How to Survive Tough Times

Why I’m Longing for Easter Right Now

Megan Breedlove February 8, 2016 No Comments

Easter Tomb Sometimes, you know something, but you don’t really know it.

Maybe you know it for years, and then all of a sudden, one day, the topic comes up in a fresh way, and you have this epiphany that causes you to see things in a whole new light. And you wonder, Why didn’t I think of that before???

I’ve known for years that Jesus lived in unspeakable glory in heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Likewise, I’ve known that Jesus came to earth, which wasn’t really glorious at all in comparison, and that while He was on earth, He suffered all kinds of indignities and mistreatments (the biggest one being, of course, His murder).

But God reached down to my heart and mind through the words of this week’s sermon and helped me “get it” in a way I never got it before.

Lately, I’ve been struggling with, well, lots of things. Lots of pressure, stress, discouragement, and grief. I’ve been asking some raw questions. Why do I have to suffer so much? Haven’t I had far more than my fair share of suffering in this life? Is life going to be like this forever?

But, Lent.

For those of you who don’t know, or who never really thought about it (as I didn’t until becoming a member of the Anglican church), Lent is basically the 40 days preceding Easter. On Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday” (which I know you’ve heard of), people have a party. The idea is that the next day, Ash Wednesday, they begin to engage in the spiritual disciplines of denial.

One reason for this denial to remember Christ’s suffering here on earth—not just His suffering on the cross, but His suffering in even having to be here at all.

Even Jesus suffered on earth, which led to my first realization: Why shouldn’t I suffer? Do I really think that I deserve to escape that which even Christ had to go through? If only I could remain on the Mount of Transfiguration, basking in the glow. But I can’t. Even Jesus had to come down off the mountaintop, and so do I. That spiritual glow that I feel sometimes when I’m feeling particularly close to God and all is right with the world is only a step on the way to the Garden and to Golgotha.

I can’t remain on the mountaintop forever.

Lent is basically a microcosm of life. We start out grandly and gloriously on Mardi Gras (as Jesus started out grandly and gloriously in heaven). Then, we enter into suffering, just as Jesus did. Some people who observe Lent also observe a “break”, where they do not have to observe the denial they’ve been observing through the rest of the season. That’s kind of like how it is in life. We get breaks sometimes. The fact that we suffer doesn’t mean there are never any good days.

But after the break, it’s back to suffering. Until…Easter! Just as Jesus suffered until, well, Easter, when He again returned to His former glory and no longer suffers.

Friend, hear me: Easter is coming for us, too. For you and for me. And praise God that it is! Our suffering won’t last forever. It might seem like it’s eternal, but it isn’t. Easter (or, in our case, heaven!) is coming.

It’s coming as surely as seasons pass, and days, weeks, months and years. Each moment of suffering that we endure is only getting us closer to our Easter, the time when everything will once again be made glorious.

It isn’t quite Lent, yet. Maybe that corresponds to the fact that life is pretty good for you right now. It’s even pretty good for me. When I step back and look at the things that are weighing heavily upon me, I have to realize that I still have a pretty good life. But suffering will come. In some form or fashion, it will come.

But it won’t stay, at least not forever.

Easter is on the way.

Revelation 7:17—The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (ESV)

What to Do When the Hits Just Keep On Comin’

Megan Breedlove February 1, 2016 No Comments

boxing_glove1 The past few weeks have been stressful for me.

The kids and I started back home schooling after Christmas break. There were some pretty significant, ongoing issues relating to our oldest son and his disability that we had to struggle to deal with. A friend’s son attempted to commit suicide, and a few days later, he died in the hospital. Then, my stepfather died suddenly from a heart attack. The seven of us traveled to Missouri for a few days to attend his funeral. While there, and even afterwards, I had to deal with issues relating to my extended family and my mom. The morning after we arrived home, the kids and I took off for San Antonio, where we had reservations which we couldn’t have rescheduled without losing a few hundred dollars. A couple days later, Phil and I found out we need a new air conditioning system for the house (a must in Texas) which, depending on the expense, may wipe out our savings. A couple days after that, I held Jessica’s birthday party for her friends. Tomorrow, our homeschool co-op gets back in session, and I will be teaching in two classes and assisting in two others. And all this is in the midst of other personal, family, and relationship issues, some of which are deeply painful.

