From Pity to Praise

Do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand, and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven” – Matthew 5:15-16

One of the best ways we can be used by God is by simply being ourselves. The identity Jesus has given us as His children is meant to shine forth and be a witness to those around us.

Jesus’s teaching on salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite passages of Scripture where He related to sharing the heart of God with the world around us.

In Matthew 5:13-15 Jesus taught,

I think one of the most powerful aspects of this passage is how Jesus speaks identity over us. God doesn’t tell us to go get some salt and share it. He says we are salt. He doesn’t tell us to go get light and shine it. He says we are light.

Sharing God’s heart is a part of who we are. As children of God, we have been redeemed -washed clean, that we might proclaim the excellencies of our Savior by living in line with our new identity.

The world is a dark place. It is without hope. It is filled with the blind leading the blind and the needy seeking fulfilment from the needy. Our only hope is Jesus. With the One, true guide being the Holy Spirit.

We are called to a lifestyle of expelling darkness around us with the powerful proclamation of God’s heart to love, provide for, and redeem all those who would simply say yes to Him. We are called to respond to Jesus’s call and stop putting a basket over the light He has placed within us.

We shouldn’t have to be apologetic for the hope we have. We shouldn’t have to fear the opinion of man. We should love relentlessly, offer grace unexpectantly, and sacrifice ourselves so that others might see a glimpse of God’s heart.

We shouldn’t cover up who we are in Jesus. We should seek to reveal God’s heart in all we do. And watch as the world around us is drawn to the light of God’s unconditional love revealed through our lives.

Here’s an easy outline:

Our bodies are made from the dust of the earth, and for the duration of our earthly lives, we live in frail, feeble, perishing bodies that are decaying and dying. Seemingly they are of little worth to the great, powerful, omnipotent eternal Creator who is to be praised forever and ever. Yet God has taken our apparently useless, insignificant human forms and poured into them a revelation of the gospel of His only begotten Son.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” -2 Corinthians 4:7

God has poured into our hearts the divine light of His love and glory, the truth of His salvation and grace, the rich treasure of the news of Jesus. He alone can save a sinner from the penalty and power of sin, death, and hell. God caused the treasured light of knowledge of the glory of God, to fill and flood our weak, physical bodies so He might live in us and work through us, for our eternal benefit and His praise and glory.

We have this treasure of earthen vessels with an excellent power within, that proves God is for us and not against us.

Satan is the god of this world and an enemy to our souls who seeks to blind our eyes to this tremendous truth, or to at least deceive us with a satanic lie.

But, there’s a light that shines in our hearts to those of us who believe and it restores our souls. On the road to Damascus, Paul (Saul) was not only spiritually blinded but also by the glory of the risen Jesus, ascended, and blinded His physical eyes as well. But that blindness to the truth in Paul was removed and his eyes were opened to the beauty of Jesus and he saw clearly, both physically and spiritually.

From dust we are and to dust we will return. Our bodies are indeed earthen vessels, but the treasure that has taken up residence within us is the Spirit of Jesus our Lord. It is the glory of Jesus within us that the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians wants us to rejoice at the greatness and the privilege we have. It is through faith in Jesus that we have this treasure in us and that is an incomparable greatness of the power within that comes from God and not ourselves.

When we are saved and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Jesus breathes into our bodies that were dead in our trespasses and sins. That’s when the Holy Spirit of God took up permanent residence in our weak, mortal frames. It’s the moment we trusted Jesus for our forgiveness of sins and gave us everlasting life.

The light of the knowledge of the glory of God began to stream into our hearts and gave us salvation and His indwelling Spirit is the greatest treasure of God who resides in our mortal bodies.

The Creator of the universe who caused light to shine out of darkness, and the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus so that His life may dwell in us and His love may shine in our hearts, that we may share His grace and show the excellency of His power to those that remain dead in their trespasses and sins.

There is no worth in us that we should be so honored, as the contrast between our frail, feeble, perishing bodies and His divine strength and eternal light demonstrates that by His goodness and grace. This heavenly treasure had been placed in our bodies.

This is the mystery of Jesus in us the hope of glory given to us so that His power may be shown in our lives. We have become temples of the Holy Spirit who uses God’s light to guide us into truth, so we can proclaim His truth and grace to others.

Let us praise His name for His inestimable grace towards us.

I thought I might write about something I’ve dealt with most of my life. I’m sure I’m not the only one who lived their lives in Survival Mode.

One thing I learned as a child was that I couldn’t depend on anyone and somehow I merged survival behavior into my self-image.

This happens when chronic stress or early trauma caused adaptive survival strategies, like hyper-independence, people, pleasing, or perfectionism. This becomes deeply ingrained in a person’s identity.

In my case, my coping mechanism became my personality. In most cases, it is seen as productive or strong, while feeling emotionally exhausted.

In learning that I couldn’t depend on or trust anyone, I created a false self to gain love, which led me to lose touch with my authentic self and a reliance on a “tough” self-reliance. I put on a mask to cover my feelings of helplessness.

Over the years I’ve learned to recognize patterns of hyper-independence were adaptive survival strategies that were developed to handle past trauma.

Survival mode is a psychological state of chronic stress where the nervous system, stuck in protection mode, is not a personality trait, lifestyle choice, or sign of weakness. It is an involuntary, exhausting, trauma response that turned on when our brain perceived there is constant danger, that leads to elevated cortisol, fatigue, and “survival scars” like hyper-independence.

Warning: can be a trigger for some.

For much of my life, I have struggled against the aftermath of unresolved childhood trauma.

For years I didn’t even know how much of a problem it was. I thought it was completely normal to expect the worse, to hide the family secrets, to cry myself to sleep. I didn’t realize I was broken until after my daughter was born. Then I realized what I had been dealing with my entire life wasn’t the result of being “broken” or “born that way,” but it was a significant, understandable, and treatable response to a bad childhood.

