Psalm 34:18
(The Message)
If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
Recently I was thinking about how resilient people are. The human spirit has an amazing capacity to recover and move forward, sometimes against all odds. I think we encounter these kinds of people everyday without even knowing it. Whether it's a child or an adult. That's the amazing part of it. One can experience some sort of trauma or set back and then adjust and cope without most people even knowing about it.
In contemplating all of this, I realized that resilience, while a natural coping mechanism that is created within us, is not actually how we should live. If one is being resilient and/or coping, it must mean there is something there to be resilient from or some reason to be coping...which means there is a need for healing.
Resilience is the opposite of broken. But it is in the brokenness that God is there. Not in the "strength" of resilience and coping. There are so many other scriptures that I could include in this thought, but I think the point is clear. We have to quit being so "strong" and let God in so He can get to the broken parts and heal. And because of our "amazing human strength", that can be a hard thing to do sometimes.
Instead of people feeling like they should be strong and get a grip, they should let themselves be weak and broken...because that's where God is! His strength is perfect.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Reason Why
2 Corinthians 1:4
New Century Version (NCV)
4 He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.
Ever notice how even scripture can sound so trite sometimes? That is, until it speaks directly to you. Then you find out that there is nothing trite about the Voice of God.
I have asked God "why" about things so many times I have lost count. As is obvious throughout my blog, I am completely human (not perfect) and painfully aware of that fact. Life happens. Sometimes things happen that are beyond our understanding. We wonder where God was or how could He have let circumstances arise...especially if they were out of our own control and not of our own fault.
I still wonder about that. But I do know that God didn't create us as robots...or angels...and so there is some explanation of how...if not why.
Interestingly, the mere mortal human while capable of suffering and pain, feeling it and causing it, is also capable of being used as an instrument of God to bring peace and comfort to another human. While the why question is lingering in my head today, I can also see that there is an answer to it in this scripture. Even if it is just one other person who is comforted...maybe that's a good enough reason why.
Ever notice how even scripture can sound so trite sometimes? That is, until it speaks directly to you. Then you find out that there is nothing trite about the Voice of God.
I have asked God "why" about things so many times I have lost count. As is obvious throughout my blog, I am completely human (not perfect) and painfully aware of that fact. Life happens. Sometimes things happen that are beyond our understanding. We wonder where God was or how could He have let circumstances arise...especially if they were out of our own control and not of our own fault.
I still wonder about that. But I do know that God didn't create us as robots...or angels...and so there is some explanation of how...if not why.
Interestingly, the mere mortal human while capable of suffering and pain, feeling it and causing it, is also capable of being used as an instrument of God to bring peace and comfort to another human. While the why question is lingering in my head today, I can also see that there is an answer to it in this scripture. Even if it is just one other person who is comforted...maybe that's a good enough reason why.
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