WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH ME

I have always been amazed at how a Potter can manage to take a lump of clay and transform it into something useful and beautiful. The other day as I was watching a television program on how things are made, it showed how potters make earthen ware from spoiled and unyielding, dirty, muddy clay. I noticed that the first thing that a Potter will do before he begins the process is to add water to it in order to make it pliable and soft enough for him to be able to actually use it. If he does not add enough water into the clay, it will remain too hard and rigid for him to be able to handle it. The water is what makes the clay soft and pliable. The analogy in the story of the Potter and the clay found in Jeremiah 18, speaks of the child of God’s transformation and sanctification by the hand of God in their lives. Ephesians 5:26 refers to how he uses water in the life of each believer as they are put on the wheel. It states, “…that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

The water that is used in this process of shaping His children represents the His Word. God molds and transforms us as His children in this life. But exactly why He does some of the things He does with us in this molding process, “as the process can be quite painful and unpleasant at times”, is His business and His alone, but be assured, that when it happens, it is meant for our good and nothing less. For the Lord knows what it will take, to make us what His will determines that we need to be. Yet God does not even begin to mold and transform us in this new life unless we are first willing do our part. Our part is to surrender our lives to Him and get into His Word, to know Him better, by our reading  and studying it. Our understanding of the Bible or Word of God, comes as we assimilate what is says as best we can, and with the help through the power of His Holy Spirit, we will begin the process of understanding what we are actually reading. If however, we give up or become sporadic in our efforts, even then, God still continues the process in us, drawing us to do His will. It is very important however, that we work with Him and not struggle to have our own way as He is molding us, because when the clay works against the hand of the potter, the process can become more difficult and painful for us. God’s ultimate will for our lives is to change us into the image of His Son and that is a continual process that begins in the life of every believer once they have turned from their sin and received His free gift of salvation, through the atonement of His only Son, Jesus Christ; until the day they draw their last breath on this earth. How far they get in their sanctification depends solely on how soon they surrender to the process of being on the Potter’s wheel. Like a piece of clay even when we break and tear apart, the Potter’s hand can take us and reshape us into an incredible useful image, that brings Him glory and fill us with peace, fulfillment and contentment.

A Christian’s sanctification is brought on literally by the hand of God Himself, operating through the Holy Spirit on the inside of them. It will supernaturally transform and sanctify them. In the analogy in the story of the Potter and the clay found in Jeremiah 18, when a potter works on a pieces of clay he always works on the inside as well as the outside. After the potter begins to add some water to the clay as it is spinning on the wheel, he take his hand and pushes it down, on the top of the clay, to create an opening in it.

Once this opening has been made at the top of the clay, then he goes down deep inside the middle of the clay as it is forming out, and uses his hands to properly shape the piece of clay, as it is building up, during this spinning process on the wheel as the clay continues to spin. The Potter cannot make any shape or form of a vessel unless his hands go down deep into the middle of the clay as it is forming out. In the same way, God’s own hand literally goes down deep into the middle of our souls where the inner sanctification work is actually done to mold and transform us into the saints, He wants us to become. While God never forces is will on us, He will manipulate our circumstance as the Potter manipulates the clay to get the shape that he is looking for in the vessel. This is how God does His inner sanctification work in us, as He needs our full cooperation in order to be able to get that deep on the inside of us. As God is doing His supernatural work on the inside of us, it can become rather painful and unpleasant at times, as He is removing all of the bad and negative qualities that He does not want operating in our personalities. At the same time, He is removing the impure qualities in us He is instilling and imparting His godly qualities in us, that He desire us to have.

Like the potter in the allegory of Jeremiah, God also has to apply a good amount of pressure with his hands as he is molding and shaping us from time to time in order to get us to change to become the kind of person He wants us to become by removing toxic qualities such as pride, arrogance, bad tempers, and lust. These can all be very painful due to our flesh wanting to keep these negative qualities operating in our personalities. because they are characteristics that our flesh is most familiar and comfortable with. But by letting God do this inner, surgery like work, in us through the Holy Spirit, we will eventually be molded and shaped into the godly saint that He is calling us to become in Him. Just as the lump of clay begins to go up and out in its shape as it continues to spin on the wheel, so does the life of the Christian as they yield to the hands of the potter, allowing the Potter to give them their shape. There are times though that we can feel as though our lives are actually spinning out of control and we become convinced that the devil is in control. This is not so sweet friend if we are yielded to the hand of God! It is at those times that we need to look under the table and be reminded as we see whose foot is on the spinning wheel. If it were the devil we would have been thrown off long ago.

