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Nip It In the Bud

This morning I woke having a weird dream. In the dream my first boyfriend (now deceased) came to me and presented a thin and frail girl telling me that she was our child. I looked at him saying, ”That is impossible because I have not had a child.” The girl came over to me and gave me a tender hug and then felt my pockets to see if I had money she could steal. I caught her and was disappointed. The boyfriend left with her to take her somewhere. I called him and told him to take me off speaker phone in his truck so I could tell him something important. I explained what had happened and that she was a fraud and was sent to rob him. I woke sad and disappointed.

The dream made me reflect on my past and my choices. I was sad for so many choices that I have made that seemed to be wrong or poor choices. First of all, I have never been pregnant and therefore have no children. I am sad about that. I regretted my actions and choices in past relationships. I started to second guess myself and ponder many of my biggest decisions. Disappointment, doubt, even depression started to fill my head and heart.

What a place to start a morning. If I had stayed on this path, the enemy would have accomplished ruining my day. We all have things we regret and wish we could change from our past. The past has passed. There is NOTHING we can do to change it. Our enemy wants us captive to it though. If we can be distracted by it we can miss what today has for us. Playing the game of “What If…” “If Only..” Daydreaming and wasting our time dreaming about what could have been. It makes us discontent with our present circumstances. We can get stuck here and make more poor choices based on the emotions that build from these thoughts.

This is one of those cases where the phrase, “nip it in the bud” is very appropriate. If we entertain these initial thoughts and feelings, it is like we are allowing a seed of a weed to take root. We pay it attention and fertilize it and water it with more emotions and attention. It grows and the roots get deeper. It buds and blooms and we still don’t cut it down or dig it out. Before we know it, this small idea has become a stronghold such as a habit or sin. It’s now like a gum tree that no longer can be dealt with easily. (I have several gum trees in my yard and don’t like them because they are so hard to get rid of. They have roots that spread in all direction and aren’t easily killed even when you cut the tree down). This weed has become a tree that now takes heavy equipment to take it out and will leave a huge hole when removed. The hole can be painful just like hole in our flesh. I am thankful that Jesus Christ came to set the captives free. He can remove these traps that hold us captive and even repair the damage if we allow Jesus to. It is easier to “nip it in the bud” before the budding weed grows too big cut it out with ease. Pinch the top off and kill it in its infancy. Its much easier than cutting down and digging up the tree.

I am thankful to the Lord that He uses all things for His good purposes. I confident in this. No matter how bad I have seemed to mess things up, the Lord will use these mess ups to be a blessing to me or someone else. I can see this truth as I look back over my life. I have always looked for something to learn from each experience. There is always a lesson to learn no matter how painful it is. With all of these lessons, I should be very wise!!! Ha! Ha! Challenge yourself to look for the lessons in all your experiences and focus on the present. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. We can plan and prepare for it but until it gets here, we will not be able to do anything about it either. Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” There is a reason it is called the PRESENT because it is a gift. Live in the present. Enjoy and celebrate now! “This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it!”  Psalm 118:24

Lord, we thank you that you can take our messes and make them into something beautiful that can bless us and others. Lord, help us to give our regrets and disappointments over to you. Remove from us the emotions attached to these events and experiences. We lay these thoughts, ideas, regrets, worries, and disappointments at the foot of the cross. Cover us and these things with your blood. Wash us clean and clear away the traps the enemy has laid for us in these thoughts and emotions. Help us to stay in the present to be effective ministers and light bearers in the darkness of this world. Do not let the enemy distract us. Guard us and protect us for these pitfalls. Help us to rejoice today and celebrate your goodness and love! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen

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The Goodness of God

God is good. We can trust in his goodness. Life can be complicated. We can give in to despair and depression if we allow the events of our days to weigh on us. Instead we should focus on all the things God has done for us and not on the negative things. According to Pastor Rick Warren, “Hope is anticipating God’s goodness.” I was listening to one of his recent messages about God’s goodness and the hope we can have in it. He had some great insights about the goodness of God. I have used some of Pastor Rick’s highlights in this message.

