Unspeakable Joy

"Whom, having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

1 Peter 1:8-9

I find the word “joy” to be a very interesting word. In looking it up in a Bible dictionary, I found out that it is considered an attribute of God and a work of God in the life of the believer. We often equate happiness with joy, but the truth is that they are two distinct emotions. Happiness is a warm fuzzy feeling that depends largely on what is happening in our lives…good health, congenial company, pleasant surroundings, having healthy friendships, etc. the emotion of happiness cannot coexist with unhappiness. Joy, on the other hand, is a positive emotion of contentment and trust that is not dependent upon our circumstances or the company we are keeping. It is dependent on our knowing God and taking Him at His word. It can co-exist with sorrow.

We have several Biblical examples of that -- Isaiah 53:3 says that Christ was a man of sorrows and that He was acquainted with grief. Then Hebrews 12:2 says that for the joy set before Him He was able to endure the cross. Another example is when the crowds that Paul and Silas were preaching to turn against them rather than accepting Christ. They beat them and threw then into prison. Yet, at midnight the other prisoners heard them singing praises to Jehovah, the God for who they were imprisoned, yet trusted. In 1 Peter 1: 6-7 Peter wrote to Christians who were dispersed because of their faith and encourages them to rejoice even though they were feeling sorrowful because of their many trials. This was because Peter fully understood that the trials of their faith that the dispersed people were experiencing gave them an opportunity to bring glory and honor to God as He produced His joy in them. He then points out that while they continue believing they had joy unspeakable!

The last couple of years I have contemplated the whole concept of joy. It seems some people are born with a natural tendency toward it and can always look at the bright side of things while other people are born with a "darker" personality and have to work at maintaining a joyful perspective. However, if we believe what the Bible says it is very freeing to realize that deep joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That means it is not something that we are responsible for mustering up on our own. As a person matures in Christ and grows in their intimacy with Him, joy will become more and more apart of them and more and more visible to those around. That does away with the misconceptions that if we are good enough our life will be blessed and we will have more joy. As we grow and learn to trust Christ a supernatural unspeakable joy will begin to permeate our soul. Is it really possible to have that in the face of persecution, trials, illness, hurt feelings, or grief? It has taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but I would say without a doubt that the answer is "Yes!"

I realize that at one point in my life I thought God would be more glorified if He would intervene and change some of the painful circumstances I have experienced, heal people I love and have prayed for, or instantly free me or others from our struggles with sin. Over the years I have come to believe that sometimes the greatest miracles of all are the miracles that take place in a person’s heart. Maybe God leaves fearful circumstances because He glorified more when He can turn my fear in to courage. Maybe He leaves me in the middle of hurtful circumstances because He is glorified more when He can heal me of hurts and teach me to be gracious and forgiving. Maybe God doesn't instantly free me from all of my struggles because He can be glorified more as He shows Himself to be my strength in the face of my weaknesses giving me victory in the face of temptation.

Maybe in God's economy the glory of something He has created or changed outwardly is not nearly as glorious as a radical change of heart. Maybe God is glorified more when I or someone else has joy in the middle of "manifold trials", because that joy is born out of a heart that has experienced and accepted the perfect unconditional love of God in the face of adversity. I know my joy is deepens when I chose to keep my mind focused on my Creator and have accepted the truth that the Lord is perfect even in His sovereignty over His creation. Thus, God is truly glorified when joy is perfected in us through the trials and temptations that we experience as we learn to praise, honor, and rest completely in God…revealing to those around us that we truly do believe in a God who in all of His majesty and glory and power is ever faithful and true to His Character and love.

Prayer: Father, help each of us to be like the people that Peter was writing to. Even though they were facing tremendous circumstances and trials they had found Christ to be a living hope. They loved Him in the face of their trials and they found unspeakable amounts of joy in knowing Him and thereby brought honor to You in how they responded to life. If we face trials please use them to bring honor to yourself. Help us to see them as an opportunity to know and walk with You. Give us hearts that are joyful and seeking after you continually no matter what is happening to and around us. Help us to be like Paul and Silas who are found continuously praising you even in a dark place like a prison. Thank you for your love and your faithfulness to us. Amen.