So remember that God is monitoring your every move. Yes, God’s eyes and His attention are always on you and you can fully trust Him to complete the good work that He has begun in you until the day you take your last breath. The Potter is never intimated by the clay, no matter how flawed it is. He can work and rework it until He gets the finished product that He wants. God does more for us than a potter can do in his creation of an earthen vessel. God formed us and then He gave us the breath of life to walk, talk, think, feel, have emotions and enjoy living, otherwise we would just be a bunch of ceramics for Him to look at. “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8. Oh, what God can do with me, if I will simply let Him!

Loving on you sweet friend!

Bren

JUST FLAWED AND WEAK

We need to quit fighting our weaknesses and realize that true strength is actually found in them, according to 2 Cor 12. If you are like me, then you are often times ashamed before the Lord that you are so feeble and weak. The things you want to do you don’t seem to do and yet the things you don’t want to do are the easiest things to give in to and while it is very hard to comprehend, it is that very place that we must get before the Lord steps up to the plate in our place, to do that which we cannot do. It is through our adversity that our fleshly and common sense of things are brought to light by the hand of God. But once we see that light, we know that we have seen truth and that is what sets us free. When you think about the life of Peter you may see him as a flawed, indecisive weakling who kept disappointing the Lord by his distractions and fears. Yet, in spite of his short comings, Peter choose to go back each time he failed and try it again as he placed his feeble faith in what his heart compelled him to do, trust. It is not easy walking on water and we would be wise not to be so quick to judge him for sinking.

 

For like Peter, sometimes the course that Jesus charts for our life is directly into a storm as well. Jesus will meet us there as the storms rage around us and as with Peter, at just the right time, He will reveal Himself to us in that storm and our joy will deepen as we reach out and trust Him, because we have realized that we are too weak and cannot make it ourselves. Paul felt weak as well. His weakness was humility and showing Christ’s power. That’s why God made sure Paul had his weaknesses. They were meant to keep him “from becoming conceited” and to give him a more obvious experience of the power of Christ in his own life. In my own struggles, I try so hard sometimes to do my very best in overcoming my weakness in my dieting and caring better for my health. But I find myself often times saying I just can’t do this thing on my own. I am learning though that God has ordained that in my life as a thorn to buffet me, through genetics or life-experience, we all are flawed, limited, broken, weak. While we all suffer with different areas of weaknesses, our struggle is the same. God is trying so hard to teach my tough thick hard head that, it is when I surrender to Him that I cannot do it, that my flesh is rendered weak enough for God to take control and give me the strength I need. Paul asked that God would take his weakness away in 2 Cor 12, but God said no. Which means that sooner or later, we should stop praying against the weakness and accept it as God’s design for whatever character that He is trying to build in us and for the glory of Christ in us. We must all decide for ourselves if we are to bare the burdens of our weaknesses until they teach us the lessons that we must learn. I am learning that God is all sufficient for my every need, but if I am to call Him, “Lord, Lord”, then I must do that which He tells me to do. Though I am flawed and weak, I have found Him to be a strong tower to which He never fails!

Loving on you today sweet friend,

Bren

IS SOMETHING TORMENTING YOU?

For the Shepherd, summer time is known as “fly time”. Those who raise livestock understands this best and the serious problems that insects bring during the warm summer weather. Sheep are especially troubled by an insect called, “the nose fly”. These little flies buzz around the sheep's head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp, mucous membranes in the sheep's nose. If they are successful, the eggs will hatch in a few days to form small larvae. They work their way up the nasal passages into the sheep's head and burrow themselves into the flesh; and there set up an intense inflammation and irritation to the sheep. While the sheep cannot see them, they are very much aware of their presence. For relief from their agonizing annoyance, they will deliberately beat their heads against fence post, brush, rocks and trees. They will rub their nose in the dirt and thrash their bodies around in an effort to escape the torment of their irritation and in extreme cases of intense infestation, a sheep will even kill itself. These irritating flies reek all sorts of torments on sheep and if not treated properly, the infection from the flies will even lead to blindness. Some of the sheep become frantic with fear and panic in their attempt to escape their tormentors. They stamp their feet erratically and run from place to place in the pasture trying desperately to escape the flies. Some will run so much, that they will drop from sheer exhaustion. Others may toss their heads up and down for hours in agony. All this excitement and distraction has a devastating effect on the entire flock.

