Christ Will Rescue You

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Chasing Tears or Chasing God

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

With tears streaming down her face, Barbara Jane angrily slammed the door to her boyfriend’s car after she got out of it. He slowly pulled off, wondering if Barbara Jane was going to be as vengeful as she had been in the past when they argued. Often, she'd shut down for weeks and wouldn't speak to him. Barbara Jane was unaware that her grandmother had watched the whole thing from her living room window. When her marriage fell apart after only a year, Barbara Jane moved in with her Grandma Ida. She also quickly moved on to another relationship. In her adult life, she had never been without a man in her life. Even in high school and college, she always had a boyfriend and had never spent time being on her own.

Barbara Jane's mother had gotten her addiction under control in recent years, but the relationship between them had been estranged since Barbara Jane was a teenager. Her father tried his best to be supportive, but her grandmother was the constant in her life. Ida had watched her granddaughter get her heart broken many times, but she was noticing an anger and bitterness in Barbara Jane that she hadn't seen before. One evening, after she had prepared Barbara Jane's favorite meal, she told her that she wanted them to have a talk.

Some form of education or training is required to get a diploma, a degree, a driver's license, and a job. We recognize on a very basic level that in life, we need to educate ourselves to advance, but when it comes to our spiritual walk with Christ and relationships with others, many of us drop the ball. We think we know enough to navigate these areas alone. That isn't true. We desperately need God's wisdom in order to truly advance in life. Proverbs 4:7(KJV) says, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." He tells us here that wisdom is primary in life, and God supplies the wisdom we need by giving us His Word.

God's Word is an infallible road map for navigating life on earth, and it contains wisdom and guidance regarding every aspect of our existence. It is our guide to life. 2Timothy 3:16(NLT) tells us, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." Without the useful teaching of what is true, we make errors and wrong choices, and these errors and wrong choices often result in heartbreak.

Jesus Christ commanded us, as God's sons and daughters, to humble ourselves under God. This means that we must have the humility to acknowledge and accept that we can't navigate successfully through life without knowing God and knowing the wisdom that comes from His Word. We desperately need His help.

He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11(NLT), “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God is the Leader and we're the followers. He's the One with the plan, and the greatest gift we can give to ourselves is to follow His plan. This is going to require us to read and study His Word so that we have an understanding of what God says is right or wrong for our lives. You might say, "I've tried reading the Bible, but I don't understand it." This is one of the many ways that the Holy Spirit helps us. Jesus Christ said in John 16:13(NLT), "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future." God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, lives inside every born-again believer. When we pray for understanding before we read God's Word, the Spirit will help us comprehend the scriptures.

If we pay attention to the Spirit's guidance and leadership, he will also let us know when our decisions and choices are in agreement with God's plan for us. So, before we decide that a man is the one for our lives, we need to hear it from God. Without His greenlight, we shouldn't move ahead. If we do, we could waste precious time and resources, and end up with a situation that causes us to go backward instead of forward. None of us should want to do this.

Barbara Jane anticipated that one of her grandmother's serious talks was coming when she spotted her fav, a newly baked caramel cake, on the counter. At the end of grandmother's sage advice, she asked her, “Which will make you happier, chasing tears or chasing God?” We chase tears when we neglect or refuse to seek the Lord first. Many women of God look for a man to make them complete, and when we do this, we will always be disappointed. Only God can make us complete, and He has done this through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must trust this with our whole hearts, and make God our first priority, not what we can or can't receive from another human being.

Our blessed Redeemer commands us in Matthew 6:33(NKJV), "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Seeking God and the wisdom of His Word must be our first priority and practice. It can never be number two, but again, always number one. Don't make relationships a project of trial and error. Trust God to help you live your best life. Humble yourself under His great power. Spend time in prayer and study His Word so that you will grow in your relationship with Him. Then you'll learn to recognize His voice, hear His instructions, and remain on the path of His wisdom and blessings for your life. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Chasing Tears or Chasing God”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Your Way Out

1 Peter 5:10 (NLT)
“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”

Looking for a way out of your troubling circumstances? Fear, loneliness, and hopelessness creeping up on you? You’re not the first person to feel this way, and you won’t be the last. 1 Peter 5:9(NLT) tells us, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” No matter what we face in life, no matter how difficult or tough it may seem, God promises that we have the victory in Jesus Christ. If God says it, it must be so!

