Don’t fight it

“Don’t fight it. Don’t fight the pain. You have to relax.”

Confused by these instructions, I had to turn my thoughts away from the physical pain of labor to the rest of my body, wondering the entire time how to make myself relax when hurting so much.

But after a few moments, I found I could relax.

It worked.

Choosing to relax made labor much more bearable, and it wasn’t too long before the pain was forgotten in the joy of our newborn.

Since that day, it’s a practical truth I’ve applied many times.

“Don’t fight the pain” is now something I try to live by, because I’ve learned pain is not my enemy.

What is my enemy is allowing anything to trick me into fighting rather than relying.

Proverbs 3:5 NKJV — Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

That’s not to say, I am silent about everything.

It simply means I try not to react, but rather to prayerfully respond.

And not just in the physical, but in the emotional arena as well.

When experiencing the pain of grief or disappointment or fear it’s unwise for me to fight the pain.

John 14:27 KJV — Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Instead, I need to be honest with the Lord, myself, and those around me, without attacking the parties I feel are responsible for the pain.

Only God has the right to judge.

Romans 12:19 NLT — Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

And being honest without sinning is how we work through life’s trials.

Ephesians 4:26 KJV — Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Don’t fight the pain.

Instead:

Let God use it.

Learn to rest in God’s promises.

Lay yourself open before the Lord and humbly choose to focus on the Lord rather than the pain.

I still fall into reaction rather than response.

I have often fought the pain rather than trusting God.

But I’m doing it less.

For every time I choose not to fight the pain, I’m amazed by how God works in and through it.

It’s not easy, but it can be done.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your faithfulness which has taught me so much. Lord, for the times I have chosen to fight rather than trust I’m ashamed and I thank You for Your forgiveness. Lord, help me to remember: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7 NKJV I want to walk in these truths and be guided by Your Word. Lord, thank You for all You have taught me and I know there’s so much more to learn. Thank You! May my life bring glory to Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Trust and…

“When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey”

These words are like a warm blanket wrapped around my heart.

My love of hymns was planted as a young child, sitting in wooden pews and singing beside my parents.

But the truth is where my heart finds comfort.

“Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
  But to trust and obey.”

As an adult, my journey has taught me to trust and obey.

Trust comes first.

Without a personal relationship with Jesus, I can’t understand what He is asking me to do.

Therefore the obedience is marred before I even begin.

But when my entire life is centered upon the salvation of the cross, I can learn His will for me.

I can obey.

“Not a burden we bear,
  Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
  Not a grief or a loss,
  Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey”

As trials or difficulties come, He uses them in my life to teach, to hone, to humble.

He shines and polishes my character through adversity.

Although it’s uncomfortable, I’m always thankful for the outcome.

Truly, He brings so much treasure from these things.

“Then in fellowship sweet
  We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
  What He says we will do;
  Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.”

It’s so true.

The more I trust Him,

the more I walk in obedience to His will,

the more I find myself at His footstool or in His Word or walking forward in His truth.

It’s a beautiful, vibrant, inspiring thing to trust and obey.

2 Samuel 22:3 NKJV — The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

Psalm 62:8 NKJV — Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Hebrews 5:9 NKJV — And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for truth. Thank You for this beautiful old hymn. Lord Jesus, no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or next year I trust You. Thank You for walking with me each and every day. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for salvation. Lord, thank You for guiding, directing, and providing. Jesus, there is no friend like You. What a blessing it is to walk with You in all things. May those who call upon Your name find comfort and encouragement. May Your name be glorified throughout the whole Earth. Amen.

Why trust?

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:3 KJV

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. Psalms 4:5 KJV

God’s Word is full of verses telling those who put their faith in God to trust Him.

In fact, the Bible is clear that those who do not choose to trust the Lord are choosing sorrow:

“They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.” Duet. 28:52 NKJV

“You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 2 Kings 18:20 NKJV

It is very much like any other relationship we have.

We spend time with someone and they gain our trust through their daily behavior or they loose out trust through the same thing.

The difference with trusting in God is we can not base our opinion of His trustworthiness upon our personal experience.

We are limited as to our understanding, our perspective, our ability to see all frames of history, science, and the spiritual dimension.

God, knows that our ability to understand all of the truths of life, the universe, and spirituality is a tiny fraction of the whole.

