The Need to be Wanted -- Part 2

A universal need in all people is the need to be wanted. Performance often masquerades as acceptance when the outcome is equated with a perception of being wanted. The desire to be wanted for who you are is something most humans crave and expect. And why not? Everyone should be wanted and deserves to be wanted.

A conflicted message from others will cause them to ask a telling question of themselves, when their sense of ‘being wanted’ is in doubt. “Does that person ‘want,’ ‘like’ or ‘love’ me for who I am? Or do they ‘want,’ ‘like,’ or ‘love’ me for what I do, look like, provide, or financially support?”

Bottom line, people want to be wanted for who they are, period.

Relational structures as in family, professional, or intimate, that withhold acceptance until it is earned, that insinuate acceptance is conditional--that portray a person’s value is arbitrary, granted more to some and less to others--create an unhealthy tension within its ‘perceived’ lesser-valued and lesser-wanted members. Thoughtless, unkind words and actions that attack a person’s vulnerable, inward sense of self can deftly destroy the recipient’s self-image. These negatives, comment by comment, erode fragile personhood and imply ‘you’re not-good-enough’ conceptual beliefs about self.

To meet this very deep need within the self, to know they are wanted, loved, and valued, can cause the emotionally injured to go to extreme lengths to find it. Even then, it may not deliver. People devoid of nurturing love or positive human bonding, having been denied the basic components of meaning, value, and self-worth, squirm under a self-imposed deficit outlook. The negative perception remains until they are able to see it for what it is. Then they are able to work at undoing the damage by repairing their leaky love tank and deficit self-perceptions. They can rewire their negative self-talk. Progress is made when these individuals are able to accept, receive, and sustain love without doubt, suspicion, or fear. Emotional traumas heal slowly, but they do heal.

But first, one must want it.

 You can heal, become whole, and thrive. It takes time, intention, and focus. God helps us in this. He gives us grace. Burdens are lifted. Troubles are remediated. Life is given. Repentance is our responsibility. God gives us what we need when we need it. It is important to humble ourselves before the Lord. We won't have spiritual healing unless we desire God with our will and being. He is not fooled by false supplication. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Entreat your heavenly Father and He will draw near to you.
 
  It keeps getting better and better from that point on. You are loved, wanted, and cherished by the God of the universe. He takes a personal interest in you. Trust him with your life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves sinners. Redeems lives. Mends hearts. Sets people free.

The Need to be Wanted -- Part 1

‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, 

for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’”

 Matthew 19:14 ESV

The inner renewal cycle has happened to me and to many others.  Rejection marks people, but it need not keep them trapped in its pain. Fortunately, every person can find help, and they can ask God to help them.

A healthy ‘self’ is one aspect to the spiritual side of the human condition. God is in the restoration business. He helps, in a highly personal way, those who are willing to do the hard work necessary to achieve this healthy state. God’s children are wanted, and not only wanted, they are loved with pure, holy, unconditional love. God never forsakes, and he always loves the object of his affection.
     Knowing God in this way produces inner peace and fullness of joy. The soul-need, being loved, valued, and wanted, is met and satisfied. Wholeness brings richness to the inner self. Healthy spiritual life is actualized through the transforming love of God. God doesn’t withhold affection from the poor performers or the ones struggling with life. Instead, he assists them as he welcomes them on the spiritual journey of life.

With the innocent trust of a child, every person, with child-like faith, is welcomed into Father God’s warm embrace, much like that of a kind, loving, doting parent. For those who have yet to experience what it is like to be loved without strings, they are in for a treat. That kind of love is found in Christ Jesus. Yes, people mess up, but that is not cause for them to be discarded or unwanted in God’s kingdom. “For God so loved the world.”

All are wanted and all are loved.  That’s you and that’s me.

The End Result

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

Embrace your metamorphosis. What happens as you deal with pain and suffering is much like the butterfly’s life cycle. While in its cocoon, during its time of wait, a transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is taking place. The butterfly will never emerge if this process is interrupted. It takes time and a season of change, though not observable since its metamorphosis is hidden from view by the fiber walls of its chrysalis. When the time is right and the metamorphosis is complete, the butterfly must be left alone as it makes its exit from its hidden place to re-enter its environment, then to dry it wings before taking its virgin flight. To interfere will bring harm to the butterfly, preventing it from becoming the beauty it was meant to be.