My head is spinning. I feel like I don’t know which way is up.

Or maybe a better way to put it is that I feel like I’m participating in one of the tests I had to take during the lifeguard certification process back in the day, where we had to jump into the pool, dive to the bottom, pick up a 10-pound, brick-shaped weight, then swim to the surface and tread water for one minute while holding the weight out of the water with both hands.

Life is hard right now.

But the prayers of others have made a difference. In fact, they have kept my head above water while I held the brick and treaded like mad with my legs.

I truly believe, because I have experienced it, that prayer can make a difference in the lives of others. Prayer is not just something we offer because we don’t have anything “better” or “more” to give. Prayer is extremely valuable. It’s not the least we can do, but the most.

Scripture makes it clear that God hears our prayers, is moved by them, and acts in response to them. So when people pray for me, they are asking Almighty God to exercise His power on my behalf. And we know that God grants all prayers which are righteous and in accordance with His will.

Thus, the comfort others ask for me to receive adds to the comfort I’ve requested, and I’m able to keep treading water, despite the weight I carry in my hands.

So when the hits just keep on comin’, ask people to pray. By all means, ask them for practical things, too, and accept offers of help. But above all, ask for their heartfelt and continued prayers.

Because those prayers touch the heart of God for you. And there is nothing more valuable that someone can do for you than entreat God to act.

James 5:16—Pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)

What Moms Can Learn from Moses

Megan Breedlove September 28, 2015 No Comments

220px-Rembrandt_-_Moses_with_the_Ten_Commandments_-_Google_Art_Project You would think that of all the people depicted in the Bible, the moms would be the ones who could best understand our frustrations as mothers. That’s probably why there are so many books titled something like, “Moms of the Bible.” We’re supposed to read about moms and learn from them. Be inspired by them, even.

All of that is well and good. But lately, I’ve come to think that the Biblical personage who could best understand a mom’s frustration is Moses.

Moses was a father, but not a mother. He wasn’t even a woman. How could he be the one who best understands moms?

Consider his words to God for yourself, and see whether you agree that he understands:

“Why have you made this so hard? What have I done wrong for you to burden me with these people? They keep complaining. I can’t deal with them all by myself. It’s too hard! If this is how you’re going to treat me, then if you love me at all, kill me now, so I don’t have to deal with this anymore!”

I kid you not! That’s what Moses said. (You can look up the full passage in Numbers 11:11-15.)

Yet we also know that Moses is the only human being ever to have seen God’s face (see Exodus 33:11 below).

That means there is hope for you and me, moms. We don’t have to be some kind of super-spiritual Christian in order to have a close relationship with God. Intimacy with Him is possible for anyone who desires it—even for us!

I’m not saying that our emotions are always righteous (far from it!). What I’m saying is that if we do what Moses did, we can still have precious intimacy with God, even though we’re not perfect.

What did Moses do? He talked to God about what he thought and how he felt. He didn’t just stuff his feelings down, or try to deal with them in his own strength. He admitted he needed God, and he begged God for help.

But Moses didn’t just come to God when he needed something. He came to God often. He loved God with his whole heart, and he maintained that relationship all the time, not just when he wanted to ask God to do the genie thing and pop out of a bottle and rescue him.

Moms, did you realize you can bring your thoughts, emotions, and frustrations to God? Moses did, and God didn’t zap him to death. Instead, He helped him. God’s not going to zap you either when you come before Him honestly and pour out your heart. He will help you—not condemn you.

So take a cue from Moses. Seek a relationship with Him always, even when things are going well. And when something comes up, admit what you think and how you feel and pour your heart out to God.

