Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
I think too many people look at this verse and see themselves as complete failures. They gave in today and now they are failures. They don’t remember all the times they stood. They don’t think about all the times they will stand again. God never expected us to be tested once and pass or fail. No! Grace picks us up when we stumble so we can try again. Star Athletes are not made over one event. They are honed over years of practice. That is the reason the word persevere is used in verse 12. We will face these trials over and over again. We will stumble from time to time. It is the fact that we persevere or keep trying that matters.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Fear is a choice! It doesn’t start out that way. It sneaks up on you. But when it strikes, there is plan of attack to win the battle against fear. You must first choose to pray, petition and with thanksgiving seek God. Focus Your mind elsewhere on whatever is true, noble, right, pure lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Put all of this into practice and then….
God will give you the weapon you most desire to defeat the fear…
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This passage was meant for Christians to help each other keep the faith of God. One way we do this is by sharing our stories. Giving our testimonies, good, bad, and ugly. Tell people about where you have been and what God has done in your life. Share your story. Let others know they are not alone.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ~Ephesians 6:13
I call myself a suicide survivor. I have planned my death several times, but every time I was thwarted. I continue to deal with the thought from time to time. However, I am a survivor.
I am not a conqueror in this area of my life. I am still fighting. I am a warrior. I will always fight this fight. I will be a conqueror only when I am dead and not by my own hand.
Maybe my tombstone should say: She was a survivor who became a warrior to finish as a conqueror.
Being a warrior means fighting. For me fighting means talking, making my voice heard. I want to shout out loud so others know they are not alone. We are strong, tens of housands strong. If we make ourselves heard, we can fight together.
Fight the shame, judgement, and labels. We are not broken. No one has anything to be ashamed of. Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of anymore.
For too long, the Christian religion has held to a similar position as the world. Mental illness means there is something wrong with you and you are not enough. Some religious people have taken it even farther telling us we just have no faith or are simply just being tested by God or even worse it is just Satan attacking.
I am not about to argue that it isn’t a test of your faith or an attack of Satan. It very well may be. I am going to argue one word I used above “just.” When we attach the word “just”, it makes it sound like we are weak and lowly. Perhaps, we are second class citizens or not good enough. We are not Christian enough.
I don’t about you, but to survive my mental episodes takes all my strength and courage. I am anything but weak.
They don’t see the darkness I see. They don’t feel the world’s impending doom. They don’t hear those voices telling me I am not loved. I am not good enough. The world would be a much better place without me. They don’t feel the absolute loneliness or the anger that rages inside me. They have no idea what my battles look like. They only see the scars and have the audacity to call me weak!
I know during these deep dark times, I call living in the pit, you feel weak, helpless and maybe even out of control. Let me tell you something you are not asked to be in control. You are not asked to fight your way out and conqueror this evil that is surrounding you. You are asked to stand. Just stand. Once choice to make -exist!
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13
Stand, exist, be still, choose life, wait, be patient, survive, choose your word or phrase it doesn’t matter, just stand!
It is okay to just go into survival mode. You can just simply stand still and wait upon the Lord to renew your strength (Is 40:31). As a matter of fact, it is our command. Stand Firm!
I don’t need to find a way to crawl out of the pit. No need to strike back at those things crawling and slithering around me. Don’t bother answering those voices telling me their lies. Just stand!
Reminds me of watching movies or TV shows where the hero is tied to the chair. The bad guy is trying to threaten him or torture him to get the information. With each insult or punch, the hero just glares straight ahead. He knows what the enemy always fails to miss. Help is on the way. All our hero has to do is wait. Just sit there and endure the storm. Joy will come in the morning (Psalms 30:5).
Can you imagine for one second how Jesus did it? He too just stood there as they tortured him. He stood there on the cross bleeding, beaten, and feeling all alone. he cried out to God, “Where are you” but he waited. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t try to plan his escape. No, he waited on the Lord. He knew joy would come in the morning.
Growing up, my dad use to tell me it wasn’t the bully that was the strong one, it was the man that stood his ground. People around you tell you things like, “Just get over it.” “Just move on.” “Just quit being a drama queen” or my personal favorite, “Just shake if off.” When this happens, remember you are not the weak one. You are very strong at the moment. I mean, first of all, you haven’t punched them in the face. Please tell me I am not the only one that has thought about doing that?!?
These people have no idea how much strength it took to get out of that bed and take a shower. How much strength, energy and power it took to take your meds, eat some breakfast or even just open your eyes. They have no idea how much faith it took to take a breath and wait to see which emotion was going to bubble up and then rush over you like a tidal wave leaving you breathless once again.
No my friend, they have no idea just how strong you really are! You
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ~Romans 8:37
I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a child. When I would get a scrape and mom would clean it, I would get excited when she said, “Well, that is going to leave a scar.” Then one day some idiot created Neosporin. I mean seriously ever child in the world morned that day. We wore are scars like badges of courage!
I look at my body today and it is still covered with scars of courage, bravery, and survival. If you look deeper you will see internal scars as well. Some run very deep. Few are fresh and raw, while others are tough and old, but can open right back up with the right word.
Like the external scars, I have learned to look at these as badges of courage, bravery, and survival. They make me who I am and have built strength. I am thankful for these scars much like a man who wore scars many years ago.