Clouds of Glory

“…For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Matthew 5:45

As a child I went to church on my own. I don’t know if I heard some bad theology along the way or if I just developed it on my own due to my tendency towards skewed “black-white” thinking patterns. Basically, my skewed theology was that if I was good enough I would begin to have a problem free life and it would be filled with all sorts of blessings and I would mostly experience happiness. 

It was a long time before I found people with whom I felt safe enough to to ask questions about the Bible and even longer before I found people with whom I felt safe enough to share the disappointment I have felt towards God because I wasn't finding the Christian life easy. In fact, I have experienced many trials both in the past and as a believer in church even though I exhausted myself trying both to do what I thought He wanted me to do and to be what He wanted me to be. Sadly, even as I am writing this I know as hard as I was trying hard to be good, I had secret sins I committed, I remembered the ugly words I’ve screamed in anger, the even uglier thoughts I silenced before they came out of my mouth, the harsh judgments I’ve pronounced against others, and how many times I have refused to face pain by holding on to bitterness as I refused to forgive. I was recently at an American Association of Christian Counselors conference and took a lot of good workshops on how to help people who are in emotional pain. As always, when I am taking workshops I can’t help but reflect back on my healing journey, especially my relational journey with God. The above verse was such an eye opener for me. It helped me to accept that the abuse I endured was not because I was a bad little girl and to see the trials I've faced as a believer have not been the result of being a bad “Christian.” They were simply the result of living in a fallen world with people like me who a tendency to sin. As long as I live I know I will experience both God’s sunshine and His rain.

But an interesting thought I've had is that the word storm is often used to illustrate trials in our lives. Some of the storms can be little storms, but some of them can feel like emotional hurricanes. I think it is interesting that the verse above doesn’t place a judgment on the sunshine or the rain. Both of them are needed for life to be sustained. I realized awhile back I needed to change how I viewed the Christian life. The truth is God never promised me a problem-free, trial-free, or pain-free life. As long as I'm alive, I will experience storms along with the brighter times. 

After thinking about that truth the Israelites came to mind. They were being led by God out of Egypt by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day to guide and to protect them that maybe God has a very different view of clouds than I do. Then I came across a devotional by Jill Briscoe and she penned the term clouds of glory. Because I find Israel’s journey out of Egypt similar to the Christian life, I couldn’t help but wonder how my outlook on life would be different if when I first begin to view a “storm clouds forming on the horizon” if I viewed them as clouds of glory instead of just trials or storms to endure. It might seem odd to call it clouds of glory, unless I think of what the trials accomplish in me. They give me a chance to exercise faith so it matures and strengthens and becomes a part of the core of my being instead of fluctuating from a double-minded position, changing with the wind. They give me the chance to grow in my character as I develop qualities like patience, endurance, and perseverance, all of which ultimately result in me having joy. Sometimes clouds give me the chance to grow in my relationships as I realize trials in the context of relationship expose my selfishness, my self-centered tendency to make life all about me, my tendency to bear grudges and mete out grace sparingly, and my tendency to love poorly in the face of conflict. 

I think by preparing to learn and to lean into God as storms begin to brew and to commit to fully trusting Him that the storms have the potential to accomplish the work God is attempting to do in me. As I exercise faith, I allow His character to be formed in me and learn to love as He loves. And as He is glorified, the “Storm Clouds” of this life will truly be seen as clouds of glory. As I look at the clouds on the horizon as potential clouds of glory I am drawn to His word and His promises in the face of storms and I will walk with Him through them. He will protect me from the self-destructive ways that come from trying to do life apart from Him and help me find purpose in what He has called me to I endure and thrive through. The protection always comes from walking closely with Him in the midst of storms and continuing to walk upright when others might crumble. It comes in letting Him empower me to love others in ways that I am not capable of doing without His help. It comes in letting Him empower me to forgive what I I believe is unforgiveable. It comes in believing He loves me and cares about all that pertains to me. It comes in knowing His intention is never to harm me, but to continue the work that He began when I came to Him by faith. 

