POUTING MAY PAY OFF - BUT IT'S PAYOFF IS BITTER

As with all children, there were times when my daughters were young, that I can recall them pouting, when they did not get their way in a situation. Maybe because they wanted to go somewhere, purchase something or do something that they were not allowed to have or do. While they were not allowed to pout openly over those things, inside I am sure that they burned with frustration and even anger. I can recall a few times that they would go to their room, throw themselves on their beds and simply cry. While it hurt me to see them struggle and be disappointed by saying no to them, I knew that my decision not to give in to them was the best thing for them at the time. I understood their hurt and anger, because I myself had been disappointed many times by not getting something that I really wanted. To my disappointment, there were some times that I did give in; only to regret it’s bitterness as a result from it, later on.  Hind sight always reveals regrets as well as blessings.

Pouting over something may seem to pay off short term, but in the long haul, it can have a terrible, bitter bite! There is a story about a King in the Scriptures who acted like a spoiled child. When he didn’t get his way, he refused to eat, ran to his bedroom, threw himself on his bed, and began to pout. His name was King Ahab. Ahab had one of the wickedest wives throughout the scriptures, Jezebel. 1 Kings 21 talks about how King Ahab wanted a vineyard that belonged to Naboth who was a Jezreelite. Upon asking Naboth to sell him or trade his vineyard for another one, Naboth’s refusal to do so enraged Ahab and the King went home sullen and angry. The vineyard was an inheritance from Naboth’s ancestors and he did not want to part with it. The scripture says that while Ahab was laying on his bed sulking over the situation and refusing to even eat, Jezebel came in and asks him what his problem was. Upon hearing his discourse, Jezebel said to him, “Is this how a king over Israel acts? Get up and eat, and cheer up! I will get you what you want”! Then she arranged for the man who had disappointed the King to be killed so that Ahab could have what he wanted. While he may have gotten what he wanted at the time, he found out later, that the cost was much bitter than the desire to have what he wanted. God sent word and confronted Ahab and told him that because he had sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, that dogs would lick up his own blood in the same place where Nabot had been stoned to death. He was also told that God was going to consume his descendants by cutting them off. You see our sin not only effects us, but those around us are often times caught up in reaping as well. For Jezebel, she was devoured by dogs. Ahab  on the other hand did humble himself before God over his sin and was regretful, but he and his children still reaped from the evil that he and Jezebel had committed against God, others and Israel.

As with Ahab, we too may get what we want if we pout long enough, hard enough or loud enough; but in the end, the pays off is bitter, in one way or another!

It would do us good to remember as well as remind our children, that pouting may or may not get us what we want, but one thing for sure is that the consequences often times cost us more than we ever dreamed.

Hold Fast,

Bren

SALT SHAKERS

Lately I’ve been thinking about the influence that I have been having on others and while I am not at all pleased with myself about my attitude at times… I am constantly being reminded that I am vital to someone that may cross my path whether I realize it or not. Speaking to His followers, Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth” Matt. 5:13, so as followers in Christ, we are vital to this world in which we live. We are vital to some body's life. So with that being said, I am humbly convicted to watch what I say and do in having better control over the influence that I may be projecting to others. Because as a child of God, I am a salt shaker to the people that I daily come in contact with.

I have been through some stuff in my life as a child of God and believe deeply that those experiences that I have been through were actually strengthening me, working to purify my character and walk with Christ. I must tell you that as a child of God, I need a pure character, I want a pure character, I pray for a pure character …and I must have a pure character if I am to be of use to anybody.

