I'm F.I.N.E.

 

I'm fine. 

I guess you could say that's my mantra. I'm fine. It's what I tell myself when the road gets bumpy. 

 

Is that sometimes a denial that things are harder than I want to admit?

 

Does it mean things could be better, but "I'm fine"?

 

When I'm sick or just feeling lousy, I'll remind myself, "I'm fine."

 

Sometimes it's a phrase I quietly assert repeatedly in my mind. Sometimes I tell it to myself out loud. 

 

Is it merely a positive confession or an affirmation?

 

I took time to think about it. What do I mean when I say I'm fine?

I chose my meaning. 

 

I deliberately came up with what I actually mean when I humbly acknowledge I'm fine. 

 

I'm (Finally and) Forever In Need of Emmanuel. 

 

I'm

Forever

In

Need of

Emmanuel

 

Emmanuel - God with us. God with ME!

 

I need God to draw my next breath and take my next heartbeat. 

Of course, I need Him for anything and everything. 

 

Whether I'm doing great and don't remind myself I'm fine or I'm dragging and feeling defeated - I'm fine. Because I truly am forever in need of Emmanuel. I always need God with me. 

 

That's my reminder. 

 

What do you mean when you say you're fine?

 

"Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified!

[As for me] I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought and plans for me. You are my Help and my Deliverer. O my God, do not tarry!"

Psalm 40:16-17 AMPC

 

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Philippians 4:19-20 ESV

 

What I DO Know

 

(wallpapercave .com)

As I was laying in bed praying for you the other night, this is what I felt God had me write down for you.

I don’t know a lot of things. I know you believe there’s a God; I don’t know your thoughts towards Him. But I do know His thoughts towards you. (See Psalm 139)

I do know that He loves you.

I do know that He isn’t mad at you.

I do know that He isn’t punishing you for anything (Jesus already took all your punishments when He went to the cross for you).

I do know that He’s reaching out to you, always.

I do know that He’s always with you, whether you realize it or not – and whether you want Him there or not.

I do know there’s no place you can go where He isn’t already there.

I do know what great value He places on you. Jesus values you so much that He chose to die in your place so that you can live in His place.

I do know that this great value has nothing to do with what you do or choose not to do; your value is intrinsic (you were born with it).

I do know that He has a plan and purpose for your life.

I do know that God created you in His own image.

I do know that He’s filled you with gifts and talents and promise.

I do know that He always wants to communicate with you, even when you think you can’t hear His voice.

I do know that He wants you healed and whole, inside, and out.

I do know that He loves the people you love.

I do know that He loves the people you hate or are angry with. He’s reaching out to them, too.

I do know that the Psalmist David said that God keeps your tears in a bottle, and that your prayers are a sweet-smelling savor to Him.

I do know that He sings over you.

I do know that He sees you, all the time.

I do know that He knows your thoughts before you even think them.

I do know that He’s already planned a way out of every trouble you’ll get yourself into.

I do know that He wants to live in your heart and that He wants you to live in His.

I do know that He’s already provided all you need; all you’ll ever need.

I do know that He’s already positioned friends and allies for you, right when and where you’ll need them.

I do know that He breathed life into you for His own precious reasons.

I do know that He’s protected you when you weren’t even aware that He was there.

I do know that He’ll continue to be your protection.

I do know that He’s not “out there somewhere” but that He’s as close as the mention of His Name.

I do know that He’s given His children His power and authority.

I do know that He always gives you choice, the right to choose Him or to ignore Him.

I do know that God’s heart is your home.

I do know that when no one sees you or what you’re going through, He does.

I do know that He will always be speaking to your heart.

I do know that you can hear Him when He speaks.

I do know that He made you strong, but that He is stronger and that He shows up in your times of weakness.

I do know that your feelings don’t explain the situation.

I do know that He doesn’t just want you to know about Him, but that He wants you to know Him, personally and intimately.

I do know that He always wants your love and your praise and your thankfulness.

I do know that with every temptation, He’s already provided an escape.

I do know that He wants you to see yourself the way He sees you.

I do know that He trusts you.

 

I do know that I love you, too, even though I’m not always with you.

I do know that I pray for you every day.

I do know that He hears my prayers for you, every single time I pray.

I do know that He hears you, every single time YOU pray.

I do know that He gave me these words just for you, for good reason.

Look - See the Hunger

 

(picture from unu.ecu)

I saw a billboard that displayed a beautiful woman and read, Hunger Can Be Hard to Detect. An ad campaign for Feeding American; promoting food banks.