 

The only hope that the sheep has is from the attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd. At the very first sign of flies among the flock, a good Shepherd will apply an oil to their heads. A homemade remedy that he has made which is smeared over the sheep's nose and head as a protection against nose flies. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep's heads, there is an incredible transformation and immediate change in their behavior. The sheep begins to feed quietly again and will soon lie down in peaceful contentment.

 

We too can be tormented by an unseen enemy and though we cannot see him, we can certainly feel his presence in our lives. We can easily be tormented by thoughts that burrow their way into our flesh, lay their repulsive eggs and hatch into destructive larva that will eventually work their way into our minds causing us all kinds of torment. Thoughts of fear, rejection, hatred, failure, bitterness, greed, jealousy, lust and many, many other harmful thoughts and lies. These thoughts if not dealt with quickly and correctly can plague even the people of God. But this should not be our fate! Just as there is an oil that the Shepherd uses on his sheep, God has prepared an oil for us. Ps 23 reminds us of this very thing. In those verses the shepherd David relates to us what the Father did for Him and we can trust that He will do them for us. He makes us lie down in green pastures, He restores us and guides us even in the darkest of valleys. We don’t have to fear evil, for He has a spiritual rod and staff of protection. Knowing that, gives us comfort. He anoints our head with oil to serve Him and as a spiritual protection for us. Jesus said in John 10:11 that He was the good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. What is the oil that He offers to His sheep? It is His very word. I can testify myself to it’s amazing power when I apply it to my life. Time after time, even this week God has come through in pouring His oil of truth in an area of my life that has been troubling me. His word is true and sharper than anything that the enemy uses in combat with the children of the Most High. Is something tormenting you today, sweet friend? If so, run to the Good Shepherd and allow the oil of His word to spill over you and don’t give up! He is trustworthy and able. But you must be willing to receive His help, His way, not yours!

Hold Fast,

Bren

REDEEMING YOUR MARRIGE

In our culture today many see divorce as a positive solution to a troubled marriage, an easy fix. However, divorce is not always a solution, but in most cases it is only an exchange of problems. Marriage is a covenant between God, and a man and a woman.  Malachi 2:16, tells us that God hates divorce! Why? Because He knows and understand the heartbreak, pain and devastation from it. Those vows to stand by each other in riches and in poverty, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, as long as they both shall live, seems like only a poem to most people that are going through the heartache of marriage troubles. Yet, those troubles are the very reason that they are included in their marriage vows. Any covenant that is made from human lips is a binding, weighty obligation and should never be taken lightly. Proverbs 20:25 tells us that, "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows". Deuteronomy 23:23 says, "You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised." Jesus said that "every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment" Matthew 12:36. God takes the wedding covenant seriously, even when we do not. Most couples seeking a divorce today do so for unbiblical reasons. They cite reasons such as poor communication, incompatibility, financial problems, lack of commitment to the relationship, changes in priorities and even a selfish act of their so called right to do as they choose with no regard how it may affect others. In short, when marriage isn't working, the common solution is to simply get out of it. And often times when they do seek help, they in no way want to do the work that it may take to resolve and restore a broken marriage. God never ordained or created the institution of divorce. Man did that because of his own hard heart. There are passages of scripture that indicate there are a couple of circumstances in which God releases a couple from the lifelong covenant of marriage: Adultery and immorality is one. However, even in those cases if there is a willingness to forgive and restore that relationship, then the act of reconciliation is the best choice. In a discussion between Christ and the Pharisees in Matthew 19, after Jesus refers to God's original purposes for marriage, He is asked, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus then answered, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery" Matthew 19:7-9. Another is when an unbelieving spouse deserts a believer. 1 Corinthians 7:15-17, Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. The ideal intention for marriage holds that the only exception for divorce is death. A key verse in is Matthew 19:8 where Jesus says to the Pharisees, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way." In addition, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7:24, "Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called”. Are you bound to a husband or wife? Do not seek to be released." Is your marriage about to end? The question that you are now facing is, do you want to save your marriage? Do you want to honor your marriage vows. Are you willing to trust God for reconciliation in your marriage to change those things that you cannot? Don’t trust only in your selves, because too often the trust has been broken there. Do trust in God to restore what the enemy has stolen from you and allow healing to come.

