Powerful Pain

C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, once wrote a book called The Problem with Pain. He had experienced the loss of his mother at a young age, a close army bunk mate, and his wife of four years to cancer. I don't necessarily want to address the process of grieving and suffering as he did, but offer some thoughts on pain's role in your life and the benefits of it.

First of all, emotional pain was introduced by Adam and Eve in the Garden. Before this, sin did not exist and man had complete communion with God. Man's soul and mind were shielded from the type of pain that sin incurs. Emotional pain is always the result of sin, others' sin or our own. Sometimes it is a combination of the two. Once our divine unity with God was broken, we were literally "separate" from Him. This distance is at the root of our reactions to pain.

Have you ever heard of "separation anxiety?" Well, the human race has a major case of it. We have been separated from the very One who can calm our anxiety and fears, and revive and invigorate us with His glorious love. The cross is the remedy. We have already been given everything we need for life and godliness. Our communion can be reunited and engaged once again. There are some basic spiritual practices which will help us regain this level of intimacy with our God. One being the way we deal with emotional pain.

When you experience emotional pain, what is your response? Is there a passage in your heart that leads you straight to your Father? Or do you worry, medicate, explode? Your reaction may be to rehearse the problem mentally, or try to figure things out on your own. God wants us to trust Him with our pain and our hearts. In fact, He invites us to.

If you bring Your heart in surrender to Him, it will become tender and malleable in the Spirit's hand. He will be able to have His way in your life. You can kick and scream in this process, but it doesn't profit you. (There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death.) The ways of God always bring forth life, understanding, and hope. If we do things His way, we will be transformed miraculously...looking like our daddy (Abba) more everyday and feeling stronger emotionally and spiritually. God will give us authority to overcome if we participate. He will turn that very pain into power! This power will be released in us and through us to others. Jesus allowed pain in His life to bring forth greater glory and joy.

Lord Jesus, help us to walk in your footsteps. You are our example. Use the pain in our life the way You want to. Your ways are higher than our ways, your thoughts higher than our thoughts. We bring all of our burdens and anxieties and pains to You today. You are the Lover of our souls, heal us, purify us, and make us clean. Help us to walk in all of Your ways so we will be a true representation of You in the earth. Thank You for Your great mercy! Thank You for the oil that heals our hearts. Make these passages in our hearts perfect in that we will come to you first when something happens. Release Your power in us. Blessings forever to you!

Where are Your Affections?

The scripture directs us to "set our affection on things above" and not on "things of this earth." (Colossians 3) What does that mean to you? Our affections are those things our heart yearns toward. Although good affections can seem harmless, if they take away from our main focus of affection, Jesus, they are in the wrong place. Affection is a term often related to love. If we want to really love those around us, we must receive God's perfect love and affinity for us from Heaven. That way, we can actually minister in a spirit of God's love and not just our own human love. A good way to know if your heart is in the right place in this issue. Would you give up any relationship or thing God asked you to? If this is extremely hard for you, there needs to be an alignment in your personal spirit acknowledging that God is the supreme master of your life. Laying down our life involves laying down our affections, desires, and wants. The bonus in return is an everlasting affection that brings us pleasures which are immeasurable.

I am not condoning getting rid of certain relationships in your life that are clearly scriptural, i.e., children, spouse. This is a heart issue that Abraham had to face with Isaac. God asked him to sacrifice his promised son. Although, he knew in his flesh he could not reproduce another heir, he trusted God's nature. God was pleased with his faith. Let God be pleased with us as we lay everything on His altar, and His feet. He has already provided for us (and He is good!)

What Are You Wearing?

I was reading Isaiah 63 this morning and this stood out to me: "Name yourself, so splendidly dressed, advancing, bristling with power!"

This is referring to Jesus when He comes back with a vengeance to the city of Jerusalem, but something else is striking...It occurs to me that Jesus wears different types of clothes and garments throughout the Scripture. This is an Old Testament prophecy of what Jesus will be wearing at the end of our Age. He purposefully puts on these clothes as we do, getting ready for whatever occasion it is. He thought it would be a good idea to dress to the "9s" which is interesting since "9" is one of the numbers that represents judgement. Since his garment is stained crimson with men's blood, that seems appropriate!

Jesus' concern is advancing His kingdom in the earth. He is getting prepared and ready to return. Are you prepared and ready for His return? Wouldn't you like to be dressed for the occasion? He is looking for His bride to be ready, watching, and without spot or wrinkle. Watching, praying, and waiting for Him. His stance is advancement. He wants us to go forward, not backward. Can you feel His resolve and strength inside of you today to look forward, be dressed for whatever occasion you are called to?

