Dee2rites Blog

Tag: personal experinces

  • The Happiest Time of the Year?

    “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”  Psalm 42:11

    For many people, the holidays are a time of celebration, parties, and happy family gatherings. But for some, that is not always true. Empty chairs are a reminder of loved ones who are not here this year. Memories of sad times are more poignant and a reminder of past loses and failures. Deployed family members are missed more sharply during Christmas celebrations. So how do we cope? Those who are Christians, often experience guilt over not being happy during the season we celebrate the birth of our Lord, adding to our feelings of loneliness, sadness and depression.

              Temporary holiday blues can be due to unrealistic expectations, overplanning, and overspending which adds to stress. These are things which can be corrected by less shopping, and keeping expectations of a good holiday more realistic.

              But what about those who are experiencing real hurt, who are missing loved ones or who suffer from S.A.D. (Seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that occurs usually during fall or winter.) These feelings are real and cannot just be dismissed.

              Here are just a few things that God has shown me over the years.

    1. Celebrate the life of your loved one who has passed. Enjoy the memories you have of them, and remind yourself, that if they were believers in Jesus Christ, they are celebrating in heaven.
    2. Give yourself permission to cry and call out to God, being honest with your Heavenly Father. Many of the Psalms of David were him calling out to God, reminding himself to praise Him even when times were bad.
    3. Take care of yourself physically. Get plenty of rest, go for walks or do other exercise. Shower and get dressed, even if you don’t feel like it. Sisters, style your hair and put on your make-up. Brothers, shave or trim your beard. Eat healthy meals, and limit carbs and sweets.
    4. Spend time alone with God, meditating on His Word and praying. The Psalms are an excellent place to spend time meditating.
    5. Look for someone else to bless. Take a meal to someone who is also missing a loved one. Call or text someone you haven’t connected with in a while. Give a lonely child, or adult, a hug. Ask God to show you who He  would like for you to reach out to and bless.
    6. Spend time with others, especially other believers. When we’re depressed, our tendency is to shut ourselves out from other people. While that is ok occasionally, we mustn’t allow that to become our norm. Go to church. Go to family events. Go wherever God leads you.
    7. Seek help. If your feelings become overwhelming, there are people ready and able to help you. Counseling with a Christian counselor can help you work through those feeling. But if you start having thoughts of suicide, call for help immediately. In the USA, you can call or text 988 to get help.

    When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church to “rejoice, and again I say rejoice” he was sitting in a nasty Roman prison, facing certain execution. Here’s just a few of the things he wrote in the 4th chapter of Philippians:

    V. 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

    V. 6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

    V.8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

    God didn’t create us to be down, sad or depressed. Jesus said that He came that we might have LIFE and have it more abundantly. So my prayer for you during this Holiday Season is that regardless of your circumstances, that you will receive the joy of the Lord, and the peace of God to surround you.

    If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, He’s ready to receive you, that is why He came and went to the cross. Pray “Lord Jesus, I acknowledge I am a sinner and need a Savior. I repent of my past sins, and I ask You to come into my heart right now. I believe You died on the cross for my sin, and You were resurrected on the third day. I receive you as my Lord and Savior, and I choose to live for You from this day forward. Amen”  Welcome to the family of God!

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Dee

  • Move Your Body!

    “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

    Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

    Psalm 139:13-14 (New Living Translation)

                One of the beautiful things about how our bodies were created is the way we can move. Our elbows, fingers and knees work like hinges. Our shoulders and hips are like ball and joints. And in coordination with our muscles and our nervous system, these  parts of our body help us to move about throughout our day. God created us so wonderfully and marvelously and He made us to move!

                However, as we age we tend to be more sedentary and we do not move our body as we were created to do. As a result our muscles grow weaker, our joints get stiffer and we blame it all on aging. However, God did not create us to sit around and do nothing just because we have some higher numbers in our years or more gray in our hair.

                Weight bearing exercises such as walking or using handheld weights are essential for keeping our bones strong. Women especially are susceptible to broken bones because after their childbearing years are over estrogen, a hormone in women that protects bones, decreases sharply which can cause bone loss.

                When I was in my 40s and 50s, I was a member of a lady’s gym and regularly attended classes for Pilates. I believe those classes kept my body in much better shape than it had been in when I was younger. Not only did I do Pilates, I also worked with a trainer on weight exercises. I really loved the Pilates classes, but some of the weight exercises I had to do with the trainer, not so much!