We, as well, must endure a time of being closeted within a private cocoon of God’s design. The transformation of our hidden life through the tempering of troubles and difficulties mixed with trust and spiritual refreshment is a process we must personally experience—alone—uninterrupted by human well-meaning detractors. To deny ourselves this effort will abort our destiny’s end. When one emerges from the dark places to reenter the light, it becomes possible to see the true nature of the miracle of God’s grace in our transformed lives. When our metamorphosis is complete, we will have become what we were meant to be—a divine created soul with exquisite beauty and gentle graces of great worth and value to God and to fellow human-beings.

Do not resent the troubles or hard times, they are the means to bring you into close fellowship with your Father God in intimacy of relationship. It is where spiritual needs are met and faith is developed. Praise him!

Dear Father God, so much I love Thee. You are the potter and I am the clay. Mold me into the shape you wish me to be that I may be used of Thee.

That We Might Live

That We Might Live

He was born that we might live

He was born that we might sing

He was born that we might know

       The love of God

He was born that we might seek

He was born that we might understand

He was born that we might know

          The joy of God

He was born that he might die

He claimed death that He might save the world

He became life that we might know

          The peace of God

He took our curse to the grave

He broke sin’s bond and set us free

He gave us worth 

O to God the glory be

He was born that we might live

He was born that we might live

He was born that we might know
        How to live    

Norma L. Brumbaugh

What to Do When You're Broken, Wounded, and Discouraged

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 

1 Peter 5:7

God's way is perfect, converting the soul.

A person’s spiritual health needs to regain its balance in the aftermath of broken relationships. It is an untidy business. One has to navigate through a complicated maze of thoughts and feelings to sort out what is true and what is not true about the other person, ourselves, and any contributing factors. Getting past self-pity and stinking-thinking is needful for a healthier spiritual self.

The microscope of God is uncomfortable but necessary for a spirit-led recovery. Many prefer to not go there. They wear blinders and put up a facade, a pretense that says, I’m okay. Though they may not realize it, they exhibit a false front, a projection of wholeness that isn't quite true. It soon derails. The deadness will remain. Life will dry up. What to do?

Pain has a way of numbing reactions which circumvents the ability to move forward. You can get lost in the hurt. There are times when loss is so devastating that you are upended, unable to carry on. All you can do is cry out to God. That place of brokenness is where it starts.

At this point it is essential to release your needs and desires to God that you might access his healing grace and divine intervention. Lifting your prayers in openness and brokenness is something God uses to unfold a master plan for our lives. God knows what we need—and he will provide it. He binds wounds and heals hearts. God doesn’t waste anything.

A stronger spirit life is something we receive as we draw from the deep well of God. He has resources to help us restore, renew and revitalize.

In making something new out of something broken,
-God gives us friends and mentors to guide and encourage,
     -scripture and writings to  teach and illuminate, 
            -prayer and meditation to comfort and console. 
God uses these to transform our life into a masterpiece of rare beauty. Trust God to do this for you.

Dear Father God, when I am weak you are strong. I ask for strength to carry on and the courage to move forward.

An Extraordinary Remarkable Vision

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by his wounds you were healed. -1 Peter 2:24

For Good Friday

MY OLDEST DAUGHTER had the following vision during a class at a Christian university. Worshipful music played while students participated in prayerful meditative contemplation. My daughter was praying and seeking God when this movie-like vision was viewed in her mind's eye. It startled her. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. It was so unusual that she called me later to tell me about it. At my request, she wrote it down on a slip of paper. She said the figures were  like cookie cutter shapes without gender. I think it is simple yet powerful. I suggest you read it out loud for the full impact.

Her Vision

JESUS was white, and everyone else looked just like him except they all were covered in dirt. Different people were dirtier, blacker, or whatever. Then they all went and hugged Jesus. Jesus became dirtier than anyone; caked with filth. Everyone else became pure white as Jesus once was. 

  "And I’ll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross."  Refrain  playing when the vision came to her.

---Here I Am to Worship by Tim Huges

God Makes Beauty from Ashes: Comforting Others

Beauty from Ashes

That we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, 

with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  

2 Corinthians 1:3,4

In God's economy, our troubles are repurposed to help others.

COMFORT makes me think of soft blankets, hot cocoa and a good book. Comfort foods are those delights which make of us think of hearth and home and a safe place where all is right in the world. Comfort in the context of giving care is a delight of another kind. This kind of comfort extends love and empathy by offering to come along side the hurting person by giving support in any way she or he can.