Prayer: Father, I pray that every storm cloud I face will truly become a cloud of glory as I learn to cling to you in all trials whether situational, events, relational, or spiritual. I want my life and my responses to what happens in it to bring glory and honor to you. Amen.

Both God and Man

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…And the word became flesh and dwelt among us…"

John 1:1.14

A question that I need to ask myself is, “Does the truth of Christ being God in flesh cause me to stand in awe of Him? “ The truth is Christ took on flesh so He could reveal the Father's love to each of us by paying the penalty for sin. That ought to rock my world. But there are times that I just take it for granted. After all it is the union of Christ’s two natures, the human and the divine, that made it possible for each of us to have a kinsman-redeemer who could legitimately take our place when He paid for our sin. Yet, I have to admit that I don’t fully comprehend the fact that Christ is both fully God and fully man -- everything that God is Jesus is as well, yet Jesus is fully a man. It is all beyond my comprehension, but I am glad that Jesus came.

It is amazing that back in eternity past a plan was born in the heart of God. The Creator, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Sovereign God, chose to veil His Glory. He chose to leave the vast beauty of His heavenly home to grow in the dark confinement of one of His own creations. While His heavenly position entitled Him to be born in a palace and wrapped in purple linen, He opted to be born in the middle of a sheepfold, and wrapped in swaddling clothes – the clothes usually used for wrapping a dead body pointed to his purpose from day one. He by-passed a golden cradle for such a simple manger, which was prophetic of future role as God's sacrificial lamb. He chose to limit His limitless abilities and powers to show us He understands our limitations and in doing so He has been able to fulfill the role of a sympathetic high priest. He faced every temptation we ever have or ever will have, yet He was without sin. Simply put, He loved us by becoming a man.

It is hard to comprehend a love so outrageous that it motivated Christ to leave His heavenly home and become dependent upon His creation. It is also hard to understand why He would choose to grow up in a home with half-brothers and half-sisters who did not recognize Him for who He was or what He came to do. It is hard to comprehend a love so outrageous it would cause Him who spoke the universe into place to limit His creativity and become an apprentice in His step-father’s carpenter shop. There His infinite creativity was limited to one medium, that of wood. Rather than speaking things into being, He chose to limit Himself to using human hands -- hands that became dirty, callused, and rough just like ours. At the same time, his rough hands could tend to the fine details needed in the carpenter’s shop. These same hands revealed God's tender compassion by being gentle enough to bless children, restore sight to the blind, restore life to dying flesh, and that motivated him to heal the hurts that were buried deep in men's souls.

It is hard to understand a love so outrageous that it motivated God to take on a human body and experience needs like ours -- hunger, thirst, and sleep. He also experienced our emotional needs and asked His friends to pray for Him when He was facing the cross. It is even harder to understand a love that would motivate Him to set aside His own needs to meet the needs of the crowds that pressed in on Him. They needed food and He provided it. They needed to be healed and He touched them. They needed comfort and He wiped away their tears. They needed knowledge so He taught them. They needed courage so He encouraged them. When they needed acceptance He demonstrated His acceptance of them. His disciples needed rest He took them aside to get it. They needed freedom from spiritual bondage and He set them free from demons that vexed them. They needed love and He loved them with an eternal steadfast love that never once wavered.

It is hard to comprehend that the same voice that He used to speak the universe into place is the same voice that comforted people, expressed forgiveness, and offered blessings. It was the same voice that comforted two sisters whose brother had died that turned around with power and majesty and ordered him out of the tomb. The voice that spoke with the authority to legions of demons spoke so kindly that it healed the deep shame of adultery when a guilty woman was cast at His feet. It was His eyes, capable of seeing everything, that penetrated the hardest heart. His eyes that sparkled in the early morning light as He prayed shed tears when His friends grieved. His eyes, the only eyes that had a right to condemn, were used as instruments that delivered His grace. For as a man, Christ gazed into the eyes of people broken by pain and by sin and conveyed the loving heart of God -- a heart full of tender mercies and passion so outrageous that to demonstrate it fully He chose to become a man. What are your thoughts on the truth that Jesus is both God and Man? What are your thoughts on His outrageous love?

Prayer: Father, sometimes we forget how much You love us and understand us. Your word says that Christ demonstrated Your love by dying for us, but He also demonstrated love by living among us. By His life we know we have a sympathetic "high priest" praying continuously to You on our behalf. He understands us! Help us to see the mercy and grace you continuously show us in our relationship with Christ. Help us love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, reach out and touch the untouchable just as Jesus did. Let our hands be instruments of comfort, our voices instruments of truth, and our eyes instruments of grace revealing sacrificial love and acceptance. Amen.

The Goodness of God

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"

Romans 2:4

Have you ever thought about what causes you to repent and confess your sin? The verse above tells us it is the Lord’s goodness that leads us to repentance. The context of this verse is a charge to the Jews to be accountable in their lifestyle and evangelism rather than judging the people who were not Jews for their past pagan practices. The Jews had become exclusive rather than evangelistic and had a hard time accepting the idea that God’s plan of salvation included people of all nations, some of which had a lot of different practices. That would be the equivalent of our coming to understand that no sin is too bad that Christ's death is not sufficient enough to cover it. Emotionally, I think that sometimes we have a hard time handling that. How do we feel if a murderer, a wife beater, a child abuser, a drug addict, or a prostitute, or a homosexual gets saved? When Romans was written, the Jewish believers were struggling to accept that some of the people who had come from nations that used temple prostitutes and child sacrifices were now being born again into the body of Christ.

But wait, Paul, himself, had been responsible for the death of many Christians before he met Jesus on the Damascus road. If we are honest, we can understand what the Jewish people may have been feeling. We can choose to look at each person we meet as someone that Christ died for and the truth is that the more seeped in sin each person is the more each needs the Savior. Real Christianity is nice and neat, it is downright sticky. If we are obedient to the command to go into the world we will bring in new believers who may dress, talk, and who have been living very differently than those who have grown up in the church.

We need to realize the Christian life is a series of choices that we are called to make. The more we get to know Christ and His goodness the more our decisions will include repenting of our sinful actions and even the hidden attitudes of our hearts. All of the letters Paul wrote began with doctrine that helped people understand more fully what their salvation meant. Ephesians tells us things like God chose us to be adopted by Christ and that through Christ we are accepted, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Colossians tells us that God has already delivered us out of the power of darkness and made us partakers of the inheritance of the saints! In his letters, after Paul expounded on doctrine, he gave specific instructions on how to live and relate to each other. He believed if he taught them more about God's goodness that they would want to continue to grow in holiness. Paul understood that grace is not getting Christ to love us more by our "good actions." It is understanding that He already loves us and forgives us and letting that love motivate us to change.

As children of God, we are told that we will be disciplined because we are loved. Hebrews 12:6,10-11 says, "For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives…For (earthly fathers) chasten us after their own pleasure, but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His Holiness. Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it." Understanding God's goodness will help to come to repentance, but understanding that sometimes our stubborn rebellious hearts come face to face with His relentless stubborn love and He will discipline us. He wants us to be partakers of His holiness…not just act right! He wants us to enjoy peace that only comes from His righteousness in us, conforming our hearts to His, resulting in humble righteous acts and relationships. God designed us to live a certain way and that was distorted when Adam and Eve sinned. It is God's goodness that wants us to be restored to Him through Christ and wants us to partake of His holiness. There is more joy in serving, witnessing, loving, praying for healing, and teaching the word and seeing lives changed than in all the sin we can be involved in. God knows that and He will discipline us to bring that about so we can experience His great joy.

Lastly, there are times God's goodness will lead us to confront a friend or a friend to confront us (James 5:20). Confrontation needs to be done with love, grace, humility, and truth. Confrontation is more successful when we include a reminder of the goodness of God. I try to let the person I am confronting know I care more about them and their relationship with God than their behavior. When we are confronted about sin we need to remember God sent that person to us and not get angry with her or him. It is God's desire for us to have intimacy with Him and He will expose that which hinders our relationship with Him. Confrontation can actually leave us feeling loved and motivate us to change if we understand the purpose it serves.

Some questions we should ponder are: How has God's goodness led us to repent? If someone enters our life bearing the marks of sin, will we remember that it is God's goodness that leads them to repentance, not our harsh judgments? Is there anything that is not holy in our life hindering our relationship to God?

Prayer: Father, thank you for your goodness and the fact that it leads us to repentance. Help us to see your goodness as well as your holiness. Help us to see our sin in light of your goodness, that we might grieve over what grieves your heart. Help us to confront others with your goodness when you call us to speak truth. Help us to accept confrontation as your goodness to us. Melt our pride and purify our hearts, that we might humbly hunger and thirst hard after you. Amen.

In HIM!

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."
Acts 17:28

When I was younger, I used to wonder if my life is important. I now am convinced that every life, including mine, is important. There are several reasons that I believe this.


First, my life is important because I am God's creation. Psalm 139:14-16 says God formed me in my mother's womb and that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. Every last little detail of my body, my personality, my intelligence, and my emotional make up was designed by God's hand. Philippians 1:6 also makes it clear that God is still in the process of finishing the work that He began in my mother's womb. The life I am living--with its joys, triumphs, and trials--is important because it was planned by God and is a part of the process that God has chosen to use to mold and refine me into a woman who bears His image. I am important because He is in the process of finishing a "Masterpiece" that He planned before time began.


My life is also important because before God laid the foundation of the world He chose to place me in Him so I would be Holy and blameless. I brought honor to God when I acknowledged my sin and accepted Christ's payment for it. He accepted me in His son (Ephesians 1:4-8). God knew about every sin I would ever commit and yet before He created the earth He planned a way to make me holy and blameless in His sight. I hate being blamed for things I haven't done, so I can't even imagine being Christ who was willing to take God's wrath for not just my sin, but everyone’s sin! That is some kind of love!


My life is important because I am a Spiritual house for God to dwell in. (I Peter 2:4) The concept of God dwelling in us is something all Christians live with, yet it is incomprehensible. My body is the temple, the dwelling place; Christ chooses to dwell in now. Since the foundation of the earth, God has appeared to man in various forms, a burning bush, a dove, a wind, and as harsh judgments. He also appeared as a bright glory as he was when He led Israel out of Egypt, dwelt in the tabernacle, and then in the temple in Jerusalem. Now, He dwells in the world through me and through you! When we love someone, forgive an offense, apologize, share Christ, or serve someone I am showing him or her Christ.


My life matters because He has given my life purpose. "But we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1I Peter 2:9) I am a part of the chosen generation and a part of a royal priesthood that bridges the gulf between man and God. I am His priest when I minister to the needs and hurts of others I am doing it in His name. I am a part of a holy nation that crosses geographical boundaries, time periods, social groups, and economical and racial barriers. I am set apart by God for the purpose of praising Him and holy in the sense that He is molding me into His likeness as I repent of my sin.


I also know my life matters because I am accepted by Christ. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says I was called out of darkness into light and that I am now one of God’s people. I know in my past there was a time I never felt like I quite fit into my family, my church, my school, or in certain social gatherings. This verse tells me that I am one of the people of God! I belong to the creator of the universe in the same way that Adam, Isaiah, King David, Moses, Joseph and Mary, and Paul did. When I am tempted to see my life as insignificant, that is a lies, because the Word is so clear about it being significant from God's perspective. His plans and acceptance of me mean that even though I may never fit into this world, I have a heavenly world and a heavenly family in which I am a perfect fit.