I looked up what salt was made of and the important role that it plays in the health and welfare of the human body and was reminded (because I had forgot) that salt is made up of  two very poisonous elements, Sodium and Chlorine. Separately, they can burst into flames or become a poisonous gas and take the very life that it is meant to influence or even save. But together they provide something very good and beneficial. Salt is vital to human life. We can't live without it. Our body has about eight ounces of salt in it. That’s enough to put into a salt shaker. Salt regulates the water in our cells, aids muscle contraction, nerve impulses, and heartbeats. Without that vital salt, our body would go into convulsions and we would die. Salt has many benefits other than the ones I have mentioned in my little scientific explanation of what salt does to the human body. It also bears many other wonderful benefits as well. Scientist have even learned to manipulate the negative components of Sodium and Chlorine to benefit mankind as well. So, really everything about salt is beneficial to us.

God once destroyed the earth because the earth had lost almost all its spiritual saltiness excluding Noah and his family.  As children of God, we should supply the zest and flavor to life that others look at and hunger for. That's what Christianity is about. It is a rare person who will spend their life to better the flavor of someone else. Just the other day I was tested to be salt to someone who was on my last nerve. It did not matter who was right and who was wrong the Holy Spirit convicted me; what matters was, who was being salt, who was acting like Jesus. That’s when I bowed my head and said, “yes Lord, I understand”, and began to write this devotion. Oh Lord Jesus, I don’t want to be right! I want to be a silent lamb being led to slaughter…the slaughter of my flesh. I was reminded about how Jesus when He was before Pilot  was silent, He did not say a word even though he had every right to defend himself and set the record straight….he stayed quiet…..only the wise can see the strength in that silence. Just as His father was His defense…the Lord Jesus is our defense…and with Him on our side we need no other defense.

In the Old Testament God told His children to season all their grain offerings with salt. Salt was symbolic of God’s righteousness. That is what Jesus was saying to His followers….you are the righteousness of God…so act like it and others can see God through your life by how you act and how you live…..and by your behavior ….it will cause them to question their own actions, that is the purpose of us being salt to the world.

I remember as a young girl someone at school told me that if you put salt on a slug it would dissolve it. Being the young scientist that I was, I hurried home and began testing it to see if they had told me the truth. Well, I can not say that it dissolved it enough to make it disappear, but I can promise you this; after the salt had made its metamorphic change on that slug, it was different!  Salt brings change wherever or on whatever it is poured out upon. Now granted, my little story may not be as profound as some could tell it, but the point remains to be the same.  Jesus said that we are salt. That means that we are going to have a profound effect on others one way or another. If we are living as we should, the effect will be a positive one.

However, if we are not living and acting like the righteousness of God… we will still have an effect on people but it will be a negative effect.

I fear that many times we are sidetracked in trying to act like Christians instead of living out the Christian life that God allows us the freedom and ability to live. Being a Christian is not at all about acting ….its about being….once a person becomes a child of God, the scripture says that God himself begins to sanctify them, to change them from their old ways to His ways giving them a new identity as to Who they represent. Salt is of no use unless it is poured out and used.

May you be a salt shaker and bring God's flavor to someone today!

Loving you,

Bren

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET YOUR FRIEND TO JESUS?

Have you ever had a friend or a loved one that you believed in your heart was not totally committed to Christ. Maybe because they bore no fruit that reflected a change or that they had never had a personal encounter with Him. Maybe, this may be true of you. Maybe, you’ve been reflecting upon your own life lately and on a lifestyle that you know should Jesus come back today, He either would not know you or He would not be pleased with what He found. The Bible says that all we like sheep have gone astray…each to his own way. Most people see their sin as just that; they see sin in their own way! But they do not truly understand what sin is. Oh, they may know that sin is the "bad stuff that they do", yet they never consider the penalty for it; nor understand how God may consider it. They seem to have some sort of unrealistic view as to knowing that, yes, they sin, yet they somehow feel that they have some sort of deal with God when it comes to their own sin. Their faith is based on the old song, “Me and God, got our own thing going!” and somehow take comfort in believing that God somehow understands that they are just human and can not help themselves over all. After all, “they are not God”! To express their false understanding of real salvation, they love to consider hypocrites in the church as being worse off than they are, and find comfort in believing that because they do not see themselves as hypocrites, that that somehow gives them more creditability with God. Oddly enough, they are worse off than those that they criticize.

