The Journey Back From Collapse

alicia britt chole ~ onewholeworld, inc.
from her book Sitting in God's Sunshine

The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." 1 Kings 19.11

Elijah was absolutely exhausted.  He faced and defeated 450 false prophets. He climbed a mountain to earnestly intercede for drought-ending rain. He ran for twenty-five miles faster than the King's chariot. And now, in what should have been a moment of victory, wicked Jezebel sent word that she was planning to kill him.

That was it. He was done. The combination of post-ministry exhaustion and fear of man was just too much. Elijah ran for his life, "and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'" (1 Kings 19.4)

Though few of us have faced several hundred prophets of Baal, we do understand extreme weariness. The stresses of work and finances, the strains of relationships and conflicts, and the realities of spiritual opposition leave us feeling fatigued. Add a crisis to that normal load, and we can collapse altogether.

How did Elijah journey from collapse to a place where he had the strength to obey God again? Typically to answer that question we turn to Elijah’s encounter with God on Mount Horeb. But even before his incredible mountain experience, Elijah was regaining strength in small and seemingly insignificant ways in the desert. How?

1. Elijah prayed. After running from Jezebel, an isolated Elijah plopped down under a scruffy tree in the desert and prayed. Yes, it was a pretty miserable prayer, but he was still talking to God and every little bit helps!

2. (and 5 and 9) Elijah slept. No instant cures exist for fatigue. Our bodies cannot be plugged into an outlet and revived in an hour. There are no substitutes for time and rest.

3. (and 6) Elijah was touched by an angel. When we are exhausted, God sends His messengers to us in many forms: the hug of a child, a call from a friend, the touch of a loved one. God’s arms are long enough to reach us, even in the desert.

4. (and 7) Elijah ate. Some of us wish we would lose our appetite! But for those of us who actually do, we must remember to eat. In his state of weariness, Elijah enjoyed angelic cuisine.

5. Then Elijah encountered God on the mountain. After a very long walk, Elijah arrived at Mount Horeb. God instructed him to, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." (1 Kings 19.10-11)

There Elijah saw a shattering wind, an earthquake, and a fire, "but the Lord was not in" them. During these three powerful events Elijah heard NOTHING which could have been a bit frustrating. So perhaps we should not be surprised when we hear nothing also. And perhaps we should be encouraged that in the midst of silence; even when it is the last thing we want to hear & see something in the waiting still works to strengthen our souls.

 God was in the gentle whisper. There God and Elijah exchanged the identical dialogue they had in the cave:

The word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 1 Kings 19.13-14

Creativity runs low when we are exhausted. So Elijah repeated his previous response: "I have done my best but nothing seems to make a difference. I am all alone and some people would be happier if I were gone."

Elijah's words have not changed much from his prayer under the tree in the desert but his weariness has obviously subsided because when God gives Elijah directions, the prophet has sufficient strength to obey.

 Certainly the concentration of God's presence on the mountain strengthened Elijah, but God's presence in the desert carried him there. In minute yet meaningful ways, God's presence was refreshing Elijah all along as he slept and ate, walked and prayed, was touched by angels and waiting for God to speak.

As we journey from collapse back to a point where we have strength to obey, let us be careful to not underestimate the desert. The mountain is amazing, but the desert is equally full of God's presence to refresh our lives.

Resting in God’s Truth...

• God can bring us back from collapse. 

• That journey includes weak prayers, much rest, good food, long walks, and the touch of a few angels.

• In the desert as well as on the mountain, God’s exhausted sons and daughters will find restoration in His Presence.

 Explore more of alicia's resources online in the resourceroom at http://www.truthportraits.com/

© alicia britt chole ~ onewholeworld, inc.

  

Relationship and Response

by Roy Lessin of Dayspring
view his blog at Meet Me in the Meadow

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear due Me? Malachi 1:6 AMP

God's names help us understand His relationship toward us, but they also help us to understand what our responses should be toward Him. In Malachi 1:6 we have examples of this. God gives us two of His names, Father and Master. These names tell us that God wants to be our loving Heavenly Father and the Master of our lives. Our right response to these two names should be honor and fear. We honor God because He is our Father, we fear God because He is our Master.