Comforting others takes many practical forms as in listening on the phone to someone under stress, sending encouraging notes to bring cheer, delivering flowers at just the right time, responding with immediacy when the crisis occurs. All are ways we make contact with people in need of comfort. These acts say, I care.

While in the midst of severe trials or afflictions it is hard to believe that your area sadness may one day be used to help another person. But it works that way. Those things which have been hardest for us provide opportunities to connect with other people in similar circumstances. We know what they are going through and its pain and challenges. Thus, we have earned the right to be heard.

There are many descriptors of this phenomenon such as beauty from ashes, joy comes in the morning,  the sun will rise again and so forth. Each of these phrases contains a measure of hope. They are expressions that encourage our thoughts when the day is dark and sorrow has gripped our hearts. Hope and courage plus God's help carry us through.

God intends for us to respond by reaching out to him when we find ourselves buried in an avalanche of despair, when the sun seems lost to us and too far away to access. Take heart. Trust is learned in this place. Our faith increases as we yield our stuff to God.

In all of these things there is a divine purpose that we cannot fully comprehend. Nevertheless, this will come to fruition. God sees what we cannot see. He knows what we have yet to learn.. God desires that we become fully equipped to fulfill the mission he has for us.

Dear Father God, The days are long, full of disappointments, discouragement, suffering and pain. Use these days to teach me that I may one day use these experiences as an opportunity to comfort someone else in need.

God Makes a New You

A New You

But be transformed by the renewal of your mind. 

Romans 12:2

God is in the life changing business. The life he wants to change is your life.

RENEWAL is a byproduct of change that comes after an action has been undertaken. Spiritual renewal is something to seek with one’s whole heart. Scripture instructs us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves. This is a tall order. Self-focused thoughts do not lend themselves to loving others or God.

When we
-do not love well,
     -do not love in sincerity,
          -when we hold back,
                 -hide behind our issues,
                         -harbor anger toward God or others,
we impede a work of God.

The “love” is not producing in kind because it is not absolute love, it is more like a facsimile of love. Change is needed. What to do?

Love God. That is what it will take. Renewal of the mind is based in love for God. What if we don’t love God or feel His love? What can we do to change its lack of liveliness and woeful emptiness? The mind and the heart must bind together for love to be released in fullness.

No magical formula can fabricate love out of nothing. However, the more we know, grow, bond, and develop in relationship with God, the more we can know and experience His great love for us. God loves His dearly beloved children with a deep, eternal love that conquers sin and death. His love reaches and changes each person willing and open to His ministrations.

A reciprocal action is initiated when we open ourselves to God. He transfuses His character in our character. God’s presence will renew our mind, desires, and purposes, whereby He creates new life.

Ask for God’s love. Claim His promises.

Try this. It is radical. Offer yourself to God with no holds barred. As a result, a new work in you unfolds. The mind thinks in a way that exhibits the Source of its considerations.

Dear Father God, You are all I want. I give to you my mind that you may renew it, my heart that you may grow it, my soul that you may transform it.

Healing of Painful Memories

Healing is a Tender Mercy

 

And with his stripes we are healed. --Isaiah 53:5

You don't have to live this way anymore. God has a remedy for your pain.

HEALING comes in increments through watershed moments. Healing often starts with the wistful desire that says, I don’t want to live like this anymore. There is a pressing need for healing for those who have suffered broken relationships or divorce.

Painful memories are an unwelcome burden that keeps on giving. We think we are doing fairly well until an upset reduces us to tears or angst, again, and quickly plunges the thoughts back into a cesspool of injured emotions What to do?

Pain can be submerged for years. I was a master at it. I knew something wasn’t quite right, but I did not know what it was. I was working faithfully in my church and at keeping my marriage together. Though there had been some major upsets, I carried on like a brave soul. Then the bottom dropped out. I lost my job and my mate in the same week. The trauma affected my children and me.

A rough year ensued. I sought God with great intention. In time I figured it out—what was wrong with me and why I never was happy. The problem wasn't too surprising, once I could see it. The problem was, I never knew what to do with the pain that was in me. My calm religious bearing had hidden the residual pain in ways I'd not realized. I thought I had been doing all the right things because I was faithful to God.

God’s Word spoke. I listened and journaled. I prayed and meditated. I specifically asked God to heal me in my emotions. Then I waited.

One day I was praying as I walked. A memory played in my thoughts. It was of the first time I was told that I wasn’t loved by my mate, some twenty years before. I asked God, “Is this one of the memories You want to heal?” Tears ran down my cheeks. The pain still lived. The feelings returned of not being wanted or loved.

