I obsessively read a blog called "The Journey" by a woman named Katie who gave up all the comfort in her life in order to allow God's will to encompass her life. Upon reading her latest entry, I really connected with this part of her beautiful story, and I thought she wrote it better than I ever could.
"She tried not to wonder if anyone would ever love her like that again or how she would do this all alone.
And that’s when He reminded her that she wasn’t. That HE would make her feel beautiful as a single mom covered in dust and spit up. That He appreciated her even when everyone else forgot to say thank you. That He believed in her when the rest of the world thought everything she did was crazy. That He would cheer her on and pick her up when she just didn’t feel strong enough. That His voice whispering in her ear would turn those rough days right around. That He would ALWAYS be faithful. That His love would be unconditional. That He, her ONE TRUE LOVE would never leave or forsake her and would give her heart’s desires. That He would make all things new, ever her shattered heart."
All I can say is AMEN. God is soo good, soo faithful, MY EVERYTHING.
Love,
Steph
check out her blogs...seriously.
kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Hebrews 12
A wonderful friend of mind encouraged me to meditate on Hebrews 12: 1-3. I decided to check out The Message's version of these passages too to get a fuller understanding of it. I wanted to share it with everyone!
Hebrews 12:1-3 is from the NIV:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition form sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart...
And to continue on with The Message in Hebrews 12: 4-13
"In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!"
Wow, I feel so convicted.
Verses 1-3 really speak to me. Especially the part that says "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us." My goodness. I have certainly felt so weighed down not only by my sin but by the sins of others that I'm struggling to forgive. I feel like I've been carrying around these burdens which have inhibited me from running the race to my full potential. It's like I've been trying so hard to run at a full out sprint, but instead I'm stuck speed walking with a blindfold on. The image of throwing off everything that hinders us is just so magnificent to me. I want to do that - I'm trying to do that now. I want to break free from the burden that I have been carrying and run with perseverance in the race that God has marked out for me. Because He has. He has a unique race set out in a purposeful, direct course for ME! All for me!! And all I have to do is trust that His path is the one that is best for me to run ALL the time.
The passage goes on to tell us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Holy cow. This verse so forces me to ask myself, "What am I focusing my eyes on?" Am I focusing my eyes on Jesus? Or am I focusing my eyes on the hurt that I feel? Or the need for attention from people of the opposite sex? Or Facebook? or Schoolwork? or Friends? The list could go on forever. But it says here in plain words that Jesus was the author and perfecter of our faith. He is PERFECT, and the example of how He lived His life is right there in the Bible for us to follow. But why is it so darn hard for us to fix our eyes on Jesus and only Him?
For me, I find myself doing something and thinking, "Oh, it's no big deal. It's not hurting anyone. I feel better because of it" or "It keeps me busy". But what the crap kind of reasoning is that? Just because something makes me feel better or keeps me busy or doesn't hurt someone else doesn't mean it's right and doesn't mean it isn't taking my focus away from the Lord. Because honestly, even though I think it's not hurting anyone, it's really hurting the most important relationship in my life - the one with the Lord. I'm really working to try to define exactly where my focus is so that I can refocus my eyes on Jesus and only Jesus.
Hebrews 12:4-11 is a stinkin' slap in the face to me, and I feel soo convincted. I'm not going to lie, for the past few months, I am guilty of feeling sorry for myself. But it says right here in so many words, DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF, STEPH. THERE ARE A BAGILLION OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE IT WAY WORSE, INCLUDING JESUS WHO DIED SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE AND LIVE TO THE FULLEST. What a jerk I've been? Yeah, sometimes things that happen in our lives hurt really bad and make us wonder why it had to happen to us. But like it says in The Message, God uses these tough times that we go through in order to train us and discipline us for the race. He knows that it's going to be tough; He knows that it is going to be a trying time for us. But He also knows that in the end IT WILL PAY OFF. A friend of mine, Alicia, said [much more eloquently than I will be able to write it] that God wouldn't demand something great from us in order to only provide us with something lesser in the future. No way. God will demand something great from us now in order to provide something greater than we can ever imagine in the future. I'm so comforted by those words. Sometimes we must sacrifice the most important things to us, but God will ultimately provide something so much more worthwhile in the future.
