In Time’s Like This, Can Anyone Still Find the Place, Time, to Practice Self-Compassion When Facing Setbacks? Psalm 103:8

Psalm 103 Complete Jewish Bible

103 ⁽⁰⁾By David:

⁽¹⁾Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
²Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!

³He forgives all your offenses,
he heals all your diseases,
⁴he redeems your life from the pit,
he surrounds you with grace and compassion,
⁵he contents you with good as long as you live,
so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

⁶Adonai brings vindication and justice
to all who are oppressed.
⁷He made his ways known to Moshe,
his mighty deeds to the people of Isra’el.
⁸Adonai is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in grace.
⁹He will not always accuse,
he will not keep his anger forever.
¹⁰He has not treated us as our sins deserve
or paid us back for our offenses,
¹¹because his mercy toward those who fear him
is as far above earth as heaven.
¹²He has removed our sins from us
as far as the east is from the west.

¹³Just as a father has compassion on his children,
Adonai has compassion on those who fear him.
¹⁴For he understands how we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵Yes, a human being’s days are like grass,
he sprouts like a flower in the countryside —
¹⁶but when the wind sweeps over, it’s gone;
and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷But the mercy of Adonai on those who fear him
is from eternity past to eternity future,
and his righteousness extends
to his children’s children,
¹⁸provided they keep his covenant
and remember to follow his precepts.

¹⁹Adonai has established his throne in heaven;
his kingly power rules everything.
²⁰Bless Adonai, you angels of his,
you mighty warriors who obey his word,
who carry out his orders!
²¹Bless Adonai, all his troops,
who serve him and do what he wants!
²²Bless Adonai, all his works,
in every place where he rules!
Bless Adonai, my soul!

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Most of us are always trying to improve something in our lives: leveling-up our skills at work, education, managing our money better, enhancing relationships with loved ones, and even going to a gym dropping pounds as a new year’s goal.

But in our relentless pursuit of self-improvement, it’s so also too easy to fall into the trap of self-criticism. We push ourselves harder and harder, set higher expectations, our inner voice becomes our harshest judge. Then when we have stumble, we respond with mounting frustration, self-doubt, or even shame.

But what if I told you there’s a better way?

A way that feels lighter, more sustainable, and more empowering—one that fosters growth not through force but through grace?

A way that also will be far more effective in actually achieving those self-improvement goals.

That better way is self-compassion.

Why self-criticism holds us back

Many of us mistakenly believe that being hard on ourselves will motivate us to do better. After all, if we hold ourselves to impossibly high standards, we’ll be forced to rise to the occasion, right?

Unfortunately, and in reality, self-criticism often has just the opposite effect.

Instead of propelling us forward, it drags us down. It erodes our confidence, feeds negative narratives, and traps us in cycles of stress and resistance.

When we constantly criticize ourselves, we create an environment where fear of failure takes center stage.

We focus on the wrong thing! Therefore, growth becomes a stressful process driven by the avoidance of mistakes rather than the pursuit of progress.

This mindset robs us of joy, creativity, and the ability to see opportunities for what they are: lessons, not setbacks.

So, what is self-compassion, anyways?!

Self-compassion is the practice of extending kindness, understanding, and patience to ourselves—especially when we fall short of our own expectations.

I like to think of it as treating ourselves exactly the way we would treat your best friend!

For instance, imagine your best friend coming to you, heartbroken over a mistake or failure.

Would you berate them?

Call them a failure?

Tell them that they’ll never be able to get it right?

Of course not!

You would comfort them, encourage them, and remind them that they are still worthy and capable of growth.

Essentially, you would believe in them and help them to do the same.

So why don’t we do the same for ourselves?

Psalm 13 Complete Jewish Bible

13 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1)How long, Adonai?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
^3 (2)How long must I keep asking myself what to do,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long must my enemy dominate me?

^4 (3)Look, and answer me, Adonai my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death.
^5 (4)Then my enemy would say, “I was able to beat him”;
and my adversaries would rejoice at my downfall.

^6 (5)But I trust in your grace,
my heart rejoices as you bring me to safety.
⁽⁶⁾I will sing to Adonai, because he gives me
even more than I need.

“But IF I trust in your grace …”

What is TRUST anyway …?

“WILL my heart rejoice as God brings me to safety?”

What is rejoicing anyway …?

What does being brought to safety …?

Will I be “safe” while I am “being brought to safety? …

Psalm 107:23-30 Complete Jewish Bible

²³Those who go down to the sea in ships,
plying their trade on the great ocean,
²⁴saw the works of Adonai,
his wonders in the deep.

²⁵For at his word the storm-wind arose,
lifting up towering waves.
²⁶The sailors were raised up to the sky,
then plunged into the depths.
At the danger, their courage failed them,
²⁷they reeled and staggered like drunk men,
and all their skill was swallowed up.

²⁸In their trouble they cried to Adonai,
and he rescued them from their distress.
²⁹He silenced the storm and stilled its waves,
³⁰and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm.
Then he brought them safely
to their desired port.

Will I be “safer” when I reach my final, ultimate “safest” haven? …

Can you relate?

Have you ever experienced a setback, which may have been an innocent occurrence, to speak judgment upon your life?

Have you ever felt the crush of discouragement or self-recrimination because of a struggle or obstacle you face?

I don’t know about you, but I can judge myself negatively when such times occur.

I tell myself that if I were a better Christian, pastor, or prayer warrior, none of this would happen to me.

If God helps those who help themselves, but I am in a place where I need help, well, then God’s not with me, right?

And with these thoughts speaking all too loudly, I render swift harsh judgment upon myself. I vigorously condemn myself far worse than God ever does.

Do you believe setbacks in your life testify to a lack of God’s love?

Do you see struggles or frustrations as testimonies to faithlessness – signs that maybe God isn’t as close as you think?

If you have ever judged yourself negatively because of a setback in your life, then let these words wash over you: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious.”

These words describe the Lord’s fundamental character and elucidate the deepest level of God’s identity.

God does not change like shifting shadows; God is not one thing in one moment and another thing in the next. Our God is eternally compassionate and gracious, abounding in love; these attributes are stalwart, trustworthy, and dependable.

The word “compassion” means “to suffer with”; it means to enter the life of another lovingly. In compassion, there is no judgment or retribution.

This means we can be confident in the Lord’s care over us because the Lord of compassion is not the Lord who will hurl lightning bolts of misfortune at us or deem us unlovable for our struggles. The compassionate love of God embraces us, even when we stumble. We all receive grace upon grace in the hands of Jesus.

Jesus, as the incarnation of God, comes to us, not to yell or scream, but to be compassionate, to love us in our weaknesses, to embrace us in all our humanity.

Jesus joins us in our lives, and the cross testifies to his compassion because it is the eternal sign he suffers with and for us.

And so, we can be confident, amid setbacks, that we are not alone.

And so, if Jesus shows compassion for us amid our setbacks and struggles, shouldn’t we be compassionate to ourselves?

What might it look like to refuse setbacks to speak the final word?

Instead of looking at our stumbles or failings, can we set our sights on our desire to journey closer to Jesus?

Faith rarely exists in palaces of ease and problem-free times.

We all face discouragements, But our faith grows when we dare to hold onto the love of Jesus during those moments.

Like Peter sinking in the sea, Jesus doesn’t turn away leave us treading water – he reaches out to us. And if he reaches out to us, we can sigh with ease, knowing that Christ’s loving compassion has the final word, is indeed, the final Word.

Let’s Pray:

Gracious and compassionate Lord, how blessed is your love over my life?

How all-encompassing it is. How transformative! I thank you for your love for me, which frees me from the need to work my way to you. I thank you, and your grace testifies that your presence in my life is a gift to be embraced, not an award that I need to earn. Lord Jesus Christ, when tempted to be self-critical for my failings and setbacks, help me live in light of your incarnation.

Help me remember that as you entered the fullness of human life, so too do you embrace the fullness of my humanity. You are one who sympathizes with all my weaknesses and is available to me in all my struggles. Lord, allow me to extend compassion on myself – a compassion permanently rooted in your loving care.

Please help me to turn away from the voice of self-doubt, self-recrimination, and self-condemnation. And when these voices rise within me, may your words of compassionate grace speak more loudly, truthfully, authentically, into my divided heart. I turn to you and I choose to live as your beloved child. Amen.

Psalm 8 Complete Jewish Bible

8 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of David:

^2 (1)Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious
is your name throughout the earth!
The fame of your majesty
spreads even above the heavens!

^3 (2)From the mouths of babies and infants at the breast
you established strength because of your foes,
in order that you might silence
the enemy and the avenger.

^4 (3)When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place —
^5 (4)what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them;
humans, that you watch over them with such care?

^6 (5)You made him but little lower than the angels,
you crowned him with glory and honor,
^7 (6)you had him rule what your hands made,
you put everything under his feet —
^8 (7)sheep and oxen, all of them,
also the animals in the wilds,
^9 (8)the birds in the air, the fish in the sea,
whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

^10 (9)Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious
is your name throughout the earth!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Intentional or Unanswered? How long, Adonai? Will you forget me forever? How long, Adonai will you hide your face from me? Psalm 13

Psalm 13 Complete Jewish Bible

13 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of David:

^6 (5)But I trust in your grace,
my heart rejoices as you bring me to safety.
⁽⁶⁾I will sing to Adonai, because he gives me
even more than I need.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

David the psalmist had feelings of being God-forsaken.

He had times of being surrounding by enemies.

In Psalm 13, He wrote of the depths of aloneness one can feel when it seems God has turned away, failed to listen or act timely and now the enemy is at the gate.

“Has God lost track of me way out here in this God-forsaken, sun and wind, and scorched, waterless wilderness where only dust devils, tumbleweeds blow ?”

Psalm 137 expresses a similar depth of forsakenness and deep lament: “How long will God forget me, … How long will he keep forgetting, forsaking me?”

137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
²We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
³when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”

Unanswered Prayer or Intentionally Forsaken?

John 11:4-7 Christian Standard Bible

⁴When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. ⁷Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.”

John 11:28-37 Christian Standard Bible

Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death

²⁸Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

²⁹As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.

³²As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

³³When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved^[c] in his spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you put him?” he asked.

“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

Have you ever found yourself pleading and praying, yet seem to only receive delay after delay, silence and more silence as a response?