God is faithful and trustworthy. God has shown his goodness to me every day of my life by giving me even each breath and continued life and has abundantly poured out even more on me through the provision, peace, love and joy that he has allowed me to experience again and again.  

As Jerimiah 29:11 (ESV) says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It is easy to miss God’s plans because we are set on the plans we want. We need to sit and listen for the Lord to tell us what his plans are for us. He will bless us if we walk the path that is according to His will. I am not so good at this. I have the tendency to just push forth and then ask God to bless what I am doing. It has caused grief and stress and I have even made a big mess at times. I have had to repent and readjust to get back on the path the Lord has had laid before me. For this reason, I am so thankful for His patience and grace. He never gives up on us even when we have gone our own way.

If we trust in God, we have nothing to fear and can have confidence in His goodness and provision. Psalm 27:1 (ESV) says “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” and Psalm 27:13-14, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” If we wait to hear from God and then proceed, we can enjoy peace in our hearts and spirit. We can experience the “sweet spot” of walking with God. When we are in tune with Him, it resonates in our spirit. Knowing we are in unison with Him like being in tune with his tuning fork. It resonates through all our being. Another analogy is the “sweet spot” when hitting a ball with a bat or with a golf club. It feels right and you know it. I pray you experience this resonance of knowing that you are in unison with God’s will.

Lord, we praise you for your goodness. Thank you that you never give up on us. Help us to never give up seeking you and trying to walk according to your plans for us. Forgive us for when we have not followed your plans and help us to sit and seek you to hear your voice and know your plans. Help us to walk in Your will. Give us your peace. Thank you for your continued provision and goodness. Help us to see and praise you for all the goodness you continue to shower on us. Amen

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Our Purpose is Love- Today’s meditation and prayer on love

1-16-19

Holy, Holy, Holy are you Lord. You are an awesome God, a mighty and powerful God that is my heavenly Father. My creator and the lover of my soul. You delight in me and love me more than I deserve to be loved but this is why you created me. Our first main purpose is to love you and be loved by you. You, Lord have created me to be in a relationship with you. Out of the love you have for me comes the ability to love others. “We love because you first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39.

Love changes everything. God created us with the core desire to want to be loved and to show love. Unfortunately, we do it imperfectly because we are flawed but God loves us perfectly and unconditionally. He loves us no matter how what we do or say. 1 Corinthians 13 explains how perfectly God loves.

Lord, thank you for loving us when we are unlovable and even when we aren’t loving you. Thank you for first loving us and never stopping. Thank you, Lord for loving even when we are angry at you and others. You still love us when we are confused and doubt everything even you. Thank you for being unshakable, faithful and trustworthy even when we are not. Lord, wrap your loving arms around us today and show us your love. Help us to see something special that will let us know we are loved by you. Help us to love you more so that we can love others more too! Amen

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Swallowed

I am scared because I am engulfed by the darkness and can’t make out my surroundings. There is no source of light to help me get my bearings. There are moments when I get a chill from the cold water that seems to wash by me but them it warms and becomes hot. I am in such a smelly place. The stench is almost unbearable. It takes my breath away at moments but I can’t escape it because I have nowhere to go and no way to make my way there if I could. I can’t even see my hands before my face. The solitude that leaves me even more afraid. I have not been this lonely before in this darkness. I scream and wail and there is no other person to hear me. I mentally, emotionally and physically ache in the place of torment. There is even slime and goo on everything I touch around me and it even feels like acid on my skin. I think, “Where am I? I must be in hell.”

