Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

 This verse has been showing up in my life a lot lately, and I love it. The entire Psalm is such a treasure of God’s love and care for His people; it’s actually pretty overwhelming to take in! Something in particular that has stood out to me lately is that the “fearfully and wonderfully made” part doesn’t only relate to our physical bodies. We were each designed on purpose, inside and out, and declared wonderful creations! 

The color of our hair was not an accident. The way our bodies work and move and look was divinely ordained. Our personalities, and the ways we think and feel, were not made by some kind of random accident. God purposely thought out, planned, and executed the design of YOU and ME, from the color of our eyes to the things that make us laugh; from our heights (or lack there-of, says the not-even-5-foot sister over here) to our dreams and goals; from our one-of-a-kind face shape to our unique talents and abilities. God shaped and formed all of that and knit it all together into the creation that is US, and through David in this Psalm pronounces us WONDERFUL. Pretty astounding to really think through, right? 

You, Dear One, are wonderfully made. 

Now, this doesn’t mean we are perfect. We live in a sinful world, and have ourselves been infected by sins that warp and twist God’s perfect design into what He never intended. But that doesn’t take away the intrinsic value and worth that we hold as His creations at all! Every person was purposely planned and created by God to reflect His glorious image, and that fact in and of itself means we are priceless. 

What would happen if we could each really grasp this, be rooted in the value and worth we have to our loving God, stand confidently in our design, and go out and walk the special journeys He has set before us? I think we’d see some pretty incredible people doing some pretty incredible things, don’t you? Let’s be those kind of people, believing what He has declared over us, allowing Him to prune and refine the “rough edges” and blemishes that exist from living in a sinful world, and be the wonderful creations He envisioned us to be. 

Quicksand Fear

I read a Facebook post today from one of the authors I follow and admire,  Lisa Jo Baker, and in her post she talked about fear. She shared some of the things she was feeling fearful of--everything from her daughter's loneliness to the political unrest in DC this week. Then she said something that I could absolutely relate to:

"Fear is a quicksand that can suck you in so fast, you hardly have time to catch your breath."

Fear is a quicksand. Goodness, I don't think I've ever heard a better description of fear. 

I myself have been battling all kinds of fear lately. It is a fear-filled time to be alive in general, with so much uncertainty and unrest and grief carrying over from last year, and I feel that; on top of that, though, my anxiety has exploded in the last few weeks and brought with it a daily battle with all kinds of worries and fears. I'm afraid of my kids getting hurt, of loved ones getting upset with me, of my husband's long work trips, of unintentionally hurting people I love.... On and on it goes, until I literally can't breathe at times with the weight of it all.

Yes, quicksand is a very accurate description of what fear does. It sucks you down so fast you don't even know what hit you until it's too late and you're in over your head, flailing around for something--anything-- to grab onto. We've seen a lot of that lately, right? A lot of people desperately grabbing for whatever they can "control" because they are just terrified.

It turns out, though, that is the opposite of what we need to do in order to be freed from "quicksand fear." Lisa Jo continued on in her post:

"In my boys’ favorite travel guide 'The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook' they share this on how to escape from quicksand:

'When walking in quicksand country, carry a stout pole- it will help you get out should you need to. As soon as you start to sink, lay the pole on the surface of the quicksand.

Flop onto your back on top of the pole. Place the pole at a right angle from your spine to keep your hips afloat.'

Did you get that last point? They advise you to lie down on top of the quicksand. Not to try and run away. Not to try and pull yourself out. Not to struggle. But to surrender and be still."

There are two things I noticed in this comparison. The very first thing is that in order to deal with the fears of this life, we need a "stout pole" to help us navigate the paths in "quicksand country", and also to support us and keep us afloat should we happen to get caught up in some quicksand fear. There's only one thing--One Person--we can count on to do this for us, and I'm sure you all can guess Who it is. 

Listen to these words:

"My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand."

~Edward Mote, "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand"

So that's first, then: make sure you have the solid support of Jesus with you at all times and are relying on Him to get you through these fearful times. There's just no way to safely get through without Him.