An answering thought came immediately, "By my stripes you are healed." I pictured Christ on the cross bearing my pain, hurting when I hurt, suffering when I suffered. Christ entered into my sufferings. His presence was real. I thanked and praised Him.. Days later I noticed something different in me. Something was absent. Then I knew what it was. My inner sorrowing was completely gone. I no longer felt like weeping. God had answered my prayer.

I wish this tender mercy of God to heal your damaged emotions. I know it is possible. 

Dear Father God, for my many sisters and brothers who suffer in silence, I ask you to touch their wounded souls and give them peace.

Spiritual Cleansing: Forgiveness, Sorrow and Repentance

Looking in the Mirror

  Godly grief produces a repentance 

that leads to salvation without regret.

2 Corinthians 7:10

Forgiving others may lead to an awareness of missteps on our own part. 

FORGIVENESS comes when a right attitude is present. Saying the words. I forgive you, may mean little or a lot. It all depends. Are they heart-felt or unfelt, meant as truth or to appease, true words or false?

Forgiving has everything to do with
-the heart’s motivation,
     -the mind’s attitude,
           -the soul’s condition.

Unfair, unkind, or unloving treatment is quite difficult to release, let alone, to forgive! Harbored bitterness and resentments are a catalyst. They create unhealthy bonds to the person or said event where one was wronged, which resulted in an inability to live free. What to do?

True forgiveness takes a willingness to surrender the offense combined with an act of God’s mercy. In addition, we must ask God to reveal the truth about our own-self, where there is unforgiveness, ungratefulness, and bitterness in us.

Not only does one forgive the offender for their offense, but one should also acknowledge their own offenses.. They look to the past as they acknowledge any acts of unkindness or where they intentionally or unintentionally withheld acceptance, approval, and support. God uses his mirror of truth to reflect his image and to reveal any duplicit behavior in us. He desires us to be pure vessels for His service.

Sorrow for pain we have caused is another step toward true healing. It happened to me. God purified me through a process.

I was in a world of pain after my my mate left and our marriage disintegrated. It was easy to cast blame, but I was blind to my own actions. God began to reveal my part through the Spirit's bringing it to my awareness. It was as if God brought to the forefront the ways I had caused pain to my ex-mate, albeit unknowingly.

This caused a deep sorrow within me. I remembered those times I did not speak words of appreciation for gifts or deeds, which caused my tears to flow in unstoppable streams. I knew that I must speak words of apology and seek forgiveness.

A rich cleansing took place as godly sorrow which leads to repentance purified my inner person. It changed me. An amazing peace entered. I was free.

Dear Father God, you are so good to us. You redeem the past to set us free.

Don't Fret or be Afraid, God is Always with You

A Hope and a Promise after Divorce

He will be with you, he will not leave you or forsake you.... Deuteronomy 31:8

Divorce devastates. Rejection injures. God helps. God heals. He is our security.

REJECTION has the power to spew injurious messages in the wounded person. When a marriage is ripped apart, negative emotions ravage the mind’s sensitivities. It can leave a person gasping, struggling to make sense of what happened. Divorce smashes the dream that once shone so brightly and leaves destruction in its wake.

There are many ways to absorb these internal hurts. Some bury their feelings. Others unleash volleys of red-hot attacks. Some become overwhelmed by loss and grief. A few walk away in denial, never looking back.

Unwelcome intruders jump on the emotional bandwagon. Resentment and bitterness visit in the quiet hours. Anger and spite seek payback with a vindictiveness that sabotages efforts at joy and happiness.

Sorrow and sadness become a cloak of gloom that is difficult to lift. Depression and discouragement may rob children of the home they once had that is now just a wistful dream. It is hard. The devastation of divorce will have repercussions and outfall. What to do?

If this is you, you are stronger than you think. All is not hopeless even when it may seem so. For you see, it is not the end of the story. Life goes on. The person must go on with it. Once the shock wears off and pain is managed, then it becomes possible to learn, change, and grow. It takes time, patience, and hard work to recover from injured self-perceptions and personal loss before one is able to live again.

We are not alone. God strengthens us when we feel weak. He holds us when we are weary. He guides us when we are confused, struggling with our present and fearful of our future. Our heavenly Father promises to never leave us, though the aloneness seems almost unbearable. He is true and steady. Gentle is his healing balm and loving grace. God is here.

Dear Father God, you are my comfort and peace, an ever present help in times of trouble. I’m so glad.

