I had to laugh today. I was thinking about when Pete and I first got married. I was 18 and Pete was 19! I know, we were crazy! Haha! Even though we have now been happily married for over 18 years, we sure did not start out that way. Just listen to one of our conversations after being married for a few months.
Wendy: You never hold my hand anymore. I always have to hold your hand first.
Pete: That is not true. You cannot say that I "NEVER" hold your hand first.
Wendy: (In frustration) Well, ok, so you "hardly" ever hold my hand first.
Pete: (In frustration) I think that you need a hobby.
Wendy: (Eyebrows turned down) What do you mean I need a hobby?
Pete: (Oh,oh!) Well, I think it would be great if you had something to do to keep your mind busy.
Wendy: (Wondering if murder is an option here) Well, you never really listen to me.
Pete: (Wondering where this one is going) What do you mean?
Wendy: I wish that you were in my world more.
Pete: (Probably thinking about how great a hobby would be for me right now!) What do you mean in your world more?
Wendy: Well, I wish that you were more romantic.
Pete: (Wondering how in the world am I going to get out of this one) What do you mean more romantic?
Wendy: Well, I want to feel safe.
Pete: (Thinking how LONG is this conversation going to last) What do you mean feel safe?
Wendy: Well, I do not know. I don’t know how to explain it.
Pete: (In COMPLETE and TOTAL frustration says,) " WENDY, you want me to be a combination of Albert Einstein, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, and Pepe Le Pew and I CAN'T!
Wendy: (Oh no he didn't! I know that he Did Not just say that to ME!)
Pete: (Ok, either I'm dead or this conversation will be over for quite some time because she will not be talking to me for at least a week!)
HaHa! Well, does this sound a little familiar ladies? When we first start off in marriage, we think that we are the princess and we have married our prince charming. Then, REALITY sets in and we find that our prince charming has fallen off his horse and is on the ground! Life with two flawed people makes for an interesting blog. LOL First, you realize that you've married an imperfect person, and then you realize, oh wait, I'm apparently not perfect either. :) Isn't life funny! I will always look back on our early years of marriage with a great big "heart smile", because I know that God must have laughed at Pete and I trying to figure out this crazy life together!
You know, God really used that conversation above to show me something very valuable. The lesson I learned that day is that there is NEVER going to be another person who will fill that place in my heart that longs to be always loved, kept safe, and held perfectly. There's only room for one person on the throne of my heart and that place is only reserved for Jesus. No person will ever be able to fill it because we are all flawed. No matter how much someone loves you and desires to be there for you, only God will never let you down. It is a God shaped hole that only He can fill.
Even though I have a WONDERFUL husband that God has blessed me with beyond measure and has been so gracious in putting up with some of my crazy conversations and strange questions, only God will always be the perfect gravity defying, horseback- riding, prince charming.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
How do I have JOY in the midst of pain?
There is a passage in James 1:2-4 that really used to puzzle me. James says, "Consider it 'pure joy' whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything."
I used to think to myself that that sounds great when life is good. I would give a heartfelt "Amen" to that, but when the trials would come, I would not be counting anything in the trial as "pure joy." I found myself feeling guilty that I was not in the depths of joy when the trials came in like a flood. I understood that God wanted to produce perseverance in me so that I could look more like Jesus through the trial and after the trial, but it was in the midst of the trial that I struggled with the joy part. I mean, let us be honest, how many of us really are thrilled to death when hard times come? I thought to myself that maybe I just was not spiritual enough to be in the throngs of total joyful bliss when it looked like life was falling apart.
However, one day, as I was studying this scripture, it hit me what James was talking about. James was not taking about being in "pure joy" over the trial I was in, but he was referring to having "pure joy" in the one who was in control of the trial. You see, we do not have to have "pure joy" in the trial of dealing with sickness or the death of a loved one or financial difficulties or a whole myriad of struggles and problems. Our "pure joy" is not in the trial itself; it is in the one who is in control of the trial! My "pure joy" is knowing that I serve a God who is totally and completely in control of the difficulties I may face! I can have that "pure joy" in the midst of uncertainty because I serve a God who is certain, a God who NEVER changes, and a God who is using the trial in my life to help me look more and more like His son Jesus.
