Heroes Seeking Victory

 

Can you be an overcomer without enduring adversity?

Can you be a victor without fighting a battle?

Can you achieve without attempting success and risking failure?

Brief Quotes - God will still be there

Trail Lessons – Christ Saves Us from Sin and Death

As I hiked the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on Good Friday, I passed by a rushing stream and paused by it to record some thoughts:

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Lessons from Hinds Feet - Walking in the Mist

Hannah Hurnard’s book Hinds’ Feet on High Places is one of my all-time favorite books.  Hannah Hurnard wrote a spiritual allegory about a woman named Much Afraid who accepts an invitation from The Shepherd to take a difficult journey to the High Places.  The Shepherd represents Jesus Christ.  The High Places represents a destination of spiritual growth and maturity, not heaven.  Much Afraid’s constant and faithful companions throughout her journey are Sorrow and Suffering.  Much Afraid has “fearing relatives” who miserably taunt her all throughout her journey and tempt her to give up and return to them.  Since 2004, I have read and re-read the story of Much Afraid on her journey to the High Places, and it has inspired and encouraged me every time.  I feel a kindred spirit with Hannah Hurnard because she also believed in God’s ultimate salvation of all mankind. 

http://pixdaus.com/path-in-the-misty-woods-mist-path-trail-woods/items/view/202167/ 

This lesson is based on Chapter 12, titled "In the Mist". 

(All quotations are from that chapter.)  

Quote - God Holds and Enfolds

“In all humanity’s religions, man reaches after God.
But in all His relationships, God reaches for man.

Reaches for you who have fallen and scraped your heart raw,

for you who feel the shame of words that have snaked off your tongue and poisoned corners of your life,

for you who keep trying to cover up pain with perfectionism…

...God refuses to give up on you.
...God looks for you when you’re feeling lost,
...God seeks you out when you’re down,
...God calls for you when you feel cast aside.

He doesn’t run down the rebel.
He doesn’t strike down the sinner.
He doesn’t flog the failure…

no matter what the day holds, how the season unfolds,

God holds and enfolds…”

(Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift pg. 23)

A song of crying out to the Lord for help

When I am facing really hard times and I feel helpless and distraught, this is one of the songs I often sing as a prayer.  It always brings me comfort.

"I love the Lord, He heard my cry, and pitied every groan...
As long as I live and troubles rise, I will hasten to His throne"

When there is nowhere else to go, I know I can go to Him to find the comfort I need. So I will always hasten to His throne...

Daily Truth – We Will Experience More Than We Can Handle

Life can bring the greatest joys and the most painful sufferings.

 
Recently, I've seen two different Facebook friends share two different articles speaking of how God does give us more than we can handle. It is true.

The phrase "God will not give you more than you can handle" is a man made cliche. It is a man made lie.  The Scriptures say no such thing. In fact, they say quite the opposite.

If you want quick proof, read 2 Corinthians 1:8-10:

"For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us..."

If you'd like to do some further reading about this subject, I’ve listed below some related links. One of them is from a woman who just went through the death of her father, and the other one is my own thoughts about the truth that in life we are afflicted beyond what we feel we can bear.

Related posts:

Where is God when Bad Things Happen series on this site
God will give you more than you can handle: I guarantee it by Kayla Lemmon 

Trail Lessons – Seasons Will Come and Go

I often go for long walks on the Santa Fe Trail—“Empowerment Walks”.  I am extremely blessed to live in a beautiful place, with such gorgeous scenery, strong sunshine, and mostly mild temperatures.  My walks serve as a time to give my body some exercise and de-stress.  Most of all, my walks are a time for thinking, singing and worship, and talking and listening to God.  As I’ve walked miles and miles on the Santa Fe Trail, God has taught me an abundance of lessons and has reassured my heart and soul countless times.  Yesterday, I set out on another empowerment walk.

