Dear Lilies: Grow & Go

Dear Lilies, 

29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:29-30

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke 12:35-40

Apologies in advance for the more thought-bouncing nature of this post, but I wanted to share thoughts from my reading this morning in Luke chapter 12:22-40. :) 

We must be ready because the Son of Man (Jesus) will come at an hour when we don’t expect him — am I ready? If Christ came back today, would I have done (or been doing) what He told me to do? Making every effort to share, grow, and learn His grace? Would the things I do/don’t do out of fear seem so great? Would I look back and think, “Where did all my time go?”

I want to live my life in light of eternity. In light of this mere smoke-like time I have on earth. When we’re standing in smoke, it seems like the thick gaseous whiteness is all there is. But then it passes. It always passes. Smoke doesn’t linger forever... or, it’s not smoke. When it clears, you see the world around you — so vast in comparison to the dense smoke you stood in before. The smoke of your life we know is just a short season in the clearness of eternity. Today I am asking myself: What would my life look like if I REALLY lived in light of eternity?

Everyone’s answer is different. Everyone’s lives are different. But each and every one of us born-again believers ultimately has the same purpose — grow & go — GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, studying His work and letting it conform us each day to Him and not the pattern of this world. And then (simultaneously, because we will never reach a “perfect” point of readiness where we know all the answers about the Bible, Spiritual Life, God, etc... much less aren’t struggling with something where we feel inadequate and unqualified HELLO the awesomeness that is in our WEAKNESS Christ is strong. If you know very little about the Bible, you have YOUR story of darkness to light, you have YOUR struggles that Christ carries you through daily. That’s yours and that’s powerful. Okay wow, another post on this later sorry if you now have to go up 4 lines to read where this sentence was headed) GO out into the world (aka out your door — or bed?) and share the good news of the Gospel. If we hold the answer for eternity in our hearts, why on earth would we keep it to ourselves?

Love & Happy Tuesday,

Sarah 

FYI: The bolded words are links to the scripture... I realize it's kinda hard to even see that they're darker. Or I'm just blind. I probably should go find my glasses. 

Dear Lilies: Seek & Look

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”  Psalm 34:4-5

Dear Lilies,

After reading these two verses this morning, I stopped, overwhelmed by the Words as I reluctantly let them soak in, and scribbled down what ran through my head into my journal:

My fears? That often seem petty, yet wear on my soul with no relent?

Yes, and then… and then, what next?

You will make me radiant, my face never covered with shame?

FEAR – SHAME – RADIANT – FACE

Are we not so awfully familiar with all these words?

We FEAR, which so often leads to sin (which we have probably done before, time and time again), and we are filled with something perhaps even more bone aching – SHAME. We want to hide our FACE, bury it beneath our shame. All the while, we long to be able to lift our head and be radiant – beams of light, living life with only scars of fear and shame, not active wounds, oozing and painful.

AND YET,

Jesus already knows this. He already prepared a way out of this. He already orchestrated a re-arrangement of our cacophony into something beautiful, something lovely.

His re-arrangement starts with one new word to the word mix.

SEEK

“I SOUGHT the LORD, and he answered me…”

We must first SEEK him, then, the verse continues…

He DELIVERED me from all my FEARS.

And another word,

LOOK

“Those who LOOK to Him are RADIANT; their faces are never covered with SHAME.”

This is his symphony, for you & me:

(insert your name below where I inserted mine)

Sarah, SEEK Me, and I will DELIVER you from all your FEARS. When you LOOK to Me, you will be RADIANT; your FACE will never be covered with SHAME.

Let’s try it out today, Lilies.

Side note: I’m literally going to start right now by seeking my Father amid my trivial fear of not being able to run today thanks to a messed up hip (let’s be real, the real root of this fear is that by not running for ONE day, or maybe even morning, I will go insane and get fat… like is THIS STILL AN ISSUE I KNOW THESE THOUGHTS ARE NOT TRUTHS!!!! Sarah, really?! Take a chill pill.) Because He and He alone can still my (currently Tasmanian devil-like) soul, and deliver me from my fear. I will LOOK to him, and I will be radiant, not covered with shame from my oh so nagging fear.

