The Importance of Knowing How to Guard Your Heart

February 2, 2020 by Leave a Comment

When I walk with people through their times of brokenness, we often talk about Proverbs 4:23: “Guard your heart for the heart is the wellspring of life.” No one wants a broken heart, but life can be painful. Relationships can be painful. So how do we guard our hearts when trouble overwhelms us? What does this verse mean?

Sometimes to protect our hearts we bury them in superficial, mind numbing distractions or try to escape into worlds created by our own devices. We may build a crust around them so nothing can attack them or cause more hurt. We may think we are “guarding” our hearts by hardening them against the pain, against others who try to get close, and anything threatening to break open the outer shell of protection. Unfortunately, however, by taking these approaches, we may create a gateway for bitterness to grow, a bitterness that will eat away at our hearts and cause more havoc throughout our lives.

Other forces attack our hearts also—not just the pain of our circumstances. And these can be more subtle. When we go through a rough time in life, we are vulnerable to the noise of our culture—the pressures coming from society’s norms and values –and the opinions of other people. We hear them again and again. More and more, their answers begin to sound plausible and logical; they may seem the only way out. Our minds and hearts become clouded, and the whispers of God are unable to penetrate the noise and confusion of outside pressures. It feels easier to listen to those with the loudest voices and go with the culture around us.

Thankfully, when God cautions us to guard our hearts, He also tells us how to do it. In the verses directly before Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 4:20-22 instructs us how to guard our hearts. “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.” Equally important, the end of Proverbs 4:23 tells us exactly why to guard our hearts.  “Guard your heart for the heart is the wellspring of life.”

When I picture the heart being the wellspring of life, I picture a spring of living water gushing up inside the heart, allowing God’s love, peace, and grace to overflow, washing through the person’s spirit and overflowing onto those around him. The heart is the way God connects with us. It’s the way He brings life to us.

Guarding your heart means pulling your heart away from the forces that have the potential to cause it harm, and trusting your heart to God. It means guarding your heart from the toxicities of the culture and the environment around you that would poison that beautiful life-giving wellspring of life coming from God. It means listening to God’s words to guard your heart from the arrows of Satan who would cause bitterness to grow and deceive you onto wrong paths. Instead of trusting your heart to the deceptive words and persuasions of those who might mislead or hurt you, scripture instructs you to guard your heart by putting it in the hands of the only One you can completely trust, and that is our loving and faithful Father God.

In Jeremiah, the prophet continually addressed a people who looked to the gods of other cultures, rather than the living God they’d known, to fulfill their needs and give them the pleasures they desired. God told Jeremiah to call out to them with the truth, to instruct them to listen to Him, but their hearts were stubborn, refusing to listen to God. They allowed the toxicity of the cultures around them to infect their hearts so they were no longer able to hear God and the things He wanted to tell them. As a result of their failure to “guard their hearts,” disaster came upon them.

When we “are still and know that He is God,” we can step out of the undercurrent of societal pressure and listen to God’s voice. What does He want us to do? Where does He want to lead us? Can we quiet our hearts long enough to hear? Are we allowing that spring of Living Water to bring His refreshing Spirit to wash through the clamor of confusion and stabs of pain so we can hear what He wants to say to us?

When we allow God’s Living Water to flow through our hearts, our hearts can remain soft and malleable to God’s touch. Sometimes that softening brings tears as we submit to the will of One whose ways are above our own, who takes us on paths that we can’t control or understand.  Our hearts are breaking; we are out of control; we no longer know what’s ahead. But when our hearts break in the stillness of God’s presence, Jesus pours His living water into the gaping holes to wash through the debris and residue from past hurts and disappointments to renew us. When our tears join with His Living Water, our souls can breathe in the life He wants to give us. We can walk the path He sets before us, unafraid of where it will lead because our eyes are on our Savior and Lord, our ears are tuned to His voice, and our hearts are alive with the wellspring of life.

* * *

If you are fighting for your marriage and need to know how to guard your heart in the process, check out my new book, Fighting for Your Marriage while Separated.

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A Sacred Flow of Tears

September 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment

. . . When Our Tears Touch the Heart of God . . .

