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

Boldly I Approach the Throne of Grace ~ A New Post by @ShelleyHendrix

There has been nothing in my life that God has taken from me, or allowed to be taken from me, that hasn't resulted in something better in return. Not like the picture going around social media depicting Jesus asking a child for her small teddy bear so He can give her a bigger one which He hides behind His back - as though bigger always means better.

While I understand and appreciate what the artist is trying to convey (that Jesus doesn't ask us to give Him anything that He doesn't already have something better ready to give us in return), anyone who has suffered genuine loss knows that few losses can actually be replaced. 

Does a new puppy replace a dog who lived with a family for 15 years?
Does a new spouse replace the one a widow or widower grieves?
Does a new child or pregnancy replace a child who has died?

Of course not. We may find comfort in the new and hope in the new and joy in the new. But that doesn't equal a replacement. We are forever changed by and through loss.

What Jesus offers to us, in the midst and wake of loss is something better than what we often gravitate towards in our desire for comfort from pain or avoidance of any additional pain. 

That "something better" is rarely some tangible item or new relationship or anything I can hold onto with my hands or see with my eyes; but rather a truer sense of His goodness and grace and a deeper, richer, truer trust in Him. 

I know this. I've experienced this. I trust this. 

And yet, I struggle with this. I tend to resist whatever causes me pain and when it seems that God is the One causing the pain, my knee-jerk reaction in self-protection is to try to figure out what I must do to get Him to change His mind so that He'll fix life for me and release me from suffering.

And then I remember...

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence (or "boldly approach the Throne of Grace"), so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

(Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV)

The Long Season of Broken Dreams

As I stumble along this unlit pathway in this season, and with a hurting and grieving heart, I approach His throne of Grace with boldness - not in what He might or might not do - not with my hands clasped around my prayer requests or a list of demands - but because there's no place I belong more than right up close to where He is. And there's no place He'd rather be than with me, trusting Him... 

Relinquishing control and resting in His grace once more means that:

• I can choose with my will to let go of things outside of my control. 
• I can rest my weary heart against His and let Him nurture and care for and protect me in the midst of the storm. 

Why was John the only one who got to lay upon Jesus' chest? Perhaps because he was the only one willing to try it.

Abba Father, Please give us the grace and the courage to make ourselves completely vulnerable to you as you already know more about us than we know ourselves. As we come to you just as we are, and as we pour out whatever is inside of us to you, may we willingly yield control to you; and may you increase our faith in you with each breath that we breathe. In Jesus' Name, Amen

By Faith We Experience Grace ~ by @ShelleyHendrix

³²And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,^(U)

³³Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,^(V)

³⁴Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts.^(W)

³⁵[Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured ^[g]to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. [I Kings 17:17-24; II Kings 4:25-37.]

³⁶Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.

³⁷They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated--

³⁸[Men] of whom the world was not worthy--roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.

Hebrews 11:32-38 (Amplified)

When we read Hebrews 11, we have the opportunity to observe how men and women of old, who trusted God, were able to experience a life that most people cannot even begin to imagine. We see that our trust in God is the very proof of His existence. We see that there were those who saw God move in mighty ways as they lived by faith, rather than by sight. We can take note of what this means for us today—in the 21^st Century—when so many have decided God is a has-been from our uneducated past as a human race.

In the first several verses of this passage, we read some of the heroic and mighty deeds God performed for everyday people with extraordinary trust in God: blessings, subdued kingdoms, seeing dead loved ones raised to life, shutting the mouths of lions, etc. When we read things like this, it encourages us, even makes us get excited about stepping—or leaping—out in faith, doesn't it? We all want to see God move like this in our lives, don't we?

Consider this, though: Although we all desire to see these kinds of things happen, we must also realize that each coin has two sides. Jesus made it clear that in this world, we would have trouble (persecution, tribulation, etc.)* When we speak of faith moving mountains and faith bringing us to a place of promotion, you'll find a whole lot of people jumping on board. But when the whole truth is taught—that life is hard and we will all face those dark nights of the soul—it's a little more difficult to get excited.

You might find a small percentage of people, when you look throughout our human history, who are willing to suffer or possibly even die for a cause (whether real or a delusion). But when we look through the Scriptures, pages of history, and even today's news, we are faced with a reality that can't be ignored: Those who follow the One True God have suffered in unimaginable ways and have paid an enormous price—many even sacrificing their own lives rather than deny the truth they have embraced. 