Often times a spouse will ignore for years the alarms of discontent that their mate has been crying out for them to notice, yet, none of those complaints may have sounded like they would end up being causes, for divorce, at the time.  When “suddenly” someone announces that he or she is moving out, wants to end the marriage, or even has filed already for divorce and the ground below them shakes like an earthquake. Is there any way to stop a divorce? If you are going through a strained relationship you may find the stress and emotional anguish difficult to bear. There are long-lasting and far-reaching effects that need to be considered before making life changing decisions. However your ability to think clearly and rationally about the future is often clouded by the emotional trauma you are experiencing. Seek help to walk through those difficult times when you cannot see through the clouds yourself. It is not so much a specific problem that leads to divorce with the exception of infidelity, but are most often issues with the way couples are relating to one another. How they choose to respond to those problems. Working together in a healthy, constructive fashion to achieve the proper healing in their marriage. While it is very possible it does take determination and work. Some of the factors that have brought you to the place you are today if your marriage is in trouble and you are considering a divorce can very well be traced back to a number of common problems that every marriage faces. Depending upon how each couple learns to walk through those problems will determine the longevity of that marriage.

 

These common problems range from financial problems and disagreements about money to a lack of commitment, which may include marrying too young or marrying the wrong person. Others are Infidelity and betrayal, long term arguing and disagreement on child rearing and unrealistic assumptions about what marriage is. You will always have problems when you are thinking that marriage is 50/50, which is not true in any marriage. Some couples face physical, and emotional abuse, as well as alcohol and substances addictions.  But many times over, these are not the root of the problem. The root is that the marriage is one sided, and no matter how hard one works the other will not yield. No matter how much you want it to get better, both the husband and the wife must agree to work together. While there are a number of things that can hurt or hinder a resolve in broken relationships, here are a few. You pick the ones that may apply to you and work hard towards making changes to improve what you know in your heart needs to be done. They are: Ongoing criticism. Particularly when the criticism is not outweighed by positive statements. Contempt and lack of respect for each other. This festers and grows in a relationship and can devastate a relationship quicker than anything. Defensiveness. People who cannot take responsibility for a problem cannot fix it and cannot display empathy for how their spouse may be feeling. Deliberate avoidance of interaction and discussion of how the other feels will make it impossible to resolve an argument. You cannot fix what you will not admit to. Unwillingness to forgive and move on. Not forgiving someone hurts only the one who had been wronged. You must forgive! Denying that you may be part of the problem or not wanting anyone to know about your situation, or unwilling to seek help is simply prideful and reveals an unwilling spirit in you that speaks volumes to your mate and others about you. It shows that you have no desire to do what it will take to change or take responsibility. Some of the strongest relationships that you will ever find are from those who have been through hardships in their marriages that almost ended had there not been strong commitment and determination to finish that which they both vowed together to complete. If today you are in a place of hardship in your marriage, take on the role of the postage stamp and stick to it until you get to place in your marriage that you long to be. The destination can be sweeter than the beginning, if the effort is made to do whatever it takes to get there. “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” Proverbs 10:12

 

