EMBRACING HIM in the MIDST of HURT & HEARTACHE 3-1

[this is a repost of 8/3 with empty boxes completed]

AUGUST

<3-1>

EMBRACED

... Knowing God is Holding Me (You) Close

2019

Part 3: 

EMBRACING

Him 

in the Midst of Hurt & Heartache

Devotions #49-75 

(just 50-57 in this week's post)

August 2nd-9th, 2019

Devotion #49, August 1st

I heard Lysa speak on #50 & #51 at the

2018 "Set Apart" Conference

I attended to see and hear her and Liz C.Higgs

50."Is God Good?" Psalm 96:13 The Voice

...For the Eternal is on His way:     yes, He is coming to judge the earth. He will set the world right by His standards, and by His faithfulness,  He will examine the people. (The Voice)

Why would a Good God allow Hurt? | Lysa TerKeurst

"God is good. His plans are good. His re-quirements are good. His salvation is good. His forgiveness is good. His restoration is good."

51."Is God Good to Me?" Romans 8:5-6

"I have to keep my mind focused on what the Holy Spirit whispers, not what my flesh screams."

<><><> I'll be back at the end of reading these this week to share more

52."Do I Trust God to be God?" Isaiah 26:3-4

[the link isn't to that specific devotion, but covers it & #50]

"Our identity must be anchored to the truth of who God is and who He is to us."

53."The Crushing Times" 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

"We need both the winds of hardship and relief to sweep across our lives if we are to be truly faithful."

54."What I Never Noticed about Jesus" Mark 6:51-52

"I get so focused on the mess, I miss the miracles."

55."Dealing with Deep Grief" Psalm 34:18

"Dear Lord, thank You for assuring me that You promises hold true even when life seems to betray me."

56."Why Isn't God Answering My Prayer?"1 Samuel 1:20

{I know I have asked this even though I realize He's answered or is answering me just like the quote says, His timing not mine. I finally learned about the "no" and "wait" answers. Mostly it's the when for me for long-time prayers.}

"God loves us too much to answer our prayers at any other time than the right time."

57. "A Little Mad and a Lot Confused" Psalm 61:2

{if I'm truthful with myself (and you) this is me}

"Our God is big enough to handle our honest feelings."

<>

  Obviously if you're familiar at all with my life, or me from blog posts I've shared, then you'll already know that #55 definitely holds much of my heartache and some hurt ... because I have not dealt well with the many situations of grief in my life - loss that I must not have grieved the Christian way or well at all, not learning how to lament, grieve and move past the loss. I'm not saying forget the loss, but it's the way you let go and deal with your grief over the loss. I'm also not just referring to grief in relation to the death of a dearly departed loved one. Clearly, I am grieving other losses in addition to death: my health, my spouse's health, our marriage or all of years of an unhealthy relationship, the total loss of our home to a fire, my career and my life mission, friendships, identity, self-worth, etc. 
I'm sure I'll have much to EMBRACE in this week of devotions  and know the verse for #55, all too well! No matter what our hurt and heartache may be, we can trust that EMBRACING Him in the midst of each one will draw us closer and see us through bringing some healing and closure each step, every day, His way
GOD IS GOD GOD is GOOD and HE truly is with us in the midst of our hurts and heartaches EMBRACING US so let's trust GOD to be GOD and in control HE cares so much HE loves us so deeply HE is more than enough

When I came back and filled in the quotes, I decided that if I was to write on one of these, it would need to be a separate post, since this is far too long. Now I just need to select which one. {naw, I have and it will publish in the morning, then another preview one for the next week later tomorrow}

INSPIRING PRAYER and SONG for the BROKEN HEARTED

HOPE for the BROKEN-HEARTED

has posted many great prayers  {as the one I shared in the comments of my last blog post} and then I found out that Debbie Kay not only has a book but a ministry website blog and a You Tube channel with some very beautiful prayers by her and  MORE  like this one
BE MY SABBATH
which I thought about just adding to one of my blog posts but as you can see I didn't because it's perfect for today the Sabbath
In fact, I also am going to share one of her video PRAYERS among many that go perfectly with EMBRACED

Part 3: 

EMBRACING

Him in the Midst

of Hurt & Heartache

A Prayer for Hurting Hearts by Debbie Kay

{she probably has Facebook and other social media too}

If I don't have problems with sharing her videos 

then you can look forward to me sharing more.