Doing so won’t prevent you from experiencing intimacy with Him. In fact, it’s necessary for intimacy to happen. You have to share your heart.

Exodus 33:11—The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (NIV)

When Life Attacks

Megan Breedlove March 23, 2015 No Comments

angry dog I love to run for exercise. Recently, my youngest daughter Jessica decided to start running with me. Currently, she is working toward running enough times to earn a pair of good running shoes and some running apparel.

There is a particular loop in my neighborhood that I often run: two blocks down, one block over, two blocks back up, and one block back to where I started. In the middle of that last block, there’s an alley. And as we passed the alley on this particular day, a dun-colored dog ran out of the alleyway toward us.

We had seen this dog act aggressively toward us on a previous run, and we had simply turned around and run the other way. But this time, the dog was having none of that. He approached us aggressively, cutting off our opportunity to turn and go back the way we had come.

“Mommy! There’s that dog again!” Jessica called out (I was slightly ahead of her).

“Don’t look at it,” I instructed in a calm voice. “Just run smoothly, and look straight ahead.”

“Mommy!”

I turned and stopped. Jessica was standing frozen in fear, staring directly at the dog—who, fortunately, had stopped several yards from her. “Jessica,” I said, in the same ultra-calm voice, “keep running. Don’t look at the dog. I’ll protect you.”

Jessica tried to obey, but as she ran on and I moved in between her and the dog, the dog began to bark and advance toward us. Again, Jessica stopped and looked right at it.

“Jessica,” I said firmly but still calmly, “keep going. I will protect you. You have to keep going.”

For some reason, the dog let us go. It still barked after us, but it didn’t advance. Until we rounded the corner toward our house, that is. “Mommy, it’s following us!” Jessica cried out.

By this point, we were close enough to home that I could tell her, “Jessica, run up to the porch.” She obeyed, and the dog left off its loping pursuit and trotted away to find something else to do. We were safe.

In case you’re wondering, I reported the dog to Animal Control, and a few days later, they were able to find the dog loose again and pick it up. But that’s not the point of the story.

The point is this: what happened with me, Jessica, and the dog has important spiritual parallels, and it all comes back to the reason I told Jessica to keep going and not look at the dog.

Why did I do that?

You may be aware that when you encounter an aggressive dog, one of the worst things you can do is make eye contact with it and stare at it. Often, that only provokes the dog and makes things worse for you. So I told Jessica not to look at the dog so that the situation wouldn’t get worse.

And I told her to keep going because I needed to know exactly where she was so that I could more easily position myself between her and the dog, as well as because I needed her to get some distance from him.

I could protect her better if she did what I asked.

When we face attacks in this life, our natural, human inclination is to freeze in fear and focus on the terrible thing that happened (or is threatening to happen). But Jesus tells us to do exactly the opposite. He tells us to keep going and to focus on something else (God). All too often, we assume that He’s trying to minimize or invalidate our fear, or maybe just that He has a thing for being obeyed and doesn’t really care what’s happening to us.

The reality is that Jesus knows exactly how to help us deal with our distress, and that’s why He tells us not to focus on it. Focusing on it only makes things worse for us. He’s not telling us to deny it; He’s always all about truth and accuracy. He’s simply telling us that there’s something better to focus on—something that will help us out a whole lot more than making the attack the primary focal point of our attention.

That’s why He tells us to keep going—because He knows that if we don’t, we’ll stay stuck, and things will never get any better. Just as I wanted Jessica to run towards home, so He wants us to run toward our home—heaven—where all the fear and pain will be behind us.

As Jessica ran, she was still afraid. I knew she would be. I wasn’t suggesting that she not deal with her fear. I was telling her something she needed to do despite her fear. At first, she didn’t see how she could obey, and she remained frozen. But when she began to obey, then she saw that my instructions were, indeed, to her benefit.

Likewise, Jesus only tells us to do things that will help us, not hurt us. Oh, if only we believed that, we would be ready—eager, even—to do whatever He might ask.

