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Compelled to Forgive: Forgiveness in Light of Grace

DevotionalsSeptember 24, 2019September 21, 2019

We are compelled to forgive not by our own strength or love for others, but by the staggering love of our Savior and His sacrifice on the cross.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NIV

The emotions all collided in that brief moment and the result was an eruption of tears. I sat there with my soon-to-be in-laws trying to contain the turmoil and confusion within me. But to no avail.

With the bitter taste of loss lingering in my heart and mind, I tried to come to some understanding as to why my friend would seemingly erase me from her life in the matter of a week.

Memories of our last time together only confused and our future plans, now vanished, were like salt in an open wound.

In the weeks that have followed, I’ve found myself face-to-face with the matter of forgiveness more than once. From sitting across the table helping another gal forgive a deep hurt, to every verse in the Bible somehow pointing to the discipline of forgiveness. And then to my own personal wrestling with forgiveness in the middle of the night.

Though the situation goes far deeper than the visible consequences and aftermath of my friend’s decision, there is still something that can be said about forgiveness in the midst of personal pain and offense.

A Slap Across the Face

As I expressed my hurt and confusion to a dear friend, she offered a piece of advice. You know, the kind of advice that will stick with you for the rest of your life…

As much as our hearts are grieved when a friend walks away, think about how much more God’s heart is grieved when we walk away from Him every single day.

My friend’s decision felt like a slap across the face. Dazed and confused, I tried to collect my thoughts and as I sorted through the broken pieces, I was gently reminded that in this hurting, I was not alone; that my Lord and Savior was also slapped across the face.

John 18 tells us the story –

Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ‘I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus replied. ‘I always taught in the synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.’ When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.
John 18:19-21, NIV

A Choice

Though the circumstances might vary, I’m sure we can all come up with at least one time when we have felt slapped across the face; when we have been wronged, accused, or slandered.

And in every case, we have done one of two things – reacted emotionally or responded gracefully.

If you’re like me, you can look back on the trail of emotional reactions you’ve left behind and regretted the words you’ve said. As we’ve grown and matured in our faith, we recognize how we could have handled certain situations better; how we could have responded with grace rather than with anger.

And in realizing this, I for one have found myself in a self-imposed solitary reprimanding over and over again to be better, to forgive quicker, and to never allow feelings of anger to consume me like that again.

Despite what we may think, this is not where being compelled to forgive comes from. We will never be able to muster up the strength to forgive within ourselves. We must look up from our magnifying glass focused on the molehill of offense, to see the mountain of offense that is our own.

Mountains and Molehills

The slap across the face that Jesus received might as well have been by my own hand.

Even when we feel deeply wronged by a brother or sister, the fact remains that we greatly wrong God every single day; slapping His Son across the face every time we act in sin and rebellion against Him.

This is our mountain of offense.

Our looking upon this mountain is not for the purpose of punishment, guilt-tripping, or shaming us. But it is for the ultimate goal of being consumed and compelled by the cross.

As we are convinced of our great need and that ‘though our sins are many, his mercy is more,’ we realize what marvelous freedom we have in Christ; that because He died for all, we are relentlessly pursued by grace rather than justice; that God’s righteous wrath was satisfied on the cross and therefore, we are daily pardoned of great offense.

Gazing at our mountain brings us not to a place of shame and cowering, but to a place of holy reverence; rejoicing in the great reality that our multitude of sins have been exonerated. We are found blameless before God Almighty and are at perfect peace with Him, in Christ Jesus.

In the past, I’ve believed that feelings of peace and joy are what indicated I had indeed forgiven someone ‘successfully.’ The messages that we receive today leave us with the impression that when we truly forgive someone, all the hurt, confusion, and pain will immediately dissolve. We will feel nothing but peace…

Compelled to Forgive

While I do believe this can happen over time, it puts across the false message that if we have yet to experience those feelings, then we haven’t truly forgiven. We must, therefore, try harder.

However, the reality is that it is not our own strength of motivation moving us towards forgiveness. It is the love of Christ that compels us to forgive. Through Him, we are compelled to forgive.

When the love we receive from Christ (made evident by the cross) and the peace we have with God (as a result of the cross) compels us – and trust me, it will compel us when we diligently and daily focus on the cross – the molehill of offense caused by a brother or sister comes into perspective. It becomes less significant and a lot easier to release into the loving care of our Savior.

We are compelled to forgive not by our own strength or love for others, but by the staggering love of our Savior. Our Savior who died for all so we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him.

So today, as you wrestle with forgiveness, I encourage you to take a moment and consider the cross. Really contemplate its implications, its meaning, and the weight of Christ’s anguish on your behalf.

Allow your heart to be broken by Jesus’ suffering. May you be filled with a love and a peace that compels us to care for and forgive others.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27, NIV

We are compelled to forgive not by our own strength or love for others, but by the staggering love of our Savior. Our Savior who died for all so we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him. Click To Tweet

Annie Spratt

Anger, angry, forgiveness, righteousness, oceans, grace, freedom, broken, sin, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Angry: Silencing Anger through God’s Redemptive Love

DevotionalsAugust 14, 2019August 14, 2019

Acting on our angry feelings is dangerous and invites a stronghold of sin to take root in our lives. But we can break through with God’s redemptive love.

Be angry and do not sin;
Ephesians 4:26, ESV

I’ve been desperately grasping for a reprieve from anger… grasping for peace amongst the storm of rage. Just when I think I’ve pulled it all together, something happens that creates a massive eruption of spew from my mouth.

Righteously Angry

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
Romans 12:19, NLT

I keep hearing about righteous anger, but I often wonder if I even have the ability to embody it. Is it possible for a human to have purely righteous anger? Are we able to knock over tables in righteousness…

Matthew 21:12-16, lays out the prime example used when we speak about Jesus’ anger. –I’ll have to be honest, there are times when I think it would be nice to tip some tables over in rage.– However, I would like to challenge our minds to think about the depth of His anger; think about how His anger differs from ours.

