FINDING PROMISE IN THE PROBLEM

"Trust The Process"

Trust, Julie. I need for you to trust me. (Jesus)

I have been wrestling with this request for the past year. The trust He is asking me for is not tied to death or significant loss: This time it’s about His goodness and if I will dare to believe that He will be good to me. I’ve trusted Jesus in the past with many circumstances, and His faithfulness eventually revealed itself. Healing deep wounds from my past is the evidence of His loving kindness revealed to me in the cleft rock moments of my life. He loves me, and I know that with all my heart. So, why is it so hard to trust Him to meet me on the mountaintop?

Webster defines trust as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone.

So trust is a result. It is a firm belief that someone is reliable, trustworthy, able and strong. Trust takes time and is built in the small and messy moments of life. It requires us to risk being vulnerable with someone—to see if they will handle our heart with care. In the past, being vulnerable usually, lead me to heartache. We’ve all experienced someone taking advantage of our weakness. They let us down, selfishly stole from us, left us alone to clean up the mess. We blamed ourselves for being vulnerable, and shame waged war against our true identity and worthiness to be loved. Judgments were made from lies, and walls were built to protect and trust.

I started thinking about choice. I believe it is the most loving gift given to us by God. He gave us the ability to choose, and from the beginning of time, we have broken His heart with our choices. He knew we would choose wrong but still gave us the gift of choice. His love is unconditional and void of the need to control us: He is being vulnerable with us in this choice and wanting us to do the same.

I have come to learn that with God vulnerability is not about the circumstance; it’s about who we trust to be with us in the circumstance.

“Unwavering trust is a rare and precious thing because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic. When the shadow of Jesus’ cross falls across our lives in the form of failure, rejection, abandonment, betrayal, unemployment, loneliness, depression, the loss of a loved one; when we are deaf to everything but the shriek of our own pain; when the world around us suddenly seems a hostile, menacing place—at those times we may cry out in anguish, ‘How could a loving God permit this to happen?’ At such moments the seeds of distrust are sown. It requires heroic courage to trust in the love of God no matter what happens to us.” (Brennan Manning)

It takes heroic courage to trust after the world has betrayed us in our weakness, but we have a need to trust in the character and reliability of someone who will walk us through the uncertainties of life. God’s goal is to awaken us to our true identity. We are worthy and loved by Him, and when we stand in His love, anything is possible. Our vulnerable places slowly become places to learn and experience joy and love like never before. They are places in which we make the choice to turn to Him and say—I will trust you. Trust is a choice, and it’s a gift we give back to Him.

This past year has been full of circumstances in which I had to figure things out, and the only way to do so was to be vulnerable. I had to admit to co-workers, family, and friends that I did not know how to fix certain problems, but that we would find our way through. Within that very statement was a whole new perspective. Problems are unavoidable, and we don’t have all the answers, but the choice to walk through the problem trusting God, is always mine to choose.

I’m learning my focus should not be on the outcome, but instead on whom I’m trusting in the process. The outcome may be bad, but if I’m trusting God with my heart, He will always handle it with care. Maybe I needed to see the bad because He has something good coming. I am learning that when circumstances don’t go my way, vulnerability is what I need. It is fertile ground to plant new seeds of hope. It is a place to experience joy and love like never before. I admit to Jesus I am weak in this unplanned moment that I so desperately want to control, and He gives me the courage to accept a new perspective.

One last quote from Brennan Manning that brings to life the daughter who knows how to trust Jesus:

“After stumbling and falling, the ragamuffin does not sink into despondency and endless self-recrimination, she quickly repents, offers the broken moment to the Lord, and renews her trust in the Messiah of sinners. She knows that Jesus is comfortable with broken people who remember how to love.”

Below is one of my favorite definitions of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. It is a picture of how God loves us. We can trust such a love as this.

His promise to us is love, and all He requires us to do is show up.

FINDING PROMISE IN THE PROBLEM

“Julie, Find my promise in the problem.”

I have heard these words whispered in my heart many times this season while facing many new problems. Typically, they are my queue to back out of a situation, but I hear God say to me - face it because all things are possible with Me.

I don’t like problems and try to avoid them at all cost.  I know this is not a proper mindset because every day has an abundance of problems. I’m learning that I see something as a problem because I don’t immediately have the answer. It requires me to reach out and ask for help.

And, why is this a problem?

My life has dramatically changed over the past 12 months. A new job, a new home, a new city, a new group of people and many new friends have entered my life. It has been a challenge to have such a dramatic change, and yet this is what I’ve prayed for, all things new. I feel like I’ve been slowly crawling in this direction after the loss of many things dear to my heart. I’ve prayed for resurrection in my own life and for those who are close to me.