But there’s one more thing we need to consider. And this is perhaps the most precious thing of all.

Remember where I was when I was telling Jessica to keep going, and not to look?

Between her and the dog.

Oh, precious mom, hear me. Better yet, hear the heart of God for you. When trials come—when you’re attacked—it may feel like Jesus has left you alone to deal with them. But He hasn’t.

He’s standing between you and the dog.

Keep going, mom. Fix your eyes on God, and keep going. Let Jesus stand between you and the dog, and head for home.

James 1:12—Blessed is the [mom] who perseveres under trial, because when [she] has stood the test, [she] will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

For the Joy Set Before Us

Megan Breedlove March 16, 2015 No Comments

Lollipop Last month, Timmy turned 3. (It seems like only last week that I gave birth to him, but apparently, it was three years ago.) A few days after his birthday, I took him to our physician for his annual well-child checkup. Timmy checked out just fine. He did, however, have to get a s-h-o-t.

I helped the nurse hold Timmy down while the student doctor training with our regular doctor administered the shot in Timmy’s thigh. Timmy fought us, screamed, and cried. Soon, though, the torture was over, and he was all better—especially when he got a lollipop for having endured a shot.

Timmy sucked on his lollipop in the waiting room as I checked out at the window. “Mmm, this is a good lollipop,” Timmy said. “Can I have another one?”

“No, you only got one shot,” I said.

Timmy thought about this for a brief second. “Can I have another shot?” he said.

Timmy was willing to brave the discomfort of another shot in order to get something he really wanted. Small price to pay, he figured.

I wonder if you and I ever think of things in this way? Are we ever willing to endure—or even seek out—the unpleasant things in our lives that it is necessary for us to endure in order to reach joy?

Jesus certainly thought this way. In fact, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured even the humiliating agony of the cross by looking forward to the joy that would come afterwards.

You and I suffer pain and difficulties in life. Often, we try to grit our way through it, clenching our teeth and doing our best to endure until it’s over. But do we ever think about the joy that awaits us on the other side of the trial?

Sometimes, we get the idea that we as Christians shouldn’t need any reward. That we should just live our lives faithfully with no thought for what we might get out of it. But that’s not the way Jesus lived His life! Remember that He was looking forward to the joy He would get after He had gone through the cross!

True, it is arrogant and prideful to try to dictate the nature of the reward God “must” give us. God owes us nothing. He is not and cannot be obligated to bless us in the way we might think He should. Nevertheless, in His goodness and grace, He has set rewards before us. Do we really think that He wants us to ignore them?

Women go through childbirth (or adoption paperwork) because of the joy God has set before us—the joy of bringing a new life into our family.

We sacrifice sleep for our children, getting up in the night to feed them or tend to them in their sickness, and why? Because of the joy God has set before us—the joys of having a healthy child.

We pray diligently for our precious children to come to know Jesus and to stay close to Him so that one day, we will know they are walking in the truth. (See 3 John 1:4.)

We struggle to figure out how in the world to discipline our children so that they will grow up to be contributing members to society and their own families, and a pleasure to us. (See Proverbs 10:1.)

We work all day (whether inside or outside the home) so that we can experience the joy of providing for our family. (See 1 Timothy 1:8.)

We sacrifice our own wants, needs, and desires in order to put our children first, and so that we can know the joy of giving ourselves for the sake of our beloved. (See 1 Thessalonians 2:8 and Philippians 2:17.)

Praise be to God for His mercy and generosity that He has set things up so that there are always rewards set before us. Did He have to do that? No. But He did. Why?

So we could have something to look forward to.

I don’t know what you’re facing in your life right now; you don’t know what I’m facing. But I do know that God has set joy before both of us.

What is the joy He has set before you? Are you looking forward to it and letting the anticipation of it strengthen you now?
Hebrews 12:2—Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (ESV)

The True Nature of Our Struggle

Megan Breedlove January 5, 2015 No Comments

Imagine this: you’re sitting at your computer, scrolling through the latest posts on your timeline, when one of your children tracks you down. “Mommy,” she says, “Johnny says he doesn’t want to watch what I want to watch. But he got to choose what we watched last time. Tell him it’s my turn!”