Photo by Claudia

I heard her voice cracking as she described the situation in her marriage to me over the phone. She paused briefly, cleared her throat, and resumed her story. I could tell she was trying to hold back her emotions. At the end of our conversation, I asked if I could pray with her. She agreed. As my prayer ended, she could no longer hold back the tears and began to sob uncontrollably. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I said.  “I understand.”

And, oh yes, I did! Not only did I understand, but I knew her flow of tears was sacred in the eyes of God. Her heart was breaking in His presence so He could enter in and bring her healing.

When our lives are rocked with troubles of catastrophic proportions, many of us try not to cry, try to be strong, try to hold back the tears. But when the burning pain within us gets to the breaking point and  tears begin to flow, that’s when the real freedom can start to take hold.

For I believe it’s at those moments when God’s heart is able to reach down to ours to encompass us in His love. God welcomes our tears. In fact, He cherishes them. In Psalm 56:8 David even says God puts our tears in His bottle. “You put my tears into your bottle. Are they not in your book?” David asks.

Why are tears precious to God? Why does the Bible picture God as keeping our tears in a bottle and making note of them in His book?

A Broken Heart

Weeping is often an outward sign of what is happening inwardly. When we cry, our heart is in the midst of breaking. It’s softening. Our control of the situation is at an end. The problem is bigger than we are. Our emotions are telling us we no longer have answers.

When we allow the tears to flow, the pain ripping at our hearts opens them up to a brokenness that can then be healed by the mighty hand of God – if we will let him. Psalm 34 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Tears are sacred. They are the God-given gift to us that allows Him to prepare the soil of our hearts for His healing so we can receive more of Him and more of the gifts He wants to give us.

When we are walking through the valley, trying to hold on to hope, but knowing hope is only possible by giving our situation to God, many of us struggle to let go. Letting go does not come naturally. We want to hold on and figure things out for ourselves. When we finally do, for some of us letting go and surrendering our circumstances to God may be accompanied by tears as we finally give up trying to be in charge. When our hearts break in His presence, He will sit with us in our grief. He will comfort our hearts and put them back together so they can reflect the mystery of His perfect calling for our life.

Those Who Wept in the Bible

Time and again we read about characters of the Old and New Testaments shedding tears as they prayed and wept before God in anguish over their circumstances. They were not hot angry tears, but surrendering, heartbreaking tears. And when their hearts were surrendered to the Lord, God heard and answered their prayers.

  • The faithful King Hezekiah was given 15 more years to live (Isaiah 38:1-5).
  • Nehemiah was able to go and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4 – 2:6).
  • David was protected from his enemies over and over again and went on to become the most celebrated king of Israel (Psalm 6:6-10, 39:12).
  • A sinful woman was forgiven of her many sins while she wept in repentance and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears (Luke 7:44-47).
  • Paul’s anguish and heartfelt tears resulted in God’s leading him with sensitivity in his writing of his letter to the Corinthians so the people could see his love rather than be grieved by his words of correction (2 Cor. 2:4)

Songs of Joy

God heals the brokenhearted. When our tears bring us into communion with God in prayer and we allow Him to come deeper into our hearts, He can transform that pain into something new. Our hearts become fresh clay that He can mold into a more compassionate, caring, and sensitive vessel He can fill with his love and purpose.

And perhaps that’s why the Bible also says, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them (Psalm 126:5-6).

I love this image for in it I see a picture of ourselves when we are the brokenhearted. When we come to God, tears flowing and our hearts humbled and surrendered into God’s holy hands, our tears can water the softening soil of our hearts to produce blessings that only His love within us can produce. And with His blessings of love come the songs of joy.

Don’t be afraid of tears. When your heart is breaking, let the tears wash the pain from your heart so your heart is ready to experience God’s healing balm and the fullness of His amazing love.

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

Think about this. If God’s love is using your tears to water the soil of your heart, what blessings might result from this?  What are the “sheaves” you will carry later on as you sing your songs of joy? I’d love to see your comments.