The problem I found in this prayer is resurrection can only come if you believe it’s possible. I believe in Jesus, and I love the ending of His story. He came to earth and faced our biggest problem and dealt with it by showing us resurrection was possible. He demonstrated that death is part of new life and problems always hold promise if you are willing to change the way you think.

“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT

My crawl to this new place required a new plan that would need a whole new way of thinking.  I love making plans, especially when I see them written out neatly on my calendar.  They help me get to my desired destination without any delays. What I fail to do is leave room for the unexpected and unplanned moments life always adds to my plan. I affectingly call these moments, problems.

“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NLV

Plans and steps, never really thought about the relationship between the two. Webster’s Dictionary defines them as:

Plans: a drawing or diagram drawn: a method for achieving an end.

Steps: a rest for the foot in ascending or descending

Plans hold our desired outcome and steps are places for our foot to rest while ascending or descending. Now, I see why I’m always frustrated. I don’t plan for the ups and downs. The path I planned was level and smooth through beautiful green summer pastures. I never saw the need for a mountain. 

“Why be uncomfortable?” – It’s a phrase I like to say to my niece when I tell her about my latest greatest new membership or mail delivery subscription box. Shipt, Stitch Fit, FabFitFun, Blue Apron, Green Chef and Amazon make life comfortable. If you stop and think about it, each of these comforts was born out of someone’s discomfort. They recognized a need and provided a solution. They saw a problem and pressed in to find the hidden promise.

Which leads me to the lesson I’m learning. When I pray for resurrection, God’s gives me His promise of it. It does not instantly happen because it requires me to participate. I must learn a new way of thinking about problems and life.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26 NLV

So my old way of doing new must go. It’s not up to me; it’s up to WE.

The promise He has given me anchors me to His plan and His will for my life.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

His promise lovingly asks me to partner with Him, so I become the evidence of His promise here on earth.

For many years death and loss have been a big part of my plan. I’ve learned to account for them. I’ve been uncomfortable. So, maybe God is saying, Why be uncomfortable? You see evidence of your prayers – my plans are to prosper you, not to harm you. They are to give you new hope and a new future.

The Promise in my problem reveals God’s pure and sincere heart for me. His love offers resurrection, but it requires me to partner with Him. My responsibility is to believe it is not good to be alone. Simply put- Without Him, it is impossible to do all things new, but WITH Him all new things are possible.

RECKLESS LOVE

RECKLESS LOVE

I came across this song yesterday. I've heard it many times, but this time I listen to it and it completely wrecked me. Cory shares the story behind the song and I and thought it was worth sharing today. Happy Valentines day:) 

"God himself isn't reckless, but the way He loves in many regards is quite so..

What I mean is this - He's utterly unconcerned with the consequences of his actions with regards to his own safety, comfort or well-being.

His love isn't crafty or slick. 

It’s not cunning or shrewd; in fact, all things considered, it's rather quite childlike. And, might I even suggest, at times, it's downright ridiculous. 

His love bankrupted heaven for you and me. 

His love doesn’t consider himself first. 

It isn’t selfish or self-serving. 

He doesn’t wonder what he’ll gain or lose by putting himself on the line. He simply puts himself out there for the chance that you or I might look back and give him that love in return. 

His love leaves the 99 to find the one every time. Too many think this is a foolish concept. What if he loses the 99 in finding the one?

What if, finding that one lost sheep is and always will be supremely more important.

His love isn't cautious. 

It’s a love that sent his own son to die a gruesome death on a cross. 

There’s no Plan B with the love of God. 

He gives his heart to us so completely, so preposterously and when we miss it, He keeps giving himself to us again and again and again  

Make no mistake; our sins do pain his heart. 70×7 is a lot of times to get your heart broken. Yet, every time we turn, He opens up and allows us back in every single time. 

His love pursued me when I hated Him because I thought my debt could never be paid.  

No, He doesn't care what it will cost him. He is willing to pay any amount to have your heart whole again. 

His love saw me broken down, with regret as deep is the ocean. My innocence of youth poured out like water. This is where He found me. He put me on his shoulders and carried me home. He's just that good. He’s the kind of Father that never gives up. 

There’s no shadow you won’t light up,  no mountain you won't climb up, coming after me.

There’s no wall you won’t kick down,  no lie you won't tear down coming after me." - Cory Ashbury

"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." - Luke 15 1-7