Marriage Isn’t For You; Marriage is For Us

A few days ago, my 19 year-old son asked me if I had read a blog post which had gone viral.  The post is titled Marriage Isn’t For You and written by Seth Adam Smith.  At approximately the same time my son was asking me about the article, his girlfriend happened to message me a link to it and asked for my opinion.  I was curious what this post was all about and took the time to read it multiple times and ponder it for a couple of days.  I asked my husband (of 26 ½ years) to also read the article. 

I offered my son and his girlfriend a different viewpoint:

My 45th Birthday Thanksgivings

My 45^th birthday came and went a couple of weeks ago.  I awoke that morning thanking God for my life and all His work in my life and journaled some thanksgivings.  I have wanted to type those up and post them because they are so important to me. 

Thanksgivings are so significant.  They remind us of how much we have, how much we’ve been given, and how blessed we truly are.  Sometimes, when life is hard, we tend to focus on the negatives and become negative ourselves and ungrateful.  Thanksgivings are a powerful force against negativity and ungratefulness.

On my 45^th birthday morning, I offered these initial thanksgivings to God…

A Response to Suffering and Sorrow – Finding Comfort through Job

“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept evil?”

(Job 2:10)

It is never easy accepting painful circumstances in our lives.  Adversity is guaranteed to come and go while we usually find ourselves kicking and screaming against any of it.  The child in us prefers to only live out the happy ending of a fairy tale.  At this point of life and in my faith, I am confident that the life I have this very day is the life God has ordained for me.  No matter how difficult things may be, through whatever today brings, I know it holds an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to overcome.  In spite of knowing that, it’s still not easy to endure suffering and sorrow. 

Stand on Your Knees! The Sun WILL Rise after the Night

I have been observing that there seems to be a sudden surge of utter despair overcoming people.  This life is full of ups and downs.  Living this life carries with it the promise that not only will we face joys but that we will also face great sorrows.  It seems to me too many people are being tempted to give up in total hopelessness rather than endure and push through with perseverance.  It truly breaks my heart.  As all these things happen, I am reminded of something I wrote a long time ago and eventually posted on this site in the post God is Hope.

I am currently 44 years old.  I have faced my share of joys and sorrows.  I’ve had my share of trials and sufferings—as a child, as a youth, as a young adult, and as a full grown adult.  I have faced the death of loved ones.  I have faced the heartache of being forsaken and abandoned by those who had previously claimed to love me.  I have felt the bitter sting of hatred from those I love deeply.  Some of the trials have certainly felt like much more than I wanted to endure or felt like I could endure.  Some of the trials lasted a short time (days or months) while others went on for years, which felt to me like an eternity.  During some of those trials, I was tempted to give up all hope and despair completely.  My spiritual enemy and adversary of God, the devil, lied to me and tried to convince me to give up hope and to give up my faith in God.  There were times when the spiritual enemy even tried to convince me that death was better than life. 

Who brings utter despair knocking on the door of our soul?

Disillusionment with God

Our general populace has arrived at a loss of faith and trust in God. 

Some people find it easier to believe there is some “higher power” but will not call it God.  Is that “higher power” luck, fortune, the stars, the planets, or the universe?  What exactly is it?  Why don't they call it God? 

Other people simply choose to believe there is nothing greater or more powerful than man.  Man is his own god—his own master and commander.  After all, life on this earth can be quite chaotic at times.  Why waste time believing in a God that doesn’t stop the “bad” things from happening? 

And there are those people who start out having a faith in God but find themselves at a crossroads where they question that faith or give it up altogether. 

Why this crisis of faith in God? 

Where Is God When Bad Things Happen? Finding Understanding through Job - Part 3, Afflicted Beyond What We Can Bear

This is a continuation to the previous posts:

Where is God When Bad Things Happen? Finding Understanding through Job – Part 1, Asking Hard Questions  

and

Where is God When Bad Things Happen? Finding Understanding through Job – Part 2, Facing Tragic Loss  

Part 3 – Afflicted Beyond What We Can Bear

When people are going through terrible suffering, their friends might thoughtlessly quote to them the cliché “The Bible says God will not give you more than you can handle”.  This is actually not a scriptural statement whatsoever; it is based on misunderstood and misquoted verses.  The verses of 1 Corinthians 10:12-14 speak on the subject of temptation, not about trials of enduring suffering.  Most contrary to the popular cliché, the apostle Paul stated that we do face afflictions that may bring us to despair and feel beyond our strength to endure, even to the point of making us feel like we may die.  

