Category: Thoughts

…what’s been on my heart and mind lately.

sustaining strength

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
& He will sustain you.”
Psalm 55:22a

With all that is happening in our nation and in the hearts of people I’ve struggled with finding the words to describe this season and how my soul has felt. As I pray I’ve frequently found myself at a loss for words…there’s so much that needs prayer but all that seems to come out is: “Oh Jesus, we need You. Only You.” There’s a soul ache and heaviness that I haven’t known exactly how to process.

So as I was reading Psalm 55 and asking Jesus to help me surrender what is beyond my comprehension the word BURDEN is verse 22 stood out to me. 

“That’s it. That’s what I haven’t been able to find the word for — burdened.”

So I had to examine my heart and ask: am I choosing to carry a burden that Jesus has commanded me to surrender to Him?

When faced with a burden, I have a choice: either to carry it myself and rely on my own strength OR I can choose to cast my burden on Jesus and allow HIM to carry it. And when He carries it, He also sustains me.

In order for the LORD to sustain me, I MUST cast my burden onto Him.

So I must ask the question: If I’m not casting my burden onto Jesus, then what is sustaining me? 

The word sustain comes from sustenance; and when I think of sustenance I think of something that is necessary for my survival, I think of a place where I go for provision, rest, nourishment, strength, encouragement, endurance, perseverance…without sustenance I would not be able to continue because I would no longer have what is necessary. 

The Hebrew definition of sustain is to contain, maintain, support, hold in, and restrain. I love the imagery that description brings. Because while the enemy seeks to destroy, unravel, rob, and divide us; Jesus is the one holding us, keeping us, and sustaining us.

So I ask myself: what am I relying on for sustenance? 
Myself? My strength, ability, resources & energy? Or God’s?

I want to allow the One who created me, the One who knows my needs before I do, to sustain me. He is the only One who can sustain me:

When I don’t have the answers.
When it doesn’t make sense.
When I don’t understand.
When it’s overwhelming.
When it seems hopeless.
When the weight is crushing.

I’m so grateful that He’s not surprised or overwhelmed by my burdens.

Instead, He WANTS them.

If the weight of the burden you’re carrying feels like it’s gonna crush you, cast it onto the shoulders of your Almighty Heavenly Father. You were never designed to carry the weigh of it anyway. 

God knew we would be burdened so He gave us verses like Psalms 55:22 and 1 Peter 5:7 says: “casting all your care [worry/anxiety] upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Jesus cares for you like no one else in the world ever will.

Don’t avoid the burden or act like you can carry it! Cast it on Him!

When I’m burdened with something I frequently have to cast it on the Lord multiple times, because too often, I pick it back up… but the word “cast” means throw, hurl, or fling. It’s not a half-hearted, light, nonchalant “toss” it’s an utterly COMPLETE & TOTAL SURRENDER with no hope of retrieval…

We can attempt to avoid the burden and the consequent exhaustion that carrying it brings… but it’s there, sooner or later you’re going to have to face it.

And then, once you face it, you will have to determine: am I going to keep carrying this and acting like I’m “strong enough” or am I going to cast it onto the Lord?

For a long time I thought of this word “casting” as an avoidance, an “easy way out,” or an “escape” of what was burdening me. But as I’ve asked Jesus (and continue to ask Him) how to cast my burdens onto Him I’m learning that casting my burden is a choice to surrender what is beyond my comprehension and control. When I cast the burden on Him it allows me to not crumble under the weight of what I cannot control so He can sustain me for what He has called me to.

The burden doesn’t change but WHO’S carrying it does. It doesn’t mean that I neglect the burden as if it doesn’t exist or excuse it, but I realize that ultimately God is the only one strong enough to carry it. I cannot hold it up myself.

And, once I grasp that, I am free to walk in His sustaining strength.

home.

