a reminder that will never grow old...

I LOVE THIS!!

When God has SELECTED you, it doesn't matter who else has REJECTED you or NEGLECTED you. God's FAVOR outweighs all OPPOSITION.

Once again, Charlie Brown speaks the TRUTH!!!

When the Detour Becomes Your New Road (by Vaneetha Rendall)

This isn’t the ticket I bought. 

That’s what I thought when my health took a detour and I found myself on a road I hadn’t anticipated. A road I wasn’t prepared for. A road I didn’t want to travel.

Laura Story understands how that feels. Everything radically changed after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Watching him struggle to breathe and withstand significant memory loss, Laura begged God to heal her husband and restore their lives to the way they were.

Life hadn’t been perfect, but it had been good.

Laura told her sister of her desire to return to the normal trial-free life she had before. And her sister insightfully responded, “You know, Laura, I think the detour you are on is actually the road.”

The detour you are on is actually the road.

What a horrifying thought.

When my plans go awry, I always want to believe that I have taken a temporary detour. Maybe it’s a long one, but I hope that the real road, the road where I can return to being happy and fulfilled, is just ahead. Maybe it’s only around the corner, if I can simply hang on.

Aching for Normalcy

I was talking to a friend recently about that desire to return to normalcy. She doesn’t know how to handle her newly developed health problems. Should she pray for healing and expect God to answer? Or should she come to terms with chronic pain and disability?

I understand her questions. I have asked them myself.

Should I earnestly ask God to change my circumstances? Should I draw near to him in prayer, write down my requests and regularly seek him for the things in my life that I want to see changed? Godly things. Restoration. Healing. Return to active ministry.

Or do I recognize that I am on a different road? One that may not bring the healing and restoration that I would like, but rather a closeness to Jesus that I could not get any other way. Do I hold loosely to the expectation of changed circumstances and cling tighter to the hope that will never disappoint —the hope that is rooted in Jesus?

Yes.

God invites me to ask him to change the things that I long to be different. To persevere. To trust that my prayers make a difference.

But at the same time, God bids me to accept where I am. To let him meet me in the darkness. To find comfort in his presence. To see him as more important than any change in my circumstances.

God calls me to do both. Every day. On every road.

 Adjusting to the New Normal

The old road often seems like it was more relaxing and easy to drive. The new road can be bumpy and twisty, narrow with sharp curves. And I find myself longing for the ease of what I used to have.
But the new road has benefits too, perhaps not in ease but in seeing life differently. More reflectively. Really noticing reality rather than rushing forward, oblivious to my surroundings.

But regardless of what I gain, it’s a challenge to accept that the detour is now the new road.

I struggle with that reality daily as I experience new weakness and pain with post-polio. Sometimes it’s temporary, but often it’s permanent. The loss becomes the new normal. And I must adjust.

Last month, I was going into a familiar building when I realized I couldn’t climb the curb without assistance. Without other options, I reluctantly asked a passerby for help. She was warm and gracious as she helped me and we had an encouraging conversation walking in together.

Since then I have been unable to get up sidewalks without assistance. This limitation will change where I can go by myself and will require me to plan ahead.

To be honest, I don’t want to plan ahead. I don’t like limitations. And yet, like my sweet conversation with a stranger, I’m sure the Lord has unexpected blessings along this path.

I realize that I cannot cling to the past. I cannot get back on the old road and put everything back the way it was. Some things will get better over time. Some prayers will be miraculously answered.
Some dreams will come true.

But the old road is gone.

And in my mind, it will often be remembered as better than it actually was. The Israelites did that when they complained after they were delivered from slavery saying, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at” (Numbers 11:4–6).

Not Looking Back

The Israelites neglected to mention that even though they had food, they were slaves. Their lives in Egypt were not perfect. They had continually cried out to God to deliver them from slavery.

