Time to Rest

The other day, I had a conversation with someone and mentioned that I was tired. He asked me if I was sleeping okay. I said yes. Then he stumped me and asked if I was RESTING okay. As a small tear came to my eye, I realized that it had been a long while since I had sustained REST. I do have continual peace. I have taken breaks here and there. But, if I'm being honest with myself, there have not been real sustained periods of rest. And I ruminated on that thought and wondered how I would possibly get that rest with life going forward and ministry being what it is. And THAT started to fatigue me even more...

It wasn't until I remembered that rest may come in space rather than time, that the weight of that fatigue began to lift. I knew that the source of my rest would not be one of long time or extended periods of sleep and vacation. That had become evident. But what was real was that God was and is always able to give me (and you) a refreshing and a rest that exceeds our understanding of how or where it comes from.

For me, God sent me some great quality time with my mother that brought that refreshing and that feeling of REST. At times rest is simply a supernatural blessing that comes out of nowhere. Other times it's the smile of a friend or the hug of a loved one that seems to bring you a charge. Or perhaps it's even simply an hour alone listening to your favorite songs, or a quiet ride in the car, or a small breeze that hits your face just so. If you find yourself at the end of your energy rope, I'm here to remind you that God is ABLE and WILLING to bring you a remedy for your much-needed REST. Truly His Word saying that we can bring ourSELVES (not just our problems) to Him is real. Be encouraged that the Lord knows that one thing that will give you strength, that thing on this earth that seems to breathe extra life into your deflating spirit, and it's waiting with Him just for you.

You Can Be Free

And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” Acts 12:11

There are times in our lives that are burned in our memories as times when God did a major working in us. Maybe it was a time when you felt the greatest pain or the greatest confusion. Or it could have even been the time you felt the greatest triumph or joy. As I heard someone read this scripture this morning, my mind immediately went to one of those times in my life. It was a time of growing and a time of stretching. For me it was painful and lonely I couldn't imagine when it would end. 

But it did.

At some point the pressure eased up and I could see through the fog that had settled to one big word...expectations. As I meditated and reflected, I could see that part of God helping me to make peace with elements of my past meant doing a critical thing: delivering me from expectations of people. A lot of times we focus on the first part of what God does just like it says in Acts 12:11. We focus on being delivered from the hand of our enemies (ex. Herod). However, the fullness of God's freedom includes deliverance from expectations as well. In some cases, I needed to release myself from what others expected of me, but the main person I had to get delivered from was myself. 

So many of my hurts and disappointments were tied up in who I hoped, wanted, expected others to be for me. I have wonderful family and friends who are supportive and encouraging and loving; yet even with that I had places hidden in my heart that were disappointed by this or that. Truly my heart was tied to places where people hadn't been what I had hoped. When I needed them, they hadn't been there. What I wanted, they hadn't delivered. I had sometimes measured the love in our relationship by what they had/hadn't given to me and not always on what I had given to them. They had missed their lines in the play of my life that I had cast them in and I realized through this process that it wasn't fair because I had cast them in a part and with lines that they hadn't agreed to. 

Those people around me had been just who God wanted them to be and not who I wanted them to be. They had been who I needed them to be and not always what I wanted them to be. At the moments when I wished they had been on the other side of a phone when I called, God wanted me to be turning to Him. When they had said "no" instead of saying "yes", God's plan was at play. Even in times when they had done things "wrong" or hurtful, Romans 8:28 was truly at work with all things working together for my good. I couldn't see it then. I felt hurt and confused and abandoned at times. However, as I looked back I realized that everything had happened just the way that it should--mistakes, hurts and all. 

There's a thin line between setting standards of excellence so that we strive for the best and setting expectations for others based on an ideal that we have created that may not always be in line with what is fair and/or what God wants for our lives. Being healthy and at peace is about realizing when that line has been crossed. And so the cookie crumbles both ways. Just as God released me from my expectations of others, he also delivered me from unrealistic expectations of others that did not match the journey that he had/has me on. There are times when people want you to be more than you can be for them. The weight of that can be tremendous. There are times when your actions don't match with the hopes that others have for you. Your obligation is to living a life that strives for excellence but that is not bound by mistakes you may make or times when you miss the mark.

I don't know what you are going through or what pieces of your past are weighing you down now in your present and preventing you from moving pain-free into your future. What I do know is that God is able to deliver you from the heart of some of this pain and hurt--your expectations. Perhaps you had expectations of your mom to be positive when instead she said negative things to you. Perhaps you had expectations of your father to protect you at all costs, but you still got hurt on his watch. Perhaps you expected your child to do better than you had done and are disappointed at some of the choices they have made. 

No matter what your expectations, today is a good day to allow the Spirit of the Lord to release you from them. Cry out to Him. Tell Him. Then release it! Your total freedom hinges on this very thing. Freedom from the places of past hurts and pain does not end with apologies. Instead it ends with forgiveness--forgiving others for not doing right, for not doing what you'd hoped, and for not being who you'd expected. Today I want to encourage you to take advantage of what God is offering--freedom from your enemies and deliverance from expectations (i.e. peace of mind). It's yours for the taking. 

Be encouraged.

Blessings,
Pastor A

P.S. Don't forget to share the blessing. If you know someone who needs this word...pass it along.

DAY 26: The Way Out of Trapped

There is no greater prison than the one in your mind. I know prison is a harsh term, but it's easy to feel like there's no possibility of moving beyond what you think in your mind. If you believe that you are inadequate, then you live as though you are. If you see yourself as unworthy, then you live as though you are. And this is not simply idle chatter. Proverbs tell us that "as a man thinks so he is." There is such great power in our thoughts and our own expectations. We allow ourselves to be defined by whatever rules about life that we've placed in our minds--you must be X, Y, or Z to be able to succeed--and we maintain the idea that "I'll never quite get to it." Our minds have created this rabbit hole that we fall down early in life and struggle to get out of throughout the years. Put simply: You. Feel. Trapped. 

You keep waiting for someone to rescue you. You keep waiting for a way out. You keep waiting for someone to believe in you, your ideas, your vision...perhaps that someone should be you. While validation is good, it's not the center of how we become able to break past the limitations of our mind prisons. When Christ came, he gave us the ultimate gift of freedom. That freedom was from sin, from negativity, from all things that hold us back from becoming all that we are called to be. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1) While it may seem difficult, it is not complicated. Your success hinges on your deciding to see yourself differently. The way out of feeling trapped is in the decision to not be.

Today, I want to challenge you to give yourself the awesome/freeing gift of grace and belief. You've been believing your own negative press. You've been trying to move forward but not quite sure what has held you back. Today I challenge you to see yourself as the captor and allow yourself to set your free. For in Christ there truly is LIBERTY...walk in that today.

Be encouraged,
Pastor Andrea