*** Earlier this week I listened to 2 podcast episodes called “Made for Home” and “The Risky & Free Safe-Place” by Kristen Morris on the “Good Things Run Wild” podcast. I wanted to give her credit because what she shared inspired me to think a lot about what home means to me, especially in light of Mother’s Day… ***

“If I cannot give my children a perfect mother
I can at least give them more of the one they’ve got;
and make that one more loving.
I will be available.
I will take time to listen,
time to play,
time to be home when they arrive from school,
time to counsel & encourage.”
– Ruth Graham

MOM: It’s a title that I didn’t think twice about when I was little… My mom was the person who I knew could always help, always fix, always make my day better, and always make me smile. Seeing through my younger eyes, mom seemed to balance everything perfectly and walk through our days with such grace and ease. But as I’ve grown up and have witnessed all the roles and responsibility that the title “MOM” encompasses I am in awe of all my mom has fought for, forsaken, risked, created, loved, and cared for. I am more aware of hardship, struggle, and heartbreak that comes with motherhood; but I’ve continued to watch her trust the Lord and follow Him. I’ve seen your vulnerability, your transparency, your tears, and your honesty over the unexpected twists and turns in life…
… But it has all caused me to love and admire you more.

In today’s society sometimes home or being a “homemaker” is viewed as safe, cautious, and even unattractive in the eyes of those pouring everything into a career, wealth, recognition, and popularity. In comparison to those things, “home,” homemaking, & motherhood are often viewed as a settling, a compromise, or a lesser calling. But, when I think of HOME, I think of everything that means most to me.
I think of the place where we risk the most and love the most.
The place where you don’t have to be afraid to cry.
The place where you argue but know that you’re safe.
The place where you see each other’s shortcomings.
Home is a sort of training ground: a place to make mistakes, to fall and get back up.
A place of “I’m sorry,” “please forgive me,” and “Can we try again?”
A place to extend the most grace and practice the most patience.

Home is not perfect.
Home is hard & messy.
But it is also a worthy fight.
A place where struggle and redemption can be seen.

More than anything, I think motherhood speaks of:
faithfulness,
consistency,
selflessness
diligence,
&
steadfastness.

I always knew, and still know, that I could always turn to my mom: when I was little I’d call for you to help me find a missing shirt, fix a broken toy, pronounce a word I couldn’t sound-out, or solve a hard math problem…
Now, I turn to you for counsel, prayer, a hug, or encouragement.

Thank you for all you & daddy have poured into creating a home for us: one where we loved, learned, and laughed. When something was hard you & dad always encouraged me to persevere because you knew it would make me stronger in the end. Thank you for all you’ve sacrificed and for all you’ve invested in me.

You always viewed motherhood as a blessing, a privilege, a great gift and a treasure. You saw the opportunity and ability to mold, shape, and direct the lives of your children as the greatest gift and honor.

Because of you I’ve learned that even the most mundane tasks like cleaning, dishes, laundry, cooking, shopping, kissing scraped knees, wiping tears, helping, playing, and teaching can be acts of worship and have the power to change the world. Because:

“WHEN YOU IMPACT ONE PERSON
YOU MAY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD,
BUT YOU CHANGE THEIR WORLD.”

And what is of more worth than impacting a life?

Thank you mom, for all you are.
I love you.

“If our children have the background of a godly, happy home & this unshakable faith that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, they will have a foundation that the forces of hell cannot shake.”
– Ruth Graham

“My job is to take care of the possible
& to trust God with the impossible.”

-Ruth Graham

strength for all things.

"I can do all things 
through Christ 
who strengthens me." 
Phil 4:13

We’ve all heard that verse a million times right?? People frequently use it to find motivation & inspiration: to do something hard or start something scary. It’s a “nice verse” to put on a T-shirt or coffee mug.

We all want “strength” for “all things” right?!? Who wouldn’t?!

But when I read this verse in context it gives a very different picture than my usual understanding of this verse… in the verses prior Paul says:

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low & I know how to abound.
In any & every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance & need."
Phil 4:11b-12

So wait a minute… Paul is talking about being CONTENT in all circumstances:

Content in humiliation.

Content in hunger.

Content in need.

