I wanted to do an Advent devotional this year and as I scrolled through the many choices, one toward the end of the list caught my eye: Advent in Hard Times. Perfect...since I'm navigating some very difficult circumstances right now.
Yesterday's, short devotion was especially enlightening for me as it spoke to the power of Jesus to heal, not just physically and mentally, but emotionally. I'm so grateful to have a community of believers in Jesus surrounding me that encourage me to persevere in faith and remind me of Truth. I've worn a few of them out over the last 6 months with my unraveling and fear-based thinking and neediness. You know who you are...thank you for loving me and holding my arms up anyway! I've come to learn that equally yoked community is crucial...every day on this journey...but especially in hard times. So many times when I've tapped into their wise counsel with my dread and fear and what-if scenarios, they've become a broken record: God is not surprised about this. He is with you and for you. He has a plan and it is good. Trust the Lord with all your heart. He is the Lamp for your feet and the Light for your path. Those are things I absolutely know...with my head...but in tough times, my heart won't easily grasp those Truths. However,
Truth lands differently when the Holy Spirit speaks it.
Hallelujah that He.Still.Speaks!
In my reflection, I realized that I've played a big part in being stuck emotionally. For decades, I have traveled with traumas, hurts, rejections, wounds, and agreements with wrong beliefs and lies. I've folded them neatly inside my travel bag. I've opened that bag consistently on this journey. I've checked to make sure they are still there. Sometimes I've rearranged them. I've added to them. I've taken them out individually to examine them while wadding some up and throwing them back in. I've hidden some in the midst of others. And at 57, that dang bag is heavy!
I searched high and low for answers, scouring the internet, blog articles, and podcasts for a set of instructions to silence the chaos. I have paid counselors and undergone EMDR therapy to fix me. I've resolved to be better and do better and think the right thoughts. I know God's Word and I study it regularly memorizing scripture all the time. And in the seeking, I've been given wisdom and knowledge. Head knowledge doesn't heal.
Yesterday, that realization and Word from God that I understood with my head finally penetrated my heart and silenced the intrusive thoughts in my mind. The one He has been slowly and methodically planting in my soil. The one that says: Let it go. Put it down. Empty the suitcase. I can't give you new clothes if your bag is filled with all the old ones.
It forced me into reality and a heart knowledge on a different level. Those wounds, rejections, traumas and harmful words spoken over me are tattered worn out threads I've been hoarding and refusing to throw away. I've brought them unnecessarily into so many relationships and suffered the consequences. You don't know what you don't know until you know what you didn't know.
Time to travel light and fill my emotional carry on with only one thing: Hope.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
Yesterday's, short devotion was especially enlightening for me as it spoke to the power of Jesus to heal, not just physically and mentally, but emotionally. I'm so grateful to have a community of believers in Jesus surrounding me that encourage me to persevere in faith and remind me of Truth. I've worn a few of them out over the last 6 months with my unraveling and fear-based thinking and neediness. You know who you are...thank you for loving me and holding my arms up anyway! I've come to learn that equally yoked community is crucial...every day on this journey...but especially in hard times. So many times when I've tapped into their wise counsel with my dread and fear and what-if scenarios, they've become a broken record: God is not surprised about this. He is with you and for you. He has a plan and it is good. Trust the Lord with all your heart. He is the Lamp for your feet and the Light for your path. Those are things I absolutely know...with my head...but in tough times, my heart won't easily grasp those Truths. However,
Truth lands differently when the Holy Spirit speaks it.
Hallelujah that He.Still.Speaks!
In my reflection, I realized that I've played a big part in being stuck emotionally. For decades, I have traveled with traumas, hurts, rejections, wounds, and agreements with wrong beliefs and lies. I've folded them neatly inside my travel bag. I've opened that bag consistently on this journey. I've checked to make sure they are still there. Sometimes I've rearranged them. I've added to them. I've taken them out individually to examine them while wadding some up and throwing them back in. I've hidden some in the midst of others. And at 57, that dang bag is heavy!
I searched high and low for answers, scouring the internet, blog articles, and podcasts for a set of instructions to silence the chaos. I have paid counselors and undergone EMDR therapy to fix me. I've resolved to be better and do better and think the right thoughts. I know God's Word and I study it regularly memorizing scripture all the time. And in the seeking, I've been given wisdom and knowledge. Head knowledge doesn't heal.
Yesterday, that realization and Word from God that I understood with my head finally penetrated my heart and silenced the intrusive thoughts in my mind. The one He has been slowly and methodically planting in my soil. The one that says: Let it go. Put it down. Empty the suitcase. I can't give you new clothes if your bag is filled with all the old ones.
It forced me into reality and a heart knowledge on a different level. Those wounds, rejections, traumas and harmful words spoken over me are tattered worn out threads I've been hoarding and refusing to throw away. I've brought them unnecessarily into so many relationships and suffered the consequences. You don't know what you don't know until you know what you didn't know.
Time to travel light and fill my emotional carry on with only one thing: Hope.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
RSS Feed