Bristling with power! Wow! Let His power fill you today, let Him work out all the roadblocks in your Spirit that keep you from that oneness with the Father. Let his dynamite power work its way out of your life. What kind of garments is He asking you to wear today? Get into the throne zone and find out. It will change the way you think and live and approach every day. Get dressed, get ready, and advance the kingdom of God today. Be bold and courageous, take new steps, think new thoughts, get outside of the box, give Him everything.

Get Your Mind in the Right Place

To obtain victory in any area of your life you must search out the truth. If there is a lie in your mind or heart that you believe, it will bring you down a false path. One of the lies Americans believe is that they can't calm down or they have to be stressed to be productive. Our access to technology (including television, computers, multimedia, MP3 players, ipods, blackberries, etc.) and use of these things trains our brain toward mental scattering. Focusing on God requires the ability to focus our mind and push out distractions of all kinds. This is what mystics of old have tried to do by leaving society to quiet serene landscapes so they can seek God and know Him. They were searching for this peace even when technology was not a problem for them.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3) This Scripture outlines the truth of what God thinks about things. If our mind is steadfast and focused AND we trust in God, we will have peace permeating our entire being which includes our spirit, soul, and body. Peace is a force which is not easily upset or irritated, resting in God and knowing He will take care of what we need. This peace can flow in and from us even when we are busy or working.

Jesus said to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." In Romans, Paul says that "the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." To love God with your mind, we must discipline our mind with self-control and submit to the Holy Spirit. It is clear from the Bible that God thinks a certain way, it is not the way man thinks, so we must be open to what the Scripture says and what God is revealing to us at any given time. That is why we can never "know it all." There is too much knowledge in the universe for any one person to know everything. Stewarding our mind toward spiritual things will reap huge benefits for us and those around us. Jesus knows all of our thoughts and wants us to think like He does and know His ways. I want you to think victoriously in this area so laying out the truth of the matter is essential first.

Easily Distracted While Praying?

Recently, several people have mentioned to me how they are easily distracted during times of prayer or "tuning in" to God. As always, Jesus is our example. He spent many hours away seeking the Father and communing with Him. He also had an uncanny ability to "know" what God wanted Him to do in any given situation and was able to interact in a supernatural way with people, the physical world, and the spiritual world.

The Scripture talks about entering into His rest. In a practical sense, we must learn to dial down our soul and body when they try to take over the work our spirit is accomplishing while in communion with God. This communion or connection with God is desired 24/7. This is the great battle against our mind and soul. To stay as close as we can to His Spirit and be one with Him. In effect, in that communion we are like Jesus as we know what God's heart is for differing situations we may encounter.

For the next several days, I will add my thoughts to how this can be accomplished step by step. It is extremely difficult to maintain this type of communion if you are easily distracted and we must discipline ourselves toward focusing our spirit for victory in this arena.

Thankfulness Brings Satisfaction

"I will be satisfied with Your likeness," King David said. What does that mean to you? To me, it means looking for Jesus in every situation of your life. When life gets tough, are you looking for Him? When it is easy and fun, are you looking for Him?

It is easier said than done but it is worth the effort to walk through the narrow way that few have found. That is where you will find His treasures. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. We will look for you wherever you are...whether hidden or in plain view. Show me your face, Lord.

We will be satisfied with who You are when we find You. You fulfill our deepest longings and deserve our highest adoration!

Contemplation

I have been thinking about how I interact with God the best. I know if I wait on the Lord, He will always speak to me or show me something. The process is best facilitated for me through the following steps: 1) Relaxing, 2) Focusing on God, and 3) Interacting with God.

To relax, you must be able to let the problems of life go, taking deep breaths and relaxing your muscles. Just chill! Focus on God in your inner being and let peace flow through you. Know that you can connect to the throne of God immediately through the blood of Christ. You are loved and accepted by Him~He really wants to talk to you!

Knowing these things helps you enter spiritual realms with ease of conscience. If you are having trouble doing these things, learn to forgive yourself. Learn to know you are forgiven in faith. Practice makes perfect! Waiting on the Lord is such an important function for Christians. It helps them physiologically and connects them with the Spirit of God in such a way that brings life!

I want to encourage you to go visit your daddy today, he has missed you since the last time He saw you.