The spiritual parallel struck me before anything else.

The person standing on the corner with a sign begging for cash because they’re hungry; the children who’s only meal for the day is one they get at school; the folks in tattered clothes entering a shelter, those waiting for their food stamps to come in…need help.

We are surrounded by those who consume delectable foods beyond the feeling of content. We’re also surrounded by those who will go to bed hungry tonight, again.

We know about the disadvantaged around us, and covid is making life harder. Do we realize the scope of it? For the statistics or ways you can help, click on your browser and do a local search. Your help is greatly needed. Government shouldn’t mandate how we help; we should be helping out of the kindness in our own hearts.

(picture from deseret.com)

But, as we look around and recognize how enormous this problem is, look a little further – and see just how many of your friends and neighbors, the strangers in the store with you, the moms and dads picking up their children after school with you – and yes, even those who sit next to you in church – are spiritual skeletons.

Some problems are evident; the mom without a coat you see walking over a mile in the cold every day to pick up her children, who wear thin, old jackets with no hats, gloves or scarves. Maybe you want to offer them a ride, but – will it become a daily commitment you’re not up for? If you get to know them, will you feel obligated to help out in other ways?

Some problems are not as evident with appearance; the mom wearing a brand-new pair of designer shoes every day could be contemplating suicide, the old man driving the Cadillac could be in debt up to his ears with no idea where to turn, the college kid that whips out daddy’s credit card at every whim might be addicted to porn, drugs or alcohol. Yes, they have needs, too.

With all of the tangible needs so visibly in our face every day, it’s easy to overlook the emptiness of spiritual starvation.

(picture from lovethispic.com)

Hunger Can Be Hard to Detect.

Sometimes, God places the answers to our prayers within other people. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. What a way to ensure we hang out with each other. Our pastor reminds us regularly that God is all about relationships.

In 2020, we’ve been deprived of spending time with others, sometimes, even those we love most- which brings sadness, depression and anxiety. But, it’s also breeding sentiments that boast that we can do everything ourselves; that we don’t need others. If we’re thinking that – we’re so wrong.

And with so much division in our culture, admit it, sometimes, we’d rather be by ourselves, than mingle with someone who might be judging us.

God is calling us to come together, to give of what we’ve received and to receive from others. We can’t let the eternal give and take of humanity be stolen from us. We need each other so much that Jesus has instructed us to love each other, not just as we love ourselves, but AS HE LOVES US!

 

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” – John 15:12 (NKJV)

(picture from pinterest.com)

Half-full? Half-empty?

 

(picture from esmemes.com)

Half-full? Half-empty? Refill, please?

“If I meet your needs, you look to me; if I point you to Jesus, you look to Him to meet your needs.”

I can be a very giving person. If there’s any such thing as being too giving, I think I may fall into that trap sometimes. When I muster up the courage to tell someone “no” in response to a request for help or for a chunk of my time, I feel selfish.

I’ve shared memes on social media about self-care, and I’ve actually had friends respond in a way that judged me for not always putting other people first. But, at some point, if you’re not refilling your own “joy tank” or “happy tank” – where your energy is stored up, it runs dry.

If I’m pouring a drink from a pitcher into the glasses of the many people around me, eventually, I’ll need to go back for more. The pitcher isn’t bottomless, and neither are we.

(picture from thespruceeats.com)

I rejoice in my husband, who regularly sees when I’m feeling dry and knows how to help me refill. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a drive in the mountains. Other times, it takes a little more. He’s there for me.

It would be, not only wrong, but sinful for me to expect him to be the source of my refilling, though.

God uses Dave in my life for sooooo many things, one of them is to prompt me to slow down, or to rest, to refill my empty tank.

Sadly, sometimes, he comes last or feels the brunt of my frustrations when I’m feeling stretched – because I know he’ll always love me, unconditionally. 

Dave exemplifies the scripture: “Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loves His church…” – Ephesians 5:25 (KJV)

Is he perfect? No. Is he perfect for me? YES! There’s not a doubt in my mind that God created us for each other, brought us together and has kept us together through the decades.

But, God has taught me along the way, that Dave is not the One Who gets to sit on the throne of my heart. That’s reserved for my Creator – the Lover of my soul.

Dave helps me refill my sanity reservoirs best when he’s pointing me back to Jesus. Sometimes that’s by taking me out into nature. Sometimes, it’s when he prays with and for me. Always, it’s as he loves me.