Daily Truth - God’s Peace is Superior

“For the word of God is living and active…”  (Hebrews 4:12)

The power of God’s truth upon our lives never ceases to amaze me.  When we face difficulties and trials in our lives, we can be certain that when we turn to Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be comfort and peace to be found.  Frankly, there are some situations in life where it may seem that comfort and peace will be impossible to be found.  We feel overcome by circumstances that seem larger than life and more powerful than God.  However, what may seem to be is not the reality of what truly is. 

The truth is that through Christ Jesus, Who unconditionally loves us, we are able to more than conquer over the trials and tribulations of our lives.  (Romans 8:37)   

Christ is My Lifeline

(This is a follow up to my previous post titled:  “A Love Like That of Christ’s”) 

As I listened to the song, “Surely We Can Change”, multiple times, I began to feel strengthened to endure.  After all, I could not argue with the Lord about how true love, the love He gives and calls me to, has no conditions.  After I stopped replaying the song on my iPod, one of the following songs which began to play was “Lifeline” from a Mandisa CD.  Oh, this one was also so very appropriate for the moment!

With “Surely We Can Change”, I felt the Lord’s loving instruction.  With “Lifeline”, I felt His encouragement and His reminder that He is my All in all!  His love is constant, unwavering, and unfailing.  Even when the ones we love do not return our love, He has more than enough love to give us and pour over us. 

Looking for Endurance

“…for you have need of endurance…”  (Hebrews 10:35, CLNT)

“For I am reckoning that the sufferings of the current era do not deserve the glory about to be revealed for us.  For the premonition of the creation is awaiting the unveiling of the sons of God.  For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation that the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until now.  Yet not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the spirit, we ourselves also, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body.  For to expectation were we saved.  Now expectation, being observed, is not expectation, for what anyone is observing, why is he expecting it also?  Now, if we are expecting what we are not observing, we are awaiting it with endurance.  (Romans 8:22-25, CLNT)

Early this week, as I read Romans 8, the Lord reminded me (again!) that I was in need of endurance.  As I wrote these words in my journal, “And so, I see clearly I am in *GREAT* need of endurance!” a familiar chord sounded within me.  Didn’t I recall that the Lord had reminded me of that not so long ago?  Or was I imagining it?... 

Of Faith and Boldness – Part II

“You should not, then, be casting away your boldness, which is having a great reward, for you have need of endurance...”  (Hebrews 10: 35, CLNT) 

“Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed; for in this the elders were testified to.  By faith we are apprehending the eons to adjust to a declaration of God, so that what is being observed has not come out of what is appearing.”  (Hebrews 11:1-2, CLNT)

As the Lord spoke to me regarding my faith and reminded me to allow Him to move and have His way with me, I was filled with boldness.  I felt bold in speaking out or remaining silent.  I felt bold in simply being in Christ and doing as Christ led me to do. 

DAILY TRUTH – The Power of Prayer

“…and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”   (James 5:16-18)

What do these words truly mean?  How are we to apply them today?

As I have observed and listened to others, I have come to the belief that these words are hugely misunderstood by many who read them and attempt to apply this instruction given by James.

Do these words mean that if we pray hard enough and long enough, while we are behaving as righteously as could be humanly possible, we can make anything we want happen? ...  

Caught Somewhere in Between

I am so excited to finally be sitting down to write this post.  I have wanted to write this one for a very long time—probably about two years.

From the first moment that listened to the words of the Casting Crowns song “Somewhere in the Middle” (The Altar and the Door CD), I felt deeply inspired and was filled with countless thoughts that went along with the truths spoken in the song.  I’ve wanted to express those thoughts in writing since then.  This document has been sitting in my computer files titled, but empty of words until today.  God only knows what I would have written back then; I only have the words He has given me for today.