When a person understand that sin is what separates them from God, they will do everything and anything…yes, anything to get back to Him. This is a plumb line that we can measure our faith by. We are simply to ask ourselves, “is what I am doing, or how I am living, breaking the very heart of the living God?” If, that question does not matter to us, then there is a very great chance that He does not matter to us and that our hearts do not belong to Him. When we understand these truths, we will also have a burden that others understand them as well and will make great effort for those that we love to find the answers to the Truth that we all seek.

There is a story in the Bible that I just love that talks about 4 friends that tore the roof off of someone’s house just to get their friend to Jesus. For they knew in their hearts that their friend needed Him and that only Jesus forgives sin and restores lives; more than likely because they had already meet Him and believed themselves. So, they now were taking their friend to the One that they themselves knew could help.

In Mark 2:1-12 upon returning to Capernaum, many people had heard of Jesus’ return.  Outside and in the surrounding buildings the crowds gathered to see and hear Jesus. It was so crowded that there was no room left to stand or walk let alone enter through the door with a stretcher that held a cripple. There were four friends that were so sure that Jesus could bring about healing to their friend,  that they climbed up on top of someone’s home, dug through the thatched roof and then lowered their friend who couldn’t walk by himself through the opening into Jesus’ presence. Talk about love and faith… the faith of those four friends showed sheer determination to get their friend to the only one that could help him. Jesus recognized the faith of the man’s four friends. They believed that ther crippled friend no matter what he had done, could be forgivin and healed. The friends struggled to deliver the man who couldn’t walk into the presence of Jesus. As always, in His compassion, and because of the faith of the cripple man’s friends in the effort that they had made to get him to the Truth (Jesus), Jesus spoke to the cripple man saying, “your sins are forgiven” and after being confronted by some teachers of the law, he told the man to get up, that his sins were forgiven and to take his mat and walk. The man got up, picked up his mat and went out in full view of everyone, including the teachers of the law that were being critical.

It was ordained before the foundations of the world that one day, 4 friends would come together to take their friend in need to get the help that only Jesus could provide. They were so desperate to get to Jesus that they tore off a man’s roof, just to lower their friend down to Him. Sweet friend, what are you doing to get your friend to Jesus today? Are you loving on them in spite of the sin that you see. Has their sin been so great that it has crippled them as with the man in the story. Do you love your friend like those men loved their friend in spite of what they knew about him. Are you like one of the teachers? Jesus ask those that were thinking ill in their heart, “Is it easier to tell the man, get your mat and get out of here…or simply forgive him his debts, and watch him walk in victory and truth”. I tell you that we are all so quick to judge someone when we seem to be doing so well. Yet, it is the burden and love for others in humility that Christ honors, as He did in the friendship of those 4 men who brought their friend to Christ. We are very good at hurting those that hurt. Being critical because we have not walked where they may be walking. The scripture says in Proverbs 17:17 that a friend loves at all times….our friends need us to love on them by speaking the truth, but moreover, to be the example in how we ourselves may be living for Christ and even if we have to tear off a roof or two to get them there....we do it, because we love them that much!

Loving you today!

Bren

WORRY & STRESS - BE THE LILY

I wish I had a penny for every moment I have wasted in stressing over unmerited worry. You know …the kind of stressful worry that is out of your hands and you have no control over. The kind of worry that robs you of precious time that you can not get back.  In Luke 12 we are called to consider the Lilies of the field and compare them to the splendor of a King. That call requires us to stop and think about it….to consider it! Much of the time though we are too busy to stop and give consideration to anything, for even that, takes time in which we often do not feel we have to give; because we are to busy being overwhelmed in our hearts, stressed by every turn of the day, worried and not to mention the dread of tomorrow. Yet, it is that very consideration that can bring relief and comfort to our daily troubles that seek to overtake us and bring us to despair. In the midst of our everyday turmoil, our hearts long for a place of peace, to which we can turn and run to if needed. Life’s good and happy moments can often times leave us feeling like they are slipping by way too fast, while our painful days seem to turn into endless hours. Sometimes, we can race so fast through our day that we are left wondering if there really is a place of refuge instead of the toils and snares of the moment, and the concept of rest and peace seem like nothing more than a hopeful figment of our imagination. Yet Psalm 61:2 tells us that there is a Rock that is higher than we are, and that we are to pray, to be led to it! For it is there that we find the refuge that we seek and the hope of escape from those toils and snares that seek to entangle us.

