By Mary Lindow
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IT’S A STRANGE AND TWISTED WORLD
THAT WE LIVE IN
Many well
meaning people try hard to give pep talks, cheery texts and even send emails
with profound topics or inspirational
contents all in the hope of giving a bit of relief from the ever increasing
“noises” of an uncertain world.
“ I have told you all
this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials
and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
This is not
always an easy question to answer right away. Emotions and physical reactions
to the question begin to swirl and elevate stress levels when anxiety creeps
in. And, fear
is a terror that can paralyze anyone if enough of it is allowed to enter our
minds. And that is exactly where it first penetrates our peace. In the Mind.
Fear - (noun)
Fright,
fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread,
consternation, dismay, distress; anxiety, worry, angst, unease, uneasiness, apprehension,
nervousness, foreboding;
WHEN WE FEAR WE MAKE POOR CHOICES
If you are
afraid or “fear” being misled by someone, you will limit your intimacy or
openness with him or her. Many believers in need of healing emotionally from
harsh or indifferent parenting tend to keep deep relationships or friendship at
arm’s length in order to maintain a sense of control or privacy for
themselves.
This can
become a form of “selective hearing or selective listening” if the individual
feels that they need to remain aloof and frosty in order to gain the respect or
validation that they feel that they need to exist.
The problem
with this cycle is that is creates a private
“terror” of not having a solid place of safety with a few dear and
treasured people, flawed people… but those willing to also be vulnerable and
open.
Psalm 27:1
whom shall I fear?
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Every
situation, location, and relationship of our everyday lives is in some way
broken. As fallen creatures, the best we can ever do in this life is to know
how to live in this broken-down house/earth suit that’s our current address. And,
nothing and no one but God himself, in the fullness of his time, can change
where we live. So as we experience the reality of life in this house, sometimes
it will leave us confused and overwhelmed.
Sometimes
it will leave us hurt and angry. Sometimes people will give way to envy because
the house or “life” of someone living nearby seems far less broken. Sometimes we
just get weary of the stress of it all and long for a house in perfect
repair.
YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY
ONE
In those moments, those days, those seasons, remember that you
are never on your own. The Master Builder has given us a copy of his renovation
manual, the Bible. It will help us to understand why things are as broken as
they are. It teaches us how to live well even in the midst of the brokenness.
And it will explain the only way in which repair can ever happen.
TAKE A LOOK IN THE
REARVIEW MIRROR FOR ONE MOMENT
FINDING THE PLACE OF
SAFETY AND ACCEPTANCE
When we step into the hand of God we
find the place of acceptance, and safety and an opportunity for service. It is
the place of real authority, as well as of hiddenness.
God only works with those who are in
His hand and those who do not keep jumping out of it, attempting to either
control their own fears, but instead, often try to control others around them
due to being fearful of the choices others make possibly affecting them.
Both greatly hinder the ability to trust
other godly people and above all, to trust the safety of letting God do His
job, while we rest in His hand.
The more we lie sheltered there, the
more surely will He use us down the road. And it will be alongside others who freely
share all that they have, without fear. Just as you will learn as you let go,
and allow the Father to build a “Safe House” out of your life in His presence.
May the Lord do for us according to His word.
Under
His shadow we are to feel that we are at home, and then
He will make Himself at
home to us by becoming food unto our souls, and giving spiritual refreshment to
us while we rest.”
NO MORE HOOPS TO JUMP The emptier I am,
The more room is there for the Lord
The more I lack,
The more He will give me.
The more I feel my weakness,
The more shall I adore and bless
Him
when He makes me whole.
Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed
provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
to the bottom of this message for the fast loading audio player.
IT’S A STRANGE AND TWISTED WORLD
THAT WE LIVE IN
Many well
meaning people try hard to give pep talks, cheery texts and even send emails
with profound topics or inspirational
contents all in the hope of giving a bit of relief from the ever increasing
“noises” of an uncertain world.
“ I have told you all
this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials
and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
This is not
always an easy question to answer right away. Emotions and physical reactions
to the question begin to swirl and elevate stress levels when anxiety creeps
in. And, fear
is a terror that can paralyze anyone if enough of it is allowed to enter our
minds. And that is exactly where it first penetrates our peace. In the Mind.
Fear - (noun)
Fright,
fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread,
consternation, dismay, distress; anxiety, worry, angst, unease, uneasiness, apprehension,
nervousness, foreboding;
WHEN WE FEAR WE MAKE POOR CHOICES
If you are
afraid or “fear” being misled by someone, you will limit your intimacy or
openness with him or her. Many believers in need of healing emotionally from
harsh or indifferent parenting tend to keep deep relationships or friendship at
arm’s length in order to maintain a sense of control or privacy for
themselves.
This can
become a form of “selective hearing or selective listening” if the individual
feels that they need to remain aloof and frosty in order to gain the respect or
validation that they feel that they need to exist.
The problem
with this cycle is that is creates a private
“terror” of not having a solid place of safety with a few dear and
treasured people, flawed people… but those willing to also be vulnerable and
open.
Psalm 27:1
“The LORD is my light
and my salvation--
whom shall I fear?