Or, arriving on the other side of the circumstances only to discover none of what you desired or anticipated came to pass?

Where was the Good Father in the midst of your trials?

The Bible is full of assurances that God will never leave or forsake us (Deut. 31:6), knows what we need before we ask (Matt. 6:8), and encourages us to bring our petitions to the Lord because what we request will be given to us (Matt. 7:7).

If all of these promises of God are true, why do our prayers go unanswered?

Is the Lord taking one of his Sabbath days rest (how long is a Sabbath days rest for an eternal God?), uncaring and aloof; standing just outside of our troubles and intentionally forgetting, or punishing or refusing to come unto our aid?

It can be disheartening and even confusing when we diligently pray as the Word directs us, yet apparent provision is not provided.

One of the most helpful examples of this in scripture can be found in John chapter eleven, we encounter the death and ultimate resurrection of Lazarus.

Jesus knew Lazarus was going to die.

He could have prevented this tragedy with a single thought as with Jairus’ daughter or the Centurion’s servant yet He chose to allow it to unfold without intervention. Lazarus continued to suffer his illness until his physical death.

His sisters and close friends mourned deeply for days.

Even Jesus, himself, wept when he arrived at the mournful scene.

Why would the Lord allow so much unnecessary sorrow when ultimately Lazarus would be spared the finality of death?

Our Heavenly Father sees far beyond our momentary light affliction (2 Cor. 4:17).

His ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa. 55:8).

He allowed great heartache and even physical pain for Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and others “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4, NIV).

We see an even greater example of this in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How difficult is it for anyone to observe their kids, close family member, suffer?

For the sake of his treasured creation (John 3:16-17), God allowed his only son to take on mortal form and then endure horrific torture and temporal death so salvation could come to us.

Nothing could have possibly cost anyone more.

Yet, the final outcome far outweighed fleeting anguish.

It is unimaginable for us to comprehend the depth of this transaction, but it is clearly evident our Father’s love knows no bounds.

It far supersedes all worldly understanding.

How can this perspective alter our viewpoint on our own circumstances?

Despite our unwelcome travails, the Lord is working for the same good in our lives today that was displayed through Lazarus 2,000 years ago.

It is amid our own journeys that our Savior’s unfathomable love is evidenced to the desperate and hopeless. Even in our darkest hours, his light shines through.

Though your prayers may appear unanswered, there are actually intentional, eternal purposes at work. And his work is always for His glory, our greater good.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Take time to read through the Psalms of Lament, entire chapter of John 11.

Test and challenge yourself … Can you see that although Jesus could have prevented the death of Lazarus, he intentionally chose not to answer the fervent prayers of Mary and Martha so that God’s glory may be made known?

Challenge yourselves … How can you see his omniscient plans displayed in your own life today, even when the outcome is long delayed or not what you desired?

Can you recall a time when an “unanswered” prayer was actually revealed by the Living Word of God and the divine work of the Holy Spirit to be a blessing?

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead. (refrain)

There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain. [Refrain]

There shall be showers of blessing:
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come and now honor Thy Word. [Refrain]

There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call! [Refrain]

https://hymnary.org/text/there_shall_be_showers_of_blessing_this

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
³He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

For how long, O LORD shall I take counsel in my soul? Are We Being Too Hard on Ourselves, or Taking Ourselves Too Seriously? Psalm 13:2

Psalm 13 Amplified Bible

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
²
How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

³
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
⁴
And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵
But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.
⁶
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Being too hard on yourself can cause immense pressure and toxic stress.

Of course, not all stress is bad.

Stress can be good for you, but when you put pressure on yourself to live up to certain expectations and you don’t, this stress can become toxic, affecting your mental and physical and spiritual wellbeing.

It creates confusion and uses up your energy resources, throwing off your balance, much like putting too much pressure on an object can throw it off balance.

Pressure is a force, and if you are going to apply force in any direction, why are you applying directing it against yourself? Why not apply it in positive, uplifting direction? Why not make a .001% extra effort to turn this pressure around into your biggest fan, encouraging, instead of discouraging, your every step?

To do this, recognize the need for change, it is important to recognize the main signs you are putting too much pressure on yourself, what to do about them:

1. “I Didn’t Get ‘X’ Done.”

Often, we tend to focus on what we haven’t done instead of what we have accomplished, then get stuck feeling guilty, frustrated, edgy, and like a failure.

When you feel yourself falling into this way of thinking, stop and say or write down what you have done. Remind yourself of what you have achieved, and that there will be time to get the rest done tomorrow.

2. “I Have to Have it All Together.”

So many of us feel like we must have it all together all the time, but this denies our humanity and the fact that we all make mistakes, mess up and get things wrong at times.

When you feel like this, remind yourself that no one has it all together.

And try not to compare your life to what others are doing, because the way you think and act, and your experiences, make you completely and utterly unique!

You will never be able to be anyone else but you, and you are amazing, and even unique, however, even if you are not uniquely perfect all the time. No one is!

3. “I Must Succeed.”

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking we must always succeed at something or achieve something to be worthy of attention. When you feel like this, remind yourself that God defines your own success based on His Standard, not yours!

God alone knows there is always something you can do that no one else can do.

4. “I Cannot Make a Mistake.”

Even though we all make mistakes, it is easy to think we shouldn’t mess up and we need to get things right all the time.

But it is critically important to recognize our failures are often as important as our successes, and teach us important life lessons that help us grow as a person.

So, next time you start beating yourself up over a mistake or two, ask yourself what this experience has just taught you and to focus on how you have grown.

5. “I Let Everyone Down.”

Sometimes, it is easy to feel like we always let people down and like we are just failures. Here, it is important to remind yourself that we all fail at times, that your failures help you grow, and that, at the end of the day, life is unpredictable.

We can’t always control everything to make sure things turn out well, because so much of life is out of our control. Also, remind yourself that trying your best is the only way forward, even when it doesn’t work, meet the minimal standard of your own definition of success, because you will learn and grow as a person.

6. “I Feel Exhausted All the Time.”

We often take on so much and expect ourselves to do so much that we quickly find ourselves stressed out, overwhelmed and full blown full bone exhausted.

If this sounds like you, do a lifestyle check, and ask yourself:

Do I take enough breaks to recharge?
Do I give my brain and body time to rest and reset?
Am I having enough fun?
Do I take time to take care of my mental and physical health?

See what you can change in your life to give yourself the time you need to rest! This is so vitally important for your mind, brain and body and spiritual health.

7. “I Can Hardly Smile Anymore.”

It is too easy for humanity to get into a pattern of living where we are so laser focused on what needs to get done that we forget how to enjoy life, which can have an impact on our wellbeing.

If you find yourself smiling less and forgetting why you are working yourself so hard, take a step back, pick up a bible and pray upon ways to enjoy life again.

Watch something funny, spend time with a loved one, or do something that makes you smile again! You can even deliberately schedule this anywhere into your day so you don’t forget to give yourself a break, take the time to enjoy life.

8. “I Need to Do Everything Perfect All the Time.”

If you find yourself emotionally “holding onto” “bear hugging” the mistakes you’ve made, noticing more of the finite details of what, where, why, how you have done wrong than what you’ve gotten right, and getting anxious when you do a good-but-not-so perfect job, you may have fallen into the perfectionism trap, where you can’t come to accepting all your weakness’ or anyone else’s.

If this sounds a little too much like you, take the time to notice when you do this, and remind yourself that there is a difference between wanting to achieve certain things and thinking you need to do everything perfect all the time.

Remind yourself that mistakes and learning are a necessary part of life, and that you can work hard and harder, if you take some breaks, set up self-boundaries.

And, when you find yourself spinning into outer space, thinking more and more about what you got wrong, remind yourself of what you have gotten right too!

9. “I Am Not Good Enough.”

Take the time to observe and analyze your internal conversations and dialogue.

How do you speak to yourself?

How do you think of yourself?

If you are using a lot of negative, pessimistic language to describe yourself, take the time to work on the way you think about yourself.

Consciously observe and write down your critical self-talk and how often it’s happening. Then, work on creating re-conceptualized statements to counter this negative way of thinking and change the way you speak to yourself.

For example, change

“I wish I could be as good as…” to “I will never be able to live up to someone else’s example of success because I am unique and define my own success.”

This will take time to become a habit, so make sure to practice it every day!

The Happiness of Abundant Life

John 10:11-18 Amplified Bible

^11 [a]I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd ^[b]lays down His [own] life for the sheep. ¹²But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep. ¹⁴I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]— ¹⁵even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. ¹⁶I have ^[c] other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become ^[d]one flock with one Shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. ¹⁸No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.”

In our reading Jesus explains that he is our shepherd, “the good shepherd” who “lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus also says the purpose of his coming into the world is to give us life in abundance. Unlike the thief, who comes to steal, kill, destroy the sheep, Jesus came so we can experience permanent joy, lasting peace, and eternal happiness.

Once, during a feast in Jerusalem, Jesus stood up and declared, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37-38).

John 7:37-38 Amplified Bible

³⁷Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out [in a loud voice], “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! ³⁸He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’”

True happiness is in knowing Jesus by experiencing him and enjoying him. This is not just a theoretical or intellectual knowledge. Jesus is the water of life. We need to drink this water. Whoever drinks this water will never be thirsty again.

Jesus quenches our existential thirst, our over abundant hunger for meaning.

Although we may feel like an insignificant speck in the vast universe, Jesus became human, just like us. He, more than anyone, values his creation and gives us an unmatched gift: abundant life, more than we could ever realize.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 Amplified Bible

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life—
Whom shall I dread?
²
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³
Though an army encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
Even in this I am confident.

⁴
One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
⁵
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
Be gracious and compassionate to me and answer me.
⁸
When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”
⁹
Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor ^[a]leave me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰
Although my father and my mother have abandoned me,
Yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].

¹¹
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].
¹²
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have come against me;
They breathe out violence.
¹³
I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴
Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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That God Given Gift of my Frustrated Heart: A Prayer for When God’s Great Things Feel Small for Us All. Psalm 13

Psalm 13 Complete Jewish Bible

13 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of David:

^6 (5)But I trust in your grace,
my heart rejoices as you bring me to safety.
⁽⁶⁾I will sing to Adonai, because he gives me
even more than I need.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

That God Given Gift of my Frustrated Heart

Psalm 13 The Message

13 ^1-2Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
    long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
    lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
    have looked down their noses at me.

