I attended a book launch last night for a local author. The entire event was a blessing as I rejoiced for another writer who has poured her heart out onto the pages of a book that will land in the hands of many souls. One of my favorite parts of the evening was the conversation that happened on the stage – a conversation that was so honest and intimate that I was drawn in as if I sat in their midst. One of the ladies on the panel shared about a time of suffering in her life. I was amazed near the end when she confessed that this was the first time she was speaking about her struggle publicly. The most significant piece for me though, was her revelation that her suffering was meant to advance the kingdom!
Count It All Joy
Suffering is hard – there is just no way around that. We shouldn’t be surprised when we find ourselves there, but somehow each one of us is caught off guard. Jesus warned us that we would experience trouble (John 16:33) and Paul tells us that suffering can make us more like Jesus (Philippians 3:10.) It is only when we are able to recognize the power that comes through suffering that we can “count it all joy” as recommended by James (1:2-4).
Sifted as Wheat
It changes my perspective about difficult times when I realize that Satan has actually asked permission to mess with me. This is not a new concept – we see it several times in Scripture. The study notes in my NIV Bible explain that Satan’s desire is to ruin believers. Job is tested for the same reason – to prove that his faith will not prevail. As the accuser, Satan derives joy from turning people away from God. God, however, uses that very same trial to strengthen the faith of believers. When I am tested and hold fast to my faith, then Satan is proved wrong in his accusations and I am made stronger. But there are benefits even beyond the strengthening!
A Story to Tell
When I have suffered – especially when that struggle is visible to others – I have a powerful story to tell on the other side. The man who was blind from birth and healed by Jesus, Lazarus raised from the dead, The woman at the well running to town to share her experience – each of these stories gives us an example of people who suffered and then couldn’t help but share the outcome with everyone they knew. Each time someone else sees or hears of how God healed, transformed, and saved the lost and hurting, the Kingdom of Heaven grows. Faith is restored, renewed, birthed. My story of pain and suffering frames God’s story of grace, mercy, and love!
A Calling
My suffering highlights my calling. When I have made it through the obstacles with God’s strength, I have an obligation to turn back and reach out to the others facing those same obstacles. Its not that I am to save people in my own strength, but I am to offer specialized encouragement that leads others to the God who saves them! 2 Corinthians 1:3-6 says that we comfort those in any trouble with the same comfort we receive from God. Who better to reach out than the one who has walked that same path?
When I have suffered, I have found purpose. When I am restored, I have been called. I have been sifted – but Jesus has prayed for me! My faith has not failed but it has been made stronger and it is my joy to have a story to tell!
What is your calling? How is your story growing the Kingdom of Heaven? Spend some time in prayer asking God how He can use your story of pain and suffering to show Himself to a hurting world today.
When I was in my 20s, I asked a woman I knew about her conversion from one religion to another. She explained that she converted to her husband’s faith when she married. It hadn’t been difficult, she explained. “The only real difference is Jesus and he was never important to me anyway.”
I was so stunned by that comment that I was unable to respond. I was young and it was one of the first times I experienced someone who knew about Jesus but made a conscious choice to reject him. That conversation haunts me to this day – and it makes me ask myself, “Who do I say Jesus is, and who is He to me?”
When I am introducing a friend, I normally interject a story or two of how she has impacted my life. It helps to convey the depth and length of relationship and gives the other party a chance to connect on a deeper level. Because I have a relationship with Jesus – I don’t just know about Him but I know Him – I should be able to present Him to others in the same way as I would introduce my friends. When I share specific ways that Jesus has impacted my life, I am opening the door for others to experience Jesus themselves.
One of my favorite hymns, In The Garden – written by C. Austin Miles, speaks of the friendship between Jesus and one of His own. Whenever I sing these lines, I cannot help but smile because it reminds me of my own relationship with Him.
“And He walks with me and He talks with me And he tells me I am his own”
Who do I say Jesus is? He is my savior and my friend, my hope and my joy. He has opened the door for me to have relationship with God and He advocates for me with the Father. Jesus is the reason I can face difficult days and deal with difficult relationships. He teaches me forgiveness, faithfulness, and trust. Above all, He loves me in a way that frees me to love others.