Hebrews 12 is just awesome. I want to encourage you to read it and meditate on it. God reveals the coolest things if only you take time to listen.
Hebrews 12:1-3 is from the NIV:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition form sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart...
And to continue on with The Message in Hebrews 12: 4-13
"In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!"
Wow, I feel so convicted.
Verses 1-3 really speak to me. Especially the part that says "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us." My goodness. I have certainly felt so weighed down not only by my sin but by the sins of others that I'm struggling to forgive. I feel like I've been carrying around these burdens which have inhibited me from running the race to my full potential. It's like I've been trying so hard to run at a full out sprint, but instead I'm stuck speed walking with a blindfold on. The image of throwing off everything that hinders us is just so magnificent to me. I want to do that - I'm trying to do that now. I want to break free from the burden that I have been carrying and run with perseverance in the race that God has marked out for me. Because He has. He has a unique race set out in a purposeful, direct course for ME! All for me!! And all I have to do is trust that His path is the one that is best for me to run ALL the time.
The passage goes on to tell us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Holy cow. This verse so forces me to ask myself, "What am I focusing my eyes on?" Am I focusing my eyes on Jesus? Or am I focusing my eyes on the hurt that I feel? Or the need for attention from people of the opposite sex? Or Facebook? or Schoolwork? or Friends? The list could go on forever. But it says here in plain words that Jesus was the author and perfecter of our faith. He is PERFECT, and the example of how He lived His life is right there in the Bible for us to follow. But why is it so darn hard for us to fix our eyes on Jesus and only Him?
For me, I find myself doing something and thinking, "Oh, it's no big deal. It's not hurting anyone. I feel better because of it" or "It keeps me busy". But what the crap kind of reasoning is that? Just because something makes me feel better or keeps me busy or doesn't hurt someone else doesn't mean it's right and doesn't mean it isn't taking my focus away from the Lord. Because honestly, even though I think it's not hurting anyone, it's really hurting the most important relationship in my life - the one with the Lord. I'm really working to try to define exactly where my focus is so that I can refocus my eyes on Jesus and only Jesus.
Hebrews 12:4-11 is a stinkin' slap in the face to me, and I feel soo convincted. I'm not going to lie, for the past few months, I am guilty of feeling sorry for myself. But it says right here in so many words, DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF, STEPH. THERE ARE A BAGILLION OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE IT WAY WORSE, INCLUDING JESUS WHO DIED SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE AND LIVE TO THE FULLEST. What a jerk I've been? Yeah, sometimes things that happen in our lives hurt really bad and make us wonder why it had to happen to us. But like it says in The Message, God uses these tough times that we go through in order to train us and discipline us for the race. He knows that it's going to be tough; He knows that it is going to be a trying time for us. But He also knows that in the end IT WILL PAY OFF. A friend of mine, Alicia, said [much more eloquently than I will be able to write it] that God wouldn't demand something great from us in order to only provide us with something lesser in the future. No way. God will demand something great from us now in order to provide something greater than we can ever imagine in the future. I'm so comforted by those words. Sometimes we must sacrifice the most important things to us, but God will ultimately provide something so much more worthwhile in the future.
Hebrews 12 is just awesome. I want to encourage you to read it and meditate on it. God reveals the coolest things if only you take time to listen.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Perfect Romance.
I've been so blind, so terribly blind.
It's been such a weird few months in my life. I have felt so...defeated. It's the only word that comes to mind. Just defeated. I feel the Holy Spirit moving around me, and I feel like in light of many recent circumstances I've grown leaps and bounds in my relationship with the Lord.
