How Low Can You Go?

 Today's blog is a reflective pause on my last month's journey of life and the circumstance of sickness.  From July 21 until August 14, my everyday life was a mixture of unfortunate situations, illness, depressing thoughts, and doubt for my earthly existence.  Oh, how often we are so quick to question God's goodness and purpose in our lives. I know I'm guilty of it.  

"Do you ever look at your circumstances and see no possible way the Lord could bring something good from them?  While we can’t always understand what God is doing, there is one thing we can do—trust Him to use our situation for His own glorious purposes.  When we view life from God’s perspective, every hardship becomes an opportunity to trust His good purpose, fully depend on Him, and respond in a manner that glorifies and exalts Christ."  [intouch.org]

Philippians 1:29-30, "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me."

Sometimes what we face and go through is a spiritual attack from the devil.  He brings us to our lowest points of vulnerability because he knows our weaknesses and preys on them to his advantage.  "Many today mock the idea of a literal devil, but Scripture clearly states that Satan is real, and his goal is to draw people away from God, to thwart His purposes, and to cause division.  Satan is a liar, and no one is immune to his attempts to deceive. Therefore, to stand firm against his lies, believers in Christ need to understand his strategies."  [intouch.org]

"What is a satanic attack?  It’s a deliberate, willful assault by Satan upon an individual for the purpose of doing harm in the spirit, soul, or body, or all three. These attacks could come at any time or from anywhere. The devil tries to trip us up when we are at our weakest, and he knows exactly who or what to use as a lure. He often tempts us with what we do not need or should not have as he seeks to bring us down."  [intouch.org]

As for myself, on my July 23rd blog, "Qualified For, But Doing What's Right", I had one of my greatest number of comments ever for a blog post.  So far, I've had 16 written comments for that specific blog post.  I was so encouraged to write more.  I actually wrote the blog during the beginning of my painful trial.  The devil then turned up the heat in my suffering so I fought back with a blog on "Patience and Pain" on August 5th.  I reached my lowest point when what I thought was over regarding my sickness, returned with a vengeance.  I still continued to seek the Lord's guidance for a blog but my will to encourage others needed it's own encouraging.  I was led to a friend's message of encouragement and decided to share that last week, "Truth Matters" by Jim Ehrhard.  When the devil comes after us, we MUST fight back and not let him destroy our souls, spirits, bodies, or missions.

Satan’s Strategies

• He directs our attention toward a need or desire. 

• The devil chooses times when we are the weakest.

• He creates doubt in our minds. Satan’s biggest target is the Word of God.

• Satan wants to get us in a debate.

• The devil uses deception as his key weapon

• Satan’s goal is to destroy us. 

I share these strategies of Satan so that we know what we are up against.  As Voddie Baucham says, "We are not seeing terrible things in our culture because we vote the wrong way, We are seeing terrible things in our culture because men love darkness rather than light."  We must recognize and turn from the devil's lies and turn towards God's Truth in his Word.  When we fill our minds with Scripture and live according to its principles, Satan’s schemes lose their power over us.

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Truth Matters - Guest Writer, Jim Ehrhard

Today's blog is from a missionary friend of mine, Jim Ehrhard.  I read the following in his quarterly update and agreed with all of it.  It is definitely worth sharing and since I've been sick, it's a great time for me to have a guest writer.  THANK YOU Jim for your wisdom and sharing with us all.

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What really matters? Black lives matter! Blue lives matter! All lives matter! While all these statements are true, one thing matters more - truth. And when truth no longer matters, nothing else will.

For Christians, truth is an absolute. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks about the resurrection of Jesus. He presents a long list of witnesses who saw Jesus risen from the dead. He even includes a group over 500 people who saw Jesus at the same time. Paul tells us that, if the resurrection did not take place, then we are liars and we are above all men to be most pitied! Why? Because Truth matters!

America today is experiencing a great crisis. It is not a racial crisis as the media would have you believe. It is a truth crisis. I lived through the race conflicts of the 60s and 70s and the ones today are very different. Those who protested in the 60s believed they were voices of truth. Martin Luther King Jr. articulated the foundations of that movement: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." That dream is still my dream for America today.

But listen to what King warned about in his speech:

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

And King gave an important warning – a warning that needs to be voiced today. Without this understanding, those protesting racism today quickly become racists ….