It is easy for us when we are going down the well-lit path and we are seeing things for what they are. But what about those times that we are trudging through dreary seasons? It is at those very points of time that we are called to consider the lilies. It is God’s way of saying to us, to remember those times of when He was walking with us and we saw Him in the light; then, recall and give consideration to it, for we can still trust Him in the dark even when we may not be able to see that He is there.

Have you ever sat down to write a letter, draw or paint a picture and at some point just wad it up and toss it away because it was not what you were happy with. That is the way we need to deal with our worries that cause us such stress. If we know in our heart that we truly can not change the situation we should begin to view it as an unwanted possession and learn to simply toss it aside, put it out of our minds, replace them with things that the scripture tell us to think upon….whatsoever things are true, good and that build us up….not tare us down. The battle is won when we release the burden and pick up something that brings peace and joy to us in the place of that worry. Once we have learn to do that, we have learned to conquer and cast out our fears, worries and doubts and replace them with peace and contentment.

Recently, I found myself being inundated with fears that caused worry over the potential harm from a situation. I realized that my concern had turned into grief and that grief was throttling any joy or peace that the Lord was wanting me to have. As I considered the scripture concerning the lilies in the valley, I realized that what God was trying in His infinite way of telling me, was that I was like the lily and all that I needed to do was to be still and accept that. If I would realize that I was like the lily knowing who I was in Christ, then I should not waver, nor should I be tossed around in my heart by the fear of not having any control over my heartbreak. Once I realized that and accepted it, peace came in flooding my soul and left me with truth. That truth was the fact that I did have some control over my situation, maybe not for those involved but for myself, I had some control…..by simply covering all the sadness of the situation with prayer in faith believing that God was going to do a great work….WOW…the light of that truth truly set me free. Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham believe the Lord and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.

You see the only job of the Lilly is to grow and reflect beauty. It does not have to worry over being watered, fertilized, pruned, nor cared for in any way. It simply beholds the beauty of the creator. God longs for us to see ourselves in the same way. His word tells us over and over, that He will care for us, that He will provide for us, He prunes us when we are in need of it and are not reflecting Him. His ground is fertile and we grow from it producing the fruit that is in Him, if we will simply be like the lily and grow in Him and reflect who He is by our lifestyle.

The truths of God are not always easy to understand let alone be obedient to, yet they are the very things that bring us peace and happiness.

Consider the lily....take the time, it will be worth it!

Loving on you today!

Bren

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR HOROSCOPE

 

 

Before I became a Christian, I would regularly check my horoscope to see what a given day in my life might bring. Sometimes, it seemed as if it would even be correct. But the fact was, as I figured it out, I could have written down a list of generalities and predicted them myself. I had no idea what God thought about what I was doing, nor did I know what I was dabbling in, until I became a Christian and began to study the Word of God for myself. Men and Women have longed to know their futures since the beginning of time. From the Old Testament to the New Testament there are examples of people evoking mediums and soothsayers in hopes to find out important information that they believe will help them and give them hope. While God’s Word tells mankind to place their hope only in Him, we know that throughout the ages, men oftentimes seek after other gods, in hopes that they will get the answers that they want. When one god fails them they move on to find new ones. The Bible strongly condemns spiritism, mediums, soothsayers and any form of the occult. It gives strong warning against seeking psychics, or even dabbling in horoscopes, tarot cards, astrology, palm readings, fortune tellers, séances or any other form of witchcraft, in order to predict their futures. These practices are based on the concept that there are different types of gods, spirits, or deceased loved ones that can give advice and guidance. While they are very real, these channels are demonic false gods that give false hope, and are demonic spirits that masquerade as messengers of kindness, truth and hope according to 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. In Acts 16, the Bible tells of a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination who Paul and Silas met. She had brought her masters much profit by her fortunetelling. The girl followed them around for many days shouting out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation”. Paul became so troubled with her that he turned to her and said to the spirit in her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And at that very moment the evil spirit came out and when her owners saw that their hope of making money off of her was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. They later were arrested, beaten and thrown into prison for delivering a slave girl from the evil bondage that possessed and controlled her. Satan and his army of demons will always pretend to be kind and helpful to those that he sees as gullible and ignorant of the Truth. While he tries to appear as something good, his ultimate goal is the same as with the slave girl, to entrap his victims and hold them captive in hopes that through his deception they will not turn to the truth because they are deceived into thinking that they already have the truth. As for how soothsayers and mediums get their information, the scripture teaches that satan and his band of evil demons give their psychics or channels, information about a person in order to get that person hooked into spiritism; something that God forbids. It appears innocent at first, but soon people can find themselves addicted to psychics and in the end, unwittingly allow satan to control and destroy their hopes, dreams and very life. Some people cannot start their day until they know what their horoscope warns against or predicts for them. Peter proclaimed, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” in 1 Peter 5:8. In some cases, the psychics themselves are deceived, not knowing the true source of the information they receive. Whatever the case and wherever the source of the information, nothing connected to spiritism, witchcraft, or astrology is a godly means of discovering information. God’s plan for how we are to discern His will for our life is simple, powerful and effective. It is simply to study the Bible according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and to pray for wisdom in the things that are unknown to them, James 1:5.

It is a proven fact that there have been many exposures of psychics as frauds. It has also been proven that psychics can gain tremendous amounts of information on someone through an ordinary means. However, it is undeniable that some psychics or mediums sometime knows things that may be impossible for them to know and it is true that they get this information from another source. But you should also know and be very aware that their source according to the Bible is from satan and demons and if you claim the name of Christ, then be very aware that you will be held responsible for leading others down the wrong road if you are perusing it yourself or encouraging others to take part in them. For their end, the Bible predicts will be what their actions deserve according to 2 Corinthians 11:15. For Isaiah 8:19-20 says to the child of God, “When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” While there are many scripture references warning us to stay away and to have no part in them, I would share these few and pray that they shed light on any darkness that you are in concerning them. They are found in Leviticus 19:31 – Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 20:6 – As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Leviticus 20:27 – Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood guiltiness is upon them.” Det. 18:10-12 warns that these things are detestable practices and God hates them and anyone who does them is detestable before God. In I Samuel 28 we find a distraught and bereaved King grasping for answers because he had refused the truth from God and God’s prophet prior to his current situation. At that point God was no longer speaking to Saul. Out of fear from his enemy the Philistine army, Saul hoped that he could gain help through another source, which was the witch of Endor. Because he had expelled all the mediums and spiritist from the land and none of them were around or would trust him, he disguised himself and consulted her to bring back the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel. Having no idea that he was the King, she began her conjuring up the spirit of Samuel, God in the meantime was about to take Saul to the woodshed….the old witch was so horrified from what she was seeing, knowing that it was not of her powers or spells, she screamed and told Saul that he had deceived her. She was seeing something that only God is able to reveal… For while Saul and the witch may imply an authentic appearance of the dead, it is very clear that it was not a result from her witchcraft, for she herself was horrified and scared by what she saw. Instead, it was God’s final means of bringing a word to a king who insisted on going his own way to get an answer apart from God. Saul sought answers the wrong way and in the end, got the same results. He lost the battle and he died.

