need healing, folks. God, in fact, loves healing. Look at Jesus and how many people He healed throughout the Bible – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I am not sure if we can actually put a number on how many people he reached out in that way because there are so many people who came to Him. I am not going to try to count, but as reference, please see Luke 7:21-23, Mark 5:34, and John 5:8-9 to see examples of how Jesus healed people.

Did God’s healing end when Christ ascended into heaven? Emphatically no! You can receive healing just like those in the Bible because God sent the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:7-8 says “’You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.’” Through the Holy Spirit, that lives in us (Ephesians 4:30), we can do amazing things…including heal. Healing can come from relationships God sets up, the prayers of saints, or healing through counseling. Whatever God leads you to do, please do.

What happens when we start down that road? Why can this journey be painful when we are supposed to be receiving healing and restoration? The scenario I always gave those who sought counseling through the site I worked was this one – please forgive me if you have a weak stomach –

When I was in 1st grade, I got hurt playing kickball. Not only was I a girly-girl, loving frilly skirts and cute shoes, I also loved being one of the guys. A contradiction, I know, but I have never been normal in my life. 🙂 As I was running to a base, a person standing close to me pelted me with the kickball. Being a scrawny girl (at the time…hehe), I fell pretty hard on the concrete parking lot. Both of my knees got completely scrapped up…pretty gruesome. When I got home that day, my mom decided to treat my scraps with Hydrogen Peroxide. For those who have ever had any cuts or scraps treated with this concoction knows how painful it can be. I believe I screamed…loud…the first time she poured it on. I watched as the white bubbles brought up little bits of rocks, dirt, and bodily fluids (told you it was gross!). Every time my mom treated me with Hydrogen Peroxide, the less things came up. Eventually, the scabs went away and now, you cannot even tell what happened.

Can you imagine, though, if I waited to treat it, if I let the dirt, and the rocks to sit in my skin and fester? The scars and the pain would be over the top. The journey of emotional healing is just like this…except it is with our souls. We must deal with the things down deep. If you don’t, the damage can get so bad that you can hurt those around you.

May I suggest that if this blog post touched you in some way, that you might want to consider help? First, I suggest that you cry out to God. Just like Moses, David, Daniel, and Paul did in their lifetimes, God will come to your rescue. Listen to what He has to say. If you don’t, healing cannot fully happen. Take heed of those He puts in your life. Whether you can be healed through prayer only, or if you need to join prayer with counseling or some sort of mentorship, do it! Take care of you and all will be well. Second, lay your ego down. It only gets in the way. Allow God to bring everything to you in this time of need and rely on that. Pride will only cause the wound to get deeper. Healing comes when we become vulnerable to the God who breathed life into us. Ultimately, the greatest medicine we can accept is the Father’s perfect grace and love.

I will leave this blog with one profound statement:

Lay it at the cross and let Him carry you.

Be blessed.

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Be Bold

 

Mr. Webster defines boldness as “not afraid of danger or difficult situations; very confident in a way that may seem rude or foolish.” Being bold in a world that is ever changing seems to be politically correct right now. We are told that You Only Live Once, so why not eat the 1,000 calorie cookie, date the bad boy, or party all night long? Well, what if, instead of being bold for the approval of others, we were bold for the approval of God. Is that as easy or as politically correct as living a life per the YOLO philosophy?

 

Can I share with you what I think the boldest thing we can do in our world today as a Christian? Is it the Christian that constantly promotes themselves on social media as “Apostle” or “Prophet” or posting pictures of themselves on the same social media describing how amazing they are when they are ministering? I personally believe that there is a place and a need for self-promotion in our world today, but most certainly do not believe that this is truly the boldest thing a Christian can do.  No, the boldest thing a Christian can do is wait…wait for the Lord to do what He wants done in our lives. It is also one of the hardest things to do.

 

I am not speaking of waiting as a form of being passive or to “decide without trying to change anything” according to Mr. Webster. Waiting in the sense that you know there is a destiny for your life, you know that God has plans for you, but you are allowing Him to form those things in your life within the element of time. Praying, reading the Bible, serving in a ministry – knowing that this is not what you are destined to always do, but allowing God to get you ready. The people around you may call you foolish or in danger of not doing anything with your life, but you KNOW that there is more. There might even be a time when you feel like it will never happen, like if you wait another moment that your chance will slip through your hands, but you hear the Holy Spirit telling you to keep on waiting, that He has it all under control. This is the boldest thing I think we as Christians can do. It is also a sign of humility, showing God that we know He is greater than us or our will.

 

Let’s look at the life of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:23 states that Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 – speaking from someone who is yet to turn 30 (I have 1.5 years left), that is a long time to wait to achieve your destiny. We all know that Jesus is the Son of God, who can do all things and, right this very moment, is sitting at the right hand of God. That is a far greater achievement that we can ever boast about. Why did He have to wait so long?

 

Let’s look at Luke 2:39-52. Jesus, the Messiah, at age 12, was found by his worried parents after 3 days of looking for him in the temple among the teachers – listening and asking questions. He in fact amazed those teachers by His answers and understanding. When He told His parents that He was going about His father’s business, they in fact, didn’t understand what He meant. Why? Because He was just 12 years old.  Was the Christ capable of starting His 3 year teaching journey at that time? Yes, I do believe He was ready, but no one else was ready to hear Him – Jesus did not have credibility as such a young man. At that time and in that culture, manhood began at age 30. I also know that there is a vast difference between a 15 year old giving his life up and a 33 year old giving his life up. Jesus needed to wait that time, not for Him, but for those whom He was reaching. Maybe God is not asking us to wait for us, but asking us to wait for those who need us.

Trusting God is why we wait. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Don’t get caught up in this world and how fast things are going, thinking that you should be doing the same. Just remember that God has a perfect plan and He knows what He is doing. Follow Him and your life will be prosperous!

Blessings.

 

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