Jesus was perfect and blameless. Sinless. He had the ability to show care and bring restoration even in this heated moment. It grieved His heart to see the perversion that had become the Temple of the Lord, for the sake of His faithful.

But those who saw Jesus act and heard His words of conviction, praised Him. Children sang ‘Hosanna’! He overturned perversion and restored the innocent. This is not often the result of human anger.

Human Anger

I can’t account a time when acting on my anger brought about healing. In fact, I tend to lace my fury with the lie that it’s part of my healing process–Well, not if someone else has to heal because of it.

My heart aches. I can’t explain the pain and brokenness my false righteous indignation has caused. I can’t tell you how many messes I’ve had to clean up because I acted out my firey insides. Or how many times I’ve had to ask for forgiveness. Especially from my Savior.

We don’t get a pass on sinful anger just because we call it righteous. If you have to say it’s righteous, it probably isn’t. If you have to account for your actions during bouts of anger, you’ve probably been acting selfishly and, ultimately, sinfully.

Always the Ocean

A lot of life reminds me of the ocean. A lot of my relationship with God reminds me of the ocean. Always with the ocean. This time, thinking of anger… it’s captivating and extremely dangerous.

I know the curative therapy that is the sea; breathing in the salty air, diving into the warm water, letting the waves bring you back to shore. Its majesty lets you know you cannot tame it.

Oh, how small we are.

But that’s how enticing anger is. The eruptions like waves; believing in the false therapy following. Breathing in and out, in and out… Yeah, that’s not working. Diving into the heat of the moment. Its waves pulling you further from shore, with no hope of taming the rage.

Oh, how small I’ve become.

Take a Breath

Because I am still in this season, because I’m not on the other side of this lesson, I feel I should share what God is speaking. In trying to derive advice from The Ultimate Authority, a series of questions ran through my mind. I believe these will allow us to take a breath, evaluate our anger, and have to repent of sin less often.

Am I angry at what makes God angry… did this make filthy, what God made pure?

Am I being honest about my anger? Do I need to repent of these actions?

Do I have the ability to be angry and love at the same time? Is my anger meant to restore or tear apart?

Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to control my anger or am I harming those around me?

Freedom from Anger

Yes, these questions may help bring rational thought to a fueled moment, but how do we feel anger and not sin? How do we handle seasons of anger and break free from its bondage? As I said, I’m still in the thick of it, but these are my daily practices and convictions…

Self-control: Proverbs 16:32

Face to the floor prayer.

Take every thought captive: 2 Corinthians 10:5

Fasting.

Give NO opportunity to the devil: Ephesians 4:27

Biblical meditation.

Do good: Romans 12:19-21

Love God and keep His commands: John 14:15

God’s Peace

In these moments of helplessness, moments where rage takes over, I am reminded of how much I need the redemptive power of my Father. How much I need the freedom given through His blood.

Through His blood, we can repent of our unrighteous, sinful anger. We can be made whole, we can heal through His grace, not our rage.

His grace silences our haughty words. Silences our temper. It covers us and gives us the ability to approach His throne with the things that have broken our hearts. It allows God to speak:

That ocean you love so dearly, its majesty, its nature, its constant rhythm is my love for you. I am the ocean, unwavering, unstoppable, overwhelming, raging. The battle between the ocean and the shore, that’s my battle for you. For your freedom. That peace you feel, that’s my gift to you. No longer will you be a slave to this crashing bitterness. You are delivered. You are redeemed.

Through His blood, we can repent of our unrighteous, sinful anger. We can be made whole, we can heal through His grace, not our rage. Click To Tweet

Ruslan Valeev

Pride, prideful, temptation, forgiveness, prayer, humility, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Prideful: Resisting Temptation and Following Christ’s Example of Humility

DevotionalsJuly 24, 2019July 13, 2019

To our core, humans find it easy to slip into prideful character traits. We must resist the temptation to wear pride and follow Christ’s example of humility.

My husband and I closed on our first home on June 7. It’s a beautiful fixer-upper, built in 1920. We knew going in this would be a lot of work, but I think we underestimated just how much work.

For weeks now, we’ve been cutting, drilling and demolishing in that house every spare minute we have. It’s been challenging and growing, to say the least. But I knew it would be. I knew we would be exhausted. I knew our communication as husband and wife would be challenged and given opportunity to flourish.

But what I didn’t expect was something inside of me to crawl its way to the surface, revealing an ugly, sinful aspect of my personality: pride.

Doing vs. Hearing

I am a fairly independent creature. I love knowing how to get a job done and then just going and doing it. But I’m also a hands-on learner. Which means in order for the knowledge of how to do something to lodge in my brain, it’s a whole lot easier for me to physically walk through it than it is for me to listen to someone explain how to do it.

Let me tell you, when it comes to renovating a house, there’s a lot I don’t know. My husband has been gracious with me as I learn on the go, but I hate that I have to ask him so many questions. I hate that I have to wait for him to give a direction for certain things like roughing in the electric and creating framing for our new, beautifully-big kitchen window.

But that’s not even where my pride has reared its ugly head. The situations where that sinful little character flaw reveals itself has been in my meeting with contractors. With male contractors, I should add.

Prideful Scream

Now, I’m not the person who is all up in arms over women’s rights. I believe women are equal in intelligence and value to men, that we should have equal opportunity, but I’m not going to be protesting or arguing that the world is out to devalue women.

But what I will take a stand against is men assuming I don’t know what I’m talking about in a male-dominated field. That just gets me! I’ve met with a few different contractors during the day by myself, as I work from home and have the flexibility to do so.

What I’m realizing is that most of these men I speak with give my prideful nature a frustratingly simple path to the surface of my emotions. When they say things like, “You can have your husband call me if he has questions” or, “Do you know what I mean by this?” I simply want to scream.

And those are moments my pride sneers in success as I shrink back in failure.

“What Would Jesus Do?”

