John 16:33
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on
earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have
overcome the world.”
Isaiah 61:3
“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for
ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
So here I sit with my glass of wine
and my coconut cake – with my heart aching a little.
I’m no stranger, I’ve been here
before, especially over this last year.
I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t cleared out many a wine bottle
and kept the Pepperidge Farm people fully employed with benefits.
It’s not the end of the world, not
by a longshot, but sometimes, life just seems a little hopeless and just a
little too hard.
We all get that way sometimes, I
think- surely I can’t be the only one that ever feels like my world is spinning
a little out of control and I’m weary and tired of trying to hang on.
Tonight I feel like certain things
will never work out for me:
- I’ll be single forever
- I’ll never be enough to please my wounded mother
- There will never be full restoration in my family
- I’ll never have enough- I’ll never be truly valued to the degree that I should be
- I’ll never have the discipline to be as healthy as I want to be
- Nobody likes me, everybody hates me – bring on the worms!
And the list just goes on and on; in
other words, a pity party.
These are all things that I feel in my heart. There was a time in my life not that long ago where these feelings would’ve buried me.
These are all things that I feel in my heart. There was a time in my life not that long ago where these feelings would’ve buried me.
Fortunately, I know how to climb out
of this funk, but I also know there can be healing in the funk. Sometimes, your heart just needs to grieve. The safest place to do that? God’s presence. Not just His word, but His actual
presence. Become like Mary and just sit
at His feet, put your head in His lap and pour your aching heart out.
You might argue that He already knows
your heart; sure He does, but He wants that kind of relationship with you- the
one where you trust Him enough to actually talk with Him. He longs for that fellowship with you.
So do it- get alone with God and
pour your heart out, get it all out and sob, ugly cry, and just sit at His
feet. Be angry, be sad, be hurt, be
disappointed, be whatever emotion you’re feeling right then and tell Him what’s
on your heart- the good, the bad, and the ugly.
He’s a great big God- He can handle your words. What’s more, He wants to handle your heart- your
accusations, your disappointments, He wants all of your burden. He wants to comfort you in every way that you
need comforting.
I know from my own experience, it’s
in those heart-rendering times that He tends to speak the most profound things
to me.
See, usually, while I’m pouring out,
He’s pouring into me. Man, I
am so grateful for that. When I’m
emptying myself out, He’s filling me full of Him. So often, this is the place where new
revelation is born. He speaks to me, and
always, always reveals a new aspect of His love for me.
I started this evening out hurting,
just kind of beat down- but I remembered the game-changer: Just because I feel
something, doesn’t make it true (thank you Shawna for that wisdom).
Just because I don’t feel something, doesn’t make it true either. Just because I can’t feel God working in my
circumstances, doesn’t mean that He’s not- in fact, just about the opposite is
always true- He’s working overtime, and change is coming.
Just because I feel disappointed or
hopeless doesn’t make it true.
Jeremiah 17:7-9
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord
their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and
desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?”
Don’t believe the lie that you must
stay in the funk. Don’t buy into the
feelings (or facts, whatever the circumstances might be), wholeheartedly
believe the truth.
For me- it looks like this:
Feeling (Facts)
|
Truth
|
I’ll be single forever
|
God has promised to
provide a husband He created just for me; He also promised me a family of my
own
|
I’ll never be
enough to please my wounded mother
|
I am not supposed
to be enough; He is the only One who can heal her heart
|
There will never
be full restoration in my family
|
God is the God of
restoration; His word never returns void and He promised to restore it years
ago
|
I’ll never have
enough- I’ll never be truly valued to the degree that I should be
|
He is my provider;
He not only values me, He delights in me
|
I’ll never have
the discipline to be as healthy as I want to be
|
His grace is more
than sufficient for me; I can do all things with His strength
|
Nobody likes me,
everybody hates me – bring on the worms!
|
I am not to be conformed
to this world – His opinion of me is ALL that defines me- He calls me
righteous and beloved
|
Life is just hard and God knows it’s
hard. That popular saying that God doesn’t
give us more than we can bear is a lie- God wants to bear it for us.
If you’re struggling- He’ll meet you
right where you’re at, right now, just get before Him and let it all out. He longs for you…
Blessin’s Y’all!
~Pamela
Visit our website at: www.ACreativeWord.com
I can be reached at: Pamela@ACreativeWord.com