You close your eyes and sigh. Not again! You try to push away the feelings of discouragement and frustration. You’re tired of struggling against them.

They are what you’re struggling against, right? What you’ve been struggling with for a long time?

Wrong.

Please don’t misunderstand: I know feelings of discouragement and frustration are very real. So are feelings of anger, loneliness, and sadness. We’ve all felt them. We’ve spent time, money, and energy on getting rid of them—and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be free from these emotions.

But they are not what our struggle is truly against.

Sword and shield In the famous passage about putting on spiritual armor instead of merely physical armor, Scripture tells us that we are to don this spiritual armor because the devil is scheming against us. It then goes on to say, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

I’ve always liked this verse. But it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how it can apply to me as a mom. And when I realized it, it immediately began to make a huge difference.

My struggle isn’t against my children’s bickering, or the mounds of dirty laundry, or the necessity of teaching the same concepts over and over again. It’s not even against the frustration, discouragement, or irritation I may feel. It’s against the devil’s schemes against me, and the spiritual forces of evil at work in this world.

You see, negative emotions do not have to be our response to our circumstances. But Satan knows that if he can get us to respond that way, he’s got us beaten down. He schemes to do whatever is necessary to entice us to respond in a defeated, discouraged, or dejected manner (remember that he’s always looking for people to devour; see 1 Peter 5:8).

So when we are tempted to feel discouraged, annoyed, or angry, our struggle is not against that emotion. It’s ultimately against Satan himself, who’s trying to ruin us.

Check out the Ephesians passage again: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” That means that our struggle really isn’t against people, including ourselves. Our struggle is a spiritual one.

Why is it so important for us to be aware of this? So we can respond differently. If we try merely to battle the emotions, we’re missing the bigger fight. And if we fight the same way we always have, we may be using the wrong weapons. Ephesians 6 tells us the right weapons to use, including prayer, faith, and salvation. Why? Because these are the only weapons that will work when we’re fighting a spiritual battle.

We need to arm ourselves differently. We need to fight differently.

Fortunately, we serve a God who has equipped us for the battle and shown us how to further equip ourselves. To Him be glory forever and ever.

Ephesians 6:12—For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (NIV)

Experiencing Beauty

Megan Breedlove December 15, 2014 No Comments

Timmy on trampoline A month or two ago, my husband and I bought our kids a trampoline for the back yard as an early Christmas present. Since then, the kids have used the trampoline almost every day—if not every day. Timmy loves the trampoline, too. He loves bouncing, jumping, and running in circles on it, giggling in delight.

The other day, I was sitting on our front porch watching Timmy play in the front yard. After a little while, he came up to me and said, “I want to go on the trampoline.”

“Okay,” I said. “Go ahead.”

“You can come, too,” Timmy offered hopefully.

“No, thank you,” I said. (Normally, I love the trampoline, but I was right in the middle of something.)

But Timmy didn’t give up. “Come on!” he pleaded. “It’s gonna be…beautiful!”

My heart melted. How could I refuse an invitation like that? “Okay!” I said enthusiastically, getting up to follow Timmy as he ran into the backyard.

And you know what? It was a beautiful time. The weather was great (about 70 degrees, despite its being the middle of December), and I got to spend some time with my precious son, see him enjoying the gift we had given him, and hear his delighted giggles.

If I hadn’t accepted his invitation, I would indeed have missed a beautiful time.

I wonder…how many beautiful times have I missed with God because I didn’t want to come along with Him?

God invites me (and you) to be with Him every day. To talk to Him, to bask in His presence, to learn from Him, to simply hang out together. If you regularly take advantage of the opportunities He offers you, great! But if you’re like me, and you sometimes miss the chance to spend time with Him because you’re too busy, or you aren’t paying attention and thus never hear His invitation, or you simply don’t want to go where He’s going, you’re missing out on something beautiful.

