Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
or I will die.
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
I run to you to hide me.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
on a firm footing.
PSALM 143:7-10 (NLT)

I asked God to show me. Show me the masks I have worn. Show me why I began to wear them in the first place. Show me the evolution of my imposter. I asked God – as King David did …

Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
PSALM 139:23-24 (THE MESSAGE)

Almost immediately the Holy Spirit began to show me. He showed me that I was the first born of two parents who were also first born. I was born a very strong-willed child – it was in my genes. Because of my self-determined, self-sufficient will I was not easy for my parents to raise. To make matters worse my younger brother was quite the opposite – a very compliant child – much easier to raise than me. So when I displayed my strong will I was often compared to him and then I was told that I was more like the least liked members of our family and I knew even at my young age that was not good!

God also showed me that I was blessed – often times it has felt like a curse – with an extremely sensitive spirit. I always have felt and sensed much more than the average person. I not only experience my own emotional pain but I also feel and experience all the pain that others are experiencing. (Often times I think I experience way more pain than they actually feel.) So I was labeled as “overly sensitive” and a “drama queen” because my face always expressed what I was feeling. I knew, too, that was not good!

So early on I learned that it was not good for me to be me and I needed to change if I wanted to please others. I hid who I truly was and I became whatever others needed me to be. I became a chameleon so I would be liked and accepted by all. I was also a good actress so it was easy for me to portray myself as someone else – someone totally different from me. The problem was that after a whole lifetime of acting to please others – even God – I lost – even forgot – who I truly was. I lost myself in the process.

But as sad as this scenario seems what is awesome is that God answered my cries and showed me who He created me to be. He exposed my imposter – removed my masks – lifted my shame and showed me how marvelously He made me. It was finally OK for me to be me because I was His creation!

You also are His marvelous creation. Do you know who you truly are? Are you like me – actually ashamed of who you are? If your answer is yes then my prayer for you is that you too experience the freedom to be who He created you to be. I pray that you – along with King David and me – will be able to proclaim to our Father …

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
PSALM 139:13-14 (THE MESSAGE)

On the Journey with You,
Jan Dravecky

An Awakening from Brokenness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Prayer, Words of Endurance

Remember

By Nathan Solla on

May 15, 2013

- An Awakening from Brokenness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Prayer, Words of Endurance

Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
PSALM 51:16-17 (THE MESSAGE)

Each time I have hit bottom – I am left feeling broken and weak. What is even more painful for me is that I have no one to blame but myself for my present condition so I feel nothing but shame and guilt. But I have learned that whenever I find myself in this place of brokenness what I need to do is to remember. Remember how in times before – when my pride was shattered – none of it was unnoticed by God. I need to remember …

Since God assured us,
“I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,”
we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I’m fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?
HEBREWS 13:5-6 (THE MESSAGE)

I also need recall that it has been my past experience that …

“Often breakdowns lead to breakthroughs.”
MICHAEL O’SHANNESEY

And then I can reassure myself that …

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting,
God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.
If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.
He does our praying in and for us,
making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves,
He knows our pregnant condition,
and keeps us present before God.
That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives
of love for God is worked into something good.
ROMANS 8:26-28 (THE MESSAGE)

When I remember this promise from God – this Eternal Truth gives me the courage to not lose heart –to not give up – to keep on enduring the journey. May His Word provide you the endurance for your journey when you remember …

So we’re not giving up. How could we!
Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us,
on the inside, where God is making new life,
not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
These hard times are small potatoes
compared to the coming good times,
the lavish celebration prepared for us.
There’s far more here than meets the eye.
The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow.
But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18 (THE MESSAGE)