Next is the hard part: Surrender. Be still. 

I know that's probably the very last thing any of us feel like doing when we are afraid, right? It goes against all of our natural inclinations to give up even MORE control, to release our death grip on things and to give in to anything at all when we are drowning in fear. But that really is the only way to keep ourselves from sinking further into the muck! This means we stop striving, stop trying to "figure it out" or "prevent" or "prepare"...just rest yourself on the stable and sure support of your Savior, surrender, and be still. 

It comes down to this: do you trust that Jesus can hold you up? Even if that quicksand bubbles up deeper and thicker and worse than we ever could have thought; if all of our worst fears are realized; if things get even worse...do you believe He will be there to hold you securely above it all? 

I'm in this with you guys, slogging through some of the most intense quicksand country I've ever imagined. May we keep Jesus as our Solid Guide as we navigate this season; and should we stumble into some of the mess, may we trust our Savior enough to lean on Him, surrender, and be still.

A Thrill of Hope

We are in the first week of Advent, and the focus of this week is hope. This year I've felt very drawn to that line from the song "O Holy Night" "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices." It just seems so, so relatable this year, don't you think? Our world is weary, worn down from the anxiety and turmoil and grief of this past year, longing and aching for things to improve. I'm sure all of us could use some hope. 

I've been reading the book of Romans, and this week one of the verses caught my attention as it pertained to hope. Romans 5:3-5 says, "Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." 

Did you guys catch how hope is produced in us, where it originates from? It's from suffering. When we suffer, we develop endurance, which develops character, which develops hope. You could almost say that without suffering, we can't really have hope. A little later in Romans, we read some more about hope. Romans 8:24-25 says, "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." When everything is peachy-keen and happy, we don't really need hope; we don't hope for what we already have before us. But when things are at rock-bottom and we are struggling and hurting, we look ahead longingly to when things will be better; we hope! With the amount of suffering in our world right now, can you imagine the coordinating level of hope there is? How much more do we long for God's mercy, goodness, help, and deliverance than we have in earlier seasons? 

I think our world needs hope so desperately right now. I know that I do! As God's people, filled with His love and Spirit, we can share hope with others around us who so desperately need it. I was actually on the receiving end of this just this last weekend at church. Sunday was a rough day for me this week because we were preparing for Jed's big work trip to Chicago the next day. I was dreading the thought of him leaving and felt overwhelmed at the prospect of parenting alone for almost 2 weeks. The thought that kept running through my mind was, "How am I ever going to do this, God?"
As I walked into church, a sweet friend came over and told me that God had laid me on her heart that morning, and she asked if I needed a hug. This simple gesture was such a blessing to me because it reminded me that God saw me, and He would provide what I needed in the upcoming season of parenting solo. It gave me "a thrill of hope" for a time that I was feeling a lot of anxiety and dread.

Just like my sweet friend did for me at church, we can each provide "a thrill of hope" to the people in our sphere of influence. As I close today, I want to leave you with a couple of questions that I hope will help you stay focused on hope in this first week of Advent.

1. What are some "thrills of hope" God has provided to you throughout the sufferings of this year?

2. How can you share a thrill of hope with those around you in your daily life? 
 

Where is Your Trust?

If I were to ask you, "where is your trust?" what do you think you would answer? I think there are countless ways we could answer this, but the Bible seems to focus on one main contrast: trusting in man versus trusting in God. There are many, many verses that warn us against trusting in man rather than God, and several stories that illustrate just what happened when Bible characters fell into this trap. Maybe you've wondered, though, what exactly it means to trust in man? As I've thought about this and prayed through it, I think there are 3 ways we fall into this:

1. We trust in man when we turn to close human relationships rather than or before God for help, comfort, or other needs. Please note, this does not mean it is wrong to ask other people for help, or to desire advice or comfort from others. God places us in families, communities, and other groups of people precisely because He knows we need each other. I think it's really a heart issue here: when troubles come and you are hurting, suffering, or afraid, who do you really rely on, deep down? Who do you seek out before all others? Your spouse? Your parents? A good friend? Is God your go-to source of help, wisdom, and comfort; or is He an afterthought? It isn't that our need for other people or desire to have human connection and "tangible" help is wrong in and of itself; rather, it is when this natural need and affection takes God's place that it becomes a problem. Earlier in Jeremiah, we are given a clear picture of this: "for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water." (Jer. 2:13) Only God is the source of living water, of all that we need and long for. Seeking other people to fill or carry our needs is like relying on a broken vase to hold water; eventually it will fail, and we will be left without what we need (and a mess to clean up, too!)
   
   
2. We trust in man when we seek the advice, opinions, or solutions of professionals and human leaders over God. I think we have been seeing this a lot lately, right? We are living out the consequences of what happens when people turn to human authorities for solutions to major problems rather than humbly seeking God and His wisdom. No matter how gifted a person is, no matter how long they studied a subject or how specialized they are in their craft, nobody has all the answers. Only God does, and only He can guide us through any and all situations we may face. Psalm 146:3 NLT says, "Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there."
   
   
3. We trust in man when we rely on ourselves--our abilities, our strength, our wisdom--rather than going to God in humility and asking for His help. Our society really pushes the idea of self-sufficiency, independence, and not needing anyone else. We are told that we need to look out for ourselves and are applauded when we push through challenges without assistance. Is this really Biblical, though? Aren't we told to live in humility, and that we can do nothing apart from Christ? "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Really, Guys, there are countless verses that tell us not to rely on ourselves. We are just too sinful and flawed to be able to work things out ourselves. Proverbs 28:26 puts this pretty bluntly: "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered." 

So obviously God doesn't want us trusting in man! Just to really solidify this, though, let me share a pretty intense contrast about the consequences of trusting in man versus trusting in God. It's found in Jeremiah 17:5-8.

"Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man whose trust is in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." 

Guys. Are you as struck by this as I am? A scraggly shrub in an ugly desert, versus a thriving, full, fruitful tree by a bountiful stream. Does it get any more opposite?! Let's think through the implications here...

Someone who trusts in man...

• is like a shrub in the desert. If you've ever been around a parched, dried up shrub, you know they aren't very secure; it is very easy to pull them up.
• won't see any good come. Basically, there's no hope for things to get better.
• will dwell in parched wilderness and uninhabited salt land. To me, this gives the picture of living in a place where you don't have what you need, and there is nothing and no one around. Loneliness, isolation, and lack in every sense of the word.

So, trusting in man leads to us being like a shriveled, ugly shrub without good roots that is barely surviving in a barren land where we are alone and don't have what we need. Let's contrast that with what trusting in God brings.

Someone who trusts in God...

1. is like a tree planted by water with roots soaking in the stream; it is solidly rooted and isn't going anywhere!
2. has no fear even when "heat" comes because all needs are being met still.
3. is not anxious for times of drought and doesn't cease to bear fruit. 

So, trusting in God leads to us being solidly rooted and immovable; we have all that we need, which makes us confident and hopeful, no matter what comes our way; and even in hard challenges and intense seasons, we are still equipped to bear fruit for God! What a beautiful, hope-filled picture this is. I want this; don't you all? So let me ask again, where is your trust? Let's pray that our answer can always be that our trust is in God.

Fear Not

Do you guys know what the most frequent command of the Bible is? The answer might surprise you: "Do not fear." That is what we are told more often than any other command in God's Word, so obviously this is something God knew we would need to be reminded of. While I was reading one of these reminders recently, I realized that almost every time God tells us not to fear, He gives a reason why. "Fear not, FOR (fill in the blank)." There seems to be a few specific reasons that God gives us not to fear, and what's really awesome is that they acknowledge a lot of very common anxieties and worries that I've experienced or heard from others. Here are the things He showed me, and what I'm honestly preaching to myself as I grow in "fearing not."

