Tag Archives: victory

When Religious Cliches Don’t Help

Kari Jobe Blog

Kari Jobe’s potentially awkward moment turned into a beautiful moment for healing hearts.

When an awkward lull happened at the Designed for Life women’s conference I attended a couple of weeks ago, I immediately knew what was going on.

I’ve not been pregnant yet, but with all of my kidney issues, I can relate to those frequently visiting the bathroom as their baby(ies) press(es) on their bladder.

The host, Pastor Debbie Lindell took the platform for an unplanned speech to help transition the evening service. There was a band already set up on the stage and I knew Kari Jobe was scheduled to sing some during the conference. I also knew she was in later stages of pregnancy and I laughed as I realized that she was probably in the bathroom.

I had just slipped back into my seat from the bathroom right as a video ended and Kari was scheduled to lead worship. Debbie jokingly asked if any women remembered being pregnant and their frequent potty breaks as Kari took the stage. Debbie then explained to Kari in front of about 9,000 women that she’d just told us that she was peeing! Kari confirmed this report into the microphone much to the amusement of all those attending.

When Debbie left the stage Kari shared how she wasn’t just using the bathroom, but she’d been cleaning off her smeared make up as well. She told of how her sister who was pregnant at the same time as her just lost her baby two weeks earlier. She was 7 months along and had a still birth. There was such a sweet presence of God in the auditorium that evening as we worshiped together which was healing her heart. At one point she looked up and a woman with her little baby girl came and sat in front of her and more tears fell.

What began as laughter quickly turned into tears as we all listened to her story through her choked up words and rawness. She went on to say how through this experience she’s realized that religious clichés don’t help-they actually shut someone down. And I lost it. I could relate with her now far more than just our frequenting the bathroom.

She’s right. When you’re in the midst of pain, loss, or suffering you don’t simply need to hear, “God will turn this around for good”, “God will come through!”, or “Just have faith”.

Nothing against anyone who thinks like that or has said those statements to someone as we’ve all been there.
It can be awkward when we are confronted with the pain and suffering of another person.
It often is a strange interaction, so when we as believers don’t know what to say we often say something we think sounds spiritual.
Maybe the thought process is,”if I say a scripture then I’ll be helping”.
Or maybe we’ve never felt the pain or faced the difficult scenario they’re in so we think there’s an easy answer, “just have more faith”.

Yet none of those things help. In all I’ve faced particularly in this season of life, I know that God is good and I know that He is going to work things out in my life for the good…”because I love him and I’m called unto His purpose” (Romans 8:28). It isn’t that I don’t believe in His goodness or that I’m not focused on the truth of God’s word. It’s just that walking through some situations are difficult and they demand more depth than a surface response.
When you’re walking through the questions and suffering the heartache of your circumstances, it isn’t helpful to find yourself shut down by others’ replies or by their silence.

When you feel confused about God or you’re trying to see truth through the sometimes murky and violent water of trials, you don’t want to be simply told that God is good. When faced with that doctor’s report you weren’t prepare to hear, having someone exclusively say, “God’s got this” as you wrestle the fears and make difficult decisions isn’t helpful.
You need to experience His goodness THROUGH others.
You need to experience His love encompassing every area of your life, including your questions and perceived failures.

You need to be ALLOWED to cry and really feel what you’re walking through and invite Jesus into that place of pain.

Sometimes our words can shut down someone’s heart from allowing real healing to take place.

I realize that facts about a doctor’s report or situation are subject to change. I know that we have all power and all authority through Jesus. I’m not denying that focusing on the TRUTH of the word of God isn’t applicable. It ALWAYS is and that’s exactly what needs to be focused on, but not at the cost of invalidating what someone is walking through and not being willing to walk  WITH them through their pain. We must be willing to look to the example of Jesus and how He walks with us in this life.

Jesus came to take on our flesh so that He would relate to our flesh both in victory and in sorrow.

One of the most impactful things that has ministered to my heart happened two years ago during a really challenging time in my life. I had been really sick for almost a year with various tropical illnesses, small seizures, and I was dealing with constant pain from misaligned ribs and hips from a car accident that caused great pain even with walking. Stephen and I decided to get away for a few days and our trip happened to fall around the anniversary of my cousin’s death. My cousin was my best friend and we’d grown up together as she was four months older than me. She battled cancer for 7 & 1/2 years before dying when we were 14 years old. Due to the difficult season I was in and our constant travel schedule, I was really lonely. Some people had said awkward things to me concerning my faith while others just pulled away. Other friends simply weren’t able to encourage me face to face as we were traveling so frequently. This caused me to grieve my cousin’s loss in a new way that year. One morning on our trip, Stephen took me outside and shared how he felt like he had a word to share with me. He sat me down and said that while he was praying that morning that he felt like Jesus said, “Tell Bailey that I know what it’s like to lose my cousin and I’m crying with her”. The words hit me like a load of bricks upon my chest and as I began to cry I felt something break off of my life. I felt the nearness of Jesus more in that moment than I had in any other moment of my life. Not because this was a happy moment that He was meeting me in, but because in my pain and sorrow, He met me and was crying with me. That made me want to pour my heart out in adoration and worship like never before.

