Heartache

"1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4my enemy will say, 'I have overcome him,'

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6I will sing to the Lord,

for he has been good to me." Psalm 13 NIV

All those with broken hearts-those who feel abandoned by family, friends, and God-are in good company.  David, the man after God's own heart, felt the same way.

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 ESV

"2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4 ESV

I have seen attack after attack in my own life and in the lives around me, and I'm broken over the struggles I see.  I am broken over families treating each other like garbage, even though that's promised in Matthew 10:21-22.  I am broken over the Enemy feeding Christians lies about their personal insecurities.  I am broken over my tendency to believe him.  I am broken over our inclination to run to people instead of God.  I am broken over the fact that I feel so helpless...and over the fact that I am so helpless.

"3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance [aka steadfastness], 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5  ESV


"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:19a NIV

Hope. Hope is what we have and the World doesn't.  The HOPE is that this world is not our home.  The hope is that we understand that crap happens to good people as a consequence of sin.  Your sin, my sin, Adam's sin--SIN.  We live in a fallen world, and that's why bad things happen.  Not for a "reason."  Not to teach us a lesson.  Do we learn?  I would hope so.  We're being made complete so that we can lack nothing, according to James.  How can we share in the Joy of Christ without sharing in His suffering?  I'm not saying that Jesus doesn't use the crap for His glory; He most certainly does!  That is why Christians have hope.

I hate the saying that "God will never give you more than you can handle."  We can't handle it!  How do you expect to be made complete without Him?  He walks with you! JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH (Ezekiel 48:35) means "The Lord who is present."  JEHOVAH-ROHI (Psalm 23:1) means "The Lord my Shepherd."  The shepherd walks with his sheep.  Rejoice in the Presence of EL-SHADDAI (Genesis 17:1, Psalm 91:1), the Almighty God.

I know this is getting long, and I know that when we're down in the dumps, this isn't what we want to hear.  Regardless, it's what we need to hear.  I'm praying for your encouragement.  I am fighting for you.  That's a promise.  I love you with a fierce passion that was given to me by my Creator, and I will never give up on you.  She doesn't mean me.  Yes, I do.  I mean you my sister, my brother, my dear friend, my love.

I sit here in tears knowing the battle we face every day.  Put on that armor.  You are blessed.  You are highly favored.  You are loved.

"14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV