In the Crushing...Take Heart

“In the crushing you are making new wine,

in the soil breaking new ground.

Where there is new wine, there is new power.

There is new freedom and the kingdom is here.

I lay down my offerings to carry your new fire.

So make me your vessel, make me an offering,

make me whatever you want me to be.

Jesus bring new wine out of me.”

This morning I’m thankful that “in the crushing” you God are making new wine. I spent a few minutes with @crystalyatesmusic worship and she sang the lyrics to this song. There is nothing like time worshipping alongside a gifted leader with a heart for Jesus. I haven’t heard this song before, maybe an original, but it spoke to me.

I am reminded of the grace and goodness of our God. The truth of John 16:33 where Jesus was preparing his disciples for what was imminent is very evident right now. He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Most generations living right now have never experienced an occurrence that has so overtly affected the world. This Coronavirus is and has impacted our entire society in many ways. Most of which we have little to no control over. Our foundations have been shaken and our stability doesn’t feel so stable anymore. Even under these circumstances we can rejoice and have hope.

This is Easter weekend. On Good Friday all seemed lost. Followers of Jesus were devastated, left without hope it seemed. For three days they grieved and questioned what was real, what was true. The disciples had literally left life as they knew it behind to follow Jesus. Now he’s dead? This caused a definite shaking in the foundation of their lives as well.

In the shaking, or as the song lyrics phrased, “in the crushing”, we can know good things will be birthed. In the process of making wine the grapes must be crushed. In order for a beautiful oak tree to grow, the acorn must be buried and slowly transformed. The process may be, no will be painful at times, but for those who love Jesus and are called according to his purposes, the result will be beauty. It is his desire for that to be every single one of us but he allows us to choose fear or faith. Even with faith we will still feel fear but it won’t overcome us. Why? Because Jesus told us all those years ago that whatever trouble comes for you, rest because he has already dealt with it. 

His dealing with it may look different than we would choose for it to look but His ways are higher than our ways. He is so far beyond our wildest imagination and He is all good and His goodness and perfect love are poured out for us.

On the cross Jesus took on the Coronavirus and every single way it has hurt us. He felt the emotional and physical exhaustion of the medical workers on the front line. He was with each one who lost the battle. Not one died alone. He was there and he made his presence known to them. He felt the grief of each one who has wept at the loss of one they loved and shared life with. He felt the fear, panic, and anxiety. He felt the loneliness and the isolation of those quarantined alone. He took every effect of every sin committed by us and against us, for every one who has ever lived, or ever will live. That is why Good Friday was so dark and so brutal. 

Take heart! We know the end of the story. We don’t know every scene or act, but we know the ending. The crushing of the grapes will come, but they aren’t crushed without a purpose. The acorn is buried and broken, but only for new growth and transformation to break through. Wine requires a fermentation process, oak trees need time for growth, and Jesus was in the grave for three days. Times of uncertainty are part of life but we really can take heart. I truly believe this. I have experienced it throughout my life and nothing speaks God’s love to me more than the cross. I look back over my life and I count the cost in my one life alone, and I am beyond grateful. Our God gets us. He is willing and longs to help us through life, to bring good out of every single hard thing by redeeming it all and then restoring our life, making it stronger and more beautiful than before. 

We are symbolically living in the weekend of Easter. We are living in the in between but take heart...Easter is coming and with it resurrection, making all things new. 

Weather the Storm

I went for a walk a couple of days ago. I love looking at the trees in the Spring whether they are just budding or they are in complete bloom. It’s a visual reminder that circumstances don’t have the last word. The dormancy of winter doesn’t kill the tree even though for a while it may appear so. On the other hand a young tree that has not yet established a strong root system and foundation is definitely more vulnerable to injury or death during a long, harsh, cold winter.

On my walk in an effort to get more exercise I ran up a hill toward a cluster of large mature trees. I noticed the immense root system and the strength and durability of the roots. These trees would not be easily taken down. Right now our entire world is experiencing unprecedented circumstances (at least for most of us). There is so much uncertainty and confusion. If you’re like me, I’ve experienced days of hope and peace, days of denial, and days of fear and worry.

All of us have and will face pain, tragedy, and loss in life individually as well as corporately. The strength of our foundation makes a remarkable difference in how well we weather the storm. I have witnessed loved ones pass from this life into eternity and some went peacefully, and some did not. I believe what made the difference was that those who went peacefully had built a relationship with Jesus throughout life. They learned to run to Him with their worry, fear, and sorrow and over the years experienced His faithfulness. They really knew Him and his character of love, mercy, and grace. They knew they were loved unconditionally even though they were imperfect in their efforts and failed over & over again. 