 So, know that it’s out of love when I say this: “If I meet your needs, you look to me; if I point you to Jesus, you look to Him to meet your needs.”

It’s out of love when you say it, too. Learn it. Believe it. Say it. Now, we get to work out what this looks like in our lives.

God’s reserves never run dry. We can always draw from Him. When we love each other and serve each other in our own strength, we set ourselves up to fall. When we love with God’s love and direct people to our Source, life gets a whole lot easier and less frustrating. We can actually be happy people!

(picture from braintap.com)

The Desert Call

(blog.hdwallsource.com)

Jesus didn’t just wander into the wilderness, He was led there by the Spirit of God. It wasn’t a wrong turn.

Why do we run from our wilderness experiences as if landing there was a mistake?

Why are we owned by our circumstances when we’ve given ourselves to God?

What if you’re right where you’re supposed to be?

What if all the decisions you’ve made up to now were all taken into account before you made them? Any turns in the winding path through your life have already been orchestrated, making up for the escapades the enemy meant for your destruction. You’re still putting one foot in front of the other; you’re still drawing breath.

God is calling you. He’s leading you.

There’s an old anonymous quote that says, “Bidden or not, God is here.” Whether you’re excited about walking with God, or scared half to death that you can’t make such a commitment, God is here – with you every step of the way.

Ponder this, Jesus’ ministry days began after He came out of the wilderness. It was there in the dessert, alone with His heavenly Father, that He was equipped for the tasks ahead of Him. It was there He recognized the power of faith, both the faith He has in His Father, and the faith His Father had in Him. In that faith lay the secrets to His power.

In those dry spots, those hard places, those circumstances you don’t think you’ll make it through – reach up to heaven and tear through the fabric of time and space with the cries of your heart. God hears you.

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)

“The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” – Psalm 14:2 (NIV)

(sobadsogood.com)

You are never closer to God than when you need Him. Don’t panic and run from God, use that same energy balled up in your gut, and instead, run TO Him. He’s right there – you can feel His breath on your face. Believe it! Call out to Him! He hasn’t placed His hands over His ears so He can’t hear you. He wants you to reach out to Him! Wait a moment longer, reach a little further, stretch yourself; put your whole heart into it.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” – Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)

“This is what the LORD says to Israel: “See me and live…” – Amos 5:4 (NIV)

Let’s encourage one another. Let’s invite one another into the presence of God! We’re not alone. The people around us are hurting, too. They’re going through trials of their own. Reach out and bring them with you.

Take my hand. Say to your friend as was written in Zechariah 8:21 – “(…and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say,) ‘Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and see the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.’…”

To quote an old hymn, “He’s as close as the mention of His Name – Jesus.”

Rejoice! You’re meeting with the King! This is where you’ll gain the strength you’ve been looking for. Here is where you’ll embrace the power He has for you.

Hallelujah!

 

(defenders.org)

Hiding

(photo from viktorpersson.com)

Is it fair to respond, “I don’t know…” when someone asks how you’re feeling; or to just shrug your shoulders and look away?

I suppose it depends on the why we think they asked. But, by presuming to know the motives behind their asking, we put ourselves into their mind, where we don’t belong, because, truthfully, we don’t know what really goes on there.

We believe we can safely surmise what someone’s thinking or what their intentions are, sometimes based on their past subsequent responses to us.  If, in the past, they seemed not to truly care, we conclude that this time is no different. But, what if in the past they did truly care, but didn’t quite know how to communicate their concern to us? What if their “care button” isn’t broken, but their “communication button” works differently than ours?

There are many reasons we turn from the attention of others. Perhaps we don’t think they actually care, or their personality overwhelms us. Maybe we don’t have the time or interest to reciprocate that care. Sometimes we may just feel like our concerns don’t deserve a spotlight or we’d rather keep them to ourselves, insisting that no one could help us anyway. It could be pride or it could be privacy.

(photo from nickelvery.com)

It could be that we honestly don’t even know in our own heart why we run from the love or attention others offer us.

Personally, the way thoughts often jumble together in my own mind sometimes causes me to panic, not finding the “correct” response fast enough, forcing me to emotionally shut down to keep from exhibiting an emotional response that others might not find acceptable. Of course, rightly or wrongly, I probably base what is “correct” or “acceptable” on past responses or my own imagination.