But still I feel like I'm running, screaming out His name, calling to Him to catch me when I feel like I'm falling so hard. And in so many ways, I feel like God is so far away.
Recently in a conversation with a good friend of mine, I've realized how undeniably mistaken I've been to assert that God is the one that is far away. God isn't far away at all; It's me whose been closing my eyes but still expecting to see Him radically changing me.
We aren't the ones running after God at all, but instead HE is pursuing us. He's romancing us in a way a man romances a woman. He desires more than anything to be in a relationship with us. And when we feel that God is no where to be seen or felt, it's because we aren't looking right in front of us. We've closed our eyes and hid our head under the pillow, but still expected to be able to see what is going on around us. And I've been aimlessly wandering around looking for the God who has been standing in the same place all along.
Sometimes I feel like it takes an amazing talk with a friend or a beautiful story about an orphanage in Mexico or an encouraging story about how God is working in someone else's life for me to lift my hands to the Lord and give Him thanks, but that can't be enough. God isn't JUST in the amazing things where we can so blatantly see His work. He's in everything; He's in the Brooke Fraser song playing on my stereo right now, He's in the yummy smelling candle right next to me. He's in EVERYTHING. And I want to live a life that appreciates Him and all He provides me with.
And it's so up to us to recognize His pursuit.
But when things don't go the way you've planned, when your heart gets broken, when life takes an unexpected twist, it's hard not to want to close your eyes sometimes. It's hard to always see beauty in everything around you when continually feel a cloud of darkness following you around. But this, I've learned, is the time when I must reach out to Him the most.
David asks God in Psalm 17: 8 to "keep me as the apple of your eye," and I absolutely love this wording. It brings so much comfort to me to know that I, Stephanie Ann Bradley, am the apple of God's eye. How freaking amazing is that? God is romancing us everyday and just loving on us the most perfect way possible ALL THE TIME.
God is always there. He is always pursuing us and romancing us. But it's up to us to open our eyes and praise Him in everything in this life.
And He's the only thing we've got that is immovable, unshakeable, and perfectly reliable.
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7
I love you guys.
Steph
It's been such a weird few months in my life. I have felt so...defeated. It's the only word that comes to mind. Just defeated. I feel the Holy Spirit moving around me, and I feel like in light of many recent circumstances I've grown leaps and bounds in my relationship with the Lord.
But still I feel like I'm running, screaming out His name, calling to Him to catch me when I feel like I'm falling so hard. And in so many ways, I feel like God is so far away.
Recently in a conversation with a good friend of mine, I've realized how undeniably mistaken I've been to assert that God is the one that is far away. God isn't far away at all; It's me whose been closing my eyes but still expecting to see Him radically changing me.
We aren't the ones running after God at all, but instead HE is pursuing us. He's romancing us in a way a man romances a woman. He desires more than anything to be in a relationship with us. And when we feel that God is no where to be seen or felt, it's because we aren't looking right in front of us. We've closed our eyes and hid our head under the pillow, but still expected to be able to see what is going on around us. And I've been aimlessly wandering around looking for the God who has been standing in the same place all along.
Sometimes I feel like it takes an amazing talk with a friend or a beautiful story about an orphanage in Mexico or an encouraging story about how God is working in someone else's life for me to lift my hands to the Lord and give Him thanks, but that can't be enough. God isn't JUST in the amazing things where we can so blatantly see His work. He's in everything; He's in the Brooke Fraser song playing on my stereo right now, He's in the yummy smelling candle right next to me. He's in EVERYTHING. And I want to live a life that appreciates Him and all He provides me with.
And it's so up to us to recognize His pursuit.
But when things don't go the way you've planned, when your heart gets broken, when life takes an unexpected twist, it's hard not to want to close your eyes sometimes. It's hard to always see beauty in everything around you when continually feel a cloud of darkness following you around. But this, I've learned, is the time when I must reach out to Him the most.