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

But the crisis today is not racial. It is a crisis of truth. I grew up during the 60s and saw systematic racism everywhere. I lived in the South in the 70s when segregated restrooms and water fountains still existed and blacks were still not welcome in many white restaurants. And even though these things were not legal, you were warned not to cross those lines! After living back in the North for 2 decades, I returned to the Deep South in the 90s and found a world transformed from the 60s and 70s. Instead of public segregation, blacks and whites ate together in the same restaurants! And not only that, blacks and whites often sat at the same tables enjoying each other's company! The racism of the 60s seemed a distant past. I know there are exceptions - there always will be. I know we still have a way to go to eradicate racism. But the truth is we have made great progress as a nation on racial equality. The crisis today is whether or not truth will be allowed to be voiced.

This is the scariest part of what is happening today. If truth is not allowed to be voiced, then only the loudest and most violent will have any voice. That is what is happening today. As a historian, I am shocked to see that the tactics used today are the same used by the “brown shirts” (Nazis) in the 1930s. They would follow those who did not support them into restaurants and publicly humiliate and intimidate them, and if that failed, they would resort to violence. They even required people to show their support of their movement or their businesses would be attacked. Today, America is losing the possibility of free speech, not by legislation (at least not yet), but by intimidation. In such an environment, truth is effectively silenced. And when truth no longer matters, nothing will matter.

But most important, how should believers respond? Here are some biblical principles to consider.

1.      Search diligently for the truth. I know this is not always easy and takes time. A number of years ago, I began to see that most of the news headlines were sensational or designed to mislead. For example, I would read a quotation attributed to someone on one media and then look to find the full text online. Most of the time, the headline quotation was taken out of context or even totally absent from the full text. I was alarmed by the complete dishonesty shown by journalists in reporting the news. Proverbs 2:4-6 tells us to look for wisdom like you would look for silver. Truth is precious. It might take you some time to search and find the truth, but the truth is worth it!

2.     Be careful to only share the truth. I am saddened that the media not only distorts the truth but intentionally hides it. It bothers me even more when Christians do the same to support their political views. As believers, we need to be sure that we share only the truth. I see many posts by Christians that also distort the evils of left and even attribute false quotes to various leaders. We need to remember that “The Lord detests lying lips” (Proverbs 12:22). Not just liberal ones but lying ones! That includes ours.

3.     Speak the truth – in love. In Ephesians 4:15, we are told to “speak the truth in love” so that we may “grow up into Him.” Make sure that even when you speak the truth, you speak it with grace and love. When Jesus came, he came, not just with truth but “full of grace and truth.” When we speak the truth, we need to be sure we do so with grace and truth! Our witness is affected when we respond back to angry people in anger. James 1:19 says, “Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Make sure you speak the truth – in love!

4.     Be humble. When you make a mistake, correct it. When you say something wrongly, apologize. Don’t think we as Christians are always right. We certainly do not act righteously all the time. I often tell people that I would rather be “righteous” than “right.” Truth matters – but so do our attitudes and actions. We need to share the truth, but always in love. In 1 John 1:8, we are reminded: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We may think we have “the truth” on our side, but if we use it in a sinful manner, then are only deceiving ourselves – and, although the truth might be on our lips, “the truth is not in us!”

5.     Saturate yourself in God’s truth. Jesus prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify them in truth; thy Word is truth” John 17:17. There is no better way to stay focused on the truth than to stay grounded in God’s Word. It not only informs us what the truth is, it also checks our character and corrects us when we wander from the truth. Make this your prayer: “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11). Saturate yourself in God’s truth from God’s Word.

What really matters? Truth – take truth out of the equation and you have nothing. Black lives definitely matter. But so blue lives, white lives, and all lives. That’s the truth. If we ever lose that, we lose everything.

Patience and Pain

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11

“The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.”  John Piper

Luke 21:19 — “By your endurance [patience] you will gain your lives.”

Romans 2:7 — “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, God will give eternal life.”

Hebrews 6:12 — “Do not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Today I celebrate the end of a short, but seemingly never ending, trial with my health.  Oh, yes it was hard to get through, painful, depressing, and challenging.  It definitely tested and required patience that was sometimes hard to muster, but I found it.  So this blog is about where do we look to during painful times and how to be patient through it all.

"Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”  [John Piper]

As for myself, patience is not my strong suit and coupled with pain, it can make me not myself.  I write blogs like these more for myself to learn and grow from, more than anyone intended for.  As much as I think I have strong inner strength, my lack in the patience department humbles me to acknowledge my weakness here.  As Margaret Thatcher once famously remarked: “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”

"Patience demands tremendous inner strength.  For the Christian, this strength comes from God. That is why Paul is praying for the Colossians. He is asking God to empower them for the patient endurance that the Christian life requires. But when he says that the strength of patience is “according to [God’s] glorious might,” he doesn’t just mean that it takes divine power to make a person patient. He means that faith in this glorious might is the channel through which the power for patience comes."  [intouch.org]

"Do we believe that God is working for us in the strangest and most painful turns of our lives?  The answer is: faith in God’s sovereign, future grace — the sovereign grace of God to turn the unplanned place and the unplanned pace into the happiest ending imaginable." 

Okay, so this next quote may touch on some toes, as it did mine.  "Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of his guidance.  The opposite of impatience is a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness either to wait for God where you are in the place of obedience, or to persevere at the pace he allows on the road of obedience — to wait in his place, or to go at his pace."  [intouch.org]  

Woah, yes that's hard truth to swallow, huh?  Our impatience is a form of arrogance in that we think we know what's best for the situation and how quickly it should be over and done with.   In Psalm 130:5. How does the psalmist battle against impatience in his heart?  "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in his word I hope."   We must turn to His Word and remind ourselves of his truths and promises that never change and are everlasting.  Romans 2:6-7, "God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life."

We must trust God and be patient through all the trials and painful circumstances we face.  Just as Abraham trusted still at 100 years of age that “So shall your offspring be", even tho he faced the reality of his body weakening and I'm sure painful trials regarding his health.  Yet Romans 4:20-21 says, "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."  What a blessed example we have been given to follow.

Making a list of what you struggle with can help you identify whether it's truly important or not on an eternal scale.  My patience struggles are waiting on others for whatever reason, people who don't try to do better, not being able to do things myself, and the painful wait for an illness to end.  But God says for all of these, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

"Patience isn’t something we are born with or receive instantly at the moment of salvation. Rather, it is developed over time with God’s grace and our cooperation." [C. Stanley]

Where We Need Patience: [intouch.org]

1. With Ourselves... “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

2. With Others..."Our attitudes and behaviors toward people should mirror those of God, who has been so patient with us" (2 Peter 3:9)   and  "When we focus on how other people should change, we become blind to our own need for a transformed heart that loves others with patience, kindness, humility, unselfishness, and endurance" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

3. With God..."All impatience with people or circumstances is ultimately directed at God, who is sovereign over all things" (Psalm 103:19)

How to Develop More Patience:

1. Ask for it through prayer.

2. Think biblically about the purpose of your trials and circumstances.

3. Accept responsibility for developing patience and let the Holy Spirit empower you towards it.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

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Qualified For, But Doing What's Right

To weary souls along life's road,
Help me, O Lord, to share their load;
To fallen souls enslaved in sin,
Help me, O Lord, their souls to win. —Jarvis

One of the buzz phrases of our culture right now is 'entitled to'.  What is entitlement?  "The concept of something being owed to or deserved of by someone,"  What are we entitled to and what are our motives regarding that?  "Thomas Jefferson, who in 1776 wrote the first draft of the US Declaration of Independence, took it for granted that all of us possess certain God-given, “unalienable rights.” Yet, even in a democracy, there is fierce discussion about who is entitled to what rights.  Christians can look at rights from another perspective. Instead of being concerned about ourselves, we can think about what others need." [odb.org]  I don't want to get into a debate about what rights we have or do not have, but I want to share my thoughts, motives and entitlements that I did and did not use as an American disabled woman.

As I begin my story, I will be using the word 'qualified for' instead of 'entitled to', because of the positive and negative connotations with each respectfully.

When I was 12, I was correctly diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN with the neuromuscular disease, CMT....Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. "Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most commonly inherited neuropathy and affects 2.8 million people worldwide and 1 in 2500 in the United States.  The disease is named after the 3 physicians who first identified it in 1886, Jean-Martin Charcot and Pierre Marie in Paris, France, and Howard Henry Tooth in Cambridge, England. CMT disease is a motor-sensory neuropathy with multiple genotypes."   At the age of 18, I qualified automatically for SSI disability income, because neuromuscular diseases fall under the government guidelines as disabled without question.  That is because it is harder to find and get a job with my handicapped limitations, so its a small amount of money for necessities.  I also qualified for college assisted funding, along with my academic scholarship I earned and received.  My motives and intentions were never to live off of government assistance but to better myself with education and get a job.  When I got married, I lost my SSI income and that was totally acceptable because we never had a desire to live off the government in any way.  

