I had hoped to jump right into one of the meaty subject matters for this blog series, but as I began to think through the content of the next few weeks, I realized I had some basic guidelines or building blocks that I should lay down first. Imagine putting a building up on the foundation in the image above. Not likely to survive any kind of weather challenge! THAT I want to avoid.
So at the risk of being a “blog teaser,” I’ll use this week to make sure we are essentially on the same page going forward. Next Tuesday, we’ll get into the nitty gritty.
I alluded to this last week, but the impetus for this series is twofold. First of all, even with four years of “practice” being a widow, I still fight daily with numerous areas of sadness. And quite frankly, I’m weary of the heartache and the struggle.
Enter God and his plan for this series. I felt a strong leading that he wanted to provide the second motivation for the series. To help me – and ultimately all of you – learn how to biblical and rightly view these life struggles and our response to them. In essence, to gain a deeper understanding of how God can give us a more hopeful perspective as we battle through this life. He knows we need it!
Here are some of my specific hopes and goals for these next few weeks:
- Recognize we’re not alone with our particular challenges.
- Experience scripture come alive in a practical way.
- Develop a deep walk/relationship with God.
- Gain a new perspective/new lens into our specific struggles.
- Learn techniques to help combat the doubts and fears and emotions.
- Become a more powerful witness to God’s goodness and grace.
- Bring more “joy balance” to your sorrow.
Now, true confessions. One of my greatest fears heading into this series is that God won’t show up. That he won’t give me anything helpful for me or you. I’ve laid out these expectations to literally hundreds of people. Honestly, it feels almost disrespectful to even type those sentences! Especially since God’s been so faithful throughout this journaling journey. I’m trusting that, regardless of my feelings and lack of confidence, God will deliver exactly what he wants us all to learn. And I’ll be reminding myself that God works best through our weaknesses. If you’re a prayer warrior, please pray that Satan’s lies will not land on fertile soil!
One thing I AM sure of – everyone everywhere is struggling with something right now. It could be a minor irritation. Or a large collection of irritations. Or it could be a massive boulder …or two or three… that God has thrown into your path. So the need for divine wisdom is immense.
Now let’s take a look at some of the mindsets and assumptions that will be more helpful for you to take into this series. Please understand – none of us gets these all right. These all came to me rather quickly because they are the truths I need hammered into my head time and time again!
So if you struggle with a concept over the next few weeks, I encourage you to remember these suggestions for achieving the greatest success.
You may need to be willing to make some major changes even before jumping into the meat of the series in order to reap real and long-lasting benefits. Or perhaps you will circle back as the series progresses.
Here are some areas to review and “chew on” before next week’s post where we’ll jump in with both feet by looking at the epidemic of loneliness. If nothing else, identify those that may be the most difficult for you to accept.
• Believe that what the Bible says is true, regardless of how we feel. (See next bullet!)
• Understand that our emotions aren’t the final word.
• Work on being humble and servant hearted. Taking ourselves off the throne is crucial.
• Know that only real change will come from allowing God to do it in our hearts and lives. Even so, it will FEEL like really hard work!
• Get back up when we fall. I guarantee this isn’t a once-and-done exercise.
• Find someone who can either do this with you, or keep you accountable and pray for you. (I’ve just enlisted YOU.)
• Be quiet before God so we can hear him speak. Tough one! God whispers in the quiet.
• Be willing to wait when necessary. I guarantee that none of us will get to the end of the series and have “conquered” every issue with which we struggle. It will all come in God’s perfect timing.
You’ll likely find these ideas sprinkled throughout the upcoming posts and I pray that you’ll recognize when a difficult change ultimately points back to one or more of these bullet points.
So buckle up and let’s do this together! I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.
For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
Isaiah 64:4 NLT
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