Otherwise I hope you check out her book, website and YouTube videos!

Please keep Marsha Harwood's husband, Mike in your prayers (major stroke?), and of course, Marsha and their family. Also the people in El Paso, Texas! Heavy hearts everywhere ... from hospital to fatal shootings once again. How tragic!

EMBRACING TRUST ... the start of Part 3

EMBRACED

... Knowing God is Holding Me (You) Close

2019

Part 3: 

EMBRACING

Him in the Midst

of Hurt & Heartache

AUGUST 1st

49. "I Have Trust Issues" Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT

{Yes, Lysa, I have trust issues, too! should I say "who doesn't to some degree?"}
As I look at today's date, it is so appropriate that I begin this 3rd part, on this day ... and wow, with the title of this devotion, it's a God-incidence, and God purposed, and God ordained for the topic to be trust. Sadly, as I have aged and experienced life, this has become a BIG issue for me, but not with God... but with most others, and even with myself. I went from being trusting, perhaps too trusting, to not trusting (in) myself, and ultimately (in) not trusting practically any one. 
Today, we (I) should be celebrating our anniversary, but this day has not been celebrated for decades, although it's more than 40 since we married and 50 since we knew each other. I trusted this person with my life and at that time, a personal secret that only my 2 best friends and my closest cousin (all my age) knew ... he was the first adult I trusted with this ... and as difficult as it is to write or admit this, I believe that going back to this part of my life, is where my broken trust began and my issue with this. I also think that in the years since we married, I am the one person that broke his trust in me, and yet I think he trusts too many other people ... strangers, in fact ... more than me. I wish I could say this is our only conflict or the reason we don't celebrate our anniversary, but it is clearly much more and much deeper. Although we are still married legally, it has been years (decades) since he considers us married. Truthfully, our marriage was never meant to be or should have been and actually, I don't believe we ever had a real marriage. So how can you celebrate that? 
The year after I came back from Mexico, I bought my 1st car on this date to mark this anniversary with something good, since my previous '96 van barely made it home from Mexico (it broke down completely 2 hours from the border and I waited 10 days with 3 dogs in a motel, as it was being repaired and rebuilt). As I think about this, it was our marriage (my life) that was what really needed to be repaired and rebuilt, as it had before I left twenty years ago ... it wasn't then, and basically does not look like that is possible anymore. Nor am I sure I want it, and I know he doesn't. Yet I believe in a God who specializes in impossibilities! However, even more than restoration of our relationship, I truly desire first and foremost to see my spouse come to Jesus and have the relationship with Him that I have had the privilege of knowing. This is God's will that not one of us should perish ... so this is my anniversary wish! 
Back in the 80s, I went to a small Christian home group called "Rebuilders" ... it was for rebuilding marriages. I learned many biblical marriage principles from this group but decided that it took 2 to rebuild, although I certainly acknowledged my our failings and worked on me. In the late 80s, God began showing me many truths and shone light on some parts of my life and began to reveal these truths to me. In the mid 80s is when we adopted our 2 children from a family member of his, and I began to see my life in a fresh new way and was committed to loving these children and giving them what they needed. Our son (at 5) and myself were baptized in the St. Croix River! It was indeed a new start; for him a new family and for me a renewal of my Christian beliefs, faith and life. Both of us had been baptized as infants, yet this was our own choice to follow Jesus and accept Him as our Lord - to be born again. Now this is what I've prayed and waited for to celebrate ... for their 'dad', my husband to do this.
So how does this relate to trust? or better yet my 'trust' issues?
I trust God has a purpose in this and for all these years, I trust my husband and household into God's hands and by God's Spirit and power, it will be ... I repent of my failures and breaking his trust and I forgive him for everything (things he probably does not feel he needs forgiveness) but in my heart of hearts, I know that what was wrong to begin with, cannot be made right ... my trust was broken and I was deceived by thinking it was love when in retrospect, it probably never was ... especially from what he shared when I took him back to the hospital ER this past end of June, with what was determined to have been yet another stroke, and we were forced to be together alone with each other for hours as we waited for results... this is the most time we have spent together since I moved back home. True, with all he's facing physically and mentally with the additional diagnosis of having Alzheimers for the past few years, how can I believe what he said? because it was some of the hurt coming forth from within him, which that night as many nights in all these years, God and I have been dealing with for my own healing, so I know ... that I can EMBRACE God (only) in the midst of hurt and heartache, hoping that one day soon, he will also. 
And how does this relate... well, it has to do with whether trust can be rebuilt? {I'm giving just brief glimpses into this 'trust issue' and lasting hurt and heartache of a lifetime. So if you don't completely understand, no worries, it's because I'm not divulging it all, or enough to get the full picture. I'm not too good at writing about revealing stories of my life yet.}
In some ways, I felt that trust has to be earned, but I've learned that trust is granted. Yet I strongly believe that trust is critical in a healthy relationship. The problem is that I don't think my marriage has ever been a healthy relationship, and because of this, I also believe that I have not learned how to have a healthy relationship, and how to trust. I hardly trust anything or anyone, any more, but I wasn't this way always. So, of course, I have trust issues, and that's not easy to admit. Some of these come from people I trusted that hurt me and also with different incidences that have caused PTSD in me.
Trust is the right place to begin this 3rd part of EMBRACING Him in the Midst of Hurt and Heartache; I trust God with my hurts and many of my heartaches. I learned long ago that God will go back with me to those past hurts and heartaches to walk me through them with knowing He's there, yet I already knew HE was with me, and that's the only reason why I got through them. 
{I knew I did not have to convince you that I have 'trust' issues, if you know me at all. However, I do need to begin to sort through all that I shared above, of some of my hurts & heartaches that go back to my early life.}   