^3-4Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

^5-6I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.

This lament of David is a cry of the heart from someone who feels that he is alone and forsaken.. isolated, forgotten and cut off from the favor of the Lord.

Young Shepherd, Mighty King, Husband, Father, David’s soul is crying out in bitter anguish of mind and inner confusion of the soul because the Lord seems to have forgotten all about him, apparently hidden, His face from His servant.

From deep within himself David’s heart and soul could not understand why the Lord was now delaying that help he desperately needed.. and so his heart was grieving and his soul cried out in bitterness and distress – how long O Lord?

David felt that the enemy , we do not know who, or even when or why, was triumphing over him while the Lord seemed to have distanced Himself far away from His faithful servant.. so he challenged the Lord with multiple questions:

How long O LORD.. will You forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

David wanted to know how long the bitter trial and manifold difficulties that were flooding into his life would go on, before the Lord would finally step in.. to reveal His face, reveal His Justice and right the wrong and comfort His servant.

And we look upon these days of disaffiliation, division, and dysfunction, and in this day which the Lord just gifted unto us and or these God given gift days of highest distress and difficulties we too often find ourselves in David’s position..

calling out in desperation to the Lord as we become increasingly submerged by the struggles and sorrows of our day – as we all cry out to an iron-clad heaven and we find ourselves wrestling inwardly with the same rhetorical questions that burdened David’s heart and flowed from his pen, three thousand years ago.

A Heartfelt Prayer for those Moments When God’s Great and Greatest Things Feel Too Small for You

Psalm 118:17-29 The Message

^17-20I didn’t die. I lived!
    And now I’m telling the world what God did.
God tested me, he pushed me hard,
    but he didn’t hand me over to Death.
Swing wide the city gates—the righteous gates!
    I’ll walk right through and thank God!
This Temple Gate belongs to God,
    so the victors can enter and praise.

^21-25Thank you for responding to me;
    you’ve truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
    is now the capstone!
This is God’s work.
    We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
    let’s celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
    Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

^26-29Blessed are you who enter in God’s name—
    from God’s house we bless you!
God is God,
    he has bathed us in light.
Adorn the shrine with garlands,
    hang colored banners above the altar!
You’re my God, and I thank you.
    O my God, I lift high your praise.
Thank God—he’s so good.
    His love never quits!

How often we too find ourselves feeling that God has forgotten us and that like David we seem to have been vigorously scissored off from the favor of the Lord?

How often we now find ourselves, experience deep depression, discouragement of heart, anguish of soul, bitter taste in our mouth, heartache as the enemies of our soul seem to be attacking us from every side.. and we discover ourselves to be increasingly alone, overwhelmed by all that is coming on the earth today.

But David is a man after God’s own heart.. and although that does not preclude him from having to go through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life- his confidence stands firm in the goodness of the Lord and his bitter pleas for help.. came from a man who trusts in God’s loving-kindness; and rejoices in the joy of his salvation. “For this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice in it!”

However, it was not long before the bitter lament of David in Psalm 13 turned into a hymn of high praise when he remembered the many precious promises of the Lord – for he knew that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the true glory that is to be revealed to us in the days to come.

The same is no less true today.

Indeed those difficulties, dysfunctions and dangers that we face in life today.. should be considered as momentary, light affliction, which are producing for us God’s Gift of an eternal weight of glory far beyond what we could ask or think.

Pondering and Praying those Greatest Gifts of God

James 1:13-18 The Message

^13-15Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

^16-18So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.

Words: Stuart K. Hine (1899–1989).

Music: How Great Thou Art Swedish folk melody, adapted by Stuart K. Hine.

Have you ever looked at the gifts God has given you or the life God’s given you and wondered, “Is this really it?”

This is a spiritually deep, heart and soul searching question; it’s typically laced with all our worrying about what lies ahead, wondering what you could’ve done differently, and filled with vast wishful thinking of what you thought would be.

I believe it’s safe in the arms of God to assume we’ve all been here, but the truth is we can’t stay in these thoughts for long. It will deliver each of us to a place of questioning who God is, what He’s doing, if He really wants good things for us.

“Why would God bring me here? Do I really have something meaningful to offer to the Lord, to the Creator of my very life and Author of my Salvation?

David in the Bible was a shepherd boy, the youngest of his brothers, and nothing was set to come of his life in a big, outlandish way.

Imagine how that felt day after day, might after night, imagine the thoughts that constantly went through his mind on guard, at night. I wonder if, while keeping watch over his sheep for long periods of time, he found himself asking My God (in the same way we do), “Is this really all you have planned for me?”

Little did David know God had many plans for his life.

Plans that David could’ve never imagined for himself.

Plans that could only unfold by the hand of God.

David’s small beginnings and small gifts were just the start of God’s incredible future for His life.

That said, even if the only plan God had for David was to be a shepherd, that would’ve been the perfect life God had penned for his days. But, because of how his life had panned out, we can look unto David’s life to be truly encouraged and know we can trust that no matter what the plans are, they will be for our good.

1 Samuel 16:10-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁰Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and ^[a]bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹²So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Here, we see the plans unfolding.

Wow, I can imagine that after this encounter happened for Jesse and his older sons, they found themselves sitting in complete disbelief, probably asking:

“How could God choose the youngest boy?”

“How could God choose the shepherd boy?”

“How could God choose the one who doesn’t look to have a great life ahead of him?”

This might be how you feel about yourself, asking how God could ever choose you and how God will ever open doors for your gifts to be used.

This goes back to what I shared at the beginning; asking these questions are fine only for a moment – lest we find ourselves digging a ditch for daily rest.

We can’t stay stuck here because God wants to use you right where He has you.

God wants you to see that every single day, He is giving you an opportunity to minister and labor and work, sweat, as his shepherd for the Kingdom of God.

I want to invite you to trust what God is doing in your life and to trust that He will continue to open doors for you to use the gifts He’s given you.

It may look radically different than what you pictured; it may even look smaller than what you were hoping and praying for, but the way God pans out and the “small size” of its unfolding doesn’t discount the faithfulness of God to use you.

He is faithful to use His children’s gifts in big and small ways.

Like David, He makes a way in His perfect timing.

Trust Him with your life and with your story.

Trust Him when you’re sitting at the table feeling like the “lesser” one.

Trust Him when you cannot stop feeling looked over.

Psalm 139:23-24 The Message

^23-24Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Let Him investigate your life.

Let Him find out everything about you.

Let Him cross-examine and test you.

Let Him get a clear picture of what you are all about.

Read His Report Card of His findings … make those adjustments.

Let Him lead, guide, and direct your steps.

Follow Him boldly.

He will be absolutely faithful to use you no matter how you feel now!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 The Message

23 ^1-3God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

⁴Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

⁵You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

⁶Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Do Not Apologize for Existing! Let Us Have A Conversation About Suicide! Psalm 13

Compared To God

The Israelites were filled with fright
As Goliath started toward them
Compared to man, this giant stood so tall
But David said, “My God has led me here to defeat him,
So don’t compare him to me, let’s compare him to God.”

When compared to God, everything’s small
There’s no giant that compares at all
To the Holy One who sits upon His throne
So when you come to face a mountain so high
One glimpse of God brings it down to size
Satan will flee; you’ll gain victory
When you compare it to God.

Oh, my friend, do you fear within
As your giant marches closer?
Do you know within your heart you cannot win?
Just have the faith of David’s day and shout
“My God is bigger.”
You’ll find there’s nothing on earth that compares to Him.

Psalm 13 GOD’S WORD Translation

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
²How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.

⁵But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

“How Long, O’ Lord?” Will You Forget Me Forever?

Psalm 13:1-2 GOD’S WORD Translation

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

This lament of David is a cry of the heart from someone who feels that he is alone and forsaken.. isolated, forgotten and cut off from the favor of the Lord.

David’s soul is crying out in bitter anguish of mind and inner confusion of the soul because to David, in the moments he penned this, the Lord seems to have forgotten all about him and has apparently hidden His face from His servant.

David, in the throes of this time of deep depression could not understand why the Lord was delaying the help he desperately needed.. and so his heart was grieving and his soul cried out in bitterness and distress – “how long O Lord?”

David felt that the enemy was triumphing over him while the Lord seemed to have distanced Himself far away from His faithful servant.. and so he lashed out at the people around him and God, challenged the Lord with multiple questions:

How long O LORD.. will You forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

David wanted to know how long the bitter trial and manifold difficulties that were flooding into his life would continue, before the Lord would step in..

to right the wrong and injustices and comfort His servant?

And in our own days of greatest distress and difficulties we too will often find ourselves locked into David’s position.. calling out in desperation to the Lord as we become increasingly submerged by the struggles and sorrows of our day.

As we too cry with our loudest, saddest voices, out to a iron-clad heaven and we find ourselves wrestling inwardly with the very same rhetorical questions that burdened David’s heart, flowed from his pen some three thousand years ago.

How often do we too feel that God has forgotten us and that like David we seem to have been completely, utterly cut off from the abundant favor of the Lord?

How often we experience feelings of deep depression.. anguish of soul and bitter heartache as the enemies of our soul seem to be attacking us from every side..

and we not so subtly discover ourselves to be increasingly overwhelmed by all the news of everything which is bad, tragic, that is coming on the earth today.

Psalm 13:3-6 GOD’S WORD Translation

³Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.

⁵But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.

But David is a man after God’s own heart.. and although that does not preclude him from having to go through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life-

his confidence in God stands firm in the goodness of the Lord and his bitter pleas for help.. come from the heart and the soul of a man who ultimately trusts in God’s mercy, grace, loving-kindness; and rejoices in the joy of his salvation.

However, it was not long before the bitter lament of David turned into a hymn of praise when he remembered the many precious promises of the Lord –

for he knew that the “brief sufferings” of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory of God that is to be revealed to us in the days to come.

The same is no less true today.

Indeed the enormous complexities and difficulties and dangers we face in life today.. should be pondered as momentary, light affliction, which are producing for us an eternal weight of God’s glory far beyond what we could ask or think.

But, Still, We Need to Very Much Talk About Suicide

When it comes to an awareness of mental health, it is important to be aware of our own, as well as, others’ feelings – We never know what a person may be going through – they could be doing alright, but they could also be on the brink.