                Now that I’m 75, I have all the aches and pains and movement issues too many people my age also have. After carpal tunnel surgery and a slow recovery, and now possibly needing rotator cuff surgery, I’ve decided I’m changing that.

                Not having a gym convenient to my location now is not an acceptable excuse. I have found an excellent Pilates teacher on YouTube. She even has exercise videos for seniors! And yes I even bought myself a pair of 3 LB handheld weights to start working with weights again and I fully expect to work back up to being able to use my 5 LB weights, and then even my 10 LB weights.

                So I want to challenge you to first, hold me accountable. And then second, won’t you join me? Yes our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made and God fully intended for us to keep moving even in our gray haired years.

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Dee

    P.S. Don’t laugh at the bronze statue – made it when I was in college! Great art! LOL

  • Delayed but not Stopping

                Ever feel like you’re just spinning your wheels? I have. Ever since I decided to turn my wreath-making hobby into a full-time business and I opened my Etsy shop, it seems like there’s been one thing after another to slow me down. DH had surgery in July, out of town which meant two nights in the hospital for him and three nights in a hotel for me. Not complaining, because I have friends who’re going through much worse and DH’s was relatively minor compared to what they’ve had. But it was time away from work, plus all the follow-up doctor appointments we had to go to in July. Then in August, more doctor appointments.

    Now here comes September, and it starts off with a bang. When I got home last Saturday from grocery shopping, I discovered that our freezer had stopped working and everything in there was defrosting! So I have spent the last two and a half days cooking all the meat that was in our freezer before it could go bad! Thank God I only had to throw out one package of ground sausage and a box of Wagyu Beef patties (insert crying emoji here!). Oh, and forget Home Depot if you need a freezer in a hurry. It takes them 10 days or more to deliver one, depending on the brand and model you want!

    Nevertheless, I am not deterred. Delayed a little at times, but I am not giving up. God had placed a dream in my heart for several years now and I am determined to see it come to pass.  

      “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” Jeremiah 29:11

     “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”  Deut. 28:8

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Dee

    https://adorabellahomedecor.etsy.com

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  • A Dream from the Lord

    “And it shall come to pass afterward

    That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

    Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    Your old men shall dream dreams,

    Your young men shall see visions.

    And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

    I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

    Joel 2:28, 29

    I had a dream last night that I believe was a message from the Lord. Here is the dream:

                My family was buying a house we had not yet seen. When we entered there was a garden area and in the garden was a concrete ledge with a cove and in the cove was a statue of a Hindu god, Shiva. I was not concerned but I knew it had to go.

                When we entered the house a man was standing by the door dressed in all black and had on a cowboy type hat. His face was hideous and evil looking. He began taunting me and my family. I knew it was Satan or one of his demons.

                I was still not afraid and I said to him “You be quiet in the Name of Jesus!”[1] He tried to continue taunting us, but was not able to speak, no words came out of his mouth. I then declared “this house and all my family are covered by the blood of Jesus[2] and you have to leave.” He turned to go and as he was leaving he tried to talk but could only mumble “I don’t want to but I have to”. I then told him to take his evil statue with him and go to the dry places and find no rest.[3] He put the statue under his arm and left, still mumbling about having to leave.

                Then I woke up. As I prayed and pondered over the dream, I believe that God is telling me two things I need to share

    1. We have authority in the Name of Jesus and when we speak in that authority demons have to obey.[4]
    2. Even though they have no choice to obey the Name of Jesus, they don’t want to. We cannot just say it once, or just pray once but we must be diligent and on guard, continuing to speak the Name of Jesus, daily plead the blood over our families, our homes, our city, our schools, and everything that concerns us or touches our life.

    Praise God we do win by the power of the Blood, the Name that is above all other names – the Name of Jesus and by our testimony![5]

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Dee

    [1] Mark 16:17″ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues”

    [2] Exodus 12:23 “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.”

    [3] Matt 12:43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.”