In His Love and His Truth, with a seeking and looking heart,

Sarah

Dear Lilies: Goodnight

"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me."                                                                                                                        Psalm 3:5

"I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side."                                                                                                               Psalm 3:6

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, makes me dwell in safety."                                                                                    Psalm 4:8

Dear Lilies,

Are you getting ready for bed? Or are you about to embark on a sleepless night? Are you cozied up on your bed, nestled under your ultra-plush throw? Standing by the printer or waiting on your sheets to get out of the dryer?

I’m currently thinking of how comfy my bed is and how glorious it will be when I get to crawl into my cocoon after this long day.

Goodnight, moon. Goodnight, stars. Goodnight my poor parched potted succulents. Goodnight worry. Goodnight regret. Goodnight Tuesday. Goodnight, Dear Lilies… would you mind if a shared a goodnight letter with you?

What is a good night? And why do we bid night good riddance each evening, as we slowly slip into slumber?

Is it a good-night if we were never to wake? Is it a good night, if it was a not good day?

Do you ever think about the fact that the sun rises each morning?

And, what about the sun in the evening? It’s daylight savings and we all feel slightly warped to the left. We aren’t really tired when we would usually be passed out, and when our alarms go off in the morning, it’s like someone just hit a gong atop our eardrum in our deepest rem cycle.

I don’t know about you, but I have been so wound up lately with all the s t u f f of my little life, my brain feels jammed to the point of overload. I feel convicted of the minute study and time in the Word and much time in the World. I’m not going and doing anything out of the ordinary off-the-chain-wild-side, but I just mean like the hum-drum business of this happy little thing we call life. But what is LIFE if we are not living? What is living, if we have nothing to LIVE for?

This letter is a bit (no, maybe QUITE) all over the place. I’ve not written to you in some time due to the very thing I am (attempting) to write about. I tried to justify my take of leave by saying I was on an “unexpected sabbatical”…. But let’s be real, I didn’t actually spend the last 2.5 weeks relishing in & soaking up all the goodness God has to offer us when we study and learn. I’ve just been “doing life” and maybe kind of lame-ily pushing through. But do I have to continue this way?

No.

Yes, my schedule is jam-packed. But guess what? I made it that way. Yeah, I “have to” do everything I am doing. But if I want to have peace that surpasses all understanding, I have to cast all my cares (all this s t u f f) on the one who Cares for me. And this peace of God will guard my heart and mind, forever.

Last Monday, I sat with a beloved friend on the crunchy white sand Pensacola beach with the wind whipping our hair like streamers in a sandstorm. We laughed as we sat there, bundled up in fleeces, happy as clams that we could just be there, sitting and staring at the waves. Without having to verbalize it, we both had a peace about us that enabled us to enjoy that moment more richly than had ever been possible for either of us. We have been friends for 9 years. A lot has happened in 9 years. We both have changed. We both have been and continue to be amazed by what God is doing in our lives, and what He was doing when we had no clue what was going on. It was a precious moment in time and we simultaneously looked at each other and stated how great the Grace of our Savior is. How precious, awesome, jaw-dropping and wonderful it is that we can sit there in our sinful bodies, aware of our faults and continued failures and have peace in our souls that God is good and that we are His. That he loves us, regardless of ourselves. Oh, dear sisters, it truly is a priceless and most beautiful truth!

Because of His Grace, we are able to stand, sit and run fearlessly in freedom with all joy.

No fear! Dear lilies, no fear can separate us from the LOVE Christ Jesus has for us. We must only fear HIM, the only one worthy to be praised. The only one who is worth our reverence and complete desire.

I have school (personal favorite), work (shout out new job woop-woop), marriage (hey JB thanks for literally not allowing me to get into my PJ’s until I wrote this letter…), moving into a new home, summer plans (…I’ll keep ya posted) and oh, the list goes on…

But as the eyes droop and the mind starts to wander, I must remember the one who sustains me. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much good I do, no matter how much I may completely screw up.

The LORD sustains me. Dear Lilies, the LORD sustains you. And because of this, we can sleep. And because of this, we can rest. And because of this, dear Lilies, we will wake, praising His name, our King on High.

Goodnight & sweet dreams,

love xx

Sarah 

Dear Lilies: Hypocrite

Dear Lilies,

“Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there, may every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name.” Psalm 86:11 [Living Bible]

Fact 1: Three hours ago I gave a speech in my speech class on “Ways to Save” with one of my main points being to “Skip Starbucks” due to their immensely overpriced coffee and to highlight just how much we actually spend on coffee.