Allowing a prideful attitude to take control is something I know saddens the heart of Jesus. I could easily give excuses for why I feel the way I do. But to borrow from the old, Christian phrase, I must ask, “What would Jesus do?”

Jesus, the King of the universe, the One who created heaven and earth with the breath of His lungs and the words of His mouth — this Jesus was mocked, scorned, beaten and put to death. Evil, nasty men hurled insults at Him… At the Son of the Almighty God.

And what did He do? Did He scream back at them? Did He defend His Name and His knowledge and His power? No, He didn’t. Jesus didn’t allow the pride of who He is to tempt Him into sin.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7, NIV

If Jesus didn’t feel the need to defend Himself against His accusers, why should I feel the need to defend my knowledge and experience?

I shouldn’t, is the simple answer.

But it’s never that simple for us mere mortals, is it?

God is Faithful

We can easily say “What would Jesus do?” Yet that’s a phrase easier said than put into practice. But if I desire to look more like Christ each day, if I desire to glorify God with every fiber of my being, then I must set aside the pride that rises each time people assume I don’t know something simply because I’m a woman.

I don’t know what circumstances you face that cause your prideful nature to flood your emotions, but one thing I do know: We can rise above this temptation. We can not only push back our pride, but we can pluck it from the very core of our being.

How? By remembering God is faithful.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV

Enduring Temptation

God has given us an amazing promise when it comes to the temptation of pride. We can know, because of His faithfulness, He will always provide a way out for us. He will help us to endure the temptation.

But here’s the thing: We have to accept His help. Just because God provides a way doesn’t mean He pulls us kicking and screaming. We must acknowledge His faithfulness, take His hand, and accept His endurance.

We can do this through prayer and through repeating truth whenever faced with a temptation. Instead of allowing instant frustration at these men who assume I’m simply my husband’s puppet in regards to the renovation of our house, I need to ask God for help. I need to praise Him for His faithfulness. And I need to seek the way out that He will provide for me.

Christ’s Humility

I wish I could give you a step-by-step guide to what this looks like. But what I can do is promise you that the more you seek God, and the more you remember Christ’s humility, the more you will begin to reflect His character. And the more you reflect His character, the more your prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded.

For God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But you must follow His lead when He provides a way out for you. At least that’s what I plan on doing tomorrow when I meet with another contractor. No more prideful screams. I’m following Jesus’ example this time.

The more we seek God, and the more we remember Christ’s humility, the more we will begin to reflect His character. The more we reflect His character, the more our prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded. Click To Tweet

Emily Saxe was born and raised on the east coast but currently resides in Indiana with her husband. Working as a full-time freelance writer and editor, her heart and her pen are drawn to stories of faith as she helps people share how God is working in their lives. Everyone has a story to tell, and Emily loves helping to give people a voice to share their own story.

Read more of Emily’s articles on her website, To Unearth. You can also find Emily here: Pinterest Instagram Facebook

Evie S.

Bitterness, sin, stress, salvation, repentance, forgiveness, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Turning: Repenting of Our Sins and Returning to The Lord

DevotionalsJuly 21, 2019July 21, 2019

True repentance happens in turning away from our sins and turning back to the Lord. Once we are in right standing with Him, we can face any battle.

I had had enough. I was at the end of my rope, and I was angry. A root of bitterness was taking ahold of my heart, and I was blaming anyone and everyone–my kids, my husband, even God–for my situation.

There were too many bills and not enough money to pay them. Too many hours in the day with the kids and not enough activities or patience to fill them. Way too many frayed nerves and not enough peace to calm them.

In this perfect confluence of stressors, I was overflowing with anger and frustration. And my husband was bearing the brunt. Instead of turning to the Lord and asking Him to forgive and help me, I was turning my back to Him. In doing so, I was making everything even worse.

Turning Our Back…

What is it about turning our back to someone that makes us feel powerful? When we refuse to engage with someone, we don’t hold any true power over him. And we surely don’t have the upper hand.

In fact, in an actual physical fight, the most vulnerable position one can assume is turning his/her back to the opponent. Self-defense 101 cautions to never turn your back to your attacker. When you do so–unable to see what he’s doing– you render yourself defenseless against his attack.

And, what’s worse, as believers when we turn our back on our own ally, the Holy Spirit, we weaken our defenses against our true enemy: the devil. The Holy Spirit’s role is to comfort, counsel, and empower us to face any challenge we encounter.

So, by turning away from Him, we expose our weak side, making us even more vulnerable to our enemy’s attack. And we know what the devil’s sole intent is:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…
John 10:10, KJV

A Hard Heart…

Part of me knew what I needed to do, but my heart was hardened to the point that I refused to pray to the Lord and ask for help. And I’d begun to feel justified for feeling the way I was feeling and for acting the way I was acting. Even though it was getting me nowhere, and actually setting me back, I stubbornly refused to pray.

Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.
Romans 2:5, CSB

By refusing to pray, in essence, I was doing the devil’s work for him. I was fighting against myself. Beloved, when we turn away from the Lord, we side with our own enemy. But my hardened heart had blinded me to this reality.

Thankfully, the Lord does not take any delight whatsoever in watching us suffer as we play into the enemy’s hand. In fact, He wants nothing more than for us to turn away from our sin, to turn our back to our real enemy, and to turn again to Him–our very present help in time of need.

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11, ESV

Turning Back…

Luckily my husband has pretty razor-sharp spiritual discernment, so he understood the state that I was in. Even though my mouth was hurling fiery darts at his heart, he was deflecting them with patience and lovingkindness. And he kept encouraging me to pray with him and to ask the Lord to help me. I thank God for giving me a husband who is a true man of God, who can recognize when he needs to fight for me in the spirit. Even when I am trying to fight against him in the natural!

