“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Do not be far from me for trouble is near and there is no one to help.” (Psalm 22: 1, 11) Have you ever felt like this? Jesus understands our why’s and our pleas. He asked, “Why?” We must try and remember, He’s not far off. He’s our strength. He delivers and rescues. “He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one.” (Psalm 22: 24)
If you are in a season of suffering, our God is not far off. He has said, “They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” (Psalm 22: 5)
What helps us to look beyond those limitations, to look beyond those bars? It’s our faith. “If we have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, we can say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you.” (Luke 17: 6) What we say with a servant, Christian heart, is more than just our duty. There is power in our declarations and prayers.
The Kingdom of God is within us. We are told, “Whoever loses his life will preserve it.” When we give Him our heart, we give Him our life. There is no loss in this transaction, it’s all gain. He just keeps adding to it along our faith journey. He comes and dwells with us.
As we journey with the Lord, continual spiritual wells open up, so it is “well with our soul.” Pun intended! Open wells will make you well. Jacob continued on his journey and asked the shepherds about Laban, saying, “Is he well?” (Genesis 29: 6)
Our spiritual well-being is important to our physical and emotional well-being. Why? They are all connected. They produce the wellness that frees us from the bars that restrict us. Opening up our hearts and entire being to Him opens up many other areas of our life and sets us free–free to be who He created us to be, and free to praise! Praise can set us free from trying to please.
How many of us are going through life trying to please someone? If we do this, our well-being becomes damaged in the process. Leah was desperately trying to please Jacob, to get him to love her, so she kept having children. Jacob’s last son born, with Leah, (so she thought) was named Judah, which means praise. We were born to praise, our God! It’s the last, the first and continual place we should go, even in our suffering. We were called to a lifestyle of praise.
(Psalm 22, Luke, 17, Genesis 29: 1-30, Paraphrased)
UNBROKEN LOVE SERIES
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