From Pity to Praise

Handling Suffering

“…Burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” -2 Corinthians 1:8

Many people think suffering is unbiblical. We tend to think that spiritual maturity somehow makes us immune from pain and suffering. The more spiritually mature we are, the less emotional pain we experience when we suffer.

I can picture the Apostle Paul having us sit down to talk with us. Few people were considered more spiritually mature than Paul. Paul did not glide through suffering on some spiritual cloud of invulnerability or invincibility. In the Bible, we read of Paul’s candid descriptions of his personal experiences tell of his suffering.

Paul felt his suffering was far beyond his ability to endure. He responded to his suffering by despairing life itself. His external suffering was so traumatic that he felt he received a sentence of death. He repeatedly pleaded with God to take away his suffering.

In case Paul is not enough of an example of the emotional turmoil in the midst of suffering, Jesus endured soul suffering in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:37 and John 13:37 tells us He was sorrowful and troubled, overwhelmed to the point of death. So much so that He sweat drops of blood.

Jesus told us pain and suffering would be part of our lives. But He doesn’t simply say we will have trials and sorrow and then leave us to figure it out. He promises peace and reminds us that our tough times aren’t without purpose.

While it’s true sometimes our youth times are caused by our own bad choices. God can still work all things together for those who believe in Him.

Paul was a man who underwent beatings, shipwrecks, and multiple imprisonments, but he recognized something that is essential for us to remember as believers -our pain is not meaningless but has a purpose. Not in some situations but in all things.

Our suffering never concludes without God’s power working through it supernaturally.

Nothing can prepare us for the disappointment in life, especially when we feel God has let us down. Through every season of suffering God is there to help us through the pain and helps us grow through every trial to mature us and become stronger with Him.

Bring your pain to God don’t run from Him. When we run from Him, all we are left with is our limited ability to cope with what we are walking through. God invites us to draw near to Him so we can experience His peace, healing, and closeness.

God never instructs us to suppress our pain but shows us where to direct it. When we bring our pain to God we are able to recognize that there is a purpose and time for everything. The One who loves us unconditionally will reveal His divine purpose through it.

When we fill our lives with God and surround ourselves with people who speak hope and encouragement into our lives our experiences become healthier.

But, when we fill our minds with wrong thoughts “God is maf at me, God is not good, worse things are going to happen.” we will continue to struggle to experience the peace of God that He promises.

Something powerful happens when we actively choose to worship through our suffering. We are not denying reality, we are simply redirecting our focus from worrying to to worship.

Worship changes our perspective to where our confidence and hope reside. Worship redirects our thinking, and puts the results in God’s hands.

I believe this is why Paul and Silas could praise God when they were chained in prison. God used their imprisonment for the spread of the gospel which ultimately resulted in the New Testament church on the continent of Europe.

Our biggest sorrows cam result in our greatest joy.

When I think about Jesus’s greatest sorrow -suffering the shame, punishment, and death for our sins, the result becomes a great joy. The redemption of humanity and the opportunity for a relationship with the living God.

Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because He knew it would end in the greatest joy. He said in Matthew 28:20 “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, Amen.”

“I am leaving you with a gift -peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give” -John 14:27

Jeremiah: The Weeping Prophet

This week we are studying the book of Jeremiah in my Bible study. He was known as the weeping prophet. He was a major prophet in the Old Testament called by God to deliver messages to Judah during a time of spiritual decline, political turmoil, and impending judgment. His story spans roughly 40 years from about 627 BC to the fall of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah was born in a priestly town near Jerusalem likely from the tribe of Levi. God’s call on Jeremiah is described as a direct divine encounter revelation. But, he responded with reluctance telling God he was to you g and didn’t know how to speak. He felt inadequate which made him unqualified. God counters those words by saying “Do not say, “I am too young,” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” (Jeremiah 1:7-8).