Therefore, He put in His Word a command: trust God.

He then backs up why we should do this with story upon story of the lives of those who put their trust in Him as well as some who did not.

Their backgrounds, status, and livelihoods are as different as any group of people across the globe today, but those who put their trust in God are blessed.

Those who do not, are not blessed.

It is that simple.

Of course, our self-important emotions are offended.

“Where does He have the right to choose?”

“Why can’t my good intentions weigh in for something?”

“This isn’t fair!”

But all this means very little.

If you buy a brand-new car and fill the gas tank with olive oil you will ruin your engine.

You can be offended by this.

“Gas is so expensive!”

“I didn’t have any at home, just olive oil.”

“Why did the car maker get to choose what my engine runs on?!”

A gas engine runs on gasoline, because that is how it was designed.

God knows how the universe was crafted, He is the designer and carries authority, but on a much larger scale.

He created it all.

He understands all the parts and pieces.

He knows we need to trust Him.

And once we lay down our self, put our own opinions as secondary, and choose to walk in trusting God, we have an enormous gift.

Responsibility for our lives suddenly becomes a shared burden, the Lord Almighty and us.

What an incredible opportunity to live beside the Lord, simply following His lead and letting Him guide us.

And Who better, than the Creator of the Universe?

If my dishwasher is acting strange I look at the manual or call a repairman from the company who made it.

How much more important it is to read God’s Word and spend time seeking His plans and following through by trusting Him daily.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the truth that we need to trust You each and every day. Lord, You know it is difficult for us to learn to walk daily in trust. Please help our minds and hearts realize the enormous benefits of trusting You. Lord, let us be humble before You, not prideful, thinking we know what is best. Please continue to lead us, as we walk with You. And for those who have yet to put their trust in You, help them to see what an incredible blessing it is. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Doing without

It’s been weeks.

At first we didn’t realize what happened.

Anne had told me the oven had done something weird and scary. She’d turned it off.

The next day, without thinking, I asked Jase to make some banana bread.

Anne helped him and I told them I’d watch it once it was in the oven, so they could do outside things with Dad.

When the timer went off, something was obviously wrong.

There was a thick cooked crust on top and the rest was dough.

It took a while for me to figure out the top element in the oven was the only one working.

Of course we stopped using it.

Right after this I began running a fever..

We didn’t bother our landlord about it right away, since taking care of me was a full job.

When my husband did call the landlord, he told him not to bother calling anyone.

They couldn’t come anyway.

This week we heard from him. He had called a repair company.

After asking me all about the oven the kind lady from the repair company said, “I have some COVID questions. Has anyone in your house been sick with a fever or cough?”

After I answered that question and many follow-up questions she said, “Thank you for your honesty.”

“It’s no problem at all. People’s lives are far more important,” I replied.

We hung up and I informed our family the repairman wouldn’t be here till May 8.

No one was upset or surprised.

We all understand it’s important to be really careful right now.

Our family has had to do without many things over the years.

Our season of little or no water is one thing which has shaped our family.

Every now and then I’ll catch one of the kids slipping back into the things they learned in that time period.

Just last week, Bell looked at me and said, “I really need to wash some clothes, but I know you ran the dishwasher. When can I put in my laundry?”

I smiled, knowing she was concerned about possibly exhausting our water system and said, “It’s city water, now is fine.”

But as I think of doing without water, I thank God for my friend, she had her son come by at least once a week to pick up our soiled laundry and drop it back off clean. I thank God for our other friends who brought us water in their Water Truck, time after time. I know we didn’t pay for all the water they gave us.

I’m so thankful for so many people God has provided for us through.

In this time of doing without, I pray we find so much to be thankful for.

Yes, being in need is difficult.

It’s uncomfortable.

It’s scary.

But there was a season, many years ago when the only meal in our cabinets was oatmeal.

I remember standing in front of the cabinet and looking at how much was left and asking God to provide for us.

I wasn’t excited about only oatmeal for every meal.

But at the time, I was more concerned about running out and having our little ones go hungry.

We never did.

And not too much longer God provided and we were able to buy groceries again.

God provided in a different way when I was in need of a surgery.

It had taken months and two Emergency Room visits to find out that was the solution to my health problems.

Our medical bills were so numerous we couldn’t even think about paying them all.