The story of Saul seeking the help of a medium also revealed who ultimately has control over even the demons and hell itself. Everything else is only counterfeit to what God can do. Another story in scripture concerning communicating with the dead is the story about Lazarus the beggar. He was a poor man who was featured in one of the parables that Jesus told about in Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus, a diseased beggar, laid at a rich man’s door, longing for scraps from the rich man’s table. The beggar died and was carried by the angels to heaven. The rich man also died, and his soul went into hell. There, in torment he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. He begged Abraham for pity to have Lazarus come and dip his finger in water to cool his tongue because of his agony in the fire. But Abraham said to him, son remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is being comforted and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a ‘great chasm” separating us, and anyone wanting to come to you from here is stopped at its edge and cannot cross over, and no one over where you are can cross to us. He responded to Abraham by asking him to please send Lazarus to warn his family so that they would not come to hell, surely he said, if someone from the dead would go to them they would listen and repent. Abraham told him that if they did not respond to the prophets that brought them the truth then nothing would change their hearts to believe. These were men that had already died and had become part of eternity. Like Saul seeking the answers that he wanted, he found that in the end, it was too late. He had already been warned by the very man or prophet that he was seeking to have conjured up. The rich man found himself in the same situation, because he too had had the opportunity to believe the prophets concerning God’s will for his life. He simply opted to reject it. God clearly gives us an example in the scriptures that once life is over, it is over, no coming back. Unless it is ordained of God to do so, for His good will and purpose; but  it is not something that is allowed and that we are to seek, I can assure you! So while people that are living may think that they are speaking to their deceased loved one or some other deceased person, they are in reality speaking to demons that are counterfeiting or masquerading as messengers of kindness, truth and hope. God’s Word tells us that the devil himself roams the earth seeking whom he may devour. Be aware and stay away from the things that will draw you to him. My heart’s desire  in this devotion is to point out the warnings that are in scripture,  that tell us to stay away, avoid and not to tempt our God by running after other gods. There is only one true God, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Begging and the End ….anything or anyone else is simply a counterfeit of Him and His truth; and should not be trusted. Study the Word of God for yourself, and know the Truth….for one day, you will have to answer for it!

Loving on today,

Bren
 

 

 

HE WHO FILLS MY EMPTY HEART

A TESTIMONY FROM SOMEONE JUST LIKE YOU

I long to be loved.  Yes, my husband loves me.  My parents love me.  My children love me.  And even my grandchildren love me.  But it’s not enough.  It’s not enough to fill that way deep down longing to be loved just for me.  It’s just not enough to fill that gaping heart hole that aches to be filled.

The only place I can find that kind of love is from God Himself.  I’ve found it in coming into a loving relationship with my Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ.  When I’m longing for that love, I must go to Him first.  His love has seen me through my most empty and excruciating times – a friendship betrayal, an unfaithful spouse, a divorce, a job loss and even the death of a newborn baby grandson.  When I find myself in that place where my heart is broken and wounded so deeply that I almost despair of life, there is only limited solace in the care and concern from my loved ones.  I need something more.  That’s when I find and remember the depths of God’s love.  He gives a love that is always available and reaches those depths that no one else knows.

It’s these times that I turn to scripture to remind me of His love.  One verse reads like this, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zeph 3:17).  Now, there’s a love I can inhale and breathe in deeply.  He lavishes me with His love, delights in me, rejoices over me and quiets me. It’s that love that gives me a reason to face each day and look for ways to know Him better and help others know Him. 

My empty heart hole has been filled! I am loved! He can do the same for you.  Are you searching for that kind of love?  If so, allow Him to meet you where you are today.  He will not fail you. He is faithful and can be trusted. 

“God is love” (1 John 4:8b).