God touches Jeremiah’s mouth saying, “I have put My words in your mouth. It’s a symbolic act that Jeremiah will speak God’s Words, not his own, God tells him to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant. It’s a dual role of pronouncing judgement and offering hope. Jeremiah has to get ready to speak boldly. He knows of the opposition from kings, officers, priests and people. But, he has the assurance of divine strength again the persecution he would face,

Throughout the Bible God highlights sovereignty in choosing and equipping His servants despite their weaknesses.

Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet due to his deep emotional anguish over the spiritual state of Judah and its impending judgement that he was called to prophecy to. His sorrow is evident through the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations. Jeremiah passionately loved his people and grieved because of their idolatry, injustice, and refusal to repent despite his warnings. He was their unfaithfulness as a betrayal of God’s covenant. And his pleas for repentance were ignored, causing him personal pain.

God tasked Jeremiah will delivering messages of Jerusalem’s destruction and the Babylonian exile. Knowing the suffering that awaited his people -famine, captivity, and the temple’s destruction, filled him with sorrow.

Jeremiah’s personality was naturally compassionate, which made him deeply affected by his role. Jeremiah could not deliver messages of judgement without detachment. He internalized Judahs fate weeping for both their sin and the consequences of it,

Jeremiah 3:9-10 show us Jeremiah’s tears were not just personal, they reflected God’s heart, who grieved over Judah’s rebellion while longing for their repentance.

His weeping underscores hid role as a mediator between God and the people,embodying both divine judgment and mercy.

Jeremiah’s emotional authenticity made him a powerful figure in God’s promise of a new covenant with God’s new covenant with His people.

When The Stakes Are Too High

“Never let yourself become separated from God, the stakes are too high and the battle too fierce.”

This is a powerful reminder of the importance of spiritual connection for many people. Especially in challenging times. Staying grounded in faith can provide us with strength and guidance when facing lives battles.

When we can anchor ourselves in the strong foundation of faith it can be like a rock in a storm -unshakable and steady. Jesus is the cornerstone of faith He is the beginning of the construction and provides a reference for all the other pieces.

The cornerstone of our faith is often seen as trust in God’s presence and promises and gives us a foundation for resilience and hope.

I have found that the reflection and gratitude in following Jesus have become the anchors that keep my faith vibrant and personal. Reflection allows me to pause the process, and recognize God’s presence in my life., while gratitude shifts my focus to His blessings, fostering my heart being rooted in trust and love.

An example of reflecting on a time in my day, when I feel guidance, peace, or even challenge can reveal God’s hand at work.

A practice of meditation of scripture can deepen this, and let me hear God’s voice. Scriptures like John 15:4,

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

I try to ask myself “Where did I see God today?” or “What is He teaching me?” This helps me keep a strong connection with God.

Gratitude is as vital as reflection. It’s not just about listing blessings but cultivating a mindset that sees God’s goodness even when we struggle. I write 3 things each night that I am grateful for, something I can go back to, when I’m having a difficult time remembering God‘s blessings. And transform my perspective.

Philippians 4:6 encourages this,

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Gratitude keeps our hearts soft and open and counters the battles that life can cause.

Reflection and gratitude build a rhythm that guards against separation from God. They can remind us of His constancy, especially when the stakes feel high and the battle is fierce.

Names

If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?

I believe names are associated with destinies. While there is no evidence to confirm this. It is based on cultural beliefs, history context and does have psychological impact on a persons life.

If I had no choice and had to change my name I would flip my names and go with my middle name Elizabeth. This is my nagymama’s (grandma’s) name. She is someone who made a lasting impression on me. Her name in Hebrew means “God is my oath.”

Chocolate

Describe your dream chocolate bar.

If I were to describe my dream chocolate bar I would start with a chocolatey base made of milk chocolate, studded with chewy, fluffy marshmallow and walnuts.

Each bite of the different textures would be an indulgent surprise in your mouth.

The Courage Within Us

Courage is our inner strength to face fear, uncertainty, or adversity head-on. It’s not the absence of fear but the choice to act despite it. It’s driven by conviction, purpose, or necessity.