Here are some other names of God and what our responses should be—

His name: King
Our response: Worship

His name: Lord
Our response: Surrender

His name: Almighty
Our response: Trust

His name: Provider
Our response: Believe

His name: Shepherd
Our response: Rest

His name: Counselor
Our response: Listen

His name: Comforter
Our response: Lean

His name: Keeper
Our response: Abide

His name: Eternal One
Our response: Hope

His name: Victor
Our response: Overcome

His name: Life
Our response: Delight

His name: Guide
Our response: Follow

His name: Healer
Our response: Receive

His name: Creator
Our response: Celebrate 

Resurrection of Hope

  Resurrection of Hope
By Sharon Jaynes
http://www.sharonjaynes.com/

Today's Truth

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

Friend to Friend

Beth is one of my dearest friends. She had been married for 24 years when her husband walked away from their marriage. Beth is a very strong Christian and for five years put on a happy face telling everyone, including herself, "That's OK. Jesus is enough." She has two absolutely incredible children who love the Lord and both serve in some facet of ministry. And yet, I wondered if she had been the first person I had ever known who had skipped the grieving process that follows the devastation of divorce.

She was not.

Five years after the divorce, Beth and I were talking about some struggles she was facing in a new relationship.  "Beth, I don't think you ever allowed yourself to grieve over your loss. I know your first husband betrayed you at the very core of what a marriage is supposed to be, but there is still a loss. There is grieving the loss that your children do not have the father they deserve, the loss of investing twenty-four years with a man who betrayed you, and the loss of the dream of what marriage could and should be like - what God intended from the beginning of time."

Beth is just now beginning to grieve the many losses that accompanied her divorce and she - and her two grown children - are in the process of breaking free. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book, On Death and Dying, notes five stages of grief: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. But for us who have the hope of Jesus Christ, there is a sixth stage: resurrection.

Grief is part of the healing process. I grieved that I did not grow up being the apple of my daddy's eye, that I was not unconditionally loved, and that I did not get to hold my second child in my arms. Grieving the loss helped me to let it go. But after a time, I had to stop lamenting what was not, and rejoice in the blessing of what is. God had new plans for my life!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV).

Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He can raise our broken dreams. Acceptance is not the end of the grieving process for those of us who know Jesus Christ. Resurrection is the end of grief and the beginning of a dream, a new life, and a glorious future.

Let's Pray...

Dear Lord, thank you that for me, as a Christian, I don't have to stop at mere acceptance when it comes to grief. There is more than acceptance...there is resurrection. You take the broken pieces of our lives and make a beautiful mosaic. Thank You for resurrecting my hopes and dreams and making my life much better than I had ever imagined. I look forward to the day when my earthly body will be resurrected to spend eternity in heaven with You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn:

Is there any area of your life where you have settled for acceptance?

How do you think God could resurrect a forgotten dream?

Compare the Moses who lost his dream when he was 40 (Exodus 2) with the Moses whose dream was restored when he was 80 (Exodus 3). What made the difference? Who was in control in chapter 3? Who was in control in chapter 4?

Today's Truth

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

When We Face Change

by Holley Girth (cofounder of (in)courage & writer for DaySpring)

Lord,

Thank you for being a God who goes before us and lives within us.  That means whatever we may face we have nothing to fear and everything to hope for in you.  For those of us facing change, I ask for peace to calm our hearts, wisdom to guide our steps, and your hand holding ours all the way.  We trust what you will do and where you will take us with you. Amen.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Wherever you're going, God is already there.

(You can find more of Holley Girth through her work at DaySpring, on her blog Heart to Heart with Holley or by following her on twitter as @HolleyGerth.)

Come Home!

Come Home

We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! Luke 15.32 (all NIV)

Sometimes it is hard to go back home, especially when "home" is God and we have been away for many years. Uncertain, we wrestle in our minds with reasons why it is too late to return to God...

