Friday, June 29, 2012

Come...

Months back, I wrote a letter to a woman who had responded to me through my blog. Today I would like to share this letter with you. I pray it will speak to your heart.

We often feel we are alone in our depression, our anxiety, our sins, but we are not alone. Every person you look in the eyes has sin. Everyone experiences loneliness, and each of us faces depression and anxiety. We are fallen human sinful beings and we live in a broken and sinful world. How can we expect things to be otherwise? We can't. We must accept who we are. But when we deal with acceptance, we also must remember that God, the Almighty God, our creator, accepts us, you and me, for who we are. He not only accepts us; he loves us. Oh, that we would dare to accept ourselves and others as God does. Wouldn't THAT put our world on its side?
Our relationship with God is built on acceptance. He accepts us through His Son, and we, in turn, accept ourselves and others.

I had a difficult time forgiving myself. When it is difficult to forgive yourself, you will find it difficult to forgive others. Once I seriously turned this over to the Lord and dedicated myself to truly forgive, this too began to transform me. I knew forgiveness was from Him and without allowing forgiveness to reign in MY heart; I would never be at peace.

Thankfulness was a huge issue for me. I was so unthankful; a constant whiner and complainer; I had had a rough life, that started in my early years; nobody truly cared for me, and I felt like, and was treated as, an outcast. When I finally turned, again, to the Lord and began to force myself to be thankful in each prayer that came through my lips, I began to change. Soon, I no longer had to 'force' myself; the words would flow from my mouth. There were always so many things to be thankful for.

It goes without saying that reading Scripture is vital. I enjoy hearing the Lord speak to me and teach me His ways. I allow myself to read those Scriptures that speak to me. I don't struggle through books; I choose as the Lord leads. Right now I am reading the book of James.

Acceptance, forgiveness, thankfulness, and studying Scripture were all keys to my recovery. These are all wrapped up in love.

We all have a past we would like to forget, but we know we can't change the past. The good part is that even though God knows about our past, He has chosen to forgive us. He has set us free. But we aren't truly free until we can accept His wonderful gift of forgiveness. Truth be told, I think we have trouble forgiving ourselves; possibly because others refuse to forgive us.

Unfortunately, we can't alter the choices of others, but we can pray for them. In the meantime, we need to focus on God's love; for us and for others. We all have burdens to carry, but Jesus said to follow Him...
Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I encourage you to meditate on this, and other, Scriptures. Don't simply read them; that is another key to peace, joy, and love. Meditate on God's Holy Word. Drink it in and listen for Him to speak to you.

Nothing that has happened in your life has gone to the garbage can. God will use everything, yes everything; He will find a purpose and He will use you. That is His promise to you. We may become impatient or unbelieving, but believe; it will happen in His perfect timing, not ours.

So, my best advice to you is to continue to trust and grow.  

God's will for your life is to grow in Him; to love others; to be the example of His Son on this earth; to draw others to Him. We are here to glorify God.

Have a wonderful God filled day!
Judi.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Something to Think About

Every day my life is at risk. I don’t know from one moment to the next, what life will bring to me. Certainly, I make my plans, but I don’t know…not really…if those plans will ever come to fruition.

It’s not up to me.

It’s not up to you.

It is God’s plan for my life as it is for your life.

God asks me to be like Him.
He commands me to love others, as He loves me.
He instructs me to forgive others, as He forgives me.
He orders me to help those in need; to give of myself, my time, and my resources.

He tells me that if I truly love Him, I will be obedient to Him.

So, how am I doing?

How are you doing?

The only way I can truly, honestly answer this question is to review the amount of time I spend with Him each day. This is the method by which I can measure my walk with Him.

So, how am I doing?
How are you doing?

Something to think about………