Fact 2: I have always had some sort of weird complex about people “reading” or “studying” their bibles in Starbucks. I pretty much vowed I would never be “that person”. I know! Sometimes I really scare myself. I sound sacrilegious to even say it, but hey, I’m pretty transparent here.

Fact 3: It’s 2:42pm and here I sit, in Starbucks, drinking a piping hot overpriced drink with my poor worn out Bible open and papers scattered. Eternal Grounds was closed (because it’s Monday even though I was convinced it was Wednesday and practically tried to pry open the door).

Fact 4: I am a hypocrite.

Hypocrite. It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot, mostly in disparaging, derogatory jabs. But what does it actually mean?

Hypocrite (n.) “a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs” (Merriam-Webster)

The most common context that you may have heard someone call a person a hypocrite is the usual “Christian” who “isn’t acting like a Christian”. You know, church on Sundays, plastered on Fridays… Instagram lookin’ like “Oh..my… can you believe her?”

Why do we call THEM hypocrites? If they call themselves a Christian, that title comes with some weight, people expect, you know, you not to be looking like everyone else. And it’s true, Christ calls us not to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We know this, so when we SEE Christians blatantly disregarding Christ’s command, we love to make it known. Their plights are in plain sight. Their sins are not secret. We can easily point and say “Gosh, what a hypocrite!”

But what about the girl who seemingly has it “all together”? She never does anything “bad”, she is a “good Church girl” surely SHE is not a hypocrite? Oh, my, if we ever could be so flat out wrong.

We have ALL sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

There is none righteous, no not one. (Romans 3:10)

But thanks be to Christ Jesus for his great Grace that while we were YET sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

You see, once we believe and are born again, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old has gone away and the new is here. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t struggle. That doesn’t mean life will now be perfect. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be writing this and you wouldn’t be reading this. We are called to be Christ-like-ones, and we strive daily to be more like him. But what about when we “mess-up”? What about when we do, say or think things that are TOTALLY CONTRARY to what we profess? What does that make us? Yes, dear ones, a very blessed and beloved hypocrite. We are claiming to believe one thing, and acting in a way that in no way shape or form reflects that claim.

Brace yourselves: I’m about to get personal. (Don’t panic it’s not weird, chill.)

For the last several weeks, wait maybe every since week 1 of Dear Lilies and even before I started writing and you all graciously started reading, I have felt like a down right blazing-rank-hypocrite.

Yes, you see, I do not want you all to think for ONE SPLIT SECOND that I am just livin’ in Candyland floating on clouds and radiating rainbows.

Heck to the no.

I know I said in my “About” section on the site that once I got through the “muck and mire of my eating disorder”… well, I got NEWS for ya. It’s still mucky. It’s still muggy. Yes, I have come a long way, but I’m still in the swamp. Anxiety, depression, ED's, they are for real, folks. But you know what? I’m not stuck, because I have an eternal HELP Hotline that is never busy and never fails me. Even when I fail. He never fails. His love never ends. His Love, is Relentless.

The picture David paints for us in Psalm 18:4-5 has never felt more real, but neither has verse 6.

“(4) The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. (5) The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. (6) In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Psalm 18: 4-6

Maybe you are feeling like you’re a hypocrite. Maybe you have never had a better period in your life. Rest in this, “he does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so GREAT is his love for those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:10-11)

That means you, dear Lilies. He loves you.

In His Love,

       Sarah

Drink Up

Dear Lilies,

“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry lands springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress and the pine and the box tree together, that they may see and know the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel created it.”                                                                                         Isaiah 41:17-20