David asks God in Psalm 17: 8 to "keep me as the apple of your eye," and I absolutely love this wording. It brings so much comfort to me to know that I, Stephanie Ann Bradley, am the apple of God's eye. How freaking amazing is that? God is romancing us everyday and just loving on us the most perfect way possible ALL THE TIME.
God is always there. He is always pursuing us and romancing us. But it's up to us to open our eyes and praise Him in everything in this life.
And He's the only thing we've got that is immovable, unshakeable, and perfectly reliable.
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7
I love you guys.
Steph
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Use me, Lord.
What an interesting and trying past couple months it has been. And i'm nowhere near being all put back into place - but probably more broken than I was the last time I wrote.
I'm just going to be blunt here. I am going to do missions work with orphans in the near future. I don't know what that looks like nor how i'm ever going to pay for it. I don't know how I can even make an impact there. But after Sunday night, I have just felt this tug on my heart saying, "Steph, you are meant to do missions work outside of home. You are meant for sharing love with little ones and their broken families." I've been blessed with a wonderful and loving family, and I must share the love of God that I feel with these precious little children who have never felt the support of a family. I want to just love on them and play with them and rejoice in the Lord with them. And let me just tell you, I know this came from the Lord because I have no idea where else it came from. And the message is just screaming in my face.
I've also been thinking that some sort of work with poverty-striken single mothers around my age would be really awesome and that I could make a difference in that area. I don't exactly know what that means, but I think I could help to give those women back a bit of empowerment and confidence to make change in this world [with the help of God of course!]
I've been looking up some places to go - throwing around summer projects, ECC affiliated missionaries, etc. I don't know where God is taking me with this. I don't know if it will even ever work out. I don't know why it's been placed so heavily on my heart, but when I got to thinking about it, doing missions work this summer would work out absolutely perfectly. See, I've been really torn as to what my plans for this summer are going to be. I've thought about staying in Btown and working all summer, maybe grabbing two jobs and sub-leasing an apartment. I've thought about being a summer RA and taking a class or two. I've thought about going home and picking up another job along with my job at Victoria's Secret. But none of these things have really felt right. The only thing that feels right is bringing missions work into the equation.
I might just look around myself and take a leap of faith in moving somewhere over the summer and just seeing where I can be used. It would be scary, but I think it would be so worth it.
I'm so broken. Since the summer, God has been slowly breaking me in an effort to shuffle the pieces around a bit and put them back together in a way that will glorify Him. IT SUCKS and it hurts, but I know it's right. And thank you God for that.
Please pray for me. I don't generally ask for prayers, but I really need them right now.
Love you guys! :)
I'm just going to be blunt here. I am going to do missions work with orphans in the near future. I don't know what that looks like nor how i'm ever going to pay for it. I don't know how I can even make an impact there. But after Sunday night, I have just felt this tug on my heart saying, "Steph, you are meant to do missions work outside of home. You are meant for sharing love with little ones and their broken families." I've been blessed with a wonderful and loving family, and I must share the love of God that I feel with these precious little children who have never felt the support of a family. I want to just love on them and play with them and rejoice in the Lord with them. And let me just tell you, I know this came from the Lord because I have no idea where else it came from. And the message is just screaming in my face.
I've also been thinking that some sort of work with poverty-striken single mothers around my age would be really awesome and that I could make a difference in that area. I don't exactly know what that means, but I think I could help to give those women back a bit of empowerment and confidence to make change in this world [with the help of God of course!]
I've been looking up some places to go - throwing around summer projects, ECC affiliated missionaries, etc. I don't know where God is taking me with this. I don't know if it will even ever work out. I don't know why it's been placed so heavily on my heart, but when I got to thinking about it, doing missions work this summer would work out absolutely perfectly. See, I've been really torn as to what my plans for this summer are going to be. I've thought about staying in Btown and working all summer, maybe grabbing two jobs and sub-leasing an apartment. I've thought about being a summer RA and taking a class or two. I've thought about going home and picking up another job along with my job at Victoria's Secret. But none of these things have really felt right. The only thing that feels right is bringing missions work into the equation.