    [4] Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

    [5] Colossians 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”   

    Revelations 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

  • Macy, the Sweet Pittie

    “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

    2011_may_first_photo_macy
    In the course of my life I’ve had many dogs, but there were only a few that were truly special. The first one was Herbie, a yellow collie that walked me to the bus stop every morning and met me at the bus every afternoon when I was in first grade. The second one was Cubby, a white border collie mix that I had when I was in high school. I just knew he was the only soul on earth that really understood my teen-age girl angst. The last one was Macy.
    Macy was a shelter dog, we adopted her from the Plano Animal Shelter in 2011. She was a Red Nose Pitt Bull mix and one of a group of dogs that had been there too long because no one would adopt a Pitt Bull mix. But when we explained to the girl at the shelter that we needed a dog that would be good with young children as well as other family dogs, she said “I have just the right dog.” It was love at first sight. She looked at us and her eyes seemed to say “I choose you.”
    Macy was the right dog for us. Our grandchildren loved her and she loved them. She liked going on walks but she was also content laying on the floor beside me in front of the fireplace. She kept our house safe from squirrel attack and let me know when it was dinner time. When Lucy, our daughter’s dog, would come over, they would play until they were too tired to keep going. When Deuce, our son’s dog, came to live with us he was just a puppy. But Macy accepted him and even when she started getting sick she would still occasionally play chase or tug of war with him. She brought much joy and unconditional love to our entire famimacy_dee-001_sizedly.
    I thank God for Macy and for sending us to the Animal Shelter at just the right time to find her. I thank God for all the love He showed us through Macy.
    The Bible doesn’t say much about animals in heaven (except Jesus will return riding a white horse!) so I have no proof I will see Herbie, Cubby or Macy again. But in my heart of hearts, I hope that right after I greet all my family and friends who get to heaven before me, that I will be greeted by a bunch of dogs!

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Dee

  • “Come With Me”

    “Come to me, all of you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIRV)

    I was recently asked by a friend to write a short Bible study lesson on love. That was her only directive – just write a short study on love. Wow, that a huge subject. As I prayed about what to write, God kept bringing me back to the directive He had given me years ago when I first started writing. “Tell my daughters how much I love them.”

    You may wonder, doesn’t everyone know God loves everybody? Probably, in their head if they ever been in or near a church. Most people can quote some version or form of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world”, but in their hearts they may wonder if or how He loves them personally, individually. Even Christians who have a real relationship with God can have periods of doubt, they may wonder about God’s love for them.

    This week in our ladies Bible study at church, a lady shared that she was coming out of a period of darkness, she’d been through some struggles with her faith. As I listened to her, I thought about how I’d been through my own periods of darkness and struggle. I knew right then that that was the reason God had led me to write about God’s love for us.

    In 1981 Del Shannon recorded a song originally written and recorded in 1959 by Phil Phillips called “Sea of Love”.

    Come with me my love
    To the sea
    The sea of love
    I want to tell you
    How much I love you

    When I hear that song or read those words, I think of Jesus and what He said in Matthew 11. “Come to me, all you who are tired…” Yes, there was a time when I was very tired, and not just physically but emotionally and spiritually.

    In 2001, about a year after my mother had graduated to heaven, I went through a deep depression. I was angry at God for taking my mother and not preparing me for her leaving. I felt that some of the people in my life had not given me the comfort and support I thought I needed. I was fighting with my sister over care for our dad. Some individuals at church, instead of reaching out to me, judged me because I wasn’t acting right in their opinion. So I dropped out of church for a period and stopped reading my Bible. From there I continued to spiral downward. My husband and I began having problems in our marriage. Sins I’d not struggled with for decades began tempting me. I don’t know what would have happened had God not loved me enough to pull me back. But He did and He did it in through a secular magazine of all things! But since I’d stopped reading my Bible, listening to Christian music, or going to church I hadn’t left Him a lot of options. I opened a Woman’s Day magazine I’d bought that day on a whim and saw these words:

    “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message


    As I read those words, it seemed as if Jesus were sitting right there beside me, speaking directly to me. “Are you tired and worn out?” He asked. Yes, I was very tired and worn out from my hurts, doubts and fears. “Are you burned out on religion?” Yes, I was totally burned out and let down by church members. “Come to Me, not the church, not other people. Just come to Me.” Jesus gently and loving wooed me. There was no condemnation in His words, just love. Tenderly and lovingly God reached out to me when I was at the lowest point in my life.

    I’ve learned about the “unforced rhythms of grace”, I’ve recovered my life. I’m leaning how “to live freely and lightly”. I run to Jesus every day to hear Him tell me how much He loves me. Good circumstances or bad, I rest in His love.

    Jesus calls you to come with Him, come to the sea of His great love and let Him tell you how much He loves you. Wherever you are in your life, He calls “Come to Me. Come learn about my grace. Come with Me and learn how to live. Come receive My love. Come with Me, I want to tell you how much I love you.”

    Jesus loves you, my friend!

