Happiness is spending an hour on the phone with your grandmother. Happiness is legacy wrapped in light with sprinkles of hope and contentment. Happiness doesn’t come cheap. Sometimes it”s wrapped in struggle. Sometimes it is plain. But it is yours. Grab it and hold on!
Month: November 2021
Fully Convinced in Spite of all My Questions
What is a mind not wavering?
What is strength?
What is faith?
Can I walk in it?
Who holds the key?
Is the door really locked?
Am I on the outside looking in?
Are you inside waiting?
Are you cheering me on?
Are my hands strong?
Will I use them wisely?
Why am I asking so many questions?
The answers are there for the taking.
Why don’t I always remember them?
Is this a test I will have to pass again and again?
Will my memory serve me when it’s hard?
Will I forget to listen?
How could I ever forget the sound of your voice?
Who am I that you are mindful of me?
If I have to take another lap around the mountain, will you walk with me?
Are you singing?
Can I sing along?
Am I giving you glory?
Am I fully convinced?
If faith comes in giving you glory, can I fill up or overflow?
Is that even relevant?
Should I stop talking now?
I should.
“But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20b-21
The Blood will Never Lose its Power
I never do anything like this so welcome to a first on the Inspired by the Comforter site. After speaking with a friend earlier, I couldn’t help but start singing a couple of choruses from some old songs I grew up on. I was lied to for years. The world around me, and yes, even the church and Christian content and media, told me over and over again that if I were better or more holy or enough, then God would be moving in my life, my family. My ex-husband wouldn’t have been an addict if I were a better wife. My life would be perfect and sunny and roses would sprout from my finger tips if only I could get my act together. I call bull! Excuse my language, but honey, no one can tell me that my efforts mattered more than the cross.
Jesus paid the price for my sin, my shame, everything, once and for all on the cross. “It is finished” means something. Yes, I will spend everyday of my life trying to be more like Jesus and I will be continually being sanctified and growing in my faith, but I don’t freakin’ have to be ENOUGH before I come to the cross! I come to the cross because in and of myself, I can’t be enough and wasn’t meant to ever be enough. I can’t be good enough apart from Christ. No one can. But that’s the beauty! He never expected us to be! He IS enough! And therefore, in Him, I am enough. I have everything I need and NO one can condemn me or take away the power of what He accomplished. No one can pluck me from His hand.
I write this now after speaking to a friend who is being lied to in the same way I used to be. I learned to call bull on the bull and punch it in the gut with the truth of the gospel and I see her beginning to do the same. So for my friend and anyone else who may need to hear it, I’m adding this short video I took a minute ago in my office at work (don’t tell my boss haha) to hopefully encourage you. It’s not my best, but that doesn’t matter, because like anything else, we hold up what we have and who we are to the light of the cross and He does what He will with it.
Don’t Waste the Chains
I’ve been through a lot in my lifetime. I used to feel a little sorry for myself if I’m being honest. I can remember sad, pitiful, moments when I whined at God because “He must love everyone else more than me since life was so unfair”, blah blah blah. I’m ashamed to admit that, but it’s the truth. I’ve long since adjusted my attitude towards suffering, hardship, and trials. I can either allow the hardships of my life to break me, or I can allow them to build me. I choose the latter.
It’s been through some of the hardest times of my life, that I’ve found what it means to truly live. It’s in the suffering that I’ve learned to find true joy. It’s in the anxious moments, that I’ve learned what it means to have peace and to lean in and trust more than I thought possible. It’s in pain, I’ve learned empathy. It’s in rejection, I’ve learned love. For all of these things, I am truly, honestly, not just throwing out a cliché, grateful!
Paul learned this as well. Philippians 1:12 NLT “I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” He was in prison when he wrote those words. Yet, he used even his chains to further the Gospel! Nothing is wasted.