Hold Fast,

Bren

TAKE THE HIGHER GROUND

When dealing with conflict, taking the higher road is always the best way to handle and maintain your own moral high ground. To take the higher road means to learn to respond in a manner that will not escalate a bad situation but disarm the situation by cooling it down. As children of God we must learn to make great effort in finding God’s perspective in every situation that disagreements place us in, no matter how hard it may seem. When we have been wronged by someone that does not see the situation as clearly as we may feel like we do, and have wronged us, then the only thing that can be done is to take the high road and agree to disagree with them and move on. After you have reminded yourself that whatever the situation was… will more than likely not even possibly matter to you in five years from now…. then move on! Don’t let someone or something rob you of your joy or ruin your day over something that might just be pretty trivial to them. Never let someone get the best of you in a situation. Learn to squeeze out every ounce of compassion towards them and move on. Always be sure to take the time and not miss anything that may be your responsibility. Admit what you should and then move on. Try to remember that other people are looking at the situation from their own perspective whether you feel like they have a foot to stand on or not. The reason that there is a disagreement to begin with, is because two people are viewing a situation from their own perspectives. What is your perspective by the way? Are they based on codes and ethics, maybe scriptures? In conflict maybe the other person has no code of ethics nor do they believe in scripture. They reason and think the way they do because of the condition of their hearts and only God knows the hearts of man. Shake it off and apply the Golden Rule (found in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”) of kindness in every situation you find yourself in; and you'll be surprised to find the peace that you will get from any random act of kindness that you may show someone who may not be deserving of your kindness; and you'll find yourself back on the high road once again. Mark Twain once remarked that to act morally is noble, but to talk about acting morally is also noble and a lot less trouble. While he may have meant to be funny his words are very misleading. Being noble is a lot of trouble to those who have no desire to seek or apply it. The scripture says that where a man’s heart is there is his treasure. So anytime we can act in a godly manner is much better than just talking about it. We are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only the Scriptures teach.

There have been saints and scoundrels all through history. The saints have understood some important things about what God’s Word teaches us and how we are to live if we are children of God. Scoundrels never seem to grasp those truths and laugh and mock at them, as though they were silly fables. If we know what to do in certain situations; then those truths can motivate us to resist the temptations that threaten to lure us off the high road and succumb to the low one. I work in the Transportation Industry. Within our Industry we share a type of ethics that govern us with codes, regulations and law as well as conduct. If you believe in these ethics and allow them to guide how you do your job then they can keep you out of trouble in a number of ways. If you however can be tempted to accept other alternative ways of avoiding those codes and regulations as a substitute for real ethics, then you may find yourself in a bad situation. But, if you allow those codes and regulations to govern how you work within the industry, then you are following that code of ethics and your actions or deeds reflect that ethic or standard that you live by and they can provide you with protection. The same applies to Godly ethics and regulations, if we practice and live by the Golden Rule for instance then we dare not worry about God’s dealing with us as disobedient, but obedient children. My brother has built his business through the years on his personal code of ethics and the Golden Rule. He went out of his way in his dealings with people through the years as he has built up his business to be helpful, honest and trustworthy with his customers. As a result, his reputation for integrity spread though those years and his business has flourished; because his success was rooted in his character as well as his code of ethics. He has strived with great effort to apply the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and it has paid off in more ways than one for him. That Golden Rule should be the principal or code of ethics by which all Christians live by. Knowing and practicing that principal will always help to refocus our minds, reminding us of our consequences if we do not follow it, and nudge us in the right direction. By following it, we are living the life that Christ died for us to have; the life more abundantly. Decide today what choices are best for you and worth living for and yes, even dying to self for….to do what is right and not what you feel like doing in the flesh; and let no other code or action undermine it. Choose you this day whom you will serve…and get to doing it! “As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; with patience, bearing with one another in love. Diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.” Ephesians 4:1-3 The Higher Road is by no means easy, but it is, the right way! Let’s love each other, no matter the cost!

 

Loving on you today!

Bren

2015 RESOLVE REVIVAL

We humans spend a lifetime seeking after the things we value the most and often without realizing it, set a pattern of worship for that which we seek. Some seek after the pleasures that fulfill their flesh, while others seek a deeper spiritual fulfillment.  But true worship is setting a priority on seeking God. When Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, He introduced a new kingdom coming and a revolutionary new way to live. Your view of God shapes every other area of your life. Tragically, most people's perception of God is shaped by their  own thoughts, feelings and experiences rather than by God's revelation of Himself in and through His Word. The Word of God is needed in our lives. It is alive, powerful, sharp and yet it is so neglected. While most of us intend to read the Bible, we rarely do. And even then, God wants us to do more than simply read it, for it was written to be obeyed. God’s power is released to us as we obey it, to do that which He requires of us. The true worshiper of God will always be seeking Him crying out to Him to, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”, like David did in Psalm 139:23-24.

