Let not your heart be troubled ...

I’ve been wanting to update this blog for a while now and it has been a real lesson for me in waiting for God to give me Words. I’ve often come to the computer expectant to share, only to stare blankly at the screen before just shutting down and going to bed. He has been active in me over the last several weeks ... with both truth and revelation ... and I feel like some of my questions are being answered, like puzzle pieces starting to fit together. I can’t say I can make out the big picture yet, but I feel like I’m finding some edge pieces, or maybe even a corner, or two. I have so much I want to share, but I think He’s also teaching me what things are meant for sharing and what things have been meant for me alone. Frustrating at times, but I’ve moved residence into His ‘Opposite World’, and with that comes mandatory dependence on His direction :)

Kids & I are doing well, thank you for your continued prayers. As we near the one year anniversary of when David left for God’s service, continued prayers are very much appreciated. Last year, we let him go on Palm Sunday and I do not believe it’s a coincidence that the date falls on Easter Sunday this year ... It should go without saying that our eyes are constantly watching the clouds! It’s hard to believe a year has gone by, but praise God for His mercy in making the time go past quickly. As I take inventory of God’s goodness, another miracle I have realized is that we (kids & family too) are feeling less and less separated from David ... I know that has to sound odd ... 'opposite', to say the least ... I often feel like we are just two magnets on opposite sides of a board and for that I am very, very thankful. Another friend of mine who also lost her husband last year has recently been placed on anti-depressants, so I am fully aware of God’s grace over us and it is why I ask for you to continue to pray for us as He leads you, whenever He leads you. God is good.

What is on my heart tonight is the reality of hopelessness and how satan uses it to steal and destroy ... As I watched the news updates on the healthcare vote this evening, it was a heavy ending to a tough week on the prayer front as my prayer list seems to be growing and growing with each phone call and text that comes through. It seems like each day this past week brought multiple new needs to take before God ... many of them very serious. I think it was on Friday that I gave up naming each one and just went to the floor, crying out ‘God! Seriously! I can’t even name them all!’ And those are just the needs of immediate family/friends, not even to mention the recent elevation of national tensions between Israel/US and the healthcare vote, etc, etc ... On all fronts, chaos seems to be taking over the show. This evening, one radio talk show host reported that his voicemail was full of desperate, heart-broken callers who were distraught over what this healthcare vote would mean to the country and it would seem that on many fronts, hopelessness is starting to set in.

Friends, I want to caution you against hopelessness that is sure to come, if it has not already reared itself in your home ... As I’ve been very open about, I believe we are in the End Times and hopelessness is sure to be a part of it ... it is satan’s bait to harden your heart, which is what the Bible often refers to when God can no longer work in a life. My most immediate prayer request after David left for God’s service was ‘please pray that my heart does not get hard’, as I could feel the effects of confusion and fear and desperation starting to take over ... It’s what I most often pray for others, too, when their unthinkable circumstances come. Jesus Himself talked about such unthinkable circumstances when He referred to the End Times and gave us signs to watch for ... about these signs, He says ‘do not be alarmed, for such things MUST HAPPEN ...’(Matthew 24:6-8) He calls these signs ‘birth pains’ of what is to come but then warns ‘You must be on your guard ... on account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.’ This verse is what lead me to call my Congressmen, as I know we are being asked to maintain our witness of Him ... Some day, it WILL matter.

I don’t know what you know about this subject of ‘End Times’ (the Bible calls it End of the Age), but it should not be scary or troublesome to those who know the Word ... if you are afraid or confused, I encourage you to READ!!! ... The ‘End of the Age’ is referring to an end of a sinful, troubled, broken world AND THE BEGINNING of a world FULLY restored, as God originally intended it to be for those who have asked Jesus into their hearts and whose sins have been covered by His forgiving blood ... Imagine a world where we will walk and talk with God and Jesus, along with all the other Believers in Christ ... An Earth fully restored ... relationships fully restored ... bodies fully restored ... I'm beginning to wonder if that is what God was speaking to me when He kept saying to me 'fully restored' all through David's illness ... Revelation 21 describes it as having, 'no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away!' Can you imagine!! Oh, how my heart says 'YES!' For the sake of time (we don’t have much!), skip the multiple commentaries available out there on End Times and just go directly to what Jesus has to say about it in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) ... If we would just read Jesus’ words, the ultimate source for truth, we will find the HOPE and the PEACE I know that many of us are seeking in these times of chaos and unknowns ... Regardless of where you stand in the healthcare debate, did you ever think that you would see a day when the elected officials in our free America would blatantly force a piece of legislation through, regardless of public opinion? Jesus did. These times are not a surprise to God and I have to chuckle as I picture the chaos in the halls of Congress, throughout their offices and in those ‘back rooms’ where deals were being made, compared to God sitting quietly, peacefully on His throne! Not only does this not surprise Him, but He knows that such things must happen.