I will do a new blog post for this upcoming Part 3

since I wrote so much on 'trust'

before I even read what

Lysa wrote.

(but because tomorrow is Friday, you'll have to wait)

just like I do

Thinking that perhaps this blog post title should have been:
"My Hesitation in Embracing Trust"

IN THE WAIT

In what may seem like 'time off' in between Part 2 and Part 3 of "EMBRACED...", it's not at all ... I actually am starting a new study at First 5 app (besides my regular Bible reading plans at You Version) ... I'm looking forward to the study of I & II Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude starting July 22nd called:

"ALREADY, but NOT YET"

{even considering getting this experience guide}

This is their description:

"How do you stay hopeful when today is so hard? Right now, there’s a gap between your current circumstances and what you’ve prayed for God to do. Sometimes in the wait — maybe in the first few days or weeks — it’s easy to trust God with your prayers and have hope. But what about when those days and weeks turn into months and years?  Whatever you're waiting on, we're here to find hope in the hard days alongside you.  Join us in the First 5 app as we journey through 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude in the Already, but Not Yet study. And if you’re in the middle of a wait right now, the Experience Guide is the perfect tool for you to use to make your study even more personal and keep track of how God moves in your life each day throughout the 5-week study!"

Over this weekend, First 5  shared a Weekend Teaching on TRUST Issues which is exactly how Part 3 begins in "EMBRACED" {worth checking out, it's audio}
and my first post of Part 3 will be on August 1st on this
meanwhile why not give the First 5 app a try? and dive into reading these books in the Bible
Curiously, I wanted to look into their title of this next study and found this: "What is the concept of 'already but not yet'?"

Answer: The theological concept of “already but not yet” holds that believers are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach its full expression until sometime in the future. We are “already” in the kingdom, but we do “not yet” see it in its glory. The “already but not yet” theology is related to kingdom theology or inaugurated eschatology. 