 

Too often God’s people grow content with the ordinary that they don't even bother asking God for anything more. Revival invites you to imagine what could change if we were to actually experience it. In revival, our priorities get rearranged, relationships are reconciled, people take precedence over job pursuits and recreational hobbies, and God’s people become conscious of what it means to seek His kingdom and His righteousness above everything else, as in Matthew 6:33. In 2015 let us ignite our passion to seek God for His movements of revival in our personal life, our homes, Churches and community. While we cannot organize revival, we can begin to set our sails to catch the fire of it, as it is released to those that desire and seek it. Discovering how we can set the sails for God’s power and activity in our lives is provided in His Word and requires action on our parts. First and foremost, having a heart of repentance. Repentance is a serious word. God commands it. Our sinful condition requires it. And Jesus makes it possible for us to live the life that He died to provide us. As we have this change in our hearts, God leads us to the places that we need to go. Don’t settle sweet friend for a lesser version of who God created you to be. No matter how far from God's standard you have fallen, the power of God's grace can save, transform and restore you, providing you the revival you desperately need and seek or for the salvation through Christ that you have yet to experience but can have even now, as you go to Him and ask. May you have the happiest of new year’s in 2015, as you resolve in your heart to be spiritually revived!

Hold Fast,

Bren

HOLIDAY DISAPPOINTMENTS

Christmas day has finally come and gone. The tree, though still up, lacks its Holiday luster. The loneliness for many will now set in. The left over mixed emotions begin to cloud our vision and seem to collide with the disappointments of the much wanted gifts, that we did not receive or the special someone that did not show up. We tell ourselves that next year will be better, as we stare at the crumpled up bits of Christmas paper on the floor that now resembles confetti. The living room that just a few days before, looked like a festive and elegant Target commercial, now looks like a circus that just finished the last show and pulled out of town, leaving a trail of debris down the halls and into the kid’s bedrooms. We begin that dreaded questioner that we force ourselves every year to take as we review our Holiday. Was it the best day of the year, or did it turn out to be the worst? Did we find the true spirit of Christmas or did we allow the disappointments to over shadow the things that could of brought us the joy that was intended, had our focus been on what it should have been on. Was this how the shepherds felt, after the angels ceased their singing and they returned to their flocks in the fields? Did they experience the same let down? Wonder what the magi felt, when they began the long trip back home as Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt as they were warned to do? Did they wonder, like we do? Did they question like we do, “was this it”? Everything that we had been waiting for and this is it? A baby in a manger? A gift card from a family member along with a food hangover for eating way too much! May I tell you from experience sweet friend that every glory fades, when it is misplaced, in the wrong thought or idea. Disappointment is nothing more that the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfillment of our hopes or expectations. You didn’t get the job you wanted, Someone you love let you down. Your Christmas did not turn out the way you had hoped. Whatever the circumstances, it didn’t turn out how you expected, and now you’re disappointed.

Disappointment can hover over us bringing about a very grey perspective upon our situation and if you don’t know what your core values are, you may not have a framework to support you when you experience negative emotions that cause the dreaded, Eeyore syndrome. If you stop and think about it, the Bible is full of disappointed people. John, Moses, David, Jacob, Hannah, Mary and Martha, just to mention a few. Even Jesus experienced disappointment on many levels during His life as people refused to heed the Good News that He was bringing. His heart panged as His disciples and closet friends didn’t understand or believe. Nor, as He encountered the ritualistic mindsets of the religious Pharisees. The good thing though, was that many of those biblical characters overcame their disappointments and were able to accomplish what the devil meant by using their disappointments against them to bring about good in their lives. We too will face disappointment again and again in our lives, but how we respond to it should change over time. We should find ourselves staying away from the emotional roller coasters every time we don’t get what we want or what we expected in our circumstances. It should become less about what we desire and more about what God desires for us. As Jesus prayed when He asked God to spare Him the suffering that He knew He would face on the cross, "yet not my will, but yours be done" Luke 22:42. This is the great lesson that we must learn from Him. When something bad happens in our life, it’s not a time to blame God, but a time to run to Him and remember that God didn’t disappoint us, but that life’s circumstances and people disappointed us. Always remember to fight your disappointments with truth and not with pity and gloom as you go into your new year!

Happy New Year!

Bren