All of us have times in our relationships where we become weary. Sometimes, the issues of our partners are weightier than we expected, and this can make us feel boxed in. When those issues are domestic violence and abuse, the toll on our total well-being can be overwhelming, but can be comforted in the reality that we don’t have to go through it alone. There are many resources available for those of us that are being abused, and we should take full advantage of them. We must also know that the best gift we can give ourselves is to pray to God for help. When we do, He often answers our prayers through other people. He works through them to help us at just the right time. So, we should never hesitate to ask our Heavenly Father for help, nor should we hesitate to accept the help He sends.

We should also be aware that our internal healing is also very necessary. It's possible that the person we're in a relationship with had red flags from the very beginning, but we either ignored or didn't recognize them. Maybe we thought these things would get better, or that the person's love for us would overshadow any deficiencies. Whatever the case, it is very likely that we need increased wisdom, so that we make better choices in the future, and we learn how to discern the Will of God for our lives. Our Heavenly Father doesn't ever want anyone to be abused in any way, and when we learn more about His love, we will gain greater confidence in life.

So, it isn't uncommon that we need to be strengthened internally to feel better and stronger about seeking help. God tells us in Isaiah 41:10 (NLT), “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” God is our strength, and it is important that we feed our minds and souls with the promises of His Word so that we can be empowered by His truth.

Some of us look at the current state of our lives, and we think, “How did I get here?” It can be pretty shocking, but we must not blame ourselves or sink into self-condemnation. We must remember that we have the strength of God within us because the Holy Spirit lives within. God's Word teaches us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT), “19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” Our Heavenly Father has trouble covered in grace on all sides, and His Spirit is in us helping us beyond what we can imagine.

It’s a great strategy if we can decrease the amount of focus that we place on our circumstances and situations and increase the focus we place on God. He never disappoints us, and He will never leave or forsake us. Romans 8:28 tells us that He will cause all things to work together for our good if we will give Him our trust and honor. He can heal us way down deep, where we need it most, because His Spirit is in us, and the Spirit will always be our way out of any trouble or problem we face.■

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Rivers of Difficulty

Isaiah 43:2-3(NLT)
“2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

A good friend recently went through a tumultuous situation in her relationship. “I feel broken, afraid, and alone! How could he hurt me this way!” Sometimes the people we love the most are the ones that will hurt us the most, and this is a very difficult reality to accept. When it happens, some of us go into repair mode, and that can look different for each person. It’s not uncommon to blame and punish ourselves for the pain we’re experiencing, and this means that we might continue to give up our power to the one that is hurting us. We might also neglect to remember that real and genuine love doesn’t hurt. This is the kind of love we should desire for ourselves because it is the kind of love God wants us to both give and receive.

Many people have been misinformed about what it takes to have a healthy significant relationship. Some of us don’t possess this knowledge and wisdom because we’ve never been taught. This is one of the many reasons why it is so extremely important to read God’s Word. We need to learn about the example of Jesus Christ, because his example is one of true and genuine love. Through his life, ministry, and sacrifice, he teaches us how to love God, ourselves, and others. He also teaches us how to recognize when a counterfeit is in our midst.

In John 15:13(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” In this verse, he is teaching us how real, true, and genuine love behaves. When someone loves us truly, they are willing to make sacrifices for our well-being. They want to see us be our best selves, and they will always do whatever they can to help us be at our best. This is what real, true, and genuine looks like. It’s the way Jesus Christ loves each of us.

He said in John 13:34-35(NLT), “34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” It is not complicated to love people through the love of Jesus Christ. It’s a privilege and honor, and it’s in no way a burden. If what we’re receiving doesn’t look like the love of Christ, it’s a counterfeit, and it would be in our very best interest not to entertain it.

John 3:16(ESV) says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son, and He sent him into the world to save us from the darkness and torment of eternal hell. This overwhelming, unconditional, and powerful love was in Christ as he carried out his ministry on earth, and because of his sacrifice, when we accept Christ into our hearts, this incredible love is in us through the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5(NLT) says, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

How incredible are the promises of God in Isaiah 43:2-3? They are beyond comforting. He tells us that when we go through rivers of difficulties and walk through the fire of oppression in our relationships and in life, He will not allow us to drown or be consumed. He is with us. He’s our Rescue, and He has saved us through Jesus Christ. God’s love is the love of Jesus Christ, and we will always have it. This is where our power and strength must be anchored, and when it is, we’ll understand that through Christ, we are worthy of God love. We will be confident in the knowledge of how precious we are to our Heavenly Father, and we will not fall for anyone that doesn’t know and treat us that way too.