If you want to fight for your marriage, let me walk with you through the pages of my book, Fighting for Your Marriage while Separated. There you will find practical help that can guide you toward reconciliation even if you’re fighting for your marriage alone.

 

 

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When You Need a 911 Prayer Line

July 24, 2019 by 2 Comments

Jason Leung

A few years ago, when Hurricane Matthew was bearing down upon our home in Florida, my daughter in California texted me the entire passage of Psalm 91, a comforting Psalm about God’s protection.

A year later, when fires raged not far from her California home, I texted her that same Psalm to reassure her that God was watching over her.

Psalm 91 became our go-to scripture whenever we needed peace to face frightening circumstances.

Months later while we were again dealing with a worrisome situation, my daughter pointed out an amazing fact about this powerful scripture.

When we read or pray over Psalm 91, we are dialing 911 to God. Psalm 91:1 and the verses that follow bring on God’s rescue team whenever we’re afraid. They are full of His promises. And when we are fearful, these words not only comfort our hearts, but cover us with God’s loving protection so He can shield us from harm. Psalm 91:1 begins:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday” (Psalm 91:1-6).

Life can be scary at times. Recently our world has been besieged with hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and even a volcanic eruption. But frequently the fear is more personal. It may be a life-threatening physical ailment, a relationship breakdown like a separation or impending divorce, financial hardship, or mental or emotional stress from the many pressures we face.

Just as we dial 911 to bring the ambulance to our doorstep, when we call out to God, we summon His angels to our rescue. And just as we need to trust the paramedics to skillfully handle our situation and treat our wounds, so we must trust our heavenly Father to take command of our circumstances. Then His peace will quiet our hearts and assure us that He is in control.

Verse 10 of Psalm 91 continues with, “If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” (Psalm 91:10-11).

When we ask God to abide with us as our Lord and Savior, our 911 emergency prayer mode can kick in more naturally to provide sure and lasting protection when danger threatens.  For when we ask Him to take a permanent role in our lives, He walks with us through our troubles.  We need only to call on Him to bring Him to our rescue. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91: 14-15).

Whenever you feel overwhelmed with fear, call God’s 911 hotline by turning to Psalm 91:1 and the verses that follow. His promises will calm your heart and remind you that you have a mighty God who loves you and watches over you. All you have to do is call on His name.

 

If you are struggling through a difficult time in your marriage, please check out my new book, Fighting for Your Marriage while Separated

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The Wonder of Fertilizer and God’s Strange Ways

April 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment

“How do you get so many blooms on your bird of paradise?” my friend asked. “Mine hardly ever blooms.”

I was amazed at her question because I’ve never been particularly good at getting things to grow in my yard, and she is a much more disciplined gardener than I am. But I did have a beautiful bird of paradise. “I just add a bloom booster fertilizer,” I said, “and cut the dead fronds off.”

“A bloom booster fertilizer?” she repeated as though a revelation had just hit her. “Hmmm, I never thought about using fertilizer with a bird of paradise.”

Fertilizer?

Our conversation stuck in my mind, and got me thinking about fertilizer and God’s strange ways.

I remembered my mother’s yard when she first moved to a new home near San Diego. Her small yard was bursting with blooms of every kind. Passersby stopped to admire it. She credited fertilizer for making her flowers so breathtaking.

Even though I didn’t inherit my mother’s green thumb, I did get her message about the importance of fertilizer. Although I used a bloom booster for established flowering plants, I followed my mother’s example in using simple cow manure for new plantings. And it was downright effective.

But why? Why was it effective? How could the use of cow manure create beauty in the garden? It seemed an incongruity. Yes, the cow manure we bought at the store was composted, but it started as a disgusting fecal matter we wouldn’t want to touch or smell. It’s not pleasing to any of our senses. Yet when composted and sprinkled around plants, it brings out their beauty.

I had to stop and reflect on God’s strange ways and the ironies of God’s creation.

God’s Strange Ways

If I had created the world, I wouldn’t have thought to use cow manure to beautify our world. But God did. He used one of the most revolting elements of his creation to produce some of the most lovely. God’s strange ways taps into a sense of economy that is a thing of wonder.

