The Crushing Times

I opened my devotional this morning and when I began reading  I immediately knew I must share these thoughts with you. In these difficult times many of us likely need to hear this message. What follows is is from the book Embraced by Lysa TerKeust.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

    No one wants to have their heart crushed. But being wounded in deep places happens. Sometimes it just seems to be part of the rhythm of life.
    And when these hard times come we feel it all so very deeply. And we wonder if others have these hard, hard moments. After all, we don't snap pictures of the crushing times and post them on Instagram.
    We just wonder if we have what it takes to survive ...
    when the doctor calls and says he needs tot  talk to me in person about the test results.
    ... when the teacher sends one of "those" emails about my child.
    ... when I feel so utterly incapable and unable and afraid.
    I suspect you know the tear-filled place from which I speak.
    So, let's journey to the olive tree and learn.
    To get to the place I want to take you, we must cross the Kidron Valley in Israel.
    John 18:1-2 tells us, "When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples."
    Jesus often met in the shadow and shade of the olive tree in the garden.
    This garden is the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus, just before his arrest, said to Peter, James and John, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14:34).
    Jesus knew the crushing-heart feeling. He felt it. He wrestled with it. He carried it.
    And I don't think it was a coincidence that the olive tree was there in this moment of deep sorrow for Jesus.
    The olive tree is such a picture of why our hearts must go through the crushing times.

    The crushing times are necessary times.

    First, in order to be fruitful the olive tree has to have both the east wind and the west wind. The east wind is the dry hot wind from the desert. This wind is so harsh that it can blow over green grass and make it completely wither in one day. 
    The west wind, on the other hand, comes from the Mediterranean. It brings rain and life. 
    Thee olive tree needs both of these winds to produce fruit - and so do we. We need both winds of hardship and relief to sweep across our lives if we are to be truly fruitful.

    The crushing times are processing times.

    Another thing to consider about the olive tree is how naturally bitter the olive is and what it must go through to be useful. If you were to pick an olive from the tree and try to eat it, its bitterness would make you sick.
    For the olive to be edible, it has to go through a lengthy process that includes:
    washing,
    breaking,
    soaking,
    sometimes salting,
    and waiting some more.

    It is a lengthy process to be cured of bitterness and prepared for usefulness. If we are to escape the natural bitterness of the human heart, we have to go through a long process as well ... the process of being cured.

    The crushing times are preservation times.

    The best way to preserve the olive for the long run is to crush it in order to extract the oil. The same is true for us. The Biblical way to be preserved is to be pressed. And being pressed can certainly feel like being crushed. 
    But what about 2 Corinthians 4:8, where it says we are "pressed ... but not crushed"? Let's read verses eight and nine in the King James version:
    "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
    This was one of the biggest "aha" moments for me standing in the shadow of the olive tree: crushing isn't the olive's end.
    Crushing is the way of preservation for the olive. It's also the way to get what's most valuable, the oil, out of the olive. Keeping this perspective is how we can be troubled on every side yet not distressed ... pressed to the point of being crushed but not crushed and destroyed.
    I need to revisit these truths often:
    When the sorrowful winds of the east blow I forgot they are necessary.
    When I'm being processed, I forget it's for the sake of ridding me of bitterness. 
    When I'm being crushed, I forget it's for the sake of my preservation.
    I forget all these things so easily. I wrestle and cry and honestly want to resist every bit of this. Oh, how I forget. 
    Maybe God knew we all would forget.
    And so, he created the olive tree." 


Lysa's words are heartening to me. I pray you will be encouraged.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie
    

Tips For Triumphant Living -- Be Ready

Challenges are coming our way. It's not a matter of if, but when. Are you ready? Some of what we must face will feel like we're running a gauntlet. Our personal challenges and crisis will not be the same, and they will come into our lives for diverse reasons, yet we as believers share a commonality of the battle. And we need to be ready to fight.

I can remember thinking that I had nothing to be concerned about, that when I'd face my battles God would be there. He'd give me whatever I needed. To a degree that's true, but as believers we're not without responsibility. Hebrews 5:12-14 makes it clear we're not to remain infants, living on milk, but we must mature by feeding on the solid food of God's Word.

God is with us. He loves us. He is our Father and we can trust Him to stand with us. Time, experience and study of The Word builds our relationship with The Father and we will become true comrades, linked arm in arm, ready for battle.

Ask yourself,"Do I REALLY know Him well? If not, why not?"

He offers us all we need--His presence, the Holy Spirit, His Word, His Son. Therefore, if we're not well acquainted it's our fault not His. If God seems far away take a close, honest look at your spiritual walk. You will discover the reason for the distance. I can assure you it is not God who has moved away. If you long to know God commit to discovering Him. He is waiting.

Don't be afraid. God understands that growth takes time. He will meet us where we are. I've experienced that many times. One of the most dramatic events was many years ago when my now thirty-year-old daughter was just eight months old. She contracted spinal meningitis. In a coma and with septicemia I feared she'd die. My husband and I were baby Christians with little spiritual knowledge. God understood and provided faith and close friends. They held us and prayed for us and for our daughter. I will never forget those dear ones who were mature in their faith and stood with us in our time of trouble.

Since that time I've walked through many fires with the Lord and I've matured, yet am still far from the mark of perfection. Today God expects more from me than He did all those years ago. I'm no longer a babe, nor should I be. Because of His Word, prayer, worship and experiencing the ups and downs of life I've come to know God and to trust Him more. I still struggle, but I have a history with God and know I can count on Him.

Ephesians 6:10 - 18 offers a list of weapons we all need. Hold onto them. They will not let you down.

Be strong in the Lord and be ready.


Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie

Quite Moments With God--God's not done with me yet.

While in jail, Paul writes to the Philippian Church and says in chapter one, verses 4-6, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Heartening words to the Philippians and to us. There is hope.

Because of their faith, the Philippians endured trials and persecution just as Paul did. He wants to encourage his fellow believers. And remind them that what God began will be fulfilled.

Paul sees the Philippians as family who are working together in partnership with him for the gospel. We also are partners with Christ and with one another. Sometimes we get discouraged and, just as Paul did, we must encourage one another. We aren’t there yet, none of us, not until the day of Christ.

In the years since first accepting Christ and His good news there have been moments when I wanted to give up on being a follower. Not out of unbelief, but because the call seemed too hard and hurt too much. I wasn’t good enough, not strong enough, not dedicated enough. And I wondered what good am I to the Kingdom? I’m nothing.

Then God would remind me of Paul’s words to the Philippian church, that the One who had begun a good work would carry it on to completion. Praise Him!

I am a work in progress, imperfect, inept, and sometimes frightened. But what a privilege to be called . . . just as I am. God doesn’t expect perfection; He simply wants a willing heart. He chose me and I can trust Him to see me through.

In the early days of my walk I could see the big obvious sins and looked forward to the day when I’d have them under control. A strange thing happened on the way to sinlessness, my eyes were opened to how unlike Christ I am and always will be while residing on this planet. But He doesn't give up on me. Instead He stays close, encouraging, teaching, and sometimes carrying me while I fight my way through life.

I will praise Him in the process with the promise that one day I will stand before my Heavenly Father, perfect and brand new. A gift to big to truly comprehend.

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie