Happy 10 months to my best friend! Thanks for always making me smile& laugh! You’re a JOY! #blessedwife #10monthsdown #lifetimetocome
Author Archives: Bailey Kuert
Hurt (Part 3 of 3)
This week as we’ve discussed this topic of “Hurt”, we’ve mentioned how our own hurt effects many areas of our lives if left not dealt with. One main area is that hurt we’ve personally experienced can hinder God’s plan for healthy relationships. Today I want to encourage you that no matter what you’ve faced, God desires to be near and heal your wounds.
About six years ago I got violently ill from a trip to Cambodia. This unfortunately turned into a cycle of my immune system fighting for several years. However I knew that God had called me on that trip. During the time I was sick after coming home, I was encouraged by Jeremiah 30:17 which says,”For I will restore health to you AND heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord.” I took this to mean that even though I was seemingly only hurting physically that God was going to heal me in my emotions as well. This promise still stands with me today as I face any challenges.
God’s will for you is health and wholeness in every way. You can’t rewrite your past, but with the Spirit of God, you can write your future and be healed of your past. I’ll go ahead and tell you the end of His story for you is that you are complete in Him. This is His desire. This is what the blood of Jesus paid for; that you’d have access eternally to the Father and be saved and have healing in every way.
Many well known men and women who were used by God greatly to move in healing ministries went through incredibly trying seasons in their own health. It’s interesting that through these seasons of unbelievable pain in their physical bodies, God later used them to bring physical healings into bodies in miraculous ways. These people knew that He had healed them and from that place of dependency on Him, they cooperated with His spirit and many were healed.
Can I suggest to you today that your testimony of His healing in your life can cause others to be set free? God wants you to experience freedom from your wounds not only for you, but so that others can be healed too.
I realize life is difficult and in ways we can’t understand at times. I was praying for some people recently and some of the situations these people were facing were unthinkable to me. I could never comprehend losing a parent and a spouse in a week of one another. I can’t fathom the reasons severe depression plagues some minds with horrific events like rape, rejection and abuse. Everyone has different wounds and different scabs that have formed. Some may have found victory and wholeness in Jesus already, but others are hurting deeply. All of us have continual areas we have to renew daily to God’s word and the power of Holy Spirit. There is still healing to be found for all of us.
My prayer is that you’d take time to allow His presence reveal areas where you’ve been hurt. That you’d allow Holy Spirit to do surgery on your heart, mind and emotions. That you’d release any unforgiveness, envy, anger etc. I pray as you are diligent to become healed and whole, you’d be surrounded with healthy relationships and lead other people into healing of their own through Jesus!
Hurt (Part 3 of 3)
This week as we’ve discussed this topic of “Hurt”, we’ve mentioned how our own hurt effects many areas of our lives if left not dealt with. One main area mentioned is that hurt we’ve personally experienced can hinder God’s plan for healthy relationships. Today I want to encourage you that no matter what you’ve faced, God desires to be near and heal your wounds.
About six years ago I got violently ill from a trip to Cambodia. This unfortunately turned into a cycle of my immune system fighting for several years. However I knew that God had called me on that trip and stood on His word of healing. During the time I was sick after coming home, I was encouraged by Jeremiah 30:17 which says,”For I will restore health to you AND heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord.” I took this to mean that even though I was seemingly only hurting physically that God was going to heal me in my emotions as well. This promise still stands with me today as I face any challenges.
God’s will for you is health and wholeness in every way. You can’t rewrite your past, but with the Spirit of God, you can write your future. I’ll go ahead and tell you the end of His story for you is that you are complete in Him. This is His desire. This is what the blood of Jesus paid for; that you’d have access eternally to the Father and be saved and have healing in every way.
Many well known men and women who were used by God greatly to move in healing ministries went through incredibly trying seasons in their own health. It’s interesting that through these seasons of unbelievable pain in their physical bodies, God later used them to bring physical healings into bodies in miraculous ways. These people knew that He had healed them and from that place of dependency on Him, they cooperated with His spirit and many were healed.
Can I suggest to you today that your testimony of His healing in your life can cause others to be set free? God wants you to experience freedom from your wounds not only for you, but so that others can be healed too.