Amazingly, he does the same thing in people’s lives. I used to be surprised when I heard stories about someone who had recovered from an addiction or emerged from a dark place in life to become an altogether different human being and reach new heights of success. Often they credited their darkest moments with producing the light that led them to God and a new direction.

A friend recently recounted how a dreadful time of sickness became a time of healing between mother and daughter. An estranged relationship was sweetened through adversity and two lives healed. In another case, a time of homelessness became fertile ground where a person met Jesus face to face.

In the early 1970s Chuck Colson went to prison for his perversion of justice in the top levels of government. While in prison, he met God face to face and became a completely new creature in God. Though officially he became a free man for the next three decades before he died, his heart remained captive to the needs of prisoners. He began a prison ministry that spawned counterparts all over the world and changed the hearts of countless numbers of men and women in prison.

Beauty for Broken Lives

When I hear these stories today, I’m no longer surprised. Time and again I’ve seen God’s strange ways bring beauty to broken lives. Even for me, my husband and I were separated for three long years, but when we reconciled, God not only gave us back our marriage, but gave us a ministry to hurting couples. He also birthed in me two books that would help heal broken marriages.

Each time I hear these stories I’m reminded of the wondrous ways God works his economy of purpose into our lives. We wander and stray. We are devastated by the pain inflicted on us by others. But God grabs hold of those situations and molds them into something beautiful that He can use for our good and His glory when we come to that crossroads of decision and surrender it all to Him.

God’s strange ways are a mystery, but they’re also a comfort. God uses everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). It’s just a matter of falling in love with God and surrendering our lives to Him. Then He can use everything—every hurt, every past sin, every crisis—to produce something good. It’s fascinating to look into the future and imagine what He will do with the refuse we bring to Him, knowing that when we give it all to Him, He can use the fertilizer of our lives to bring forth beauty in our garden.

Indeed, when we least expect it, God’s strange ways bring hope in unexpected places.

© Linda Rooks 2019

Join the conversation: How would you like to see God turn something around for good in someone’s life and bring beauty from brokenmess?

Fighting for Your Marriage while Separated is now available

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Storms

October 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

storm-approaching“Looks like the rains have started.”

My daughter’s text chimed on my cell phone just seconds after I, too, heard the pittypat of the first raindrops on our roof. A shiver of dread spiked in my head. Hurricane Matthew was on its way—a category 4 hurricane packing 140 mile-an-hour winds, plowing up the Atlantic along the coast of Florida.

As newscasters continually reminded us, this was not to be a fast moving hurricane, but one that would hover for hours—all 120 mph winds relentlessly raging against everything in its path.

And we were in its path.

Although we were not directly on the coast, the eye of the storm was expected to make landfall a mere 40 miles away, and Matthew’s hurricane force winds were so immense they would extend inland to sweep over us in Central Florida. What was forecast was far worse than what we’d experienced twelve years earlier when Charley whipped through Florida, ravaging everything in its path. We weren’t strangers to hurricanes and knew the devastation they could bring.

What would our neighborhood look like when it was over? Would our home be in one piece? How about our trees? Our greatest concern was whether a large oak, in falling distance of the house, was healthy enough to withstand sustained 120 mile-an-hour winds. I stood at the window, watching branches begin to sway from side to side as gusts grabbed hold and tossed them about.

After having done everything we could to prepare and with the sky darkening outside, my husband and I hunkered together in our family room, prayed for safety for all of us through the storm, and waited. Matthew was to hit shore about 11 p.m.

Although our frail humanity left us completely vulnerable in the face of the monster storms churning toward us from the south, we knew we were not alone.

The phone calls and texts from family and friends across the country lifted our spirits to remind us of that.

“Praying that you will be out of danger.”

“You’re getting a lot of prayer from this end.”

“We just prayed that angels would surround your house.”

“I hope you are safe. Prayers going up for you.”

A text from my out-of-state daughter, ‘Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty . . . He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God and I trust him. . . Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night. If you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you. . . For he will order his angels to protect you . . . .  Psalms 91:1-16

Both my daughters, one local, one out of state, continued to share texts with us throughout the evening. And the prayers continued.