First and Foremost it must absolutely be said, in no uncertain terms, our own mental health needs to be taken extremely seriously, given the utmost respect and great personal attention – we must take the value of our lives to the utmost.

If we need to make and take the time to “sort out the things of this life” which increasingly do not make sense, threaten to overwhelm our sense of wellbeing, then by all means we must exercise our own absolute right to life and to seek help!

We cannot think more highly of others until we can straighten out our own thoughts and feelings of how we feel about ourselves and why we feel less about ourselves!

Please! Please! Please! Absolutely, avail yourself of every single opportunity to take the utmost care of yourselves – You are always Highly Valued by God, our Father!

Be Affirmed! In the name of God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit!

You are a wonderful creation of God, in His Image and God loves you so dearly.

The Hand of God created you singularly, uniquely, loves you unconditionally.

Even before you were born, God knew you and He had a wonderful plan for your life — a plan shaped exclusively for you, and God knows that only you can do.

Maybe you have tried many things and tried them over and over and over again, and only messed up worse each time, but God still has a great idea for your life.

Things Christians Need to Understand about Suicide

My own professional background is as a Registered Nurse whose many years of clinical practice was devoted to the area of Psychiatry, Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Addictions – to both the Acute and Chronic and the Homeless.

Over the years, I have attended many professional conferences and seminars.

Conclusions are generally the same of the PhD level presenters: Suicide is a word that often makes people feel very uncomfortable for several reasons.

For some, it triggers past pain or current fears, while for others, it provokes the final, ultimate taboo, it evokes judgment, concern, and a lack of understanding.

Many who experience the depth of internal stress of major depression have an enormous difficulty expressing it to anyone for fear of being labeled as weak or emotionally unstable or risk being embarrassed as too emotionally insecure.

In other cases, I have counselled many homeless who will see family members dismiss the concerns of their loved ones due to the stigma surrounding suicide.

Additionally, Christian culture has added more rancor and division within this topic by neglecting to provide a serious measure of support for those suffering, thus perpetuating the needless stigma associated with psychological distress.

The truth is, an advanced clinical university degree or whether we have little to no personal knowledge of suicide, we as true believers need to be informed and prepared to address the acute reality of pain, both personally and relationally.

For as much as we may or may not want to admit, talk of it, the reality is that professional burnout and suicidality is increasing within the church family.

From pastors to their Laity, the body of Christ in their diversity of backgrounds, experiences are silently struggling to minister in the name of spiritual maturity.

The rates of suicide across the board is rising at an all too alarming rate not for the church to give its utmost attention too – where can it play an essential role.

Unfortunately, the topic of suicide has been an untouchable, taboo topic within the church for centuries.

Starting as early as mid fifth century AD, churches began to condemn suicide and punish those who sought to take their own lives and disgracing the burials of victims of suicide.

While we have certainly come a long way over the years, made great strides in providing more facilities and resources the church has not fully embraced its own role to provide non-judgmental support for mental health-related issues.

Lifeway research reports that although a large majority of church members want their pastors to talk openly about mental illness, 66 percent of pastors speak to their church once a year or less on the subject (Lifeway, 2014).

Consequently, this zone of silence unintentionally isolates those impacted by mental health, suicide, allowing room for some to believe that their struggles are simply a sign of a critically weak faith or even worse, spiritual immaturity.

Maybe, this is you or this is someone very close to you – maybe your Pastor?

It is long past the time we bravely speak up and support each other in seeking to end the silence, the stigma of suicide by learning facts, sharing our struggles.

What We Each Need to Understand

1. The Word of God for the Children of God

First, we must ground our learning process in the Word of God.

Believe it or not, suicide is nothing new to our current culture.

Did you know that there are over six accounts of suicide mentioned in Scripture between the Old and New Testament?

The most well-known passage, found in Matthew 27:3-5, is the account of Judas Iscariot’s death, hanging himself after betraying Christ.

Why is this significant?

Because it affirms and validates the history of hopelessness and severe mental health issues experienced since the beginning of time.

Just look at David’s psalms, Hannah’s prayer, Jeremiah’s Laments, the Apostle Paul’s account of his persecution, which led to him say he despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8).

These men and women of God spoke honesty and publicly and vulnerably of the excruciating, overwhelming depths of pain that gripped their hearts and souls.

Scripture invites us to acknowledge and recognize this pain, suffering, and emotional distress as consequences of our broken state and Satan’s attacks.

We are indeed all in need of a hope that does not minimize nor stigmatizes our suffering.

The message of the gospel is just that.

Although often misused as a sugar-coated solution, Christ’s hope does not minimize nor negate our own seasons of pain but repurposes it for our gain.

The gospel Christ preached rightly recognizes shame, sin, pain, brokenness, and lovingly invites us, welcomes us, into the healing process of Salvation.

In light of Scripture, we can begin to cultivate a new understanding of suicide, by way of suffering, and seek to hold fast to the unfading hope found in God’s eternal promise (1 Peter 1:2-7, Revelation 21:4-5).

2. The Stats

For many, suicide is a personal battle or a deep wound of loss, yet others would say they know little about suicide or its prevalence in our current culture.

Why is it important to understand statistics surround suicide and suicidality?

Because our awareness of a problem prompts our responsibility to address it.

Do you and I know where suicide ranks on the leading cause of death report?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, suicide ranked as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over 48,000 people.

Within this vastly significant number, suicide was recognized as the second leading cause of death among the ages of 10 and 34 and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 (CDC, 2018).

Even more astounding, research states 1.2 million people attempted suicide in 2018; one attempt every 26 seconds (American Association of Suicidology, 2020).

By knowing this reality, our response is likely to change when a friend stops reaching out or when a family member begins to isolate themselves.

Our awareness of the likelihood of suicide is what will prayerfully prompt deep and meaningful conversations, support our efforts in loving those around us.

4. The Psychology

Ever wonder what causes someone to end their life?

I believe this is the question to answer when a loved one is lost to suicide.

All of our whys do not always end with solid answers, and for many, the lack of psychological understanding gives way to missing the seriousness of this issue.

In seeking to bring closure to the unanswered questions many survivors may have, it is helpful to know suicide is complex, much more so than depression.

Dr. Norman Wright notes that the most common answer to why people take their own lives is psychological pain, or “psychache” (Crisis & Trauma, 2011).

The Founder of the American Association for Suicidology (2020) expounds on this broad understanding stating,

“Psychache is the hurt, anguish or ache that takes hold in the mind. It is intrinsically psychological – the pain of excessively felt shame, guilt, fear, loneliness, etc.… Suicide occurs when psychache is deemed unbearable and death is actively sought to stop the unceasing flow of painful consciousness.”

Because emotional pain is experienced in diverse and various forms, Dr. Schneidman categorizes five clusters of psychological needs, which I have connected to scriptures, that if left unmet can account for suicidal action.

1. Need for love, acceptance, and belonging (Isaiah 43:1-4, Ephesians 3:14-21)

2. Need for control, achievement, autonomy, order, and understanding (Ephesians 2:10, 5:15-17)

3. Need for positive Self-image (Romans 8, Hebrews 12:1-12)

4. Relationships, nurturance, and affirmation (1 John 3:1-3; 11-24)

5. Need for dominance and emotional expression (James 1:19-27)

(Crisis & Trauma, p.300).

Scripture speaks of these significant needs in our lives through many biblical character’s experiences.

Look again and again at David’s words in Psalm 13:1-4 God’s Word Translation

³Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.

As we seek to understand and value how our emotions communicate our lived experiences, we can begin to normalize the prevalence of emotional distress and support others who may feel as though God does not care about heartaches.

4. The Signs

The fourth thing that is important to know about suicide is the signs.

Whether we are currently struggling or know someone who is, understanding and assessing the warning signs is key to prevention and providing support.

As we have already learned, many contributors lead to suicidality, so how do we know if someone is actually at risk or deeply struggling?

Here are just a few signs to consider:

Evidence of emotional distress (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, fear, anger, sudden mood shifts, isolation/withdrawal, recklessness, etc.)
Intrusive thoughts and/or statements of suicidal intention or ideation (“I don’t have a reason to live” or “I keep thinking people would be better off without me”)
Seeking access to or having access to items such as firearms, pills, sharp objects
Having a plan or contemplating a plan for attempting suicide.

If we are experiencing any of these symptoms, please seek support immediately (see resources at the end of this article).

For those of you who may know someone exhibiting these signs, speak up.

Assessing risk can be done with four basic questions (status, frequency, duration, plan):

1. Are we wanting/thinking about suicide/self-harm?

2. If so, how often do we think about it?

3. How long have we been feeling this way?

4. Do we have a plan and/or means of carrying this out?

The answers to these questions will help us determine how to best proceed with obtaining and providing support.

5. The Support

Finally, the accumulation of our understanding allows us to be equipped to both find support and offer support to one another.

As the family of God, we are called to bear with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2) and carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).

By no means does this place the responsibility of other’s choices on our shoulders, but invites us to be active participants in supporting the work of healing for our hearts and the hearts of those around us.

As a Christian with my years of professional experience as a Mental Health Counselor, I readily encourage my friends and family to find a professional counselor they trust and encourage them to both make and the take time to acknowledge their pain and access healing through various forms of therapy.

Also, there are many groups, online and locally, that readily support the work of addressing the seriousness of suicide prevention and of survivor support.

Ultimately, the most meaningful way we can personally support someone in our life who is struggling with their thoughts of suicide or the loss of a loved one by suicide is to be in it with them – Gracefully, we learn to listen, love others well.

Lastly, If we are personally struggling, I want to be the one to tell you, God, our Father, and Jesus Christ His Son and God the Holy Spirit are 100% in it with us.

Please reach out to those in your circle and/or call the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for support.

Until Heaven, Let us hold onto our LIVNG HOPE found in our LIVING SAVIOR!

Resources and References

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Focus on the Family’s Get Help

Anthem of Hope

National Alliance on Mental Health

American Association of Suicidality

Christian Counselor’s Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports.

Retrieved from: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html

Drapeau, C. W., & McIntosh, J. L. (for the American Association of Suicidology). (2020). U.S.A. suicide: 2018 Official final data. Washington, DC: American Association of Suicidology, dated February 12, 2020, downloaded from http://www.suicidology.org.