This does not necessarily mean those who struggled did not enter into eternity with Jesus. It simply means that they didn’t have the foundation of a close intimate relationship with Him that takes time and experiences together to build. Because they chose to run to and rely on other things and relationships to get through the storms, they missed opportunities to see God work, to hear God speak comfort, to watch him answer them, and to experience his goodness and faithfulness. They believed in Him but they didn’t fully know his amazing grace for them and his perfect love. Without an intimate relationship there is more apprehension and fear of leaving this world.

We cannot control the circumstances of life just as a farmer cannot control the weather conditions. We can however take action to prepare for the storm. As a farmer prepares the ground and fertilizes the soil, covers plants in anticipation of frost and waters plants, we too can take precautionary actions. Whether you’ve only experienced a toxic kind of faith, haven’t experienced any faith, or have allowed yourself to get distracted, God is still there waiting for you. Hoping you will allow Him to comfort you and reassure you. To hold you when you’re terrified, lonely, and unsure. Believe me when I tell you he is good. He knows you entirely. He knows if, when, and how you’ve been hurt and abused. He knows how it affected you physiologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Bring your questions, disillusionment, tears, anger...He understands. He knows our thoughts whether we process it all with him or not. Why not work through it with the King of kings who loved YOU enough to die in your place? He’s not like us as people. His love is perfect, without condition, and there is nowhere he won’t go to find you and to rescue you. Open yourself up to this kind of God and experience peace that surpasses understanding, hope in what you cannot see, and love that you cannot be separated from.

You don’t have to be “good enough” or get yourself together first. Jesus himself said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor--sick people do. I have come to call not those you think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” That’s me, that’s you, that’s every single one of us. I know who I am without Him and it is not righteous let me tell you. I’ve experienced his amazing grace and blessings above and beyond all I could ask or imagine. And I do not deserve it. But it’s not about me, it’s about HIM and he loves to give good gifts to his children. 

Start or maintain building and strengthening that foundation now. For your own well being. It makes all the difference in the world. 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27 NIV

Love,

Jesus

Free to Choose

I heard a teaching on anxiety by a pastor named Ben Stuart and the statement that stuck with me was this: “I exist to know God.” 

That statement got me thinking. I don’t exist to please people. I don’t exist to make a lot of money. I don’t exist to fit in. I don’t exist to be constantly entertained and comforted. I don’t exist to be in control and call all the shots. I also don’t exist to be anxious, stressed, depressed, and miserable. I don’t exist to be in constant fear and exhaustion. All of these things are part of life, but they are not my reason/s for existence.

At first glance this statement may be a turn off to some. Does knowing God require us to become a monk or a nun and spend every waking hour studying and praying? Nope. I am sure of that. The calling to be a nun or monk is an honorable calling, but for the rest of us I think the process of knowing God is a bit messier. Life isn’t as defined and perhaps as focused for us. 

Besides the fact that we wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for God, he isn’t an egotistical controlling God forcing us to know him. The fact that he gives us a choice is proof of that. Our choice however doesn’t negate the truth of the statement. We exist to know God because he made us to be in relationship with him. We are the object of his love, the reason for creation, the reason for all that we see and know, and what we don’t yet see and know. He loves us whether we love him back or not. We cannot affect his love in any way. We can’t make him love us more or less no matter what good we do, or how horrific we may live our lives.

God wants to help us navigate this life and live it the best we can for our own good. When I was first married I wanted with every ounce of my being to be a good wife but I wasn’t always able to live it out. I had baggage and scars that affected my ability to fully trust my husband. As much as I wanted to treat him the way he deserved to be treated in my own strength I couldn’t do it. The more I reached out to God for help, the better our relationship became. It wasn’t a quick process but it was a process that taught me that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, and that he will be there walking alongside us teaching and helping us become who he created us to be. In order to be happy and content we need to be healed of the wounds life inflicts on us. 

How does this happen? There is no exact step by step process but it happens by earnestly seeking God. God promises this in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on 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.” 

I have found this promise to be absolutely true. My process included a church who became a church family, a Christian counselor, group Bible studies, my own personal studies, lots and lots of journaling being real and transparent with God, mentors, and trusted friends. 

When we as people insist we know best, we usually mess things up. Things like jealousy, envy, comparison, unbridled ambition all lead to unhealthy relationships. God wants to mold us from insecurity and comparison to security and the ability to celebrate good in and for others. There is no scarcity in God’s economy. What is given to others isn’t taken from anyone else. There is no lack in God’s economy. He has so much to give each one of us and he desires to do so. He will never give up on us either. He will wait and he will continue wooing and drawing us but he will never force us. 

Believe me when I tell you I made a mess of my life on my own. Even when I knew He was real, the blows of life convinced me to give up on God and I self destructed. Even then God rescued me, and He has blessed my life so above and beyond anything I would have ever asked or dreamed. Truly. Not because I deserve it. Only because of who He is. 

Knowing Him is the reason for our existence.

Knowing Him is the only way to true life and freedom.

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”

Matthew 10:39