WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COMES INTO OUR LIVES, BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR RESPONSE
WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COMES INTO OUR LIVES, BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR RESPONSE
Hello again my beautifully broken friends! It feels so good to be back at it and writing what God lays on my heart:) I am excited to announce that along with a blog every Tuesday morning, I will also be dropping a podcast on that day's blog!! This gives me a chance to verbally express my ideas and if some of you are like me, it's easier to listen to a podcast than it is to take the time to read a blog.
Ok, so....I was in the trenches for a while over the holidays. There is no easy way to get around it; December is the best and worst month for me. It's bittersweet. Greg and I loved December, with it's Christmas spirit and festive flair. We loved it so much, we got married that month. We had fun every year making precious memories and things only got sweeter with each child. Watching them excitedly open presents, give presents, learn the true meaning of Christmas and partake in our church telling others about Jesus.
Each year we would try and do something new and exciting for the kids, along with the traditions we created. We did early Christmas mornings, hidden presents they would have to find by following string, tons of presents to only a few that turned out to be dog chew toys without the dog (the puppy came later, but was a good chance to teach gratitude. Plus, maybe we enjoyed their expressions of trying to be grateful with a seeming crap gift, haha). You understand because we all have our traditions and customs. There's no way around it; when you lose someone, there are going to be certain times of the year where life is just tough.
The problem with this year is I went into it thinking to myself, 'It's been four years. This year is going to be easier.' Except it wasn't. Maybe it was because I lost my dad this year also, or maybe it's just going to suck on some level every year, but I did not prepare myself for the rainy cloud that settled over my head. And, I hate to admit it, but it threw me into a depression. I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of person, but there are sometimes in life when the glass, no matter how full, seems empty. Sorry to say, I sat in my misery. I pushed away from God, my friends and family. You know how you can just isolate yourself as a protective reflex? Except, it's really not protection, is it? I was just hurting myself more by isolating away from those who love me.
Thank God that right behind December comes January. And with January, to me anyways, comes a new beginning. A reboot. And I do what I do every year at the beginning of January. I make goals and choose a word for the year. I also start reading the Bible every day, again. The plan I chose this year has us reading in Job early on. If any book of the Bible will smack me in the face with everything I have to be grateful for and to realize how blessed I am, it's the book of Job!
If you are unfamiliar with this book, Job is a man with ten children and tons of livestock and servants, which made him very wealthy back when he was living. All in one day, he loses everything. He then has some great friends who come to mourn with him, but end up really blaming him for the disaster that happens in his life. They are convinced that Job must have made God angry in some way for God to allow this into his life. Great friends, right?!?
But before we learn he loses everything, we are privy to a conversation that happened in heaven between God and Satan. Let me remind you of a few things we should notice here. The first thing is that God is omnipresent, but Satan is not. How do we know this? Job 1:7, "The Lord said to Satan, 'From where have you come?' Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.' We are told in 1 Peter that Satan PROWLS like a lion to devour us. How often do we forget that this life is more than the problems we face? There is a real spiritual battle going on that we can't see with our human eyes. But take heart! Our God is way bigger than our enemy!! The second thing that we should notice may surprise you; God was the one that pointed Job out to Satan. Job 1:8. "...Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Whoah. Why would a loving God do this to someone who has lived his life for God?
I need to point out a pertinent fact about Job. Job was a man who sought after God and chose to obey Him and trust Him in all things. After all his loses, Job refused to give up on God. His wife told him he should just curse God and die, therefore putting Job out of his misery. But Job says something incredible to her. Job 2:10, "...Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" Job understood that because we live in a sinful, fallen world, bad things can come into our lives. And despite what his friend accused him of, he knew he had been faithful to God.
Did you know that Job was actually never given a reason as to why God allowed Satan to destroy his life? But we were. It's found in James 5:11. "Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." Ok, I can hear the questions, even from inside my soul. How can James say that God is compassionate and merciful when He purposefully pointed Job out to Satan?
Let me point you to the end of Job's life. The Lord actually speaks to Job and his friends. He reminds them of His great power in all things and sets Job's friends straight about the fact that this happened not because of any sin Job did. Then, because of Job's faithfulness and because of God's compassion and mercy, He restored all that was lost to Job. He doubled his fortune and gave Job ten more children. Does this mean that Job didn't still hurt from what he lost? Of course not. I know personally that nothing can erase the pain away completely. Even though Job never got an explanation on this earth about why this happened to him, he did experience blessing from God. Because in the time of his hurt, instead of running from God, he turned to Him. He talked to Him and God answered back.
God may never answer us in an audible way like He did Job, but He does lead us to answers. In fact, He IS the answer in our hurt. When we drawn near to God, He has compassion and mercy for us and brings us comfort in our despair. He blesses our faithful obedience and brings hope for a future.
If you are walking through a tough time in life like I am, let's let Job's story be a guide to us. We may never know or understand why things happen in our lives, but true comfort and hope comes from clinging to God and trusting Him with the piece of our beautifully broken lives.
