Is God For Me? - a new post by Karen Cone

When I heard my friend Melissa say that she was thankful for the pain and betrayal that turned her life upside down and ended her missionary career, I thought to myself, "Not me. I am not thankful for the junk. I am not thankful for the pain. It's hard to even imagine getting to that place."

Two years later, I found myself saying, "Yes, I am thankful for the pain. I am thankful for the hurt and the wounds."

So what changed?

Not much and everything. It was in the way I saw the pain, a new perspective that only makes sense when viewed through the lens of believing that God is good and God is for me. I had to ask God to help me re-frame what I was seeing. I couldn't get there on my own. It took others speaking truth to me. It took God speaking to my soul. It took the gift of time to release the hurts. It took a willingness to let go of the "victim" badge that brought me empathy and made  me a kind of hero as well. "Wow, she has really suffered. What an amazing person!"

And there was suffering; I don't want to minimize the pain.  However, my pain was not how God wanted my life to be defined. "Introducing, Karen Cone, long-suffering victim extraordinaire" didn't capture His grace, mercy, and redemptive purposes for me. I could feel the Father pulling at my heart, wanting me to believe Him, longing me to move out slavery and into the promised land of freedom.

I was hearing that God was good and that He was for me and that no one and nothing including evil, sin, or bad circumstances could thwart His good purposes for my life. I had heard that before, memorized the verses and I thought I had believed it fully. But my heart kept arguing otherwise.

I was saying to God, "If  You really loved me, You would do this." I had decided how His love for me should be defined. I had a definite expectation of what He was to deliver into my hands. Mostly, I expected Him to rescue me from emotional pain. But it didn't happen that way.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I have stood with closed fists demanding God fix things in my way. I could not open my hand to receive the good He had for me. I could hardly choke out  Kari Jobe's, "I Know That You Are For Me" if  we were singing it in church. It felt so ... untrue. At that time I could not see that He wanted to free me from my idolatry of Kevin and my kids. I could not see that He wanted to break the bonds of slavery to fearfulness. I could not see how God could use someone else's sinful choices to do me good. I could not understand that God would use a mess to move me out of my loneliness and into rich relationships with others and so much more.

Who knows what other gifts of life and joy He wants to give me that I haven't yet seen?

"Every good and perfect gift comes from above..."

James 1:17

God is a giver. His gifts are good. Even the ones that we respond to with, "Now what on earth would I want that for, Lord?"  He redeems brokenness--our own brokenness and the brokenness of others--to bring life, joy, hope, and healing. He is good and He is for me.

Karen loves to write and lead women's support group.  She is learning to walk in God's grace day to day as well as learning to extend that grace to others.  You can follow her blog at karencone.org

The Box by: Karen Cone

I went on a spiritual retreat with a group of women who have experienced pain, betrayal and loss. We are the fellowship of the broken.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

In this group I have watched the Father save those who are crushed in spirit. I have seen women who had isolated themselves take the risk of opening up to others. I have seen women trade their ashes for beauty. I have seen miracles. It is amazing and beautiful every single time.

Here is the beginning of one such story:

Holly spills over with life and energy. She is a full-throttle kind of girl.

At this time in her life, Holly is enduring intense emotions over the betrayal that she has experienced in her marriage. She is up, and she is down. She is hopeful, discourage, angry, and tender. Life is a roller coaster of feelings.

At one point during the retreat, we were to decorate a small, plain wooden box. We were given a number of craft items to help us create a box that would represent who we are, body and soul. Holly, whose strong suit is not arts and crafts, was trying her best to make her box beautiful.

Unfortunately, there was an accident. Holly mistook the white paint for the mod-podge. That means that instead of gluing on her designs and making them look shiny like a coat of mod-podge would do, she completely covered her work with white paint.

Her box was ruined.

Discouraged, Holly tossed the ruined box into the garbage and got another plain box. There was no time to start over, so Holly simply slapped some stickers onto the new box and called it done.

Someone, who had watched Holly toss her first box in the trash, went and rescued it. This woman redesigned, repainted, and remade the box into an amazing work of art. And as a finishing touch, this verse across the front: He Makes All Things New.