Last week I witnessed the most sacrificial encouragement. My sweet friend, who was my 22 year old son’s kindergarten teacher, gave him a gift that cost her dearly. She came several times to watch him coach basketball – a sacrifice in and of itself since she lost her husband who was a referee just three years ago. Knowing that he had a special relationship with her husband, my friend presented my son with photos and special treasures that belonged to her husband to remind my son that he was treasured and loved.
I cried. He cried. She cried. The moment was heart-wrenching and beautiful and sacred. We all understood the sacrifice – each of us appreciated the gift – together we remembered the loss – ultimately we were all inspired.
Encouraging others is not always easy. We are called to use the hard places in our lives to help others in their own hard places. We give out of our fullness, but we also give out of our pain and the lessons we have learned.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
The comfort we receive from God when we are suffering gains new purpose when we can use that to encourage others! My friend shared how difficult it was for her to be in that gym, with the sound of squeaking shoes and the whistle blowing, but her desire to encourage my son was stronger than the grief for those moments. How often are we willing to push our own pain aside to lift up someone else?
My friend’s husband lived a life of encouragement. He was – and still is – an inspiration to my son and to many other young men he encountered. I pray that God truly blesses her heart as she continues in the legacy he left by choosing to live a life encouragement in spite of her pain. I have to believe that every time she gives away a piece of him, God fills more of the hole her husband’s death left in her heart.
Isn’t it just like God to fill us more and more as we empty ourselves?
Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
I have been reminded in my study this week that God delights in us! He loves to encourage and strengthen us and His encouragement cost Him greatly- it cost Him the life of His son.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
His love for us caused Him to be compassionate towards us – and His compassion moved Him to sacrifice for us. What a beautiful picture of sacrificial encouragement!
Our lives are difficult and we face much adversity every day. It is hard to fathom how we can encourage others when we feel so discouraged ourselves. Let us take a lesson from my friend – when we give out of the pain we have and the comfort we have received, God will use that gift to comfort and bless us even more!
Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25b
Watching God at work in the life of someone else just gets me excited! I spent time today with my PIP – my partner in prayer. We have been meeting regularly by phone for a little over 5 months. Each week we text or call to share what God is doing in our lives and to submit our prayer requests to one another. When we are able, we have a long conversation to explain the details – and most important of all – to pray together. It has been the most powerful experience!
The level of trust and intimacy involved in praying for and with someone regularly allows for a ringside view of their journey. I am close enough to see the path she is on, but far away enough to have perspective. She is privy to my thoughts and emotions throughout my experience, but she can step back and see the bigger picture. We are able to encourage, offer wisdom, listen compassionately, and lift one another to God in the midst.
I love the Hebrews 10 passage that encourages us to encourage one another.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
As I considered those verses today after our prayer time, I was curious about the word “spur.” My only point of reference is the sharp part of a cowboy’s boot that he uses to gouge his horse into action, but that doesn’t sound friendly so I decided to look it up. I was a little surprised to read in the Greek lexicon that the word used actually means to jab someone so they must respond – ouch!
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so shocked at the this imagery being used about a topic that is so important. We tend to be an apathetic people. We become complacent easily and love and good deeds require effort and hard work. If we are not “jabbed” we are likely to fall into a routine of doing nothing and encouraging no one.
I am thankful that God has used my PIP to spur me on and that He allows me to encourage her. There is just nothing that strengthens us more than helping someone else walk through a difficult time.
Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
Because the encouragement my PIP and I offer each other is rooted in the truth of God’s Word, I know that every encouragement I offer to her can be turned back to me – and passed along to someone else! Mutual encouragement, powerful prayers, good fruit, blessings abound.
Want a PIP for yourself? Offer to be a prayer partner to someone else. You may see the need for support and encouragement in their life, but you will be amazed at the encouragement you will receive in return!
The print featured above is available along with all of Wendy’s Prints, Cards, Journals, and Stickers at www.cornercopiafarmandstudio.com or by clicking on the shop on our home page.