On the Journey with You,
Jan Dravecky

Grief, Guilt, Healing, Hope, Words of Endurance

My Dilemma and The Answer

By Nathan Solla on

May 1, 2013

- Grief, Guilt, Healing, Hope, Words of Endurance

I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not.
Isn’t this also your experience?”
Yes. I’m full of myself—after all,
I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison.
What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way,
but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise.
So if I can’t be trusted to figure out
what is best for myself and then do it,
it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
But I need something more!
For if I know the law but still can’t keep it,
and if the power of sin within me
keeps sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help!
I realize that I don’t have what it takes.
I can will it, but I can’t do it.
I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it;
I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.
My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions.
Something has gone wrong deep within me
and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable.
The moment I decide to do good,
sin is there to trip me up.
I truly delight in God’s commands,
but it’s pretty obvious that
not all of me joins in that delight.
Parts of me covertly rebel,
and just when I least expect it,
they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps.
I’m at the end of my rope.
Is there no one who can do anything for me?
Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that
Jesus Christ can and does.
He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions
where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind,
but am pulled by the influence of sin
to do something totally different.
ROMANS 7:15-25 (THE MESSAGE)

Sorry for the long Scripture text but I just had to share it all because it is every bit of my experience in my walk with God. “Isn’t this also your experience?”

I don’t know about you but this has been a constant struggle on my journey – what is that struggle? That struggle has been a constant repeat of the history of my sin and weaknesses! I can’t tell you the countless times that I have hit bottom after once again relying on my own strengths – trusting in my own abilities to get things done – my inability to say no – resulting in major burnout and depression. What is so humbling about each time I fall into that pit is that I have no one to blame but myself! And what is even more upsetting is that I know better and I know The Answer but like Paul I find myself crying out “I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me?”

Each time I hit bottom my initial reaction is to run from God not to Him. Guilt and shame keep me wanting to hide just like Adam and Eve. But because I know that the only One who can do anything for me is Jesus Christ I return to Him – broken and limping I surrender myself to Him – confessing my sin and accepting my inability to fix myself. I return to Him because He promises …

“… Return to me so I can return to you,”
says God-of-the-Angel-Armies …
MALACHI 3:7 (THE MESSAGE)

“… No one who hopes in me ever regrets it.”
ISAIAH 49:23 (THE MESSAGE)

And I thank God that every time I return to Him and place my hope in Him – He guides me up out of that pit of sin and death – growing me up on the journey. Through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within me my dilemma is resolved!

I don’t mean to leave you hanging here though. Over the next several weeks I will be sharing honestly how I have journeyed back to Him time and time again. It is so good for me and for all of us to remember …

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah,
that fateful dilemma is resolved.
Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us
no longer have to live
under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.
A new power is in operation.
The Spirit of life in Christ,
like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air,
freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny
at the hands of sin and death.
ROMANS 8:1-2 (THE MESSAGE)

On the Journey with You,
Jan Dravecky

Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Hope, Words of Endurance

I Need Something More

By Nathan Solla on

December 9, 2012

- Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Hope, Words of Endurance

I can anticipate the response that is coming:
“I know that all God’s commands are spiritual,
but I’m not.
Isn’t this also your experience?”
ROMANS 7:14 (THE MESSAGE)

Is this also your experience? I know that this has been mine. Whenever I have tried to abide by God’s law by my own self-effort – I felt nothing but utter frustration! I concluded that I could not do this in my own power. The dilemma? I needed something more!

I love the fact that the Apostle Paul faced the same dilemma. He had come to the same conclusion and experienced that same frustration! He, too, needed something more …

Yes. I’m full of myself—after all,
I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison.
What I don’t understand about myself is
that I decide one way,
but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise.
So if I can’t be trusted to figure out
what is best for myself and then do it,
it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

But I need something more!
For if I know the law but still can’t keep it,
and if the power of sin within me
keeps sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help!

I realize that I don’t have what it takes.
I can will it, but I can’t do it.
I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it;
I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.
My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions.

Something has gone wrong deep within me
and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable.
The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.

I truly delight in God’s commands,
but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight.
Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I’ve tried everything and nothing helps.
I’m at the end of my rope.
Is there no one who can do anything for me?
Isn’t that the real question?
ROMANS 7:15-24 (THE MESSAGE)

Sounds hopeless – doesn’t it? Oh but it is not! Let me share with you the Good News! On our worst day – God still loves us. Hard to believe? I understand but when we trust God we enter the His Room of Grace. And in His Room of Grace He does not leave us to our own demise but works within us to mature us into – who we truly are – His child – a Saint who sins.

