Grieving with God

Answer me quickly, O Lord!  My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.     Psalm 143:7-8 NIV

  
 Psalm 143 is a great example of pouring out our pain to God while at the same time reaffirming our trust in him.  God is fully aware of our pain and we never need to be afraid of honestly speaking to him about it. In fact, spilling our guts to God can set us free from the hurts that hold us down and steal our energy.
 

   This week, take some time to air out your grief to God.  What is frustrating you?  Are you feeling a painful loss?  Are you angry about some circumstances?  Get alone and talk to God about it in detail.  If you have a journal, write out your pain to God.  Don’t just make a general statement such as “God, I hate what’s going on in my life right now.”  Tell him exactly what you hate and how it is draining you.  After you have poured out your heart to God, take some time to affirm your trust in him.  Remember that he is good and faithful and tell God that even though you don’t understand what’s going on, you still trust him.  If you feel comfortable, you may want to pour out your complaint to God in the presence of a friend.  Affirm your your trust in God to your friend and then have your friend pray for you.

The Importance of Honor

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.                                      Romans 12:10  ESV

Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.                                             Romans 13:7  ESV

   Honor is publicly aknowledged value.  It is the foundation of strong and enduring communities, churches and schools.   Paul challenges us to outdo each other in publicly showing how we value each other.  People have value because they are made in God’s image.  Parents deserve to be valued by their children simply because they brought them into this world and give up so much to raise them.  Teachers and other leaders deserved to be valued because they help develop success in others.

   What can you do to show those around you they are valuable?  How can you outdo others in giving honor?

•        Come up with a creative way to show your spouse how they add value to your life.  Share this with them in front of your kids or some friends.  

•        Send a note or email to your child’s teacher thanking them for the value they add to your child’s life and send a note to the principal about the value syou shared with her.  

•        Thank your boss or a coworker in front of other employees for something he or she has done well for your company or organization.

•        Send an email to a school board member thanking them for the sacrifice of time they made to add value to your community.  Copy the rest of the members of the board on the email.  

•         Thank a police officer or first responder, for their part in making your community stronger.

This week, ask God to lead you to show three to five people that you are thankful for the value they bring to life.  Honor them with your appreciation and do it so others can hear it if  at all possible.

Building Up Others with God

 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.                                                   Ephesians 4:29  ESV

   With all of God’s commands, as we do good to others, we do good to ourselves.  In God’s beautiful wisdom, he has designed his creation so that when we bless others, we are blessed.  It doesn’t work like a vending machine.  We don’t deposit a coin of goodness and get to select what goodness is returned to us.  It works more like a garden.  When we plant seeds of kindness in others, kindness grows in our lives.  When we refresh others with generosity, we are refreshed by the generosity of God.

    The same principle works with our words.  When we speak words that spring from an unselfish motive to build up other people, we become stronger.  Since opportunities to build others are always available, opportunities to become stronger also abound.  You can test this principle, it will prove itself to be true.

    This week, make a list of five people that you can encourage and build up with your words during the week.  Ask God to give you words that will be very meaningful to the  people on your list and then look for the opportunity to speak your empowering words.  As you bless, you will be blessed!

To Listen Is to Love

To answer before listening—  that is folly and shame.     
                                              Proverbs 18:13   NIV

And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.           1 John 4:21  NIV

   Love is about treating someone like they have great value to you.  One of the best ways to show someone that you value them is to listen to them.

   This week, share love with someone by taking the time to listen to them.  Put down your phone.  Set aside your book or whatever task you are working on and give someone your undivided attention.  You may want to start your conversation by asking them to tell you about something in their life that they are happy about right now.  As they answer your question, ask more questions to try to understand why this is important to them.  Listen carefully for other things you can learn and affirm in this person.  The more you listen, the more they will feel that you value them.

Sowing and Reaping

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.      Galatians 6:7-8   ESV

   Scripture is clear that the choices we make determine the character and the fruit of our lives.  We can choose our choices, but we can’t choose the consequences of our choices.  We will reap what we sow. 

   Reflection is a helpful spiritual practice in which we partner with God to examine the character and fruit that have been produced in our lives by the choices we have made.  If we like what we see when we reflect on our lives, then we can keep making the same choices with our time and other resources.  If we don’t like what we see, then we must make different choices.

   This week, set aside 20-30 minutes for quietness and reflection, perhaps with a walk outside to help clear your mind.  As you begin reflecting, consider the verses above and ask God to help you understand  how the choices you have made have determined the life you are living.   Ask him to give you the wisdom to understand what choices in your life need to change.  Believe that God wants to help you.  When you have finished your time of reflection, take a few moments to write down what you have discovered and ask God to give you strength and courage to follow through on new choices that will help develop the life of Christ in you. 

Two Key Spiritual Practices (and a warning)

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right,giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.   Psalm 19:7-8   NIV

   Two key spiritual practices are memorizing Scripture and meditating on Scripture.  We often underestimate the power of Scripture and the life that comes to us through the words of Scripture, but these two practices help us experience that life and power.  When we memorize Scripture a seed of life is planted in our heart.  When we meditate on Scripture, it’s like feeding and watering that seed.  As that seed grows it produces life and wisdom in us.

   This week, write out the above verses on an index card or a piece of paper.  Seek to memorize them by repeating them to yourself phrase by phrase.  Even if you can’t memorize it completely, you will be meditating on it and it will increase your appetite for God’s truth in Scripture.  You might also want to write down the benefits of Scripture listed in these verses in a journal or in the margin of your Bible.

  * WARNING:  Be careful not to treat these practices, or any other spiritual practices, as required activities you must do for God to accept you.  If you fall into this thinking you will become discouraged, not encouraged.  God fully accepts us because of Christ’s work on the cross.  Spiritual practices are simply pathways to draw closer to God and strengthen our trust in him.  That’s what these SPAs are all about.

A Simple Step to Living Life with God Now

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.      1 John 1:3   NIV

   Fellowship sounds like a religious word but it simply means “communication” and “partnership”.  In the verse above, John is inviting those to whom he is writing to “partnership” with him and other Christian leaders.  Then he says that their partnership is with God the Father and God the Son.   We shouldn’t miss the idea that John is inviting people to have the same kind of partnership with God as they have with humans.

   This is the great news of the Gospel!  Through his death on the cross and his resurrection, Christ  makes it possible for us to be reunited with our Heavenly Father so that we can live our everyday lives WITH him now and also spend eternity in the new heaven and earth he is preparing.  Christ has broken down the wall between us and God so we can live in peace with the God who made everything and who is present everywhere.  If you have not received this amazing gift, you can change that simply by returning to him as your God and King and humbly receiving the forgiveness he offers you in Christ.

   Once you have received this peace with God, you can begin living a “with God” life.  He is always everywhere we are.  It’s not about asking him to show up, but about learning to acknowledge his presence in all places and  at all times.  It’s about living with a conscious awareness of his presence. 

   This week, start each day by acknowledging to God that you know he will be with you everywhere you go today.  Then ask God to help you remember his presence throughout the day so that you can live in “partnership” with him.