READ MORE Here

EMBRACING HIS FULLNESS 2-3

JULY  <3> of

EMBRACED

... Knowing God is Holding Me (You) Close

2019

Part 2: 

EMBRACING

the Fullness Found Only in Him

<2-3>

44. "The Courageous Choice" Philippians 1:20

"It is possible to layer one courageous choice upon another and find victory in your area of struggle."

45. "Telling My Flesh No"  Ephesians 3:17-18

"If we grasp the full love of Christ, we won't grab at other things to fill us."

46. "Why Do I Have So Many Issues" Romans 8:1

"How dangerous it is to hold up the intimate knowledge of our imperfec-tions against the outside packaging  of others."

47. "If Only We Knew" Hebrews 4:15-16

"One drop of the Lord's mercy is better than an ocean of the world's temporary comforts."

48. "The Real Peace We Need" John 20:19

Do I want to make peace or progress? | Lysa TerKeurst

The Secret For Unleashing God's Peace In Your Situation | 

"The peace that flows despite circumstances can only be found through Jesus being with us."

As I reflected over this past week's devotions, there was not really one that stood out and spoke to me, although each one points us toward "the real peace" and "EMBRACING the Fullness Found Only in Him". Before reading #46 and #47, I thought that I would be sharing one of these two, yet not after I read them. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I often felt when I went to church "why do I have so many issues?" however, it wasn't the one that Lysa shares, and yet currently it may be ... Lysa does write that her issue may not be ours but assures us that "All God's Girls have issues. Every single one of us" that we wonder about and ...

"...Jesus wants to help you with that issue. He really does. But you've got to stop beating yourself up about it and determine to follow His lead. ... But we can make the choice to identify our shortcomings and instead of using them against ourselves, hand them over to Jesus and let Him chisel our rough places. The grace filled way Jesus chisels..."

"...Having issues isn't the absence of victory in our lives. It's simply a call to action reminding us victory is right around the corner. Today is a great day to start be-lieving you were made to walk in victory..."

with "The Real Peace We Need"

EMBRACING

the Fullness Found Only in Him

"IF ONLY WE KNEW" truly living and believing that Jesus understands and cares for us so deeply
I know and hope you too have EMBRACED this
<><><>

I decided to wait to begin Part 3, "Embracing Him in the Midst of Hurt & Heartache" which begins with #49 and would have been this week. It might have been that I was subconsciously avoiding "EMBRACING" hurt and heartache. However, the reason was more simple and basic: the devotions ended before the week did and I did not want to start the next part, even before I looked again at what this part was going to be about. But for sure when I did turn to this part and read the title, I chose to wait on this one.
After this journey through EMBRACING the Fullness Found Only in Him, I probably should be ready to "EMBRACE Him in the Midst of Hurt and Heartache" yet I'm sure that this is the only way that I've ever come through any hurt or heartache because Our Lord was with me, embracing me and I clinging to embracing Him. Really for any of us dealing with or having journeyed through our hurts, heartaches and the pain in life, I can only believe that it's because of this mutual EMBRACE that we make it through and go forward inspite and despite all that life throws at us, with scars, bruises and so much aching ... we hold on because of God holding us in the midst and the encouragement to face all of it with Him and go on. So thankful that God knows and looks at our hearts ...
Those who do not know this incredible EMBRACE of Jesus, His love and mercies, His grace and power, must find it near impossible to come through life unscathed, and I guess this may be why some give up, and give up their own lives too ... sadly. The despair of not finding that EMBRACE, or believing that Jesus will not see them through nor can He, of not accepting Jesus' truth and having a deep relationship in the midst of any hurt or heartache ... would cause any of us to be defeated, discouraged and disheartened in the midst of our battles through our life journeys, hopefully not letting the enemy of our souls deceive us and win, but truly EMBRACING Him, His Life and His Promises for an eternal life, where all this heartache will be wiped away. 
So I wait to begin ...