I realize life is difficult and in ways we can’t understand at times. I was praying for some people recently and some of the situations these people were facing were unthinkable to me. I could never comprehend losing a parent and a spouse in a week of one another. I can’t fathom the reasons severe depression plagues some minds with horrific events like rape, rejection and abuse. Everyone has different wounds and different scabs that have formed. Some may have found victory and wholeness in Jesus already, but others are hurting deeply. All of us have continual areas we have to renew daily to God’s word and the power of Holy Spirit. There is still healing to be found for all of us.
My prayer is that you’d take time to allow His presence reveal areas where you’ve been hurt. That you’d allow Holy Spirit to do surgery on your heart, mind and emotions. That you’d release any unforgiveness, envy, anger etc. I pray as you are diligent to become healed and whole, you’d be surrounded with healthy relationships and lead other people into healing of their own through Jesus!
Hurt (Part 2 of 3)
On Monday, I discussed how hurts that we feel can effect many areas of our lives and form ways of thinking that aren’t always healthy or beneficial. One main area that our own hurt can cause negative effects in is our relationships. God has entrusted us with armor to defend and protect His will and plan for our lives. This includes healing and wholeness in our lives and healthy relationships. When we wield these weapons to inflict pain instead of using them for their original intent, we are out of alignment with God’s will. We are not called to have unsafe relationships with people; we are called to be safe people who reflect Christ.
Several years ago I was placed in an awkward situation. There were things said about me that weren’t true that caused some unnecessary tension in a couple of relationships that were dear to me. In keeping my mouth shut and not defending myself, I thought I was doing the right thing. However, my heart was wounded that these friends would think something untrue and make a situation out of it that caused distance between us. I stubbornly defended my own case within my own heart and let my hurt grow. When one of these friends called me to share some exciting news one day, I verbally celebrated with them, but felt confusion in my heart. A few weeks went by and as I prayed one day, God decided to lovingly bring this scenario up. I pleaded how I had been “right” and didn’t have any ill feelings at all towards either of these friends. He countered my plea and said, “Your sin isn”t that you harbor unforgiveness. You were wrong in that you didn’t celebrate and bless what I’m doing in this friend.” Oh…(weight of conviction), Ok. I am not partnering with the Spirit of God and positioning myself to be used of him to celebrate this friend.
It was through this situation that God showed me the importance of the Elizabeth and Mary relationship. Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, and was much older in years than young Mary. She had waited a long time for the promise of bearing a child. Through a miraculous encounter with the Lord, her husband Zechariah finds out that Elizabeth will conceive a son and that they are to name him John and that he will prepare the way of the Lord Jesus! Talk about a huge testimony! Elizabeth was going to bear a son to bring forth the promised Son of God-the Messiah they’d all cried out for! This was a very very big deal. Then along comes her younger cousin Mary to visit her one day. Upon meeting, Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy at the knowledge of Mary’s child within. She then begins to bless Mary and her womb and instantly knows by the Spirit that what Mary is carrying is her Lord Jesus Christ. Here in a moment where selfishness could’ve taken over her, where her past disappointments and hurts could have taken an upper hand, Elizabeth’s spirit came shining through. She blessed Mary and in turn, Mary helped Elizabeth birth her promise.
When we allow potentially hurtful scenarios to turn into beautiful synergy with God’s heart, we can bring healing to others and receive healing in our own hearts. No relationship with another person will ever be perfect, but we can allow God’s desires for it to flourish as we’re intentional about seeing Him and keeping the right heart towards the other person.
Another biblical example of a relationship that God protected is found in the book of 1 Samuel between David and Jonathan. When the two first met, David had just taken on a battle of slaying the giant, Goliath (insert your favorite kid’s church memory here :-) ) and came to present the head to Saul, the reigning king and Jonathan’s father. Jonathan who had also been out fighting the Philistines, immediately took a love and understanding to David. He took off his armor and gave it to David. Later on when conflict arose between Saul and David and Saul sought David’s life, Jonathan remained faithful to his friend. Even when his own father grew angry, cursed him, and cast a spear at him, Jonathan didn’t react out of a place of hurt. Wow! Those closest to us often hurt us the deepest. When we can overcome those situations and treat others out of a place of peace and wholeness in the Lord, we receive healing from those who’ve hurt us. The bible doesn’t say that Jonathan wasn’t envious of David basically taking his inherited right as King, but if he had those feelings, he did not act on them. There were many reasons that Jonathan had to have ill will towards David, but instead of continuing in the footsteps of hurt and offense, he played a major role in God’s will for David’s life by keeping him alive.
