When I am Battered and Scarred

Pain, exhaustion, hopelessness--all these "friends" of an old enemy--cunning, baffling and powerful--attacked me from all sides.

     "Lord, please help me!" I cried out.

      Tears streaming down my cheeks, I clicked on my Facebook mail and the first link that I opened was an answer to my prayers. The song was called In Jesus Name we Press On by Selah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPUP8jenE9I

       Here are the words:

       When the valley is deep, when the mountain is steep, when the body is weary, when we stumble and fall, when the choices are hard, when we are battered and scarred, when we've spent our resources, when we've given our all....

       In Jesus' name we press on.

       Dear Lord, with the prize, clear before our eyes, we find the strength to press on. In Jesus' name we press on.

        

Photo credit: Cindy Cornett Seigle.Sad Clown.    cindy47452.2012http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindy47452/8200519183/

 

 

New Hope

God has given you a new name if you believe in Jesus. He called Abraham "a father of many nations" (Rom. 4:17-21) when he was just an old man with a wife past child-bearing years, and no children.
He called Gideon a “mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12-16) instead of “least in his father's household,” as Gideon thought about himself. Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus and turned him from persecutor of Christians to Paul, an apostle to the gentiles (Acts 9:15).
         Do you see yourself through the natural eye as old, weary, weak, and defeated? Or, do you see yourself as the man or the woman that God intended you to be? I know that He has added a new value to my Bulgarian name, Nadia, which means "hope."

 

Photo credit: Sevin, Angela.angela7dreams.2005.http://www.flickr.com/photos/angela7/87957759/.2013

"I promise to be a good girl, God."

I love the promises of God in the bible. I know that the Lord keeps his promises and is not like me to change his mind ten times a day. The words of Psalm 91saturate my whole being with peace:

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Thank you, Father, for your loving care!

Photo credit: Drew Bryden Cape Cod Cyclist. Serenity is.2006.http://www.flickr.com.2013

Perfect Healing

A couple of weeks ago, I had a tooth surgically removed in a non-typical way. The dentist looked at it during my follow up visit and said, "Everything is healed beautifully. There is not even a scar left."

        I remembered a visit to the podiatrist. I had fractured my left foot and the physician wanted to make sure it was well. He asked me to walk around without support, looked at my foot, then looked at the x-ray and said, "I don't see even a line, a mark where the foot was broken. It has healed perfectly."

        I thanked the Perfect Healer-Jesus for his amazing gifts.

Photo credit: http://cdn.theresurgence.com/files/2011/07/23/healed.jpg?1311488151

The Tooth

I woke up at 2:00 one morning from excruciating pain. My head throbbed in unison with the tooth ache.

        The tooth that was bothering me was a part of a huge bridge covering my whole upper jaw. I had paid thousands of dollars for it only a few years ago. It took a year of extra work to pay the loan off.

        "God, I need help," I feebly started my nightly prayer. It was up to God to rescue me. I had already asked a few dentists and one surgeon. All of them made it clear that the whole bridge needed to be removed and destroyed. Some implants needed to be made....

        "Lord, please lead me to the right dentist that will help me."

        I went to a place called Naper Dental. I told them about my trouble. Doctor Jason Crescenzo examined me and offered to extract the tooth without removing the bridge.

        "Can it be done?" I asked.

        It turned out that Dr. Crescenzo had experience with exactly that type of surgery. But that was not the whole miracle. That dentist had an amazing caring heart. He worked hard for almost eighty minutes to preserve most of the bone so that there would not be a gaping hole on my gums.

        It has been only a couple a days now, yet I already feel healed and happy that God led me to the right person in my time of need. Because my heavenly Father is faithful.

I've Been "Burned" Before

Everyone knows what it feels like to be "burned." Your marriage goes up in flames; your investments, business is gone up in smoke after a bad decision; your close friends betray you; your plans turn to ashes.

Some of us think it is therapeutic to talk about our problems. My Pastor, Gregory Dickow, says, "Talk to the problem, not about it. Give God the ashes, the hurt. He can turn them into something beautiful as he has promised in Isaiah 61:3. Talking about your burned dreams with people makes you spread the ashes even more. An exchange has to take place--take your ashes and give them to God. God will restore the broken, the damaged, the burned. Get the skeletons out of your closets and give them to God. He can bring the dead bones to life. Give your broken pieces to Jesus and remember that he is the Potter and you are the clay in his hands."

And remember: The more ashes you give God, the more beautiful your restored life can become!"

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com

On Healing

Past painful memories serve as anchors dragging us down, holding us back from what could be. Not only does God have a plan for each of our lives, he has the antidote for healing the hurts that create bitterness, regret, anger and frustration.
         Whether physical, emotional or even sexual, the source of that hurt must be addressed. Jesus is our great physician, who teaches us how to forgive and release the destructive emotional chains, which serve as barriers to our future.

          As we bring these issues before our Great Physician, we must painfully open our hearts and release the infectious emotions to Christ, our healer. I declare the promises of the Bible, the Word of God, "By His stripes I am healed."

The chains that used to bind us are broken. We are healed. Jesus is the only one qualified to perform this liberating procedure.