why God allows us to feel pain

I've had my share of pain. In the midst of struggles and/or pain, I ask the question, "Where are you God?" It's hard to see Him in the middle of storms. But still I know He is there.

 

In those times, He reminds me of these verses:

 

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

 

When I confess my brokenness and weakness to God I know He is there. Not only is God close to the brokenhearted, He heals and covers wounds. (see Psalm 147:3)

 

Wounds can be caused by physical, emotional, or even spiritual pain. I've wrestled with the question, "Why does God use pain to draw me closer to Him?"

 

I think God uses pain to draw me closer to Him because if I never felt pain, I wouldn't feel compassion either. The pain in my life causes me to cling to the Creator of everyone and everything. He longs to comfort me. I just have to come, broken.

a life of believing God

I know I believe in God but do I truly, in the core of who I am, believe God?

I want my life to go beyond the surface of believing in God to believing God.

There is a distinct difference. Beth Moore explains in her devotional Believing God four (4) qualities (or motivations) of a life of believing God:

(1) Incomparable power

               Ephesians 1:19

                          "and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as       the  mighty strength."

                      Since I belong to God, His power lives in me and is executed when I believe that same power is always in me. I live in that power God gives to me.

(2) The pleasure of God

                Hebrews 11:6 (a)

                            "And without faith it is impossible to please God..."

                  Faith is essential for my journey as a follower of Christ. It is impossible for me to live a life of believing God without the existence of faith.

(3) Reward

                 Hebrews 11:6 (b)

                            "...because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Seeking God follows faith. When I come before God in any form: prayer, meditation, solitude, journaling, I must believe He exists. Reward follows when I seek Him relentlessly. But do I? On a daily basis, do I make my number one priority to come before His presence, to seek His guidance, provision, direction, or anything else I might need that given day?

I know how I would answer that previous question and I can't honestly say that seeking God is my number one priority. I get caught up with my job and I have different priorities any given day. and if I don't feel like seeking Him or His heart, I won't. Simple. I need to be honest with myself before God can initiate any change.  God acts according to my level of faith which leads into the last motivation.

(4) God will often act according to our faith

                 Matthew 9:29

                         "Then he touched their eyes and said, 'according to your faith let it be done to you."

 

                 My level of faith influences how God will work in my life, others I am in contact with, and also my future.

 

At any time I can ask God to increase my faith.

In a more simplistic sense, faith is a quality of the fruit of the Spirit (Romans 10:17), and faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Luke 17:1-6)

 

Believing God verses believing in God will be credited to me as righteousness. My goal is to live a life of believing God.

i am free

I know true freedom comes only from God. Here are a few things I am free to do in faith:

 

*I am free to be compassionate.

*I am free to enjoy.

*I am free to be renewed.

 

*I am free to write.

*I am free to surrender.

 

*I am free to be passionate.

*I am free to be on fire for God.

*I am free to commune with Him.

 

*I am free to be called.

 

Compassion, enjoyment, renewal have their source in God.

He (God) gives me the words to write and the strength to surrender when I hold on just a little too tight.

Passion fuels intimacy I have with Him, then I am in communion with the one my heart loves.

pursuing holiness

Through holiness I see God. I must also follow after holiness which is the whole point of my life. Because without holiness, I cannot see God.

Holiness is a facet of the character of God. (Isaiah 6:3) I want to be holy as He is holy.

Here are some prayers for holiness:

* "father, may I thirst for holiness more than I desire anything else on earth."

* father, make me holy in every aspect of my conduct, do in me what You must to do through me what You will." (www.presenationministries.com)

The essence of holiness means to be set apart from the world: its passions and desires. holiness is an outward illustration of sanctification. As I seek to be holy, that will lead to humility.

10 valid needs of people: comfort

God is a god of comfort. He comforts us in our suffering, pain, sorrow, etc. Because He comforts us, we are equipped to bring comfort to those around us who live in desolation.

Psalm 119:50 states, My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Wow! What an amazing verse. The promise of God preserves our lives when we are faced with suffering.

Additionally, Psalm 119:76 says, May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.

The unfailing love of God is our comfort.

Because of the comfort God brings to us, we in turn can seek to comfort others.

10 valid needs of people: attention

people need attention. period. when you show an interest in their likes, etc. , you are showing them the love of God.

when i see everyone as an individual instead of generalizing them as the same, i am taking a step toward giving them attention.

attention involves being a good listener, helping a friend out, etc. When one shows attention, that is a sign of unity among the family of believers.

10 valid needs of people: acceptance

Romans 15:7 states, "Therefore accept one another just as Christ Jesus accepted you."

What does it look like to accept people? I want to accept people for who they are, not what they are. This is a daily challenge. Sometimes I silently judge people based on appearance, education, etc. Then God speaks to me, "Why are you judging them? I made them in my image." I hear Him clearly then I realize who am I to judge others.

I'm not perfect and judging others prematurely isn't accepting them or showing God's love.

I want to accept people just as God accepts me right where I am, and not where I should be or what I could become.

holy jealousy

"He is jealous for me

love like a hurricane..."

God is jealous for His people. There is an overwhelming desire in me to learn everything I can about God: His character. One life is not enough to truly know Him. The more I know, the more He comes to me, the more I am drawn to Him with a holy love.

I can't ignore it. He is jealous for me. That's why I want to live only for Him.

He deserves my unrelenting devotion. The question remains will I give up everything to follow Him, whose name is jealous? (Exodus 34:14)

the object of Christianity

David Platt writes in the book, Radical, "the message of biblical Christianity is 'God loves me so that I might make him-his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness- known among all nations.' Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel, God is."

John 3:16 says "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life." The object of Christianity is God incarnated in human form so I may spread His fame across the globe.

It's not about me.

So often I make it about me: what I want to do, where I want to live and where I'll end up.

That's making Christianity about me. The object is me.

I'm starting to see that is not what my beliefs are to be rooted in. Beliefs are to be rooted and founded on Him and His truth, not what is convenient for me.

That isn't saving the world.

The object of Christianity is Jesus and I want to keep it there.

weakness lets god in

i'm not one to be vulnerable before God. but i've reached a place where all my strength is drained and all I can is look up at God and all He is.

the weaknesses of this life let God in. i'm just beginning to learn this. just when I feel discouraged in faith, god shows up. i'm aware of my weakness and that lets god in.

god is beginning something in me and I invite Him into all of me. I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready to follow Him wherever He is leading me.

and I am to boast in the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30) I am lead to the question why is God glorified through weakness? they (weaknesses) force me to depend on God, not myself.

Weaknesses of this life let god in.

never give up

When times are rough, my God makes a way. When I can't see the road ahead, God sees where I need to go: what direction I should go.

When I feel like giving up on myself, God is speaking into my life, saying "don't give up. I have a way for you that far exceeds the way you have for yourself."

I treasure His voice because when there is no hope left in my own humanity, God becomes my hope I cling to desperately.

Perseverance is what I am called to as a follower of Jesus. God never gives up on me so why would I ever give up and think that I'm too far gone to be rescued and changed, transformed into more of His image?

I never give up.

When times are hard, when you feel there is no way out of what brings you down, remember God made a way. Never give up.

lighting the way

Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. -Psalm 25:8

As this verse states, the Lord is good and upright. Digging deeper, what does it mean to be upright? To be upright means to be moral, true and honest. And because of the nature of God, He leads sinners in His ways.

Then I ask myself what are the ways of God? I must seek Him to find them. My prayer is He would reveal His ways so I may walk in His light.

Not a Fan.

I'm reading through Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman which speaks of moving beyond being a fan of Jesus to becoming a committed follower.

Some passages that stood out to me are
"We are saved by God's grace when we believe in Jesus and put our faith in him, but biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths; it's something we confess with our lives...a belief is more than what we say (104)."

Salvation comes through the grace of God through faith. Believing is more than just talking all the time. Followers show through their lives that they belong to Jesus.

Following Jesus also requires movement and a complete and total commitment.

Not a Fan is challenging me to evaluate where I truly stand in my relationship with Jesus.

If interested in reading this book, you can purchase a discounted copy at www.christianbook.com

His Love is Relentless

God relentlessly pursues His people and never lets them go. Despite this truth, I loosen my grip of God the moment I can't see where I'm headed. I like control and to know where I'm going.

I wander aimlessly asking "God where are you?" Despite asking this question I know in the core of who I am I know God is in me: His spirit lives in me. Therefore I can never escape God or His love. Because of His love, he relentlessly pursues me even when I get caught up in things of this life.

He desires intimacy from me daily: that is one thing I can always pray for that is within what He desires for me. I can never be too intimate with Him. More than anything in this life, I should crave deep intimacy with God.

Through intimacy my soul is satisfied and God is glorified. And that brings me an inner joy. He relentlessly pursues me: I just respond to His call.

All My Eyes Want to See...

And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God

 -Philippians 1:9-11

As expressed in this passage, real love is rooted in knowledge and understanding not merely an emotion. As a follower of Jesus I am to approve and practice what I know to be morally and ethically best. Also, my goal in this life is to be without any mixture of evil and not be open to any defilement because of moral and/or spiritual failure. The ultimate goal and purpose of my life is to bring glory and praise to God.

When I glorify and praise God, everything is as it should be. That's my main mission in life. For I know in the core of who I am, my life is given to me to bring glory to God and to live to honor Him. That's it.

That's all.

When I live for Him alone, I will see glimpses of heaven in my life, radiating through me.

All my eyes want to see is His glory magnified. All I want is Him.

The Beauty of Surrender

Surrendering to God is never easy. I fight and fight against what I want instead of what He desires. So what is the solution? What is the key to surrender?

The key to surrender (which leads to peace) is authority: knowing God is who He says He is. Also, peace comes from an active, ongoing, and obedient relationship with God. In order to have complete peace, I must surrender everything to Him. (Luke 14:33) This becomes a reality when I find delight in Him.

 Psalm 37:4 states Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When I am happy in God, when He satisfies my soul more than anything, and when I am content in Him, God will provide me what I want the most for He satisfies me more than anything.

There is peace and beauty in surrendering to God, but He can't take something that isn't surrendered to Him.

I believe surrender is laying down my pride and control and saying, "God, You are strong enough to take this." I must replace feelings of pride with humility.

That is my prayer: to live a surrendered life and that happens every moment where He is center to everything in me.

Anything But Common

Exodus 3:5 says, Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Adapted from the NIV study Bible foot note, "holiness involves being consecrated to the Lord's service and being separated from the commonplace."

This is relevant because since I belong to God, I am anything but common. I need to remember this whenever I am struggling with trying to fit in to the crowd. Being part of a crowd is easy: I just blend in. However, I am called to serve God, not man. This requires me to step out of what is comfortable and go with God.

Also, Exodus 3:14 states I AM WHO I AM. This is the name God wishes to be known and also expresses His character as the dependable and faithful God who desires the trust of His people.

I know I am to trust in God at all times even when I'm unsure of where He is leading me.

I Lift My Eyes to God Alone

I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD
the Maker of heaven and earth. -Psalm 121:1-2

When I face troubled times, I need not to look inward at my own strength which will fail me. I know God is greater than any struggle, temptation, trial, hardship, I might face in this life.

Troubles can't be avoided in this life. When I am in the midst of any sort of testing in my faith, I know God is right there: by my side.

I lift my eyes to God alone.
He is the only one who will see me through. He watches over my life. And that is comforting to know I serve the one true God whose name is powerful.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth. -Psalm 124:8

The help God provides to me is in His name for He holds power and authority in my life. When I am grounded in Him, I can never be moved.
I lift my eyes to God alone.

Happy 2013 :-)

My verse for 2013 is Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

As I begin a new year, seeking God, His righteousness, and His will for me is my prayer. I want intimacy with God.; therefore persistently pursuing Him needs to become my one passion in life. I want His righteousness to consume my life: all of me for all of Him. I'm crying out for God to bring me back to a place where I'm hardcore for Him. I recognize time is the only thing that will allow God to work in me the way He sees. Patience, Gratitude, and submission are crucial for the journey set before me.

In an attempt for God to work in me, I'm finished living for my own selfish desires. I've done that for too long. I want to live seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. That comes from the power of God, not my own. And when I live pursuing His kingdom, I will find Him and good things will follow.

It's only through Jesus that I become the righteousness of God (see 2 Corinthians 5:21)

I invite you to seek His kingdom and His righteousness also. Let a glimpse of heaven be seen in our midst.

This Is Revival

Revival.

that's a strong word. But what is it? How does it come to happen? Revival happens when a leader or leaders have a vision.

Visions must be saturated with the truth of God to initiate any revival of hearts. Before community revival happens, there must be a fresh personal revival. The truth of God needs to cancel out all the lies that have formed in me. This begins when I turn to God and reach out to Him: knowing He is the only hope I have for any sort of change.

I am beginning to see my heart turning back to God so I am equpped to point others toward the Truth. That is my prayer: that people around me will see the truth of God in me and they will be motivated to dig deeper into a life of intimacy with God.