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the
stronghold of my life--
of whom shall I be afraid?”
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Every
situation, location, and relationship of our everyday lives is in some way
broken. As fallen creatures, the best we can ever do in this life is to know
how to live in this broken-down house/earth suit that’s our current address. And,
nothing and no one but God himself, in the fullness of his time, can change
where we live. So as we experience the reality of life in this house, sometimes
it will leave us confused and overwhelmed.
Sometimes
it will leave us hurt and angry. Sometimes people will give way to envy because
the house or “life” of someone living nearby seems far less broken. Sometimes we
just get weary of the stress of it all and long for a house in perfect
repair.
YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY
ONE
In those moments, those days, those seasons, remember that you
are never on your own. The Master Builder has given us a copy of his renovation
manual, the Bible. It will help us to understand why things are as broken as
they are. It teaches us how to live well even in the midst of the brokenness.
And it will explain the only way in which repair can ever happen.
Just never forget that the "Designer" Himself has moved into the
house with you. You’ve not been left alone. You can rest assured of his
presence and his wisdom. His grace has blessed you with both of these.
However, He must be fully welcomed and invited into all of the “locked
and hidden access areas” that others are not often trusted to enter into.
He who offers you such grace and guidance will never ask you to
do what you are not fully capable of doing by God’s grace and ever present Spirit.
He will not demand things of you that are beyond your abilities. Our Lord is
tender and kind. He knows who you are and he knows where you’re living. He
knows how hard it is to live in your broken-down house because in the flesh he
lived here himself.
The Lord invites you to walk away from trying to figure it out
on your own and he welcomes you to sit at his feet and learn the simplicities of living; things so
full of meaning that you will see your world in a completely new way; things so
practical that you will never live the same way again.
“Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves.”
Philippians
2:3
TAKE A LOOK IN THE
REARVIEW MIRROR FOR ONE MOMENT
Have you recently made decisions about who you will share with
on any level such as giving, talking of dreams, sorrows, losses, major life
events, and then afterward - pulled back only to run to either another source
for additional validation or to agree with your choices or decisions? Or, have
you reacted to some of the counsel or responses you have received by testing
those whom you have shared with by removing your favor, kindness or former warmth
from them?
These actions are often made rapidly when we are fearful or fear
being wounded, and shift us into a place of survival and self-protection.
They can also isolate us from a loving, safe and healthy “corrective
course” or direction away from fear and its tentacles.
FINDING THE PLACE OF SAFETY AND ACCEPTANCE
When we step into the hand of God we
find the place of acceptance, and safety and an opportunity for service. It is
the place of real authority, as well as of hiddenness.
God only works with those who are in
His hand and those who do not keep jumping out of it, attempting to either
control their own fears, but instead, often try to control others around them
due to being fearful of the choices others make possibly affecting them.
Both greatly hinder the ability to trust
other godly people and above all, to trust the safety of letting God do His
job, while we rest in His hand.
The more we lie sheltered there, the
more surely will He use us down the road. And it will be alongside others who freely
share all that they have, without fear. Just as you will learn as you let go,
and allow the Father to build a “Safe House” out of your life in His presence.
May the Lord do for us according to His word.
He said,
"I have put
My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of My hand."
Charles Spurgeon spoke such a beautiful statement
and I want to
share it with you here.
“The
shadow of God is not the occasional resort,
but the
constant abiding- place, of the saint.
Under
His shadow we are to feel that we are at home, and then
He will make Himself at
home to us by becoming food unto our souls, and giving spiritual refreshment to
us while we rest.”
NO MORE HOOPS TO JUMP
When this is learned and treasured, you will then not withhold
from or test others with rules or regulations set up to certainly fail them. We
ruin great friendships or opportunities when we expect from others total
vulnerability and openness and then only give part of what we have and who we
are back in return.
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience.”
Colossians 3:12
Perhaps you are waiting on Christ, desiring His company, and
while you are thinking these thoughts you are asking, "Will He ever direct His full gaze upon me? Will He ever speak
loving words to me? Will He ever let me sit at His feet? Will He ever permit me
to lean my head upon His shoulder?"
COME AND STEP BACK
INTO THE SHELTER OF HIS HAND.
Though you might shake like a leaf in a strong wind. Come! Sometimes
those who come trembling are those who are aware that they are the lowest and
the Creator the highest. When finally admit that our own self-esteem is less
than nothing and is total vanity, then Jesus is the more good and lovely in our
eyes.
Let your humility of heart, and your sense of hollowness, as a
replacement for disqualifying you, be a sweet instrument for leading you to
receive more of Christ.
“Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
But humility comes before honor.”
Proverbs 18:12
The more room is there for the Lord
The more I lack,
The more He will give me.
The more I feel my weakness,
The more shall I adore and bless
Him
when He makes me whole.
when He makes me whole.
You’re never in a better place than when you give up on you and
begin to trust in what is certain. The
life-shaping wisdom of the One who created you - in the first place.
“After all, every
house has a builder,
But the builder of
everything is God.”
Hebrews 3:4
Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed
provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!
Copyright 2013 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