I admit it was freeing, to know there as something better out there. I began reading every self-help book I could get my hands on. And began to feel better.

But, then the fog came. Somewhere in the mix I began to break down and seek counseling. With the impact of what my counselor told me, my entire identity up until that point in life had been formed around trauma. I didn’t know who I was without it.

What I liked to do in my free time? What I liked eating? What my favorite color? Was I funny, or more serious? I needed to learn a lot about myself, and I was going to have to start from scratch.

Through it all, I had to make peace with my past and untangle the trauma. And realize my identity and narrative were forced om me – one of defeat and self-hate. I lived that narrative because that was all I knew. I might as well have been introducing myself as “the girl whose mother didn’t love me,”

But, that narrative was not mine. It was not my name, it was not what I had to answer to. There was more, so much more.

I had to start from a place I knew, which wasn’t very much. I had to delve into a place and make that my beginning.

I decided to start at the root of the issue and expose the bad roots and begin with new good nourished roots. That meant identifying my inner child, the wounded parts, that developed as survival mechanisms. How the old trauma and difficulties underlined my present-day struggles. The closer I got to the core trauma, the more I realized how my childhood trauma shaped my life in the present.

I had to learn to use mindfulness to stay in the present and manage emotional flashbacks. To create physical and emotional safety in my current life.

I think managing the emotional flashbacks was the worst. Waking up with night terrors, the horrible nightmares, waking up with my entire body in muscle spasms, because I had tensed up my body when I slept, expecting my blankets and clothing to be ripped off at any moment.

It was a difficult time, but I made it through and I’m stronger for it. I had to create a new identity that involved transforming from a reactive survival mode, and I had to transition into an intentional identity, focusing on who I chose to be. I had to shift from seeing myself as a victim to a survivor, breaking the cycle of negative internal dialogues, and establishing a sense of worth.

Recognizing that the abuse was not my fault was the first step to detaching my self-worth from the trauma. I had to rebuild myself by discovering what truly gave me joy, or peace, rather than doing things out of obligation.

I learned how to meet my own emotional and physical needs and treat myself with kindness and compassion that I previously lacked.

It was a long, process, a non-linear journey of retraining my nervous system. And I don’t think I could have done it without God watching over me every step of the way.

“Healing from trauma isn’t about forgetting what happened, it’s about teaching your nervous system that the danger is no longer here. And every small moment of safety you create counts” -anonymous

“He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they will offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness” – Malachi 3:3

I believe God seeks to purify us, not destroy everyone. He seeks to purify and cleanse to make us fit for service. He refined us through the furnace of suffering, a painful, but purposeful process designed to burn away the dross of sin and impunity.

Like the silversmith God he must place the silver in the middle of the fire, where it will burn the hottest. He must sit and watch the silver constantly, if it is left too long, the metal will be destroyed. Like the silversmith, God knows the silver is fully refined when He can see His own image reflected in it.

I think the same process goes on in the world today. And when the godly are completely separated from the ungodly, the world will end. When the “dross” is taken from us we will be delivered from the furnace of fire. The clearer we are the harder our trials.

In James 1:2-4 Paul says, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. The trials we face are not designed to break us, but to develop endurance, maturity, and completeness in our faith.

Instead of seeing trials as punishment, we should see them as opportunities for growth and a deeper more refined faith.

In Samuel 15:22 Samuel asked King Saul, “Has the Lord as a great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?” Saul answered and said, “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed (is better) than the fat of rams.”

This signifies that God values hearing and following His commands over performing religious rituals or sacrifices. It emphasizes that heartfelt obedience and submission to God’s will are superior to empty, self-imposed actions or external displays of devotion.

Obedience is the natural fruit of Jesus in us. When we do this, His life will be pressed out through ours.

Last night I had a vivid dream of God showing me how to live in obedience to Him. It began when I was standing in a large room with people sitting toward a stage. The lady sponsoring the event had just finished speaking on obedience on how God told her to host this event, as I watched a man come in and I heard her say loudly “Oh my gosh you are here, and she walked out of the building with him. My instant thought, “she obeyed God in the beginning and then disobeyed Him in finishing.” The dream ended with me, saying to a group “if your going to obey God, you should probably finish what He told you to do.” And with that, I woke up. I’m not sure if this is a reminder or a warning of something that is going to come to pass. But I know the feeling that I had when I woke up, and I had better pay attention.

True obedience is total submission rather than partial obedience or attempts to substitute good works for genuine devotion. God is more pleased with a heart that listens to His voice than with religious formalities, talent, or service that masks a disobedient Spirit.

Our focus should be on hearing and obeying, not merely performing tasks. God values our willingness to follow His path over our attempts to improve on it with our own efforts.

I think it’s important to remember that obedience is the outward evidence of the true fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 40:31 promises that those who “wait on the ward will renew their strength,” enabling them to soar like eagles, run without weariness, and walk without fainting

Waiting on the Lord is not passive, but a confident, expectant hope in God. It involves trusting His timing, not just passing time.

In our human strength, we are limited, but those who wait on God receive His power. It is an exchange -we give Him our exhaustion and He gives us His strength.

Like Eagles that use storms to rise higher, we can also use life challenges to write above in faith.

This promise is for endurance. It covers dramatic moments and the daily mundane tasks of life, allowing us to live without fainting.

When we are weary, God‘s power is made perfect in our weakness, and often is given when we cannot that we cannot continue on our own.

Practical waiting, occurs through prayer and studying God‘s Word.

We can be encouraged that when facing difficulties, we can change the why question into what question and focus on what God wants us to do.

When we finally stop trying to handle everything on our own, we can bring ourselves out of the ashes of fatigue.