We are "more than CONQUERORS", through Jesus!

It has been a week of endless running around from events, to appointments, to practices, to games, to anything & everything!  I have found myself overwhelmed, at times, wondering why does life have to get SO BUSY???  When you have chronic pain to deal with, it makes everything seem more difficult to surmount.  

One thing I am learning through this difficult season of my life is......how to be more dependent on God and less apt to run ahead on my own strength .  Control has always been something I like to cling to in life's circumstances.  But, honestly - between having 3 teenagers & learning to live life in constant pain....I am learning first-hand how to rely on the grace of God like never before.  It sounds pretty lame & cliche  - even as I typed those words out, just now.  But, seriously I think I am now coming to a place of realizing the good that God has accomplished in me, already, through this season of chronic pain.  What has been debilitating, frustrating and incredibly humbling - has, in fact, created a need in my soul for a much greater dependence on my merciful God who longs to have me look to Him in the first place for all that I need to make it through the day.  

For most of my life, I have had a tendency to take the easiest ways out of difficult situations in order to escape them with the least amount of scars possible.  Even when God may have been calling me to persevere and allow His plan to be worked out in & through me.  Jesus never took the easy way out....He lived His life to be poured out & broken for us every single day.  He even took it to the highest level and gave up His very life....taking on MANY scars in order to pour Himself out completely & totally!  All to save us from ourselves.

This week, in my devotions I read something out of "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.  It was all about the joy that comes from being, as Paul says "more than conquerors in Christ".....it reads:  

"The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surf-rider the super-joy of going clean through it.  Apply that to our own circumstances, these very things - tribulations, deistresses, persecution, produce in us the super-joy;  they are not things to FIGHT!  We are more than conquerors through Jesus in all these things, not in spite of them, but IN THE MIDST OF THEM!!! Christians never know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but BECAUSE OF IT."

I love this picture of the surf-rider.  After going to Hawaii and watching the surfers out there getting slammed & tossed all over the place by the huge, daunting waves - I can't imagine being out there without the solid place to stand - Jesus, our "surf board" that is the ONLY thing that can take us clean through the fiercest wave that seems unsurmountable.  If we try to swim through it on our own....we'll inevitably be tossed into the rocks along the shore, or get swept out to sea and be totally overwhelmed by the ocean.  Yes, the joy is in the scariest part...which requires total dependence on the ONE who can get me safely to shore.  Hallelujah!  He is so GREAT....Praise Him!  He is worthy, He is awesome, HE IS MY LORD & MY GOD!

A Prayer for Mari

Yesterday was "Girl's Day" in Japan.  A national holiday that brings everyone's consolidated attention to praying for the health, happiness & character development of girls.  I did some research on the holiday so we could honor Mari, our exchange student.  I wanted her to feel special and have something to share about her culture, with us.  We get the privilege of sharing our culture with her every day....but this was a chance for her to enlighten us on something from Japan!  

I decided to take her out of school a little early and go to the Japanese Garden in downtown Portland.  They were having a special exhibit on display, of dolls, in honor of "Girls Day".   She was delighted to go!  We had a wonderful time there.  She explained to me that the exhibit was very impressive.  Usually all Japanese families have a small set of these special dolls to set out every year in honor of the holiday.  The ones they had on display were a large collection in a very elaborate setting.  She was thrilled to see them!   After we took some pictures of the display, we wandered through the garden a little - enjoying the sunny afternoon the Lord gave us for exploring.  I began to feel an incredible burden for this sweet girl, I barely knew, from Japan.  She comes from a culture of polytheists (people who believe in and pray to many gods).  How in the world is she going to find Christ in the small amount of time that she is here, in America?  The language barrier alone is a tough hurdle to overcome...let alone the fact that she has 16 years of polytheism to combat with.   

And then the Lord whispered this to me...."don't you know I have a plan?  I always do.  I AM the One who will bring her around when the time, MY TIME, is right.  I AM the One who brought the Israelites out of impossible circumstances into freedom....I AM the One who delivered My people time & time again over the course of history....I AM the One who sent My Son into the world to make the ultimate sacrifice and secure redemption for all....I AM the One who rescued you.....I AM working everything out in My  master plan, so you can rest in the promise that I AM doing this just as I always have.  You need to pray for her and do everything you can to point her to who I AM." 