• If I had more to offer Him, maybe. But I cannot ask God to take me in now.

• I am too ashamed to return home. I have ruined everything He ever gave me.

• No, thank you. God is probably mad and I do not blame Him.

• I have tried, but I just do not have what it takes to serve God.

• I would only disappoint Him again.

• After all this time? It would be wrong to offer God the little that is left of my life.

• You could not understand. I do not deserve forgiveness. I will never forgive myself.

• Does God truly want me anymore?

• I am really not worth saving

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a man who also struggled with these thoughts as he considered returning to his father. He had left home as a young man full of cash and confidence but ran out of both simultaneously:

The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. Luke 15.13-15

In need is elsewhere translated lack, inferior to, destitute, and fall short. His pockets were empty and he felt like a failure, but he was either too embarrassed or too proud to return home. So he took a local job feeding pigs. The contrast between his father and this employer was drastic. The new boss did not give him anything to eat, while his dad’s servants had food to spare. While the pigs grew fatter, he grew thinner and finally decided it was time to go home:

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son: make me like one of your hired men.” Luke 15.18-19

If his steps were light at first, they probably grew heavier as he drew closer to home and doubt invited him to question his decision: I left with much, I am retuning with nothing. What will dad say? Surely he is upset with me. Is it even fair for me to ask him to take me back? What if I just disappoint him again? After all I have done, I do not deserve his forgiveness. I do not even deserve to be called his child.

But at this point in the story, Jesus offers words of great comfort for all who, like this man, are thinking of returning home:

But while he was still along way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him...the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Luke 15.20, 22-24

The truth is that Father God never gave up hope for us. He has never taken His eyes off of us. When we begin to turn back toward Him, compassion floods His heart and He runs toward us. Wrapping us in His arms He shouts, "My daughter has come home! My son has returned! Clothe them and feed them with the best from My house!"

"But I do not deserve such acceptance," we still protest. True. But who among us does? God’s acceptance is not measured out based upon who we are or what we have done. God’s acceptance is measured out based on who He is, and what He has done. That is why we call Him Savior.

That Savior is still calling, "come home, My child, come home!"

Resting in God’s Truth...

• Father God is waiting for us to come home.

• When we turn home toward God, His compassionate arms welcome us sincerely.

• None of us deserve such acceptance, but such is the gift of the God of all Comfort.

© alicia britt chole ~ onewholeworld, inc. ~ No part of this publication can be reproduced in any way without prior written permission of onewholeworld, inc. ~ http://www.truthportraits.com/

Becoming a Woman After God's Own Heart

Becoming a Woman after God's Own Heart
by Charles R. Swindoll

When God scans the earth for potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is searching for men and women like you and me, mere people made up of flesh. But He is also looking for people who share the same qualities He found in David. God is looking for men and women “after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

What does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart? It means your life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. When He says, “Go to the right,” you go to the right. When He says, “Stop that in your life,” you stop it. When He says, “This is wrong and I want you to change,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That’s bottom-line, biblical Christianity.

When you are a man or woman after God’s heart, you are deeply sensitive to spiritual things. Second Chronicles 16:9 explains it this way: “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (emphasis added).

What is God looking for? He is looking for men and women whose hearts are His—completely. That means there are no locked closets. Nothing’s been swept under the rugs. That means that when you do wrong, you admit it and come to terms with it. You long to please Him in your actions. You care deeply about the motivations behind your actions. God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He’s looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants who have integrity.

Listen to some of the synonyms for this Hebrew word thamam, translated “integrity”: “complete, whole, innocent, having the simplicity of life, wholesome, sound, unimpaired.” It’s what you are when nobody’s looking. We live in a world that says, in many ways, “If you just make a good impression, that’s all that matters.” But you will never be a man or woman of God if that’s your philosophy. Never. You can’t fake it with the Almighty. He is not impressed with externals. He always focuses on the inward qualities, like the character of the heart . . . those things that take time and discipline to cultivate.

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, “Becoming a Man or a Woman after God’s Own Heart,” Insights (April 1997): 2. Copyright © 1997 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.