God is our forever friend. He knows us and he loves us. We qualify for his love…
Where we are born…
I have noticed that when we go through hard times, we often withdraw emotionally and physically. Yet, in our hiding places, God is working. He talks to our hearts. He reasons with our heads. He is training us in the silence until we are ready.
It is then we can emerge as unexpected heroes. We have overcome ourselves. We have dared to move out despite the fears we might carry. And we discovered that with God we can move on – step by step – in his strength.
(Based on the story of Gideon in Judges 6 – where he hides in a winepress and God calls him for there.)
Our constant Repositioner
Verses about how God can change/reposition our perspective, even though our circumstances might remain the same…
‘Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.’ (Micah 7:8)
‘The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create.’ (Isaiah 65:17-18)
‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28)
Whatever our situation, there is always another perspective – God’s. He will take us to impossible places and say, ‘Trust me that all things do work together for good.’ (Romans 8:28). He can reposition our hearts.
(photo by Lucas Martins: pexels.com)
‘It wasn’t your fault.’
Sometimes people tell us, ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ especially when we struggle with our past. But we might push them away, for they obviously don’t know what went on.
But often those on the outside can see our lives better. They hear our stories and the guilt we have assumed. They see how we were made to feel responsible. We feel guilty for things we never did.
It takes a journey to move from shame to freedom. It takes accepting the invitation our friends have extended. For they long to see us living OUR lives and leaving behind the lies.
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ are releasing words. We can move on.
(photo by Pixabay – www.pexels.com)
That dangerous weapon called anger…
It can happen so fast. Out of the blue, someone can blame us for their relational problems. ‘It’s all your fault that people don’t talk with me.’
It happened to me and it surprised me that they give me so much sway. In another, it horrified. They wanted me to take responsibility for their actions and anger. They wanted me to smooth things over.
I declined the job offer, so they instantly changed tactic – using shame. Maybe now I would fulfill their wishes if I felt they were the victim.
I had to walk away. I read the Bible. It said, ‘I have heard the insults.*’ I could rest, because anger isn’t the way to make friends.
(photo by Piet Bakker: pexels.com) *Zephaniah 2:8
When taken hostage by gaslighting…
It can be deeply painful when someone hates us for doing good. It hurts when our sense of justice is mocked, because it doesn’t bow to their demands. The Bible puts it so well. ‘You have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness’ (Amos 6:12). These kinds of people will try to poison us, to gaslight us into agreeing with their reality.
But the Bible guides us when we are in danger of being taken as a hostage: ‘They shall never enter my rest’ (Psalm 95:11). We can say, ‘NEVER!’ We can say, ‘No! You can’t come in! You will not disturb my rest.’ We can choose who we let into our lives. We can choose those who love good.
(photo by Leonie Fahjen: pexels.com)
Ruined…
Recently, bulldozers moved in, levelling a wood and meadow. The carnage was brutal, with splintered branches and uprooted trees. And when those bulldozers moved out, they left behind a permanent change.
So, why did I think it could be any different with relationships? For some reason, I thought that when a destructive person moved away, everything would snap back to normal. I thought that people could simply bounce back into being happy and whole, that things would be okay.
Now I know it takes a long time to rebuild. I know the scenery has permanently changed. But, there is hope. With God, I am working at pushing broken logs to one side. Maybe kindness and love will take root.
(photo by Boris Hamer: pexels.com)
We can see…
In the beginning, God was there in the darkness and confusion. But then he spoke, ‘Light, come!’ And what he set in motion still is.
Each of us had a beginning and it was in darkness. But then in our births we came into light. God set us in motion and we still are. Yet, he wants to speak again today, as we experience other darknesses and confusions. He says, ‘Light, come!’
He sets in motion something new, if only we could stop and look – a scary new path, a unexpected opportunity, or an undiscovered talent we never knew we had. And if we walk in what we see, we can share that light with others. For, beginnings are a gift we can accept and give.
(photo by Pixabay: www.pexels.com)
When others shut us down…
It is possible to do something excellently and still get rude remarks. It is possible for others to envy our work and try to shut us down. Our natural response might be to protect ourselves, to run away and hide.
In the Bible, someone experienced the same, and this man hid out in the wilderness, inside a cave. But God asked him, ‘What are you doing here?’
That man poured out his heart, but God gave him another perspective. He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord…’
Those who are envious will try to force us into hiding, but God pulls us out into the open. He shows us that next good thing to do.
(from 1 Kings 19:9-18) (photo by M Venter: https://www.pexels.com)
Bible psychology – How to live
A small sign pointed up, so I stopped and looked. High above, on the church tower, it said: ‘Do not forget to live.’ It hit me hard.
I do it all the time. I get caught up in work, business, in pleasing others – my head down, my life filled with concern. I forget to live. And sadly, I forget HOW to live, because the pressures of life pull me down.
God, however, isn’t ‘the God of the dead, but of the living’ (Mark 12:27). So, today, I stop and pray: ‘Please show me what living looks like and remind me what it feels like.’
Today, I watch the sun and shadows, the sparkling dew. The world rushes by, but I stop.
(sundial of a Warwickshire church tower)