It’s not that we’re expected to not have hurt feelings or unhealthy intentions. We are human and fall short all the time. However, as a son or daughter of God who’s made a decision to make Jesus the Lord of their life, we have to be intentional to let our spirit guide our actions towards other people. Instead of using our weapons to fight the real enemy, we often use our weapons to harm one another. This certainly hurts other people and also gives ground for our wounds to fester. Far too often we take what God has entrusted us with and harm other people. We allow our hurts to cause our swords to stab others or take entitlements and run over other people. Ouch!
I’ve faced this is very real ways as I’m sure that you have too. Take time to pray and allow God to bring up some scenarios where hurt in your life is currently or has wounded others in the past. Remember that He is a Father who loving corrects and rebukes us, that we might be healed and break hurt cycles. Don’t allow condemnation to continue or putting yourself in unhealthy and unsafe relationships. God’s desire is that you’d be an overcomer of all hurt and run to Him for healing!
Part 3 will conclude on Friday as we discuss how healed people can heal people.
Hurt (Part 1 of 3)
Everyday we are faced with circumstances that challenge us for better or for worse. We often can’t do much about how others treat us, but we can choose how we recover from hurtful situations. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “hurt people hurt people”. This is definitely a truth evident in everyday life. It’s the scenario of the boss yells at the husband, so he comes home and takes out his frustration at his wife, who in turn sharply corrects her child, who then goes and kicks the dog. :-) When we get hurt by another person or a specific situation, the typical default of our souls is to hurt someone else.
When we get hurt it can effect many areas of our lives. If there is a physical injury it can take it’s toll on us emotionally and mentally just as easily as an emotional can effect us physically. There are some obvious signs of a hurt as there is with an injury and then there are some subtle ways that hurt creeps in that may go unrecognized for years or for the remainder of our lives. My hope in writing these entries this week is that you’d recognize hurt in your life, how it’s negatively effected you and those around you, and how to have hope in Jesus to be healed.
I remember my brother Michael breaking his leg while playing soccer when he was 15 years old. He was a fast kid and typically played center forward which meant he was in the goalie’s territory often. One day a goalie dove for the ball as Michael went to kick it. Michael’s shin collided with the goalie’s knee cap in a perfect way to break the top portion of his shin even though he had the proper shin guards on. The snap was heard throughout the soccer field and the aftermath was not pretty (I’ll spare details for those of you like me who are already gritting your teeth). I remember after his cast was set how he had to live downstairs for several weeks to recover. It was frustrating to feel hindered from the sport he loved and from living day to day life in his bedroom upstairs. However, following the doctor’s orders precicely and resting, Michael healed and went on to play many more soccer games.
It was unfortunate that Michael got hurt that day. As his big sister, I hurt for him and wished it hadn’t of happened. Sometimes in our lives, we’re running full speed and when we collide with things that hurt us, we are prevented from reaching our “goal” so to speak. This often requires a season of healing and recovery, but does not mean that we can’t get back into the game. I watched my brother get back into the game with more tenacity and skill after his injury than before. What the enemy intends for our lives by causing hurt can become our greatest opportunities for victory when we turn to Jesus.
Specifically when other people hurt us even beginning at a young age, there can be serious emotional and mental pain that ensues. These wounds can cause issues of rejection, insecurities, trust issues, identity complexes, unhealthy emotional behaviors, and give us a false filter to perceive reality. Often we aren’t aware of the effects of hurt until we compensate in areas, form bad habits or unhealthy cycles. These effects can continue to be inflicted as we age and cause great detriment to our relationships, jobs and overall health.
I want to tell you today that hurt in your life can become a healed and whole place through Jesus. The areas where you’ve been wounded don’t have to become places where you hurt others. You may have to go through some trying healing seasons, but you too can get back in the game and score some goals again! I’m praying for you and hope you know how deeply Jesus loves you and wants your wounds to be healed. If anyone knows the depth of hurt you’ve experienced, it’s Jesus Christ and he’s the best coach to have when healing ;-)
Wednesday’s blog will emphasize how our hurts can effect others and Friday’s blog will address how healed people can heal people.
