My Hiding Place

Most people have a Happy Place. That one place on earth that makes them feel free, happy and safe. A place in nature, the mall, at home, a favorite restaurant, the back pew at the church facilities, etc.

Destruction can wipe out these natural places, however. They are illusive at best. Contrarily, if we find our Happy Place in the presence of God, it will never be destroyed. It goes with us wherever we go and no one can take it away from us.

Our Hiding Place in God preserves us from trouble. God comforts us with songs of deliverance in our spirit (Psalm 32:7). He keeps us safe as our shield, as we hope in His Word (Psalm 119:114).

His presence is a shelter and shade from the struggles and stresses which parch us, and a refuge from the storms of life (Isaiah 4:6). God shelters us from the tempests and gives us the refreshment of the waterfalls of His love and contentment during dry spells (Isaiah 32:2).

When disasters destroy our habitat and water floods our natural hiding place, He offers us the plumb line of righteousness and the measuring stick of His justice to help us to rebuild on the foundation of Christ in our life (Isaiah 28:17).

We hope in the promises of His Word and wait on His instructions when darkness surrounds us on every side (Psalm 18:11, 119:114). His presence provides us with a constant secluded place to keep us safe (1 Samuel 19:2).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that Satan will hide as a lion in his lair in order to catch the afflicted, many of whom he wounded from his constant assaults on their life (Psalm 10:9). He lies to us and we believe his corruption. Yet, You provide us with a hiding place from the destroyer (Isaiah 16:4).

At times, You will even use people to present us with a hiding place from life's discouragements and insecurity (Deuteronomy 32:38). Yet, more often than not, if we look to the natural world, we trust in a lie for our safety and wellbeing (Isaiah 28:15). Keep us ever mindful of Your love, surround us with Your angels, and shower us with your blessings in the midst of this dry and desert land.

Thought for the Day:

If we hide the light of Christ within us, we fail to shine His saving grace to the world around us; so let us represent a city on a hill with a promise of a true and secure Hiding Place, as we offer solace to those God brings into our life (Luke 11:33).

 

The Healing Journey - Our Priceless Inheritance

I was born into an Italian family, the oldest child of my parents and the first grandchild in the family. To say that I was loved, expected, wanted and spoiled is an understatement.

Then, three years later on the exact date of my birth, my baby brother was born. Of course, all the attention and acclaim went to the new baby and the first boy of our family.

I remember standing outside of the nursery door and wondering why my parents were giving this screaming bag of bones all of my attention. I was told to go outside to play; and from that day forward, outside became my happy place.

Yet, I experienced all of the deprivation, abandonment, rejection and loneliness that accompanies having a new baby in the family. 

My defense was to be a good little girl and mommy's helper with my baby brothers, as two more boys came into our family. I received less and less personal attention with each new birth. 

As the only girl and oldest child, I was given household chores. We fell into this routine until, during my adolescence, I started to assert my independence, which my parents termed as "stubbornness".

This earned me the increasing wrath of my bipolar father, who resorted to violent physical punishment. He even used brutal force and sexual abuse on one occasion in an attempt to force me into submission.

My resentment grew and I turned more inward, often hanging out in our tree house with a good book. I preferred to be alone than to put myself in situations that brought me further hurt.

My mom attempted to compensate for my dad's wrath by leading my Girl Scout troop while I was in junior and senior high school. She helped me to apply to national and international events, which allowed me to travel.

I appreciated her constancy in doing all the right things for me; but since her mother died when she was three, and she grew up with a stepmom who worked long hours every day, she never personally experienced nurturing and never learned to cherish us emotionally.

My mom was required to do household chores, serve her alcoholic father and four older brothers and to care for her two younger brothers. Her emotions were locked up tightly within her soul, just as mine were, and she found her fulfillment through service in her community.

I married when I turned 20 and parented my own three children with this same aloof attitude of my mom and easily angered response that I learned from my dad. I did not know what it felt like to experience or to give nurturing.

Over the ensuing years, the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit gradually healed my wounds and painstakingly replaced my negative learned behavior and personality characteristics with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

I also borrowed books from local libraries and learned how to nurture the wounded "child" within me; as well as my own children, my mom and the wounded members of the churches in which I served as a Pastor's wife.