My thoughts race as to how I got here. I realize that I made choices that landed me here. I chose to get on the ship that took me this way. I knew deep down I was supposed to go the other way but I chose to do this. The other way meant that I had to lay down what I wanted and submit, even surrender and trust. I am too impatient and stubborn to choose the other road, the hard road. I thought, “I WILL make my way work no matter the cost.” The other way involved risk and commitment and perseverance. The other way would mean I had to lay down my feelings and thoughts and give in to the Lord’s will. I made judgements about others too that I would have to give up. My perceptions have to be right. I was sure about my choice at the time, now I’m rethinking everything.

Pain and discomfort, darkness and loneliness will motivate me to do just about anything. After I wailed and moaned and groaned about where I was, I finally came to the end of myself and realized I wasn’t getting out of this place by myself. I cried out to God for help. I knew he was with me through all of this even if I was trying to avoid thinking of him. I knew He heard my crying. I was running from Him after all. I was avoiding his will for me and what he wanted me to do that landed me here. I knew he was watching over me and even allowed me to be in this place. God was pursuing me even here. He never will stop pursuing me because he loves me. God could use even this stinky and dark place for my good. All I need to do was ask for help and submit to him and his will. I cried out again for forgiveness and gave in to him.

There was a rumble that came from all around me and suddenly a large wave pushes me out of my surroundings. Everything has changed. I can feel solid ground under me again and there is light. I can see again and get my bearings again. I look behind me to see a giant fish swimming away. I had been in the belly of a fish all this time. I had been swallowed. Now I know I have to go do what God told me to do because I told him I would when I cried out.

I have just described what I think Jonah must have felt like in the belly of the giant fish. I have been swallowed up like Jonah in so many ways. I have turned the other way and run from what the Lord has wanted me to do. I have gone my own way and tried to make it work again and again. God continues to pursue me even when I’m running. My circumstances have swallowed me up like the giant fish. I have felt like I have been in the depths of the sea in the darkness where it is smelly and uncomfortable and dark. I have felt so alone and unable to control the circumstances. When I finally sat still and allowed the silence to sink in is when reality set in that I had not done what God had said do and I had gone off my own way. This is how I got to this place. God allowed me to have things my way for a while then he let me be swallowed up by my circumstances and the darkness.

God has always been right there. He has remained the same and in the same place he has always been. He was right where I had LEFT him.

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The Roller Coaster

I wish I could get off this crazy roller coaster that is my life. I may have a good day or two where things go at a nice pace and it is a smooth ride. I have moments or days, even weeks, where there is difficulty and the ride climbs higher. I strain to get to the higher place or I’m carried in the cart that is the flow of life. I have moments where I pause and look at the beautiful view. God is an awesome God and has created such amazing beautiful scenes and the experience is exhilarating. The breeze is refreshing, and I am aware of the unfailing love of my heavenly Father. I am comfortable, and there is peace in my soul.

Suddenly there is a violent jolt and the ride picks up speed and I realize I am plummeting downward. I know I am securely strapped in but fear still grips me as things flash by so fast. This downward dive takes away my breath from shock and surprise. I didn’t see the dive coming. I hold on tightly and remind myself that this feeling that causes my stomach to be in my throat will not last forever. If I just hold on the ride will change as it always does. The ride levels out again and the pace is slower, I can catch my breath and my body can relax again. The scenery has changed too.

Life is like a roller coaster with ups and downs, curved and banks, dips and dives and some long straight aways too. Sometimes we just need to hold on and know that we are along for the ride. If we commit our life to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we can have confidence that God is with us throughout our life. Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV) “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. he will not leave you or forsake you.” We are held securely in the Lord’s hands. Romans 8:38-39 says,  “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus is with us no matter where we go or what we do. His love is unfailing and seeks after us.  Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Prayer:  Lord, I know that you are trustworthy and faithful and that you are always with me. You love me and know and want what is best for me. Help me to hold tight to you. Give me the strength to stay on the track or path you have for me no matter the ups and downs of life.  Amen.

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Hello World!

Hello world! This is the blog of Sherry Hyland that hopes to encourage and up lift you as you travel the journey of life.

Be encouraged!!!
Sherry