The answer, thank God,
is that Jesus Christ can and does.
He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions
where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind,
but am pulled by the influence of sin
to do something totally different.
ROMANS 7:25 (THE MESSAGE)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Guilt, Healing, Words of Endurance

One Comeback After Another

By Nathan Solla on

November 13, 2012

- Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Guilt, Healing, Words of Endurance

Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
PSALM 51:1 (NLT)

Who am I? I have problems like everyone else and I don’t always deal with them well. I am a guy who struggles every day. I struggle with being down, with being a husband, father and now grandfather, with communicating and with how to lead a ministry. Every time I turn the corner I find another problem in front of me that I don’t know how to deal with. I look at my life and I say to myself “Is this the way it is going to be day after day after day?” And the answer is probably.

Yet I am learning that I can endure this journey and the ongoing struggles best when I accept that I am a man who has faults and sins – who needs the Grace of God – a man who is still in the process of learning and maturing – still growing up! Life is easier for me when I realize it calls for one comeback after another – a comeback to God.

The Bible tells a story about a guy who was a jock, a national hero and also a sinner. In a strange sort of way – that comforts me. He was a guy who had to depend on the Grace of God – just like me. This man, King David, fought bears and lions – and won. He won the greatest slingshot competition of all time where the prize was more than just the pennant. The fate of his entire country depended on how well he would pitch a little stone toward the massive forehead of a giant named Goliath. When he beaned that Giant (who was fortunately from Philistia, not San Francisco), he became an instant hero. The whole country was cheering him, honoring him, loving him.

But David was far from a perfect guy. I am so thankful that the Bible brings balance to King David’s victories by also sharing his failures. (It is just nice to know that David was human too and I am not alone in my own victories and failures) He had it all – he became King – he was famous – he was affluent – he was a skilled and successful warrior. He even had a great relationship with God – leading the entire nation in worship through his songs. But …

One day he caught a glimpse of his neighbor’s wife as she was stepping in and out of the tub. He liked what he saw and had an affair with her. When he found out she was pregnant he had her husband killed to try to keep his image intact. David kept up the pretense until he was confronted with what he had done. When he finally realized his sin – he admitted his failures, came clean and repented. He came back to God.

Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
PSALM 51:2-4 (NLT)

Whoever I am – I don’t want to live in deceit. I want to be real even if it tarnishes my image. I want to be real even though it means I have to admit some ugly things about myself. Whoever I am I will always be a guy who needs the Grace of God. When I realize God’s grace in my life and who I am in relationship to Him that gives me the desire to live for Him every day but also honest before Him about my faults and sins.

In each devotional I have shared with you some things that may have surprised you – they don’t match my public image. I hope you don’t hold it against me. I do not do it for shock value but in hopes that you will be encouraged to see the Grace of God at work in the life of a man just like you. I hope it encourages you to come clean with God – repent of your sins and receive His Grace that erases all our faults and failures. And most of all I hope it motivates you to keep on coming back even when you fail because life really is just one comeback after another.

Because of God’s Grace, together with King David, we can all cry out …

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
PSALM 51:10-12 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Counsel, Depression, Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Healing, Pain, Words of Endurance

Accepting Wise Counsel

By Nathan Solla on

September 25, 2012

- Counsel, Depression, Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Healing, Pain, Words of Endurance

The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,
but one who has insight draws them out.
PROVERBS 20:5 (NIV)

I admit it – I did not want to go to counseling – I did not want to share my feelings or my weaknesses with anyone. To me that appeared to be an even greater weakness – needing someone else to fix me. I was convinced that God and I together could fix myself.

After much begging I reluctantly agreed to go to counseling – not because I needed it but because Jan was depressed and SHE needed the counsel. I agreed to go to be her support.

I went in with a lot of apprehension. When we got in there, at first all I did was listen. Jan was hurting so much that she ended up dominating most of the sessions. I told myself I was there for my wife. But as I saw it work for her I became more open to the positive effect counseling could have on me. Before I knew it – within three weeks – I was the one on the couch!

Up to that point in life I had been unable to identify or articulate what I was feeling – I was totally out of touch with my feelings. A lot of it had to do with my fear – as a male – as a jock – of showing weakness. But through the insight of our Christian counselor – he helped me unravel the things that were holding me back from being vulnerable and transparent. He helped me peel back the layers and begin exposing what was going on in the deep waters of my heart. He gave me permission to grieve my losses. I was shocked – bringing my pain and weaknesses into the light actually brought healing.