Fear: The Future is So Uncertain  
Fear Not...For He Has Good Plans for You

"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.'” ~Genesis 15:1

“And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" ~Luke 2:10

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ~Luke 12:32

I think this is probably one of the most common fears. All of the "what ifs" that rise up in us about the coming days cover a variety of anxieties: "What if we don't have what we need?" "What if something awful happens?" "What if I fail?" "What if nothing works out?" The future is completely unknown to us, so it makes sense that it is a temptation to fear it. We need to remember, though, that it isn't unknown to God. He knows what's going to happen, and not only that, but He is the one who orchestrates it all to be for our ultimate good. As our family has gone through the process of selling our house and buying a new one, there have been many, many temptations to fear the future. "Will our house sell in time?" "Will we get when we need from the sale?" "Will we find a new home?" "Where will we go between selling and buying?" Throughout these weeks of transition, though, I have seen God provide and guide us in amazing ways, and over it all I have strongly sensed Him saying, "Just wait. Wait until you see what I have for you!" Have any of you had the experience of getting an awesome gift or surprise for someone you love, and the barely tolerable excitement of waiting for them to see it? That's the sense I get from God: He's an excited Daddy who can't wait for His kids to see what He has in store. How could we ever fear what is to come when we keep that picture in mind?

Fear: I Have No Value

Fear Not...For You are Precious to Him

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ~Daniel 10:19

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." ~Matthew 10:29-31

Insecurity. Low self esteem. Social anxiety. Call it what you want, this is another very common fear for us as people, though maybe not one we are as readily willing to confess. As people, we are wired to know and be known, to experience relationship with others that allows them to see "the real us" and still enjoy and love us; and for some of us, the thought of rejection is the worst fear we hold. I can vouch for the anxiety, pain, and distraction that all of this can cause! So what is the remedy? Well, in my experience, there is nothing as healing and freeing in this arena as recognizing the truth that God not only knows us as we long to be known, but He values us and loves us. He created us, forming us exactly as He wanted to; He knows everything we like and dislike; He knows our physical forms; He knows the worst things we have done, and the moments we have been most like Him. We don't have to explain ourselves to Him, or find excuses for our quirks, struggles, or failures. He knows. And He still loves us, delights in us, considers us precious to Him. This week I read a verse that sums this up so beautifully:

"On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 'Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:16-17)

This is how God feels about you, and about me. He rejoices over us, to the point of full-on singing. There is nobody on earth who will come close to valuing you like He does, and He has the final say. So how could we ever fear that we have no worth?

Fear: I Can't Do What He's Asking Me To Do
Fear Not...For He Helps You

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you."  ~Isaiah 41:13

"Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." ~Isaiah 41:14

"Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen." ~Isaiah 44:2

At times it can feel like the work God wants us to do is impossible, right? Whether it's a huge task like leaving home to share the Gospel in a foreign country, or the daily work of training a child through a challenging behavior season, I think we have all come up against times when the work God gives us feels overwhelming. You know what, though? For every single mission or task that God gives us, He promises His help, and the harder the "job", the more He takes over and ensures we accomplish what He asks. I've heard it said that God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but the truth is that sometimes He does. We aren't meant to do the work on our own; we were made to rely on Him and to learn more and more how much we need Him to equip us. As soon as we recognize that we can't do it and ask Him to take over, He sets to work assuring that we succeed. I saw this played out in huge ways on my mission trip to Ecuador this last fall. Guys, I was terrified. So terrified that I spent almost the whole trip out there crying, believing it was a mistake that I went, and begging God to just let me go home. Obviously, I was not capable of this work on my own! Honestly, though, all of that weakness just made this truth even more evident: He comes in where we are the weakest and least able, and He takes over and equips us to do what He calls us to. And it's beyond incredible to witness.

