POSTS SEARCH
SEARCH
Discovering Peace, Healing, Peace, Words of Endurance

Peace Producers

By on

May 22, 2012

- Category : Discovering Peace, Healing, Peace, Words of Endurance

- Tags :

What Can We Do to Seek Peace?



“…seek peace and pursue it.”
PSALM 34:14



Trust God – The Scriptures assure us that those who trust God will have peace.



You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
ISAIAH 26:3



Obey God – Peace is a by-product of obedience.



Strive for full restoration, encourage one another,
be of one mind, live in peace.
And the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 CORINTHIANS 13:11



Depend on God – We can’t possibly walk with God – much less obey Him – in our own strength or by our own efforts. Jesus said …



“Apart from me you can do nothing.”
JOHN 15:5



Jesus Himself relied on God during His earthly ministry. If Jesus had to rely on God – how can we do less? Jesus said …



“I do nothing on my own”
JOHN 8:28



Learn About God – As we spend time in the Scriptures we learn more about God and His character. That knowledge not only helps us better understand God, it will produce peace.



Great peace have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble.
PSALM 119:165



Walk in Godly Wisdom – God wants us to walk in His wisdom. He instructs us to ask Him for wisdom and promises to give it to us when we do.



If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
JAMES 1:5 (NLT)



Peace is a result of walking in Godly wisdom.



Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
PROVERBS 3:13,17



Make Peace a Priority – God wants us to pursue peace in all our relationships with others. When peace is our goal we are less likely to do things that cause dissension and disrupt our peace.



If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
ROMANS 12:18



Hand Our Concerns to God – Presenting our concerns to God is a prerequisite to receiving His Peace.



Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7



Abide with God – When we consciously decide moment by moment to invite God into our thoughts – when look expectantly for His presence regardless of our circumstances – when we talk to Him heart to heart throughout the day – when we trust He is with us even when we don’t feel His presence – we are “abiding” with God. Jesus promised to give His peace when we abide in Him. Jesus said …



“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.”
JOHN 16:33



On the journey with you,
Dave & Jan Dravecky

0
Fear, Grace, Healing, The Gift of Grace, Words of Endurance

Receiving God’s Grace in My Weakness

By on

April 16, 2012

- Category : Fear, Grace, Healing, The Gift of Grace, Words of Endurance

- Tags :

“My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness.”
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9 (NLT)



During our time of suffering many of my fleshly weaknesses and sins were exposed. After two and a half years of Godly counseling & therapy though I thought that I had come out on the other side of that valley totally renewed – free from my sins and weaknesses. NOT!!!!!!! (Oh God forgive me for my youth and naivety!)



Now as I have grown older I am more aware of my weaknesses and the sin that still exists within me. This has caused me much frustration and shame. Oh, how I identify with the Apostle Paul when he said …



I want to do what is good, but I don’t.
I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong;
it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right,
I inevitably do what is wrong.
I love God’s law with all my heart.
But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.
This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
Oh, what a miserable person I am!
ROMANS 7:19-24 (NLT)



What a dilemma! Now I knew that I needed to repent of my sin but I always believed that true repentance was admitting my sin and then consciously making a 180-degree turn away from that sin. I have sincerely done this a thousand times but oh the guilt that I experienced every time I would fall again. I felt hopeless because I was unable to fix myself – instead of turning to God I turned away from God in shame. But I have since come to agree with the Apostle Paul when he concluded …



Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
ROMANS 7:24-25 (NLT)



Amen!!! Thank you Jesus – the answer is You! But I still wanted to know how to resolve my sin dilemma.



Well, I have recently learned that true repentance is going before God – admitting my sin, weaknesses and my inability to resolve them in my own power. Instead of turning away from God – I turn to Him because I know that the only resolution to sin will come through His grace, His power and His Strength within me. I trust the words of Paul …



And I am certain that God,
who began the good work within you,
will continue his work until it is finally finished
on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 (NLT)



I no longer am frustrated by my weakness but I humbly turn them over to God, receive His Grace and trust Him to continue the good work within me



I love it when the Scripture validates my own personal experience. The Apostle Paul was one of the most gifted and influential Christians in recorded history. God used him to firmly establish and expand the early church. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he penned most of the New Testament Epistles. He is regarded by most scholars as one of the strongest examples of a true Christian. Yet Paul had a major weakness.



Paul was given a “thorn” in his flesh. We do not know if this was a physical or an emotional weakness but we do know that he was “tormented” by the “thorn”. He pleaded three times for the “Lord to take it away from me.”



But God’s response was no. God allowed Paul’s torment, his weakness to, remain. God knew that Paul’s weakness kept him dependent upon Him for strength and grace. God also knew that Paul’s weakness spared him from self-dependence and pride because Paul knew how much he needed God’s Grace.