How to begin? I cannot make any excuses as to why this letter is just getting to you. I don’t know what is going on or why "things are hard", but I know the One who knows. I was reminded of this sitting in the window cubby of the Williams building at FSU at 9:48am. I was thirsty. Really, really, thirsty. As I stared at my (actually, it’s my mom’s…woops) hot pink Nalgene water bottle, I felt like all the water in the world could never quench my thirst. You see, I’ve been in a valley for the last however long. It doesn’t really matter how long, because God’s Truth is the same however far, long, deep or shallow the valley is. My prayer for these letters has been that God's Truth be made known, unashamedly, so that even just for three and a half minutes, we can meditate on something real and true, in a world of illusion. The past five weeks, God has shown me very clearly what to write about. Many times, as I have shared, it has been things that hadn't even crossed my mind. So for this week, I was praying and seeking, but to be completely honest, I have been lazy (and a bit scared) to really study. When you open yourself up, really open yourself up, to let God work in your heart, mind and soul, He shows you amazing and beautiful things. The thing is, this doesn’t happen just thinking about it or even saying a one-time heart felt prayer. It isn’t complicated, it is simple and I’ve said it before. We have to read and study what He has given us. His living word. Why am I saying all this? Not to make an excuse for myself, but to expose myself.

It didn't really hit be until today, as I felt physically thirsty that I realized I have spent all week staring at the bottle and not drinking. 

Jesus tell us in John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

How can I expect to feel refreshed, rejuvenated and hydrated if I deny myself the very wellspring of living water?

It would be like me staring at my Nalgene bottle full of 32oz of nice cool water and saying “Gosh, how and when in the world will I not feel so parched? Can someone tell me what I can do to get rid of this thirst?!” If I did that, I hope all of you would tell me I’ve lost it. Or at least tell me, “Sarah, what are you talking about? You have a giant water bottle right in front of you! Drink some! Duh…”  

We know, or have probably heard, that God offers us Living Water through His Word, but what about when you feel like you’re in a desert? What about when you feel like you’re in a valley?

Sisters, if you have believed in Christ Jesus, that he died for your sins and rose again, defeating death forever, you have a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life inside of you.

As my heart cried out to God for His Living Water to fill my soul, soak up my parched heart of worry and my flood my depressed body, I read this verse.

“I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry lands springs of water.” Isaiah 41:18

If you’re like me, you may feel like you are in a desolate place. You know you have access to the Living Water in Jesus and still, you feel like you are in the deepest valley. The wilderness. Dear Lilies, listen to our Father’s words of promise. He will turn your desolation into a river of flowing water. He will spring up fountains in your valley. He will turn your wilderness into an ocean. He will turn your dry land into springs of water.

He can, dear one, he can. And not just that, He will.

Sometimes, it seems easier to stare at the bottle and wish for it to enter our bodies and quench our thirst. But how refreshed are we when we finally pick it up and drink it? “Why didn’t I do that in the first place?” “Why didn’t I do that days, weeks, years ago?” 

Rest assured, it is never too late.

Don’t wait until you need an IV.

Don’t give up.

Drink up.

With love,

       Sarah 

Dear Lilies: Pause

Dear Lilies,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.                                                                                                                   Isaiah 55:8

Today begins the fifth week of our time together. Thank you for your time and care in reading these letters to you! You all have blessed me more than words, truly. It's a short one today, but short and sweet, I do think. 

This past week I wrote a personal essay rooted around a “musical experience” for one of my classes. I know, it sounds strange. It was. But hey, there is always something that can be gained even from the most outlandish of things, eh? Without fail, in doing personal reflective writing, I have to confront uncomfortable and nasty things within myself. I mean you really can't B.S. a personal narrative… well, you can, but what is the point? That's a whole lot of wasted finger muscles and keyboard ticking. Over the past couple of years, scouring my soul for answers to these personal writing prompts has become a pretty routine activity for me. All of this to say, a recurring theme I discovered during writing my essay last week was my fear, my disillusionment and my altogether anxiety of the unknown. 

The unknown.

It can be large or small. A long period or just a second spent dwelling in the unanswerable. Not knowing where my friend is because they haven’t texted me back in 10 minutes (Did they get in a car wreck? Are they mad? Did they…? All the above), or not knowing what will happen if I actually step out on a limb with my dreams.  

The unknown.

It terrifies me. What I cannot give an answer to in a split second causes my heart to drop, pound down into my gut and brain turn to mush. I want to react. Solve the problem. Fix the leak. Find an answer. DO something, even if it is completely and entirely non-beneficial to the actual unknown or problem. By doing something I try to subside that uncomfortable feeling pervading my being.