Fear: I Can't Win This Battle

Fear Not...for He Fights for You

"And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again." ~Exodus 14:13

"Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory." ~Deuteronomy 20:3-4

"Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:4

I think we can all think of times when we were battling something, right? Temptation, addiction, depression, anger...this life is fraught with things that are eager to take us out. The truth is that as Christians living in this world, we all have a very real enemy who is bent on destroying us, using whatever means necessary to accomplish that, and there will be times in our lives when it seems like we are going to lose the battle. Last year I faced a few very intense moments of battle with my depression, and I will never forget the deep, core-level fear that I experienced when I thought I really might be defeated. I can testify to the truth, though, that God really does fight for us, even when we ourselves have nothing left to give to the battle. When I had no one else to turn to and nothing left to fight the battle myself, I experienced God's rescue like I never had before. There is a song called "Rescue" by Lauren Daigle that I think perfectly captures God's protective, warrior heart for His people. This is the chorus:

"I will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night it's true, I will rescue you. I will never stop marching to reach you in the middle of the hardest fight, it's true; I will rescue you."

God is an incredible Rescuer, and He promises to save us in the midst of even the worst battles we face; we don't need to be afraid of defeat with Him on our side.

Fear: ANYTHING AT ALL

Fear Not...For He is with You

"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” ~Deuteronomy 31:8

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." ~Joshua 1:9

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10

This seems to be the main reason we are told not to fear, and it covers any thing we could ever be afraid of: because God is with us. He never leaves us. He is never distant, or unaware of what's happening, or distracted. He was there in our past with whatever happened; He is here now in our current situations; and He will be there with us in whatever future trials or struggles we may have, all the way through our dying day and into eternity. He isn't going anywhere. The God of the universe and Creator of everything, with more power and might and strength than we will ever fathom is always here with us. Why should we be afraid of anything? How can we fear at all when we have this at the forefront of our minds? 

I think this all boils down to a choice: to focus on the fear itself, or on the reason to fear not. It isn't easy, nor is it automatic to suddenly never fear or have anxiety (believe me; I've been at this whole "fear not" battle for several years!) Ultimately, though, I am commanded not to fear--all of us are. And in His goodness, God has given us many, many reasons why we don't need to. The only thing to do now is to obey, and that's exactly what I want to do. How about you guys? Let's move forward together resolved to fear not, for all of the beautiful reasons our faithful Lord gives us.

Sink or Swim?

Last week I was stunned by a sudden, persistent thought: "I want to quit." 

Quit what? I tried to puzzle through that vague-but-startling declaration, and after some time and prayer, I realized what I meant. The last few months have felt like swimming through an ocean of changes, chaos, fear, and grief. I've done my best to "just keep swimming" and to stay afloat; to stay above the current of hurt and panic all around me without adding to it with my own fears and heartache by staying positive, encouraging others, counting my many blessings, and otherwise striving to be a light in this dark time. All of these are good things! All of these are things I think God wants us to do! At some point, though, I think I must have made one grave mistake: I started swimming through all this stuff in my own power rather than relying on God. See, He knows I'm a human. He knows that just as everyone around me has been struggling and hurting, I have a whole heap of intense grief and loss that has completely wracked me inside, too. Rather than pausing long enough to let Him or anyone else recognize that or help me, though, I've been determined to keep moving forward and to "just have a good attitude" in spite of everything. The result? This week I fell apart. For no apparent reason. My heart and my mind just kept screaming, "I want to quit! I want to quit!" over and over. As I recognized that, I literally envisioned myself flailing away in some deep, dark sea, and then just suddenly stopping and sinking down, letting all of that grief and fear and anger and loss close in over me while I sink to the bottom and can just rest.

"That's what I want to do," I confessed to God, "I can't keep doing this. I'm too tired; tired in every way a person can be tired. I want to quit."

 And you know what? As soon as I thought that, I felt Him whisper, "What if you did? What if you just quit? What if you just stop swimming?"

I was shocked. "Wait, God. You WANT me to sink? You want me to cave in to despair, and get sucked into all the craziness, and just accept that life is terrible?"

I think He probably chuckled a little bit. "Who says the only options are to sink or swim? What about floating? Why don't you let me carry you for a while."

Now one of my favorite things in the entire world is to float on water. A favorite memory with my husband was when we rode float tubes down the Deschutes River together; one of my very best birthdays was spent paddle-boarding with a dear friend; and most of my favorite summer memories last year had to do with kayaking on lakes and rivers with my kids and our friends. So the invitation to float rather than sink or swim? That's one I can definitely take God up on.

