Don't Let Worry Be My Bread

Don't Let Worry Be My Bread

Don’t let worry be my bread today,
But let me, instead, feast on the delights of your love and faithfulness.
Take the care and burdens that weigh me down,
Leaving the lightness and the relief of freedom.
Pull the fires of rejection from my heart
Quenching them with Your tears and compassion for me.

Dismiss the distractions and confusion that fill my brain,
Replacing them with focus and peace no matter what is going on around me.
Take the cursing and the spewing that fill my mouth,
Giving blessing and hallelujah that only come from you.
Remove the discouragement and hopelessness,
Putting courage in me, restoring my soul with hope and sweetness in You.

Where's the Joy?

Where's the Joy?

I was walking my dog through our neighborhood yesterday, and met the most interesting man. I greeted him like I greet every other person I walk by on the sidewalk, and he proceeded to give me a story that did not match his countenance. His face was so peaceful and happy, and as he spoke, he smiled and laughed. He told me of how 15 years ago he had a motorcycle accident which left him in assisted care, where he lives now. Obviously dealing with a brain injury, he could no longer live without care. The way he told me this story, though, caught me off guard because he had so much joy. He emphasized the positives—he was able to live off insurance and retirement for the last 15 years, enjoying his walks and moving here from Florida. The man spoke as if he was a complete success and had won at life!

I thought about my interaction with him the rest of the walk. I know this man has some brain complications from his wreck, but he has chosen to look for the joy in a life that would seem like a failure or like a miss to a lot of the world. He was content, and had no reason to complain. How often do I look at my situation and find joy, regardless of how it looks to others?

In Philippians, Paul talks often about joy, and this also seems rather ironic since he was in prison at the time with no release date in sight. He was able to find joy in the middle of circumstances that seemed less than ideal. It sure does make me mad, though, when I am complaining about my own difficulty and someone asks me where the joy is in it. I feel that it is trite and rather dismissive of my pain when it is suggested that I should be rising above it to find joy.

But what I’m realizing more and more is that the joy isn’t found IN the problem. It’s not like we are supposed to really enjoy the pain and the issue at hand. That’s just denial. I think the joy that Paul found no matter what his circumstance was the joy in Jesus. He saw past the problem to knowing Jesus through it, and rejoiced!

Beginning, Middle and Ending

Beginning, Middle and Ending

I was watching the show The Chosen recently in which Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs to go spread the good news that He had come (from Mark 6). They were charged to heal, to free from demons and to share what He had taught them with others they encountered. And they were not to take anything to feed themselves or prepare themselves for the journey really, as they were to rely on the hospitality of those to whom they were going.

I think sometimes we forget the craziness of this for these men. They had been following Jesus for a bit, yes, but they were now being sent out to do things they had only watched Him do. And they couldn’t rely on their knowledge or their preparation. It had to have been so scary. Can you imagine the first time one of them stopped to pray for someone and had no idea what the outcome would be? Can you feel the awful rejection that many of them faced as they were thrown out of places and threatened?

I can. Because I have been called to the same crazy idea. And I bet many of you have too. You move into what God has called you to do with no knowledge and no idea what the outcome is going to be. You don’t even know how to be prepared for it! Anytime you speak of Jesus to others, there is always the possibility of rejection and ridicule. Especially by the religious leaders, who don’t want to look to God but instead want to maintain their rules and power.

Walking with the broken to find hope in Jesus