Is God Enough (Part 3 of 3)
In pondering,”Is God enough?”, I realized this can practically apply to my everyday life. I’m currently attempting to plan for moving overseas and trying to figure out the difference of what we have to have, what we need and what we want. The funny thing is that around this time last year, all I had was literally a twin size mattress (thank you co-worker because I had been on a deflated blow up mattress), a dresser and an ironing board with a chair that served as my desk. I’m serious! I was working so much that I wasn’t really home and if I was, I was so exhausted that I just lay on my floor (that I cleaned with a borrowed vacuum cleaner) or on my bed (that I owned for 20something days). I was content broiling my gluten free english muffins, corn tortillas and the like in my oven since I didn’t have a toaster. Did I mention the bright teal counter top, warped moldy floors, secret door in my bedroom that led to a staircase and 3 other apartments, and the fact that there was no electrical socket in the bathroom so I did my hair sitting on the floor? Because those were some highlights as well ;) HA! Some of you might know where I am referring to, and the funny thing was that I was content. I survived. My hair looked nice everyday and I ate, somewhat ;) Additionally there was a drum set inside of a wood shack directly outside my bedroom window. That was also quite entertaining. I like for there to be musical beats to my throbbing headaches. Kidding! All joking aside, it was one of the craziest seasons of my entire life, but when it came to being content in my little, yet highly overpriced apartment, I was just fine.
Things changed when Stephen and I got married and all of a sudden we were going to eat REAL meals. You know where there is more than carrots and hummus, turkey wraps, yogurt, and chips and salsa. What? If you’re single you eat like that too. I had 3 forks, 3 spoons and 2 knives from Wal-Mart that I had purchased and pretty much used them all everyday until they turned a copper color! Ewww! I had a couple of things like a vegetable peeler, and a couple pans to cook in that my parent’s graciously gave me for my birthday. Even though Stephen and I weren’t 20 year olds getting married, we literally had nothing especially when it came to the kitchen. I married a man who moved with 3 fifty pound suitcases to Africa….! I’ve never moved away from home with more than I could fit in my car, but still that weighs in over 150 pounds and might I argue that most of his stuff was natural supplements and work supplies. So here our lives merged and we were blessed with wedding gifts! Praise Him! Towels, more mixing bowls that I know what to do with, silverware that wasn’t turning copper and even a shower curtain! Genuine and deep thankfulness in my heart! So now I have these things. Yes they are necessary for a family and we use all of our kitchen cookware, storage containers etc on a weekly basis. However there was a time when I didn’t need it all. The crazy season was short and I knew I would move back home, so I survived with my makeshift wedding planning ironing board desk. Now, as we look to the future not knowing exactly where and when we’ll be in Africa, many variables are before me.
I am sharing this example because we’ve talked this week about how sometimes we are filled and distracted with other things in our lives. When sorting through my life I can ask the same questions of my packing process for Africa. What do I absolutely have to have in my life? These would include your basic food, shelter, clothing, love, and breath in your lungs. May I add my primary absolute need would be God. Without Him, I have nothing. The second level would be to ask; What do I need to have? These would be secondary things in our lives that maybe pertain to us personally. We needs tools to complete an education or perform our jobs. We need safe healthy relationships that bring life and encouragement. We need healthy bodies so we can be strong and accomplish our God-given destinies. Third, I would ask; What are things that I just want? Well, sometimes like tonight, I want to eat out something different and splurge on a gluten-free AMAZING coconut pineapple dessert!!! Do I absolutely have to have it to exist? No. Do I desire it and can I indulge? Yes.
In breaking these things down and truly weighing them in my heart, I see the vast difference between needing God to fill me and me filling my tummy with a dessert. Talk about start contrast! One is my entire life line through whom everything I absolutely need comes from and the other is beyond a secondary need even and is just a delightful addition to my day.
