Contentment

I have been overwhelmed lately.  Overloaded, tapped out, depleated.  Weeks ago I signed up to go to a woman's retreat for Friday night.  I actually didn't feel like going when the time came because it was just one more thing.  But, amazingly I was able to relax and find some refreshing.  I had been thinking of a song since last Sunday and that very song was a theme of our weekend.  Here are the words:

The More I Seek You

by Kari Jobe

The more I seek you

the more I find you

The more I find you

the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet

drink from the cup in your hands

Lay back against you and breathe

feel your heart beat

This love is so deep

it's more than I can stand

I melt in your peace

it's overwhelming

It can be hard to set aside things that distract us and threaten to consume all our thoughts and concentration.  But when I did this, I was able to focus on God, to really seek Him and I found that's just where I want to be.  I was able to be overwhelmed by His peace and I wanted to stay in that place.  My goal now is to seek and find this each day.

Take the time to watch this video and meditate for yourself.

http://youtu.be/b4crRPpqoW4

One of the subjects we pondered this weekend was being content in all circumstances.  We may still pray that circumstances change, but we need to learn to be content wherever God has placed us.  That is how I feel once I am overwhelmed by God's peace.



Blessings

My friend is in the hospital.  This friend has had more than her fair share of difficulties in life.  I won't go into them all, but we frequently ask ourselves and each other, what is going on?  Why her God?  Isn't enough enough?  When will you just pour out your blessings on her instead of allowing all this hardship?

I hate seeing friends go through difficult times.  I don't like it when I go through difficult times.  But there is a song which has become my most recent favorite.  It expresses so many truths and it speaks to those same questions.  If you have not heard it, please check it out on youtube.  This is a link to a brief youtube video of the author, Laura Storey, explaining the background behind the song.  http://youtu.be/gjB2skJi2co  Laura explains that many times we have the wrong idea of what blessing is.  Sometimes really good things come from situations that don't seem good at all.  (See my previous blog about brokenness!)

The Bible says in James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  So we need to turn our whining around.  Lets focus on what good could come out of suffering.  Ask yourself, "what if?" 

Blessings - by Laura Storey
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

(Courtesy of lyricshall.com)

Sweetly Broken

Today we remember a great tragedy for our nation.  But what has come out of that tragedy?  So many times when something we don't like happens in our lives, we ask God why.  We whine and cry and spend time questioning God, but we don't always take the time to reflect and see purpose in what has happened.  We are not always likely to look objectively at how allowing difficulty may actually help us.

Years ago when I was going through a dark time in my life a friend helped me reflect on the idea of brokenness.  This is a concept which has come back to mind many times.  At a different dark time in my life, I heard the illustration of going to the desert.  Why would God lead us to the desert?  In the desert, as in times of brokenness, we are reliant on God.  Sometimes God allows drastic means to get our attention.  When in the desert or feeling broken, we suddenly are much more interested in connecting with God.  That's what He wants!  He wants us to connect with Him, cry out to Him, and rely on Him.  When we are broken we realize we are no longer in control, no longer able to handle things, now anything good that comes is not due to ourselves, but to God.

Here is a song we sang today in church that expresses how I feel on this topic.  It is my testimony.  Any time I get a little too proud, God gently brings me to my knees and reminds me to focus on Him.

Sweetly Broken
by Jeremy Riddle

To the cross I look and to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink, of its work I do sing
On it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love and God is just

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees and I am
Lost for words so lost in love I'm
Sweetly broken wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given through Christ crucified
You called me out of death, You called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I'm reconciled

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees and I am
Lost for words so lost in love I'm
Sweetly broken wholly surrendered
 
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love
And how great is Your faithfulness

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees and I am
Lost for words so lost in love I'm
Sweetly broken wholly surrendered