That far away feeling

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13

“I want God with all the power of my soul — and yet between us there is terrible separation.” Mother Teresa

 

Hey God, Yoohoo over here! Just sitting here reading your Good Book hoping to have an experience with you. Listen, I don’t know what I did, but I am sensing some distance between you and me. No, I mean, it is definitely me, I  mean, I must have done something wrong? Honestly, God, I’ve been picking up on this for the last several months. Maybe you had someplace to go and needed to take some time off? Maybe I smell funny, or maybe I upset ya? But, listen, I am ready to get that feeling back–you have had your little siesta and now I am ready to feel ya again.

Give me a break! I mean, I am sitting down every morning and picking up your Word. I am telling others about you, I even told a squirrel just to make sure I was covering all of my bases. Still, it feels like a wall has been put up. Maybe you and old HS and JC are up there grabbing a latte or playing a game of squash? Seriously, though, you come out the winner regardless! Well, I will just wait down here patiently and continue to pursue You. I look forward to the time when I can feel you again! Between You and me God, I rather enjoy the joy of your presence thing–just sayin’. It always gives me the warm fuzzies. Like little Eskimos running up and down my spine! Know this, God, even if I don’t ever feel you again, I will continue to run after You! I guess it has always been a relentless pursuit. On both of our parts!

Open it Up

Hebrews 12:1-2

One little answer, Please!?

Do you ever find yourself in a situation that forces you to cry out to God for an answer, but He seems silent? You may spend countless days pouring over your thoughts in prayers, meditation, and seeking all sorts of counsel. You daydream about how awesome it would be if God would just drop you an answer via a text, email, heck ,even snail mail. Yet, nothing becomes clear and no answer seems to become apparent. Yet, you continue to ask and pray. Eventually, you are forced to weigh every possible choice and to determine what is the best course of action. You have to make a choice and you still do not have a definite from the God of the universe! You move forward and trust that you have sought the best God-given council and that your decision is the best based on the wisdom God has provided you and others. Yet, in spite of it all, you can’t help but to wonder why He is taking His sweet time getting you your answer.

A synagogue ruler came to Jesus and asked him to put his hands on his very sick, dying daughter because he knew Jesus could make her well. So Jesus went with him and along the way stopped to heal a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Understand that the synagogue ruler was desperate for Jesus to come as quickly as possible. The last thing he probably wanted Jesus to do was to stop and heal anyone. Yet Jesus took time to heal a very sick woman who merely touched the edge of His cloak. He  than took time to speak to this woman He already healed! What?! This mans daughter was dying! Just when it could not get any worse one of the servants of the father informs him that his daughter had died! Knowing this, Jesus says to the man, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” The He goes to the man’s house and raises his daughter from the dead!

God is working in the process of life’s events that we are unable to understand. He wants us to allow Him to groom us, to work in us, and that requires that we continue on the journey with HIm. If He just gave us the answer right away, we would miss watching Him heal a bleeding woman. This process absolutely makes no sense to us, but have you ever heard of Jesus getting nervous or stressed? He is in complete control and has us right where He wants us. He knows how it is all going to end, and He is going to blow some minds after it is all done!  He wants to teach us something in the process because He knows the best way for us to learn. God will answer you, and afterward you will be better because you trusted in His timing and not your own. Keep trusting and keep pursuing–His answer is worth the wait!

 

 

Open it Up

Mark 5:21-43

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Luke 8

Mercy for You

Last year, my wife suffered from a mental break that is called Post Partum Psychosis. This came on suddenly after the birth of our 4th child, Asher, who came two months early. There was nothing that anyone could have done to prevent it and absolutely nothing that my wife could have done to stop it. Because of this, we fought desperately to hold our family together. Sleepless nights, NICU visits, severe depression, extreme mania, hospital stays, anger, frustration, disappointment, anxiety, nervous breakdowns, lack of confidence, strange dreams, hopelessness… the list goes on.

For both Amanda and I, it has been the darkest days of our lives up to this point. There is much more, and countless amazing stories of God’s grace, miracles and all the help we received. We look forward to sharing all this in a book we are writing, with the hope of encouraging others. Over the course of the year, Amanda and I have changed drastically; we are different people. This has required us to learn about each other all over. After almost 8 years of marriage, we have to sit down and discover each other again. Learning to accept that something is changing and that you can’t control it is hard. To realize that someone you love desperately needs more than just your love, but mercy also, is difficult. Mercy has been the hardest to continually give and every day we must decide to show mercy to each other. If mercy is not a part of our healing process, then we will not overcome, we will not get better. Much like the story Jesus shares about the good Samaritan.

Jesus tells of a Jewish man stranded on the side of the road, beaten by thieves and left for dead. Two men, a Priest and a Levite (both Jewish), come across this man and did nothing to help him; they walked on by. It was a Samaritan, who the Jews thought of as second-class citizens, that came along and helped nurse the man back to health. The Samaritan went above and beyond his duty and cared for a man that he knew despised him. Not because this man deserved his help, but because he needed his help. At the end of this story, Jesus asks, “Which of these three men [in the story] do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  The expert answers, “The one who showed mercy on him.” Jesus replied, “Go and do the same.”

Mercy is loving someone even when they don’t deserve it. Mercy is caring for someone because they can’t. Mercy is bandaging an enemy’s broken body. Mercy is being a neighbor to someone. Mercy is caring for each other through difficult times. Mercy is Christ! Now, go and do the same!

Open it Up

Luke 10:25-37

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Luke 10