The Need to be Kind -- Part 2 of 2

Be Kind.

On Valentine’s Day my class stepped it up. I wanted them to appreciate and honor the adults in the school who served them, and to learn that we should always thank people who help us. Our class made valentine thank you cards for every support person who worked on campus: The crossing guard, the cook and cafeteria workers, yard duty personnel, instructional aides, office personnel, maintenance personnel, bus drivers, computer technician.

Next, I demonstrated to the children proper etiquette, and they practiced, student to student. The children learned how to introduce themselves, how to look the other person in the eye, how to read the card to its recipient, and how to shake their hand or give a hug when finished. They did well with this activity and the staff responded happily and graciously. The children's kind acts continued all year. They became thoughtful and generous, encouraging and kind.

By the year’s end we as a group had grown into a community of caring individuals. The most out-going child encouraged the most reserved child. The children became proud of each other’s successes and cheered each other's efforts.. Their energy dial now pointed to the positive. Classroom management eased up. The students' acts of kindness began to be noticed and the campus trash problem cleared up due to their efforts.

Kindness is universal, encourages positive social interactions, and is other-centered. The act of being kind begins in the heart, is activated by the mind, is cultivated by the Spirit, and is instituted by the action.

A good way to live out faith is in the little things, in the everyday kindnesses. “Faith without works is dead,” Scripture says. Faith gives out of its ‘living’ generosity and its valuing of life. Spiritual goodness is such that positive works become part of its process and flow.  

‘Be kind’ is a motto to live by. I highly recommend it. ^“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 ESV

The Need to be Kind -- Part 1 of 2

The Need for Kindness

I reckon there are three things in life that are important.

The first is to be kind.

The second is to be kind.

The third is to be kind.

      -Leanin’ Tree

THE CLASS THAT YEAR was a combination Second/Third split. The students were a mix of low achievers, poor behavior, children at risk, selective mutism, a few too shy to respond at all, and so forth. I knew it would be hard, but I would give it my best. I was determined to bring my class up to speed and make it sing. Their struggles, day in and day out, challenged my best efforts. The classroom dynamics made it difficult to meet the daily educational objectives.

With great intention, I instituted several ‘extras’ to help us bond as a group. The hyperactive student learned to self-monitor his behavior and would move himself to a special desk next to my desk whenever he was distracted or was the one causing distraction. He became efficient at this without me intervening. He’d smile at me and I’d smile back when it was time for him to resituate himself. He liked monitoring his own behavior and its calming effects.

The students needed a sense of being a part of a whole. Acts of kindness were written on slips of paper anonymously and put in a slotted box to be read on Fridays by me. I made sure I participated. Students were asking teachers and aides if they could help them. The playground never looked better. They kept it litter free. They loved this.

I wanted my students to feel appreciated and good about themselves. To accomplish this, we would have to get to know each other better. Every morning after the flag salute, one student in our class was featured in the spotlight. They were given an uninterrupted opportunity to talk about their likes, dislikes, and interests in front of the class, one per day. No one was allowed to snicker or be rude. Shy children were encouraged through prompts from me. This was done every day throughout the school year.

Most of all, my students learned to be kind and respectful. They could take this skill with them through life. The importance of being kind is worth teaching. If everyone would put a kindness factor in place, to be kind to others regardless, we could change the world. Bullying and abuse would lose their power and control. Kindness is a right attitude that takes the time to be patient with others even when they irritate us or may not deserve it..

Kindness is a virtue. I was so pleased with their interactions with each other and with staff. What a blessing became ours. It took some doing but it was worth it.

A few years later, I saw one of these students, now a tall grown young man. He greeted me first and with a smile, and he asked how I was doing. I was glad to see him again. He blessed me with his friendliness and genuine interest.

God's Quality is Gentle and Applicable: Intervention 20

When We Learn from Christ, We Become more like Him

Finding God in the Daily

For I am gentle and lowly in heart.
Matthew 11:29

Christians are image bearers. Their lives reflect Christ to the world. They are being changed from the inside to out, and it shows.

God's character-likeness influences our character and likeness.

A fully surrendered life has healing and cleansing. This life is pliable, moldable, and fluid. The resistance is gone. The inward places are healthy. Their focus is changed from ordinary spiritual living to a serious bent toward loving God with all their heart, mind, and soul.

God enables His life to live freely in those who turn their attention to receive of Him. God is the change agent in a caring, loving, interactive, Father-to-child relationship with His children. God is a gentle, kind Papa.