I didn’t know any of this, I only knew that Holly had said she was awful at this box making stuff. So when I saw the beautifully decorated box she was holding during worship, I said, "I think you are lying about not being very good at this crafty stuff! Your box is beautiful."

That's when I saw she was crying. Tears rolling down her cheeks, Holly told me how someone had redeemed her solid white mess up from the  heap, and produced the lovely new creation she now held.

My tears started flowing, as well. I was overwhelmed by God's tender mercies and care for my friend. He had seen her struggle, her pain, and her need. And He had called on one of the members of the body to give a gift of hope.

That anonymous person was obedient to the call. Little did she know that her simple act of repairing the rejected box would become known to every lady there or that this small act would resonate deeply within our souls.

Our own lives had looked like they belonged on the trash heap. Broken, messed up, imperfect. But what we viewed as rubbish was still valued by the Father. He didn't turn His back to us. Rather, He lovingly looked down and rescued what seemed ruined and beyond repair.

And now we are God's treasure. We are learning to cling tightly to Him, come what may. He is making us new.

Karen loves to write and lead women's support group.  She is learning to walk in God's grace day to day as well as learning to extend that grace to others.  You can follow her blog at karencone.org

The Power of Forgiveness - By @Emily Laney

Photo credit: Keoni Cabral 
(creative commons)

The Power of Forgiveness
 

By 
Emily Walters Laney

I love this month’s theme on the Church 4 Chicks blog: “The Power of Christ IN us”.  It’s a simple statement, but it really packs a punch, and honestly, I didn’t know where to start with this post at first.  I mean, how do you encompass such a powerful statement in 500 words?  

Over breakfast at our favorite local spot one Saturday, I explained the theme to my husband. “What should I write about?” I asked him as I took a bite of my cinnamon roll French toast (FYI, best breakfast ever, so good.) 

He didn’t even hesitate with his answer, “Forgiveness.” 

At first I was hesitant, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he is absolutely right.  What demonstrates the power of Christ in us more than our ability to forgive?  I think about the cross, and as Christ was suffering immense pain that most of us can’t even fathom, he spoke truth over the whole world.  

“Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" – Luke 23:34a. 

The humility, the restraint, the power that Jesus demonstrated with those words are hard for me to comprehend sometimes.  The Creator of the Universe came to walk with us, to dwell with us, and then He suffered and died for us, and he forgave us!  I know in my own life I betray Christ and deny Him in many ways.  I don’t stand up for my faith like I should.  I am quiet when I should speak up more for His truth.  I am silent about injustice when I should tirelessly advocate.  I am prideful and look out for my own interests over those of others.  I’m a mess y’all, and even though I have plenty of things to ask forgiveness for, sometimes I can be slow to forgive others. 

I wear my heart on my sleeve, so I can be pretty sensitive.  I also really love to be in close community with others, so when I feel left out, betrayed, or ignored, it hurts.  Even though I have been forgiven for so many things (see above), I still struggle to forgive others.  I was reminded of this recently as I ruminated over a situation for days.  It got to a point where I knew that my lack of forgiveness was going to hurt me more than it would hurt the person by whom I felt betrayed.

Forgiveness isn’t easy.  Life is hard, and the source of our pain is usually from people close to us. We are all human, and we all have been on the giving and receiving sides of pain.  Some of the pain that we experience in this life feels unbearable.  Sometimes the hurts committed against us feels so crippling and so intense that we don’t think we could possibly offer forgiveness. 

That’s where the power of Christ comes in.  Christ dwells in us, and it’s with His power that we can forgive.  It’s not always easy, but with Him all things are possible.  If you are holding on to hurts, know that Christ wants to take that burden.  My prayer is that all of us can encourage and lift each other up to fully embrace the power that comes when we forgive.  

Emily Laney Bio:

Emily Laney is a social worker, educator, and justice seeker.  She has worked with vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad and loves to help startup nonprofits reach their goals.  She is a Passion City Church door holder and leads a team of abolitionists at Not for Sale Georgia.  She loves her husband Brent and their rescue pup Biscuit.  Sunsets and Sushi make her happy.  

You can connect with Emily on twitter @emilylaney or on her blog www.emilylaney.com

Matthew West - Forgiveness (Official Lyric Video) from matthew-west on GodTube.