There is a beautiful component to everything God asks us to walk with Him through, but we don’t always see it. It’s too hard, we whine, or That doesn’t sound like fun, or I’m too busy. We consider the opportunity, and if there’s anything negative about it, we decline. True, we might avoid some of the negative aspects, but we also miss the “something beautiful” that God wanted us to delight in.

What beautiful thing does God want to show you in the midst of something difficult right now? What beauty does He want to bring out of circumstances that are challenging or even tragic?

Motherhood definitely falls in the “challenging” category sometimes (often?). You and I have the choice to focus either on the fact that the kids have been bickering all day and the laundry isn’t done and we’re tired, or on the beauty that is present even in the midst of the chaos. Beauty like the fact that we have wonderful children (even if they may not be acting wonderful right now), or like our children’s hugs or even those pictures they draw where you’re not sure what the object is, but they present the artwork to you with pride.

Maybe you’re struggling with health issues, with financial concerns, or with grief. Those things aren’t beautiful in and of themselves, but even in the midst of them, you can experience the beauty of God’s presence, close and intimate in ways He might not be apart from the difficult circumstances. Or maybe you’ll experience the beauty of friends coming alongside you, or of God’s unexpected provision.

I don’t claim to understand how God brings beauty out of ugliness. I just know that He does.

Nor do I claim to know exactly what kind of beauty God will bring from your situation. I just know that He will. How do I know? Because He’s promised.

Don’t stay focused on the negatives when God’s inviting you to experience beauty, when He says, “Come on! It’s going to be beautiful.”

Believe Him. Go look for the beauty.

Isaiah 61:3—To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

When Life’s Not Fair

Megan Breedlove October 14, 2014 No Comments

unfair “That’s not fair!”

How many times have you heard that at your house? I’ve heard it plenty in mine. My children say it when they believe someone else got treated better than they did, or when they didn’t get something they want. And while they’re not always correct about the issue of fairness as it pertains to them, they’re right about one thing, at least.

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair.

Sometimes, 12-year-old girls have babies and leave them in dumpsters, when you and your husband have been trying to conceive for years and haven’t been successful (this was our situation).

Sometimes, people treat you badly…and then blame it on you.

Sometimes, people who make ungodly decisions and choices seem to prosper financially and in every other way, while you and your family do your best to live the way God wants you to…and yet still struggle to pay the bills.

Sometimes, good people get sick. Sometimes, they die. Sometimes children die.

Life isn’t always fair. It just doesn’t work that way.

We grieve over the unfairness of it all as we suffer. Why me? Why her? Why anybody at all?

I don’t have the answers, though sometimes I wish I did. I do know that unfairness entered into the world when sin entered in because of Adam and Eve. But knowing that we live in a fallen, sinful world, and that that’s why life isn’t fair, doesn’t make us feel much better when injustice strikes.

So what do we do? How do we deal with life when it seems unfair and we know there’s not much (if anything) we can do about it?

Two things. First, we fix our eyes on Jesus.

When people disappoint you, fix your eyes on the only One who never will. Contemplate His beauty. Not physical beauty (we’re told that He wasn’t anything special to look at); but the beauty of His character. Let someone’s sin against you remind you to turn your eyes to the only One who will never do you wrong. Let someone’s lack of love direct your gaze to the One who loves you perfectly and permanently. Let someone’s insufficiency point you to the all-sufficient One; let neglect or laziness remind you that Jesus never sleeps; let disappointment in someone’s character make you all the more grateful for Jesus, whom you will only love and admire more and more as you get to know Him better.

No, fixing your eyes on Jesus won’t make the pain of your earthly troubles go away—not entirely. But it will comfort you in the midst of them.

Second, we do what Jesus did when He lived in a world full of injustice. We look forward to the joy set before us.