I responded in my heart with, "That's it, Lord!  She needs to know You.....the one true God.......I AM!!!  You can rescue her out of the grip of polytheism - ONLY You can!  Oh, please do it Lord!  Do it soon!  I want freedom for Mari.  I want her to know the incredible mercy and grace that are hers for the taking.  Give me and my family the words, the deeds, the presence of mind to seize every opportunity.  Let us be Your instruments to tune her heartstrings into You.  Use us, Lord!"

It is incredible to me to ponder the idea that I have a relationship with the God of the universe...and He cares about me and Mari.  Words cannot express how 'at- peace' I was as we drove home from our fun outing together.  But, I definitely have a new burden in my heart for Mari.  I want to be confident that we do everything we can while we have her with us to point her to the Savior of the world.  She may not make a decision for Christ while she is with us, but at least we will plant as many seeds as God provides opportunities for.  We will trust Him to do the rest!

A Different Kind of LOVE

 "Love is PATIENT and KIND.  Love is NOT JEALOUS...NOT BOASTFUL...NOT PROUD...and NOT RUDE.  Love DOES NOT DEMAND ITS OWN WAY.  Love is NOT IRRITABLE, and it KEEPS NO RECORD OF BEING WRONGED.  Love DOES NOT REJOICE ABOUT INJUSTICE but REJOICES WHENEVER THE TRUTH WINS OUT!  Love NEVER GIVES UP, NEVER LOSES FAITH, is ALWAYS HOPEFUL, and ENDURES THROUGH EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.....LOVE WILL LAST FOREVER!!!"     - I Corinthians 13:4-8  (NLT, paraphrased)

We've been studying the I Cor. 13 passage on love in our sermon series for the last few weeks, at church.  I have to say it has been really great to review the attributes of what love really IS....and what love IS NOT.

One thing I find very challenging in this study on love is the fact that  "love is patient" means that real love has the ability to be wronged or hurt, but not retaliate.  

This concept goes way beyond my natural human default.  It is far easier to lash out vindictively, especially when someone else has clearly done something out of line, or even sinful to me.  And yet God's Word is clearly saying that the kind of love that comes from His Holy Spirit is a love that bears the brunt of being wounded - patiently, without needing to repay the person who hurt me with something hurtful.  This is a really tough concept for my brain to wrap itself around.  I think that being victimized as a small child created a voracious need, in me, for retaliation.  No question that what happened was clearly an injustice.  But it created an emotional and mental disconnect that has caused me to quench the working of the Holy Spirit in me when hurtful things occur at the hand of others.  For me, the need for retaliation can often supersede the need for displaying Christ-like love.  But the two are VERY DIFFERENT.  Retaliation is my natural default in my human nature....but it doesn't automatically bring the restoration I need.  It may feel good for a while - but it does not heal me or the relationship involved.  It is very likely that the need for retaliation can become the default in situations where being lovingly patient is the Spirit-filled way to be.  

It is always easy to justify my cause when it involves obvious wrong-doing to me by someone else.  However, Jesus gave me the perfect example of how to be lovingly patient in this exact situation:  

I Peter 2:23    "He (Jesus) did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered.  He left Himself in the hands of God, who always judges fairly."  

Jesus suffered far more than I ever have at the hands of others.  If He, who is perfect, can endure suffering at the hands of imperfect people - then I, who am imperfect, must endeavor to do the same. 

This is not the kind of love that comes easily, that's for sure.  But, if it were easy - it would not require me to rely on the Holy Spirit to make it a reality.  Love that can be given from my own strength will inevitably falter in the face of difficulty and trial.  Love that is extended from a Spirit-filled heart that entrusts itself to God, regardless of the circumstances - that is REAL, CHRIST-LIKE LOVE.

I am so grateful that my Savior extended this kind of love to me when He gave His life up to save me....when I didn't deserve it.  I have a lot to learn about what it means to love like Jesus did.  But, thankfully He is faithful to bear with me as I slowly make progress on my journey with Him.