The husband of my youth, wounded from his childhood, remained as aloof as my mom and as exacting as my father. Only our Father God cherished me as His little girl and gave me comfort and safety under the shadow of His wings (Matthew 6:6-9).

God's Spirit revealed to me the devil's lies which kept me in bondage to the wounds of my past ( www.theophostic.com ). He helped me to forgive my parents and husband, and to let go of Satan's deceptions and the resulting wounds.

I learned that my inheritance with Christ of God's Kingdom is priceless and that there is forgiveness for my own sins and healing for the results of the sins others perpetrated in my life. God is our good, good Father and we are loved by Him as the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8).

Prayer:

Father God, we could never thank You enough for adopting us into Your family, forgiving all of our sins, transforming our short-comings and healing our past. You care for us all the days of our life and even look forward to us joining You in eternity (Psalm 116:15). We anticipate that day when we gather around Your throne with all of Your Saints in order to praise Your goodness and mercy for eternity.

As we spend time in solitary prayer now, just as Jesus did, You energize our body, soul and spirit with Your continual presence within us. We find spontaneous tears of gratitude flowing down our cheeks as we dwell through each moment of our day in communion with You and by walking in Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

When we catch a glimpse of our priceless inheritance with Christ of all that is the Kingdom of God, we are filled with the wonder and humility that we feel at the magnitude of His presence in us and His provision for us both now and throughout eternity.

Roses Have Thorns

 

In life on this planet, we are often either in a trial, coming out of a trial or about to go into a trial. This is not a sign of spirituality, punishment from God or an attack by Satan. Life just happens! Sometimes, we simply reap what we sowed in life. Possibly they occur because of acts of selfishness perpetuated by some other person. Some of them provide a course-altering experience to get us back into God’s perfect will for us. Life really is a rose garden, but did you notice...roses have thorns (1 Peter 1:6).

The trials in our life provide the fire for our Master Blacksmith to shape and mold us into His divine nature. They strengthen our fortitude, patience and spirituality, as they force us out of our comfort zone and into unfamiliar and often unpleasant circumstances (James 1:2,12; I Peter 1:6). God’s desire is for us to respond to any negative issues we experience with patient expectation and spiritual integrity, knowing full well that His faithfulness will work out everything for our good (Romans 8:28).

Trials strengthen us and make us more resilient, so that problems, which used to devastate us, no longer make any impression on us (John 16:33). Over the years, we see God’s character and fruit replacing the personality traits with which we were born (Galatians 5:22-23). He exchange our human identity for His spiritual character. God always supernaturally sustains us and provides for us in every trial (1 Corinthians 10:13). In fact, we usually end up with more than we started with!

God uses trials to gain our attention and to manifest His Son’s divinity within us (Isaiah 43:7; Genesis 50:20; John 9:3). We may not understand what God is working out in our life, but He is faithful and we can trust Him (Proverbs 20:24; Hosea 14:9). No matter what we experience, even persecution for our faith, Heaven’s glory is worth it all (Romans 8:18). As we hide under the shadow of His wings, we trust in His faithfulness (Romans 8:28). We enter into His rest and live from a positive place of trust (Hebrews 4:10).

The world will constantly attempt to pull us back into its mold. The devil will try to deceive us into compromising our convictions. Even some in our family will fight to dissuade us from following hard after God (Psalm 63:8). The more we obey God’s Will, the more we realize that His ways are perfect. He is a shield for us, if we only have the faith to take refuge in Him (2 Samuel 22:31). Life gives us many options, but living in the center of God’s will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:

Father God, Your sovereignty and purposes in our life build Jesus’ character in our soul – our mind, will and emotions. We often try to escape the trials of life, but You will not give us anything that Christ in us cannot bear. We endure persecution and find contentment in all of our circumstances because of Your Son and Spirit dwelling within us (Philippians 4:11). We are victorious over life’s trials through Your joy, as we live a life of praise and prayer.

Thought for the Day:

Secure in Christ we can endure life’s trials with gratitude and hope.