Unveiling Hope

Miracles Indeed

Everyday

May 31st, is the National Day of Prayer in Canada. I think it should be an international day of prayer. If anything saddens me about this day it’s the fact that it should observed and celebrated not just once  year, but everyday.

I will be praying for the nations. I will be praying that God will give wisdom to those who lead in government. I’ll be praying for unity in the vision of those who love and serve God, especially the pastors and leaders. I will be praying for peace in Jerusalem. I will be praying that all nations who claim to be allied with Israel with join together and stand as one. I will be praying for you – you who are reading this right now; I pray that you will be filled with peace and wisdom and understanding and that the grace of God will be with you.

Tomorrow, I’ll be praying for the same things I prayed yesterday – and I’ll just keep on praying because I know that God answers prayer everyday.

"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; 
 give ear to me and hear my prayer," Ps. 17:6.

Make the Call

Have you been in that dark place? Maybe you're there now? The place where solitude has a strangle hold on your life? With every breath you breathe you long to reach out, but with each passing breath it becomes more and more difficult. The paralysis of loneliness has set in; the enemy has all but snuffed out every ounce of hope from your spirit. You cling to your faith with your very life. You’re battle-fatigued.

You have some great friends. They pray for you, they call or email you. They know you can’t make it through this crisis alone. They’ve all but begged you to call them when you need them, whether it’s to vent, to cry, or just to get away from your situation for an hour. You wanted to make one of those calls last week, but you thought – all I ever do is talk about the same problem, ask for the same prayers. You don’t want to be a burden. You don’t want to bother them, they all have issues and concerns to tend to in their own lives.

So you don’t call. You need to be the strong one in this situation. The pressure seems to lay squarely on your shoulders. You know God is working things out, but you just can’t hold yourself together anymore.

Have you been in this situation before? Are you in this position now? Can you, just for a moment, put one of your friends in your situation? Now, answer this question: wouldn’t you want them to call you? Would you think your friends are burdensome? Would you tire of listening to them, or would you just want to lavish your love, support, and encouragement on them? I thought so. Do yourself a favour, make the call. Let your friends fulfill their callings.

“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2.

The Battle is Won

If a person’s ears are tuned to hear the voice of God they will hear the sound of the trumpets warning of a battle to come. This is the time to seek His counsel as King David often did, “Should I go up against them? Will you give them into my hands?” David sought God’s counsel before making any moves knowing full well that his enquiries would be answered.

Some of us are not so adept at hearing God’s voice; we’re still practicing, still unsure, or perhaps we are slowly moving into a place where we are learning to trust Him enough to seek His wisdom, counsel and protection.

Too many people believe that every battle is of the enemy; this is not the case. God will send us into battle from time to time, but rest assured that when He does He had ordained us for victory. He is for us and not against us. God will never send you into a battle that you have no chance of winning. He is the Commander in Chief and it is for this reason that at the sound of the trumpet – or when we find ourselves at the centre of the battlefield – we must seek Him and not move, nor be paralyzed by fear, until we are sure we have heard His answer.

Can you hear the trumpet sound? Can you hear His voice? Do you trust that He is for you and not against you? Remember this: if God sends you into battle the battle is won.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:3.

Putting a New Spin on Life

Life Centre has been doing a series of talks entitled Whispers. During the first talk I found myself feeling pretty proud (oh oh); thinking I really don’t have a problem hearing God. This past Sunday however, I was humbled to tears.

This past year or so has been tremendous as far as spiritual seasons have been concerned. God has faithfully brought me and my family through some pretty tight and tough spots. He has been more faithful than I. In this last month or so I have heard Him speaking to me but have failed to listen and obey.

I’m a doer. I shamefully admit that rather than seek my value and worth in God, I – all too often – find my value in what I accomplish. Summer has always been a difficult time for me, both in the spiritual and natural realms. Overachievers do not fair well with times of refreshing. I should be brutally honest in my confession; I feel completely useless and without value during the natural season of summer. I feel off kilter, out of sorts, and I don’t know how to relax.