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Dee

    New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
    Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica

    The Message (MSG)
    Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

  • What’s That Smell?

    “God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you.”  Psalm 51:10 (NIRV)Image

              A few days ago I noticed a slight odor in the refrigerator when I was getting my morning yogurt. I was getting ready to go to work so I noted to myself that I needed to clean out the refrigerator when I got home from work that day. By the time I got home, I was too tired and decided it could wait until the next day which was Saturday. Saturday morning I went to younger grandson’s baseball game, ran some errands on the way home and by the time I got home, I had other things on my mind and forgot about it. Since hubby was out of town, that evening I went out to dinner with a friend from work and didn’t open the fridge again until Sunday morning. Ugh! It was worse, but no time to do anything about it. Went to church that morning and since it was Mother’s Day I met my daughter and her family for a special lunch. By Monday I didn’t even have to open the door to smell the odor coming from the refrigerator. Good thing I’m off work this week, because there was no more putting it off. It had to be cleaned out now!  
                 I emptied the contents of the fridge, checking expiration dates on every bottle and container. Finally I found the culprit – a plastic container of leftovers that had gotten pushed to the back and forgotten. As I was wiping down the inside walls and shelves of the fridge, God began speaking to me about how just as those rotten leftovers created a bad odor in the refrigerator and finally the kitchen, that is what unconfessed sin does in our lives.
               We go to church, pay our tithes and keep the Ten Commandments. Everything is good, right? Ok, what about that little white lie we told to get out of doing something we’d promised to do but really didn’t want to do? Cover it up and push to the back the fridge. What about that word muttered at the driver who cut who cut us off in traffic? Wrap it up and put it on the bottom shelf. There they’ll stay and grow mold. Any sin, even ones we consider small are an affront to our God because He is holy and He calls us to be holy. “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44a (NKJV)
               John the Apostle writes in I John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”    We all sin, even after we are born again we all say or do things we know are not what we’re supposed to do. And we fail to do things we know God has told us to do.  Even the Apostle Paul struggled with this. “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Romans 7:19
                So what is the answer? Paul continues on to tell us – Jesus. Jesus has made the way.  “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24,25a
    Then John continues his message in First John. “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 1 John 2:1, 2
                We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  All we have to do is confess and Jesus will cleanse us.
                Just as I not only had to clean the refrigerator interior with baking soda to eradicate the smell, I also had to throw out the leftover food that was causing the odor.  Jesus cleanses us of all unrighteousness the moment we confess, but we have to remove it from our lives. Stop doing whatever that sin was. If it’s a bad habit, ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He abides within you once you are born again and He is called to help us and to guide us. If you have unforgiveness towards someone who offended you, start praying for them. It’s hard to hold a grudge against someone you’re praying for!

    Father, thank You for cleansing me of all unrighteousness. I pray that my life will be holy, a sweet aroma to You. In Jesus Name, Amen

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Dee

     

    New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
    Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica

     New King James Version (NKJV)
    The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

  • Through Jesus Christ I Have…

    Image

    “For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

    A number of years ago I was challenged to read the New Testament looking for all the prepositional phrases referring to Jesus. I don’t know how many there are, I lost count but I know it’s in the hundreds. But the purpose of the assignment was not to count them, but to grow in my understanding of everything Jesus has done for us. I began reading and every time I came to a phrase referring to Jesus, I would circle the phrase and meditate on what the Scripture was saying to me. The result was I came away with a deeper understanding of who I am in Jesus Christ.

    I encourage anyone wanting to grow spiritually to try the same process. Starting reading the New Testament actively looking for “in Jesus Christ”, “in Whom”, “by Jesus Christ”, “through Jesus Christ”, “through Whom”, “from Whom” and so on. As you find one, stop and meditate on what the verse is saying. Ask yourself how that applies to you and your life, what exactly has God done? Sometimes you need to consider the verse before and after it to fully understand the context of the verse.

    To help you get started, here is a small list of verses. But these are but a small sample of what is waiting for you in your Bible.