The same is true of you and your life. Your life is important because the Creator planned it. He also redeemed you with His own blood and He accepts you. He is never ashamed to call you or me His own. Because of this I hope that we each embrace the truth of who we are in Him and that we each choose to fulfill the awesome responsibility of being a part of His priesthood. He has given us significance by giving us the awesome job of ministering His love, truth, and grace to a dark world…what a joy to be His ears, His hands, His feet, His mouth, and His heart to people who need so desperately to see Him and to come to know Him.
Are you able to believe your life matters to the Creator? Are you willing to be His ambassador in this dark world?


Prayer: Father, in light of the number of people who have lived, are living, and will live it is easy to wonder if our lives means anything in the grand scheme of things. Thank You for creating us and for the plans You have laid for our lives before the world was made. Thank you for making us holy through Christ's death on the cross. Thank You for indwelling us and making us Your children and a part of your priesthood. Please use us to be your ears, hands, feet, mouth, and heart to people who need to know You. Help us boldly declare that You are our God and fill us with Your love. Help us to use words and actions reflect that we are redeemed. Let us sing and dance and shout your praises to the world! May the sacrifice of praise be given from pure and

The Balance of Truth and Grace

"And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

What does it means when the Word says Christ was full of grace and truth? I think that is a very good question. So often we tend to be people who are characterized by black and white thinking. As a result we tend to be either legalistic truth speakers who exhibit little truth or people who only focus on God’s grace and seldom speak the truth. If Christ was the embodiment of both truth and grace, maybe, just maybe, that is His desire for us as well. If we are to be people who are embracing the truth then we have to acknowledge that it is just as wrong to have premarital sex today as it was in Christ's day. It also is just as wrong to lie, to dishonor our parents, to covet, to take God's name in vain, or to have idols as it was in Christ's day. Sin is sin even though our culture has come to call it by other names like dysfunction or developmental issues. We really don’t have the right or the authority to change God's standard to avoid offending others. In fact, for someone else to understand God’s grace they have to fully understand what sin is.

I find it fascinating that Christ mingled with sinful people. He seemed to be more comfortable in the company of sinful people than He was in the company of the self-righteous Pharisees who put people under bonds of legalism. He taught, healed, ate with, confronted, and loved people who reeked of sin. As we call sin "sin" we also need to remember sin hurts the sinner, too! When practiced sin can become addictive strongholds that are difficult to break. So, we need to develop compassion for those who are struggling.

I was born with a very sensitive conscience that hurts deeply when I sin. When I struggled with patterns of sin I felt too ashamed to go to God again and again with the same sin. Christianity seemed to work for everyone but me. Then God began to show me some awesome things! The more time I spend in His presence seeking Him and praying the more His holiness exposed my sin. At first, that exposure discouraged me and people often leave the church for that reason. I learned that God wanted me to see His love is unconditional and deep enough to embrace me even with my sinfulness. I was guilty of distancing myself from God's open arms by my shame, but He never left me. I searched the Gospels and never found Christ rejecting a person who was confessing his or her sin. He did turn away those who thought they were holy enough to merit His favor rather than relying on His grace.

It is important for us to understand that healthy guilt drives us to God when we need grace, while toxic shame that is based on lies drives us away. When my children were young, we lived in Mississippi where dirt is a beautiful red and it rains a lot. One night at a ball game my kids were playing in the mud. Toward the end of the evening one of them bounded toward me and threw his muddy arms around me and I hugged his dirty little body tight. I loved him and his brothers dirt and all. Don't get me wrong my favorite time of evening was right after baths when I could snuggle with little people who smelled like baby wash, but there was just something about the smell of dirt and the outdoors that was cool, too. When my kids hit the teen years, there were times that I offered them hugs only to feel their bodies stiffen rather than getting a warm hug back. It hurt me to hug a stiff child, but never a dirty one. I can’t help but wonder if that is true of God, too. We can run to Him and no matter how “dirty” we are and He will embrace us. As we confess our sin, He assures us that His blood continues to cleanse us from unrighteousness. However, when we harden our hearts with pride and don't confess sin and come to God with pretense of being something we are not, we are grieving His heart.

