Safe Thus Far

You want God's promise that nothing bad will happen to you and yours, but Child, you no longer count as severe the truly intense sorrows you have already faced.  And because you now undervalue both their intensity and God's strength that afforded you passage through them, you have not given Him the credit that would afford you a measure of peace now.  The grace that has brought you safe thus far has been underestimated and underappreciated by you.  You laugh, you eat, you sleep, and you are not haunted by the horrors you have faced. 

Trust in the Lord, my dear one.  You are entering a spacious place.  Do not be afraid.  

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

--Deuteronomy 33:27 

This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
--Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

 

Another Word Regarding Humility

Humility and humiliation are two very different things; do not confuse the two or believe that the Lord intends you the harm of humiliation.  Humility is a virtue adopted by choice; it is a determination to put the needs of others ahead of one's own. By contrast, humiliation is like a weapon in the hand of a bully.  When other people seem to assume that everything about them is of greater importance and value than anything about you, the Lord isn't in this.  He will never tell you that you are less important to Him than someone else. 

Considering others better than yourself does not mean you are unaware of their sins, but that you trust the Lord for your needs and thus do not need to fight for your own rights. It becomes safe for you to consider others ahead of yourself, because you trust the Lord to be your defender. Humility, for a Christian, is not a choice to be inferior, but rather is an outward expression of the confidence you have in Christ to take care of you. God does not want you to see yourself and your needs as being of less worth than those of others.  He want you to rest in the confidence that you are of great value to Him, and that He will not forsake you or forget you.  You have food they do not know of.  Do you see it? 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,  and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

--Ephesians 8:17-19a

On Humility

You are a treasure to the Lord. But do not mistake His love for you as evidence of your superiority.  

False humility is a type of pride. You have developed the habit of groveling because you have become used to the assumption that others may feel jealous or inferior, but this actually communicates  “I know I’m superior to you and I’m trying to put you at your ease.”   

Do not attempt to change your personality, which is a unique and multifaceted jewel, created by God.  You are indeed precious in His sight.  But please do be willing to release your persona, which is something very different.  Your personality is who you were created to be, while your persona is who you want other human beings to think you are. 

Consider an exchange of your persona for that of Christ Jesus. In His human form, Christ was inoffensive (until He stood up to preach) because of His humility. Be inoffensive in your humility. Defer to the desires of others, and let others take the lead.  

When combined with a desire to prove yourself superior, fear of rejection makes you a danger to those you ought to be shepherding with Christ's love.  Let interactions with your fellow human beings be governed by Christ's love and humility.  

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ....
--Romans 13:14

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 

--1 Corinthians 1:27-29

But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.

--2 Corinthians 4:7 The Voice Translation

Before You Were Born, He Knew You

You are moving forward. You cannot examine yourself as you are in the process of change and renewal, but God sees your heart. He knows you and is with you. Trust Him when He says you are on right on His schedule, the one He planned especially for you long before you were born. Do not be afraid.

 …he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus
--Philippians 1:6

Arm Yourself

Child, the Lord is on your side, and He provides you tools that will enable you to survive the strategies of the forces arrayed against you.  Use these tools.  Withdrawing from the battle does not work, because the battle will not withdraw from you.  A soldier who will not fight can nevertheless suffer injury.  Arm yourself. 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

--Ephesians 6:10-18

Past Sin

You make two errors with past sin: one is to brush it off and say it is of no account because it happened so long ago, and another is to mislabel it as adventure or fun so that sins committed in youth become interwoven with a longing for days past.

We are not to feel guilt over forgiven sin, but we should feel humility at the remembrance of it because of its shame. Remember that the release from that shame was purchased at great cost to the Almighty God through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Do not forget that the same power that raised Him from the dead is at work in you. 

Between childhood and adulthood, all human beings commit sins that require repentance. Unconfessed sin from any time of life can stand as a barrier to healing and revival. Read the account of a dead girl and a sick woman in Mark 5, and let the Lord speak to your heart today: Jesus wants to heal the adult you have become and bring the child you were back to life. 