And he completes this thought by saying “I CAN do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me.”

As I look at the life Paul it was NOT one of ease or comfort. Just read 2 Corinthians 11:23-31 for an overview of the sufferings he faced which include imprisonment, beatings, stoned, shipwrecked…and the list goes on!

As I look at Paul’s life it was defined by surrender, strength in the Lord & a deep contentment with God’s will for his life. And when I examine my own heart it causes me to ask the Lord to give me strength to rest & trust in Him amidst difficulty and suffering. I see that it’s ssooo easy for me to rely on my own strength for things that I want to do or even to do good things; like ministry! I can muster up strength to push through & persevere through many things, even while under the pretense of doing it “in the Lord’s strength,” but one of the greatest tests as to whether or not I’m relying on the Lord’s strength is when something unexpected happens. . . something that is beyond my control and far out of my ability to change. In moments of stress or frustration the Lord reveals who I’m really relying on: myself or Him.

That is why suffering plays such a necessary role in the life of the believer: Jesus never promised to spare us from suffering, but He has given us His Holy Spirit to TRANSFORM us THRU suffering. Have you realized that those in the Bible who God mightily worked through always endured great affliction? It’s because Jesus purifies & refines us in trials. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…”

We know life is frail and that everything that is on this earth is delicate and temporal but it’s also easy to live like we’ve forgotten that. . . sometimes it takes a crisis, or a pandemic, for us to remember & refocus. To realize that I’ve never had any strength and that any power I think I had was really only an illusion, I had deceived myself into believing I was in control. The reality of the gospel is that it reveals the selfishness & rebellion in my heart and brings me to the feet of Jesus where He changes my heart.

When we read that God gives us strength for all things we want to tell God what we want strength for: to get the promotion, to earn the achievement, to receive the award . . . you know, we want to have the strength to do things that are “glamorous” or “show-y.” I’m pretty much saying that I want the strength to do the things that I want so that in the end I can proclaim, “I did this through Christ’s strength! Pretty amazing huh?!”

But Paul talking about BEING CONTENT in all things: including humiliation, hunger, and need. 

Woah. 

But that doesn’t make me look strong or impressive, in fact, that goes against the false “gospel” that says Jesus wants you to be successful, rich, and prosperous.

But what if the desire of Jesus’ heart is for you to walk through a season of something you’d never have chosen for yourself?
What if that’s how He wants to demonstrate His strength in you? 

What if He’s asking you to go thru something you know is impossible because then ONLY HE will get the glory? If Jesus is truly my Lord and Savior that means He gets to decide how I will give Him glory. The walk of faith is one of worshipping God amidst the ash, before the beauty. Much like Job, in the middle of despair and grief declared: “The Lord gives & the Lord takes away: blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

Jesus wants to create in us a heart that will surrender, worship, & glorify Him in all circumstances. He's looking for a vessel that's empty of itself so He can fill a heart that declares: "Lord, I want to give You glory in what You have prepared for me."

I don’t want to look back on my life one day and realize that I spent all my effort trying to stay strong while all along Jesus was trying to show me my own weakness so He could be my strength.

If Jesus faced humiliation, hunger, & need how do I expect to be spared from those things? Luke 9:58 say that Jesus had “no place to lay His head” and when we pray: “Jesus, I want to be more like You” we’d rather bypass the suffering, pain & sorrow.
But the fact is that Jesus promises tribulation in John 16:33! He says: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

It’s easy for the world to have happiness, peace, & joy when everything seems care-free & easy, but the moment things go off the rails their happiness is also gone. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit to give us the FRUIT of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) AMIDST trial & suffering. He does the impossible in us because when we’re at our weakest we can rejoice that He is our strength. We, like Paul, can say: “I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me…I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

“God is our refuge & strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth gives way…”
-Psalm 46:1-2

sanctuary.

What do you imagine when you think of a sanctuary?

A couple words that come to mind are: safety, worship, rest, surrender, security, release, grace, atonement, holiness. . . I see a place where God is welcomed, honored & worshipped with no reservations.