Mental Illness Remains Taboo Topic for Many Pastors (2016) Lifeway Research. Retrieved:https://lifewayresearch.com/2014/09/22/mental-illness-remains-taboo-topic-for-many-pastors/

Wright,Dr. H Noram (2011) The Complete Guide to Crisis & Trauma Counseling: What to Do and Say When It Matters Most. Regal Publishing, California.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 Amplified Bible

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
²
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
³
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

⁴
Even though I walk through the [sunless] ^[a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
⁵
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with ^[b]oil;
My cup overflows.
⁶
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.

Heavenly Father, Savior Christ, Intercessor Holy Spirit, thank You for the example of David who despite the many successes, many problems, pressures, disappointments and pain that he brought upon himself, he was called upon by you to suffer, still he trusted in Your never-failing promises, kept in his remembrance Your never-ending faithfulness. Help me to follow his example when life’s pressures bear down on me and keep me under the shadow on Your goodness and grace – I ask in Jesus name.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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God Will Make A Way When There Seems To Be No Way Though Your Dreams are Shattered and Your Faith Is Being Shaken Down to its Very Roots. Matthew 11:2-3

Right now, I can hear John the Baptist having a conversation with himself;

“There were still going to be things in life that were out of my control and things that I could not anticipate that would cause me to feel shaken in my faith from the inside out.

And let’s be honest, how I hated that! ever growing feeling of doubt!”

It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or mature believer; we are all subject to the potential of having our faith shaken from time to time. But let it be known that even when your faith is going through a shaky season, this doesn’t mean that God is any less sovereign or any less loving. Our God has the ability to bless even those going through a season of lukewarm faith, use those who doubt and bring comfort and reassurance to those whose faith is wavering…

Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, Moses and the burning bush, Peter the apostle who denied Jesus three times and the Temple Priest Zechariah who did not believe that God could give him a son… just to name a few!

But for today, let’s dive into the shaken faith of John of Baptist.

Matthew 11:2-3 GOD’S WORD Translation

John Sends Two Disciples

²When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples ³to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

My Faith Has Been Shaken, My Life Fully Stirred Up

Sometimes my faith is severely shaken when the course of my life is altered, the course of my wife or my children’s life is altered and my dreams are shattered.

I wonder where God is in the midst of my doubts about God, my suffering soul.

I cannot always sense His presence as I have when things we going fairly well.

I will feel alone and afraid, wondering about my future and my wife’s.

I set my thoughts to the ways the world presents itself in the media and what my son must contend with raising my grandson to be someone of faith, truth.

Truthfully, my soul gets all stirred up, my faith in my Savior wavers sometimes.

I question what I have long believed.

I wonder what is prophetic, what is real and truthful and faithful from the Word of God especially when my personal experience doesn’t match my expectations.

This wavering deeply troubles me.

I have tasted and felt the winds of the vanity of man, man’s inhumanity of man, I have tasted bitterness I would never wish even upon my very worst enemies.

I have tasted God’s goodness, enjoyed close fellowship with him, rested in his tender care, known His grace and been blessed beyond what I know I deserved.

I can say that I have known both His power, His healing and his love.

Yet in the midst of such profound struggles, I have no answers, just questions.

Answers which I’m not entirely sure I’ll receive with more faith than with more doubt that I know somewhere deep inside me is sourced from an irrational fear.

The question of having any hope for a prosperous future?

Mine, and for generations of my family yet to come?

I will only scratch my head and shrug my shoulders and maybe I might just get around to actually and authentically fervently and ceaselessly praying to God.

But, I guess right now, I kind of feel like John the Baptist, sitting in a Prison cell.

Matthew 11:2-3 Amplified Bible

²Now when ^[a]John [the Baptist] in prison heard about the activities of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³and asked Him, “Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else [who will be the promised One]?”

I am wise enough to know there are still going to be things in life that were out of my control, myriads of things which I could never hope to anticipate, would cause me to acknowledge my raising doubts, feel shaken from the inside out.

And let’s be honest, however wise I believe myself to be, and God knows me to be on any given day and in any given moment of time, I say, how I hated that!

It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or a maturing or mature believer; we are all subject to the potential of having our faith shaken up from time to time.

But let it be known that even when our faith is going through a shaky season, this doesn’t mean that our Savior God is any less sovereign or any less loving.

Our God has the continuous ability to bless even those going through a season of abandoned, back-sliding, fractured, wavering, doubtful and lukewarm faith, to use those seasons of those who doubt and bring comfort and reassurance to those whose faith is wavering… Gospel Narratives are replete with such stories.

The Samaritan Woman in the heat of the day at the Well in John Chapter 4

The Woman with the Issue of Blood whom even the smartest of those ancient Doctors and Priests could not find a reason or cure – whose faith in God told her that if she could just “get close enough to his tunic – she would then be healed.” (Luke 8:43-48)

The Good Samaritan.

The Prodigal Son.

Blind Bartimaeus

The Lepers.

The long disabled Man who spent over 38 years waiting for someone to help him into the angel stirred healing waters at the Pool of Bethesda. (John 5:1-9)

The 100+ year old Patriarch Abraham who was commanded by God to sacrifice the greatest gift he had ever received – his own son, Isaac.

The Israelite slaves in Egypt.

Moses and the burning bush,

Peter the apostle who denied Jesus three times and Zechariah who did not believe that God could give him a son… just to name a few of the hundreds!

The Wailing Lament of the Song of the Exiles from Psalm 137.

I hope we get the idea that a shaken faith is nothing new to God’s ears or to the compassionate and sometimes tearful eyes and heart and soul of Jesus Christ.

But for today, let’s try to take a drive into the shaken faith of John of Baptist.

The Shaken Faith of John the Baptist

The whole gospel of John is one that clearly tells its readers from the beginning of chapter one verse one to the very last full stop that Jesus was the Messiah… the Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

He knew who Jesus was while he was still in his mother Elizabeth’s womb and leapt for joy in the womb when a pregnant Mary approached them (Luke 1:44).

John the Baptist witnessed the Spirit of God descend and remain on Jesus with God declaring Christ as His Son. (Matthew 3:16-17).

But even John the Baptist who knew through divine revelation and firsthand experience Jesus was the Messiah, had his faith shaken while he was in prison.

While it is not explicitly said why John the Baptist was having second thoughts and doubts about Jesus, it makes sense that John the Baptist in the midst of his suffering sought real reassurance from Jesus that He was indeed the Messiah.

Matthew 11:2-6 GOD’S WORD Translation

John Sends Two Disciples

²When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples ³to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”

⁴Jesus answered John’s disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. ⁶Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”

While John the Baptist was a hardcore preaching believer, one of the few who had been able to experience so many confirmations from God Himself that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, he still experienced a season of shaken faith.

And yet, Jesus still felt so much love and mercy towards John and his shaken faith because instead of getting angry and cynical for his lack of faith, instead, sent word back to John to confirm to him He was exactly who He said He was.

What Does This Mean for Us in Our Present Context?

Has your faith ever been shaken?

Is your faith being shaken right now?

How about the faith of your spouse?

How about the faith of your young children?

How about the faith of your teenage children?

How about the faith of your adult children raising their own young or teenage or adult children or even their grandchildren?

How about the faith of your best friend?

How about the faith of your church and church community?

How about the faith of your Pastor leading your church?

How about the faith of the Laity of the church who make the decisions?

How about the faith of the laity who sit in the pews or watch on Social Media?

I guess you get the idea – people with a shaken faith are definitely an issue!

John’s and Our Own Unfulfilled Expectations

John knew from Scripture that he who gave the blind sight, made the lame walk, and preached good news to the poor could surely open “the prison to those who are bound” as prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3 God’s Word Translation.

The Lord Will Anoint His Servant with His Spirit

61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me
because the Lord has anointed me
to deliver good news to humble people.
He has sent me
to heal those who are brokenhearted,
to announce that captives will be set free
and prisoners will be released.
²⌞He has sent me⌟
to announce the year of the Lord’s good will
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all those who grieve.
³⌞He has sent me⌟
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of ⌞tears of⌟ grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
the Plantings of the Lord,
so that he might display his glory.

But Jesus didn’t do that for John.

Jesus did not directly affirm John’s future and the future of John’s calling.

So perhaps at this point, staunch believer John doubted what he knew.

If Jesus was indeed the Messiah, John probably expected to have a role in his earthly kingdom beyond his extended stay in Herod’s prison cell.

He wouldn’t have expected to start with such a high calling, preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, only to have end his life and his ministry end in a small prison cell with his head quite literally on someone else’s silver platter.

Besides, John preached that the Messiah would come with an unquenchable fire. With judgment. With power. He likely expected that to be in his lifetime.

None of those human expectations coincided with God’s reality.

And that may have caused John to doubt.

Unfulfilled expectations often elicit that response in me.

Especially when I have tried very hard to be faithful and true to God my Savior.

Jesus doesn’t condemn John for his doubts.

He even says that no one greater than John has ever lived.

He understands why John is asking the question.

And Jesus’s response to him reinforces what John already knows: that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

At the same time, Jesus knows that John’s public ministry is over.

Just like the saints in Hebrews 11, John wouldn’t receive all God’s promises but could only greet them from afar.

He would not serve with Jesus or see the fulfillment of God’s kingdom or see the crucifixion or be an eye witness to the empty tomb and Christ’s Resurrection.

But one day he would.

One day he would see his glorious part in God’s magnificent plan.

He, the last of the old covenant prophets, would see how God used him to prepare the world to receive Jesus.

And John would rejoice.

But for now, John has to accept the Messiah’s plans for his life.

Plans that are different than what he envisioned.

He has to dwell on what he knows to be true rather than fixate on his own circumstances.

He has to remember who God is and trust him from a dark prison.

And so it is with me.

When all our best laid hopes crumble all around us

When my plans crumble and God takes me away from my dreams, I must over a period of time come back to the place where I will again renew and refresh my trust in God’s infinite wisdom over my own current failing and faulty displays.

When my cup of suffering enters into those moments when it seems too much for me to bear, I know I will need my Shabbat rest in His immeasurable love.

When my personal efforts at self control enters into the realm of “Oh No!” my life turns, spins out of control, I need to remember God’s absolute sovereignty.

