Don't Take That Problem to Bed With You

Kids love to take their toys to bed with them. Between special pillows, action figures and trucks, cars and dolls, the bed is full. We even see it in the movies. The scene from A Christmas Story where Randy hugs his new blimp replica while Ralphie sleeps with his beloved bb gun reminds us that kids find comfort in their toys.

I used to take a teddy bear to bed with me when I was a little girl. “Teddles” is still in my cedar chest, though he is worn through and almost furless. There are even old photos of Teddles and me saying our prayers and having tea parties.

We grown-ups don’t take our stuffed animals to bed with us anymore. No, we’re far too sophisticated for that. Instead we take our problems, our resentments, our decisions, our worries, our day’s events to bed with us. We lay there and roll it all over in our minds. We replay them, we regret them, we try to rethink decisions and figure out how to get out of the problems. We cuddle our anger, our resentment, our fear and more as though it were a close trusted toy.

You can take that problem to bed with you, nurse it, cuddle it, look it over, remember it but that problem will never comfort you or bless you.

Or you can give that problem to the Lord. It’s hard to give up something you’ve cherished, like that resentment or that unforgiveness. You’ve held it a long time but it hasn’t brought any liberation. Replay after replay and still no relief. The fear you experience during the day never lessens in the dark of night.

When we give our problems, our worries, our fears, our emotions to the Lord, He will take them. Not only does He take them, He replaces them! Instead of fear, He hands us faith. Instead of emotions, He hands us Truth, instead of problems He hands us praise. Instead of unforgiveness He hands us a cross. He has a replacement for everything we’ve been holding tightly to our hearts. He will not just replace them either. He will give us rest for our weary hearts, peace for our worrying minds and contentment for our spirits.

Oh beloved, you don’t have to wait till bedtime to give your precious held troubles worries and resentments to the Lord. He is standing at the door of your heart right now asking you to give it to Him. Give it all to Him. He will take care of the problems that you have encountered and He will repair the feelings and emotions you’ve nurtured. He is speaking to your heart right now. He knows that nothing you’ve held onto so tightly has helped you in any way. But He knows that He can help you in every way. You can’t change a thing about the past, the mistakes, the missteps or the misguidance from others. But you can change your attitude as you hand each one off to Him.

God loves you and He’s for you and that’s why He delights in replacing everything that’s hurtful for all things that are helpful in His Word, through His Spirit and because of His Resurrection and life. Praise Him for His wonderful new and better gifts!

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

God Doesn't Just Patch Things Up!

“Can’t we just glue it?” is a question I’ve asked Danny often! I hate it when something special breaks. Recently I broke one of my favorite coffee cups. The handle broke right off! It’s special because one of my daughters gave it to me. I could not bear to throw it away, so my precious husband glued it back together for me. I plan to put a small bouquet of silk flowers in it. The word across the face of the cup is PEACE.  That cup reminded me of God’s peace that guards both my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

Even though the cup is glued back together, the cracks still show. Glue does a wondrous job, but it won’t make the cracks go away. The evidence of an object being broken in the past remains, as delicate as human touch may be.

Our lives are as fragile as my coffee cup. We break easily. We hurt and we struggle and we get knocked off the table of happiness. We weep and hurt because of our brokenness. Then we try to find a way to patch ourselves up and get it all back together.  Although we may look put back together, if someone gets close enough the cracks remain. The chips are still there. The exterior, looking so put together and perfect is in fact still broken. I can’t really use my coffee cup for what it was once intended for because it’s broken. We can’t really be used for what God intended for us if we remain broken.

Patch work won’t do for a yielded vessel.  We have to be more than patched back together. We have to be made new! We have to let God come in and use His magnificent glue of the Word to make us right again. In our hearts we want to be used again – we don’t want to sit on a shelf and watch the rest of the world go its own way. But sometimes fear comes in and whispers to us “you can’t be used anymore”, “you were damaged too much”, “look at you- you’re a mess”, “this is just the way you are now”. The hurts, the fear, the anguish, the damage is done and if we hold onto all that nothing will make us right and we’ll be destined to hold flowers instead of being poured out for the Kingdom.

Are you broken this morning? Were you used of the Lord but now you feel you’re damaged beyond repair? Did someone come in a break your heart, break an oath, break your trust? Maybe you had a call on your life, but people hurt you and now you’re not ever going to let anyone hurt you again.  You thought you were content to be something you were never meant to be, but you still long to be used of God. If only you could piece things back together and quit feeling so fractured.