On Sunday, Pastor Jason so eloquently spoke of how many people go through life trying to seek a natural balance by spinning the plates that represent the facets and priorities of their lives. I’ve become quite adept at spinning, but I understand completely now that even when the process appears to be working, it doesn’t – not for the long haul. 

God has been trying to impress upon me that He has placed me in a season of rest. This past Sunday, He stopped talking and took matters into His own hands. He showed me that I have been rebellious. You can be a consummate professional at spinning plates, but when God can’t get your attention by speaking to you – He might just very well remove a plate or two. That’s what got my attention.

Are you spinning?

“So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:9-10 ESV.

Pornography Addiction and Marriage

This article was written by a staff writer at the Family Dynamics Institute

Addiction to pornography can happen anytime during a marriage. However, it most often occurs when there’s a lack of emotional intimacy between a husband and wife. Like most addictions, men use pornography to cope with unmet needs. The paradox of pornography addiction is that unmet needs are usually connected to a lack of  emotional intimacy, not necessarily a lack of physical intimacy.

Porn addiction is insidious by nature. While it can provide temporary relief to a husband’s needs, it actually promotes and reinforces behaviors that are damaging to a marriage.

How Pornography Damages Marriages

Pornography promotes women as objects

Pornography develops unrealistic expectations for sex

Pornography creates a roadblock to a healthy relationship

Pornography encourages men to act-out sexually outside the marriage

Pornography fosters deceit and develops mistrust

Like most addictions, addiction to pornography involves an obsession that affects the most important aspects of a person’s life. Porn addiction can not only harm a marriage, it can also affect other relationships. For example, the insatiable appetite that porn addiction creates can cause a person to get fired from their job, or have their child accidently stumble upon their porn collection.

Getting Help for Porn Addiction

There are several steps that a couple can take to fight a husband’s addiction to porn. Those steps include:

Joining a Sex and Porn Addiction support group

Seeking the help of a qualified Sex Addiction Counselor

Attending a Marriage Workshop that covers Pornography and Sex Addiction

For many couples, re-establishing emotional intimacy in a relationship – through the help of a marriage workshop – can go a long way in alleviating a husband’s desire to consume pornography.

Wants and Needs

I have a tendency to be selfish; I hate admitting that. This morning I was spending time on the patio – a time normally reserved for giving my thanks and praise to God and lifting up prayers for others. My mind began to wander and before I knew it, I was making a mental list of all the things I “need”. I kept physically shaking my head but my mind kept going back to it’s favourite subject ME. (Still shaking my head).

When the head shaking failed to accomplish what it was purposed for I decided to really analyze my list of needs. What I found, what I usually find, was a long list of wants. Every time I think about things I need they almost always turn out to simply be things I want but don’t really need.

In truth, I can honestly say that there is nothing I need. God always has a handle on those things. He’s always a step ahead of me and He always provides – often before the need becomes desperate, especially when I focus on the needs of others before my own desires.

Today, I just want to give thanks. Today I don’t want to feel that I need what I want. Today I want what I have and pray for what others need and don’t have.

“if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,  then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11.

Serenity Now!

I’m a perpetual student. I have a passion for learning. There’s just one little problem: I want to learn it all in one day. I want to learn and I want the understanding NOW!

I’ve been studying Hebrew since the end of March. I say studying instead of learning because just when I think I’m learning I realize that whatever I learned in my last lesson has somehow managed to leak out of my ears.

Admittedly, I’m a quitter by nature; if I don’t get something right away I usually give up.  BUT . . . what’s is more frustrating than that is that I am more stubborn than I am a quitter. Someone said it was great how I seem to be rising to the challenge. HAH! Do you know me at all! Any success I am having I attribute to the One who is granting me just enough serenity to get to the next lesson. Why just enough? Because it’s all I need.

People often think that once they give their hearts to God everything will be wonderful. All of life's little problems will cease to exist because we’re in relationship with Almighty God. It just doesn’t work that way.