To me, courage is a virtue, balancing recklessness and cowardice. Psychologically, it ties to resilience and self-efficacy – believing we can handle what comes.

A professor in college taught me that courage activates the prefrontal cortex of the brain that overrides the fear response.

Courage either manifests itself every day in small acts like speaking up, taking risks, or enduring hardship. It can manifest in extraordinary moments, like heroism in crisis.

Courage is deeply personal to each individual. It’s what takes courage for one might be routine for another. It’s all about why it matters to you and what’s at stake.

Courage can grow when we align actions with values, even when we are uncomfortable.

Joshua 1:9 Jesus tells us,

“Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Courage isn’t about how many times you fall, its about how many times to get back up.

Facts

Favorite Books

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

I love books. They allowed me to escape my reality as a child.

I remember by sister reading Dr Seuss books to me when I was really young. I love how they wrapped rhymes and imaginative worlds. Teaching lessons on perseverance encourage, like in Oh, the places you’ll go.But my favorite book was The Lorax.

God’s Character and Attributes

God’s character and attributes are derived from the Bible, which is considered to be the authoritative Word of God. Based on the emphasis of scripture alone as the foundation.

We see attributes that are unique to God. God exists outside of time as we see it, without beginning or end. Scriptures like Psalm 90:2 and Revelation 1:8,

“Before the mountains were brought forth,or ever You had formed the earth and the world. Even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

We see Immutability as God’s natural character that do not change in Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17,

“For I am the Lord, I do not change, therefore you are not consumed…”

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

This ensures God’s reliability and faithfulness to His promises.

The Bible tells us that God is Omnipotent, He is all-powerful, capable of doing all that aligns with His nature.

We see this in Jeremiah 32:17 and Matthew 19:26,

“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with Men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

However, God cannot act contrary to His character.

God is Omniscient, He knows all things, past, present, and future, and hypothetical.

We see this in Psalm 139:1-6 and Hebrews 4:13,

“Lord, you have searched me, and you know me. You know my sitting down and my riding up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.”

“There is no creature that is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

This includes foreknowledge of human choices.

God is Omnipresent, He is present everywhere simultaneously.

We see this in Psalm 139:7-10 and Jeremiah 23:24,

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

“Can anyone hide himself in secret places. So I shall not see him? Says the Lord, Do I not fill the earth? Says the Lord.”

He transcends spatial limits yet is intimately involved with creation.

Self-existence, God depends on nothing for His existence.

This is seen in John 5:26 and Exodus 3:14,

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.”

“And God said to Moses, I Am Who I Am. And He said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I Am has sent me to you.”

He is the uncaused cause of all things.

God’s attributes are shared in Humanity:

Holiness
Love
Justice
Mercy and Grace
Faithfulness
Wisdom
Goodness

How To Beat The Flesh

“For we do not wrestle againest flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” – Ephesians 6:12

We are beaten back by three main enemies: the world, satan, and our flesh. The visible enemy we face is the world and the cultural system that lies in rebellion against God. The world seeks to redefine what the Lord has called good and evil. We experience satan who is the supreme enemy of all people causing us to fall because of snares (traps) and temptations. The final enemy is our flesh which resides inside of us and has been there since birth. The flesh isn’t something you can kill. Instead, you deny and glee from it.

I’ve always been a person who seeks to understand things. If we don’t understand what we are dealing with we can’t change or fight the things that come against us whether it be illness, struggle, or evil.

We were born with an old nature that yields to the fleshly desires within us. When we commit our lives to follow Jesus and accept His salvation, we are given a new nature and new desires. Our old nature is to live in subjection to the new person we become. However, living as a new person with Jesus doesn’t mean that the old us will not try to resurface. Just because the old you may still be present, doesn’t mean the new you is not there also. The presence of temptation is not a sign we have not been transformed. The reason for temptation is that we have been made righteous and no longer practicing sin without conscience. The Holy Spirit within us resists the flesh. Becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus does not remove our flesh, but it creates a struggle against sin which helps us depend on God.