This week’s verse tells us that for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross (the ultimate in unfair treatment by human beings) even though He hated the shame of it. In other words, Jesus knew that the cross was going to be cruel, yet He went through it anyway because He knew that set before Him was incredible joy.

The same joy is set before us, and you and I need to remember this when we face life’s cruelties too. When life is unfair, remember that in heaven, there will be no more unfairness. No more! When evildoers prosper, remember that in heaven, there will be no more sin. When we don’t understand how or why something could have happened, remember that in heaven, nothing bad will happen ever again. Ever!

In fact, we’re told that the joy that awaits us will make the sufferings of this world look like nothing (see Romans 8:18). Can you imagine a joy so great that it will make the pain you feel now look weak by comparison? I can’t fully imagine it either. But…wow!

I know it’s really easy to focus on the thing (or person) that hurt or offended us. But the Bible says, Don’t do that! Look at Jesus instead!

It’s easy to focus on our pain. But instead, we’re told, Think about the coming joy!

No, life isn’t fair. But there is Someone who is.

Life isn’t always joyous. But there’s a place that is.

Fix your eyes on Jesus—not on your circumstances, or even on other people. And remember the coming joy. Always remember the joy.

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (KJV)

Hold Out for the Angels

Megan Breedlove September 22, 2014 No Comments

angel There are times when it seems like life is going along just fine. It’s not perfect, but on the whole, things are going well. You’re content. You may even experience a period of particularly intimate communion with God.

And then…BAM!

Suddenly, you find yourself in the midst of a spiritual wilderness. Life looks bleak. That special intimacy with God has turned into a desperate clinging to Him in order to survive. And the wilderness time goes on…and on…and on.

Precious mom, Jesus knows how you feel. Not just because He’s God, but because He’s been there.

The incident in Jesus’ life that we’re going to look at today occurred when He was 30. Up to this point, we don’t know much about Him (except for His birth and that trip to Jerusalem when He was 12). But it’s reasonable to assume that He had a godly upbringing and a decent life up until then.

At age 30, of course, it came time for Him to begin His ministry. I imagine that He was probably looking forward to it. He was about to embark upon the calling for which His Father had sent Him to earth in the first place. So He goes to His cousin John to get baptized and get started.

We’re told that after His baptism, Jesus had a particularly intimate moment of communion with God. The Father sent the Spirit down in the form of a dove to alight upon Jesus, and Jesus heard His Father’s voice confirming their relationship and His love for Jesus. What a moment that must have been!

But then, things take a surprising turn. Immediately after this “mountaintop” experience, Jesus is driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. God took Jesus from that spiritual high and placed Him right in the midst of a lonely time of spiritual attack. And these attacks continued for 40 days and 40 nights (the original Greek makes it clear that Satan was after Him the whole time, not just with those three temptations at the end).

There’s no indication in Scripture that Jesus knew how long He’d be out there. He may very well have known only that His own Father placed Him into this wilderness, and that He would simply have to survive spiritually until it was over. He would have known that eventually, in God’s perfect timing, the attacks would stop. All He had to do—though it was huge—was hold out until then.

And He did. Eventually, the end came. Scripture tells us that Satan left Him, and God sent angels to minister to Him.

We don’t know exactly what the angels did. I imagine they comforted and reassured Jesus. Maybe they even brought Him some food. The point is that God didn’t just send the devil away and then send Jesus back out into the countryside, spiritually and physically weary, to pick up where He left off.

From far before the wilderness time began—from eternity past, even—the Father had planned for it to take place. But more than that, He had also planned for the restoration that would take place afterwards.

You may be in the midst of a spiritual wilderness right now (or if not now, you may find yourself in one in the future). It’s hard. It’s painful. It’s lonely. But God has made spiritual provision for you during this time, just as He did for Jesus. He knows just what to do to bring you through. And not only that…but the angels are coming.

You see, just as God knew from eternity past that your wilderness time would come, so He also planned from eternity past not only to walk with you through it, but to strengthen and comfort you in special measure when it is over.