Do I get frustrated? Yes, of course. Do I ask for serenity now? Yes, of course. But when I sit down to a lesson and He sits down beside me it goes so much better. It’s not merely the fact that my level of frustration decreases, it’s the fact that He’s interested because I’m interested. He’s as passionate about me learning Hebrew as I am. Being in a relationship doesn’t change the fact that life is life. Being in relationship simply means that while you’re doing life you’re doing it with Someone who is for you and not against you. I love that He is always there for me no matter what I’m doing. I love that He’s the first one I go to. I love that He loves being the One I go to, time and time again.

So, I get a little frustrated now and then. When all is said and done those are the moments from which I derive the most satisfaction and success. Those are the teaching moments for Him and the learning moments for me.

Declined

Points, points, points. Most all the credit card companies these days are offering points for one thing or another if you use their card. I have one such card. I earn points that I can redeem to various stores that I shop at. I like free stuff, don’t you? 

Alas, my credit card was compromised last week. I was at the grocery store and the checkout girl handed it back to me and said, “you’ve been declined.” My heart began to pound in my throat. Suddenly, the fact that there were other people standing behind me who heard what she had said became of concern to me. Without doubt, this young lady didn’t really mean that I had been declined but that my transaction had been declined. Inside however, it felt as if I had been declined and rejected. I felt humiliated before strangers. Why? Why do we tend to react to these situations as if it is a direct reflection of our value? For some these situations are reminiscent of the past (or even the present). Perhaps for some there is the concern of what others will think: she doesn’t manage her finances very well! He must be living on credit! I bet all her cards are maxed out! Why do we care?

There was a familiar ring to her statement. For me, it was a direct flight back to the past. While the immediate sting was a bit painful, I stopped and thought about it as I was loading the groceries into my car. I know who I am. I know that I am of value. I know that I am loved and there is nothing – NOTHING – that can change that because it’s the love of God. His love is unfailing. I never deserved it but it was His good pleasure to give it to me. I rest in the fact that He’ll never grow weary of loving me regardless of what I’ve done, what I am doing, or what will do. He knows about rejection better than all of us put together.

No. I have not been decline. I have been approved. I am loved with an everlasting love and so are you.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.

The Big Picture

When I look back upon my life and the mistakes I made – those that had tremendous impact on the future that was yet to be – I see clearly now that I had no peripheral vision. I thought I knew it all; I thought I could see the big picture.

I quit school and ran away from home when I was sixteen. My vision told me that whatever situations I would face in the future couldn’t possibly be as bad as what I was going through at that time. Wondering where you’re going to sleep at night or when your next meal will be are not questions that anyone – especially a young person – should have to entertain. There were secrets I was trained to keep – to hide. Reaching out for help was just not part of the equation.

I learned how to build walls; I learned how to avoid detection – flying under the radar so I wouldn’t be noticed. People who don’t get noticed don’t get hurt. I also learned how to take care of myself, how to survive. When I built those walls I did so to not only keep people out, but to keep God out. I couldn’t believe that a loving God would have allowed a child to have suffered and lived through some of the things I had.

They say that we soften with age. I turned 50 last week. Age does not soften people who live inside fortresses. Wisdom is what softens the heart and soul and it’s not the wisdom that comes with the experiences of life. True wisdom is imparted by the Spirit of God with which He also gives understanding.

Today, when I look back throughout those many years, I can honestly say that these were the years that prepared me for the future. Understand that those walls I built were constructed for protection. My lack of vision and understanding caused undue hardship. But God is so good: while I was building walls, He was installing doors all around my fortress, giving me an easy way out. I just couldn’t see the big picture. I wouldn’t allow myself to recognize that there were door knobs surrounding me.

When I finally came to the end of myself and realized that I was surviving but not living, it was then – through my tears and desperation – that I began to see that there was a way out of the prison I had locked myself into. People have asked me why wouldn’t God put the knobs on the outside and just come in and rescue me. The answer is so simple. God doesn’t bust through walls. He’s a gentleman; He waits for an invitation. He made a way out for me and I chose to remain inside.  

God saw the big picture. While I could only see what was directly under my nose – He saw what He would be able to do with me – with my life. God waited for me to want a way out; it was only then that I actually began to see all the door knobs He had placed there. Today I don’t merely survive; today I thrive.

“‘Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:24 ESV.