It took me awhile–way too long in fact–but eventually, I agreed to pray. I wish I could say I repented quickly, but honestly, it was a pretty slow, forced, and ugly process. But as I began to pray, the hard shell on the exterior of my heart began to crack, then soften. And before I had finished praying, all of the stony parts of my heart seemed to melt away, leaving trails of hot tears streaming down my cheeks.

Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:19, ASV

When we turn away from our sin–in my case, frustration, bitterness, anger, and fear–we can turn back to the Lord. And that is what repentance simply is: turning back to our Savior. Turning back to the One who loves us, and forgives us, and washes us clean. And when we are in right standing with Him, we will be able to face the real battles in our lives.

When we turn away from our sin, we can turn back to the Lord. Repentance simply is: turning back to our Savior. Turning back to the One who loves us, and forgives us, and washes us clean. Click To Tweet

Search Me…

No matter how far along we might think we are on our spiritual path, we never outgrow our need for repentance. I think too often we as believers view repentance with a capital R. Like it’s a one time, one of a kind thing that we do only when we’re first saved. When the Lord first forgives us.

But repentance begins with a little r. It’s just a regular, daily thing that we have to do as believers. Turning our hearts back to the Lord has to be a common, daily practice because unfortunately, sinning and falling short of His glory is a daily, ongoing challenge.

But thankfully, the Lord has made a provision for this continuous problem: repentance. Any time we feel disconnected or out of sync with the Lord, we can ask Him to search our hearts and reveal any areas where we have strayed. And when we humble ourselves and turn back to Him, fully repenting for our sin, He softens our hearts and erases our slates. He continually takes away our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24, ASV

Is there an area in your life that you need to turn back to the Lord? Do you treat repentance as something that begins with a capital R or a small r?

Christiane Nuetzel

sin, confess, blessings, forgiveness, foundation, unshakable, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Outside: Confessing Our Hidden, Inward Sins to God

DevotionalsJune 19, 2019June 19, 2019

Without confessing our hidden sins to God, they will seep to the outside of our lives. We must surrender our secrets for a blessing and hope-filled life.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and a wise person captivates people.
Proverbs 11:30, CSB

Everything Seemed Picture Perfect

When my family and I first moved into our little house in the middle of nowheresville, we had the most beautiful oak tree in our backyard. It was easily one of the reasons, if not THE REASON, we bought the house in the first place. It had the perfect branch to hang a swing on for the kids and it provided some much-needed shade to our otherwise very bare yard.

The beautiful oak was located right behind our back deck and kitchen; which worked out great for me while I was making dinner. I have a huge, beautiful bay window in my kitchen that allows me to still see the kids as they play outside, in the backyard. We observed this spectacular tree, which seemed full of life, change from season to season the first year we lived here. Then, one day, something looked different about our beloved oak.

The Outside Revealed The Inward

By Spring 2017, we noticed our tall oak tree wasn’t sprouting new greenery. We waited as long as we could and hoped it would produce new green life soon. After all, the other trees behind it were blooming fine. Sadly, though, that just wasn’t the case.

We had an expert tree guy come out to give it a look. He found that it was diseased badly on the inside with decay and rot. We were, unfortunately, witnessing on the outside, what had been taking place for several years inwardly. The moment the oak tree was separated from the other surrounding trees, it’s inward struggles started to show. What once seemed strong and beautiful, was now dying. And there was nothing we could do to stop it.

Used For a New Purpose

Obviously seeing this was awful because it meant we had to cut our favorite tree down. We decided to use the tree trunk as separate stumps to sit on around our fire pit. My husband, Mike, chopped and split the branches to use as firewood.

When we first knocked it down, I remember thinking “ugh.. what a shame! I wish we had another big oak tree we could plant there that looked just like that one!” I mean seriously… it was just too bare with that tree gone! We needed to do something! ANYTHING! But what?

I looked up and said, “Okay God, what am I suppose to do now?”

Find the Hidden TREEasure

Once we chopped the diseased tree down, Mike quickly spotted another established oak just within the thick part of our woods. This tree was massive in size with an even better branch to hang a swing for the kiddos. The only problem; it was surrounded by thick shrubs, bushes, little trees, twigs, sticks and more. Getting to it was not going to be an easy task! Well, not for me anyway!

Mike thought of this, so I cannot take credit for it. Although, I secretly wish I could. He decided to go into the woods with his ax and start chopping down all the small trees that were in the way. He then cleared the debris; any sticks, rocks, and vines were tossed aside.

He finished it off by taking his riding lawn mower to get all the low shrubs and bushes. He literally made a path to this huge oak tree by creating what looks like a cul-de-sac in our woods! Then he hung the kid’s swing on the sturdy branch and he built them a fun fort with a slide and all! It’s so awesome!

Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Jeremiah 33:3, ESV

Becoming Aware of Our Need for Renewal

In our lives, we have to be honest about what’s going on inside our hearts and minds. The deep-rooted sins inside us have become issues that we brush off far too easily on the outside. We never really deal with the underlying sin when we do this. These inward sins will naturally eat at us from the inside to the outside. Until we can’t hold them in anymore.

Friends, our Father in Heaven loves us so much! He knows ALL the diseased trees sitting inside us becoming worse by the minute. We need to lay these sins at Jesus’ feet where they belong. This way, we can see a clear path to the healthy tree in our life. God can take our sins, and use them for a new purpose too! He can use them for His good to kindle the fire of salvation that has begun in someone else’ heart!

Our sins DO NOT make us who we are, but rather, they keep us from becoming the person God created us to be. Laying down the sins that destroy us from the inside out, allows room for the renewal of our inner person to finally take place.

Therefore we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16, CSB

Acknowledging Our Sins to God

Acknowledging our sins and taking them captive before the throne of God is of utmost importance if we ever want to mature and grow in our faith. Confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness is necessary in order for the Holy Spirit to work in us properly.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9, CSB

Once the sin, or diseased tree, is finally chopped down, then the Lord will begin to teach us the steps we need to take in order to split the branches into firewood. He will walk with us to throw the pieces into the fire and make sure they burn for good. After this process, which depends on the person’s willingness to change, God will then show us the new path.