It is no different for us. We need God’s grace. No matter how disappointed we may be in our failures and weaknesses, God is gracious and generous in dispensing His grace to us. Our human frailty is not an affront to Him – “He remembers that we are dust.” The more we lack, the more His grace will fill us.



When we turn to Him, admit our weaknesses and limitations to God, we take the first step toward receiving His all-sufficient grace. No wonder Paul found delight in his weaknesses and difficulties. He knew what when he was weak; God’s grace would make him even stronger. I am so glad to proclaim as Paul did …



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)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

0
Grace, Grief, Healing, Hope, The Gift of Grace, Trust, Words of Endurance

Discovering God’s Grace

By on

April 4, 2012

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

- Tags :

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.”)

    0
    Grace, Grief, Healing, The Gift of Grace, Words of Endurance

    Discovering God’s Grace

    By on

    March 27, 2012

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

    - Tags :

    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

    0
    Endurance for the Journey, Fear, Healing, Trust, Words of Endurance

    Focus on Jesus

    By on

    February 29, 2012

    - Category : Endurance for the Journey, Fear, Healing, Trust, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
    We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,
    the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
    Because of the joy awaiting him,
    he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.
    Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
    Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people
    then you won’t become weary and give up.
    HEBREWS 12:1-3 (NLT)



    No runner can finish a marathon without a clear focus. Whether we are enduring a race or the challenge of a lifetime, a clear focus helps carry us through the pain and distractions that can overwhelm us.



    The importance of focusing on a goal couldn’t have been clearer for me than when I was making my baseball comeback. I would never have stuck with my grueling rehab regimen without a definite goal in mind – it was much too hard – I would have given up. BUT I was fixed on giving it my best to return to the major leagues.



    Every weight that I lifted, every muscle that I stretched, every hour that I spent in the gym was focused on the day when I’d once more put on my uniform, trot out to the mound and throw my first pitch toward home plate.



    Much more important though– a clear focus helps us endure in our spiritual life as well. Through the challenges I faced, I learned that it is impossible to stick with our spiritual regimen unless we keep the end goal in full view. Every trial that we face, every burden that we shoulder, every agony that we suffer must be borne with our everlasting destiny in mind.



    That destiny is to be with Jesus – face-to-face, heart to heart with Him. That is why Scripture tells us to “keep our eyes” on Him. When Jesus is clearly in focus, we can be empowered to endure whatever trials come our way and not be afraid.



    So we can say with confidence,
    “The LORD is my helper,
    so I will have no fear.
    HEBREWS 13:6 (NLT)



    When I consider how Jesus endured His trial, I am better able to face mine. Knowing what Jesus endured and how He endured it comforts me. Jesus doesn’t just sympathize with my pain – he understands it because He has endured it as well.



    This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses,
    for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
    HEBREWS 4:15 (NLT)



    When I focus on Jesus He empowers me to live out my faith. When I can’t go on, when I can’t possibly endure one more trial, setback or hardship, I can ask God to fill me with His strength. I can ask Him to empower me with His Divine energy so that I can face whatever lies ahead.



    Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
    so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
    HEBREWS 4:16



    When I keep my eyes on Jesus, I am never alone. The Spirit of God lives within me. God knows my every thought, ache and tear – every single one of them! I may have to endure hardship; in fact the Bible assures me that I will. But because I am a child of God, I will never have to endure hardship alone.
    God has said,

    “I will never leave you;
    I will never abandon you.”
    HEBREWS 13:5 (NCV)



    On the journey with you,
    Dave Dravecky

    0
    Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Loneliness, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    Run With Perseverance: Rely on your Support Team

    By on

    February 20, 2012

    - Category : Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Loneliness, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their work:
    If one falls down,
    his friend can help him up.
    But pity the man who falls
    and has no one to help him up!
    ECCLESIASTES 4:9-10



    Baseball is a team sport.



    As a pitcher, I relied on the seven players behind me and the one in front of me to make the plays behind me so that we could complete and hopefully win the game. If not for my team’s support I would have to strike out every batter at the plate – that would not be good and would be nearly impossible to accomplish.



    Enduring the journey through life takes team support.



    The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
    GENESIS 2:18



    It is not good to travel through life alone – especially when your travel takes you through the valley of suffering. If you want to make it to the other side it sure is a lot easier with the help and support of others – you need a support team.



    So take the initiative to ask for help and be willing to receive help when it is offered.



    Many friends and family earnestly want to help. They are God’s gift to us. They are more than just a gift to enjoy when the journey of life is going well – they’re a gift to employ when our lives are turned upside down and we find ourselves struggling up a long difficult hill or down into that deep dark valley.