I think most of us can relate to this scenario, right? The world and all of our circumstances right now are very much like a really big, very tumultuous sea of change and chaos, fear and panic, grief and loss. And even if we haven't been personally affected by current events, I think all of us can look back on a time when life felt as overwhelming as a raging ocean. All of us have to find some way to navigate these rough waters, and it seems to me that we have three options: Swim, Sink, or Float.

What would each of these look like? Well, to me, swimming means doing all of the work in my own power; ignoring the pain and hurt; just putting my head down and pushing ahead no matter how tired, weary, and sad I feel. 

• It's facing every moment of loss with an automatic reminder to count my blessings, without allowing much time or thought for the pain or grief.
  
  
• It's stopping any acknowledgement of how hard the season is by reminding myself, "Others have it so much worse! You have no place to complain."
  
  
• It's shoving aside the deep ache I feel in missing things that have changed with "it's done and over with, and it's never coming back; you need to just look ahead."

The opposite extreme is sinking, which means not only acknowledging that the waters around me are intense, but choosing to just let them take over while I give up. That looks like...

• Letting those moments of loss absolutely drown me in sorrow and grief, until that grows into resentment towards God as some kind of harsh, cruel "Taker", which consequently hinders my faith in Him.
  
  
• Complaining about how hard things are, to anyone who will listen, without taking time to ask God for help to get through it and seeking ways to make this season work
  
  
• Pining after my old life, refusing to move ahead, and stewing in discontentment and anger because this is NOT what I wanted.

Somewhere in between those two options, though, is that invitation from God to just float. It's recognizing the circumstances we are facing, and also the fact that we are not equipped to handle them, and then turning to Him for help.

• When I face grief and loss, I can respond with, "Lord, this hurts so much. I don't understand it. I know, though, that you are good, even in this loss. Please give me your comfort." 
  
  
• When life just starts feeling like too much to handle, I can cry out, "Father, this is such a hard season. I wish I didn't have to deal with these things. I'm thankful for the mercy you've shown and that things are better than they were, and at the same time I am struggling so much. Show me what to do, and strengthen me." 
  
  
• And when the thought of so many things changing brings with it the awful, deep ache that honestly takes my breath away sometimes, I can confess, "Jesus, I miss my old life. I miss my friends, my routine, my dreams. I don't know how to move ahead in this season, but I know you have me here for a reason. Help me to be content."

As I was talking to a friend of mine this week about all of this, she shared some very cool insights about "just floating". When we float, we are able to rest and notice things around us more, whether that is the scenery around us, or even others around us who may need help. Floating puts us in a better position to be aware of the beauty still around us, and also available for what God wants us to do, because we aren't so busy fighting through the waters ourselves. 

The verse I've chosen as my life verse is Psalm 46:10, which says, "Be still and know that I am God." 

Another translation says, "Cease striving and know that I am God."

 If you, like me, have been striving with all your might to swim through challenging waters on your own, will you take that invitation from Him in this season? Cease striving, be still, and let Him take over.

And if you've allowed the sea to overwhelm you and cause you to sink down, I can tell you that I have been there before, and I know that if you call out to Him, He will "draw you out of deep waters" as Psalm 18:16 tells us. Let Him pull you up and show you the good things that can be found when you rest in Him.

Seasons of rough waters are intense and overwhelming at times, Guys, but we serve an incredibly faithful God who promises to never leave us or forsake us, and who says that He will equip us for every good work. We can trust Him to carry us through; all we need to do is float.

Worth the Loss

I think all of us are acquainted with loss to some degree or another. Some of us have lost tangible things, like jobs or homes; some of us have said goodbye to relationships or loved ones; and some of us have seen dreams or goals fall apart in front of us. No matter what type of loss we face, I think we can all agree on one thing: it hurts (sometimes unbearably so). This week when I was reading in Philippians, though, God gave me a very different view of loss--in fact, pretty much as opposite a view of loss as a person could have. 