Hopelessness is a disease of the heart and something that even we Believers need to be cautious about, especially in these times when many things will be stolen from us ... please know that everything is just a distraction to what satan is really after ... Our hope and belief in a God that saves! In Matthew, Jesus warns us in verse 10, ‘at that time [when signs of the end of age start to appear] many will TURN AWAY FROM THEIR FAITH and will betray and hate each other (does that sound like any of this healthcare drama to anyone else?!) ... because of the increase of wickedness, the love of MOST will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.’ He even goes as far to say that ‘if these days had not been cut short [inferring that they will be cut short, Come Jesus COME!], NO ONE would survive, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be numbered.’ That is how intense the times ahead are going to be ... Only because of God’s mercy on us, will we even survive this! THAT is the truth we need to be focusing on!

Friends, these verses are speaking to Believers, not unbelievers ... those WITH faith will turn away ... in these times, MANY will turn from their faith and I believe it’s because of hopelessness. Please guard your faith, as being more precious than gold!! I believe that more chaos is on the horizon and many will start questioning God’s goodness and/or His ability/power to intervene ... remember, it is satan’s ultimate goal. Personally, I know many Christians struggling with what’s going on in their lives and in the nation and are VERY close to turning away from their faith ... even use me as an example ... I considered myself a solid believer in Christ and I can personally testify of how hopelessness played a huge role in my questions and nearly turning away from my God. It is only by the grace of God that He has shown me that my circumstances do not define Him and are merely a distraction to what is really going on ... that satan was attempting to steal my faith and belief in a good God that loves and saves ... Hopelessness is a tool of the devil and you must be aware! It often starts with questions and doubts that we are too afraid to take to God, as if He does not know we are already thinking them! Satan jumps right in with his tools of fear, shame, control, offense, anger ... or maybe we just grow so tired of fighting that we turn apathetic and/or complacent, which is almost as bad because we actually think we’re ok ... If we are not careful, before long our hearts have grown hard and we turn away altogether ... Guard yourself!! Take all your concerns and fears directly to the Throne as soon as they surface and just lay it all out for Him ... As ugly as that can be! God wants purity, not perfection! Ask Him to show Himself! Call out to Him! Those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed! (Isaiah 49:23)

Wherever you are, whatever your circumstance, know that satan intends to use it to destroy you and if he can't destroy you, he wants to destroy your faith and belief that God is real, that He is good, that He loves you and that He is coming again for those who believe!

For those out there already on this ‘cuckoo bus’ with me, please join me in keeping fellow Believers focused on the truths of the Word. The world can be consuming and distracting!! Let’s be careful of what we speak out of our own fear or doubt, as it could lead someone from their walk with the Lord, or discourage a relationship with Jesus all together. We must be constantly seeking the truths in the Word so that we can always be pointing to all the promises intended for us ... pointing to Christ and keeping our eyes upward ... there is so much to look forward to!!!!!!!!

After this day of chaos, this evening my sister and I were ‘signing off’ our text to each other and what she said was a perfect example of the Hope Christ offers ... She said, ‘How great is our God! I praise Him that I can go to sleep in peace despite what things look like.’ Amen! Amen! If you do not know this Peace that passes all understanding ... The Peace that comes from a Hope eternal ... The Peace that comes from knowing a BIG God ... that crazy Peace which is Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7) ... maybe the promise of a much needed good night's sleep (for tonight and through eternity) will be what tempts you to ask ... whatever it takes, PLEASE ask Him for it, Friend ... while the richest of kings can not afford the current price of peace in this world, it is free and abundant in God’s Opposite World!

JOIN ME! In the Opposite World, rest is AMAZING ... in the arms of my Lord!


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