Where is God?

Have you ever felt like you cannot be comforted from whatever it is that is bothering you?  Maybe you feel like nothing will ever be right in your life again, that whatever hurts you will forever hang over your head.

You cry out the words, "Where is my help?"  And the verse may come to mind, "My help comes from the Lord."

You think, where is God in this?  Don't fret.  You aren't the only one who has thought that.  Even in the Bible, say in Psalm 119:82, it says,

"My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, "When will You comfort me?"

Sure, there are answers to your problems in the Word of God.  There are times, though, that you can read through the Bible and not find anything to help you deal with your problems.  Or, you find them but they don't alleviate your worries and concerns.

So you keep praying, and you keep searching. Good.  Keep doing do that.  Because, you WILL find GOD the more you read the word and search for Him.

He hasn't moved.  The problem is us.  We aren't casting all of our worries on God.  We aren't letting go of our problems and giving it to Him.

I've done this.  I've prayed and prayed until I felt like my prayers were bouncing off of the ceiling.  I felt like God wasn't hearing my cries for help, and I felt like if He was hearing them, He wasn't answering them.

That of course wasn't the case.  The answers I wanted weren't in God's will.  He was hearing me, and He was answering my prayers.  He just wasn't answering them the way I wanted Him to, but after some thought, and a good read through Psalms, I knew that I had to "Let Go and Let God."

He wants to help us.  He wants to comfort us, but we won't let Him.  We, as humans, want to fix the problems ourselves.  We want God to take a lead from us and follow our directions, but we can't do that.  We have to follow God's directions for our lives - the Word.

When you feel like God isn't near, I beg you to reconsider your thoughts.  God is right there.  Waiting.  Waiting on you to come to Him and let Him be the Father that He wants to be.  He wants to comfort His child.  It isn't His will to make us suffer.  We make ourselves suffer by not giving into Him and falling into His loving arms that are waiting for us.

Psalm 121: 1, 2

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth."

I encourage you to read the rest of Psalm 121.  I encourage you to read through Psalms when you're hurting.  God wants to help you.  God IS your help.  Just call on Him, cast your burdens on Him, and He will deliver you.

Psalm 55:22

"Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

1 Peter 5:6, 7

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for He cares for you."

Feeling Unworthy of Forgiveness

Last time, we covered feeling unworthy of love.  Today, I’d like to cover the feeling of unworthiness of forgiveness.

Maybe you can’t see your own worth because of the mistakes you’ve made in your life.  But let me tell you something – You are not perfect.  Once you accept this, you’ll see that it’s easier to move past your mistakes.

Notice I said easier.  It won’t be easy.  This I know, but eventually, the pain will end, and you’ll move past it.

No one is perfect.  Let’s look at this phrase a little closer.

We are only human.  There is no way we can be perfect.  Sure, we ought to strive for perfection, but we’re going to screw up.  It’s just us being human!

No matter how hard we try not to sin or mess up, chances are we’re going to at least once or a couple of times our life. 

Romans 3:23

 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God

That verse proves that God knows we’re all sinners.  We mess up at times.

Psalm 78: 38, 39

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them.  Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

See, God knows that we’re only human.  He is compassionate, and forgiveness is ours if we only ask for it.  But that hardest part about seeking forgiveness or feeling unworthy of forgiveness is the unwillingness to forgive ourselves.

Sometimes, we feel like we have screwed up our lives so much that we aren’t deserving of a good, happy life.  But that’s not true.  God has forgiven us when we repent of our sins.  Why can’t we forgive ourselves?

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

That’s a good question.  One I struggled with for years.  I couldn’t see past the mistakes I’d made.  But, they happened.  I had to learn to accept that.    

Sheila Walsh in “Let Go” says

“To say that we don’t deserve to be forgiven is to make our sin more powerful than the blood of Christ. If God forgives us, then we must forgive ourselves…. Every sin was covered by the lifeblood of the Lamb.”

She also says, “…forgiveness means being comfortable with ourselves, the good and the bad.  We don’t have to be perfect.”

And she also says, “It’s vital, though, that we separate what we did from who we are.”

It’s hard to see our mistakes as a separate entity.  But that’s just what it is.  We made a mistake, but we don’t have to let it define us.  It’s separate from us.  We have to forgive ourselves to get peace of mind and healing from unforgiveness. 

Say this every day, “I’m not perfect.  I don’t have to be perfect.  If I mess up, I will ask for forgiveness, forgive myself, and live life.”

Learn to let go and forgive.  You are forgiven.  You are free from this unforgiveness trap.  Just accept it.

Feeling Unworthy of Love

Have you ever felt undeserving of anything?  Maybe you feel unworthy in the eyes of the person you love.  Maybe you feel unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness.  Maybe it’s unworthiness of your happiness or in your work place.  Sometimes you feel as if you don’t deserve any good thing in your life.

Why would you feel that way?  There has to be some reason that has made you feel this way.  Let’s look at one of those reasons right now.

You don’t feel like someone will ever love you or you don't deserve the love you've been given.

I used to feel that way.  Sometimes I still do.  You feel as if you need to lose weight to be beautiful.  Or you feel like you aren’t handsome enough, good enough.  Maybe you feel like your personality drives people away.  Maybe you think you aren’t attractive enough.  Sometimes you feel as if you’ll never find your significant other. 

This isn’t true.

Do you remember the post about being beautiful and the song, “Beautiful” by Mercy Me?

Well, a couple of years ago – maybe close to two – I was visiting my cousin.  I had been through a breakup and was feeling down about myself.  I had been talking to her about how I just wished someone would love me.  I felt fat, ugly and unlovable.