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ....one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:7-8, 13-14)

To me, it seems like God views loss in a very different way than most of us do. Here is what I took from this passage.

1. Nothing holds as much value as knowing Christ more. 

"I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Nothing compares to knowing Jesus more. Nothing. Do you believe that? No earthly relationship, no matter how close and enjoyable; no astounding success, no matter how hard you worked to get it; no victory or triumph, no matter how hard the battle was that led to it; no dream realized, no matter how incredible it seems...nothing. It doesn't matter how much you think that thing you want most in the world will make you happy; in comparison to knowing Jesus, Paul says it is rubbish (literally waste, food scraps, and one translation even says excrement!) We have to get this main point down, let it sink into our hearts and take over completely, in order to really understand what Paul is saying in the rest of this passage. If we don't, we will stay stuck where loss will always mean grief, suffering, pain...and we will never be able to move forward into the "gain" Paul tells us about.

2. Loss still means suffering

Paul says that he "has suffered the loss of all things"...he suffered. It still hurt to lose those things. It's ok that we hurt when we lose things. I don't think that God is telling us that we can't grieve or feel sorrow over things being removed; in fact, He even tells us that there is a time to grieve.

Ecclesiastes 3:4-- "[there is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."  

Remember, when God first designed the world, He never intended for there to be grief or loss or death or sadness. Loss is a result of sin, and it hurts. Something else I've seen is that the things with the most intrinsic good--the closest relationships, most impacting jobs, most fulfilling dreams...those hurt the most to lose. So it isn't that Paul is saying these things are rubbish in and of themselves, things not worth crying over or getting upset about losing; it is that they just can't compare to the incredible gift of knowing Christ and growing closer to Him. So please don't take this as me saying you can't grieve or feel upset when you lose things (if I did that, I would probably be the biggest hypocrite ever!) but rather an acknowledgement of the fact that while loss absolutely does cause suffering, we don't want to stay stuck there.

3. Forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead.

Sometimes I think we have this expectation that things here on earth will last forever (or at least for our lifetimes) when God has something much shorter-term than that in mind. We want a family business that extends through generations; a legacy home that is passed down to grandchildren; relationships that we grow old with...basically, we want things to last. But...what if God has other plans? What if His timeline is shorter than ours? What if He gives us some beautiful blessings to enjoy and learn from and savor for a season...but then He gently tells us it's time to be done, and He removes them in order to help us know Christ more? Maybe those things that we want to cling to and make last forever would end up somehow turning our hearts from Christ, or at least keeping us stunted in our growth and knowledge of Him. I know for me, the times I have experienced loss are the times when I have pressed in even closer to God and have learned things about Him that I either never knew, or needed to experience in a deeper way; and I never would have learned those things if He hadn't allowed the loss to take place. I think that's how loss somehow becomes gain; it isn't that having that beautiful blessing in and of itself was bad or wrong at all; it's that keeping it outside of the season set by God for it could cause us to grow stagnant in our faith and growth, and Him removing it allows us a deeper fellowship with Him. 

One of the gifts I got for my birthday this year was one of those cool stickers you put on water bottles, and I don't think it was a coincidence that I received this gift the same day that I read this passage in Philippians. God likes to reiterate important lessons in my life by repeating the message to my heart, and I'm pretty sure this was one of those cases. The sticker simply says, "Jesus is worth everything you're afraid of losing." He really, really is, Guys. Let's choose to believe that and live it out through every loss-made-gain.

"Lord, thank you for giving us things that hurt to lose. Thank you that we get to experience blessings and gifts that are so good and meaningful that we really care when they end. I pray, though, that we will not let that ache and suffering keep us from releasing them to you or leave us stuck in what you want us to leave behind. Help us, Lord, to strain toward what lies ahead, to see the great gain of knowing you as far surpassing any loss we experience in this world. Keep us in mind of your goodness and faithfulness, meet us where we're at with loss, and allow us the amazing benefit of gaining Christ through every loss. AMEN."