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.--1 Timothy 1:15

...I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms... --Ephesians 1:18-20

When you are angry with God...

If you hold back from releasing frustration and anger to the Lord, you will punish other human beings for what has come to you by God's hand. Be respectful and remember that you address the Almighty God, but do share your heartache with Him. 

Do not repress the Holy Spirit within.  Silencing God's voice will magnify your sense of grief and longing many times over. Let the Spirit flow and be comforted. 

You may desire to hurt Him for what He has allowed you to suffer, but your efforts will not succeed.  Jesus suffered once for the entirety of human grief and sin that will occur to the end of time. Therefore He has already  weathered the blows of your heartache and anger and gained victory over them by His suffering.  You can choose to participate in His victory.

Although in one mood you may feel vindictive toward your Creator, in another you may actually fear that your expressions of anguish or anger will hurt Him.  Again, remember the price for your pain has already been paid; rest in the understanding that the travail of the Cross is finished. You do not cause additional sorrow for Christ by partaking of the forgiveness and healing His suffering purchased. The opposite is true; your comfort is His consolation.   

You don't need to forgive Him, you need to trust Him. Let Him search your heart. Confess if you have sinned in response to the blow you have received.  Pour out your hurt to Him. Partake of His peace, place your trust in Him, and rest.  

Grief

Don’t exchange past joy for current grief; keep the precious memories and release the sorrow.  Blessings that were real in the past lose none of their reality in the one eternal God who is above time and space, so dwell in Him; abide in His reality.  He will keep you grounded to Himself and to no other version of truth; you can trust His perceptions because He is God. Share His point of view.  Remember that love makes the transition from time to eternity; love remains (1 Corinthians 13:13).  In God you are safe, and all that was of Him in the past still is, and all that is of Him in your present will always be.  

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." -- 1 Corinthians 13:12-13

Suffering

You have not exaggerated your loved ones' difficulties or your own.  The only error you make is one of reasoning; you believe that such challenges are unusual, possible to avoid if different people or circumstances were involved.  Sorrow is not unusual and is impossible to avoid.

However, your need isn't less urgent simply because it stems from common sufferings.

One of the strategies Satan utilizes is that of portraying your pain as inconsequential because so many other people endure the same challenge.  This provides false comfort and a dismissive attitude toward suffering, neither of which are of the Lord. 

A refusal to trivialize that which should not be trivialized is a facet of the spiritual gift of discernment.  Apart from discernment, you label suffering with tags that trivialize its impact and encourages escapism. People who idolize escapism do not want to talk about suffering in any way that allows it the true sculpting and honing power God intends.  They don’t mind turning it into an experience they can use to impress others in order to elevate their own status, but to acknowledge the reality of pain opens the terrifying possibility that it may recur. And so they trivialize it so far as the suffering goes and magnify it in an almost humorous way as an attention drawing experience.

Very few people have courage to speak the truth about suffering.  If you choose to be one of those few, you will be invaluable as an intercessor and a friend. 

***

"Dear ones, don’t be surprised when you experience your trial by fire. It is not something strange and unusual..." 

1 Peter 4:12  The Voice

On Heaven

Do not draw your solace from other human beings, but from the Lord.  The Holy Spirit’s nurture will fill the emptiness in your heart. 

In Heaven you will not need love from your fellow saints, but you will delight in it.  In Heaven all of your heart’s needs are met by oneness with the Savior, and your delight in your brethren is that of kindred spirits in love with and loved by the same God.  

Participate in Heaven now by laying your heart’s needs at the foot of God's throne, then bide until your emptiness is filled.  Yes, bide at the foot of the throne; you will meet your Savior there, you will find your salvation; you will have no unmet need because you are one with Him, and He is complete.  You don’t share in His completeness so much as you become a part of it (so that it is yours, as a puzzle piece belongs to the whole). 