Counseling also taught me to be a better communicator. By learning how to listen and communicate I was then able to identify and verbalize how I was feeling deep down inside. I learned to process with my wife what was going on inside – my feelings and my thoughts. That enabled us to become more supportive of each other. Not only was learning to communicate my feelings a huge blessing and further step to my maturity individually but the double blessing was that our marriage and love for one another grew stronger.

While it was very hard at first to admit that I needed the help I am now so thankful for the guidance I received from our counselor who was guided himself by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The whole inner process took months but was so worth it because I could have never done it on my own.

It is difficult – if not impossible –
to turn on the light of objectivity by ourselves.
We need guidance from the Holy Spirit
and usually the honesty, love and encouragement
of one other person who is willing to help us.
ROBERT MCGEE THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE

Thank God that the process while difficult is not one we face alone. We are God’s children so be assured that He will gently and lovingly guide us each step of the way.

You guide me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
PSALM 73:24 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Healing, Hope, Loss, Trust, Words of Endurance

Admitting My Weakness

By Nathan Solla on

September 11, 2012

- Discovering Who I Am, Grief, Healing, Hope, Loss, Trust, Words of Endurance

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ can work through me.
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses,
and in the insults, hardships,
persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10 (NLT)

I had always been capable of taking care of myself. If there was something I wanted – I went and did it. I felt I didn’t need nor did I ask for anyone else’s help. After my amputation, I continued to live my life in that self-sufficient mode. I immediately thrust myself into helping others when I was the one who needed the help. Fortunately, I was unable to sustain that mode for very long and I eventually burned myself out.

I do believe that God just allowed me to wear myself out at my own game. Eventually, I cried out, “I can’t do it anymore, I can’t!” I had no strength left. I reached the point where I didn’t give a rip; I didn’t care what happened.

But when I was totally at the end of myself – when I had nothing left to give – that’s when it got exciting because that’s when I saw the hand of God come in to provide the help I needed. You could almost hear him say: “Now you have got it. It’s never been you. I just let you run out of steam. Now watch me put your life back together!”

When I was humbled and admitted my weakness that was when I finally began to understand my true need for God. And for the first time in my life, I realized that I had always placed my security in myself rather than God.

Sound familiar? For most of us men, it is easy to think that everything depends on us. We work hard and we are rewarded for it. We get a paycheck that is able to provide us with a home, clothing on our backs, food on the table and necessities for the family. It is easy to feel that we are in control – that our security is in ourselves.

But when that gets pulled out from underneath us we begin to wonder where our security really comes from. And that is where God steps in.

When we are brought to the end of ourselves and admit our weakness – there is release. When we finally realize how weak we truly are and that the power and the responsibility lays in God, not us – when we confess that the battle is the Lord’s, not ours – that releases us, frees us and strengthens us. As Francois Fenelon so rightly says …

“But you need to understand that you cannot become strong
until first you are aware of your weakness.
It is amazing how strong we can become
when we begin to understand what weaklings we are!
It is in weakness that we can admit our mistakes
and correct ourselves while confessing them.
It is in weakness that our minds are open
to enlightenment from others.”

I think if I had not been brought to the point of total weakness I would never have known how much I could trust God and how faithful He is. In admitting my weakness I finally found strength. What joy there was in that discovery!

The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
PSALM 28:7

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Counsel, Depression, Grief, Pain, Words of Endurance

When Wounds & Weakness Overwhelm Us

By connie on

July 24, 2012

- Counsel, Depression, Grief, Pain, Words of Endurance

Save me, O God,
for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can’t find a foothold.
I am in deep water,
and the floods overwhelm me.
PSALM 69:1-2 PSALM OF DAVID (NLT)

Often times when we are experiencing painful affliction it can seem as though we are sinking deeper and deeper into the muck and mire. We can be so overwhelmed that we feel as though we are going to drown in the rising floodwaters of pain – physically, emotionally and Spiritually.