One of my children went through a stiff time. Afterward he wrote me a letter and told me he had been hurting from leaving home and over lost relationships. He didn't know how to deal with hurt and admitted he had taken it out on me. He told me he realized our love is always there and always consistent. Do I want him to feel any more guilt over his behavior? NO! I want him to take joy in our love! That is the way God is -- always seeking us. His arms are open wide! If you struggle with sin, it is proof that you are alive in Christ, because dead people don't struggle. There is not a sin that God cannot love us through or help us overcome. However, sometimes He chooses to do that with a once for all deliverance and sometimes with a minute-by-minute dependence on Him.

The questions we need to ask ourselves are: “Am I a "stiff child" whose heart is hard and don't think truth is relevant?” “Am I a "stiff child" who doubts that God will continue to forgive me?” If so, be like my kids when they were little and ran into my arms without giving it a second thought. Run to your Abba’s arms, which are always open and ready to receive you, dirt and all. If you are lucky enough to truly understand the balance of truth and grace you know God loves to hug dirty children. Another couple of questions we might want to grapple with is: “Is God calling us to speak His truth to a stumbling friend?” “Is God calling me to extend His grace to one of His "dirty" children that longs to be held?” It is okay to hate a person’s sin and the damage that it does to him or her, but God has called us to be a people who have the capacity to love the dirty child and offer him a shower and a fresh pair of jeans.

Prayer: Father, thank you for sending Christ to demonstrate Your love. Thank you for demonstrating the beautiful balance of truth and grace. Help us to love others the way You did. Give us the wisdom and discernment to speak truth boldly with words that are bathed with humility and grace. Give us courage to love and embrace the dirty children You died for. Amen.

God’s Promise for Broken Hearts

"The Lord is near to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

Where is God when it hurts? This is the question posed in the book by the same title that is written by Philip Yancey. Yancey discusses both physical and emotional pain in the book. Physical pain is pain that is caused by physical injury and/or physical illness. This type of pain varies in intensity ranging from mild discomfort to overwhelming waves of pain. Some pain, like childbirth, can have great benefits associated with it while other types of pain seem to bear no blessing at all. Unlike the pain of childbirth that comes in waves and ends after the birth process, those struggling with cancer, losing a limb, or chronic pain from something like arthritis often do not experience and end to their pain. The most that they can hope for is a sense of managing the pain. It may be hard for those struggling with chronic pain to see pain as a precious gift from God that signifies that something is wrong and needs our attention. It helps us to realize where our bodies begin and end. For example, we may not be consciously aware of where our thumb ends unless we hit it with a hammer. The nerves signal very clearly where the body ends or begins, in order for us to keep our bodies from injury. Without physical pain we would do horrendous damage to our body without realizing it. Without the discomfort of being cold or hungry we would not put warmer clothes on or eat. Without physical pain we would not remove our hand from a hot burner.

Emotional pain is every bit as real as physical pain, but in comes in different forms. It comes in the form of loneliness, anxiety, fear, anger, insecurity, broken-heartedness, and sadness. Emotional hurts also come in intensities from a mild uneasiness to an overwhelming hurt. Interestingly emotional pain can be so intense that it physically hurts us. I remember one time that a car came around the corner and almost hit our neighbor’s child. I screamed and doubled over as my stomach cramped due to the tension I was feeling. Emotional hurts should also be recognized as a stimulus to correct various situations in life. We need to realize our ability to feel emotional pain is also God-given. Without emotional pain we may not be stimulated to confront unhealthy relationships, work environments, or learn to take care of ourselves during stressful situations.