I wanted a husband, kids.  My cousin was married and my younger sister too.  I was the only girl in my family who wasn’t in a serious relationship.  I felt alone and worthless.  I wanted more out of my life than I was getting. 

After leaving my cousin’s house that night, I was driving home, listening to KLOVE’s radio station in my area and “Beautiful” by Mercy Me came on.

I could feel the Spirit of God coming over me.  I knew He wanted me to hear that song.  Especially the part that says, “You are treasured.  You are sacred, and you are His.”

It was then that God revealed to me that I’m His.  It doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks or says about me because I’m God’s child.  He made me.  How dare I think that I’m not worthy of anyone’s love, especially His. 

My life changed after that.  I no longer saw my life as a waste of time or wishing for things I didn’t have.  I’m worthy of love – God’s love and whoever my future husband will be.

I’m still not married, and sometimes, it sucks.  I want that relationship with another human being.  But right now, it’s not in God’s will for my life, so I’ll focus my attention on God and dive deeper into His Word.  But, I won’t forget that I AM in fact worthy of this love because I am God’s child. 

He created me.  He molded me into His image.  He wants the best for me and doesn’t want me to settle for second best.

Do I know God’s will for my life?  No – but I know what He promised me.  A good life – good but not always easy.  The desires of my heart but within His will, not mine. 

I know that sometimes it’s not easy feeling worthy.  In fact, our human nature wants us to feel like we aren’t good enough, but God has said that we are His children.  He created us, and He wants us to realize that we are worthy because He sent his Son to die for our sins.  His blood has us covered.  We just have to remember that.  God loves us.  What can man do to us if God loves us? 

“What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

Count Your Blessings; Not Your Losses

One morning, I woke up thinking about the things in my life that I had lost or wished that I had in my life that I didn't.  On the verge of tears, God spoke to me - not in an audible voice but in a thought.

Why aren't you focusing on your blessings instead of your losses?

My first thought was, "Yes Lord."  And then I really thought about it.  How do we lose sight of our blessings?  Why can't we be happy with what we've got and trust the Lord will give us what we need?

We can.  It's just a matter of "disciplining our flesh"as a great lady of God at our church said one Sunday morning.

See, our spirit is always at war with our flesh.  Our flesh wants us to dwell on temptations, losses and things that will bring our spiritual side into war with our flesh.

Romans 8: 5-6

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

We have to be spiritually minded to get that peace that God has promised us.  We have to dwell in Him and what He has provided us.  We need to focus on our Spiritual side (blessings) and not our flesh (losses).  If we lose sight of our blessings, we will suffer "death".  No,  not literal death, but spiritual death.  If you aren't spiritually minded, you can't live your life peacefully.

We, our flesh, wants us to focus on our losses, but God wants us to focus on our blessings!

What's the point of worrying over what we see as a loss when, in fact, it's a blessing in disguise?  Sure, it's hard to see it as a blessing at first, but God ALWAYS has a plan.  It's HIS blessing to us, to our future.

Because, let's face it, God knows WAY more about our future than we do.  He knows what we need.  He knows the desires of our hearts, and it's His will to give us those desires.

Remember last week's post about waiting patiently on the Lord?  That comes in handy while we wait for our needs and desires.  When we go through a tough time and have to wait, God is opening up the way for our future blessings.

When we wake up in the mornings, we should thank God for blessing us with life!  Don't listen to those lies that run around your head saying that it isn't a good day or you don't have a good life.  That's a horrible lie straight from the devil!

Psalm 118:24

      This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

You have a pulse.  You woke up in the morning.  Look around at how much God has done for you.  He has given you life.  Blessings beyond your imagination!

Focus on those blessings!  And you'll have peace instead of worry!

Proverbs 10:22

       The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

"Wait on the Lord" A Lesson from David

I'm not a patient person.  I've never really been willing to wait on the things I've wanted most in my life, but life isn't always about immediate gratification.  That usually never makes us "happy" for long.

A few months ago, probably closer to half a year by now, God gave me a Word - Shalom, in this instance, meaning "order."  He told me that He was going to put my life in order.

It was a lovely Word.  A Word I needed to hear.  Things started looking up for me then.  Great things began to happen for me, and I couldn't have been happier.  But, about a month ago, things started falling apart in my eyes.  I know God has a plan, but I couldn't see it amidst the turmoil and sadness in my heart. 

God hasn't taken back His Word.  This I know.  But it doesn't mean I'm good at waiting on my Shalom. 

Whenever, I feel down, I turn to Psalms.  The authors always make me feel better with their words.  One verse in particular in the whole of Psalms has stuck with me. 

This particular Psalm is from David - a man after God's own heart.  According to the MacArthur Study Bible I own, it says in Psalm 27, David "engages in 3 conversations which help him balance the ups and downs of real life."

The truth is no matter the promises of God we will still have ups and downs in life.  And we have to learn how to persevere in this life.  It isn't easy - by no means.  But that doesn't mean God has forsaken us.  Quite the contrary actually.  God is more present than ever.  He hasn't moved.  We have.

In Psalm 31:1 David said, "In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness."  And then in verse 24 he says, "Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who Hope in the Lord."

Over in Psalm 37:4 David says, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, And he shall give you the desires of your heart."

It doesn't say may it says shall! God will give us what our heart desires!  We just have to "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37:7)

In Psalm 40: 1 David says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry."

Wait patiently for the Lord.  It's tough to though.  I know from experience.  But NEVER give up on what it is you're waiting for.  God promises us that HE will give us the desires of our heart.  And He will!

Patience may not be one of our virtues, but it's something that will help us in the long run.  He will "hear our cry" no matter what it is, but God WILL comfort us and help us.  He will "strengthen our hearts."  Wait for the Lord!  All good things come in HIS TIME.  NOT OURS!