I guess I’m writing this post to probe: Why do YOU run? Am I alone in my feelings? Am I basing my actions and reactions on deceit?

Logically, if forcing things down inside myself hasn’t worked to “fix” things in the past, why would I (or we) think that this time that’s the fix we should reach for?

Yet, if reaching out for help in the past hasn’t yielded the results we hoped for, why would we continue to reach out?

(photo from thesaleslion.com)

I believe that God created us with a need for each other; a need to connect with each other, as a means of meeting our other human needs. If this is true, then it makes sense that the enemy of Life would want to sever our relationships wherever possible. No? Satan’s most effective tools against us include deception; false illusions, and cleverly created evidence to back up those deceptions. As people, we can be very vulnerable, perhaps to the point where we run from the very help we seek.

The Word of God instructs us to bear one another’s burdens, while a few verses later we read that we have to bear our own burdens. (Galatians 6:1-5)

The King James version of the Bible uses the word ‘burden’ in both places. Upon looking into the meaning of the Greek words behind the word burden, we find that in verse two, where we’re instructed to help bear the burdens of others, the word reveals a weight, something heavy bearing down on us. The word burden in verse five divulges a task, or a service. So, while we are to help each other with the concerns/burdens that weigh us down, we are each expected to perform the tasks and services God asks of us. We’re each to fulfill our own purposes; our own destinies, but will likely require help along the way when the weight of being human becomes too heavy for one soul.

Throughout scripture we read over and over again that God is our help in time of trouble.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us greatly:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:6 (KJV)

God often chooses to meet our needs through the hands and hearts of those around us. The only need I can think of that God provides Himself, personally, is that of redemption. When He redeemed us, saving us from sin and eternal destruction, He did that through the cross.

(picture from stock-clip.com)

Even as Jesus commanded Lazarus to come from the grave, He turned to those around him and instructed them to release him from the graveclothes that bound him. (John 11:43-44 KJV)

The burdens of this life serve as graveclothes. Through the grace of His redemption, we’re further blessed with the body of Christ - each other - to help tear away the confines of binding graveclothes.

Yet……we hide. Why do you hide?

Keep Us.......

(photo mine)

As we prayed for a young man heading off for the Navy this morning, I found myself praying, “Lord keep him, as you’ve kept us…” My mind flashed by a dozen or more scenes of the hard times we’ve faced in our military lifestyle and second-guessed my prayer. But, no – God HAS kept us!

Once we commit ourselves to Him, He keeps us, protecting us in this world, but not from it. None of us is untouched. Evil reaches into us all, but it doesn’t have the authority to make us its victims.

Personally, I’ve seen a lot of sin and I’ve committed more than my share. But, I’m no victim to the forces that work against me.

Though God promises to keep us, we all have our own journey to travel through life; those journeys include being surrounded and influenced by both good and bad, allowing our hearts to be broken and remade – to rejoice and to weep.

Because we go through seasons of pain, sorrow or confusion does not indicate that God has abandoned us, far from it! Per that famous poem, this is when there is only one set of footprints. Though we may feel God is nowhere to be found, we’re often so self-absorbed in our own anguish that we can’t see He’s carrying us. He’s always closer than we can fathom, He will never put us down to stumble through life alone.

I cannot speak for you, but nothing I’ve suffered has been in vain. I’ve taken it all to God and placed it at His feet. He’s brought good out of it, though it, in itself, was not good. Through it, He’s taught me; He’s widened the scope of my vision. Even through my most painful experiences, I learn love. I scan everything for good. I get to choose to see the good or bad around me. I freely admit that I don’t see the good in everything. There are some horrible things that go on in this world that I can’t even wrap my head around. But, as they say, we can’t go putting periods where God has placed a comma.

This morning I felt a prick in my heart as we sang to God, “…I need You, oooh, I need You….” I need Him. I still need Him. I will always need Him. If any of us think we’ve outgrown our need for God, we’re deceived; pride has crept in. We were designed to need Him, always. I couldn’t help but smile as a warm glow washed over me. In that instant, I recognized anew my great need for Him, my dependence on Him and my never-ending love for Him.

I need everything God’s prepared for me, everyday. I welcome His presence in every second of my day, euphorically.

Have you been trying to “do it all” in your own strength and then perhaps blamed God when you failed? As in, “God, how could You let this happen…..?” Or do you make it a daily habit to ask Him first what He requires of you, then invite Him into everything you do, and allow Him free reign?

I can’t imagine a moment without Him.