We should walk through every day recognizing some of the things that can keep us from complete intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Whenever we are met with any instance where we could react in the flesh and indulge in what it wants to do, stop and think about the consequences, and then flee from whatever tries to stunt our growth with God.

It’s important to know that dealing with our flesh requires a constant manual approach to see victory over it. We don’t ever reach a point where it is automatic to overcome temptation when we become born again, we will always have to, crucify, and commit our desires of the flesh to God.

Hebrews 2:14 tells us,

“For since the children share in flesh and blood, Hr himself partook of the same, that through death He might destroy the one who had power of death, that is, the devil.”

This is saying that when Jesus died the power of the flesh died with Him. We don’t start the war against the enemy fighting in victory, we fight from a victorious stance because that has already been claimed for us by Jesus. We overcome the flesh by coming to an agreement in our minds and hearts about what God says about us. Our identity is found in Him and not in what we are currently struggling with.

When we are born we identify with Adam’s sinful nature, but by being renewed and baptism, we can identify with Jesus. When we align with Jesus, the battle we fight is already won against the enemy, and from the point of His death and resurrection, it is just a matter of us daily killing the lust of our flesh.

When Jesus was crucified, the power of sin over us was also crucified once and for all. It is now our responsibility to take up our cross and follow Him.

God has not made religion to be made up of rules and regulations, instead, healthy boundaries are needed to protect us against falling into sin. Without controlling the flesh we will never be successful in God.

Walking in the Holy Spirit is the only way to become an overcomer. Our calling is not supposed to be stagnant and stationary. We are called to be constantly progressing in all areas of our life. The keys to our growth are communion, covenant, and commitment to the Holy Spirit. And to have steady growth we must learn to remove the things in life that hinder our full commitment. The presence of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee the victory of the flesh, but yielding to the Holy Spirit does.

We all had times in our lives when we felt unworthy and overwhelmed because of our past and that our failures made us feel unrighteous. Maybe even felt as though Jesus couldn’t possibly love you, or you don’t deserve forgiveness. But, regardless of how bad you feel, it contradicts the truth because God wants to strengthen and empower all of us to live a full and free life in Christ Jesus.

When we begin to renounce all doubt that God will and has forgiven our sins we can say, “I identify with Jesus my Savior, Lord Jesus. And thank Him because He had made it possible for us to crucify the cravings of our flesh because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

Every day ask God to give you strength and thank Him for the revelation of who you are in Jesus, and His Holy Spirit is in you.

“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God” – Romans 12:2

The flesh in contrast to the spirit:

Books That Have Impacted My Life

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

Three books that have had an impact on my life are or course the Holy Bible because it teaches me about how to have a blessed life. The Kingdom, Power, & Glory by Chuck and Nancy Missler, is an overcomer’s handbook. The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron that teaches about the deeper processing of information.

Delayed Answered Prayers

God Always Answers Prayer

He may not answer in a way we would like. Sometimes He answers with a “yes” or “yes and even better.” Sometimes, however, He answers will a “no or not yet.”

Sometimes God delays prayers for a few reasons:

To Try our faith. Like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28, whose faith was tried by Jesus. God may delay in answering to try our faith and cause dependence on Him. This produces endurance (James 1:3).

2. To humble our pride. Like the Israelites of old, God may delay in answering to humble our pride and make us more dependent on Him (Duetermony 8:3).

3. To increase our desire. Like the persistent woman whose prayer grew stronger and stronger until the desired outcome was achieved. God may delay prayer so that we want it more eagerly and intensely seek Him for the answer (Luke 18:1-8).

4. To appreciate the answer. What comes quickly and easily is not always valued as something slow and hard. God may delay in answering prayer so that we appreciate the answer more deeply (Phillippians 4:6).

5. To Commune with God. At the end of the day, prayer may not be primarily about what we need, but about what we need. When we continually ask God for help we commune with Him. All He wants is to have a relationship with us (Psalm 72:28-29).

“Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. And everyone asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” – Matthew 7:7-8