    I know that in my own experience it was hard for me to allow others to help – I wanted to be able to do it myself. But I know when I finally admitted that I needed the help of others – when I humbled myself and finally received their help – I was blessed. The journey was a whole lot easier.



    My family and friends that came alongside me became God’s hands and feet – God’s provision for me – helping me endure the journey so that I would run through my valley with perseverance. They helped me make it to the other side.



    By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.
    GALATIANS 6:2 (New Century Version)



    On the journey with you,
    Dave Dravecky

    0
    Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Pain, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    Run With Perseverance: Hang Out With Other Pitchers

    By on

    February 14, 2012

    - Category : Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Pain, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    “Jesus the Messiah!
    Father of all mercy!
    God of all healing counsel!
    He comes alongside us when we go through hard times,
    and before you know it,
    he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times
    so that we can be there for that person
    just as God was there for us.”
    2 CORINTHIANS 1:4 (The Message)



    There is nothing like having someone to journey through life’s valleys with who understands because they have journeyed the same path before you.



    I know when I played baseball, my closest friends on the team, the ones that I always hung out with, were always other pitchers who understood all the stresses that a pitcher goes through during a normal baseball season.



    Non-pitchers didn’t understand all the aches and pains that a pitcher has after throwing a nine-inning game. Non-pitchers didn’t understand the emotional stresses that a pitcher goes through after getting shell-shocked in the first inning of a game or the exhilaration of pitching a shutout.



    We encouraged one another because we understood one another – we were journeying on the same path.



    The same is true when journeying on the path through suffering …



    Jennifer was more nervous than most visitors to our Endurance office. When I came into the reception area to greet her, she burst into tears. Jennifer had never seen another person with a full-quarter body amputation just like hers.



    She was overwhelmed to see someone else who looked like her, someone else who understood how hard it was to button a shirt, wear shoulder pads or tie shoes. Nothing could replace what happened to Jennifer in that encounter. She had found someone else who understood.



    Want to run with perseverance? Find others who are on the same journey as you – who understand.



    If your church or community doesn’t have a Christian support group that addresses your specific need, consider meeting on an informal basis with others who are struggling with some of the same issues as you are. Like Jennifer, you may encounter someone who shares a similar journey, who understands the pitfalls, who lessens the loneliness that can accompany adversity.



    “… I want us to help each other with the faith we have.
    Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.”
    ROMANS 1:12 (New Century Version)



    On the journey with you,
    Dave Dravecky

    0
    Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Perseverance, Words of Endurance

    Run With Perseverance: Consume the Right Fuel

    By on

    January 31, 2012

    - Category : Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Hope, Perseverance, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    “… and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
    HEBREWS 12:1



    Running with perseverance sounds easy: put one foot in front of the other and keep going. But how do you keep going when the journey gets difficult?



    I know myself as an athlete – as a starting pitcher – my ultimate desire was to throw a nine-inning complete game. In order to persevere through nine innings, I put myself through intense endurance training. There were many days, weeks, and months of preparation to strengthen and build my body to a point where it could endure.



    Then on game day, my pregame meal was so important because I needed to consume the right combination of carbohydrates and protein that my body would need for an optimal performance. In order for me to endure, I needed to consume the right fuel.



    On a much larger scale for me, running with perseverance through the journey of suffering required the same preparation and consumption of the right fuel in order for me to endure emotionally and spiritually. My fuel? The Word of God.



    For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,
    so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
    ROMANS 15:4



    The Scriptures supply the fuel for endurance through life. The Word of God is more than ink on paper. God speaks to us, changes us, and encourages us through it.



    For the word of God is living and active.
    HEBREW 4:12



    As a young Christian, I was under the teaching of wonderful pastors in Southern California who taught the Word of God. In those early years, I hungered for and devoured God’s Word. I had no idea how the consumption of God’s Word would prepare and strengthen me for what was to come on my life journey. I know I would not have been able to endure without it.



    The Word of God – Don’t journey through life without it!



    If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
    PSALM 119:92



    On the journey with you,
    Dave Dravecky

    0
    Doubt, Endurance for the Journey, Fear, Grace, Healing, Hope, Lighten Your Load, Words of Endurance

    Lighten Your Load: Learn the Secret of Contentment

    By on

    January 24, 2012

    - Category : Doubt, Endurance for the Journey, Fear, Grace, Healing, Hope, Lighten Your Load, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    I am not saying this because I am in need,
    for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
    I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
    I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
    whether well fed or hungry,
    whether living in plenty or in want.
    I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
    PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13



    As a Christian athlete, whenever I was being tested physically, my mantra was always –



    “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
    PHILIPPIANS 4:13



    When I was stricken with cancer, I would recite this same verse over and over reminding myself that I, too, could overcome this new obstacle. But after several surgeries and radiation, I was seriously weakened and I began to doubt whether I had the strength to ever overcome this one. I was frustrated with my own weakness and inability to overcome.