A little before 11 pm. when the hurricane was expected to strike, a meteorologist on a local station noted that the hurricane was wobbling. “I think it may wobble to the East,” he said, “and because of changes in the eye, it looks like it may be weakening. Matthew may actually remain offshore.”

Sure enough when the official forecast came out, what he said was true. Matthew would not hit land, but stay about 15 miles from the coastline. In addition, it was weakening into a category 3.

Hallelujah! Texts were flying. We were thrilled at the news!

The newscaster at the desk weighed in too as he watched Matthew’s track begin to shift eastward.  “If any of you have been praying that the hurricane would move to the east, your prayers are being answered right now.”

That night the winds blew and the rains came, but no damage occurred.

Some people will just chock off this change in the hurricane’s direction to the fickle nature of hurricanes, but those of us who recognize the powerful God of the universe as our loving Father and the God who hears us when we call out to Him, know this was not a mere chance occurrence. God answers prayer! He does! He really does.

Whatever storms you are encountering at this moment, know that God hears your prayers. The God who created heaven and earth, the One who calms the storm can also direct its course away from YOU. He is our mighty God, and He knows how to protect you from the evil one and from the worst of what this fractured world wants to thrust upon you. When you call upon the name of Jesus, He is by your side.

Although our powerful and loving God may not always answer in the way we want, it is always in a way that will ultimately work for our good and His glory. And He will be there to see you through. God alone is our refuge and strength.

“Behold the Lord’s hand is not too short that it cannot save, nor His ear too dull that it cannot hear.” Isaiah 59:1

Alyse Nicole Merritt

God’s hand protecting Florida by Alyse Nicole Merritt

Thanks to Alyse Nicole Merritt for her beautiful picture and for sharing the above scripture.
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365 Devotions for Hope – Interview with author, Karen Whiting

August 17, 2016 by 14 Comments

365Devotions4Hope - Karen WhitingWhen people read my Heart Talk blog, one of the main things I want them to find is hope—even when it’s “in unexpected places.”  As long as we have hope, we can make it through even the toughest situations. Today I’m pleased to interview Karen Whiting about one of her latest books, 365 Devotions for Hope. Karen is an international speaker, former TV host, and the author of twenty-two books. She loves to let creativity splash on the pages she writes as she reaches out through her writing to help nurture wholesome families. If you’d like a FREE copy of Karen’s book, you can make a comment at the end of this interview to enter our drawing. Karen has also offered to give away a copy of another new book, releasing at the end of the year, called Christmas is Coming: Waiting is Hard. So make your comments below.

Linda: Karen, tell us why you believe hope is so important and why you decided to write about it.

Karen: Hope is what pulls us out of the deep trenches of pain. Hope is the anchor that we cling to tightly during storms that crash into our lives.

Linda: What are some of the topics and themes in your book, 365 Devotions for Hope?

Karen: The hope of the future, love, expectations, seeds of hope, CPR for hopeless times, hope when facing the unexpected, hope for the hurting, hope through renewed thinking, letting go of gloomy thoughts, and laughter.

Linda: Why is it sometimes so difficult to find hope even when we believe in God’s love and sovereignty?

Karen: We are human and our emotions are real. When we hurt, we don’t want platitudes. We want to fill the loneliness, sorrow, and other emotions we feel. In an instant gratification world, it’s hard to slowly go through the process and stages of grief. Time is still a great healer. We do need to allow ourselves to cry and take time for the healing.

Linda: Hope is what keeps us going in particularly hard times, but there are some situations where hope seems so remote. What are some thoughts for those facing struggles like divorce, marital separation, or death of a loved one?

Karen: A home that once filled with laughter and love is broken and shattered by divorce or loss. That’s a time to forgive and let God’s love fill the empty spots. It’s a time to renew friendships and invite friends in. It’s also a time to look outward, go to a place where you can see the horizon and know that God can see beyond the devastation you see now. He knows what blessings are coming. Cling to the hope of that future. Choose to hope.

Linda: What are a few times in your own life when you found hope when you needed it?

Karen: I need hope every day, but a few big struggles included the devastation of Hurricane Andrew to our home and the loss of my parents and then my husband.

