strength

How Do You Do It?

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

I watch as a mother holds the hand of her 12 year old battling cancer in a children’s hospital day after day. I look on as a wife says goodbye to her man of almost 60 years. I wipe a tear as I read a story of a family that’s dealing with the death of two grandchildren, a son and daughter in law, all in the same week, and I wonder how you do it?  

How do you survive in this world without the love of Christ to sustain you? I wonder how you make it through these darkened days of tragedy and pain. I can’t imagine living my life with no hope, no joy, no faith in a Higher Power than myself. 

Maybe you’ll think I am just weak, that I simply need a crutch to walk through this life…well, I have found I can’t even walk without holding His hand! When I am leaning on His everlasting arms, I realize I can climb a mountain or walk through a valley! I have strength, because it’s no longer my human strength that I am relying on. It is the strength of my Creator and my God. He laid the foundations of this earth, and He breathed life into my very being; so, why would I ever think my strength is better than His? 

To top it all off, He loves me so much that He died and rose again for me. His plans for me are good plans, and He wants to give me a hope and a future! Believe it or not, He longs to do the same for YOU, because He loves you, too! Why would you ever want to deny that kind of love or reject that kind of power in your life??

When The Pain Sets In

/ The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

Sometimes, your heart is bound up with so much emotion, words are hard to find. Your mind is so consumed with an avalanche of thought that you can not grasp even one. It’s like water droplets over a waterfall. 

Sometimes, the pain is so baffling, it feels as if time is standing still. Your destiny is too far to imagine, and your past comes in like a flood. It can be overwhelming… Suffocating… Constricting and condemning.

Sometimes, in that very moment, is when you need the reminder of His love and His grace. It is comforting… It is reassuring… It is strengthening and redeeming… 

He will heal. 

Only believe. 

Trite Answers for the Broken 

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

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Yesterday, we went to visit someone whose spouse is dying of cancer and then prayed with a lady whose mom is in the final hours of her life. A few moments later, we spoke with a set of parents whose 30-something daughter was admitted into the hospital with an aneurysm one month ago and who is, currently, knocking at death’s door.

Today, I read of a husband who is living in the house with his wife who desires a divorce, and I thought of a wife who faced the choice to stay and ignore, attempt to pick up the shards, or simply walk away from years of holy matrimony. Tonight, I read stories of children with leukemia struggling to thrive and more who deliberately survive day to day with debilitating diseases and conditions. There’s so many who need to be reached.

I read my Bible. I pray, and I send an encouraging word, hoping to bring hope in those places where, sometimes, I wonder if change will come. I believe His Word to be true. I really, really do; yet, I fear my answers seem so trite and contrived as I pray desperately to have the faith to believe for the miracle.

It’s so easy to give into the doubt. My flesh longs to feel the relief of my faith. My carnal mind fights against reason to grasp for Hope. My heart wars on the battlefield of Spirit vs. flesh…

Yet, in that very moment, I can feel my spirit rising in indignation. I can feel my heart leap for the Comforter’s arrival. My eyes swell with tears as I know without a shadow of doubt that He has stepped into that chasm of space and time. As the old song declares, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow… Because He lives, all fear is gone… Because I know, I know, He holds the future… And life is worth the living just because He lives!” 

I cannot tell you how He does it. I cannot even tell you how He makes it possible, but I am eternally convinced of His promise: when you place your hand in His, and you simply trust and believe, He gives you grace in the very moment you need.

He gives you Hope…for He is Hope. He is Love. He is everything you could ever need.

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Hope is Here

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

This world needs hope. There is nothing more strengthening, nothing more encouraging, and nothing more unifying than HOPE.

Hope is not found in politicians, and it’s not found in world events. It cannot be found in personal agendas, and it can’t be found in people. These things might bring temporary hope, but this isn’t the hope to which I’m referring.

I’m talking about a Hope that can bring peace, a Hope that can bring love, a Hope that can bring healing. This is a Hope that can bring Light to a darkened and desolate world.

This Hope is Jesus Christ. He wasn’t just a man who roamed the earth. He wasn’t just a good prophet who had some nice things to say, and He certainly is a God who died and is still buried in a tomb.

No, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the God who was and is and is to come. He is our Prince of Peace.

His Hope does not have to be earned. His grace does come with a price. His love is unconditional and free for all who ask and believe.

He is standing with His arms open wide. Just come to Him today. Let His love wash over you and redeem you. He longs to give you the Hope of Who He Is.

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In Whom Do You Trust?

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

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Walking through life without faith is like standing before a mighty wave, looking at its beauty yet never realizing the peril that rises before you. Traveling this journey without God’s guidance is like gazing at this wall of water believing it will simply recede and never bother you again, because you are human and you can avoid the ocean rushing in. 

No, the tide comes in slowly but surely, and the mood of the sea can change in an instance to leave you broken and desolate. If you are not prepared, and if you do not have the proper lifeboat, you may be swept away, never to return. 

Does redemption save you from all the heartache in the world and make your little orbit perfect? By no means, but it sure does give you peace through the storm, and it pours out strength in the valley. 

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So many taunt and say, “Your cross is just a crutch, something you lean on, because you are weak.” I can declare boldly, and without reservation, “I can’t even walk without holding onto His hand!” I am stronger with Him than I am alone! He is my Redeemer. He is my Joy. He is my Peace. He is my everything. 

If you doubt Him, I challenge you to simply ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Just say His name. Once you give Him a shot, you’ll never be the same. I promise. 

The Quiet

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments


Sometimes, you just need to get alone in the quiet. Steal away to feel the calm of the breeze and the song of flight.

Be still.

Listen.

Breathe.

Can you hear Him calling you beyond the trees?

He can heal you. He can restore you. He can make you whole.

He will love you. He will strengthen you. He will set you free.

I promise, you’ll feel better than you came. You’ll leave a little lighter, and you’ll long for a soon return.

 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!” 

Psalm 46:10

When It Rains, It Pours

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Sometimes, when it rained, it pours…

Yesterday, I talked to a gentleman whose mom passed away last week. Just a few days prior to this news, his wife was in a diabetic coma and had to have a stint put in so her heart could work properly. The same week, the family received a call concerning her mother, who had fallen and broken a hip. She lives in a different country, and his wife is in no condition to travel to see her.

Just got off the phone with someone whose parents are no longer able to go out on their own. They think her father may have had a mini stroke, and both her parents seem to be growing more feeble as the days progress. This same lady has an aunt who has to be taken to every appointment she has, and she’s the designated driver…seems she has several appointments each week.

Another friend is facing the grief of a divorce while another is living in a marriage she hates. An old friend is traveling back and forth to the Children’s Hopsital almost every day. Her teenage daughter has been diagnosed with cancer, and they’re giving her high doses of chemo. One more is weeping for her child whom she will never know, because she miscarried the only child she may ever have.

All of this is just within my little orbit of the world. I don’t even want to think about the daily news or the paper headlines which come out every 24 hours or less. If I continue to focus on all of this brokenness, I will become overwhelmed, drowning in a puddle of tears and hopelessness.

Sometimes, when it rains, it really does pour, and if we are wise, we will let the clouds roll on…

For when it rains, the water replenishes the dry places. The rains bring new life where there were parched and dying lands. The rains drown the fires and can even put out the smoke.

When the storms come, and the rain pours down from the skies that don’t seem to relent, just hold on. Don’t lose hope. Maybe, you even need to seek out the Hope you never had.

For after the rains stop, and the clouds roll back, that’s the only time for the rainbow to shine…

Do You See A Purpose?

/ The WheatandTares

What is your purpose?

Sometimes, you can dream about your purpose for the future, for the world, for your nation. These dreams are fun, exciting, and if pursued, they can be life changing. Everyone should have a dream and a purpose bigger than they are. When you live your life for a purpose bigger than you, one that is for the greater good of those around you, it’s easier to avoid things like selfishness, arrogance and even self-loathing.

Yet, what do you do when those dreams seem too big, too far or too foreign to the struggle and turmoil of everyday life? What about those lives who are broken and in despair, and the next breath seems too hard to imagine? What about them? What does purpose mean then?