You see, it is easy to love God and serve Him when all is well. It is easy to say how great He is when we can see our way clearly, and there are no apparent obstacles in our way. It is a different story when the struggles are so great that you cannot think straight, and the pain is so deep that it hurts to breathe. We have to be very careful when those trials come because the devil will always try to use those times of pain to get you to doubt the character of God. He wants you to think that God is a liar - that what God says is not true because if God really loved you then why in the world is __________ (you fill in the blank) happening. I think that's why James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these verses as a reminder to us to keep the proper perspective of trials and what they are for and who is in control in the midst of them.
I cannot tell you how many times the Lord has brought these verses to my heart when I had been dealing with a difficult time. It is as if the Holy Spirit would use these verses to whisper to my heart that God is in control, and I can trust Him. I can have that "pure joy" because the God I serve is the one and only true God, He is the God who scooped out the oceans with His hand, yet He knows my name, the very God who spoke the world into existence but is not too big to know the number of hairs on my head, the God who speaks and the wind and waves obey His command, yet He took the time to form me in my mother’s womb. This is the God we love and serve. Even in the midst of uncertainty, He is certain, and we can trust Him and have "pure joy."
I hope that this encourages your heart today! God loves you so much that He sent His one and only son to die for you! He desires to have a real relationship with you where He will walk with you through every trial you will ever face. Have you truly given your life to Him? If not, you can. Religion is a poor substitute for the real thing. A relationship with Jesus is what changes your life. That relationship has helped me through those trials I was talking to you about. You can also have that assurance that God is with you through everything. Are you sure you know Him? If not, email me at pwjj4@yahoo.com, and I would be glad to talk with you. I love you, and God loves you, too!
I used to think to myself that that sounds great when life is good. I would give a heartfelt "Amen" to that, but when the trials would come, I would not be counting anything in the trial as "pure joy." I found myself feeling guilty that I was not in the depths of joy when the trials came in like a flood. I understood that God wanted to produce perseverance in me so that I could look more like Jesus through the trial and after the trial, but it was in the midst of the trial that I struggled with the joy part. I mean, let us be honest, how many of us really are thrilled to death when hard times come? I thought to myself that maybe I just was not spiritual enough to be in the throngs of total joyful bliss when it looked like life was falling apart.
However, one day, as I was studying this scripture, it hit me what James was talking about. James was not taking about being in "pure joy" over the trial I was in, but he was referring to having "pure joy" in the one who was in control of the trial. You see, we do not have to have "pure joy" in the trial of dealing with sickness or the death of a loved one or financial difficulties or a whole myriad of struggles and problems. Our "pure joy" is not in the trial itself; it is in the one who is in control of the trial! My "pure joy" is knowing that I serve a God who is totally and completely in control of the difficulties I may face! I can have that "pure joy" in the midst of uncertainty because I serve a God who is certain, a God who NEVER changes, and a God who is using the trial in my life to help me look more and more like His son Jesus.
You see, it is easy to love God and serve Him when all is well. It is easy to say how great He is when we can see our way clearly, and there are no apparent obstacles in our way. It is a different story when the struggles are so great that you cannot think straight, and the pain is so deep that it hurts to breathe. We have to be very careful when those trials come because the devil will always try to use those times of pain to get you to doubt the character of God. He wants you to think that God is a liar - that what God says is not true because if God really loved you then why in the world is __________ (you fill in the blank) happening. I think that's why James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these verses as a reminder to us to keep the proper perspective of trials and what they are for and who is in control in the midst of them.
I cannot tell you how many times the Lord has brought these verses to my heart when I had been dealing with a difficult time. It is as if the Holy Spirit would use these verses to whisper to my heart that God is in control, and I can trust Him. I can have that "pure joy" because the God I serve is the one and only true God, He is the God who scooped out the oceans with His hand, yet He knows my name, the very God who spoke the world into existence but is not too big to know the number of hairs on my head, the God who speaks and the wind and waves obey His command, yet He took the time to form me in my mother’s womb. This is the God we love and serve. Even in the midst of uncertainty, He is certain, and we can trust Him and have "pure joy."
I hope that this encourages your heart today! God loves you so much that He sent His one and only son to die for you! He desires to have a real relationship with you where He will walk with you through every trial you will ever face. Have you truly given your life to Him? If not, you can. Religion is a poor substitute for the real thing. A relationship with Jesus is what changes your life. That relationship has helped me through those trials I was talking to you about. You can also have that assurance that God is with you through everything. Are you sure you know Him? If not, email me at pwjj4@yahoo.com, and I would be glad to talk with you. I love you, and God loves you, too!
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