by wendy | Jun 26, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Trusting God
When I need encouragement, there is no place I can go that will strengthen me like the Word of God. When I read His truth and promises, the lies of the world are exposed and I remember that His power is made perfect in my weakness. Even in the rare cases when I cannot access a Bible, I can pull from my memory to remind myself of the truth I already know. Preaching to myself is just this – reminding myself of what God has already said to my heart through His word.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11
Here are 7 ways to strengthen yourself in the Lord through His Word:
Read The Word
Follow a reading plan, use a devotional guide, or just begin in a book of the Bible and go from there – there is no wrong way. One of my most common practices is to read back through the Scripture from my Pastor’s Sunday sermon several times throughout the week.
Listen to The Word
Listen to an audio version of the Bible or Scripture set to music.
Write The Word
Write verses on index cards to make a flip book or in a journal. Choose a verse and write it several times on cards to send to friends.
Wear The Word
Invest in a t-shirt or bracelet with a favorite verse. Purchase an extra to use for a gift.
Speak The Word
Repeating Scripture out loud has power on its own, but it also enhances memorization.
Sing The Word
Singing songs with Scripture helps to commit it to memory.
Share The Word
Look for opportunities to share the Scripture you are learning.
by wendy | Jun 24, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Trusting God
To celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary this week, Jerry and I travelled to West Virginia to do a little “adventuring” and to visit friends. Along the way we stopped in at Grandview National Park and walked along a trail to see a magnificent view of the New River Gorge. The view was indeed grand, but my favorite sight was actually on a side trail that we discovered after the main attraction. Tucked deep into the forest alongside a path was a huge heart-shaped rock. As soon as I spied that stone, I was reminded that I need to step off the beaten path frequently to be reminded that my life – and love – must be based upon The Rock – the Living Stone.
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5
Peter tells us that when we come to Him – Jesus – the Living Stone – we become like living stones as well. Coming to Jesus makes us strong in Him – like Him.
My friend, Heather, and I recently exchanged devotionals and Scriptures to remind ourselves to be strengthened in the Lord. Heather remarked that as she reviewed, she felt renewed. The Word gave us strength, hope, and joy.
For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
1 Peter 2:7
Sometimes it is difficult to trust. Much of life is like our hike to the “grand view” always looking for the big thing, the clear view, the obviously marked path. But our strength is renewed when we wade through the weeds and go deep looking for the Living Stone. Our strength is found when choose to stand upon that Rock.
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.”
1 Peter 2:7
Paul reminds us in Romans about Abraham strengthening himself in the Lord. He believed what seemed impossible because he reminded himself about the other promises God had fulfilled in his life. He preached to himself and it strengthened his faith.
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Romans 4:20-21
Looking for the easy way never makes us strong. Strolling down a wide path to a clear view is pleasant, but does nothing to increase our faith. We must be intentional about stepping off the beaten path of life and seeking the Living Stone by reviewing His word, His truth, and His promises. And then we must stand upon that Rock renewed, strengthened, encouraged!
They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Luke 6:48
by wendy | Jun 17, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Prayer
When Jerry and I married, I moved into his tiny house with my 2 boys, 2 cats, and a dog. Jerry already lived in that small space with his 2 children and all of their stuff. There was barely room for us – there was definitely not room for my belongings – so it all went into storage until we could find a larger house. That house never really felt like mine – and it certainly didn’t look like mine. I merely hung out there until we found a place where we could all dwell.
Scripture tells us that we should abide or remain with Jesus – I talked about this in last week’s post about pausing. The word he uses is “meno” in greek and it means to hang out just like I did at Jerry’s house. We are not meant to redecorate or make Jesus look more like us. Instead we should draw from His love, His strength, His ways.
Ephesians 3:14-21 discusses the power and strength that God gives us when we approach Him in prayer.
“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…”
Ephesians 3:17
Did you notice that word “dwell” – doesn’t it seem similar to abide and remain? I thought so too, until I discovered that it is not at all the same word in the original Greek. The word Paul used here is “katoikeó” and it means something entirely different from hanging out like “meno”. Paul is saying that Christ will inhabit – permanently move in – and make my heart His home.
When I pray, and Christ dwells in my heart, He renovates it to look like His own. Where I have anxiety, He replaces it with peace. When I display fear, He removes the fear and displays courage through me. He lights up my dark corners and cleans out my dirt. He makes my heart reflect His!
Friend, I hope you have experienced that kind of renovation as well! Let’s continue to remain (meno) in Him, and as we enter into prayer, may Jesus dwell (katoikeó) in us!
Here are some ideas for Praying to encourage yourself in the Lord:
Pray Scripture
Read the prayers of David and others in the Psalms. Make those prayers your own by praying the verses as they are written or writing them in your own words.
Journal your Prayers
Write out your prayers like a letter or journal entry. Read back over previous prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving for answered prayers!
Pray with a Partner
Join a prayer group or ask someone to partner with you in regular prayer. Pray for each other, for friends and family, for the church, and for our community, nation, and world.
Develop a Prayer Strategy
Create a list of things to prayer about and people to pray for. Use index cards or pieces of paper to keep a record of answered prayers and new requests. Follow Jesus’s model of prayer (The Lord’s Prayer) to guide your different types of prayer.
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12
by wendy | Jun 15, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Prayer
There was a particular time in my life that I was significantly sad and depressed. I lived on a farm with a mile-long driveway and I was often compelled to take walks down that path when I was feeling low. I would begin my journey in tears – crying out to God from my broken heart and pouring out all of my sorrows. The driveway entered the woods and I often felt comforted by the branches covering me – the limbs surrounded me like a hug from God. I would turn at the end of the drive and start my way back and somehow, by the time I emerged from the woods into the field near my house, I would be praising God and singing instead of crying. All that I poured out to Him was poured back into me with love – and that love filled me with hope, joy, and strength for another day. I cannot explain how it happened – I don’t understand it – and it never ceased to amaze me.