The beginning stages of a mural at Piedmont Pediatrics.
I have always loved painting on walls! As a muralist, I have had the distinct privilege of getting paid to something I would have been punished for as a child. The best part of painting on walls – especially in public places – is the fascination spectators have with the process. Bystanders often find themselves mesmerized with as the design comes to life through each stage of the process.
Step by Step
I typically begin with a chalk drawing – a trick I learned many years ago. The white chalk wipes off easily with a damp cloth and allows me to make changes as I go along without concerning myself with ugly pencil lines that might show through the paint. I simply paint within the lines I have created and wipe away the chalk once the paint is dry. Sometimes the chalk outlines don’t provide enough information for others to fully understand the concept, but it gives me guidelines to work within and plenty of room for adaptation.
My next step is always to fill in some background color. This stage is usually not pretty and I can often tell that viewers are concerned with my progress. The colors can be dark and flat, but they provide a foundation and depth that will later cause the details to stand out in contrast. I have to continually remind myself how important this step is to the finished design using the confidence I have developed through many years of painting.
As I begin to add layers of color and detailed strokes on top of the background colors, the designs I have seen in my mind pop out off of the wall – and people are amazed! They will sometimes comment, “I thought you were done with that part – I had no idea it even needed that detail.” They love to walk away and come back to the new surprises that have developed.
Finally, once the paint has dried, I wipe away the remaining chalk that marked my initial sketch. Wiping with a fresh damp cloth several times is required, as the chalky residue resists the cleaning at first.
Watching with Joy
The process of painting a mural is fun to watch – oh that we could learn to see the process of our Maker’s design in us with just as much joy. As He develops me slowly, layer upon layer, I wish that I could look on with fascination instead of grumbling. From the faint sketch lines of my heart’s desire – to the hard work of building my background and foundation – to the skilled touch of meticulous detail work – and even to the cleaning and wiping away of unnecessary residue – it is all a part of His beautiful vision for a masterpiece. Me – a work of the Master!
Lord may I learn to appreciate your process in me.
Amen.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
Our pastor mentioned this verse in his sermon Sunday and it caught my attention. I instantly pictured this print and I couldn’t wait to paint it. As I painted, I began to meditate on the meaning of the passage …
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven. Colossians 1:3-5 (italics and bold mine)
I have always pictured hope springing from love – and I believe it does – but I hadn’t yet considered that it could work the other way around. When I feel loved, it is easy for me to have hope. Love helps me to see things from a positive point of view and hope seems to flourish in those places – but that kind of hope is delicate.
The hope that Paul is describing here is a “confident expectation” according to my Bible’s study notes. It is a hope we can count on – an expectation that will not ever be met with disappointment!
Free to Love
When we begin to understand the hope we have in Christ – unconditional love and acceptance, eternal life, spiritual blessings – we find freedom to love. The normal expectations we have for relationships include having our needs met and receiving love in return. When we experience the perfect love and security of relationship with God, we are free to give away our love without those same expectations since our needs are met in Him.
A Wellspringof Love
Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “guard your heart” and many of us use that warning to withhold love from others in an effort to protect ourselves. But if we examine the rest of the verse in conjunction with what we read in Colossians 1, we will understand that God offers us all the protection we need and still enables us to pour out love to those who may seem unloveable.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (italics and bold mine)
The source of a wellspring is not that from which it is drawn. The water that flows out comes from deep within the earth and it never dries up. The one who takes from the spring does not give in return but is simply blessed by the refreshment.
When we are fed by the deep and abiding hope that we receive from our confidence in Jesus, love can flow out of us and bless others without expectation.
From Hope Springs Love
Oh that the blooms of love might spring up in me from the deep, abiding hope I have found in Jesus. May others see in me the freedom I have to give love because my savior loves me. When I feel parched and dry, needy and weary, may I remind myself to draw from the wellspring of His living water. May the refreshment I find there bubble over and refresh everyone I meet.
Amen
The print featured above is available along with all of Wendy’s Prints, Cards, Journals, and Stickers at www.cornercopiafarmandstudio.com or by clicking on the shop on our home page.