Oh beloved, there is hope! God will do what no one can do, not even yourself! He will apply His love to soothe your broken places! He will not just patch you, He will renew you! He will make ALL THINGS new! His promises are true and His abilities are beyond your wildest imagination! Let Him help you today! Let Him remold you into what you were always meant to be – a living, poured out vessel in His service!  Nothing will make you as happy as being where God wants you. Nothing will make you stronger than letting the Holy Spirit do what you can’t. Nothing will make you depend on God more than finding you can’t depend on anyone else to fix you - to fix what’s broken in your heart, your mind or your spirit.

The Holy Spirit is standing at the door of your heart! He wants to pour in His Truth to restore your soul this very day because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s what holds you together no matter what happens!

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 94:17-19 Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

The Lord of Heaven's Armies is With You!

An odd thing to note about this year’s Veteran’s Day was the absence of the usual run of War movies on many of the stations. Generally we are able to watch such epic stories of heroism and valor as All’s Quiet on the Western Front, A Bridge Too Far, The Guns of Navarone, Midway, and Sands of Iwo Jima, to name a few. Quietly absent from most channels, these movies and others serve as a reminder of who we are, where we’ve come from, what we’ve survived, how we achieved victory and how to tell the enemy from the good guys.

The old movies about wars America fought show a clear line of demarcation between good and evil. They portrayed many hours spent at the strategic table, calculating the arena and making plans to achieve victory. The enemy too plotted to gain the upper hand. It was a real struggle between the two forces.

A long time ago, a war began in the heavenlies. There had been complete peace up until the first strategic missile was launched at the couple who lived in Eden. That one launch and fatality provided the ammunition to continue the conflict. This war had specific names on the manifest: who was slated to be killed, stolen from and destroyed.  Make no mistake; the enemy on the other side has incredible schemes.  His maneuvers, tactics and desires still exist to this day.

Although we know the end of the war is soon to be played out and we know that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords will come on the scene and wipe out all who oppose Him, until that dying day our adversary will continue his assault. We just have to be armed and ready for any sign of enemy encroachment on our land, for God has promised the believer that everywhere he or she steps is territory given to them by God Himself.  The only way we can make it is to familiarize ourselves with God’s plans for us in the Word of God, so that having done all we can stand. Unlike the enemy’s plans, God’s plans are awesome in power and available to us always!

Oh beloved! Are you tired of the struggle? Are you huddled in a corner with your arms over your head, hoping that the last round of mortar fired will cease? Do you feel shell shocked, worn out, completely ready to give up and give in? Run back to God’s Word and see! You are more than a conqueror, you will be completely victorious, you are walking in the light of His Word and you are able to stand against the enemy of your soul.  The enemy is not the winner, you are. Through Christ’s power and love we can walk in triumph. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies loves you! The Lord of Heaven and Earth is on your side! He will fight for you and He will see you through to complete Victory because of His great love! Shout to the Lord this morning and thank Him for His unspeakable gift!

Psalm 130:6  I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 68:35  You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!

Psalm 66:3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.

Isaiah 40:10  See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.

Ephesians 6:13 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.

Do You Ever Struggle? I Do

God speaks to my heart a lot on back of the motorcycle. (I know I know some of you are saying that's because you're nearer death, so you're closer to God!)

Anyway, Sunday afternoon was beautiful and we took a nice long ride through old familiar territory. Through Murfreesboro on to Nashville and then over to Hope.

I was thinking about my struggles. I said to the Lord "I am a struggler". We are all strugglers in one level or another. Sometimes I rest peacefully in the knowledge that the most heartfelt prayers that are closest to my heart are going to be answered and I remember Scripture and bask in the Truth. Other times, I get agitated or worried thinking, what if or why or play the blame game or feel guilty - none of which are from the Lord.

I guess He knows I need visuals to learn so this is what came to my mind.

I pictured our 7 month old grandson in his mother's arms. Sometimes he likes to push with one arm and attempt to wiggle out of her arms. He might grunt or kick his legs as well!

Although he is struggling, he never falls. His little mother holds on tight to him, even when Blake fights her like babies do!

We are like a baby in our Father's arms. We struggle but He holds on tightly to us - never letting us go no matter how hard we struggle.

In fact, the more we struggle the tighter His hold is on us!

So, fellow struggler, whatever you are struggling with right now, just know that you can rest in your Heavenly Father's arms - after all the One who holds the world in His hands is holding you as well.

And, so much more, those we keep giving to the Father who are out of our reach, whether son or daughter or other family member, they are still in His hands as well.

Isn't that wonderful?