It was there the entire time! We just couldn’t see it before because we were blind to it! It was covered up and hiding behind all that worldly debris and clutter in our life. Can you relate, Dear Sister?

Once we are able to see God’s path, leading to a bigger and better tree, then we can finally begin walking faithfully forward to find restoration and peace.

Claim Your Tree of Life

Ladies, let’s choose to go to our Heavenly Father and lay down all of our diseased trees we have tried to keep hidden deep inside. God knows they are there, yet He waits for us to bring them to Him. He desires nothing more than to bless us with the Tree of Life we were always destined to have. It’s the only tree that offers hope, purpose and true satisfaction. It has a firm, unshakable and solid foundation, strong enough to swing, play and even rest on.

So, tell me Dear Reader…What diseased trees are in your way of claiming this awesome blessing today?

Let’s choose to go to our Heavenly Father and lay down all of our sins we have tried to keep hidden deep inside. He patiently waits for us to surrender so He can pour out grace upon our lives. Click To Tweet

Annie Spratt

apology, forgiveness, grace, pain, freedom, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Apology: Asking for Forgiveness is Difficult but Freeing

DevotionalsJune 10, 2019June 11, 2019

Admitting we have hurt someone and asking for forgiveness can be difficult. A genuine apology shows obedience to God and frees us from sin and pain.

Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32, NET

Polarizing Tactics

For the first twenty-five years of our marriage, Gary and I seldom argued. That isn’t to say that we didn’t disagree, didn’t hurt each other’s feelings, or give each other the silent treatment; I’m simply saying we seldom argued.

Neither of us came from homes where disagreements were handled in a healthy way- his dad went to the basement; mine hid behind the newspaper. Therefore, neither of us were equipped to manage conflict well… so, we didn’t. We went to our separate corners and waited for the storm to pass. Or, perhaps more realistically, I waited for him to apologize and he waited for the storm to pass!

What it took me many years to learn was that his family, (and men in general,) didn’t learn to express regret when they were wrong or wronged someone else. Apologizing, admitting mistakes seems to be a learned trait for about half of the population. Yet, I felt like I was saying, “I’m sorry,” for everything, sometimes even my existence! But that was my own issue, not Gary’s.

Deteriorating Foundation

One of the many problems with this scenario in a marriage or friendship is that the tiny papercuts and the buildup of infractions can become a gaping, bleeding wound which eats at the foundation of the relationship. Then someday, an incident that is seemingly a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, becomes an immediate 10, and your spouse or close friend, doesn’t know what hit him, (or her, as the case may be).

That was our cycle. Build-up, build-up, build-up, BOOM. My anger would explode at something Gary had done or not done. He would remain quiet, calm, and in control, while I ranted; then I felt shame because I would be reminded of how my mom reacted toward my dad, (and I promised myself that I would never be like her, of course).

Each time this happened, my heart closed a bit more toward my husband, like the bloom of a flower closing against the night. (Now granted, I wasn’t exactly the Proverbs 31 wife with a gentle, quiet spirit. Our five years of marriage counseling was for both of us!)

One-Liner Apology

During our marriage counseling, Gary began learning the importance of saying he was sorry when he had hurt me. However, for many years it continued to feel disingenuous and rehearsed to me, probably because he usually followed up with, “but I didn’t know” -or- “but I didn’t mean to,” which left me feeling hollow.

Ted Cunningham wrote for Focus on the Family about ways not to apologize. These are some famous one-liner apologies that should never be used! (Do they sound familiar?)

“I’m sorry you feel that way” is another way of saying, “You shouldn’t feel that way.” It’s one of the world’s worst apologies.
“If I offended you, I’m sorry” is another way of saying, “You shouldn’t have been offended by that” or “You’re too sensitive.”
“I’m sorry you took it that way” is another way of saying, “That’s not what I intended.” What your spouse hears is more important than what you say.
“I’m sorry I said it that way” is another way of saying, “What I said was right, I just said it in the wrong way” or “What I told you was truth and you needed to hear it, but maybe my tone wasn’t right.”
www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication

Apology

Dr. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages, has also written that there are five languages of apology. He believes that this is the reason why so many marriages stutter at the apology and don’t travel forward to much-needed forgiveness.

Expressing regret – This is the emotional aspect of an apology. People who speak this language believe it is important to acknowledge that you offended them and to express your own sense of guilt, shame and pain that your behavior has hurt them deeply. Actually being able to say “I am sorry” is very important to a person who speaks this language.
Accepting responsibility – In this instance, an apology means accepting responsibility for one’s actions and being willing to say “I was wrong.” This is often very difficult because admitting you are wrong can be perceived as weakness.
Making restitution – For an apology to be genuine, it isn’t just about saying “I am sorry.” Instead, it’s all about making things right for a person who speaks this language. They want acknowledgment of the wrongdoing and they want to know what you are going to do to make it right.
Genuinely repenting – The word repentance means “to turn around” or to change one’s mind. If a person speaks this language of apology they are expecting that you not only apologize but that you will seek not to repeat the offense again in the future.
Requesting forgiveness – A person who speaks this language believes that an apology not only includes “I am sorry,” but also a request for forgiveness. Requesting forgiveness indicates to some that you want to see the relationship fully restored.
www.firstthings.org

Biblical Forgiveness

While I have great respect for Dr. Chapman, my guiding principle is always the Word of God. It speaks clearly about forgiveness. Jesus delineates the need to take all the steps which Dr. Chapman has laid out, not one that we choose to be our personal language.

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
Luke 17:3, NET

»«

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Matthew 6:14, NET

»«

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
Colossians 3:12-13, NET

Abundant Grace

And there it is, the inarguable point; how can we contend with this? The Lord’s forgiveness has been abundant, vast…how can we withhold grace and the mercy of forgiveness from one who has offended or wounded us? I had to learn…am still learning…to forgive half-hearted – or no – apologies. My brother was one who never asked forgiveness for the pain he inflicted.