A sweet lady from our church called me on her way to the store.

“Can I pick up some things for you?”

It was such a blessing as I couldn’t walk much less go shopping and we were very low on everything.

I thanked her and gave her my list.

She brought the groceries and wouldn’t take any payment.

After that she bought us groceries regularly.

And never let me pay her.

My memory is fuzzy from that time period, so I don’t even know how long she did it, but I was sick for months.

I have asked the Lord to bless her and her family in return, many times.

And I praise God for His provision.

All these seasons has taught our family that God is in control.

He knows exactly what we need and He will provide.

His ways are best and He knows what is best in every circumstance.

So, I really don’t mind doing without for a while.

I know there’s a lesson to be learned and my God to lean on.

And I praise Him!

He’s been with us no matter the need, from water to food, He has always provided and I know He always will.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for never leaving nor forsaking us. You are so good and so faithful. Please help us to keep our eyes upon You during this season of doing without. Please help us to be watchful for others we might help or encourage. Please guide and direct us. Let our hearts be molded by You in this. Thank You for Your faithfulness and love. Jesus, You are amazing! Thank You. Amen.

When things are unsettling

Recently, I received news which was unsettling.

It had come just the day after other unsettling news.

All of which snuffed out my expectations for the next few weeks.

It also led to prayer.

Prayer for others whose lives significantly have changed on very short notice.

My heart poured out to the Lord over this news for the majority of two days.

It was late afternoon, as I was again praying, that I realized my heart had not simply been praying more, I’d also been praising more.

With the emotion of instability had come a deep need to praise God through it all.

I realized God Himself was drawing me to the answers for all the requests.

Praise Him.

Just because I don’t know what the future holds, nor where the path leads, I do know the One Who does.

He’s got everything in His hands and I can praise Him while I wait.

Yes, it’s a temptation to try and plan, make guesses, look for possible options, prepare for…

But why?

It’s all fruitless.

Instead, my time is much better spent in praising God, waiting upon His direction, lifting up those He places on my heart, and doing the task at hand.

Infact, as I settled back into this routine, my unsettling emotions vanished like smoke in the wind.

All my emotions were wrapped in the assurance I have in Christ.

Then came the thoughts.

And I know they didn’t come from God.

Doubt began to whisper an entire string of “what if…”

At first, I didn’t recognize these as the voice of doubt and answered each one.

But gradually I began to see the direction the questions were trying to take my mind.

Which was when I stopped answering and started praising God afresh.

As if a light turned on, and the cock roaches flee, my soul returned to peace.

Doubt went scurrying.

What an incredible, awesome God!

He supplies all my need.

Even when I don’t realize it.

For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.
Psalms 11:7 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for walking with each and every one of us. Thank You for being our rock of refuge. Thank You for holding us when things are unsettling. Lord, we praise Your Holy name as we look to You in all these things. Every circumstance is used by You, for what the enemy meant for evil, You work into our good. Lord, we can not see nor understand all the things which go on, but we can hold fast to Your truths and Your Word. Lord, let our lives shine brightly the love of God. Let our hearts rest securely in Your love. Thank You for being our Salvation and our provision. Please let us bring glory to Your name, Jesus. Thank You.

Supply all…

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NKJV

Paul, speaking to the Philippians, was discussing their generous gift and how they had sent support at other times as well.

And then this beautiful truth.

God has said it throughout Scripture.

He is faithful and will supply all.

His works are continual and constant.

So much is beyond our understanding or our knowledge.

Which is why He tells us to trust Him.

When we go scurrying back and forth in a panic, we only cause pain and destroy peace.

When we choose to seek Him and walk in faith, we find everything supplied.

Not always as we desire nor exactly as we expect, but His plans are so much better than anything we can come up with on our own.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NKJV

My prayer for today:

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for always supplying our every need. God, You are incredible. May our lives honor You. Lord Jesus, You understand what we need before we do and You have a perfect plan both for the times of less and the seasons of more. Lord, please help us learn to praise You in every season. Lord, help us to be open to Your voice and quick to respond. Lord, there are so many who still have yet to know You, please draw them to Yourself and use our lives as a testimony. Jesus, please help us to live following Your example. Thank You for all Your provision, may we never lean on our own strength. Thank You, Lord Jesus, thank You.