I might just look around myself and take a leap of faith in moving somewhere over the summer and just seeing where I can be used. It would be scary, but I think it would be so worth it.
I'm so broken. Since the summer, God has been slowly breaking me in an effort to shuffle the pieces around a bit and put them back together in a way that will glorify Him. IT SUCKS and it hurts, but I know it's right. And thank you God for that.
Please pray for me. I don't generally ask for prayers, but I really need them right now.
Love you guys! :)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers!
Here's a picture of all of the '09-'10 RA's at Indiana University! I'm in the first row, third person from the right! :)Sunday, August 9, 2009
The African Children's Choir
I appreciate music - I feel the most connected to God through it, and have devoted much of my life to creating it.
And this morning at Pathway, I experienced a miracle. That miracle is called the African Children's Choir.
Let me fill you in on what this choir is all about...
The African Children's Choir was founded in 1984 admist a bloody civil war in Uganda by Ray Barnett, a human right's activist committed to aiding children growing up in poverty within Africa. Ray was blessed with the idea to create a choir for children between 8-12 years old in efforts to get them off the streets and gaining knowledge to survive in the world. Most of these children have lost one or even both of their parents and live in extreme poverty. This choir has given these children a chance to be a part of something bigger than Africa, something that unites us all as human - God.
I cried throughout the whole concert; I just couldn't help myself. I felt such a connection to these children from Africa. They are just small children and have struggled through so much more than most of us ever will in a lifetime, but they still have the will to sing their hearts out for our Lord and to give thanks to Him. These kids are awesome. What an inspiration!
One of the most beautiful parts of the morning was listening to a little Caucasian girl sitting next to me sing along with the African children. What a beautiful juxtaposition and what a testament to the connectedness of humanity.
My heart was filled with an overwhleming joy this morning, and I was truly happy. It was a life-changing moment for me, and I just feel like I'm off to a fresh new start.
Please, if you get the chance, visit http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/ and check out what they're about. Youtube them and listen to some of their stuff. It's so great.
God Bless you all.
Love,
Steph
And this morning at Pathway, I experienced a miracle. That miracle is called the African Children's Choir.
Let me fill you in on what this choir is all about...
The African Children's Choir was founded in 1984 admist a bloody civil war in Uganda by Ray Barnett, a human right's activist committed to aiding children growing up in poverty within Africa. Ray was blessed with the idea to create a choir for children between 8-12 years old in efforts to get them off the streets and gaining knowledge to survive in the world. Most of these children have lost one or even both of their parents and live in extreme poverty. This choir has given these children a chance to be a part of something bigger than Africa, something that unites us all as human - God.
I cried throughout the whole concert; I just couldn't help myself. I felt such a connection to these children from Africa. They are just small children and have struggled through so much more than most of us ever will in a lifetime, but they still have the will to sing their hearts out for our Lord and to give thanks to Him. These kids are awesome. What an inspiration!
One of the most beautiful parts of the morning was listening to a little Caucasian girl sitting next to me sing along with the African children. What a beautiful juxtaposition and what a testament to the connectedness of humanity.
My heart was filled with an overwhleming joy this morning, and I was truly happy. It was a life-changing moment for me, and I just feel like I'm off to a fresh new start.
Please, if you get the chance, visit http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/ and check out what they're about. Youtube them and listen to some of their stuff. It's so great.
God Bless you all.
Love,
Steph
Thursday, August 6, 2009
I Love You, Sometimes.
This summer has been packed full of lessons of unconditional love, and I finally understand what it truly feels like to love someone unconditionally.
It's an unavoidable fact that everyone we know is going to let us down in some way or another, big or small. And by the same token, I'm sure I have and will let down many people in my life. It's a fact of life, but it's so hard to deal with.
How does God do it?
God is let down every second by you, me and every single other person on this planet. He is disappointed when we choose to love worldly things more than we love Him or turn away from His goodness, etc.