Linda: What helped with the hurricane?Karen Whiting

Karen: A lot of it is in our attitude. My family likes to laugh. Before I even left the closet, I laughed. I had read scriptures all night to the children (hubby was away on military orders) and just read about Jesus calming the storm . We prayed and everything stilled. Silence reigned until my oldest son piped up, “Mom. You should have read that one first.”

When we realized the hurricane had totaled two bedrooms, the kitchen and lots of other things—altogether totaling $99,000—we added thanks and felt grateful for what remained.

Linda: What helped as you faced the loss of your mom, your dad, and your husband?

Karen: Remembering and sharing happy times in the past and laughing together even as my mom and later husband faced terminal cancer. Our family remained close and shared stories as we also shared our sorrow. We made care packages for my mom, and my younger daughter recorded songs for my husband. All those helped us focus on the love we shared and the eternal hope of God.

Laughter helps us smile and face hardships easier. When Jim had chemo, he’d say, “Ah, just as I got my superman strength back, they hit me with kryptonite again” and other little jokes.

We shared stories of fun times from the past. We always laughed when we recalled how our 2.5 year old son had not talked except a few words until he fell off a sled Jim was pulling through the snow. Micahe stood up and yelled, “Hey, Dad, what’s the big idea?”

With Dad, we had him retell times he snitched watermelons or other antics as a child. One of the last days my dad was able to talk, his little sister came to the hospital and he ended up telling her for the first time everything that happened the day of her birth (he was 16). She shared some of her favorite memories with him. Sharing stories and laughter are some of the best ways to say goodbye.

Linda: I’m intrigued by your care package idea. I know you didn’t live close to your parents at the time. What little treasures did you include?

Karen: Photos and taped messages, dry shampoo, favorite snacks, tiny stuffed animals, and gifts the children made. It provided something positive for my parents to talk about each day. Some days Mom opened several as we promised to send new packages as needed.

Linda: What do you say to a woman who’s lost her husband to give her hope?

Karen: Sometimes it is better not to speak, but to simply hug the person and sit with her. Listen to her as she talks of her loss. Then hug her again.

Linda: There are lots of books on hope, but I know your book is a devotional book. How is reading a devotional book on hope different from reading a regular book on hope?

Karen: A devotional gives people small bites every day. Often, when someone is depressed or needing hope it is harder to focus for a long time so a little bit is easier. Also, for those struggling over a long period, having something positive each day gives them a continual lift about the problems.

Linda: I noticed you have an anchor on the cover of your book? Is there any significance to that? What are a few of the illustrations you use in the book?

Karen: As a Coast Guard wife, I use quite a few nautical illustrations with different types of anchors, tides, and moorings. I also use the newness of flowers, a child’s laugh, and quotes plus anecdotes from people who overcame great odds.

Linda: Where can people find your book, 365 Devotions for Hope?

Karen: Anywhere books are sold. I suggest they support their local bookstores as they are beacons of light in a dark world and disappearing too fast. You can find more about my other books at (www.karenwhiting.com)

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Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten–Interview with Author Janet Thompson

July 6, 2016 by 8 Comments

ForsakenGod.inddForgetting the good things God has done in our lives can create a dangerous vacuum and make us more vulnerable to making bad choices. My friend Janet Thompson, award winning author of eighteen books, takes us on a journey of remembering in her new book, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten. When I think of Janet, I usually think of her wonderful ministry to women and her ministry called Woman to Woman Mentoring. She has a heart for women and an abundance of wisdom to share on a number of fronts. In her latest release, she is plumbing new depths, and I’m pleased to do this interview with her so she can share these insights with you. If you’d like a FREE copy of the book, you can make a comment at the end of this interview to enter our drawing.

Linda: Your new book seems to take a different direction from your previous ones about infertility, cancer, prodigal daughters, and stay-at-home husbands. Why did you decide to write this book?

