Keep Fighting

 I was feeling discouraged yesterday morning because of the realization that I have been fighting fear my entire life.  I was journaling about the current problems in my life that cause me to have to struggle against fear, and I remembered a poem I'd written  about this very subject when I was just 16.  The second stanza went like this: 

I'm frightened of possibilities

A million terrible things 

I'm even frightened of my fright; 

Why can't my soul just sing? 

I felt terribly discouraged to remember this because here I am 54 years later and these words are still pertinent to describe my daily battle against fear.  I took this to the Lord and heard Him say: 

You fight on a higher plain than before.  If your life were a video game you would have reached upper levels.  It is the enemy who is the same, not you.  The battles seem familiar because his strategies against you are familiar.  

I thought about the fact that every time I see a spider, my strategy is the same; I chase it down and kill it.  Things have improved somewhat over the years as I have learned to take precautions against spiders.  But when one of those creepy crawlies does show up, my response is still pretty much the same as it always was. This is no ill reflection on me, it is because that in this world, we will have spiders (Lord protect us!).  

 Each time I'm confronted with fear, I've learned to fight my way through it, crying out to the Lord, confessing my trust in Him, asking others to pray for me and with me, and reading God's Word.  Fear is going to show up. The shame would be if I gave up the fight, not that I am still having to fight similar battles after all these years. 

***

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 NIV

You Are Going To Be Alright

 Don’t be hasty

Don't be hasty

It’s safe to wait

Jesus is with you

And He’s never late

Just on time

You will be better

Your infirmities cured, 

Your heart unfettered

 

The Lord is with you

So be not dismayed

Your trials custom-tailored

Don’t be afraid.  

 

These struggles create

A space for joy to dwell

Be not discouraged

All will be well

 

For lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

And the voice of the turtledove

Is heard in our land. 

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

 

The lesson I’m thinking I’ve learned is that when God says you’re going to be all right—you’re gonna be alright.

Forgiving Does Not Increase Suffering; Unforgiveness is Not Protective

Saying "I forgive" regarding those who do not know what they do reveals an awareness of the love that can take a blow in order to avoid eternal loss (and to obtain a surfeit of eternal blessing).  When you extend Calvary love to those who have hurt you, I not only protect you; I reward you. 

It feels like forgiveness opens the way for me to take their punishment. 

Not exactly.  Jesus forgave, not ahead of the persecution, but in the midst of it.  Do you see the difference?  His forgiveness did not cause the suffering, but that He was able to forgive in the midst of the persecution they inflicted upon Him opened a pathway for them to be redeemed.  This increased His glory and did not diminish it.  Do you see? 

It always seems like unforgiveness builds a wall that protects. 

But it doesn’t. It locks you into your pain, alone.  Jesus built no walls.  His physical suffering may not have been diminished by his forgiveness of those who persecuted him, but neither was it increased.  His forgiveness was a choice not to condemn them for what they had done to Him.  It was expensive nonetheless; to understand the mean-spiritedness that would rob you of your very life and yet to forgive is an expensive gift to provide those who have caused you harm.  But—and here is the clincher—you cannot keep this gift for yourself.  There is no nourishment to be had from the bitterness of unforgiveness; you can’t eat it yourself, you can only offer the relinquishment of it (forgiveness) as food—and it is a bountiful and nourishing food for those who have the humility and wits to accept it—for others. 

Help me not to cling to unforgiveness out of the mistaken idea that it is protective for me, or that I can glean nourishment from it for myself.  Help me to love those who have caused me harm so that I am willing to provide them an opportunity to take nourishment from my forgiveness of them through You.  Let it offer them a road to You.  And Lord protect me from the sin of unforgiveness, protect me from harm, watch over my life. 

What you cannot provide for yourself, I will freely give you. 

Accept, Believe, Receive

Some things are lost and cannot be retrieved. 

Accept it. 

Some things can be renewed. 

Believe it. 

Someday My purposes will become clear, and you will not only agree with My decisions, but will be vastly relieved that I loved you enough to see it through. 

Receive it. 

No weapon forged against you can prevail. 

No plan of human beings, no sin of theirs either by commission or omission, can rob you of blessings I have ordained for you. 

When Fears Assail...

Live your life.  Trust that I am on the path ahead of you and have made provision for you.  Trust that things can get better. 

You are not trapped in a whirlpool, helpless.  You are on the point on your timeline, the exact point, where I have known you would be at this moment.  There are not a number of different, branching paths for you, there is only one, and the choice of which path lies ahead is not up to you. 

Sometimes people change at least the appearance of their paths, but it is most often the accoutrements (the decorations) that change, and not the direction of the path itself.  (An exception is the turning of repentance.  But you made the choice to walk with Me long ago, and daily repentance is a fact of your life.)

All is well, Child, all is well. 

Joy in the Midst of Sorrow

When all your injuries seem fresh, remember: 

The miracles of salvation and redemption are that the blind can see, the deaf can hear, the lame can walk.  You can see although you are blind. You can laugh although you are hurt (because I provide conquering joy). Joy in the midst of sorrow, peace in the midst of pain, faith in the truth of God’s promise, there will be sunshine after the rain.  You will have days of joy once more both here and then through eternity.  Don’t repine although you have regrets, don’t grieve although you have grief.  Don’t weep but when you do, know that your tears are captured by My hand, and held safe in My keeping.