Now, in going back to our original question – “Where is God when it hurts?” Psalm 34:18 tells us the answer to that important question. It says, "The Lord is near to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." If we believe this verse, then we have to believe when we are hurting that God is very near. Does that mean we will always "feel" His presence? Not always! Men like David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all vocalized questions about where God was in their difficult circumstances. At times they felt deserted. While our emotions are real, they are not always based upon the truth. If we "feel" or "think" God is far away when we hurt, we need to remember that it is not based on the truth. It is a lie of the enemy and maybe even a sense of individuality in our experience.

Another question that we might find ourselves struggling with, is, "Does God care that I hurt?" Today’s verse states that He does!. Christ Himself experienced pain. He got hungry, cold, and tired. He was beaten, whipped, had hair plucked out, and was crucified which is an extremely painful way to die. He felt emotional pain. He was lonely, disappointed, betrayed, falsely accused, and misunderstood. The Bible says Christ lived and suffered so we would know that we have a high priest who understands the feelings of our infirmities. (Hebrews 4) As we suffer in the same ways that He did, it gives us a clearer picture of the love that Christ has for us. He chose to suffer to demonstrate His love for us.

Why would God permit pain? First, trials mature us and He is committed to completing the work He began in us and physical pain is one of the tools He uses. (James 1:2-4 and Philippians 1:6) 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 also says that God comforts us so that we may comfort others.

MMM…I think these verse actually address our original question. "Where is God when it hurts?" In the church! A part of our calling as Christians is to comfort those who are broken hearted, wounded, and those hurting physically and/or emotionally! Why do we not do it? Maybe we are afraid we will say the wrong things. We don't need to be afraid, sometimes all people need is to know we are there and that they will sense God's care and love through us. Maybe we are too busy, which is a cultural problem in America. Maybe we don't understand another person’s pain, maybe their pain reminds us of our own pain that we do not want to face, or maybe we are simply uncomfortable around them. Maybe we don't understand that we are commanded to comfort those who have hearts that are broken or who have bodies that are wracked with physical pain.

Several years ago I was undergoing counseling for some deep emotional pain, but I stayed busy and ran from the pain every time we would get close to it. I was in a freak accident and suffered a severely broken ankle and was housebound for about a year. I had to sit in both the physical and emotional pain. At the time I did not know very many people at a friendship level, so I spent a lot of time talking to God both about the physical and the emotional pain that I was experiencing. To be honest, I felt like I connected to God at a whole new level! There have been other times that I was hurting emotionally and I was blessed to have had people write me encouragement notes and/or share Bible verses with me and I felt loved – not just by them – but by GOD! Once in a Bible Study I did not even realize how a lesson had affected me and then the teacher had a quiet time followed by a prayer time in which we were to pray aloud about our commitments and I could not bring myself to do it. The quietest student in the class reached over and gently took my hand and her touch gave me the courage to pray out loud. I thanked her later and she said she did not know why she had done it, she just felt that she was supposed to! I know why she did it, God led her to do it to show me He was with me.

We need to ask ourselves if we are fulfilling our responsibility to be near to those in pain? We have been called to restore each other, bear each other's burden, to comfort, to be kind and tenderhearted, and to labor for each other in prayer. How are we doing in that? Or is one of us hurting and feel like God is far away? Do we need to be more transparent and ask for prayer? We also need to remind ourselves not to be terrified of sharing in other people’s pain. We don't need to let feelings of inadequacy deter us, for God can help us know when to take a hand, to sit quietly, cry with someone, or gently remind a hurting person of the truth of God's care.

Prayer: Father, help us to care about those who are hurting physically or emotionally. Help us to see behind the masks that so many of us wear. Father, pain often scares us because it is something we cannot fix or control. Please help us overcome our fears and fill us with your wisdom, your love, and your compassion for the hurting. Please don't let any of us be the reason that someone believes that she was deserted by you when she hurt. Guard our hearts from our tendency to want to “fix” or heal pain that only you can heal. Amen.