“I pray that you … know this love that surpasses knowledge …”
Ephesians 3:19
Just a few verses back in Ephesians 3:12, Paul reminds us that we have the ability to approach God through faith. When we pray, we are actually entering the presence of God, and according to the language Paul uses here, it is an interactive experience. We approach Him, we commune with Him, we communicate with Him.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
God’s love to us when we come to Him in prayer is like the comfort of a baby being held by its mother or a child receiving a kiss on a wound. Who can understand the magic of a mother’s kiss? Who can fathom the healing of a father’s love?
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”
Isaiah 66:13
Science has proven that feeling loved and having a positive bond or connection with someone has positive and lasting effects on our health. Should it come as a surprise to us that experiencing the love of God would encourage us, strengthen us, and fill us with joy?
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
Take a walk today – enter His presence in prayer. Pour out all that you feel and then listen to Him – let Him love on you. May He pour back into you with love that sustains and strengthens you for another day. Amen
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
by wendy | Jun 8, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Trusting God
“You sure have been testy lately.”
The comment jabs like a knife into the already tender wound of my own weakness. I am testy – but I don’t want to be told. I want to be heard, seen, validated, comforted. Don’t they see that my testiness is a sign of my emptiness? I’m given out, spent, weary.
All this past week I have listened – listened to the hearts of other women – listened to my own heart. We seem to have a theme – we are tired. We have spent the last several months caring for the emotional health of our families, dealing with the uncertainty of life itself, juggling new roles that have been thrust upon us in the pandemic, and wondering about the fears that we have inside ourselves. It’s not really that we are in it alone – many of us have wonderful partners, supportive families, fabulous friends – but we process things differently, grieve differently. The emotions of change, and fear, and grief, and uncertainty take their toll.
In her book “One Thousand Gifts,” Ann Voskamp says,
“Hurry always empties a soul.”
Voskamp p.67
— As does grief, anxiety, fear …
It’s time to pause.
I know it feels like the world has been on pause – and it has – but this is a different pause. This pause is about encouraging yourself, finding strength in the Lord, renewing your spirit, and getting filled up so you can continue to pour out.
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”
Isaiah 40:31
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God, my hope comes from him.”
Psalm 62:5
This pause is biblical.
God tells us to rest – to be still – to listen – to be quiet. God tells us to pause! He designed our bodies and our hearts for rest. This really shouldn’t be surprising since it is hard to seek God’s presence while running a sprint. We have to slow down – stop even – in order to seek Him, to hear Him. to experience the fullness of His abundance.
“Be still before the Lord.”
Psalm 37:7
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15
This pause is filling.
Oh the abundance – the boundless riches – that He longs to pour into our souls.
“I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being … that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16,19
May I pause to be filled – so I can pour out yet again.
Selah
by wendy | Jun 8, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Godly Relationships
My friend, Heather, and I talked about the feeling of overwhelm and weariness the other day.
“I am trying to make sure I have my quiet time,” one of us insisted, “but I still feel like I am running on empty.”
In the same conversation she sends me this quote by Ann Voskamp in “One Thousand Gifts.”
“You have to want to see the well before you can drink from it.”
Voskamp, 131
Later in the day I walk past the little goldfish pond my husband made from a clawfoot tub. He welded an old rusty pitcher to a copper pipe and it appears that water continuously pours from the pitcher to fill the tub. The water never runs out – it always pours out. But if you look closely, you see that the bottom of the pitcher is full of holes. It never holds any water – ever – it has nothing to give. The water flows from the pipe and is pumped up and through the pitcher.
I am that pitcher – rusty and full of holes. There is nothing in me that I can pour out to others – only what is poured out through me. When I try to pour out what I don’t have – I just feel more and more empty.
And its not enough just to sit with my Bible and mutter a few prayers. I need to pause and sit – abide – dwell in His presence. I need to want to be in His presence. I need to want to be filled.
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
So how do we truly pause in a way that allows God to fill us? Here are some of the ways I pause.
Rest
Sometimes we need to sleep and other times we need leisure. In his book, “An Unhurried Life“, Alan Fadling describes the difference between holy and unholy leisure. The difference is found in what is life-giving and that could be different for each of us. We sometimes think of leisure – or even sleeping – as idleness or laziness, but rest and leisure are biblical and necessary for quality of life.
Slow down
Take a moment, breathe, step outside of the whirlwind. It is hard to believe, but the world will continue to rotate when take a break. Take time to listen, to think, to reflect, to meditate. Slow your response, slow your reaction, take a time-out. You are allowed – give yourself permission and grace.
Talk to a friend
Choose someone who will encourage you in the Lord. (1 Samuel 23:16) Talk through the hard things. Laugh together, cry together. Admit (confess) your emptiness and attitude. Remind each other of God’s promises and grace and mercy. Point each other back to God.
Each of these 3 ideas are important and biblical, but the next is the most important and the only way to find true peace and lasting strength in the pause…
Practice abiding
The Greek word for abide is “meno” and Kelly Minter described this as “hanging on the vine” in her Bible Study, “What Love Is” – a study on John 1,2, and 3. Hanging out with Jesus – it is a peaceful and intentional activity – a remaining in His presence so He can fill us. Fadling (An Unhurried Life) titles this, “Extended Personal Communion” and it is the single most life-giving thing we can do. It is there – in the abiding, in the communion with God, that we find life and life to the full.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
John 14:6
I must want to see The Well, I must drink deeply from The Well, and I must remain connected to The Well – always drawing from The Living Water – so I can continue to pour out.
“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:14