And there are unfathomable wounds some of you have endured, aching wounds for which no one has borne responsibility or asked forgiveness.

But God…

He knows your pain and He covers it with His balm of healing grace.

Forgive them, so that you may go free.

The Lord’s forgiveness has been abundant, vast…how can we withhold grace and the mercy of forgiveness from one who has offended or wounded us? Click To Tweet

Dallas Reedy

forgiveness, grace, mercy, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Mercy: Receiving and Giving Forgiveness For Our Offenses

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 23, 2018January 13, 2019

Not all of our offenses result in punishment. Sometimes we receive mercy instead. When we experience grace and mercy, we can extend it to others.

It never fails. Something catastrophic always happens when my husband leaves town, and he leaves town kinda frequently. Hmm… Maybe it’s not when he leaves town. Maybe it’s just all the time. Or maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Nah. That couldn’t possibly be it. This was definitely catastrophic, and it was when my husband was gone. Therefore, one must naturally conclude that this is just how it is.

I wish I could change the names in this story in order to protect the innocent, but that is not possible since it’s about my oldest son and myself. That poor child. Actually, my heart has a special affection for all oldest children. Truly. And this is coming from a youngest child. So, since I cannot hide the characters in this story, I shall hide the offense. It is, after all, his testimony to tell when he is ready to do so.

The offense…

We were cleaning up dinner on the fifth and final night that my husband was gone. My oldest son, out of the blue, began to make a sound that was a mix between a moan and a squeal. I had no idea what was happening. “Talk to me! What is wrong??” He replies with, “There’ll never be a good time to tell you, so…” And he proceeds to tell me about a sneaky thing he had been doing.

In that moment, the Holy Spirit took over my body. That is the only way to explain my response. My typical response is to express anger, raise my voice, and flail my arms. Honesty here. I’m a yeller. However, in this moment of him confessing, I simply began to weep.

This is not, I believe, the response he was expecting, but it was the response that allowed him the freedom to continue. Oh yes, continue he did. The depth of the offense was revealing itself, and with each new level, more tears were flowing.

The forgiveness…

When we finally came to the bottom of the pit he was in, I told him he needed to ask God for forgiveness. “I did,” he said. Ok, good. Then I say with a shaky voice, “You need to ask for forgiveness from me.”

He sat there, sobbing, breathing hard, for several moments. I could see the battle brewing within him; the struggle of pride versus humility. I did not rush him. This is a battle that is hard to fight through, and no one else can fight it. On this day, humility won out. “I’m so sorry.”

“And I forgive you,” came my immediate reply. But it was his response that will forever be etched in my heart: “But I don’t deserve it.” Reliving it, right now, in this moment, I can just start sobbing all over again. I pulled him into my arms and said, “Oh baby, none of us do. That is the point.”

The need…

My son is a good kid. He mostly does the right thing. He is kind and compassionate. The problem with being a good kid is that: a) they think they are always a good kid and become arrogant, and b) no, wait… “a” pretty much covers it. Arrogance leads to thinking we don’t need forgiveness. And if we don’t need forgiveness, then we don’t need Christ.

Even though my heart was broken that night, I was also rejoicing. Now, he understands his need for forgiveness, and what a gift grace and mercy are. He also knows (because the Holy Spirit took over my body and made me respond calmly – seriously, I take no credit here) that he can come to us and we will love him through whatever mess he is in. We are not accepting the mess, but we are accepting him.

My offense…

Oh, how I wish I could just share this story about my son and wrap it up with a nice little bow. But that wouldn’t be real. That would be me putting pretty packaging on a pile of poo. Sorry, if that’s too graphic, but that is how I felt a few weeks ago. Like a pile of poo.

It was, you got it… when my husband was out of town (I mean seriously, this is starting to become an issue). My neighborhood had just experienced a great tragedy, and I was a little neurotic with wanting to make sure everyone I love was safe. So when I couldn’t find my boys one night, I went berserk. Crazy. Nut-so.

I calmly walked up the street to the house they had been playing at; they weren’t there. Next, I blew the whistle (it’s this super loud one my husband uses to call the boys home – I hate it and only use it if I have to); they didn’t respond. I looked in the backyard, came inside; no sign of them. Then I walked to the other end of the street; not there either. It was officially time to panic.

Breathing deeply, I came in the house preparing to call all my neighbors, only to notice their shoes sitting by the back door. What. The. Heck. I yell their names, and they respond, “Yes ma’am??” Oh no! Don’t you go being all polite and good, I’m about to go ballistic!

My forgiveness…

No sense it airing out the full stink of my poo, so let’s just say I did not handle the fact that my kids were fine after I thought they had been abducted, in a rejoiceful way. We all sat hugging and crying for quite some time. I never have to worry about my kids thinking I’m perfect. Many times I have shown them how to ask for forgiveness with teaching by example. Sigh.

As my boys were getting into bed, I reminded my oldest (that dear dear child) of when he expressed to me that he did not deserve my forgiveness. With puffy red eyes, I said, “I understand how you felt. And I am in awe of God’s forgiveness, and grace, and mercy.”

But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15, NLT

My need…

I have heard it said that those who receive grace, are able to extend grace to others. This is also true for mercy and forgiveness. I too have been the “good girl” falling into the trap of believing I have my act together and don’t need help from others, or from God.

Oh, but I so do! Moments like this, where I fall so hard on my face that it feels like I’ve busted out all my teeth, are a gut-punch reality check. My need for a Savior is so great. Not so I can get stronger, or have all the answers, but so I can remember that His strength is the only strength I can rely on. And by remembering this I can be the hands and feet of Christ, loving others, lifting them, pointing them to the only One who can truly remove our ~~transgressions~~ poo. And stinky poo it is, indeed.

Our need for a Savior is so great. Not so we can get stronger, or have all the answers, but so we can remember that His strength is the only strength we can rely on. Click To Tweet

shame, sin, forgiveness, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Shame: Handing our Sin to God to Survive the Storm

Devotionals, Stay SaneOctober 8, 2018January 13, 2019

Shame is inevitable. That is the nature of sin. It can feel impossible to survive, but there is a solution! All we need to do is confess our sins and hand them over to God.

A few weeks ago Hurricane Florence came crawling across the Carolinas. The coastal areas of North Carolina were battered by wind, and worse, torrential rain. It started out as a drizzle. Then slowly built up to a downpour that lasted for not just hours, but days.

Sometimes shame is big and sweeping. Easy to see, overwhelming to feel, no problem to identify. And sometimes it is the tiny dark shadows that hide in the cracks and crevices of life. The little stuff that feels too small to mention or pay attention to until it builds up into an insurmountable mountain.

Like a hurricane, the course of shame is unpredictable. It can hit fast and hard, but sometimes it is like a little dark cloud that just hangs over you.

Forecasting the Storm

What is shame? According to the dictionary, it is a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. It is a feeling that most of us are familiar with and wish to avoid.

I have felt shame for most of my life. Instances where I deserved to feel shame: telling a lie, breaking a promise, being selfish, or hurting someone’s feelings. Other times, however, the hurricane of shame has been because of foolish (or perceived foolish) behavior. Like when I was younger and would use the wrong word trying to sound like I was smart. Or when I made crazy voices while reading a story to my class and they didn’t think it was funny.

Shame’s cloak is the little things that can be brought up again and again. They creep in and out of your confidence and eat at it. The nagging voice telling you, you’re not good enough. Until you find you are self-conscious of situations you never were before.

Banishing Shame

But just like an umbrella can help keep back the rain, God can be our shield against shame.

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5, NIV

When we put our hope, and faith in God, He takes the shame of our sin. So just like the flood waters recede, our disgrace will fall away. And, fertile ground is left behind where God’s love can grow.

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2, NIV

I am so glad we serve a risen Savior who takes the shame that lives within me and bursts through it with eternal life.

God’s Life Saver

The wonder and beauty of our Living God is worth throwing off the cloak of shame to find the glory of everlasting love. Of course, that is so easy to say, but the doing is a whole different thing.

Shame often lays on me like depression. It floods my heart with a heaviness that makes the trudging of the day, feel like I’m drowning. Thankfully I can scream out to God to save me. I can confess my sins and all my insecurities and then loosen my grip on them. He saves me from drowning in their chains and lifts me above the troubled waters. It doesn’t usually happen instantaneously, but little by little. As I cast off the shame that weighs me down, God lifts me until the clouds are gone and light surrounds me.

Shame lays on us like depression. It floods our hearts with a heaviness, but we can scream out to God to save us. He saves us from drowning in their chains and lifts us above the troubled waters. Click To Tweet

Dear God,

Please take this sin that is weighing me down. Push off the shame that is holding me in the waters that drown. I am not worthy of this mercy but so thankful that you promise it to me. Thank You for the love and grace You bestowed on me when You laid down Your earthly life in exchange for my eternal one. No greater love has ever been given. Help me reflect that gift that I don’t deserve but hope to share with those around me.

love,

valued, worth, identity, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian Mentoring, Women of Faith, Spiritual Growth

Valued: Living Confidently Because We Know Our Worth

Devotionals, Stay SaneJuly 25, 2018September 8, 2019

When we put our identity in relationships, we can question if we are valued. People are going to let us down. This post discusses where we find our worth.

It started simply enough. My friend shared some good news. Only she didn’t share it with me first. I heard about it from another friend… A friend had a physical need and I was there front and center. When I was facing my own storm, I did not hear from her for weeks and then she never mentioned what we both knew I was going through… A good friend canceled plans and didn’t try to reschedule.

Each time, I tried to convince myself that my friends’ actions were unintentional and that my friends were really not trying to hurt me. But I was hurt, and ignoring the way I was feeling was actually making it worse. I started distancing myself from these friends. What was going on?

My identity…

A lot actually. The biggest issue was in the area of identity. God used these situations to show me the depths of my heart. When the relationships in my life were going well, I had a tendency to think well of myself. But when I began to feel unnoticed or worse unwanted I began to see what my heart was really clinging to.

Who am I when no one notices me? Do I matter if my friends don’t care or show up? I had to admit that for me the answer was a hearty no. I was feeding off the attention of others.

Who am I when no one notices me? Do I matter if my friends don’t care or show up? I had to admit that for me the answer was a hearty no. I was feeding off the attention of others. Click To Tweet

My jealousy…

This wasn’t a new problem for me. I can remember in 2^nd grade being friends with Kellie and Kathy. We were the 3 Ks. I can still remember the day I found out that Kathy had been invited to Kellie’s house to spend the night and I had not been included. I was devastated. How could they leave me out? I knew I could not let them know how much it mattered to me. But, man it mattered. This led to making assumptions about how they felt about me. I never asked them then how they felt… I just made it up… Therefore, I must not matter.

This kind of thinking followed me through high school, college, and even marriage and parenting. My heart had begun to rely on the subtle lie that my worth was based on how others perceived me and treated me. If I was wanted, valued or important, I was noticed, pursued even. That was a recipe for disaster. One that helped me see what I had been missing even as a believer. It’s a simple but profound truth.

My pursuer…

He pursued me.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8, NIV

People were never intended to define me or to give me worth. That was God’s job. In my desire to be pursued, I had missed the biggest pursuer of all- Christ. I still have to work on this mindset. My heart still yearns to be noticed and validated, but I must allow God to validate me. That takes a lot of practice and a lot of “taking thoughts captive.”

My help…

I’ve seen a few things help:

I have had to admit that I have an addiction to relational idolatry. I depend on the relationships in my life to give me significance. This is so hard to fight. I have to confess and ask for forgiveness where my relationships are sin and where they have taken places in my heart that really belong only to God.