I may be the only one with this struggle, but I don’t think so because passages like Isaiah 55 come to mind. “…my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” Why would God tell us this? To make us feel insignificant? To belittle us? Of course not! God is good and he does good (Psalm 119:68). God is love (1 John 4:8). God gives Grace (James 4:6).

Perhaps, he tells us this to realign our hearts and minds to His reality. The reality that what is unknown to us, is never unknown to him.

Because in light of His reality, we can see the unknown as something completely different. And the unknown transforms from a place of panic, to a place of pause.

A time to complain, to a time of thanksgiving.

A feeling of failure, to an assurance of growth.

A time of self-condemnation, to a time looking to the One who knows it all.

An opportunity to be defeated, to an opportunity for growth.

A time of worry, to a time of worship.

I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to grow in my faith, experience peace in the midst of hardship and worship my God, just because I didn't take a pause to realign my reality. Do you? 

Love,

         Sarah

        (I’ll share the essay with you in the Lily Field this week)

Dear Lilies: Fight

Dear Lilies,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”                                                                                             Ephesians 6:10-17

Last summer, I was sitting in a group therapy session (I mentioned it has been rough, right?) with other girls when the topic turned to beauty, the concept of what is beautiful and how that word is used in our society today. In silence we sat thinking the same thing. Beautiful = of, or relating to, the ideal, body, physical appearance, flawless. One girl timidly shared that in Italian, the word beautiful is used for much more than just physical appearance, or even aesthetic appeal. It is often used for describing delicious food (oh, the irony), or a job well done. Needless to say, I left group that day with a burning question in my mind. What is beautiful? The next morning I searched my Bible to see what God’s Word had to say about beauty and truly what is beautiful.

What I found blew me away.

 *End of Trailer*

Sorry, that is a preview of coming attractions. That is the letter I keep wanting and trying to write to you all, but God has had other plans for us. Lord willing, I will write to you to answer this question of what is beautiful, but today, we need (I need) to have some battle tactics. 

We all have different battlefields. They are endless in their issues. The armor God gives us and the tactics he has laid out for us can be applied to any battlefield in your life. But today, let’s get real and address the battlefield covered in “ideal” bodies and “perfect hair”, the next thing not to eat and the hottest way to make that booty pop and tummy tuck.

The battlefield of beauty. Oh, it’s a nasty one.

I really don’t need to go into all the nitty gritty and describe to you how society (and that includes me, you, your friends, your classmates, your family, and the “THE MEDIA” in all it’s forms) has presented us with a standard of beauty that is:

-       Fake

-       Unrealistic

-       Unauthentic

-       Unattainable

-       Fake

-       Did I mention, Fake?

Or at least I hope we all realize that is the case.

So the question becomes: How do we stay strong in the world, without submitting to and falling prey to the lies?

We may know, deep down, that those images flashed before us everyday of “the perfect body” are wrong, but at the end of the day, what do we do about it? We scroll through our Instagrams only to see the same idols portrayed.

We feel defeated. Our minds get contorted. We know it is wrong, but we feel helplessly overcome by the weight of the lie embodied in a “flawless-thin-toned-perfectly-sculpted-blonde” or “insert-your-personal-standard-of-what-you-have-deemed-the-perfect-body”

Lilies, we are NOT defeated. You are NOT overcome.

It’s time to fight. Fight for your freedom. If nothing else, fight for your friends and fight for your sisters. Do you want your sisters, daughters and friends to be held captive by the same evil mindset?

No!

We do not have to be overtaken and defeated by the powers of the dark and evil world. Radical change doesn’t start by us writing letters to magazines, clothing companies and model agencies telling them to stop using rail thin or photoshopped women on their advertisements. Yes, those things need to happen, but the bottom line is, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world.” 

Radical change happens in hearts. How in the world can we hope to change things in our world, if we ourselves cannot even STAND against the lie? If we let ourselves, because of lack of knowledge of the Truth, be defeated daily by the very thing we are trying to defeat?

No.

Good news: God has graciously given us everything we need to win. After all, we are more than conquerors.

Suit up, ladies:

Belt of Truth

We must put this securely around our waists before we put the rest of our armor on. It is our foundation. We will not be swayed by the lies of the world if we have the Truth cinched around our waists.  

Breastplate of Righteousness

To keep our hearts protected by the assaults the devil hurls at us.

