Christ Will Rescue You

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Missed Red Flags

Ecclesiastes 6:10(NLT)
“Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.”

Eric filed for divorce from Mona one week before Thanksgiving. They had dated for five years and had only been married for three. Prior to them tying the knot, the relationship had its problems and went through a series of on-and-off again several times. Their families were skeptical that the marriage would last and were surprised it had made it as long as it did. Eric never wanted to get married, but finally succumbed when Mona forced the issue with an ultimatum. His frustration and exhaustion with her constant accusations has reached its peak. Repeatedly, He’s said to her, “I might as well cheat because no matter what I do or say, you will never trust me.” Mona’s insecurities had been a problem from the very beginning, and now Eric no longer wants to be in the marriage.

He had been emotionally unavailable while they dated, and Mona spent most of that time trying to pull a reaction out of him. A smidge better at communicating his feelings the last few years, he was trying to be better because he loved Mona and wanted their marriage to work. He even started to give her cards on special occasions, but he felt that nothing he did was ever enough. Eric was very handsome and constant glaring from other women continued to cause problems in the marriage. Even so, Mona is adamant to make it work. She refuses to cooperate with the divorce.

Emotional unavailability and insecurities are just a few of the issues that we often allow to go unresolved in our minds and hearts. We will bring these heavies into our significant relationships where they will ultimately wreak havoc for both people. For a person that is determined to preserve their well-being and partner well, these things are red flags. When we’re paying attention, they warn us about impending danger ahead.

Ephesians 4:22-23(NLT) tells us, “22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God--truly righteous and holy.” When it becomes apparent to us that our behavior is causing our partner to be unhappy, we are to do what our Heavenly Father tells us in Ephesians 4:22-23. Looking within ourselves and being careful not to levy blame on the significant person in our lives is very important. It’s our responsibility to throw off the aspect of our thoughts and behavior that is causing pain for them and for us. The way that we do this is to change the way we think by reading God’s Word and lining up our thought with what He says is right. We must also pray to Him often in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, and we must take the necessary step to follow his example of love in a greater way.

Your destiny in Christ is to have a more than abundant life that is filled with God’s blessings. He will back every step that we take to change from hurt and pain to love and light. He tells us in 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT), “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night.” We are His children of the light, and He expects that His love, peace, joy, and kindness will saturate our hearts as we cling to the example of Christ. In Matthew 6:33(NLT), Jesus teaches, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” This is God’s promise, and His way works best. When we humble ourselves and seek His help and seek Him as our Source and Creator, He will guide and keep us on the path of His blessings.

Spiritually, Mona missed the red flags of her own heart. She didn’t pay attention to her relationship with God and wasn’t concerned with pleasing Him. Instead, she was consumed with fear, obsession, and anxiety about Eric. She didn’t allow herself to enjoy their union for fear of losing it. As God’s children, we don’t have to wait until we're at the point of losing a precious relationship to pay attention to those internal signals of impending danger. Anxiety, phobias, and anger often lead us down a path of regret. The best choice is always one of praying, seeking, and pleasing God. Proverbs 22:4 tells us that the reward of true humility and reverence for God is riches, honor, and long life! Give yourself the gift of humbling and honoring our Heavenly Father. He’s worthy of our praise and will reward us with unity in our marriages that is pleasing to Him and fulfilling for us as well. ■

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.

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Waiting is Not Weakness

Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Waiting has never been one of my strengths. One time my sister scheduled a hair appointment for my birthday and when she told me that I would be in the salon for a few hours, I told her to cancel. “ Why can’t you just be patient and wait sometimes.” While I was very thankful and appreciative that she thought enough to do something so sweet for me, the thought of sitting hours to get my hair done was too overwhelming.

There are times in life when we are in situations that require us to be brave and courageous through the process of allowing our Lord to work on our behalf. Struggling through life and trying to figure things out can be one of those times when you want your weaknesses and difficulties in life to be over. Not understanding why your life turned out the way that it has requires patience to know the answer.

God knows the answer to every question you might have. Finding out why you married a man even when he abused you while dating – praying for strength to overcome anxiety, and the many other shortcoming that you’ve endured, requires time and patience while you figure these things out. Life is just that – a bunch of questions during the waiting process.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 (NLT) “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

You’re on a path to freedom and through it all, there will be a combination of factors that will lead you to the victory you need. There are Christian believers all over the world trying to figure out the same things. They’re waiting for answers to the why! Why are there cycles of abuse in every family, why do you have to endure cycles of pain just when you thought you were free from the previous hurdle.