He is humble,
-wise,
     -trustworthy,
            -strong,
                   -caring,
                           -helpful.

Those who find God, whom have really found Him in this way, are different from others in the Christian family. They have a quality about them, like a softness indicative of quiet strength. It show outwardly when there is free access in an interactive relationship.

These followers are gentle and humble in heart. In truth, what they have is a Divine Presence in them shining forth, a beauty that originates from within that lights the eyes with life and peace. Their's is an inner radiance that spills forth in splashes of joy and inner delight that never draws attention to itself but arrests others' attention. 

In His gentle way, God cleanses souls, mends hearts, and heals wounds.

This is God’s loving intervention for dealing with the presence of pain and inner isolation in His followers. He desires our life that He might redeem every part of it. God touches us where we have been wounded by thoughtless words and unkind actions. He also brings to the forefront those times when we have acted in wrong-minded self-interest through self-serving, unkind words and actions.

Therapists guide us,.
-Friends love us,
     -Family supports us,
           -Pastors counsel us,
                  -Many pray for us,
But only God heals us. 

God meets us in the inner recesses of our hearts when we are open enough to let Him. The process can be painful, especially when past experiences have piled up like a formidable fortress walling emotions inside that have fermented in harmful destructive ways. It is okay to say, I can’t do this anymore, God. I can’t deal with this any longer. Take it. I need your help. I give up. I give it to You and ask You to take it. You to do it. I trust You.I want you. .

What came next in my life was extremely painful but worth it.

One by one as He revealed them to me, I gave my hurts and fears to God. It was a process of God showing me my heart. I saw how my wounds and self-imposed limitations were enclosed beyond my human ability to expose or remediate. Sadness, repentance, and sorrow mingled together overwhelming my spirit. God gently released their hold on me. God met me there as I revisited the ache in my heart, holding me in His tight embrace as He wiped my endless tears from swollen eyelids. His love was warm and comforting, kind and forgiving. His Father-love enveloped me, touched my wounds, lifted my sorrows, healed my hurts—and set me free. I understood that while on the cross, Christ shared in my suffering. My sadness gave way to relief then peace. The freedom was as if a burden had lifted and the monkey was off my back. The sorrow disappeared out of my heart until only a scar remained. I have never been the same. The pain has not returned. The deep sense of sorrow is gone.

† † †

Learning in Spiritual Relationship: Intervention 19

 The Privilege of Learning from God

 Finding God in the Daily

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, 
for I am gentle and lowly in heart

 and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

Learning from Christ opens access to God and His truth.

WHEN WE REST, give it all to Him and let the other stuff go, those positive and negative things in our life---when we give to God
-our hopes,
     -our dreams,
          -our plans,
                -our desires,
                     -our wants,
                           -our wrong desires,,
                                 -our preoccupation with happiness and self-fulfillment
—then, and only then, will we truly learn of Christ.

This is not about listening, believing, or knowing all the right scriptures, correct theology, or scripted answers. It is about something else altogether. It is not about all of these for it is not just about knowing the right things. Learning from God is not knowledge in isolation. It is more intense. We can’t learn from Him very well until we surrender our us, our me that is occupying the throne of our life.

For our spiritual union with God to grow, we learn to abandon ourselves to Him, until it is God occupying the throne of our life. This often requires a frequent submitting of our will to Him. When we do so, it changes the whole spiritual dynamic we have with God.

You may know how to climb a mountain using crampons and ropes and all the right tools for mountain climbing, but until you actually climb the mountain with these tools, it has just been an exercise in mental preparation. We don’t become a mountain climber until we climb the mountain. We can know all about loving God and following God, but until we begin to love God and follow God in our daily reality, we have not done it. Close fellowship with God must become part of us for it to be real in us.

This opens a capacity within us to hear God and internalize His plans for us.

We learn His daily purposes and not just the long-term plans. God removes the dross, the many, many foreign particles that don’t belong in our lives which deflect from His life living prominently in us.

Learning is a consecration process, not something we seek externally by adding on. Rather, it is allowing God to meet us where we are at spiritually. This is an internal changing whereby God's life becomes a well-spring inside us where He releases His cleansing fountain to make us into pure vessels, full of grace and truth. We then have Christ’s stamp, His identifying mark, for all to see. 

In a surrendered life there is a greater capacity to learn from Him, and of Him, as the King James Version says it. God is more fully active in the mind and heart. In submitting to God and to His yoke, a yielded spiritual life thereby allows a transforming to take place and undergoes what that process entails. God revolutionizes a willing, dependent, spiritual being.