People have been imprisoned, beaten, scourged, sawn in two!, tortured, bribed, left destitute… you'd think a large percentage of these would have renounced their "traditions" or "belief systems" and that would make sense if that had been all their faith amounted to. For someone who has experienced the Truth Himself—Jesus Christ—and Jehovah God, there is no renouncing Him. It would be like trying to get a mother to deny her child was hers or a husband denying his cherished bride.

In the Gospels, we read of two different men who walked closely with Jesus and who both came to a crisis of their faith. One betrayed Jesus. The other denied him. The first was Judas. The second was Peter. I heard a powerful message by a man named Bill Thrall who stated that as people who have been given a brand new identity when we accepted Christ as Savior, we can never be guilty of Judas' sin, we can only be susceptible to Peter's. We can never betray Christ—that would be to declare that He isn't who He says He is. It would be to choose to deny Him as the Savior of the world. Peter's sin was to deny knowing Him—and for this, Jesus offered grace, mercy, love, compassion, and a second chance.

God is not looking for perfect performance—thank Him for that!—He is looking for hearts that are perfect toward Him. Hearts with a desire to trust Him and know Him. These are the kinds of people Scripture says that the world is not even worthy of.

But these kinds of people aren't just in the pages of history. You can read about the many Christians who are suffering persecution throughout the world even today through ministries like the Voice of the Martyrs. You can even 'follow' them on Twitter @VOMC and get many reminders of ways to pray for those who are part of our family who are suffering even now as a result of their refusal to deny Christ. These people truly are heroes and need our prayers and support.

May we all be people who live with intentionality and purpose, choosing to make it our life's top priority to know and trust God. Who knows? Perhaps, together, we really could change the world!

*John 16:33

Shelley Hendrix is the founder of Church 4 Chicks as well as Shelley Hendrix Ministries and the co-founder of a new ministry collaboration called Team Redeemed (a ministry to those whose lives have been impacted by infidelity). 

You can find Shelley's website, social media links and more at www.ShelleyHendrix.com but you'll typically find her sipping coffee, scrounging for chocolate, and petting her dog while hovered over her laptop.

Lover of the Light by @ShelleyHendrix

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." 

John 8:12 NLT

At the time of this writing, the world is in so much darkness. It seems no matter where we look, we are faced with unimaginable suffering in our own country and in other parts of the world.  

Like you, I've experienced emotional whiplash from the different headlines just this past week. A term we now use, due to the culture's oversaturation of information thanks to the news and social media, is "compassion fatigue." I am overwhelmed with it right now. 

It's in moments and seasons like these that God's Word and His Spirit become air, making it possible to breathe in His power and exhale prayers. 

~His Word reminds us again and again that He has not forsaken His people and that He never will. I cannot begin to imagine what our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are experiencing, and I certainly want to do my part to help, but I am comforted to know that GOD is with each and every one. Man doesn't get the final say. Death is not the final outcome. 

~His Word reminds us that we have a permanent, glorious and terror-free Home awaiting us. The moment we step foot into eternity, suffering is no more! 

~His Word reminds us that His Spirit now resides within His people, giving us the grace to face whatever afflictions this world brings upon us. 

Jesus entered the human race when all hope seemed lost...when the world had gone dark. He entered the darkness and drove it out simply by being who He is:The Light! 

As you and I face a new week, an unknown future, challenges on the home front and brutality in the world, let us remember who He is, that we can trust and follow Him. 

And let us also remember who He has made us: light! 

Jesus doesn't command us to make or manufacture light, but simply to be who He has already made us to be. 

Remember, today isn't all there is. God is taking ALL of this and working ALL things together for the good of those who love Him. (See Romans 8:28)

While I do not believe this means that Believers and Jesus Followers should bury our heads in the sand, I want to encourage us all to continue to focus on The Light, trusting His character even when we do not understand His ways, and allow Him to shine brightly through us as we pray and as we take action. 

May we not lose heart or hope. No one and nothing can extinguish His Light! 

"Because He lives, we can face tomorrow!" 

Praying that we all experience the peace only found in Christ as we shine together as lovers of The Light.