    John 1:17 – we have grace and truth through Jesus Christ
    Romans 8:1 – we are free from condemnation
    1 Corinthians 5:18 – we are reconciled to God through Christ Jesus
    Philippians 1:11 – we are filled with the fruits of righteousness by Jesus Christ
    Colossians 2:3 – wisdom and knowledge are in Christ Jesus
    Romans 5:11 – we have eternal life through Jesus Christ

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Dee

    Amplified Bible (AMP)
    Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

  • My Father’s Voice

      Image

                “…your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.’” Isaiah 30:20b-21

                 Last Sunday afternoon our North Texas area was slammed again by a late winter storm pelting us with sleet and ice. My daughter, a newly minted ER nurse, called me on her way to work asking me to pray for her safety driving the 40 plus miles to her job at an area hospital. The roads, particularly the bridges and overpasses, were getting slippery. I could hear nervousness in her usually confident voice. As we talked, I remembered an incident that happened to me many years ago, before she was even born.

    My husband and I were living in Houston, and one afternoon as I was driving home from work, we had a sudden thunderstorm, making the quickly wet streets slippery in places. I was approaching an intersection and applied the brake to slow down, but as I did, my car began to slide right towards another car. For a moment I started to panic, but then I heard my dad’s voice in my head. Dad had taught me to drive and even after I got my license, he continued to instruct me on how to handle various situations that I might encounter while driving. That day I heard my dad say, “If you ever start to skid, take your foot off the brake and steer into the skid.” Immediately I calmed down, did what he said and regained control of the car.

    As much as hearing my dad’s voice that day calmed me, there is another voice I seek to hear that calms me even more. The voice of my Heavenly Father can not only calm me in the storm, but He calms the storms in me.  My earthly dad taught me everything he possibly could, not only about driving, but many other things. However, as much as he tried to prepare me for life, his wisdom and knowledge was limited. My Heavenly Father knows all things, He knows my life and what I need to hear from Him.

    Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.” God knows my past, my present and my future. He instructs me the way to go because He knows where I need to be, what I need to avoid. He tells me when I need to let off the brake and when I need to steer into the skid.

    My Heavenly Father speaks to me through the Bible, His written word and by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said “But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].”  (John 16:13)

    This is what the prophet Isaiah spoke about in Isaiah 30:21, that we would hear our Teacher saying ‘This is the way, walk in it.’

    After Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live with and in us, all who will receive Him. Not just a little, but to overflowing. He teaches, guides and empowers us. It is through the Holy Spirit we can share the gospel with others. It is through the Holy Spirit I have words to write. It is through the Holy Spirit I know how to pray when my child calls needing prayer. “For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring.” (Acts 17:28)

    How I thank God for my Father’s voice!

     Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Dee

     

    All Scripture references from the Amplified Bible.Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

    photo credit: freestone via photopin cc

  • Disappointment 101

    “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.” Mark 14:34

    How do you handle disappointments? People don’t always behave the way we expect or need them to behave. Even our closest friends or family members let us down. Things happen that we have no control over cause us pain and disappointment. What are we supposed to do with those feelings? Who can we turn to in those times?

    Jesus suffered disappointment in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took Peter, James and John, the inner circle of the twelve men He’d called to follow Him, His closest friends, into the Garden to watch and pray with Him. One of the twelve had already deserted Him and was going to betray Him.

    “Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James, and John with him, and became very troubled and distressed. He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.’” Mark 14:32-35

    “Remain here and stay alert” Jesus asked them, but when He returned they had fallen asleep, not once, but three times. When He needed them the most, they were sleeping. (See Mark 14:32-42)

    David wrote in Psalm 31:7 “I will be happy and rejoice in Your faithfulness because You are aware of how distressed I am.”

    God notices our pain, emotional as well as physical. He is aware of our disappointments. But He does more than just notice and be aware. David goes on to say, “But I trust in you, O Lord! I declare, ‘You are my God!’ You determine my destiny!” (31:14, 15a)

    Keep trusting God. He knows what happens in your life, and He has a plan for you. Other people do not have final say in your life – God does!

    Verse 19 says, “How great is your favor, which you store up for your loyal followers! In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.”

    When your friend lets you down, when your spouse disappoints you, when you get passed over at work, pull into Jesus. He knows your hurts and He understands them as no one else can.

    “Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.” Hebrews 4:14-16

    Jesus suffered disappointment without letting it cause Him to sin. He forgave and continued to love those who had let Him down. He held to the plan that after His resurrection, those eleven men would be the leaders and take the gospel to the world. Forgive without being asked, keep loving those who hurt you and hold fast to Jesus.

    David closes Psalm 31 saying, “Be strong and confident, all you who wait on the Lord!”
    Be strong. Be confident. Wait on the Lord.

    Peace and blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Dee

    References: New English Translation (NET)
    Mark 14:32-42
    Psalm 31
    Hebrews 4:14-16

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