You have heard me say before that we are physical, emotional and spiritual beings. It is impossible for one part of our being to be in pain without impacting the other two. This is especially true when we experience a physical affliction. It is expected and normal for us to feel the pain physically that comes with the affliction but it is also normal and we should also expect to feel that pain emotionally and spiritually. When we begin to experience the unexpected emotional and spiritual pain – we are blindsided and that can be more than overwhelming.

If you are experiencing the following symptoms on a consistent basis – your emotional and spiritual health may be at risk.

You feel out of touch with your emotions – the feelings of your heart – you feel numb.

You feel out of touch with God – you can no longer sense His presence.

You have feelings of hopelessness and despair.

You have difficulty concentrating or finishing tasks.

You experience inappropriate outbursts of irritability, anger and rage.

You find yourself crying on a daily basis.

You have withdrawn from activities that used to bring you pleasure. You no longer experience joy.

Your sleeping and eating patterns are disrupted and/or changed.

You entertain self-destructive thoughts or think about hurting others.

Just as there are professionals who deal with physical health, there are professionals who specialize in emotional and spiritual health. If items on the list above describe you – you may benefit by consulting such a professional. Dave and I both are so grateful for the Christian psychologists and pastors who helped and guided both us out of the muck and mire of our depressions that were a result of Dave’s battle with cancer.

There is no shame in seeking the counsel of Christian psychologists, counselors, therapists and your pastor because they are able to see and help us in ways that we cannot see or help ourselves.

The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
PROVERBS 20:5

And it is biblical and wise to seek the counsel of others.

Wise men and women listen to each other’s counsel.
PROVERBS 13:10 (THE MESSAGE)

And don’t forget that as children of God we not only have the wise Spirit-led counsel of others but we also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that will guide us to all Truth.

And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever
— the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
JOHN 14:16-17

And He promises …

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
PSALM 32:8

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Grace, Grief, Healing, Hope, The Gift of Grace, Trust, Words of Endurance

Discovering God’s Grace

By Nathan Solla on

April 4, 2012

- Grace, Grief, Healing, Hope, The Gift of Grace, Trust, Words of Endurance

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
2 CORINTHIANS 9:13

Thirty-one years ago I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and my world was rocked and changed forever. I received the gift of salvation with such joy and excitement – I wanted everyone to experience that same joy. So with great exuberance, I shared the Gospel with everyone that crossed my path!

One problem though was when I became a Christian I did not understand God’s Gift of Grace. While I was always able to extend Grace to others especially those who were suffering – I was not able to extend that same Grace to my family or receive His Grace myself. UNTIL …

Last year when I was looking for a Christian book to read while I was traveling, I asked God to lead me to something new and inspiring. As I scanned my bookshelves I noticed a book entitled TrueFaced. Now this book had been on my shelf for seven years and I had never read it. Why was I now drawn to it? I did not know at the time – but I took it off the shelf and put it in my brief case to read on my flight.

As I read the book I immediately knew why God led me to this book. The book presented two paths – “The Path of Pleasing God” and “The Path of Trusting God”. I was immediately drawn to “The Path of Pleasing God.” After all, I thought, wasn’t that the more admirable path?

My eyes were opened when “The Path of Pleasing God” led me to “The Room of Good Intentions” and the word over the doorknob was “Self Effort”.

I realized that …

Self-effort was the story of my life – putting forth the effort to please God. This led to weariness and emptiness.

I was “striving hard to be all God wants me to be” but I was never able to achieve God’s standard. This led to frustration and guilt.

I was “working on my sin to achieve an intimate relationship with God” but when I would always fall short that was when I turned away from God in shame.

“Increasingly the path to pleasing God seems to be about how I can keep God pleased with me” and because I could not resolve my sin in my own power it caused me to put on masks to hide those sins. At least when I wore the masks I would be accepted in my Christian community.

My life equation was “more right behavior + less wrong behavior = Godliness.” The problem was my wrong behavior often outweighed my right behavior leading to more frustration, guilt and shame. But then “The Path of Trusting God” led me to the “Room of Grace” and the word over the this doorknob was “Humility.”

I was humbled as I learned that …

“We can never resolve our sin by working on it” – only God can resolve our sin – this leads us to victory.

“Only by trusting can we truly please God. If our primary motive is pleasing God, we’ll never please Him enough and we’ll never learn trust. Pleasing God is a good desire. It just can’t be our primary motivation or it’ll imprison our hearts” and cause us to wear masks and not be real.