Learning of Christ then becomes a way of living life. Focused Christians are in a constant state of interactive dependence on God in a loving, reciprocal, living relationship. This Christian won’t stop growing and changing because they're loving it and loving God.

Nothing can stop this new way of living  
-unless the Christian turns away,
     -quits yielding to God,
           -and returns to being their own source and guide.

Once close intimacy of relationship with God is well established, it is rare to turn away. Christians are children with a beloved, kind, and caring father. At this stage of learning, they begin to know God in an ever-expanding awareness. Something has awakened in them, in us, that responds to God with pure love.

They have crossed over. 

Spiritual life is now lived out of love instead of duty. Through the joining of God with human, the journey enlivens and breaks free of formal spiritual conventions. Spiritual life is no longer religion or beliefs, it is you and God and God and you, formed and joined in loving relationship. These believers answer to God first before all else.

To God be the Glory

Why a Yoke is Essential: Intervention 18

A Yoke is a Tool for Working Together

Finding God in the Daily

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, 
for I am gentle and lowly in heart

 and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

God's yoke binds us with Him in a secure relationship that cannot be broken.

TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU is the whole man active. Active again? Absolutely.

The yoke has a function that acts in a spiritual fashion. We take it upon us.

But why? 
     -Why would we want to do this?
           -Why do we do this?
                  -Why the symbolism in the word, yoke?

Christ tells his children to take his yoke upon us and in doing so we will learn from him. That's a pretty sweet reason. A yoke suggests a joining, a binding together, a union. At salvation, when we chose Christ, we were bound in a heavenly relationship with our heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune, three-in-one, God. The yoke that we take upon us, has a purpose, it instills a relationship which tethers the Trinity and Christ's followers together. The relationship is a living reality and needless-to-say, an interesting concept.

When my father was a boy, my father's dad had a team of horses for working the many functions of a dairy farm. Then one horse from the team died. The other horse was calm until they removed the dead horse from the corral. The live horse went crazy-like and panicked. The newly purchased horse for the team was young and willful. It wanted to pull faster than its partner. Dad's mother or father would have to slow him down so the two would pull together in tandem while pulling the implement.

Metaphorically, God tethers us to the yoke and then we get to the business of learning how to live this spiritual life God's way. Once yoked spiritually as one together, we follow God and are unable to act independent of God without a responding action. When we pull ahead of God, He slows us down. When we fall or drag behind, God lifts us up and helps carry us along. God is in us, with us, and we are dependent on His presence.

God's yoke is a gift. It keeps us on track, and it helps us when we are weak or self-willed. Just watch a team of horses or cattle bound with a harness or yoke, and you will see that they must work together or they will be at odds, which means little will be accomplished and much will be confused.

Christ's followers desperately need His tempering and guidance. This is a kindness to us, not a burden that inhibits our progress. God is becoming our strength as we learn to depend on Him.

We are able then,
-to place our trust in Him
      -with our daily stuff
           -our scary stuff
                  -and even our good stuff.

And that's a good thing.

To God be the Glory

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He will Give You Rest: Intervention 17

His Rest becomes Your Rest

Finding God in the Daily

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden 
 and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Spiritual rest gives hope and peace in God.

EVER WATCH SOMEONE ASLEEP, napping, snoozing—a baby, a child, a mate? Your heart is moved as you watch them. You identify with your caring for that person. It is calm.

God wants us to find our rest in Him,
-not in circumstances,
     -not in temporary fixes,
          -not in things,
               -not in money,
                     -not in fame,
                           -not in pursuits,
                                -not in people.

At times, we get on a treadmill of busyness rather than resting in Him. A person may not understand their rest in Him and wonder what this means. Maybe they don’t know how to implement it or rest in it. The thought of rest is elusive or not on their radar.

Some in the Christian community give up trying to find God. They find substitutes. Some get enmeshed in addictive alternatives as a way to remediate the inner deadness rather than realizing the solution is in God.

 I think this is common when discouragement or depression looks for something that makes one feel better. This is the path of least resistance, the natural, untreated path that self-medicates rather than looks for a better solution. Spiritual rest is also not found in substitutes, including friendships, no matter how fulfilling and strong they may be.

Spiritual rest is cultivated and is a result of the Spirit's peaceful state. Jesus' rest is internal in us and eternal in God. Spiritual rest is peaceful, knowing, certain. It faces adversity and knows all will be well. All is well when anchored fast in Christ. He is our rest.