VEH

A BROKEN HEART

Poets have written about it, songs have been composed as the results of it; hearts broken over broken relationships, death, suffering, misunderstandings and emotional pain on many levels. Everyone will experience these types of grief that we often refer to as, “heartbreak” at one time or another. For the most part, many of us will have our hearts broken many times throughout our lives by others as well as the wrong choices that we or someone dear to us makes yet, when it’s happening to you, it is so very easy to feel like no one else in the world has ever felt the same way… when you are in that moment. Sometimes, we even experience secondhand heartbreak that can be as devastating. For both are pretty common but are dealt with in much the same way.
Some people, with high expectations from themselves (that would be me) are prone to heartbreak. While others appear to have it all together but inside are falling apart.  I know and have known parents who face heartbreak because of an irresponsible child causing an entire war-torn family to struggle with the pain of broken hearts. The word broken heart is a common metaphor used to describe the intense emotional pain or suffering one feels after losing a loved one, through death, divorce, breakup, moving, being rejected, or other means. At first, it seems nothing can help. With time soothing words can help to heal broken hearts and mend relationships. Kind words can help alleviate the pain that one feels during those extreme times of hurt, especially if administered in love and not judgment. Psalm 69:20 says …”Insults have broken my heart and left me weak, I looked for sympathy but there was none; I found no one to comfort me.” In this Psalm, David says that insults had broken his heart, not loss or pain. Whether insult or rejection like David felt as he sought friendship with Saul, just about anything can break a persons heart.

Even today I received an email from a precious friend who is agonizing over a child that has decided to go their own way now that she is old enough and is experiencing the freedom of being away at college and from the authority that she has lived under all her life. While it is one of the hardest things a parent will ever have to do….sometimes, we have to accept the fact that it may only be through their wrong decisions that they will find God and return….or as the prodigal son did…find out that home really is better than the far away country that they may be seeking right now in the oat field where they are sowing.

Upon her asking my advice because of my own experiences as a parent, I shared with her these things that has helped me in the past and still does through the heartache that I have experienced in raising a child that pursued the wayward country. It may sound too easy yet they are the very things that have sustained me in those times and as I said, still do. But through it all, the Lord constantly reminds me to love without condemnation….allowing God to convict and guide her  heart just like He does mine. I must daily trust this to God and not try to be her or anyone’s Holy Spirit. My job as a parent to an adult now is to simply stand ready when they ask, and they will…  being sure to give Godly advice not only by what I say, but how I myself am living. Because my actions are always going to speak louder than my words of wisdom. My release through the hard times has come through in three ways: my tears, my talking about it to the Lord, and through time  …they have been the key factors that have helped me to endure my moments of heart break.  For the pain….I have had to learn the stages of churning about it, over and over, burning about it, being angry at them and angry at God and angry at myself…. learning from it, finding God’s perspective on it and then turning from it, releasing it daily relinquishing it to God…. and that my friend, is where you get the victory.

Happiness will only return to replace a broken heart as we make the effort to fight against it and not let it overtake us. If you are experiencing heart ache today sweet friend may I encourage you to keep yourself busy with other things, don’t waste your time dwelling on the sadness that entangles you with your heartache and trying to figure out how you can change people or the situation. But allow God the time to do what He needs to do in every life involved.

As I shared with my friend, any great book or godly counsel that you find on this subject will ultimately encourage you to let go….and let God! While that may sound petty, it is the truth. Pain is brought on suddenly….but it always takes time to diminish, and that is okay. You must allow yourself time to grieve over your pain, but do not take it into a closet and hide there with it. Fight it! The more we dwell on it, the more we worry over it and the more discouraged we will make ourselves. We must meet every disappointment in our lives as God sees them, not as we do! For He has the eternal perspective and overall picture of the situation and not the tunnel view that we see in that moment.

Dear friend as you may have often times heard me say it is always worth repeating…pray for and encourage godly people to encounter your husbands, your wives and sons and your daughters as well as your grandchildren. Pray that every where they turn they will be encountered with Truth…because that is the only thing that will set them free and bring change to their world….love them and pray for them yes….but, be a godly example to them by your own lifestyle….don’t give up….don’t you dare give up on them! They need our unconditional love, grace and undeserved mercy! Remembering that we do too!

Loving you today!
Bren