Sometimes, you just have to realize your purpose for the here and now, and set aside those bigger purposes, those bigger dreams for another day. It doesn’t mean those things can’t happen, but when your spouse is lying debilitated in a hospital bed, those “purposes for the future” seem a little farfetched. When your child is suffering from a terminal illness, and you don’t even know if she’ll make it till tomorrow, those “dreams bigger than life” seem a little nonsensical.

At these times, you simply do what comes next, and you do it well. You take care of the one you love and the ones you are with, and you let tomorrow take care of itself. You find purpose in today, in the now, in the value of those around you. That purpose, sometimes, can become greater than any “big purpose” you could find elsewhere.

When things don’t turn out as you imagined, and your purpose seems a little less than you dreamed, just hold on. It doesn’t mean that purpose will never come to fruition. It doesn’t mean your dreams will never be realized. It just means it’s on hold for a little while, and what’s in front of you may need more attention than those “big” things. Your purpose is before you always. Sometimes, you just have to open your eyes to see it.

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“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”  Habakkuk 2:3

 

Daily Prompt: Purpose

Find Your Rest

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

  
I came across this scripture today, and it really spoke to me. Too often, we can get so busy in life that we drift away from God, and soon, we stop and wonder where He’s gone. Yet, it’s never He who has gone away. It is in our busyness and clutter of life that we fail to find Him. He’s right where we left Him. 

Have you ever stood before a waterfall and felt the pressures just wash away? Have you ever stood on the top of a mountain and it seemed the cares of yesterday were flying away with the wind? Or maybe you’ve sat at the beach at sunset, and it feels as if the coming tide is beating away the worries?

That’s how God does it. When we get alone with Him, especially out in His creation, He reminds us of His love, His strength and His promises. He draws our hearts back to Him, and He speaks to our very soul. He refreshes our mind and renews our fortitude. 

“In repentance and rest is your salvation…” This isn’t a suggestion. This is a promise. Too often in today’s hustle and bustle, we don’t stop, repent, and find rest. We just run, run, run from one appointment to the next, ever finding one more item to check from one checklist to the next. Yet, it is in the repentance and rest that we find our salvation…

It is in the quietness and trust that we find our strength. Everytime that I walk to a waterfall and just stand there, looking up at its beauty, or when I walk in the woods and look among the trees and just breathe the fresh air, I find my strength for whatever I am facing. Everytime. Without fail. He is faithful. His Word is true. 

He gives us the promise. I wonder why we don’t trust it more often than we do?

  

Just A Phase

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

“It’s just a phase.” Some people use this phrase to describe a little tyke who’s going through the terrible twos and needs to learn a little discipline. The little guy is just young, and he has a lot to learn about manners, tempers and self-control. You excuse so many things for him, because, after all, he’s just little. He simply needs a firm, loving hand, a parent who will help him grow up into a wise, spirited, and strong individual.

“It’s just a phase.” Some people use this phrase to describe a young woman who’s going through the turbulent teenage years and needs freedom to explore while learning her boundaries within the contents of house rules, school requirements and civil obediences. You don’t quite excuse as many things as you once did, because, after all, she’s a little older, but she still does have so much more to learn. She simply needs a firm, loving guide, a parent who will help her grow into a conscientious, yet tenacious and dauntless individual.

However, when “it’s just a phase,” is used to describe men and women who are well past the age of accountability and who are, now, quite capable of having self-control, who are quite able to follow rules set by any organization, and who are just defiant against any form of authority in their lives, this “phase” is simply beyond ridiculous!

I am so tired of those in our culture today who continually give excuses for people who don’t deserve this faulty alibi. Just because someone grew up in the wrong family, wrong town or on the wrong side of the world, does NOT give them the extenuating circumstances of just “falling into” a crime because “they just can’t help themselves!” You may not be able to choose your heritage, your upbringing or even your environment. You may have really been given the “raw end of the deal,” but that does NOT give you reason to abuse everyone and everything around you! It does NOT excuse you to being a jerk your whole life! Everyone has choices they must make. Everyone has to decide whom they will become. As Forrest Gump says, “I happen to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you.”

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“…and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” 😉

Daily Prompt:  Phase