I want you to know that no matter what you’re walking through or how lonely that you’ve felt in your heartache, Jesus is with you. He has experienced pain, suffering, sorrow, and sadness. He did this all the while being filled with the Spirit, in complete surrender and obedience to God’s will and fully knowing that His Father was good. Just because He was the Son of God who died for our sins doesn’t mean that he didn’t feel the pain and weight of our sin or the sorrows of this life. He can relate to you and speak to you more than any human ever can.

As religious Christianese circulates around you and questions stir within you, I encourage you to press past those voices and listen for the voice of Jesus. Hear what He is saying and let His love draw near in your time of hurting. Don’t allow your painful circumstances to steal your praise of the One who is worthy and wants to pour out His love. He hurts for you and He hurts with you. Worship Him and let the disappointment, offense, mistakes, and fears fall off. Lean on Jesus and get back up again–you were made to live victorious!

 KJ InstagramWell said Kari–thanks for sharing your heart and bringing others to the place of healing in Jesus.

You’re Not Stuck

Yesterday SK and I braved the 3 hour trek “home” (not sure what that means anymore) to Missouri from Tulsa, OK. We had a couple of speaking engagements over the weekend  in Tulsa and we were glad to be “home” a bit.

Unfortunately, a lot of winter weather rolled its way through T-Town and Missouri causing a hectic weekend spent mainly indoors.

The news forecast on Saturday night revealed there was a lot of ice, hazardous roadways, and whole roads were closed off, like to where my in-laws are staying!

When we went to bed that night, we were unsure if we would be able to drive home the next day.

The forecast was calling for more “winter weather” (which in Tulsa could mean anything and everything) and it looked like we could get stuck.

Sunday morning rolled around and the temperature rose so the ice melted! Wooohooo!

We attended a church service, hugged some of my family super quick, went to an appointment I had scheduled, and hit the road!

3 hours later we found ourselves back at “home” unloading our infamous suitcase and grabbing some groceries.

Recently, I’ve felt “stuck” in many ways.

Stuck in the USA, which no offense, I LOVE my country and the people here, but I want to be overseas.

Stuck with medical issues.

Stuck with being isolated in yet again another new city.

S T U C K, stuck, STUCK! 

God has been so sweet to meet me in this “feeling” and bring truth.

When we misplace something, we might initially feel loss and sick to our stomachs.

However, when the item that was perceived as lost is then found, we rejoice and forget the stress of misplacing it.

We don’t get stuck in the anxiousness of searching for something because we’ve already found it. Our emotions have MOVED ON.

This is proof that we don’t have to be stuck in something.

YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH! 

You are not stuck in sickness, in debt, and sin.

Jesus wasn’t STUCK in the grave, and because He ROSE again, you can find new life and move forward into what God has for you!!

Some of you feel like there are impossible circumstances surrounding you and you’ll never make it out if it.

I realize the weather story isn’t as challenging as a long-term illness, broken marriage, or other tumultuous circumstances, BUT things aren’t always what they seem.

What others and yourself may have believed is the end of the story and you’re facing the “facts”, Jesus is the author of your story and He says it’s not over!

There is victory for you and breakthrough out of the “winter storm” you might feel stuck in! 

There. is. hope. for. you. in. Jesus.

You’re NOT stuck! There’s hope for tomorrow!

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Question(s) of the day;

Do you feel stuck? If so, what is holding you back?

How do you think Jesus sees your current situation?

Scripture(s) of the day;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.–Romans 8:28

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

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.–Psalm 40:2 

Worship song of the day;

“Come away with me, come away.
It’s never too late, it’s never too late,
it’s not too late for you.
I have a plan for you, I have a plan.
It’s going to be wild,
it’s going to be great,
it’s going to be full of me

Open up your heart and let me in”

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to comment below or share with friends :) Praying you’re encouraged to move forward into what God has for you! It’s going to be great!