True nurturing rest is found in God and God alone.

God is a God of tranquility and peace. He offers us soul-rest. It is a supernatural rest only found in God’s presence after His healing grace has touched the inner places. 

This type of rest is in answer to the weariness of
-our souls,
     -our burdens,
           - our hearts.

The more we seek God the more we experience access true restfulness. It is a form of trust mixed with love that has found itself joined in a trusting relationship with Father God.

Once you know this centered rest in the Divine,
-life takes on a new flavor,
     -a spiritually alive direction,
          -a greater sense of harmony with God.

Peaceful presence is connected to its Source, His presence in you and with you. This happens as you open the door to your heart all the way. God floods its interior, enters every room and takes up residence. You no longer withhold or erect barriers in the relationship. You and your soul enter into full fellowship, caring connection, and friendship with each member of the God-Head.This is life, and this is rest.

To God be the Glory

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WHEN BURDENS are HEAVY: Intervention no. 16

Simply Trust in Jesus

Finding God in the Daily

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

What we have in God is not to be confused with why we are heavy laden.

LIFE IS NOT EASY, as you know. The losses grow in number the longer we live. 

We become weary of the disappointments especially
-when we have tried so hard,
     -when we have given so much of ourselves to others,

          -when we have gone above and beyond

               -when we have been faithful to God.

We wonder where He’s been.
     -Why God didn’t answer or help in certain situations,
          -Why He allowed uncomfortable things to happen to us
                 or to our loved ones?
               -Why didn't God intervene?

The harshness of it all wars within our heads. Some things don’t seem fair. We want to blame God or others, but we know we shouldn’t question.

Our faith isn’t always as strong as we thought it to be. We may begin to question God’s goodness or His plan. Some people walk away and say, to heck with it! They have had enough!

Here is the truth. When the test comes we know our true selves and the state of our relationship with God. We know if we are like the branches connected to the vine. The struggle, though, is real.

Is life supposed to be this way?

God never promised us a rose garden. He did promise he would go through life with us. One way we learn to trust God is by leaning on Him as we go through the valley and learn to trust Him for the outcome. The burden can seem grave, and it often is, but He gives us supernatural rest. 

I think of this kind of rest as different from physical rest, but a rest for the mind, emotions, worries and fears, a confident resting in our trust as we believe in Jesus to take care of us in spite of the difficulties. This kind of rest is like peaceful strength. Something comes at you and you're sucker punched. You call out to God and name it and claim it. The victory then comes as a state of rest instead of crippling fear and angst. "Trusting Jesus, that is all." Amen

To God be the Glory

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All Who Labor are Invited to Come: Intervention no. 15

 God Knows What We are Up Against

 Finding God in the Daily

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.

Matthew 11:28

Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us that we can't quite square with reality. We chug on, doing our best with what we've been given.

LABOR

 Labor seeks us where we live.

SPIRITUAL SEPARATION, where despair or pain causes distance from God, is common to humanity. The separation is temporary. Like when giving birth, the labor is intense, painful, absorbing but purposed. We accept the labor (for the most part) because we know the end result makes it worth the struggle.

Most labor is difficult, hard, sometimes punishing, sometimes lonely, sometimes more that we think we can bear, and often demanding of us a lot. Usually we don’t have much say or choice in the matter. 

Labor requires effort. This is true in the spiritual realm. It is laborious and time consuming to work through our areas of struggle, pain, and past experiences.

Labor is the daily struggle of life.

Labor is burden, self-effort, redundancy. The first thing I think of as it relates to labor is being tired, when we're tired of striving, weary of life, and the endless circumstances of life. At times, the labor defines its burden, hopelessness, discouragement.

This can be the result of pain and injustice. We know its unfairness, we may sense a lack of acknowledgement of our worth by those in our lives — family, co-workers, even those in our own church families, the ones who are abrupt, critical, disapproving, or angry with us.

There is a weariness with life. It is an empty feeling with a sense of running in place but getting nowhere, a sense of stagnation and loss. These are the threads that continually weave throughout our lives. There's always something.

God is a very present help in times of trouble.

God invites us to come to Him in our weariness. He is the Giver of rest, He is the Sustainer of life. He is our Hope and our Meet for all that bombards us and knocks us off kilter.

Dear Father in Heaven, You are the way, the truth, and the life, which means You are our way, truth, and life. Thank You for showing us the way and leading us to the truth of You. Amen

To God be the Glory

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A Message of Life

Inspiration 53