The Importance of Emotion

Don't ignore your emotions toward God, or hide them, or say, "I know my emotions aren't important, I will praise God from what my mind knows rather than from what my heart feels."   Emotion fuels praise.  When you feel disappointed or angry with God, bring your heart in line with what your mind knows to be truth. Faith resides in the mind, but love has its roots in the heart. 

Do not allow a disconnect between your heart and your mind.  This results in a jaded, senseless resentment toward the Most High based on facts your mind can comprehend,  and ignores the truth your heart can sense.  In short, you become worldly, cynical, sarcastic: unrecognizable as a child of God, indistinguishable from those who do not know Him at all. 

Partake of the Savior

Surely he hath borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows…(Isaiah 53:4 KJV)

There you have it.  You are not Christ.  You are the partaker not the Provider, the child, not the adult; the Lord asks you to feed upon Him, not to apportion yourself out to others so they can feed upon you.  In ministry those who are very young in the faith may be nourished by His presence in you; but that is a very different thing from offering your body a living sacrifice to them (as they will desire you to do…you must direct them to the Lord rather than attempting to save them yourself).  Your sacrifice is exclusively His.  Lay down your life to the LORD, not to other human beings.  Being “nice” does not get you to Heaven.  Being liked or loved by human beings is not the way to where He is.  Partaking of the Savior, not becoming a savior yourself is the way to peace. 

Love the Hurtful Child

As a teacher, mentor, or parent, guard your heart. You fear your child's resentment, but the Lord protects you from this natural response in the heart of one who receives correction. Over time, this sort of resentment mellows into respect; it is a surface emotion that, when both parties cry out to the Lord, does not poison the heart. 

The channel that is less protected is resentment that would flow from parent to child. It is natural for a child to resent the adult who administers discipline, this is why the Lord's protection must be in place (as it is for a praying parent).  But when Satan succeeds in forming resentment in a parent's heart toward the child, this is a more difficult challenge.  

Love steadfastly, love as God has loved you through Christ Jesus, and learn to take a blow to the heart while yet remaining steadfast in love. Love cannot fail, but loyalty can, and the tendency to relate to one another by some other rule than love can be encouraged. Recognize these strategies of the enemy and resist him.  Though God may discipline He does not ridicule or shame.  He never says "I'll be nice to you if you will be nice to Me." He says this instead:  "I will be patient and kind regardless of  your behavior. I will not dishonor you even when you dishonor Me. I will always protect and will not give up on you" (see 1 Corinthians 13).  

Relate to your child by the loyal rule of love that covers a multitude of sins.   

Scripture: 

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:7-9).

"…As I have loved you, so you must love one another…" (John 13:34). 

"All my fountains of joy are in you" (Psalm 87:7, the voice).  

Friend, Parent, God

Note:  This word came as I prayed over a particularly grisly section of the Old Testament, one that spoke of how King David dealt with his enemies:

Even the little child of a ruthless dictator is safe beneath her father’s hand, and how much more so a child of the Lord.  For this is what causes concern; you desire signs that the Lord is kind to His enemies because you are not always confident you are His friend.  But you are His friend, more than that, you are His child.  The Almighty God is a terrible enemy, but He is the best parent and advocate in the universe.  He is your friend, your parent, and your God.  You are blessed. 

Grace

Jesus died so that you don’t have to suffer the consequences of your sins.  How irksome for someone who exercises religiously and eats “right” to see you thriving because your life source is firmly planted in your Lord.  As Paul shook the snake off into the fire, as the Israelite boys thrived on vegetables (and no, it wasn’t because those particular vegetables were better for them than the King's food), you can thrive even if you ingest dough conditioners in your bread or artificial food coloring in your M & M's.  This happens because of grace, God's grace, and not by human effort.  When you are weak, you are strong, and thus the vitality of Christians confounds the world’s wisdom.  Christ's life is displayed in your flawed and fallen body so that you participate in His perfection, even here, even now. 

As you love your own children, God loves you.  They certainly do not deserve it by their behaviors, but you are delighted by them because they are yours and because they are beautiful.  You are His, and you are beautiful.  He is delighted by you because you are His own.