Because I am prone to think I only matter if I am pursued or valued by others, I have to speak the gospel over myself again and again. The gospel tells me that Jesus pursued me when I was hostile to him. My worth is based on His actions not mine.

I have to be quick to admit my wrong and ask forgiveness from those I have offended and I have to pray about situations in which I have been offended. This may lead to me going to that person or it may mean I can lay this hurt down with Jesus.

We can rest in the worth that Christ has given us. Our worth does not have to rely on the hope from friends, or anyone else in life.

I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker or heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1, NIV

Jon Del Rivero

garbage, sin, forgiveness, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Garbage: Exposing Filthy Sin That Has Been Buried

Devotionals, Stay SaneJuly 10, 2018June 27, 2019

A lot of garbage is being revealed in the #MeToo movement, both inside and outside of the Church. How are Christian women suppose to respond?

I was in my thirties the first time a spiritual leader gravely disappointed me. Perhaps I was blind up to that point or simply naive, or maybe it was a different world then; I don’t know. However, during that season of my life there were several gut-wrenching blows to my Christian-leader bubble: Grievous moral failures of staff members, (that sounds too nice for what actually occurred). Our oldest son’s Christian school teachers was charged with murdering his wife (I kid you not!). The affair and subsequent divorce of a couple with whom my husband and I were friends and sang on worship team.

Also, I was attending the Southern Baptist Seminary, enrolled in their Christian counseling program when the trustees underhandedly decided to shut down the program AFTER the semester had already begun! It was a mess, believe me. Let’s just say that the other students and I had a crash course in politics intertwined with religion…so much garbage in such a good place.

Garbage In…

I’m not proud to say these combined events created a cynicism within me that took too many years to loosen its grip. (Can I hear anyone say, decades?) At first I felt entitled to my ‘righteous indignation,’ however, the Holy Spirit didn’t let me stay there long before conviction began. Much time in prayer has been spent seeking forgiveness for my attitude. Admittedly, it took a long time before I could pray for the pastor who had verbally beaten us up week after week, year after year, only to be discovered hiding his own insidious sin…more garbage. (A good insight into this phenomenon of why we stay in abusive churches- read the classic Secrets of Your Family Tree by Cloud and Townsend)

Human forgiveness is a strange thing…it is seldom ‘once for all’ like God’s. Each time I thought I had forgiven that pastor or the others, a new pastor at a different church would do something that reminded me of him or the ‘denominational authority’ stuff and the angry thoughts would rise up, again, and seek to strangle me. I have needed to forgive so many times over the years..! Do I smell something?

Garbage Out…

Now, why am I shoveling up all of this smelly, old garbage?

#MeToo seems to be shoveling up a lot of garbage…and the garbage needs to be taken out.

In recent weeks, the Southern Baptists have come under the microscope of the world with the fall and subsequent removal of Paige Patterson as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Patterson has been a prominent Baptist leader for decades. (If you have been unaware of the earthquake that took place in late May, simply Google Patterson’s name.) Due to the forcing of their hands by a Washington Post article, which cited proof that Patterson had told a female student and victim of rape to forgive her offender, (and then proceeded to put her on academic probation), the trustees fired Patterson from his position. They had initially planned to give him a generous severance package along with a new title: theologian-in-residence. This seems to have been the “MO” for the SBC when prominent leaders have been accused of various ‘moral failures.’

There have been many shots across the theological bough since that time. Dr. Albert Mohler wrote a scathing article about the judgment of God coming to the Southern Baptist Convention. Others blame him and those like him in leadership. Dare I say, the judgment of God is not reserved for the Southern Baptists?

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

I Peter 4:17, NIV

But I digress.

Buried Garbage…

I know, I know; this ‘garbage theme’ I’ve got going isn’t very appealing to ladies. But let’s face it gals, there has been an incredible amount of refuse being slung around both inside and outside of the church that affects women and children. When sin has been buried in the smoldering dark as long as this has, there is bound to be an eruption that spews far and wide. Abuse is destructive and evil in any situation. Within the church it is especially evil because it denigrates the image of Christ and completely perverts His call to love. Dr. Tim Clinton, President of the American Association of Christian Counselors, says

“It’s tough to believe in the fidelity of God, if all you’re experiencing is ongoing abuse in your life.”

Indeed.

The Answer to Garbage…

Many of the women who gained the courage to speak to their pastors were told to forgive the perpetrators/husbands who were abusing them; while the perpetrators/husbands were seldom called into account. To say this caused a crisis of faith within the hearts of women is a vast understatement. To suggest that this was a grave misunderstanding of Ephesians 5:22-25 seems outlandishly apparent; but obviously was not to a great many within the church! (The rest of Ephesians 5 had to have been ignored).

However, ultimately, forgiveness must come eventually in order for the abused to be set free… Free from your abuser, free from your past, free from the enemy who continues to haunt you with feelings of worthlessness and victimhood. Maybe not today; the pain may still feel too great, too enormous to bear right now. But the Father will invite you when He knows the time.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18, NIV

Forgiveness must come eventually... Maybe not today; the pain may still feel too great, too enormous to bear right now. But the Father will invite you when He knows the time. Click To Tweet

To Close…

Can I close with the words of Ann Voskamp? I can’t express it any more eloquently:

It happens – there are ways to look fine on the outside…and no one knows what you’ve really survived. But the truth is? You didn’t just survive, so let’s toss that myth out right at the outset. The way you keep walking? You may be wounded. You may be hurting. You may be limping. You may feel alone and overwhelmed and unspoken broken – but you’re no victim.

You’re not just a survivor. You’re a thriver. You may bleed – but you rise.

Yeah, it may not feel like it – but you are seen…how you just keep keeping your chin up and limping brave through the hurt…how you keep taking one step out of bed and another step through the door…

But I wanted you to know your wounds are seen and you are going to be okay – it is all going to be okay.

The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Ann Voskamp, The Way of Abundance

paul morris