Insights

When I began this blog I made one important promise to myself: I will not write/post just to hear myself talk. I will only put something here that I think is important to say. Even if I think only one person on earth will gain something from it, I will only post things that uplift, challenge, comfort people…even make them squirm a little in the name of defining their beliefs about God…but the point of this blog is to help others deepen their faith and tighten their walk with Christ. (…Well, and some funny stuff, too…like hooks and grocery store manners and stuff!)

It’s been a month since I posted anything. If you read my previous post, you are aware that I was struggling that week. Thing is, that was just one week in a roller coaster of what’s really turned out to be a year of some hard lessons, sadness, and disappointment. I kept waiting to get some insights, wanting to come back to put some real “answers” in print. But I kept thinking, “I’ve got nothing to say…”

I certainly don’t have everything figured out, but it’s a few weeks down the road and God has provided me with at least enough calm in the storm to keep me going and a few insights to share.

Just since the last week of April (and MOST of this just during the month of July for Pete’s sake!), all 4 of our parents have had surgeries/health issues, all very concerning and some very involved. After having to put our dog to sleep, I continue to grieve and miss her every minute. Someone dear to us experienced their own loss. We moved my grandmother from her home of 35 years to Assisted Living. I experienced some very difficult things with a couple of work associates, one of which is on-going, has nothing to do with me, but greatly affects me. All of this coupled with several additional smaller disappointments and surprise difficulties during the same time made some days hard to face. And this was just a summer within year of it.

No Debbie Downer here…only illustrating that things haven’t been that great. This way you see that my insights are born out of true suffering and searching… either taught for the first time through all of this junk or I was reminded of them through the experiences.

Here’s what I know to be true:
1. It’s when we’re broken that God is most at work in us.
2. Job did not suffer because he was forgotten. He suffered because he was chosen.
3. Go to the Bible every single time you feel like you need to breathe in a paper bag.
4. I hate cancer! HATE it! God doesn’t “give” it to people, I do know that much. Why some are healed and some are not, I don’t know. What is clear is that we have the opportunity to witness through it, no matter what the outcome is.
5. You have to be still and quiet to hear God’s voice. But when you expect Him to speak to you, wait for Him to, listen for Him to, and eventually He will! If you’re never quiet, you’ll miss it.
6. Worry shows a lack of faith. It takes a lot of self-discipline to re-direct your thinking, but it is a must in living faithfully and God wants to see us do it. You do it by filling your mind with good things like inspirational, spiritual, and motivational books, tapes, etc. I’m not much of a worrier anymore, but during all of our parents’ health issues I found myself slipping back to that. I filled my head with only good things and every time I felt panic coming on, I went straight to the Bible to replace the negative thoughts with the language of faith. Think of it as a meal replacement bar for your head!
7. When people treat you poorly it is often about them, not you. They are acting on years of not trusting others, being hurt, etc. so they have come to expect that from people. The best reaction is to pray for them.
8. I don’t believe that “turn the other cheek” means keep going back for more. This is, in my opinion, a sorely misunderstood Christian concept. I think “turn the other cheek” means to turn away from a toxic person or situation…turning your eyes toward Jesus and His truth. God does not call us to continue to “take it” from those toxic people. Instead he commands that we simply love and forgive.
9. God rewards our faith.
10. We do reap what we sow. But keep in mind that while we plant it, really only God can make it grow. (It's God that provides the sunshine and the rain!)
11. The bible is a living, timely, modern collection of practical advice and commands on how to live well. It is non-fiction at its best! Every answer you need is right there! If you find it hard to read, do two things: 1.) ask God to help you understand it, 2.) buy the version called The Message.
12. There is nothing as satisfying as sacrificial giving.
13. God loves to hear us pray for others. When someone you love is struggling and you pray for them without their knowledge of it, and then they tell you, “Wow! You are not going to believe this but…” and you are able to answer with, “But I prayed for you about that very thing…” there is no purer moment of God at work!
14. Even the Ultimate Type-A Girl can learn to fully surrender to God…and do it with joy!
15. It’s more than just a nice thing to show appreciation. It is a must for the survival of the human heart.
16. Listen to and follow through on it every time you feel God nudging you.
17. When you sacrificially serve through your exhaustion or difficulty or heartache, and “pour out” in the name of God, He will pour back into you and restore you 100-fold.
18. God will gift you to handle whatever challenges and opportunities He places in front of you according to His plan. However, you have to be open to receiving these gifts.
19. God disciplines. This makes you uncomfortable or causes pain in order to get you to stop doing something.
20. God prunes. This is where he cuts away things (or people or activities) in our lives that are no longer needed to make room for things that are bigger, better, and for His Kingdom. Though the process is painful, it is to prepare you for something great.
21. God will reveal secrets to you when you ask Him to.
22. Trust your gut.
23. God promises: “If you seek me, you will find me.” Hold fast to that promise.
24. Prayer absolutely changes things.
25. Trusting God in the hard times, when things are bad, when you are deep in the pit of Hell, is the deepest kind of faith there is! And when He hears you crying out, He will meet you there and scoop you up.
26. Unforgiveness creates bondage.
27. One of the most important things you can do is work on your personal growth – who you are as a person (more than skills, more than knowledge, more than anything). You can only have relationships, finances, opportunities that are worthy of who you are. Life will rise up to meet you where you are every time. If you want more, you must become more. It’s just that simple.
28. Use what you’ve been given and it will grow. Ignore what you’ve been given and it will die.
29. You must find a way to be grateful in every situation. Praising through the worst circumstance is the ultimate sacrifice.
30. God loves to hear from us…when we are praising, singing, happy, confused, questioning, just sitting with him, reflecting, and even crying out in anger! It doesn’t make Him upset when we question and show negative emotion toward Him. He can see that in us anyway, so when we show it outright, but it’s in the context of a deep and loving relationship with Him, it’s us being authentic with Him in that moment, which is what true relationships are built on.
And that’s what He most wants with each of us: true, deep, loving, authentic relationship in which we are dependent on Him to meet our every need, and we believe with every ounce of who we are that He will.

Question: What insights do you have or what insights are you looking for?