Feet fitted with the readiness from the Gospel of Peace

We know our place in eternity. We have peace in the assurance that we are saved and will spend eternity with Him who died for us and set us free from the condemnation we deserve.

Shield of Faith

To extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Yes, the bible clearly states “flaming” arrows.

 Helmet of Salvation

Guarding our heads, our minds from the “impending danger” we will face.

Sword of the Spirit

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, through Him, we have unstoppable, incomprehensible, and unearthly power. The more Word we know, the more effective we are in defending ourselves with this sword.

There is so much awesome study that has been done in depth on these defense weapons we have and I could never exhaust this topic. But my time is up and I REALLY feel compelled that y’all need this (I need this) message of Truth this Monday morning.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:10)

STAND.

Don’t miss this, the battle is already won by our Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t have to fight for our places in Eternity, those are already waiting for us without names on them. We just have to STAND in His Truth here on earth so that we may not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2)

Stand.

Suit up.

Fight the fight by STANDING in His Truth.

In His Love & lots of strong hot coffee on this glorious Monday on the first day of February,

        Sarah

---

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983. Print.

Dear Lilies: Overwhelmed? Take a faceplant

Dear Lilies,

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. He said to me, “Son man, stand up on your feet that I may speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.   Ezekiel 1:28-2:1&2

Last week, I started attending a Precept Bible study. I was super excited, not only to get to learn more about God’s word in depth, verse by verse, or to have fellowship with other believers, but that we were going to be studying the book of Ezekiel. If any of you have read, or started to read this book, you will understand why I was thrilled to have some “study helps”, not to mention the accountability of a group to learn about this powerful book. As the Bible study leader pointed out to us on Thursday, Ezekiel uses the word “like” 19 times just in the first chapter, desperately trying to describe to us what this Glory looked like, but it is impossible to express in earthly words.

Though thinking about what Ezekiel describes is mind-boggling and humbling, the response Ezekiel has when he encounters the Glory of the LORD has remained at the forefront of my mind ever since I read it.

He writes, “When I saw it [the Glory of the LORD], I fell facedown.” Or in the NASB translation, “I fell on my face” Ezekiel 1:28

In the presence of the Glory of the LORD, Ezekiel was overwhelmed. His only possible response?

A faceplant.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Let me answer that for you. Yes. Oh, it’s Monday, by the way.

What does it feel like when you are overwhelmed?

The walls around you feel thick. Everything and everyone is blown out of proportion (but it seems real). Your head is spinning. You feel small. Everything else is massive. Your problems are bigger than life. It’s just too much. You feel inescapably overcome. Defeated. Helpless. All you want to do is just fall on your face.

That same feeling of being overcome and helpless in our own might, is how the Glory of the LORD should make us feel.

 Overwhelmed.

The good news? This is not a foreign or abstract emotion or state of being. We all know what it is like to be overwhelmed.

So, how do we translate our earthly overwhelmed hearts to hearts overwhelmed by the Glory of the LORD, and nothing else?

To answer this question, we need to understand why we feel overwhelmed in the first place. How does the state of being overwhelmed come upon us? 

Picture this: It is 1 p.m. on a gorgeous (yet frightfully freezing) Monday in January. You are sitting outside on a park bench eating your usual lunchtime respite – the faithful PB&J. The sun in shining, the birds chirping, the wind providing just the right breeze to softly blow the leaves across the pavement. Life is good.

3 p.m. the same day: You come home to find a note from your mom telling you she has left. She and your dad have been having marital issues for years now, and she cannot handle it anymore. They are getting a divorce. She is moving to Ireland to live with her sister. You also find out that the reason why you look nothing like your brother is because she was adopted. He was from a relationship your dad had in college, and the mother died in childbirth. As you sit down, trying to soak it all in, your phone vibrates with a email from your boss telling you that she is so sorry, but your position is being replaced by a software now available. She apologizes for not telling you earlier, but you need to leave by next week.  

3:23 p.m.: This is the worst day of your life.  

What happened between 1 p.m. and 3:23 p.m. ? You learned about those terrible, unfortunate events. Now that you know these things, there is no way to erase that knowledge. Even if they turned out to all be a lie, for at least a period of time, you were overwhelmed by what you learned, and there is absolutely no way to change or reverse that.