We have to be assured of one truth – and that is that God holds our lives in His hands. Our life is not a mistake nor our struggles. No matter what you go through, or the people you meet and establish relationships with, every experience has a lesson. You are stronger than you think and remember, God shows Himself strong in our weakness.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Your Renewed Strength

Psalm 51:10(KJV)
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

For some, this past year was full of wonderful surprises and the accomplishment of many goals. For others, it might have been difficult and painful, full of unexpected challenges. Whatever the case, the new year presents an opportunity for renewal. It can be a time of learning to lean on God more, so that our strength is renewed and our faith in Him is increased. We may not want to admit it, but there are things in all our lives that hold us back and keep us from fully embracing all that God has in store. Praying like the psalmist did in Psalm 51:10 conveys the kind of humility that pleases our Heavenly Father, and it’s a good start to re-prioritizing and renewing our commitment to greater spiritual growth and blessings.

Jesus Christ told his disciples in John 16:33(NLT), “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Our powerful Lord was very clear that the earth experience can be very challenging. Christians are not exempt from trials and tribulations, as most of us can attest. The times in which we live are increasingly perilous. So, it’s not just pressure in our own lives, but it’s all around us. You may be feeling exhausted from it all, but Jesus tells us in John 16:33 to take heart. This means that we are to be courageous.

If we focus on our own ability or look to someone’s strength, we might find it very difficult to summon courage, but this isn’t what our Lord and Savior is telling us to do in this verse. The victory he achieved through his life, sacrifice, and resurrection overshadows any other. His victory is our victory, and it will overcome any and all troubles. This is where our focus must be. 1John 5:4(NLT) tells us, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” We must have faith in the victory that Jesus Christ won for us, but many of us are allowing the world to zap our strength and steal our joy. We can prevent this, and we should.

Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” This overwhelmingly comforting verse tells us about the empowerment of God when we trust in Him. On our own, our resources are extremely limited, but Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 19:26 that with God, all things are possible! He can show us reservoirs and resources within ourselves that we’ve never tapped. He can strengthen what seems weak to us and stretch what appears to human eyes to be exhausted.

1John 1:5(NLT) boldly tells us, “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” The dark forces in the world want to keep us in a dreary place and snuff out our hope. We can’t allow that to happen, and the way to prevent it is to trust in God. Things make look bleak, and we may feel like our strength is gone, but we can be renewed with vitality when our faith is firmly planted in Him. He wants our lives to be full of His light, and to walk in His light, we can’t allow our emotions or the world to dictate our reality. God’s Word is the truth, and we must believe what He says above all else. As you pray and seek His forgiveness and love, He will give you renewed strength. So, open your heart wider to the Lord Jesus Christ. You will witness his amazing grace when you give all your cares to him. ■

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

God Is With You Every Step You Take

During Old Testament times, our Heavenly Father made a promise to His people to give them a lush and bountiful land, so much so that it was referred to the land of ‘milk and honey’. In Joshua 1:9(The Message), He told them, “From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

God is as faithful to us as He was to His people living during Old Testament times. Hebrews 10:23(NLT) says, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Our Heavenly Father always keeps His promises but even after we’ve been on this Christian journey for numerous years, many of us still struggle to believe this.

A friend of mine has been a Christian for almost as long as I have. She’s been struggling in a relationship with a man that is verbally abusive and often calls her horrible names. When I tell her that she is stronger than she thinks and encourage her that God will back her every step to live free of abuse, she immediately dismisses my encouragement. Her response is always, “What works for you, won’t work for me! If I have to suffer then that’s what God wants me to do.”

Many believers have this attitude, that God wants them to suffer. Jesus Christ said in John 10:10(NKJV), “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” In this verse, our powerful Lord and Savior tells us why the devil is in the earth, and it is to steal, kill, and destroy. This is what the enemy does, but Jesus Christ came to give us victory. He came to make a more than abundant life available to all that will believe and accept it.

In John 3:16-17(NLT), Jesus also tells us, “16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” God loves us so much that He sent His precious Son to save us. He doesn’t want us to suffer, He wants us to live a blessed existence with good health, great relationships, fulfilling work, spiritual power, and most importantly, fellowship with Him.

This is the life God made available through Christ, but we have an enemy, the devil, and God warns us about this in 1Peter 5:8. In the verse, God tells us to stay alert about the devil’s schemes, tricks, and plots against us because he roams the earth, on the hunt for an opening into a person’s life. If he finds one, he will attempt to attack us in the most deceitful and merciless way. The way that we outsmart the devil is to open our eyes by learning and knowing God’s truth.

We can be tricked into believing the wrong things about God and what He will do for us, but we must refuse to continue to allow the enemy to blind us. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to suffer. He wants us lean on Him with every step we take, because He will be with us! He is our Source of strength and all good things. God doesn’t want us to be shy or discouraged about pursuing the blessed life He’s given us, and we must be resolves that no relationship with another human being is worth the cost of our peace. Our Heavenly Father wants us to learn the truth about Him and His love through His Word so that we can live confidently in the victory He has won for us through Christ! ■

“God Is With You Every Step You Take”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.