 Janet: While having dinner with some dear friends, the conversation turned to how quickly we forget God’s goodness when the next crisis arises in our life. I pointed out that we berate the Israelites for their continual forgetfulness of all God did for them, even after He parted the Red Sea and provided food and shoes that never wore out in their journey, but are we really any different today? Don’t we see the amazing wonders and miracles of God in our daily lives, and yet when trouble sneaks into our life, it quickly erases our memory of God’s previous amazing goodness and love. All we think about is “Where is God when we need Him?” Of course, the answer is that He’s right where He’s always been, at work in our lives, if we would only remember how close He stays to the troubled and brokenhearted.

Linda: How does remembering what God has done help us deal with current and future troubles?Janet Thompson Pink

Janet: If we don’t remember what God has already done in the past, we won’t believe what He is capable of doing in the future. Memory builds faith. When we take the time to look back at all the times God has been there for us, in our good and bad experiences, we remember that He never left us or deserted us, and He’s not going to let us down now. He doesn’t always work in the same ways and timeframe we want Him to, but we can be sure He is at work in every believer’s life.

Linda: What are some ways we can jog our memories to remember God’s goodness?

Janet: Every chapter in Forsaken God? has a memory jogger for the reader to think back to something God has done in his or her life that maybe they have forgotten. Then there are “Ways to Remember God’s Goodness” suggestions such as: taking pictures, having a thankful list, telling your testimony, looking for God in your everyday circumstances, creating a timeline of God-events in your life, ridding yourself of bad memories, learning from the past, and many more ways.

Linda: Why is there a “?” after the title?

Janet: Most people don’t think they have, or ever would, forsake God, and no one does it intentionally…it just seems to happen over time that God takes a lesser place in the life of many Christians. So instead of dogmatically saying Christians are forsaking and forgetting God, I hope to gently start the thought process: Is it possible that I have forsaken God without realizing it? Is God truly first place in my life? Would anyone know it? Am I standing up for God and His truth in a culture that is quickly forgetting and abandoning God? Am I willing to be bold for God, even when it’s not popular or politically correct?

Linda: Since mentoring is your passion, how will Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten help influence the next generation?

Janet: I’m so glad you asked. Forsaken God? has a section titled Generation to Generation where I challenge Christians to pass on their faith to the upcoming generations, reminding them why we believe what we believe. And we must speak to them and reach out to them where they’re at, in a language they understand, and be willing to discuss the issues they face in today’s culture. We can’t be afraid to talk about difficult or uncomfortable topics. They need to not only know how Christians should react to today’s culture, but they need to see their parents, church leaders, grandparents, mentors, youth workers, and influencers living out their biblical faith—not the pseudo faith of much of today’s culture. They need help in discerning God’s truth from Satan’s lies.

Linda: What would you say to someone who has experienced great loss and pain?

Janet: I would say that God has not forsaken you so don’t forsake Him when you need Him most. He’s the only true source of love and faithfulness in your life and He’s the lifeline that won’t let you sink into your sorrows, even when you think that’s what you want to do. Read the Psalms, play praise music at home and in the car . . . listen to the lyrics and start singing along. Pray continually, and trust and believe that God always answers, sometimes in a still small voice. Look for Him in every circumstance; He’s there waiting to rescue you and give you a testimony of His great goodness and faithfulness.

Linda: This sounds like a good book for discussion. Can Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten be used for group study?

Janet: Absolutely! There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter for use in small groups, Bible studies, and book clubs. My own church’s Women’s Bible study is reading Forsaken God? as their summer Bible study.

Linda: Where can readers find copies of Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten?

Janet: Forsaken God? is available at all Christian bookstores and online stores such as Amazon, Christianbook.com and Barnes & Noble.com. It’s also available signed at my website. I also write a Monday Morning Blog and a Monthly Online Newsletter that you can sign up for at my website. Readers can contact me and/or leave comments at http://infotowomantowomanmentoring.com.