You see all of our primary needs are things that if properly sought after turn us to be dependent on God. He set up the freedom of choice where we get to choose Him. I love that we have options! A pet peeve of mine is when there are no options. I was frustrated last week with an airline booking because I’m emphatic about getting the best deal and couldn’t find a loop hole. I felt so pinned into absolute decisions and was frustrated at the lack of options. Stephen came to the rescue using some wisdom and opened up another far glorious option. Options give us freedom. God set before us the option to choose Him. I’ve written about this before, but He put before us the choice of choosing life or death (Genesis 2-3 and Deuteronomy 28). He was very clear on His thoughts and desires for our choices both in the garden and in His law. This is because He wanted perfect unbroken communion with us. Then God sent His son Jesus that we might choose His life for us that paid for our sins and transgressions on the cross. This choice still stands for everyone of us to make our lives come under His lordship and receive a reconciled relationship that is right with the Father. The last choice even beyond salvation is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Now I LOVE speaking on this aspect and the Trinity in general because it’s so important to our spiritual foundation, but message me if you need more details ;) To sum it up, we can receive the same Spirit into our bodies that is pure, undefiled and connected to God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Holy Spirit can dwell within us and speak to us fluently as we listen. This is why the Apostle Paul urges us to be filled with the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18. In that verse the word filled indicated how the early church, the ones first to receive the Holy Spirit were inebriated with the Spirit. Men first accused them of being drunk with wine because the Spirit so overtook them. Most of these first men and women walked so closely with Jesus Himself, yet He was able present physically in one place at one time not within their spirits. Once they were filled with Holy Spirit, only then were they able to be fully fulfilled in Him more than anything else they could desire.
I’m sharing all of this to say that God has given us these choices that we might be filled and fulfilled in Him. When we turn our life over to Him and let go of our need to be in control of our lives, our need to have everything we want and don’t need, He is enough. Every season in life will look differently, and even if your ironing board is your desk, and you’re getting free drum lessons, God wants to bring you to a place where you’re content in Him. In every situation, if we let Him, He’s there to be our every need and point us to a healthy place in Him.
He is enough.
Wait! I did have a lamp in my living room that looked like the Eiffel Tower and a small desk lamp on my floor in my bedroom! Whew! Don’t want to forget those ;-)
Is God Enough? (Part 2 of 3)
Part 1 of this blog I mentioned how there are right answers to questions, yet sometimes a separation with how we feel or comply with those answers. I know and believe that God is enough. But does all of me like my emotions, intellect and will know? If so, how is that belief system challenged to grow through seasons that are more trying than others?
I want to start today’s blog by emphasizing God’s original intent before going anywhere else. I keep owner’s manuals for things I may never need, solely because if I do have a question about a product, I can go to directly to the source that made it to find instruction. This is the same principle of why God gave us His word. Let me put to rest any confusion out there while I’m writing this; the whole entire Word of God is either true, or the entire thing is all false. I won’t preach a mini sermon on this as it’s off topic, but I believe in the Word of God as the absolute truth. Moving on with that in mind, God who was the only God, created man in the image of the Trinity (just a word for God, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit). They then created a female because God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. There were plants and all living creatures that existed in the beginning. Later on when God gave His commandments to Moses in Exodus chapter 20, the 1st Commandment is, “You shall have no other gods above me.” When Jesus was on the Earth and asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied with, “Love the Lord, your God will all of your heart, with all of your soul and your mind”-Matthew 22:37. A shortly stated theological summary, God is enough. In Him and through Him, we can find all things.
In asking myself the question, “Is God enough?”, I’m not merely asking on a theological plane, but in a way that demands the desires in my heart to be examined with the truth of His word. I don’t merely want to know that He is enough, I want to experience it every day in every aspect of my life. The only way to do that is to know His word. When you know what the word says then you can begin to answer questions and motives in your heart. Is He enough when you are rejected? despised? afflicted? cheated? lied about? broken hearted? How can He fulfill your life when there’s financial debt, illness, desire for a spouse or baby, or a new home, or (fill in the blank)?
Since all things are found in God, I know that if I am serving anything with as much or more passion than I serve God, it’s a God-substitute. If I make anything or anyone else including my incredible husband my sole focus, it’s an idol and I am thrown off balance. When I find myself comparing my life to others, desiring opportunities, or relationships outside of God’s leading, I have to pause, and hit reset and go to God’s word. If I am solely trying to keep up with what someone else has or I am focused on what I don’t have, I am exhausting energy that I do have on things other than God.
So what are things that we use as idols? What are areas in your life that take up your energy in an unhealthy unbalanced way? No, I’m not referring to that project at work or the teething two year old ;) God is not an excuse card to get out of living life. Rather, He’s the empowerment for us to live fullness of life in Him and bring His love to the world. God is passionate about the world, not worldliness. He has freely given us His Spirit that we might be filled and fulfilled in Him not look to the world.
In conclusion for today, I’d like to address the thoughts that others have for your life. Sometimes, especially as a young adult there can be a lot of and very overwhelming voices that want to give you God’s perfect (ahem) their perfect plans for your life. There will be those who see your spiritual gifts and want to utilize them for their own gain often in times where our spiritual maturity can’t handle it. There will even be those who strive and contend with you out of the brokenness and envy of their own hearts. Some will suggest the PERFECT spouse for you…again an idea on how their plan for your life should go.
I want to encourage you that while we absolutely need wise and godly counsel in our lives, this should never trump the leadership of the Lord. He is the one who created you and fashioned every detail of your life for you to experience Him in. This scripture is quoted a lot, but Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God has great thoughts and plans for you. Ones that involve the absolute best, even when things are trying. I think about both Stephen and I and the many relationships that were suggested to us. It wasn’t until his best friend who had never suggested a girl to him suggested me (after a semi embarrassing bawling episode on my behalf as he preached) that Stephen found his wife. Yes, someone else was used by God to make His plan known, but we always have to test things against what God said. We’re both so grateful that we sough the Lord, even through our dating to hear what He was saying over us. God is enough and His plans for us supersede everything we or anyone else would think or imagine over our lives.
The questions I want to leave you with today are 1. What other gods are you serving in your mind, thoughts, actions or attitudes? 2. What does the truth of God’s word say about the desires you feel are unfulfilled? When you find His will, you find His peace.
Is God Enough? (Part 1 of 3)
This is certainly a more vulnerable blog for me to write. Honestly, I wouldn’t be writing it if it wasn’t something that I was thinking and asking myself a lot recently. I know the right answers to the questions I’m asking, but do I REALLY know? I guess we’ll find out in whatever comes out in my writings this week :-)
I’m a new wife, new missionary (to-be as I haven’t lived on the field yet) and definitely living a new life. Transition has been…my life for well over a year now. I counted up how many beds I’ve slept in in the past 18 months the other night when I couldn’t sleep. 42 to be exact. I just recounted for verification because the number seemed a little high even though I lived it! Through the different beds, I’ve often found sleep and sometimes found insomnia ha! Some beds were your basic hotel room, one was in the rainforest of Madagascar, and only 5 were in places I’d consider my residency and that’s because I’ve moved 6 times in that duration. Beds haven’t been the only new things I’ve encountered in this time and I’ve certainly been on my toes, edge of my seat, or whatever phrase you see fitting. During this time of adjusting to marriage while having some health issues, a car accident, and a random assortment of travel, I’ve tried to grab ahold of things that are stable. Sometimes this draws me to a healthy place like the word of God. Other times, it draws me to ask Google a bizillion questions (If only I had a dollar for every time…) or search around on Facebook. Now I’m grateful for Google and Facebook and I certainly will be more so I’m sure when I do land myself overseas, but they aren’t my source. It’s great to ask Google to look up addresses and answer my ever seeking question, but am I trying to fill a void of not asking the right source deep questions I have? Is my sometimes very strong desire for relationships and connecting with people face to face or on Facebook a sign that there’s a void in relationship with the One who can fill me?
These are merely questions I am asking. I’m not condemning myself for using the technology available to me and again I’m extremely thankful for them. It’s just that sometimes, if I slow down long enough to listen, I hear my heart crying out for more. I find myself in the midst of transitions asking, “Is God enough?”. In my spirit I know the truth, however my soul which is composed of my mind, will and emotions say otherwise. It’s one thing to know truth, it’s another thing to apply it. And amen for preaching to the choir ;-) It’s true though. It’s not that I even want what so and so has or do what so and so is doing. It’s just in moments, I am unsatisfied and it’s a testing place to ask myself if He really is enough. If He is enough, then why am I unhappy at times? If He is enough then why am I complaining? If there is fullness in Him, then why do feelings of envy and covetousness come up in my heart? If He is enough why is sickness present in my body?
I do know that He has been enough until this point in my life. David said in Psalm 37:25, “I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.” I’ve never begged for bread. Of course, not eating wheat and most grains now, I probably wouldn’t ask for bread anyways ;-) The point being once I said yes to this life giving, love sacrificing God, His Son Jesus and Holy Spirit, I’ve never lacked any good or necessary thing. They have been my source, my fulfillment and my delight, so long as my spirit seeks these things first. The moment my emotions and my ever so independent will take over, the ball is in my court. The downward spiral begins and my only rock and source of strength is to hit reset on my soul and let my spirit connect with it’s source of life again.
So is God really enough? Or do I need other things and people to fill me? If I lost everything, would He be enough? Am I that fulfilled in Him that I could let go of every desire I have and follow Him? Do I trust Him enough to leave my dreams in His hands and let Him refine me and give me His purified intended dreams?
The short and not simple by any means answer is yes He is enough. The questions I’m asking myself and encourage you to ask yourself this week are; 1. Am I truly content with Him being enough? 2. When/ if ever did I stop positioning myself to believe He is enough? 3. What else am I seeking fulfillment in? 4. And can those desires be met in Him?
Later in the week on Wednesday and Friday, we’ll explore what makes us desire fulfillment in other things and if we really can be satisfied in God alone. XO!
Lostness (Part 3 of 3)
My husband and I just returned from a walk around the block before I started writing this. On our walk, we discovered a small lost kitten that was hiding in someone’s yard. Now anyone who knows me well enough knows that I don’t like cats, but I can’t resist feeling compassionate when the cat was in this lost state. The second time around the block, the cat lay really low as if trying to blend in with the grass. This cat had no collar and seemingly was without hope. Then we turn the corner and spot one of our neighbor’s dogs running around in the street. This sight is not too uncommon as the dog’s name is “Smokey” and escapes out the front door as my neighbors take smoke breaks ;-) As I’m typing this I can hear a little girl yelling, “SMOKEY!!!!” outside my window. While this dog has a home, it’s continually in a state of being overlooked and running around as if lost.
Today’s blog concludes the topic of lostness by addressing the lostness around us. Monday I referenced how in recent missions meetings, that it had been discussed that being lost was the absolute worse condition to die. That some would die poor and in disease, but could still leave this earth to spend eternity with the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. Lostness is the most important thing on God’s heart and the greatest hinderance from His kingdom coming further in power to overthrow darkness and sickness. He “desires that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance”, according to 2 Peter 3:9. We must be like Jesus and “be about His Father’s business”. How do we see and hear like Jesus? Especially in the midst of our busy lives?
Let’s face it, is easy to overlook opportunities to be compassionate. Lostness surrounds us, yet we must have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a mouth to speak the right words and act rightly. This is where we must look to Jesus. He said in John 14:10,”Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” If the Son was fully dependent on the Father to be moved in all acts of righteousness, how dependent should we be? Jesus wasn’t just able to perform great miracles of healing the sick, raising the dead, and bringing salvation forth solely because He was the Son of God. He rested in His Father’s love and direction and yoked Himself to be obedient to the Spirit within Him. Likewise, we must rely on the Spirit to see lostness around us.
Just as the cat tried to blend into it’s surroundings this evening, the co-worker in the office next to you might try to hide the abuse at home from you. When we feel lostness in our own lives, we tend to retreat and become immobile. This is where the fear of the enemy can paralyze us. When someone is separated from right standing with God, they tend to be at a stand still. They aren’t necessarily moving towards or away from Him. They are lost. This is where the truth of the word of God can come into action through our lives.
I addressed in Part 2 of his blog that we must filled and be continually filled with Holy Spirit in order to overcome the lostness in our own lives. This infilling enables us to see the lost around us. According to the Joshua Project, a non-profit that deal with unreached people groups around the world, 40% are still considered unreached. This doesn’t mean that the other 60% necessarily knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. It just means that they have had adequate exposure to the gospel. This is scary if you consider that most of the United States would be termed “Christian” culture. Yet even here and in every city, there are people facing lostness and hurting.
Of course it may seem easy for me, a missionary, to be so passionate to write about reaching the lost around us, but it’s not easy or convenient no matter your occupation. However, if we are a child of God, a joint heir with Jesus, we must fall in love with Their heart and it directly beats for people.
I return to the quote I put on the 1st entry; “We know what it is to lose health and wealth and reputation, but what is the loss of all things compared with the loss of the soul?”-D. L. Moody. With this, I challenge you to hear the whisper I heard a few days ago. To press into what Holy Spirit would be saying for this hour. He cares about the lostness in each of us. He cares about those who are separated from hIm eternally. We must let the pain of our own lostness drive us to be filled, so that we are “found” and that we might reach others with His great love. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
God wants to continue to save the lostness in each of us. May we lose our lives in the shadow of the cross of Jesus to find everlasting life in Him. May all of our broken hearts caused by great loss be ever filled with the indwelling of Holy Spirit and may the lost come to know Him fully.