After college, I seeked a job like anyone else would.  I didn't look or ask for special favor or non-discriminatory benefits.  I applied and interviewed for jobs that were no way suitable for me, like a health inspector job in a 30 degree chicken factory, just for the interview experience.  When I did get my job, I started out as part-time and after 6 months went to full-time with benefits.  Many people don't get that you have to work your way up, not start at the top.

When I moved back home at a few days from 30, I could certainly relate to Paul's feelings on his imprisonment, I called my new residence 'the dungeon'.  Philippians 1:12, "Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."  My college experience and job as a Lab Tech2, I believe were God given times for me.  I didn't change the world or move mountains, but God blessed me with a brain and enough ability to provide and contribute.  I also believe that God gifted me with a new talent to blog the past 11 years that has had more of an impact on other's lives, than my paid job ever did.  I get feedback from my readers occasionally that let's me know that they've benefited spiritually or in some other way and that makes my heart happy.

Philippians 1:19-26, "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,  for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;  but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,  so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me."

I write this blog to encourage people to focus on what God has given you to use in this world.  No one has all the pieces to play this game of life, but we are to make the most of our blessings and be purposeful and intentional with them.  It irks me to see people with so much strength and energy to be living like sloths, looking for a free ride and only thinking of themselves.  I don't want to point my finger but instead be an example of difference in the way I live and think.  First Thessalonians 2:4 says, “Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts”. God is interested in our motives even more than our actions."

1. Takeaways from what I've learned along the way:
   You are enough and are purposefully blessed.

2. Don't let weaknesses rule or control your life.

3. Use what you qualify for to make you better for this world, others, and yourself.

4. Loss isn't without purpose in God's perspective and eventually in mine too.

5. Redirect yourself in a new way so that you can continue to be a blessing to others, when God changes your path.

6. Do not ever give up on yourself because God isn't finished using you in his plan.

7. Tomorrow is a new day with new mercies and another chance to bless someone, including yourself.

8. Isolation is the devil's playground, where he feeds your wrong thoughts.

9. The Bible is your best source of encouragement..read and meditate on it.

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Changes

Hebrews 13:8 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Numbers 23:19

God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill?

Psalm 91:5-6

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Matthew 18:3

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

Life is a series of changes. Some are inevitable and some are man-made, but all are under the control of God's will and hands.  He may not be pleased with or condone the change, but as Romans 8:28 tells believers "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

“The rapid changes in our world can give us a sense of unease and uncertainty. We can be thrown off balance by the suffering we see around us, the evolving technology that outpaces our ability to absorb it, and the daily rise and fall of the financial markets. Sometimes what seems worthwhile to us today has less value tomorrow." [odb.org]

We never know what lies ahead and I am grateful for that fact! I have wasted and do waste enough time and energy when I worry about the future. If I knew ahead of time what was going to happen to me, I would not be emotionally or in any other way prepared for what lies ahead. The thing is, God gives us strength for that moment and not for the moments in our future. He will give us fearless faith at the exact time we need it and not a second earlier!

As for myself, I typically fight change with all my might.  I realize though, that not all change is bad.  Here are some of my thoughts on change:

1. CHANGE CAN BE A BLESSING

"If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies".  I put up with an inadequate caregiver for way too long because of fear that I would get someone worse, but instead I was blessed with one of the best caregivers ever, Karla.

2. NOT ALL ACCEPT CHANGE WITH GRACE

There are family and friends who were in my life and who knew me in my stronger days, that now have passed or visited my residence without any acknowledgement that I am here.  I feel they were more interested in what I can do, than who I am as a person. "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

3. CHANGE HURTS AND HEALS

As much as my physical strength weakens daily, it does hurt on all levels: mentally, emotionally, relationally, and physically.  But, it has turned me toward God more than anything for strength, peace, hope, patience and endurance.

4. CHANGE TAKES COURAGE

No matter how much life changes, we can have hope, for we are anchored to a firm foundation that will never be shaken.  Isaiah 28:16 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed." [intouch.org]

5. CHANGE IS EXPECTED FOR BELIEVERS

When a person is born-again by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, their lives go through a process of sanctification--making them more like God.  As a Christian, we are forever changed into a new creature and thus should behave, act, speak and respond to this world differently than those who remain unchanged by the Holy Spirit.

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