Get Up and Choose to Live

To say that the last few weeks have been the most heartbreaking of my life would be an understatement.  It hurts to love people.  When you pour your heart and soul into people and they go off the deep end, making bad choices and betray your trust, how do you handle that?  Hold onto Jesus.  You have to.  Welcome to the ministry.  You put your heart out there and it gets broken, because you can't just not care.  People say their choices only affect them, but it's never worked that way.  When you sin someone always has to pay, and it's not always you, even though you will reap the consequences, other people pay too.  To live like Jesus is to love like Jesus.  And to love like Jesus means putting your heart on the line.  Is it worth it?  Yes.  Every. single. time.  You can only do what you can do, and if you give it your all, the rest is in God's hands.  You have no control over the choices people make.  That doesn't make it hurt less though.  I'm not talking about one person here.  Every day it's another person, another story, another heart.  And every one matters.

                        Ministry matters.

I was blessed with the opportunity to lead this beautiful lady to the Lord during a conference a couple of weeks ago. Even in the midst of the crazy, God used me in this girls life. I feel so honored to have been a part of that. God is so good!

It's easy to stay down, eat chocolate, cry, and run to your hearts content, but that's not how you win.  You only lose if you don't get back up.  The sports lover in me sees life as a game, and there isn't a game where staying down helps you win, you ALWAYS have to get back up, that's how you win.  You can't stop fighting or you lose.  Get up and choose to live.  Even when it hurts. 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10

Jesus is always the answer.  He is always in control.  He is always with you, whether you can feel Him or not.  I am so thankful that His grace is sufficient.  There is no constant than God.  Nothing else will hold.  I'm learning that security found in anything other than Jesus is false security.  I always knew it, but I think it's one of those lessons I might have to learn over and over, because we're always looking for security, safety, and ultimately Jesus, but sometimes we look in the wrong places. 

Another thing God is teaching me is not to go through things alone.  We need people.  The Christian life isn't meant to be walked through alone.  God places people in our lives to help strengthen us and help us put our eyes on Jesus.  Don't ignore that.  Jesus is my strength, but I'm so thankful that He has given me people to hug me, cry with me, pray for me and listen to my heart breaking.  My brothers and sisters in Christ have laid down their lives for me over and over by sacrificing their time and attention to be there for me when I need them.  Words of life, healing and truth and been spoken to me that I will remember forever.  I know because I type them out and put them in my bible where I can read them over and over.  Someone who has no idea what I'm walking through, texting me at 6:30 in the morning, "You up?" and calling and telling me all about how God is working in their life, that's God.  A well timed conversation can change someones perspective and bring hope to their situation.

In the words of one of my brothers, "It's gonna be hard, but you're just going to have to show love.  That's what Jesus did for us.  While we were still sinners Christ died for us.  I know you feel like you have nothing left to pour out, but sister, the great thing about it is that it doesn't come from you, it comes from the Lord. You are just the vessel."  Yes.  As Christ pours His love, peace, grace, and hope into me, I can then pour into the lives of others.  It doesn't come from me, it comes from Him.

God is still in control.  Get up and choose to live.  And don't hesitate to join me in pouring the 5th cup of coffee, getting our nails done (Oh yes, I'm THAT girl now. Ohmyheavens!), or running a few miles, some may tell you that it doesn't help, but I'm here to tell you that it does.

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 hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10