Jesus bore many scars and yes, even some internal. Betrayal form both Judas and Peter had to hurt. It was these scars that saved the world. These scars give us hope for our scars.
Pain in life is just part of life. We can choose to cry over our scars or wear them as badges of courage, bravery, and strength like Jesus. He is the one who bore his scars so he could empower you to survive yours.
Andrew Murray was a South African pastor who visited England in 1895. While there, an old back injury flared up causing him to go on bed rest. The lady of the house he was staying at came to him one day because of a friend of hers was in bad shape. She asked Murray if he had any words of encouragement for her friend. He quickly handed her a piece of paper he had been writing on with words of encouragement for himself. It said,
“In times of trouble say: First- God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that, I will rest. Next-He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as his child. Then-He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means to bestow. Last-In his good time He can bring me out again-how and when he knows. I am here-By God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.”
In this age of microwaves, drive-thrus, and instant pots, we want everything NOW! We would do good to remember that everything is in God’s hands and God’s timing. He knows where we are at and what we are going through. He knew we would be there long before we did. He will be there through it all and with us all the time. His love and grace will see us through, even in our darkest pit.
Numbers 14:9The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.
You know the commercials that say, “9 out of 10 dentists prefer this toothbrush over this one”? Have you ever wondered if that one dentist that disagreed was right? Maybe, just maybe he knew something the other nine dentists didn’t. Should you still trust the other nine dentists more because they agreed on the other toothbrush? Is the majority, always right? If you believe that then you must also believe the Earth is the center of the universe because Galileo was about the only astronomer to say otherwise…lol!
In the bible, there were twelve men who left out on an adventure to explore a new place for the Israelites to inhabit (Numbers 14). Ten of these men came back with very frightening details about how the people were much stronger than the Israelites. They even spread scary rumors among the people of how they would all be devoured by these people (Numbers 13:32 & 33).
On the other hand, there were two men, Caleb, and Joshua, who came back talking about the milk and honey that flowed everywhere, and large amounts of fruits! Yes, the city is well fortified, and the people are powerful, but we can take them. Who would you trust, the ten, or the two?
Well, let me tell you, there was one guy in charge at the time, Mosses, and he knew something the others didn’t. He knew God had said he would give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. He declared, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30). However, the majority won out. The people chose to believe the majority. They were too afraid and refused to go in and take over Canaan. So, God basically cursed them for not following his directions and said none of them would ever see the promise land. They lost out on a wonderful gift all because they chose to follow the majority.
Sometimes, in our lives, we need to stand up and not follow the majority. We need to let our voices be heard. When we follow God’s direction, we can be sure we are doing the right thing no matter how wrong it looks to the majority. Sometimes we need to be that one dentist and say, “Nope, I recommend this one over here because it is best for my patients!”
Mom and I use to ride, walk and run long distances in the county surrounding our little town. No matter how far we went, on our way back we would eventually look up at the horizon and there would stand this group of trees we called Nessie. They looked just like the Loch Ness Monster rising up above the fields. We still had 2.5 miles to get home when we reached them, but every time we did, we felt like we were already home. We were safe. Everything was going to be ok.
When we are going through something in life, we have something or rather someone we can look up and see on the horizon as well. God is just waiting for you to look up and know you are safe. Quit struggling, be still and know he has got you. You are home. You are safe. Everything is going to be alright.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and in him all things hold together
Iwonder around from thing to thing Place to place Person to person. Nothing makes sense My mind is disjointed Scattered Twisted
I feel overwhelmed My surroundings are blurred People are talking to me My brain rejects all stimuli It can’t compute Not one more thing I am going to explode
I am melting down My breathing quickens I want to scream I can’t convey the message Between my voice and my brain All is lost I fall apart
Too Much! Too Much TOO MUCH! I shake my head I clamp my hands over my ears I close my eyes NO MORE! My voice finally cries out.
I AM DONE! TIME OUT! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME BE! TOO MUCH! NO MORE! IT IS OVER!
Deep breath Sit down Let the world go on Without me Like a commuter train Whizzing by Destinations yet to be seen
Jesus is before All things And In Him All things Are held together Even Me
Jesus will hold This pile of shattered pieces Nothing will be lost I can let go for a moment And let the world go past It is OK He is holding on
I don’t have to anymore I will be fine The sun will Shine again And my brain will Let it in. I will survive.
18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Apathy has never gotten anyone, anywhere! Just sitting there feeling all alone and doing nothing about your current situation only keeps you stuck right where you are right now. It doesn’t bring peace. It doesn’t solve problems. It doesn’t find help. Apathy is the enemy.
Apathy is different than rest. Rest is meant. Rest is planned. Rest is needed. Rest brings peace, clarity, refreshment. Rest is needed. Apathy is not.
When apathy sneaks up on you, and it always sneaks, reach out. Let your voice be heard. Cry out for help. There is always someone somewhere to help. You are always a phone call away from someone. You are always a few keystrokes away from someone.
Don’t let apathy tell you that you are all alone in your journey. You are not. I am here and so are lots of other people. We are a team and we are here to help. Most importantly, God is with us all, all of the time. He is leading us.
There is a bible story of a demon named Legion who tries to be all big bad and scary because he has an army of demons with him. Let’s fight back right now. Join with me. We stand and say No! WE are Legion. Together we will stand against apathy. We will fight!