Hello again my beautifully broken friends! It feels so good to be back at it and writing what God lays on my heart:) I am excited to announce that along with a blog every Tuesday morning, I will also be dropping a podcast on that day's blog!! This gives me a chance to verbally express my ideas and if some of you are like me, it's easier to listen to a podcast than it is to take the time to read a blog.
Ok, so....I was in the trenches for a while over the holidays. There is no easy way to get around it; December is the best and worst month for me. It's bittersweet. Greg and I loved December, with it's Christmas spirit and festive flair. We loved it so much, we got married that month. We had fun every year making precious memories and things only got sweeter with each child. Watching them excitedly open presents, give presents, learn the true meaning of Christmas and partake in our church telling others about Jesus.
Each year we would try and do something new and exciting for the kids, along with the traditions we created. We did early Christmas mornings, hidden presents they would have to find by following string, tons of presents to only a few that turned out to be dog chew toys without the dog (the puppy came later, but was a good chance to teach gratitude. Plus, maybe we enjoyed their expressions of trying to be grateful with a seeming crap gift, haha). You understand because we all have our traditions and customs. There's no way around it; when you lose someone, there are going to be certain times of the year where life is just tough.
The problem with this year is I went into it thinking to myself, 'It's been four years. This year is going to be easier.' Except it wasn't. Maybe it was because I lost my dad this year also, or maybe it's just going to suck on some level every year, but I did not prepare myself for the rainy cloud that settled over my head. And, I hate to admit it, but it threw me into a depression. I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of person, but there are sometimes in life when the glass, no matter how full, seems empty. Sorry to say, I sat in my misery. I pushed away from God, my friends and family. You know how you can just isolate yourself as a protective reflex? Except, it's really not protection, is it? I was just hurting myself more by isolating away from those who love me.
Thank God that right behind December comes January. And with January, to me anyways, comes a new beginning. A reboot. And I do what I do every year at the beginning of January. I make goals and choose a word for the year. I also start reading the Bible every day, again. The plan I chose this year has us reading in Job early on. If any book of the Bible will smack me in the face with everything I have to be grateful for and to realize how blessed I am, it's the book of Job!
If you are unfamiliar with this book, Job is a man with ten children and tons of livestock and servants, which made him very wealthy back when he was living. All in one day, he loses everything. He then has some great friends who come to mourn with him, but end up really blaming him for the disaster that happens in his life. They are convinced that Job must have made God angry in some way for God to allow this into his life. Great friends, right?!?
But before we learn he loses everything, we are privy to a conversation that happened in heaven between God and Satan. Let me remind you of a few things we should notice here. The first thing is that God is omnipresent, but Satan is not. How do we know this? Job 1:7, "The Lord said to Satan, 'From where have you come?' Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.' We are told in 1 Peter that Satan PROWLS like a lion to devour us. How often do we forget that this life is more than the problems we face? There is a real spiritual battle going on that we can't see with our human eyes. But take heart! Our God is way bigger than our enemy!! The second thing that we should notice may surprise you; God was the one that pointed Job out to Satan. Job 1:8. "...Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Whoah. Why would a loving God do this to someone who has lived his life for God?
I need to point out a pertinent fact about Job. Job was a man who sought after God and chose to obey Him and trust Him in all things. After all his loses, Job refused to give up on God. His wife told him he should just curse God and die, therefore putting Job out of his misery. But Job says something incredible to her. Job 2:10, "...Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" Job understood that because we live in a sinful, fallen world, bad things can come into our lives. And despite what his friend accused him of, he knew he had been faithful to God.
Did you know that Job was actually never given a reason as to why God allowed Satan to destroy his life? But we were. It's found in James 5:11. "Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." Ok, I can hear the questions, even from inside my soul. How can James say that God is compassionate and merciful when He purposefully pointed Job out to Satan?
Let me point you to the end of Job's life. The Lord actually speaks to Job and his friends. He reminds them of His great power in all things and sets Job's friends straight about the fact that this happened not because of any sin Job did. Then, because of Job's faithfulness and because of God's compassion and mercy, He restored all that was lost to Job. He doubled his fortune and gave Job ten more children. Does this mean that Job didn't still hurt from what he lost? Of course not. I know personally that nothing can erase the pain away completely. Even though Job never got an explanation on this earth about why this happened to him, he did experience blessing from God. Because in the time of his hurt, instead of running from God, he turned to Him. He talked to Him and God answered back.
God may never answer us in an audible way like He did Job, but He does lead us to answers. In fact, He IS the answer in our hurt. When we drawn near to God, He has compassion and mercy for us and brings us comfort in our despair. He blesses our faithful obedience and brings hope for a future.
If you are walking through a tough time in life like I am, let's let Job's story be a guide to us. We may never know or understand why things happen in our lives, but true comfort and hope comes from clinging to God and trusting Him with the piece of our beautifully broken lives.
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