Journal Entry ~ 02/20/19

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.  - Psalm 34:18-19

In order to feel the nearness of God when our hearts are broken, it's crucial that we have a theology of suffering that is aligned with biblical truth. In other words, the lies in our beliefs about our trials need to be identified and those lies must be replaced with the truth.  

When you're suffering in a trial, you don't just suffer what you're suffering, you suffer *how* you're suffering. What are the temptations in your thinking when you're suffering that's keeping you from the nearness of God?  Identify those lies and replace them with the truth. 

Sometimes we're tempted to doubt God's goodness - where is God, why would He do this to me?  When you come to question the goodness of God, you stop going to Him for help - you won't go to someone you don't trust for help.  In the moment when you need him the most, you won't turn to Him.  The lie here is that doubt questions the goodness of God. Truths that battle this lie can be found all over scripture - start in 1 Peter 5:9. 

Another temptation is worry or fear - we beat ourselves up with questions we don't have the answers to.  Worry is forgetful, it forgets that you are not in this suffering by yourself.  Accept the reality that it is impossible for you to beat this by yourself. Stop worrying, and stop assigning yourself a responsibility you don't have - you don't have the ability to work through this yourself. Worry is God-forgetful, and it assigns to me responsibilities that I don't have.  Worry lies to us and questions the presence of God.  Again, the truth that counters this lie can be found all over scripture, but you can start in Philippians 4:6 if this is your temptation. 

Another temptation you may struggle with in your trials is envy.  Envy is the belief that God sometimes gets a wrong address. It longs for the life of someone else, someone who does not have the trial I'm enduring. The problem is it doesn't long for God, it longs to exchange places with someone, it longs to be relieved of the trial. Envy lies to us and questions the wisdom of God.  Know that God has set the plans for you personally and specifically, and He means them for your good. He knows the struggles in your hearts, your blindness, your idols, and He desperately wants to root them out of your heart so you rely completely and wholly on Him and Him alone. If this is your struggle, start meditating on Jeremiah 29:11. 

There are many more temptations when we're struggling than just these three - the important thing is that you spend time meditating on your suffering with just Him, and open your heart and your mind so that He can reveal to you why you are suffering in your trials. 

Remember, you never just suffer the thing you're suffering...you suffer through the thinking that the suffering brings into our lives.  When He reveals to us our suffering in the trials, and we replace those lies with the truth, that's when we find the nearness and the comfort God offers to our broken hearts. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more