 

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Filed Under: BOOKS, comfort, faith, God's goodness, Interviews, Knowing God, national concerns, Peace, Thanksgiving, Trusting God, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Comfort for Those Who Mourn

June 16, 2016 by 2 Comments

13450981_10157037525275230_6249396271559987542_nIn the last few days, Orlando, my hometown, has suffered through horrendous tragedy and pain. It began last Friday when a young Christian singer, Christina Grimmie, a third place winner on The Voice in 2014, was murdered after a concert. It continued early on Sunday morning when a terrorist walked into a nightclub and mercilessly slaughtered 49 innocent people and wounded 53 others.  And a couple of days later, at a Disney resort, an alligator drug a two-year-old boy into the waters of a lagoon and drowned him to the horror of his parents who were helpless to save him.

The pain is palpable throughout The City Beautiful. Horrific tales of death like these should not happen—and certainly not all in one week.

How do we peek through the dark clouds that hover over our city to find hope?  Where is goodness and love and God in all of this? The people of Central Florida have come together in a beautiful way, from every walk of life, to support those who are suffering, and it has been a healing balm for the jagged wounds of a city. But where do we look to find meaning and purpose?

A Story from Laurie

A few weeks ago, a dear friend at church died of cancer after an eighteen-year battle with cancer. Laurie was surrounded with people praying for her healing, and during that time her faith never wavered. Whether she was to be healed in this life or the next, God was still on the throne of Laurie’s heart. She shared this hope frequently with others who were likewise fighting cancer, bringing encouragement and comfort to many. And at her funeral, death did not have the final word. Death had lost its sting.  Love and faith reigned supreme.

Throughout the time I knew Laurie, I’d been impressed with some of the devotionals she wrote and had continually encouraged her in her writing.  She journaled regularly, and after her home-going her husband shared a few of her entries with me.  As I thought of all that had happened here in Orlando over the past few days, one of her writings came to mind as a way that Laurie, although no longer present with us here, could reach out to those in their grief to offer comfort.

Because that’s what Laurie would have wanted to do—to offer comfort—just as she did so often for those who battled cancer during her eighteen-year battle.

And so I share her story here.

Comfort from an Empty Tomb by Laurie Travers

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb . . .” John 20:1

Almost thirty one years ago, on a sultry July morning, I followed Mary’s footsteps. . . .

My father had died suddenly two nights before of cardiac arrest—one week after his open heart surgery. I awoke on the morning of the funeral, feeling overwhelmed with grief. The pain of losing him seemed more than I could bear. I hurt physically.

It seemed there was no one in those early morning hours that could understand or comfort me. All I could think about was how I wanted to be near my Dad. With that thought, I dressed quickly, quietly snuck out of the house, and drove to the funeral home.

I was thankful no one was around so that I could just sit next to his closed casket and cry. There was something about being there that eased my pain a bit. But the reality of my being there alone, next to the casket of my father, also caused me to cry out to the Lord, who faithfully met me there in a way I shall never forget.

My Bible lay in my lap. Crying out for comfort, I opened it. In that precise moment, the Great Comforter caused my eyes to fall on these words from Luke 24:5:

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen.”

My eyes welled up with so many tears that I could no longer see any other words on the page. I was overcome by the grace and love of a God who cared enough to meet my deepest need so wondrously. I realized there was no need to remain at an empty tomb. My heart was too filled with an indescribable joy that gently placed my deep hurt into the eternal perspective of Almighty God.

A Message of Comfort for This Time of Sorrow

In the next few weeks, many funerals will be held in this town; many tears will be shed. The senseless death of so many innocent young people has brought unbearable grief; many hearts are shattered in pain.

But over two thousand years ago, death was defeated by a man who shed the bonds of death, abandoned his tomb, and emerged a Victor.  His name is Jesus, and His love and grace is there for all of us.

In Laurie’s original journal entry, she ended with, “As we reach out to others in their pain, may we pray that the God of ALL comfort would meet them where they are with the hope and encouragement of His empty tomb.”

God has words of encouragement for each hurting soul during this time. If we look to Him and cry out to Him, He will bring us words of comfort as He did to Laurie. He wants to meet our deepest need, and He will when we cry out to Him.

The message of the empty tomb is there for all of us.

Christina Grimmie, the young woman who was killed on Friday, leaves us with a song to keep us strong during this difficult time. You can listen to it here.

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Filed Under: comfort, Grief, national concerns, Uncategorized, Where is God? Tagged With: , ,
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