So don’t look back on the past and assume it was perfect. It wasn’t. Mine wasn’t perfect either.
This new road that I am on, bumpy and twisty as it may be, is the path that God has chosen for me. It is the best road. The only one worth taking.

If I keep looking back on the old way longingly, focusing on what I’ve lost rather than on what I have, I will miss the rewards of the new path.

I need to open my eyes. Notice what’s around me. Remember that God goes before me. I need not fear for he knows what is up ahead.

As he has promised, “I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16).

God is guiding me on this new path.

I am on the right road.

And so are you.

Vaneetha Rendall is a freelance writer who lives in Raleigh, NC. She blogs regularly at www.danceintherain.com. 

(from churchleaders.com)

FEAR NOT: 2 Chronicles 22:13

"Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed."

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY:  Starting with verse 11, David is warning Solomon to stay faithful to God and His Word. From David Guzik of blueletterbible.org:  "May the LORD be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the LORD your God: The Chronicler emphasized David's legacy and Solomon's mission to build the temple. This would become by far Solomon's greatest accomplishment. 
That you may keep the law of the LORD your God: David knew that Solomon could not be strong or courageous without obedient fellowship with God. In this place of obedient fellowship, Solomon would prosper in all that he did.
Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed: Solomon could take courage and reject fear because God promised David that as long as his sons walked in obedience, they would keep the throne of Israel (1 Kings 2:1-4). "This is an amazing promise. No matter what the Assyrians or the Egyptians or the Babylonians did, as long as David's sons were obedient and followed God with their heart and with all their soul, God would establish their kingdom. He would take care of the rest."

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  Even Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever lived, still needed to be reminded by his father, King David, that it would only be through keeping the law of the Lord that Solomon could be strong and of good courage; walking without fear through whatever life would throw at him. The same is even more true of us today! God will accomplish what He has in store for us as long as we keep His Word buried deep in our heart. If we live our lives like that, we will NEVER need to fear what the future has in store for us!!

FEAR NOT: 2 Kings 6:16

This is the Scripture passage I shared with the VBS Team yesterday...

"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY by David Guzik (blueletterbible.org): In this chapter, Elisha was being pursued by the king of Syria. In verses 14 to 17, Elisha and his servant find themselves surrounded. "When Elisha's servant saw the horses and chariots and a great army surrounding their city, he was naturally afraid. He knew that there was little chance of escaping or surviving an attack from so many. What Elisha did next is something that we should follow: "Elisha did not pray that God would change anything in the situation. His only request was that his servant could actually see the reality of the situation. Yet, Elisha also did not try to persuade the servant of the reality of those who are with us. The servant could not have this explained to him nor could he be persuaded into it. He had to see it. God answered Elisha's prayer. When a person is blind to spiritual reality, only God can open their eyes. God may do it through the words someone speaks, but the work of spiritually opening eyes is spiritual work and belongs to God alone. When his eyes were opened, the servant saw the reality that he could not see before. He saw that there really were more with him and Elisha than those assembled against them." Elisha's servants FINALLY saw what Elisha knew--they were accompanied by an even BIGGER army of horses and chariots OF FIRE!!! "Horses and chariots were the most sophisticated and mighty military instruments of the day. But the invisible army of God had literally more firepower than the horses and chariots of the Syrians. The spiritual army had chariots of fire all around Elisha."

PERSONAL APPLICATION: This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It has always resonated with me, even as a little girl. Maybe it's because this is how my parents lived out their faith to me when I was young: they had complete and utter faith in God; that God would provide for our every need; that He would enable us to overcome any hurdle or opposition that the enemy would put in our way. I'm 61 now and I STILL remember those times when we thought we were alone in our predicament, but then GOD opened our eyes to see that He had his army surrounding us, protecting us! ""If our eyes were opened, we should see the angel-hosts as an encircling fence of fire; but whether we see them or not, they are certainly there." (Meyer) Therefore, we have NO reason to fear!! God is with us, no one will be able to stand against us!!