I may not, probably will not, understand what is happening.

But I cannot stop talking to him.

Or turn away in fear.

I must simply go to Jesus, tell him my doubts, desire for a stronger faith.

Ask him to help me see.

Psalm 13 The Message

^3-4Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

^5-6I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.

John’s doubts are the same as mine and maybe the same as your own or your spouses, your children’s, your co-workers, best friend, even your churches.

I will wonder if God is who He says He is.

And if everything is indeed under his control. And if he authentically loves me.

And when I doubt, God calls me, as he did John, to trust what I know to be true.

To trust the bedrock principles that I know from Scripture and from experience.

That God is completely sovereign.

And loving.

And wise.

Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from his knowing everything about it.

In this life, I may never see or know how God is using my trials.

In this life you may never see or know how God is using your trials.

But one day you and I will certainly be grateful for them.

All you and I can do now is trust that God who made the lame walk and the blind see, who died on a cross so I could spend eternity with him, is 100% going to do absolutely the very best thing for me, the absolute very best thing for you also.

It all comes down to coming back to our obedience, faith, and our trust in God.

Will we trust our understanding of our circumstances that constantly change?

Or will we trust in an understanding and much wiser God who is unchanging?

For the believer or even the non-believer or the sceptic or the cynic who has been met with the unexpected or thrown into a situation that makes no sense,

We can all, in the course of time be reassured that God is exactly who He is.

His promises have always been fulfilled (Joshua 21:45) and He isn’t a God that will leave you on your own or anyone else on their own.

His promises have always been punctuated with His Alleluia and His Amen.

He is ready to answer our prayers when we cast our anxieties and cares on Him (Philippians 4:5-6) and as we come to Him, He promises to carry our burdens.

Key Final Thoughts

As John faced the struggle of his life, he maintained his integrity and his faithfulness.

His motivation was simply to know for sure that Jesus was who John believed him to be.

He was not afraid to face death or doubt as he sought God’s truth and lived God’s life with commitment.

Nearly all of us go through periods of doubt or struggle with difficult questions about our faith.

Struggle with difficult questions, in and of itself, is not wrong or is it something to be feared.

Christianity has withstood the criticisms, scrutiny, accusations, and doubt of centuries of our world’s best thinkers and harshest skeptics.

The issue with these kinds of struggles is whether we maintain Godly character with faithfulness in our ministry, holiness in our lifestyle, and honesty in our motives, speech, and actions.

As we work through our struggles, if we are true to these Godly characteristics, we will find that our doubts and questions move us toward faith rather than toward disbelief.

The biggest problem with struggles and doubts will occur when we break faithfulness and Satan can unleash a chain of consequences that weaken us spiritually.

So in struggle and doubt, remember these three things:

faithfulness in our ministry,

holiness in our lifestyle, and

honesty and Integrity and God in our motives, speech, and actions.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

O Lord, God of the great expanse and my Abba Father who adopted me in grace, please help me face myself when I look into a mirror. Please give me courage to face my doubts. Empower me with strength to face my struggles. Give me a heart that depends on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. O God, I want to honor you with my behavior and my choices. More than just knowing the truth, dear God, I want to know you and to display your truth in my life. In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Distant or Delighted? Not Feeling the Love of God? How About Learning to See Jesus With a Smile? 1 John 3:1-3

1 John 3:1-3 Amplified Bible

Children of God Love One Another

3 See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ²Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory]. ³And everyone who has this hope [confidently placed] in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guiltless).

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

See How Well We Are Lavished With Love?

1 John 3:1 New International Version

3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

The word lavish presents a picture of extravagant abundance.

It is almost too much, too generous and luxurious.

Being lavish borders on being wasteful.

But the Father has lavished his love on us.

God’s love is even more than what a wonderful mother showers on her infant.

Isaiah 66:12-14 New International Version

¹²For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace to her like a river,
    and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
    and dandled on her knees.
¹³As a mother comforts her child,
    so will I comfort you;
    and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

¹⁴When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes.

God’s love and care are supplied all the time.

God’s love is a constant bombardment of affection and care.

We may be as oblivious as an infant to the presence of his love, but God still continues to pour his love into our lives.

God’s love flows into us deeply, redefines who we are at the very core of our heart, mind and soul.

When we open our hearts to God’s love, we are transformed by it.

We are remade, regenerated into children of God.

It is God who makes us his children, not us.

We cannot earn that status.

It is a gift of God’s great love.

Because we are sinners, we do not understand God’s love for us at first.

We don’t even know we need him until we realize we are stuck in sin and cannot save ourselves.

We become God’s children when we receive Jesus as our Savior (John 1:12).

Not one of us is worthy of God’s love.

We cannot earn it.

God just loves us.

We would not be God’s children if he were not already deeply in love with us.

How amazing is that!

Being said with an exclamation mark, what if we turned that into a question?

“How Amazing Is That?”

“I Really Do Not Feel God’s Love.“

Psalm 13 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 13

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

¹How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
²How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
³Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
⁵But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
⁶I will sing unto the Lord,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Have you ever said or thought these words in public or in private?

If so, you’re not alone.

Truth Be Told, Too many times I have really struggled with the disconnect between knowing that God loves me and actually seeing, and feeling His love.

It might be tempting to brush aside the discomfort of this disconnect and get on with the responsibilities of life.

“After all,” some will pat you on the back, say, “love is an action, not a feeling.”

But if you look closely at the love displayed in the Bible, it’s clear that it’s not just automatic rote Christian responsibility—it’s also passionate emotion.

God doesn’t just act lovingly toward us, He feels love for us.

And He doesn’t want us to only understand His love, but to experience it in a deep way, a deeply visual and tactile way – to visualize it and touch it daily.

If, like me, you’ve struggled with a disconnect between knowing about God’s love and actually seeing, feeling it, accept your feelings as being quite real.

Sometimes, like the Psalmist who penned Psalm 13, we will not feel loved.

Sometimes, like the Psalmist who penned Psalm 13, we will not see God’s love.

Psalm 13 is someone’s deepest expression of a heart and soul in angry anguish.

It has remained in the Bible through countless edits because God wants you the reader to know, the maximum extent to which God feels, visualizes our hearts.

Heart Distant or Delighted? Learning to See Jesus With a Smile …

Psalm 13:5-6 Authorized (King James) Version

⁵But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
⁶I will sing unto the Lord,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

1 John 3:3 Amplified Bible

³And everyone who has this hope [confidently placed] in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guiltless).

I recall many years ago sitting in a circle with the other members of my Bible study group when our leader invited us to imagine what Jesus’ face looks like.

Dutifully, I closed my eyes and tried to picture Him.

The image that appeared was of a man with long, greyish silver locks and dull, piercing brown eyes.

His unsmiling lips were hard set in a neutral line.

He didn’t look disapproving, but he didn’t look very happy either.

As I studied His face, I felt sad, fearful, and unsure of how He felt about me.

I was deeply troubled by this experience because, intellectually, I knew God always loved me deeply and felt positively—even passionately—about me.

Throughout the Bible, God describes His love in the most tender terms known to humankind.

He compares His love for us to the love a parent has for their child—a warm, welcoming, compassionate love (Isaiah 66:13; 1 John 3:1).

He also describes His love for us as the love a groom has for his bride—a passionate, ardent, sacrificial love (Revelation 19:7; Ephesians 5:25-27).

Yet, my picture of Jesus that evening revealed that, deep down, I also perceived Him as uppermost serious and restrained, maybe even a little depressed at me.

It also highlighted my fear that I was not a source of joy or pleasure to God, and that, though He loved me, it suddenly felt more being with a distant, aloof love.

I knew this isn’t how God wanted me to view Him.

Ephesians 3:18, the apostle Paul prayed, “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully” (NLT).

More than anything, I wanted to experience the love of God—I wanted to feel it, not just know about it.

So I started asking God to take my understanding beyond intellect and into a more studious, scriptural, deep heart knowing of my value to Him.

1 John 3:1 Amplified Bible

Children of God Love One Another

Truth be told, sometimes it’s so much easier to notice the love people have for you than the love God has for you.

Why?

Because you can physically see them and the way they express love.

But when it comes to God, it can be challenging to see, understand, the extent to which He loves you.

After all, none of us can physically see Him on this side of Heaven.

That’s why God gave us His Word… to help us to see, feel, and understand who He is and how much He really does love us.

See, throughout the Bible, God is described as an all-powerful and eternally just God, but also as deeply loving to those He created.

In the entire biblical story, God is presented as a character who strongly cares for us… so much so that He even allowed His Son, Jesus Christ, to enter this world to bring about a redeemed and restored relationship with humanity.

In fact, Jesus is the physical embodiment of God’s eternal love, showing us that His love is a real, tangible being we can cling to and put our hope in rather than just an abstract concept we cannot ever hope to even begin to .01% understand.

Now, before we dive further into how Jesus loves us, first let’s clarify the meaning of biblical love.

BIBLICAL LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Amplified Bible

⁴Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. ⁵It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. ⁶It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. ⁷Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

There are many different kinds of love.

There is parental love, brotherly love, and romantic love.

When anyone says the word love, we often first associate it with anything from dating to sex.

But, the word is so much more broad than we often think.

According to the above passage, biblical love is simply putting the needs of others before your own.

All of us fall short of the expectation set by this passage at some point, because selflessness does not come naturally to us (Romans 3:23).

But, the good news of the Gospel is that God perfectly embodies these four verses.

He is the one that created love in the first place!

In turn, this means that God is LOVE itself (1 John 4:8).

And because He is love, He displays this quality not only through His words, but through His actions as well.

GOD’S DEVOTED LOVE

Psalm 103:12-14 Amplified Bible

¹²
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³
Just as a father loves his children,
So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].
¹⁴
For He knows our [mortal] frame;
He remembers that we are [merely] dust.

As any good father would, God feels sentiment and shows affection toward His children.

This picture of God as the perfect Father is a deeply intimate one because it illustrates how far [east from west], He would go to keep us safe and secure.

Another illustration of God’s love is seen in Hosea 2:14-23.

Rather than a father this time, this Bible story describes a faithful husband that comforts and treasures his wife – which is also meant to be seen as a metaphor for God’s devoted love to an unfaithful Israel.

Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, God expressed His infinite love for His people all the more through love poetry, painting a beautiful image of God’s extreme devotion and affection towards His Bride, the Church.

LOVE AS AN ACTION

Romans 5:8-10 Amplified Bible

⁸But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the ^[a]wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].

But, love is not merely a feeling.

Love is also an action… that God shows from the very beginning of the Bible.

Out of His love, God established a rescue plan for humanity in the wake of Adam and Eve’s sin (Genesis 3:15).

Out of His great love, God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt – not because they earned it, but because they were His people (Exodus 12-14).

Out of His love, God became fully human, yet fully God through the person of Jesus Christ – living a perfect life and dying a death we deserved so that we could all be restored into unto, a right relationship with Him (John 3:16-17).

In each scenario, all of God’s actions toward His people are motivated by pure love. He doesn’t just say He loves us, but He actually does something about it.

THE LOVE OF JESUS

John 15:13-16Amplified Bible

¹³No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. ¹⁶You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.

By coming into the world and sacrificing his own life for us, Jesus demonstrated the ultimate love of God.

He died for us because He considered us friends worth dying for (John 15:15).

This is the radical love that Jesus showed during his time on Earth… and still shows us today even if we do not see it in quite the same way we see the love of our friends and family.

So, when asking the question “Does Jesus love me?” the simple answer is “yes.”

Jesus really does love you not because of anything you have done, but because of who He is!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty God, we praise and thank you for making us children of God, not through our own power and piety but through our baptism into crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. We turn daily to you, and in that turning we find peace, courage and purpose. Make your whole church a witness to the great good news of Christ’s resurrection. Father God, may we have the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to grasp how immeasurable wide and deep and high and long is your love for us, expressed in all that Savior Jesus has done for us, that we may be your children. In his name, Amen.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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What if we are Contemplating Falling Out of Love with God? We Desire No time alone with God? Our Preference? We will devote No more time for God. Psalm 13

Psalm 13 The Message

^3-4Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

^5-6I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

David the psalmist had feelings of God-forgottenness.

He had a multitude of times of being surrounding by enemies.

This was no brief time, these were extended periods of time – weeks, months and perhaps even a short number of years.

He wrote of the consistent continuous feeling of aloneness one can feel when it seems God has turned His face away and the enemy is forever at the gate of life.

Does it seem as if right now that David’s thoughts are now seeping into your soul becoming your thoughts, leaking like a sieve, from a heart which is fast becoming a stranger to the feelings of love, to the desire for feeling any love?

What if we and our heart and our soul are at the point where we are simply tired of believing and hearing from men, “the Lord is my Shepherd, I have all I need.”

We are at or nearing the “breaking point” where those encouraging words “God is Love” is very fast becoming utter nonsense, wildly clashing cymbals, gongs.

We will hear no more of “God’s Love” – “do not dare to step on my last nerve!”

Do we dare to believe that our current measure of our alleged forever “unfailing love” for the Lord our God can even .01% fail and falter under the worst of tests?

Do we dare to believe such a notion our “unfailing faith, steadfast hope and our immovable love for God are miles and miles from the very precipice of failure?

Do we dare to allow ourselves to believe we are so iron clad strong in ourselves?

Do we dare to allow ourselves to believe that any failure of our faith, any failure of our hope in our future, any failure of our Love for God is 100% inconceivable?

If David had dared to have those thoughts, failure was inconceivable, that he should throw God out of his life we would not now have the words of Psalm 23.

What of our fleeting thoughts, feelings about God’s 100% Love?

Dare we to ask ourselves, our “Sermon in Shoes” Christianity, the question:

ARE WE FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH GOD, OUR SAVIOR JESUS?

Never say Never …. We are not God, our Savior Jesus or the Holy Spirit!

Failure is always a meal that has been prepared for our feasting on our tables!

Failure is always waiting to be served, to be placed in some corner of our plate.

We can in no way escape failure …. it will forever be before us.

Despite the unceasing fervency of our prayers ….

God will not remove failure from our DNA!

Jesus, the Logos, will not remove the word failure from the Holy Scriptures.

The Holy Spirit will not remove our self will nor keep us from failure, failing.

Failure is always an option – it is absolutely inescapable!

But then again, even though we may have lost or given up “that loving feeling,” our God who is love, has not lost or minimally given up on that “loving feeling.”

God is still speaking directly to us even though we refuse to listen any longer.

The face of God is still facing us, the Words of God still mouthing these words as if we are always directly looking at each other – face to face and eye to eye:

1 Corinthians 13:1-10 The Message

The Way of (GOD’S) Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

²If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

^3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

I have been a Christian for a long time – just over 21 years.

The weirdest thing to me about being a Christian is how often I will forget the miracle of God’s love.

I forget the power of it.

I will take it for granted at every opportunity I get.

I forget how wonderful it is that a holy God should pursue me.

It stops being such a big deal.

It stops feeling so amazing.

I fall out of love with him a bit.

For a long time, whenever I’d hear the phrase “God loves us,” I pictured a kind, doting, grandpa.

But you know what?

Grandpa love is not the kind of love you get with God.

God is a lot more like a spouse.

God’s Love for me is Sometimes Uncomfortable

God pursues us with this wonderful, miraculous love.

Then He moves in, begins turning everything upside-down and inside out.

He wants us to share everything with him.

He wants us to talk to him.

He wants us to consult him about all our decisions.

He’s always there, aware of everything.

And he wants us to give him our all.

That kind of love love – true love – isn’t all that comfortable.

It doesn’t always feel miraculous.

It doesn’t always feel easy or cozy or even based in reality.

In fact, the love of God doesn’t feel all that miraculous when I am busy living in my faults, failures and failings, because God is busy rearranging my entire life.

Even when the Prodigal Son angrily left the home of his Father, Love remained in the home, love waited for the Prodigal to return, love waited to welcome him.

Do We Get too Used to God’s Love?

God’s love isn’t very comfortable, but even so, over time we get used to it.

That happens sometimes with love.

I was single for so long; at first, then met my wife, and the sudden, subtle prospect of one day, every day of being with my wife felt like a great gift.

Fast-forward a 12 1/2 years and I’ve gotten used to her.

She’s always around.

I can hardly remember what it felt like to be single.

I hardly want to remember what it felt like to be dedicated to my singleness.

This happens with God’s love too — especially for those of us who grew up in the church.

We can hardly remember a time when we didn’t know God’s love.

We get used to it.

We might even get “too” used to it.

We start to take Him and all He is and forever will be, for granted a little.

Acknowledge that Sometimes God’s Love Hurts

Sometimes we will fail God and we will struggle greatly to hold on to any kind of truth that God still loves us because God lets us suffer.

We hear the words, “God loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life,” but then we look around, and maybe our life’s not all that wonderful.

We ask “How can a loving God, an all-powerful God, let this bad stuff happen?”

How, Why, do we keep trusting in the love of God when we are so disappointed?

I try to remember that God is not me and I am not Him.

And sometimes that is a rather tough one for my belief system to sort out.

He’s mysterious and big.

He’s complicated.

His ways are not my ways, and his thoughts are not my thoughts.

When I do not want to, I still need to keep giving God the benefit of the doubt.

I need to keep believing in God’s good intentions for me, in the fact that he never allows pain unless it has a purpose.

He loves me.

The best thing I can do when I am hard at work distancing myself from God is not distance myself so far from God’s face or give him the silent treatment.

That just makes me more miserable.

His love is the source of all comfort.

The prophet Jeremiah understood this.

In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah is crying out to God. He’s devastated — and with good reason.

He weeps.

He yells at God.

But then he says this:

Though the Lord brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to any human being (Lamentations 3:32).

He also says this:

Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

This is what we have to hold on to.

The LORD is our portion — his love might not make perfect sense to us.

But it’s also what keeps us from falling apart.

It’s the only thing, really, that ultimately brings us from utter sadness to joy.

We Will Have to Contemplate Falling in Love Again!

So what do we do when the excitement of God’s love seems to wear off?

When I start to get irritated with my wife, when I start to think it’s no big deal I am married to this woman, I work very hard at thinking back to the beginning.

I take some time to remember our early days.

I call to mind all the reasons I can recall I fell in love with her in the first place.

We can do this with God too.

We should do it.

In fact, it’s why God gave us the ritual of communion (the Lord’s Supper).

The bread broken for us, the blood spilled for us — it’s the labored discipline of remembering over and over again how wonderful it is Jesus gave himself for us.

By reading, studying the Word of God, meditating on the cross, we can go back.

The other thing I do is I ask myself, “What would life be like without him?”

I imagine how life would look if my wife did not love me.

Imagine what life would be if God didn’t love me.

Imagine if my Savior Jesus had not died for me.

Being a faithful human being, I will get angry and I will sin mightily ….

I cannot help myself.

I cannot help being myself …. Romans 7:13-25

It’s all too easy to take God’s love for granted.

It is all too easy being all too human – and turn my face and walk away.

But it’s also easy to be bowled over by God’s love all over again.

Psalm 13The Message

^3-4Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.

^5-6I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.

Dare Yourself – To Fall in Love with God AGAIN!

If God feels far away, go back to the beginning, back to the cross, and labor to remember what God has done for you.

Read the accounts of Jesus’ sacrifice each day for the next week.

Meditate on them, asking God to show you the depth of his love for you.

If your life is in turmoil, give God the benefit of the doubt.

If you have been giving him the silent treatment, you can return to him right now, knowing God will hear your prayer.

Commit to an extended time of prayer each day for a week.

Start your prayer time by listing out the qualities of God.

Focus on who God is and who you ARE NOT.

No matter the ceaseless fervency, motivation of, or behind our prayers,

We can never pray ourselves into actually becoming God.

God will not answer that prayer as we prayed it – it is not in His will.

Acknowledge and Remember – We ARE NEVER stronger than GOD!

Bring your concerns to God and then take time to listen to him.

Dare to ask thyself; Where Am I in my own relationship with God?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

His word shall not fail you he promised
Believe him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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My Personal Reflection on our Suffering in our Silence and our Perceptions of the “Silence” of ‘Father’ God. Psalm 13

Psalm 13 Amplified Bible

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
²
How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

³
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
⁴
And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵
But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.
⁶
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Silence, disappointment, doubt, and suffering are not things that are foreign to Christians – they are common to us all.

