Insights and inspirations

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I haven't always been the personI am today. My life was a lot different before I started walking with Jesus. I was a foul mouth alcoholic. I did things that people looked down on. I was a manipulator of people and circumstances. I say was because I am a new person in Christ. My old self has been crucified with Christ and raise to new life in Him. Can I consume alcohol? Absolutely not! However, I have no cravings for alcohol. God has removed it from me. I'm an imperfect person, living in an imperfect world. I struggle just like all people do. But because of my relationship with God my struggles look different today. I handle them differently, without alcohol. Let me say, I'm not a mental health professional. I have an AA degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling and a BA in Pastoral Ministry. I'm not here to fix you. My purpose is to share my journey and Jesus. My goal is to provide hope and encourage. I pray that as I share from my heart, you will find strength for you journey. Life is tough. Many will say it's unfair. We are not meant to travel through life alone. We are stronger together. Let's start a journey together. 

Even though I walk  through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

Oh the valleys I have walked through. The things in life that overwhelm. There have been times when I have felt there was no way out of the valley I found myself in. Circumstances that looked as if there was no end. The feeling of being stuck in a dreadful situation for the rest of my life. The good news is, I have had a way through the circumstances of life. I can look back at circustances and see that I wasn't alone. I had a Jesus as a traveling partner. 

I have had many dark valley trips throughout my life. Alcoholism, depression, anxiety, lost loved ones, just to name a few. It's possible that you are struggling with some or all of these as well. You feel like you are all alone. You feel as though the darknees will never end, the sun will never rise. I get it. I've been there. It's a difficult place to be. I'm not going to tell you it'll be easy. But I can tell you that the mountiantop is there, and the only way to the top of the mountain is through the valley. My journey hasn't been easy and there have been times I wanted to throw in the towel. But God threw the towel back to be and said you're almost there, do stop. And so I pushed forward through the darkest of valleys. I eventually reached the mountiantop.

No matter the valley you are in, there hope. Hope for a brighter tomorrow. I found hope, encouragement, love, and strength in Jesus. He made all the difference for me. I believe He can be the difference for you as well. As you journey through the dark valleys reach out to Jesus. Invite Him on the journey. You aren't alone. Don't be afraid to seek help from others. If counseling is needed, go. Sometimes medication is need, even if only for a short time. Regardless of the path through the valley you take, remember Jesus is with you. Seek Him and allow Him to guide you through the dark circumstances

Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 2:7-10)

There is a thorn for everyone. Even the apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh. A thron he said was a messenger of Satan, and it was to torment him. Sound familiar? It does to me. I have fought to overcome my anxiety for years, but success has eluded me. Not only anxiety, but anxiety's good friend depression. The two are so close you can hardly separate them. I few months ago I was having my usual morning bible reading time, when I came across Paul's writing about his thorn in the flesh. I came away with a new perspective on my anxiety. Maybe, just maybe it's the thorn as descirbed by Paul. We don't know what Paul's thorn was, though some thoughts are he experienced bad eyesight, he didn't speak very well, and even anxiety. Reading though Paul's letters you'll find Paul writing about his anxious thoughts. Knowing Paul's thorn in the flesh isn't what's important. His attitude toward it is.

Some Christians will tell you that your struggles are indicators of your spiritual condition. "You just need to have more faith." "You have sin you need to confess." These statements are simply not biblical. Paul says he plead with God three times to remove the thorn, but God, three times, responded "no." Paul stated the thorn in his flesh served a purpose. In his case it was to keep him from becoming conceited. It also provided Paul an opportunity to see his dependence on God. For in his weaknesses, Jesus' strength was shown. He saw that in Jesus he could be strong, even in his weaknesses.

Thorns in our flesh aren't fun to have. They can torment us. However,like Paul, we can find purpose and dependence in our thorns. Our thorns give us a chance to rely on Jesus for our strength. What would life be without thorns? Look at a rose. The flower of romance. So beautiful and elegant. But, handle it with care because the beautiful rose has throns. And if you ask me, the beauty of the rose overcomes the thorns it carries with it. Our life can be like that of the rose. Though the are thorns, there is beauty. 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

I am my worst enemy, especially when it comes to failing. I am also a perfectionist with aids me in being my worst enemy. You may be like me, or you may know someone who is. How we view failure will have a bearing on how we react to our failures and the failures of others. Let me say from the start: we are not our failures. We fail, but we are not failures. Failures can be used as instruments of growth. True failure is not trying at all. If we don't try, we don't grow and learn. We can find valuable lessons in our failures and in the failures of others. So we should refrain from classifying ourselves and others as failures. Have you ever looked at the failures of historical people who had great achievements? Let's look at a few.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because the editor felt like he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas."

Abraham Lincoln before becoming one of the most revered U.S. Presidents, he failed in business, lost his bid for the state legislature, and was defeated in several congressional elections.

Thomas Edison endured thousands of failed attempts before finally inventing the light bulb.

Hank Aaron hit 755 homeruns while striking out 1383 times

Failure is going to happen. It's what we do with our failures that make the difference. Again, we are not our failures. We can't let our failures define who we are. Failure is tough, and it's uncomfortable. However, it's inevitable. Everyone fails at times. We are not our failures, we are more than conquerors. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that through Jesus we are more than conquerors. Failure should defines us. We should be defined as conquerors. Yes, we fail. However, we also overcome the failures and live to try again. 

Stop allowing yourself to be defined as a failure. Instead, allow Jesus to define you as more than a conqueror. Start looking at your failures as opportunities for growth. Allow yourself to see yourself as more than a conqueror. Never give up.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him (2 Peter 2:4)

Rejection is the act of dismissing, excluding, or refusing to accept someone or something. Rejection perceived or real can be painful to the person experiencing the rejection. We were created for community. Created to interact with those around us and when we feel we aren't wanted or accepted, we experience an uncomfortable pain.  No one wants to be rejected, but we live in an imperfect world where we don't always receive the acceptance we are looking for. We must face rejection and understand that acceptance by everyone is not going to happen. If we look at the life of Jesus we'll see that even He was rejected by humans. Jesus, The Son of God, the Messiah was rejected. In fact, it is rejection that place Him on the cross. Talk about painful rejection. Those who rejected Jesus went as far as killing Him. Not just an ordinary death, but a very gruesome, violent death. I journey that included insults, ridicule, beatings, and being spit on, all leading up to the cross. Now that's rejection.

One of my discoveries about my drinking days is the fear of rejection. If I was drinking I didn't feel the sting of rejection, even though most of the rejection was precieved. Yes, rejection is real. However, a lot of our rejection is perceived. Perceived rejection occurs when you interpret a vague, neutral, or absent social cue as a sign that someone is angry with you, dislikes you, or is excluding you. I find myself in this position a lot. Something happens and my brain tells me it's rejection, even when it's not. We must understand that rejection is going to happen from time to time. How we respond is up to us. Like I said, Jesus was rejected. If He was rejected, why should we feel like it won't happen to us. We are not the only ones being rejected. 

The important thing to remember is this, God so loved the world that He gave His on Son, Jesus, to die a gruesome death on a cross so that we could be accepted into His family. Jesus, doesn't reject us, He accepts us. With open arms Jesus accepts us. Even with all of our sins, all of our flaws, Jesus accepts us. Even though the world may reject us we are accept by the Creator of all things. God created us for relationships. He created us so that He could enjoy being in a relationship with us. That's what He wants. Jesus doesn't reject us. Why would He do that when He died on a cross for us. So, next time we feel rejected we can look to the cross and see the loving acceptance of Jesus. So, let the world do what it does. It rejects people who don't go with the flow. Jesus will never reject us. So acknowledge the rejection, experience the pain, and then look to the cross where you will find acceptance in the love of Jesus.