The bottom line?

 It is impossible to be overwhelmed by something or someone who we don’t know.

I went into that whole analogy above because I think it is helpful to really help us grasp this concept in the scope of our everyday lives.

Back to our question that led us to this extended analogy: How do we translate our earthly overwhelmed hearts to hearts overwhelmed by the Glory of the LORD, and nothing else?

By knowing God. By learning about Him. By reading His Word and studying His Truths.

Friends, if we want to be overwhelmed by the presence of the LORD God Almighty, we must know him. We must learn about Him. The more we learn about Him, the better we get to know Him and the more we become overwhelmed by His Glory.

This Truth is so comforting to me because it gives me hope and something to work on everyday. When I feel overwhelmed by daily circumstances in my life, it reminds me of what I really can and should be overwhelmed about. Not the fact that my car won’t start, I spilled my coffee all down my white shirt and my essay is due tat midnight, but that our God is AWESOME and His Glory is unfathomable.

So I encourage you:

 Get to know the One who can take your overwhelmed heart and turn it into a heart overwhelmed with His Glory

Read His Word

“I am the bread of life” John 6:48

 Talk to Him

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

 Take a walk and admire his artistry

 “The heavens declare the Glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

And every once in a while, take a face plant. He is there to pick us back up.

“Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:24

In His Love and Truth,

Sarah 

Dear Lilies: Live

Dear Lilies,

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in this body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in this body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.”  Philippians 1:22

     Last week, I was chomping at the bit to write to you all again. I asked my mom and Johnny, do you think three letters a week is too much? Heck, I was thinking maybe one everyday. Thankfully for you, after prayer and consulting with my loved ones, I believe that one letter a week is best. Now you can all take a deep breath.

       Anyhow, in the excitement of last week, I thought I would write this next letter about a topic that has been ruminating in my mind ever since the Lord revealed it to me a couple of months ago. I even wrote most of it. But, the Lord had different plans for us this week. As often the case with my delightful stubbornness, I had to kind of be hit over the head (no harm done, no need to worry) by the Holy Spirit to be still and listen to what God actually had planned for me to write.

      So, as I sat drinking my Yogi “Calming” tea at 6:20 AM on the couch on Saturday morning with Pebbles curled up in my lap, I opened by Bible to this passage above. If you find it strange to be drinking calming tea at 6:20 am, you are right. That alone should tell you a little bit about how my last couple of days had been. No, let’s cut the crap (pardon my French) I have been spinning out of control – oh, the irony. The last couple of days have been so ridiculously hard. So hard. I have never wanted to just give up as much as I did during those days. What is the point? Am I a hypocrite for trying to share Truth with these people (whom I really don’t even know) when I myself still am still just a wretched sinner? Why am I even having these thoughts, why can’t I get a break? God, show me what the point is. I know your promises, I know your Grace is never ending, but…”

My childish complaining was interrupted by this nice whack of a verse written by Paul in Philippians.

        “…to live is Christ and to die is gain” What does that even mean? Until that early morning with my calming tea, I had always been a little perplexed about it. I thought, at the very least, it meant that we should live for Christ, but when we die (as believers), that’s really the best thing because we will be with Christ, forever.

      Well, that’s not entirely wrong. But it’s not entirely right, either. There is more. Much more.

      If you go back and start reading this passage in around chapter 1 verse 8, you will find out that Paul is writing this letter while he is in prison. Yes, literal prison. Paul writes “I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:13) How awesome. Picture Paul, chained in a Roman prison, preaching the Word. Speaking His name – fearlessly, boldly, unashamed.

       Now, though Paul is in a literal prison, with literal chains, we also know that Paul struggled with what he called a “thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12: 7) that was never taken away from him. He says, “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.” (2 Corinthians 12: 8-9)

Pause.

       I believe in complete healing. Deliverance. Freedom. I am not saying that you will never experience complete healing from whatever you suffer with, but hang with me for a few more minutes.