Life is like a Swing

Today I watched a friend of ours push his little girl on a swing. She was secured inside those bucket type swings with holes for their legs. Her dad would pull the swing up to him and hold it in the air while she anticipated him letting go. Once he let go, she’d say something adorable through her smiles like, “I-Swinging!!”. Whenever Stephen or I tried to give her a push so that she wouldn’t loose momentum, she would say, “No! Off!” or “Daddy! Daddy!” While my heart broke a little at being rejected (only kidding), I thought her trust in her Daddy was adorable and I sort of envied her faith in him. As long as her Daddy was around, she was very secure and content. She trusted that when He let go, that His hands would be there to keep pushing her on that swing.

Sometimes I try to take things into my own hands. I don’t like being out of my comfort zone and when God pulls me out from those securities, I often freeze. I’m like my friend’s daughter up high in the air, not really sure what will happen next. I don’t want my Father letting go because of all the “what ifs” and the “fear of the unknown”. Yet it’s often in the letting go, that I gain momentum from what He’s doing in my life to soar in a new strength. He never leaves my side and is there for the continual push in the right direction as I need it, but He doesn’t hold me with a tight fist. Instead He empowers me to walk out what He’s placed in me. He lets go and watches my life. He sees the joy that comes over my face and the safety I feel of being found in His grace.

Life with Him is a little bit like a swing. Up and down, up and down in the rhythms of grace. Sometimes we’re going really high and fast and love the thrill, and other times we’ve kicked our feet on the ground and need a gentle push to get going again. Whatever season we find ourselves in, when we call on His name, He’s there to intervene and lift us back up again.

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Why I Need to Be More Like a Cheerleader

I’m not quite sure why I’ve been writing about cheerleaders recently, but they inspired me to write this entry. This week I went to my first college football game at the University of Tulsa. My dad has been teaching there on and off for several years in addition to his full-time job, but this summer he became a full-time professor. He bought season tickets to the football games and invited SK and I to attend the opening game. We went and it was a fun experience especially because it brought back memories of my High School, Union, playing on that field for big rival games and TU’s current football coach was the former Union HS coach. I watched as the opposing team scored two touchdowns with TU missing a couple of field goals. TU was hardly on the side of the field where the cheerleaders were during the first quarter as the other team was scoring in the far end zone. I watched as the cheerleaders stepped up their cheers supporting their team. It made me chuckle because all of the fans were disgruntled and even I, an indifferent football fan, was thinking, “c’mon guys! This is pathetic”. Yet, even amidst the scowling fans, the cheerleaders kept smiling and encouraging their team.

I remember being on the sidelines of football and basketball games in High School and feeling dumb when I was all smiley and saying, “Go Big Red—lets GO!” at times when our teams were losing. I remember the cheesiness oozing out of my slap happy smile. Back then I didn’t always understand the rules of the game, but I knew I wanted my team to win! I had worked hard learning routines and memorizing band songs to cheer along to, so I wasn’t about to waste my practice time and not cheer. It didn’t matter how things looked or what the score was, I keep cheering. I didn’t give up in the last few minutes even when the game was going to end in a definite defeat.

In life a lot of times though I am the opposite of my high school cheering days. The day starts off on a bad note and I often immediately project one “bad play” as a lost game or a day ruined. When the enemy seems to be winning and keeps making advances on every front, I throw my pom-poms down and begin to sulk. It just doesn’t make sense to stand up and be joyful. It doesn’t feel natural and at times, I want a pity party. At times I am being defeated and what it will take to make a comeback seems overwhelming.

What’s so great about following Jesus is that I don’t have to be led by my feelings. I can choose to trust in His word even when my feelings are leading me somewhere else. I can rely on the truth that no matter how much I might feel like I’m “losing”, the end of the story is that the enemy is defeated and that Jesus is victorious! That is all that I need to know. I need to pick up my pom-poms, put a smile on my face because I am a daughter of the Most High God, and know I will overcome because of Jesus Christ who lives inside of me.

Stephen and I left the TU game at the beginning of the 4th quarter. It was being televised and that slowed the game down to where the game had already lasted 3 hours by the time we left. It appeared TU didn’t have a chance to come back, so off we went. Stephen turned on the radio in the car to the game and after the opposing team scored yet another touchdown, we turned the radio off. The game in the end was won by TU in double overtime by 7 points! Just like in sports games, our battles aren’t over until they’re over and that my friends is why we MUST keep cheering, keep believing, and hoping! The BEST is yet to come and we will see VICTORY!

Here’s a bonus as I don’t currently have access to my actual Middle School through High School dance team pics…this is 4th grade Halloween when I BEGGED my mom to get a perm–scary! ;) Don’t be a frowning cheerleader!!
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