Are you kidding me? Me being disappointed in one silly instance by one silly person seems so ridiculous and irrelevant when you step back and look at the big picture.
We sin all the time, let down God by the second, but He still says, "Hey, it's ok. I still love you no matter what." And then we do the next stupid thing and you know what He says? "Hey, it's ok. I still love you no matter what." And I bet you can guess what he said the other 8 bagillion times we screw up? Yep, you guessed it!
What a testament to unconditional love, God!
But why isn't it that easy for me?
I feel like sometimes I have troubles forgiving, and, more than that, FORGETTING. I know they say a wise person forgives but never forgets [or something like that] but I'm pretty sure those two go hand in hand. How can you say that you fully forgive someone if you are still dwelling upon the issue? And how are you still loving a person unconditionally if that issue is constantly being held over their head? And that's not fair.
God instructs us in Ephesians 5:1-2 [my absolute favorite verse] to "be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a frangrant offering and sacrifice to God." God wants us to love unconditionally just as He does. He wants us to forgive and forget, and genuinely love that person [and that person could be yourself!] struggles and all.
He orders us to be imitators of Himself! What a job.
The simple truth is, it's not so difficult to love people unconditionally. It's the central message of the Bible and one of the earliest lessons you learn in life.
But it takes a good dose of realizing that it's not about you. It's about loving that person maybe even a little bit more when they're struggling. It's about doing whatever it takes to forgive and forget, to strengthen the relationship God has gifted to you. It's about focused, intense prayer for that person. And most of all, it's about having FAITH in that person and knowing that they are going to make it through.
The trick is to love as a warrior of God. To remember that it is what God would do.
It's a struggle. It always will be. But i'm working on it.
I would love to just listen if you need to talk through your struggles or even to be your prayer warrior!
Love,
Steph
It's an unavoidable fact that everyone we know is going to let us down in some way or another, big or small. And by the same token, I'm sure I have and will let down many people in my life. It's a fact of life, but it's so hard to deal with.
How does God do it?
God is let down every second by you, me and every single other person on this planet. He is disappointed when we choose to love worldly things more than we love Him or turn away from His goodness, etc.
Are you kidding me? Me being disappointed in one silly instance by one silly person seems so ridiculous and irrelevant when you step back and look at the big picture.
We sin all the time, let down God by the second, but He still says, "Hey, it's ok. I still love you no matter what." And then we do the next stupid thing and you know what He says? "Hey, it's ok. I still love you no matter what." And I bet you can guess what he said the other 8 bagillion times we screw up? Yep, you guessed it!
What a testament to unconditional love, God!
But why isn't it that easy for me?
I feel like sometimes I have troubles forgiving, and, more than that, FORGETTING. I know they say a wise person forgives but never forgets [or something like that] but I'm pretty sure those two go hand in hand. How can you say that you fully forgive someone if you are still dwelling upon the issue? And how are you still loving a person unconditionally if that issue is constantly being held over their head? And that's not fair.
God instructs us in Ephesians 5:1-2 [my absolute favorite verse] to "be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a frangrant offering and sacrifice to God." God wants us to love unconditionally just as He does. He wants us to forgive and forget, and genuinely love that person [and that person could be yourself!] struggles and all.
He orders us to be imitators of Himself! What a job.
The simple truth is, it's not so difficult to love people unconditionally. It's the central message of the Bible and one of the earliest lessons you learn in life.
But it takes a good dose of realizing that it's not about you. It's about loving that person maybe even a little bit more when they're struggling. It's about doing whatever it takes to forgive and forget, to strengthen the relationship God has gifted to you. It's about focused, intense prayer for that person. And most of all, it's about having FAITH in that person and knowing that they are going to make it through.
The trick is to love as a warrior of God. To remember that it is what God would do.
It's a struggle. It always will be. But i'm working on it.
I would love to just listen if you need to talk through your struggles or even to be your prayer warrior!
Love,
Steph
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)