We live in a culture, particularly in the church, where we rail against suffering. We don’t want it! We don’t believe it should happen to us despite the fact that Jesus said in John 16:33 NLT, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.“. We’ve created entire doctrines based on the avoidance of pain, sickness, and suffering. Ultimately, we want to control things. We feel if we were better, we’d get better things. If we are good enough, we will be blessed. We’ve missed the point. We ARE blessed but not because bad things don’t happen to us and around us. We are blessed because He has overcome the world! (also in John 16:33) We are blessed because in the worst moments, He is there to strengthen us, give us peace, and we will come through it stronger and better! Remember in Philippians 1:21, Paul says, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”
In the worst moments of my life, not only do I have the opportunity to grow, but I have an opportunity to shine. When nothing and no one can hold me back from doing what God called me to do, those around me get the benefit. They can not only see Christ strengthening me, but I’m able to love better…to show them the love of Christ better. Sometimes, it’s in the midst of the chains, that we can spread the most freedom. Like Paul said, “Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news.“
Don’t waste your chains! Use them! Fight! Hold on tight and trust that nothing can stop you! Grow! Most importantly, learn to love deeply, trust without limits, and spread the love of God like you’ve never thought possible! You are a warrior! Don’t ever forget it.
Crank up the Music
Have you ever read something and you just can’t stop thinking about it? Saturday morning, I read a passage of Scripture, I’ve read probably one hundred times, but I never saw it. I’ve spent a lot of times studying the book of 2 Kings. I have a profound fascination with Elisha. I have even considered writing a book about it but I haven’t done it yet….maybe soon. Still, despite the many times I’ve read this, I never noticed this simple little thing hanging out in 2 Kings chapter 3.
I’m a musician, as many of you know. I have been involved in worship ministry in one form or another for the last 40 years of my life. I’m only 43 so it’s pretty obvious that music and worship have been instrumental (no pun intended…okay maybe a little intended) in who I am.
In 2 Kings 3, the king of Israel, Joram, and the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat have teamed up and are going to battle against Moab. Side note – I’ve always liked saying Jehoshaphat! It’s just fun. I feel like Buddy the Elf saying “Francisco” over and over again, “Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat”, but I digress. They decide they should ask the prophet of the Lord what they should do. Good idea Jehoshaphat! So they go to Elisha, who honestly, isn’t thrilled about the idea of helping them at all. He isn’t a big fan of Joram, who is still doing evil in the sight of the Lord and says in verse 13, “I want no part of you. Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!”
Still, despite Elisha’s attitude toward Joram, he agrees out of respect for…wait for it…Jehoshaphat. See it’s just fun! Anyway, the thing I never saw is in verse 15. Elisha agrees to ask the Lord for them, and in order to do that he says, “Bring me a musician.” 2 Kings 3:15. “Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.” 2 Kings3:16.
The outcome here isn’t what I want to emphasize. What I can’t stop thinking about is that when Elisha’s own attitude was not in a space to find the word of the Lord, he knew how to pull himself out of it and into the presence of God. He knew that in in worship, God would reveal Himself. The hand of the Lord moved as the musician played.
I was talking with a friend recently who said they cannot stand the “worship” part of church. She meant the music. She just doesn’t get it and doesn’t understand why it is so repetitive etc. I get it. I also acknowledge that everyone has a different style and various worship expressions are necessary because we are all different and God speaks to us in different ways. Still never underestimate the power and impact that worship and music has on the lives and spirits of mankind.
If the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah through worship and he, Elisha, the man with a double portion of the anointing of Elijah needed them to call for a musician to change his attitude and hear from heaven, then it only makes sense why I fundamentally need music in my life. I am designed to absorb music. I feel it deeply. I sing loudly. I feel the atmosphere shift around me through melody and rhythm. It’s a part of me. It’s obviously a part of others as well and it’s in me so I can help others find and hear from heaven.
My point is two-fold. Number one, if something is in you, let it out! It’s in you for a reason. I’m a singer for a reason so I better SING! Whatever you have to offer, don’t keep it to yourself. Be who you are! Go out and change the world. I know it sounds cheesy, but do it anyway. God created you for a purpose and it wasn’t just to hide in the shadows. Live BIG!
Number two, if you’re struggling today, crank up the music and see what happens. Allow God to speak to you. Meditate on His word and listen. You never know what He will do. Crank it up! Dance! Sing! Listen! God is always speaking, not always how we think He will. It may be through music. It may be through a butterfly flying by your window. You never know, but if you have eyes to see and ears to hear, He will reveal Himself to you. Don’t miss it!
INSPIRED BY THE COMFORTER 