“Until you trust God nothing you do will please God.” I am going to trust Him to deliver me from my sin.

“Pleasing is not a means to our godliness. It is the fruit of our godliness, for it’s the fruit of trust.”

True Grace was “Standing with God, my sin in front of us, working on it together.”

Answer this question:
Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?

The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right:

“The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that’s the real
life.” Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith,
but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping,
a fact observed in Scripture: “The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.”
GALATIANS 3:5-6,11-12 (THE MESSAGE)

Because of these revelations from God through this book, I have become a different man. God’s Grace has set me free from striving and it relieved my guilt and shame at my inability to live the perfect life. It allowed me to remove my masks so that I could trust God and others with who I truly am – warts and all. It caused me to throw myself at the feet of Jesus where I know Jesus will empathize with my weakness and I will receive His mercy and grace.

Once again my world has been rocked and changed forever – so with great joy, excitement and exuberance – I share God’s Grace with you!

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
HEBREWS 4:15-16

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

(Quotations are excerpts taken from “The Cure” which is the recently updated version of “TrueFaced.”)

Grace, Grief, Healing, The Gift of Grace, Words of Endurance

Discovering God’s Grace

By Nathan Solla on

March 27, 2012

- Grace, Grief, Healing, The Gift of Grace, Words of Endurance

And God is able to make all grace abound to you.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8

One of the most enlightening and freeing times in my personal spiritual journey was when I began discovering the gift of God’s grace. I knew that God had extended His grace to the whole human race by sending His Son, Jesus, to die as payment for our sins and to rise again so that we could have eternal life with God. But deep inside I still operated in the belief that God’s love for me had everything to with how well I performed. So when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, God’s name was added to the top of a long list of people I felt that I needed to please – people whose love I had to earn.

God didn’t allow me to operate in that belief for very long, however. While Dave and I lived in Puerto Rico, where Dave played winter ball, we participated in a Bible study on the book of Ephesians. Through that study I came to realize that God’s love for me had nothing to do with how well I performed nor was it about the works I did for Him. In fact, I learned that I couldn’t do anything to earn God’s love.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
EPHESIANS 2:8-9

God also knew I needed more than a revelation about His grace – I needed an object lesson. That lesson came in the form of our daughter Tiffany – who was born with a strong will. No matter how many times her will and my will collided or how unlovely she acted – my love for Tiffany was totally unaffected by her actions. My love for her amazed me and for the first time I began to understand God’s grace. Because I had such great love and grace for my child, I was finally able to understand God’s love for me as His child in spite of my weaknesses and faults.

Years later, when Dave and I went through our times of personal suffering, grace once again played a key role in my spiritual journey. Like many people who endure the varied trials that come with a cancer diagnosis, we lost control of our lives. We were hurting. We weren’t fun to be around. We didn’t look like model Christians any longer. The ugliness of pain and suffering was clearly visible in our lives. We were ashamed – we needed grace.

Although many people in our lives at that time were unable to extend that grace to us – we thank God that a few of his children extended His grace to us. They forgave, accepted and loved us as we were – with all of our pain, ugliness, anger, doubt and shame.

Instead of telling us what we should or shouldn’t do – they let us vent and they listened. Instead of condemning us – they validated our feelings and were truly sorrowful with us over what we were going through – they wept with us. Instead of abandoning us because we were not being “very Christ-like” – they stood by us and helped see us safely through to the other side. Healing came as grace was given to us.

We learned firsthand what a gift is when grace was extended to us during our time of suffering. We all need someone to reach out to us with God’s gift of grace. Grace lifts us up and gives us hope.

Grace has been called “the glue that mends our brokenness,” and in suffering our brokenness is fully exposed. Grace, then, is indispensable in times of affliction. Grace says, “I love you warts and all. I understand that pain has stripped away the veneer that covers your raw, unlovely humanity. But you are made in God’s image. You are therefore, the most precious and priceless thing in all His creation. So I will extend unwarranted love and kindness toward you because God has extended it to me.”

And because God’s grace was extended to us in such a mighty way – we extend His grace to you.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
2 CORINTHIANS 13:14

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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