In the Old Testament God’s presence dwelt in the temple but after Jesus came, died, & rose again God sent His Holy Spirit to live within us so His presence is no longer confined to a building with walls but now WE ARE the sanctuary where He dwells!

1st Corinthians 9:19 says: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” and 2 Corinthians 6:16 says: “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them & walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”

Jesus died so He could inhabit the hearts and lives of His children and so we could once again enjoy relationship with our Him. Just like God walked among the garden of Eden with Adam & Eve God says “I will dwell IN them & walk among them.” Thru His Son, God made a way for us to do what we were created for: relationship with Him. Now the sanctuary of our hearts is filled with God’s Holy Spirit where idols, bondage, & sin once chained our hearts causing ruin & destruction. That’s the wonderful reality of the gospel ♥

Jesus sent His Holy Spirit so our hearts could once again be a sanctuary.

“I will give you a NEW HEART & put a NEW SPIRIT in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone
& give you a heart of flesh.”
— Ezekiel 36:26

With these verses in mind I think of Ezekiel 47 where Ezekiel has a vision of a river — a river whose waters bring life & healing to everything it touches:

“When it [the river] reaches the sea, its waters are healed.
And it shall be that every living thing that moves,
wherever the rivers go, will live.
There will be a very great multitude of fish,
because these waters go there; for they will be healed,
& everything will live wherever the river goes.
Along the bank of the river, on this side and that,
will grow all kinds of trees used for food; 
their leaves will not wither, & their fruit will not fail.
They will bear fruit every month,
because their water flows from the sanctuary.
Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
-Ezekiel 47 : 8 – 12

Pretty remarkable right?!? What do you envision as you read that!?!? I picture a dry, barren, & fruitless land with a river penetrating thru the parched ground. As this river penetrates the land healing comes: plants begin to grow, fish once again inhabit the water & trees begin to bear fruit. Life is brought back to a land that was once useless & unprofitable.

All because of one river.

But did you see where this river flows from?? Verse 12 tells us:

“their water flows from the sanctuary.”

Much in the same way Jesus tells us in John 4:14 that when He comes to inhabit the sanctuary of our hearts we will become a fountain of living water:

“whoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him will never thirst.
But the water that I shall give him
will become in him a fountain of water
springing up into everlasting life.”
— John 4 : 14

The moment Jesus comes to invade the sanctuary of our hearts His very presence brings healing. His Word is like a healing balm and His touch brings comfort & restoration. He is the fountain of living water. This is a fountain that cannot be produced from human effort or striving, this living water can only come through Him.

“To worship God in wonder & awe
opens a fountain of life within you,
empowering you to escape death’s domain.”
— Proverbs 14 : 27

God sent His only Son so our relationship with Him could be restored.
So rivers of living water could spring from our once barren, thirsty souls.
So sin no longer has dominion over us.
So death is no longer our end.
So bondage is no longer our identity.
So healing could replace destruction.
So we are no longer slaves but free.
So we are redeemed from the curse of sin.
So our hearts could once again be a sanctuary —

Like a river that changes everything it touches, may the healing He’s brought into our hearts impact those around us.
Like an overflowing fountain that cannot be contained, may our lives be spilling over with the grace, truth, & love we have in Jesus.
May we be those who live ever-aware of His in-dwelling presence.
May our hearts be a sanctuary where He is honored & adored. ♥

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice & untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free & break every yoke?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
& your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
& the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday…
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
– Isaiah 58:8, 10 & 11

“When you pass through the waters 
I will be with you
And the depths of the rivers
Shall not overwhelm
When you walk through the fire
You will not be burned
I am the Lord, I am the Lord.

And there is nothing to fear,
Nothing to fear.

For I am with you always
In the depths of your sorrow
I wept beside you
When you walked through the shadow
I drew you near
Yesterday, today, tomorrow
Always the same
I am the Lord, I am the Lord
What can separate you
From My perfect love?
Do not fear
Do not fear.”

– “Nothing to Fear” by Porter’s Gate