        Back to Philippians and Paul in prison. It had to have been pretty bad there, held a prisoner in a Roman prison. I want to learn more about the history of the time when this was written, because I know it would be even more powerful, but just think about Paul in any prison, not as a compliant “resident”, but someone who was speaking the Good News of Christ, loudly throughout the prison – the very thing he was imprisoned for! For me, and I think for most of us, there comes a time when we wonder why we are living. The circumstances seem to daunting. We may even feel like we are in a prison of our own sin patterns. The bars are thick; our chains feel tighter each moment. Why am I here? What is the point? Wouldn’t it just be better if I were gone from this earth – all its problems, all my problems? I know heaven will be free from this. What is the point?

        Here’s the point. God is in control. God knows your name and knows what you are going through. On this earth, we will have trails and struggles, yes. But if we take ourselves out of the game, we can no longer be used by God. All those struggles and hardships we’ve been through so far, they weren’t able to be used for His Glory, they were just our struggles.

         But if we live, we live for Christ. Which means that we aren’t perfect. Heck no. It means we take up our cross daily and follow Him. It means that when we fail, when we slipup, when we relapse, His Grace is sufficient and His power is being made perfect IN our weakest moments.

       One day we will be like Paul who is now with Christ. And what a Glorious day it will be. But right now, until the Lord takes us each home, we are here. What if Paul had decided that it really wasn’t worth it and it would be better for him to just die and be with Christ? Think about that for a second.

      So today, Dear Lilies, let’s be like Paul and choose life. Let our lives be radiant with Christ. Let us boast all the more about our weaknesses, because as Paul says, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12: 10)

Oh Dear Lilies, live!

Love, 

       Sarah 

Dear Lilies: Welcome & Consider

Dear Lilies,

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed as one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”             Matthew 6:25-34

Oh dear lilies, I know you probably have heard this passage taught and meditated on it in your head, but please, pause for just a few minutes and read my letter to you. 

These words, yes, each one of those words from Matthew 6:25-34 are straight out of the mouth of Jesus. “Do not worry” is not just a suggestion, a helpful comment, a line written in a self-help book, or even an inspirational quote by a famous Christian author or speaker.

This is a command. This is a command from Christ Jesus, to us, his children. Don’t let the word command scare or intimidate you, because in 1 John 5: 3-4, we are reassured that “…his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.”

Okay great, so his commands will not be burdens on us, but why does it really matter? Does it really matter to follow and obey God’s commands? In 2 John 1:6 Paul writes that "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.”

Am I saying that love is equal to obedience to His commands?

Yes.

Right about now you may be wondering, "Where are you going with this?" Stick with me. Go back to verse 28. 

"See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed as one of these."

In the ESV, “see how” is replaced by the word “consider". So we have “Consider the lilies of the field…” In Greek, this word “consider” is katamanthano, which means, to learn thoroughly, or to note carefully. 

To me, this is a pretty hefty command. I mean, have you ever really looked at a lily? I’m not talking about the ones you see in Publix or Fresh Market, yes those are nice, but I’m talking about driving down the road in the middle of nowhere, looking out the window and seeing miles and miles of little lilac specs. Better yet, your car broke down on the side of the road, again, in the middle of nowhere, you scrawl out, scrambling to call AAA and what do we see (or step on)?  Those blasted... lilies. A row of dainty darlings – wildflowers. These insignificant darlings. Consider them? 

Yes. 

Because when we see these flowers, endless in their possible array of colors, boundless in their expansion and growth, helpless in their own might, and entirely dependent on nothing or no one except their Gracious and Loving Creator, we are to consider.

He plants them
He causes the rain to fall to water them
He causes the sun to shine just enough for them to grow
He makes them b e a u t i f u l

Oh, that we would consider. Oh, that we would be like these lilies. Completely dependent on our Creator. Completely comfortable in the vessels God has formed us each into. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, we did nothing in our own power to enter this world, and we do nothing in our own power to enter the next – an eternity of pure peace, praising our precious Lord and Savior. No, we simply believe that Jesus, in his perfection, died a gruesome death on the cross, satisfying the justice of God by paying for the sins of the entire universe, forever. In one fail swoop, Jesus conquered the grave so that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

He has given us life
He has given us the bread of life, his word
He has given us water, wells of salvation that never run dry
He is the light the shines down on us at all times, no matter the time of day

Dear Lilies, let us consider what our Savior has commanded us to think about. You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. You are never too far-gone for the hand of our Creator, Caretaker and Counselor to pick you up.

Until next time.

Love in Christ, 

                 Sarah