When we are at our end, desperate, alone, surrounded by darkness, it seems like God is not there, is deliberately, intentionally maliciously hiding his face; those feeling of abandonment can be devastating to the maximum.

It can feel worse than the trouble itself to feel alone in our pain.

As we set our hopes and prayers on something, someone, our trust, our heart, and it shatters at our feet, this can hurt more than to have never hoped at all.

They say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, but the pain and loss of not knowing love or having known true love are very real.

Silence hurts.

Theodicy, the issue of how a loving God can allow suffering, is a perennial atheist question, and a legitimate and honest one.

But I think it is first and foremost a question for believers.

It is of vital importance to us, precisely because we do believe in a good and sovereign God, that we resolve this issue with ourselves and with God.

It’s crucial and vital to our spiritual development and a healthy growing trust with God that we face these questions and our pain head on.

That is what this devotional is prayerfully going to be about.

Theodicy is not a cold theological question.

It is one of passion. “I cry to you God but you do not answer. I stand before you, and you don’t even bother to look” screams Job in genuine state of desperation.

Clever intellectual answers won’t cut it here.

The deeply desperate answer we each seek in our pain is not so much one of explanation but of relief.

When we desperately cry “Why!” what we genuinely mean is “Make it stop.”

Before we can really approach an answer to the problem we need to stop for a moment, realize just how close this question is intertwined with our very being.

We cannot approach this from a distance.

This is not even close to being a neutral subject, or anonymous topic for us.

It deals with our entire lives in the most intimate and central way imaginable.

So long as we, our allegedly not too foolish theories, stay on an intellectual level and do not touch us so close to where we live, they will remain merely academic.

We must yet each approach these questions from a different angle, a personal angle, a Father, Son and Holy Spirit angle, if we truly want an answer that will touch us and heal us rather than only a superficial and theoretical explanation.

Whether atheist, believer, or never introduced to God, these are our questions, no amount of mental gymnastics can make the questions, our needs, go away.

We have all these myriad questions because God has placed them in our hearts.

God always wants us to ask – when we stop asking we stop being truly human.

God wants us to perpetually, persistently, perseveringly, ask Him “why me?!” “why must I long suffer like this?!” “Why must my suffering persist?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Jesus said, deeply pleaded, Matthew 6:33 AKJV: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God is to bring it to a point where even our darkness asks: “why am I yet here?”

God has given all of us an inborn need for love and meaning – Psalm 139:1-18

139 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
²
You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
³
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
⁴
Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
⁵
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.
⁶
Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

⁷
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
⁹
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
¹¹
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”
¹²
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

¹⁷
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

Ultimately, until “every tear is wiped away” we will silently carry these heavy, and very deeply intimate questions around with us – in the silence of our hearts.

As soon as we stop asking why, as soon as we stop yearning for justice, yearning for God to step in unannounced, to touch, to heal, to restore, as we all dispel the reality, the devastating effects and the affects of spiritual darkness, as soon as we casually justify suffering, Hell, there will be something very wrong with us.

God gave us His Spoken Word – The Words of God for His Beloved Children.

Through however many opportunities for ancient scriptural editors to modify, to remove those passages which might be too harsh for future contemplation,

Guess what?

We still have these “ancient words, these “ancient truths” as God spoke them.

Keeping ancient desperate pleas like Psalm 13 in the Scriptural Canon means God has a very specific 2022 intention for them which ancient New Testament writers and ancient biblical editors and too interpreters succinctly recognized:

We should never stop asking these “why me” questions on our side of eternity!

It is absolutely fundamental to who we are, how Father God reveals His Image.

What we need to learn and know is how to live healthily with these questions.

The importance of persistent prayer, how to live in the raising tension of being in a fallen world, full of pain, injustice, but having hope and trust in a good God.

These eternally complex, “unanswerable,” “unknowable” questions – because they are so deeply ingrained in our being, so crucial to us – have the potential to pull us into despair and away from God, or, if we have the courage to face them, can tell us a great deal about ourselves, about what life is about, and who God is.

Psalm 23 (Authorized King James Version)

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
³He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The real question becomes, “what does God want to tell us by making us ask?”

But sometimes trusting and relying on God is easier said than done.

When your health is failing, your finances are taking a beating, or you lose someone you love, or your job or marriage is on the line, or something happens to your child, it’s not always easy to say, “But I trust in your unfailing love.”

When life becomes a valley, it can be a challenge to “sing the LORD’s praise.”

And yet the only way to live is by trusting the Lord through persistent Prayer.

You can’t always trust your health or your investments because they can fail you at any time. You can’t bank on your government because its power is quite firm, expansive. The only one we can really trust is the Lord. He never fails us.

It is only God’s grace that enables us to perpetually, persistently, perseveringly say, shout and sing: “I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us persistently, perpetually, perseveringly, Pray,

God, my Fortress, what a joy it is to have a friend in Jesus. Even when I am overcome by feelings of abandonment, prolonged silence, You are there with me. I know that I am never truly alone. Fill me with Your love and direct me in the way I am to love all neighbors. Change my priorities away from needing approval from other people to instead having comfort in knowing that I am accepted by You. Thank You, Father. Thank You Jesus and Holy Spirit. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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What if I Really allowed God to Love Me? Developing A Great and Intimate Relationship with God, The Father.

Forgetting God’s Love. Ignoring God’s Love. Believing that God only sometimes loves us because we only sometimes love ourselves. Sometimes we will believe because of all that is happening around us, an overwhelming negativity has too much influence and directional control over our existence, and God does not, is not immediately stepping in or we believe we are being unreasonably punished by an inconsiderate, uncaring, totally lacking in empathy God, our anger arises! Our hearts are hurting more than we can know, we want God now, we love God still, but His unknowability, His invisibility, assures us our relationship is done.

I pray to God, my Father, I guess it is alright if you do not love me right now. I suppose you have your reasons and I believe your reasons to be 100% righteous and purposeful and true. I guess I will just have to figure out for myself, how I can get back into Your Book of Life again. but please know, “I Love You, Yet!”

Psalm 13Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 13

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

¹How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
²How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
³Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
⁵But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
⁶I will sing unto the Lord,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Yesterday, we had considered the wisdom of God from 1 John 4:7-21 (NASB)

God Is Love

⁷7 Beloved let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was revealed [a]in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the [b] propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. ¹⁶We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[c]for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[d]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. ¹⁹We love, because He first loved us. ²⁰If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.

But that conversation lacks thoroughness without our also considering just the opposite. Because there are those among us who for their given circumstances spend a great deal of their time, energies and lifetimes believing the opposite is true. They possess an image of their God which is quite diametrically opposed to what the Apostle John wrote in our devotional text for today. They have their reasons which have been born of a crucible of time amidst life experiences that leave more room for doubt than room for acceptance. We 100% acknowledge this view of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is real to them and unto God.

Therefore, for the sake of God’s grace, in prayer for their souls, in our efforts at understanding their views, I give unto you these essential Questions to Ponder

1. Do you see man as a “tyrant”? Do you see God as a tyrant? If so, why?

2. Do you feel you cannot come or go to Him for everything? If so, why?

3. Are you fearing Him to the point of not talking to them, Him? If so, why?

4. Are you mad at God and or mankind for your life or current situation? If so, name and claim the situation.

5. Are you unhappy with how He created you? Are you unhappy that God created you (Psalm 138:13-18)? If so what is it you believe you don’t like about yourself?

6. Do you see God as your Earthly father or as your Heavenly Father? If so, how?

7. Who do you believe to be in more control of your life right now? Yourself, Mankind or God? Why do you believe this to be true? How might it be false?

We are in this mess called Pandemic where it seems everything under the sun is being controlled by someone other than ourselves – air travel. mask mandates, social gatherings, being in and among crowds in a shopping mall or in markets. New Year’s Eve is but a few days away and we are human, and we love to PARTY! Do we trust the person sitting next to us or near to us in our favorite restaurant?

Regulation after regulation is coming from well-meaning people to protect life. Perhaps it is the sum total of everything about your and my life which are right now converging into this moment, into this season. Perhaps we are simply tired of it all, quite overwhelmed, spiritually exhausted. Perhaps these feelings which have been represses, suppressed by our belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit are being rigorously and vigorously challenged as the Patriarch Job found himself. Maybe the Lord of all Creation, this sovereign God who is all about “first love.” is inserting Himself once again directly into the affairs and works of mankind?

His Question becomes even for faithful in Jesus Christ – Okay, where are You? “I see you are getting distracted again like my faithful, faith-filled servant Job was by all of the blessings I gave to him over his many years of devotion. Job needed a “reality check” and I saw zero reason why I should not learn for myself where my servant Job’s life was zeroed in on – his abundance or MY abundance alone.” “I had to have an answer directly and decisively from the soul of Job himself!”

So, as many or as few as may find themselves righteously questioning the very presence and sovereignty of God, the value of His scriptures, His promises from His scriptures, the genuine trueness of His “FIRST LOVE,” ask of yourselves the questions which would otherwise go unasked if pandemic were non-existent. It is a good time and a proper season to question exactly where God is, His Son is, where His Holy Spirit is. Take the other side of the belief question for a while.

From the position of those who question God’s FIRST love, dare to ask yourself this day; What about God’s FIRST LOVE is losing its luster for me, for my family and for my friends and for my neighbors and my community and my church? I am asking you to prayerfully take the time to reconsider “church” in your soul. How is it we can reach unbelievers to be 2022 Acts 2, Acts 3 and Acts 4 church? How is it we can overcome our own doubts to reach into our neighbor’s doubts?

God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit really want to know if we ourselves truly know what the plan is for the continuance of God’s kingdom. To reach the unreachable. To teach the unteachable, Preach to the unreceptive. The year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 2022 is a critically pivotal season. What confidence do we have to put on full display, to witness, our Testimony? What about a prospect of developing a “pandemic free” intimate relationship?

What if we 100% really, genuinely allowed God to get that close to us and His Children again? What if we genuinely gave God, Jesus, Holy Spirit permission, unconditionally reveal, unconditionally unleash His FIRST LOVE to us again?

How would our pandemic conditioned responses, respond to such a revelation?

HMM …

I SHALL NOW LEAVE YOU IN GOD’S MOST CAPABLE HANDS TO PONDER THIS!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us now pray the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray,

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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