Satan may be after you now. Life’s circumstances may be after you now. You may be tired, scared, hungry, and lonely. But the end is coming. And so are the angels.

Hold on, weary mom.

Hold out for the angels.

Matthew 4:11—Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold , angels came and ministered unto him. (KJV)

When You’re Tempted to Complain

Megan Breedlove July 7, 2014 No Comments

Sometimes, having a good attitude is hard.

At least, it was hard for Ellie on a day not long ago. Several things didn’t go her way, and as each one happened, she complained. I could understand how she felt (I’m often tempted to complain, too, when things don’t go as I would like), but I knew I needed to say something to her.

Of course, I thought later of better and more articulate ways I could have handled the situation. But what I said at the time was, “Ellie, you need to stop complaining. If you’re really having a bad day, you can come talk to me about it. But don’t just go around being negative.” (I got it sort of right.)

Fast forward to yesterday morning, when Ellie said to me, “Mom, the last few days haven’t been going right at all for me. Can we talk about them? You told me to come to you instead of just complaining.”

I was pleased that she was making the effort to properly handle the temptation to complain. Of course, I made time to talk to her and let her voice her concerns. We talked about what she could do about them, as well as things I could do that would be helpful to her. Instead of spreading a cloud of negativity over our home because of her feelings about the past few days, Ellie did the right thing and chose to bring her concerns to someone (me) who would listen to her and help her with them.

It’s the same thing you and I need to do when we’re tempted to complain. We need to bring our concerns to someone who loves us and will help us deal with them. And while it’s marvelous to have human friends, family, or clergy who will listen to us when we have a need, it’s even better to have God.

The only problem is, you and I don’t take advantage of His willingness to listen as often as we should (which is every time). Instead of taking our concerns to God and asking Him to help us deal with them, we too often resort to complaining— venting our frustrations into the air, to whomever happens to be listening.

Now please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not suggesting that we should never tell anyone what’s bothering us, or pretend like everything’s fine when it isn’t. Far from it. In fact, one reason God gives us friends and family, as well as a community of Christian believers, is so we can help bear one another’s burdens. But there’s a difference between the kind of complaining the Bible forbids, and talking out what’s bothering us, in the way God meant for us to do, with someone we trust.

It’s okay to talk about our concerns with someone when we need help dealing with what’s going on. When we’re stressed or overloaded (and every mom experiences this at times), we need someone to hear us and help us figure out how to handle it. That’s fine. What isn’t fine is when we complain, finding fault with the circumstances God has allowed into our lives, with no real goal in mind other than just spewing out our negativity and (we think) relieving some of our tension for now.

In the first case, even if we have another human being to walk through our troubles with us, we still need to take them before God and talk to Him about them. After all, He’s the One who can give us the best help. He allowed those circumstances into our lives and intends to walk through them with us and bring a particular kind of good out of them.

In the second case—when really, all we want to do is be negative—it’s far better to take our complaints to God than to vent them on other people. He alone can change our heart in regard to the circumstances He’s allowed and grant us His perspective. Not only that, but He can provide stress relief for us that’s far better than the small and temporary relief we get by spewing out negativity.

The next time you’re tempted to complain, think about it this way: Do you have some things going on in your life that you need help dealing with? Fine. Talk to God about them, and find a human being you love and trust to talk to. Or do you not really want help, but just want to complain about the unfairness of it all? Take that to God too. Ask Him to change your heart and perspective.

He can, and He will, in ways that mere complaining will never do.

Philippians 2:14—Do everything without complaining or arguing. (NIV)

How to Survive Tough Times

Why I’m Longing for Easter Right Now

What to Do When the Hits Just Keep On Comin’

What Moms Can Learn from Moses

When Life Attacks

For the Joy Set Before Us

The True Nature of Our Struggle

Experiencing Beauty

When Life’s Not Fair

Hold Out for the Angels

When You’re Tempted to Complain

You Missed

Priorities

I Wouldn’t Do That

Little Things

8 Seconds