    A friend of mine was aware of my weakened and discouraged state, and decided that I could use some encouragement. He asked his friend, Chuck Swindoll, a well-known pastor and author, to give me a call and encourage me. Since I had listened to Chuck on the radio for years and admired him greatly, I was thrilled when I answered the phone and realized it was he who was calling me.



    Chuck told me that he wanted to call and encourage me with a vignette that he was writing on Philippians 4:11-13. I remember immediately popping up and saying proudly to him that Philippians 4:13 was one of my favorite life verses.



    He responded gently back to me and said, “Yes, Dave that is a powerful verse but your emphasis should not be on verse 13 alone but also on verses 11 and 12 that proceed that verse.”



    He then shared that Paul stated that he had learned the secret of contentment no matter what his circumstances. He pointed out that Paul was under house arrest at the time. He had experienced poverty and prosperity, being filled and going hungry, having abundance and suffering need – yet in all circumstances he experienced contentment.



    Chuck then shared “Contentment is possible no matter how dire your circumstances. The secret to Paul’s contentment was knowing Christ’s strength was perfected in his weakness.” He then quoted 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 where Paul wrote:



    But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
    for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
    Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
    so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
    That is why, for Christ’s sake,
    I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
    For when I am weak, then I am strong.
    2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10



    When I considered that Christ’s strength was perfected in my weakness – my own inability to overcome – I experienced contentment because I knew I could trust Him no matter how dire my circumstances – no matter how weak I am.



    What is the secret of contentment even through the trials of life? Focus on Jesus not your circumstances.



    My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
    PSALM 73:26



    On the journey with you,
    Dave Dravecky

    0
    Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Lighten Your Load, Love, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    Lighten Your Load: Learn the Lesson of Boulders and Knapsacks

    By on

    January 9, 2012

    - Category : Endurance for the Journey, Healing, Lighten Your Load, Love, Relationships, Words of Endurance

    - Tags :

    “Carry each other’s burdens,
    and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
    GALATIANS 6:2



    I always believed, as we are told in Scripture, that we are to “Carry each other’s burdens.” I did my best to help carry everyone’s supposed burdens with a sacrificial love.



    A major problem for me was while I so willingly offered my help to others I was unable to receive help from anyone. Even when we entered our valley of suffering, I refused others’ offers of help – I didn’t want to impose – I believed I could take care of myself.



    But the truth was that I could not bear my burdens alone and I collapsed under their oppressive weight. Fortunately, I did turn for help to a Christian counselor. Through his Godly guidance and insight, I learned many valuable lessons. Let me share one of his most valuable insights into the Scripture and my life.



    My counselor told me in Galatians 6:2 – burden in the Greek translates into boulder; a boulder is something that is too heavy for an individual to carry alone. So yes, we as Christians are to come alongside one another with a sacrificial love and help carry one another’s boulders.



    BUT THEN he pointed out that the Scripture also says:



    “ … for each one should carry his own load.”
    GALATIANS 6:5



    Load in the Greek translates into knapsack; a knapsack is something that each individual is responsible to carry on his own. So, there are boulders and there are knapsacks. We are to help carry one another’s boulders but not one another’s knapsacks. When we carry one another’s knapsacks we get in the way of their maturing process.



    I’ll never forget what my counselor said to me next – it was a major “A-HA” moment in my life.



    He said, “Jan, the reason you have collapsed is because first of all, you would not let anyone help you carry the boulders in your own life – they were too heavy for you to carry alone. You need to learn to receive from others.”



    He continued, “And secondly, yes – you helped carry everyone’s boulders but you also tried to carry everyone’s knapsacks. You are not responsible to carry anyone’s knapsack. In order for you to heal and lead a healthy life, you need to learn to discern between what is a boulder or knapsack in one’s life before you offer to help carry it.”



    The load that I had been carrying was lightened when I learned that there are seasons in life – seasons to give and seasons to receive. I learned to receive help with the boulders in my life and my load was lightened.



    When I stopped carrying others’ knapsacks – a needless weight – my load was lightened even more.



    Are you allowing others to help you carry the boulders in your life? Are you carrying others’ knapsacks? My prayer for you is that God will show you the boulders in your life that you need to let others help you bear and that He will also show you the needless knapsacks that you are carrying for others.



    “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down,
    especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
    And let us run with endurance
    the race God has set before us. ‘
    HEBREWS 12:1



    On the journey with you,
    Jan Dravecky

    0
    Older posts
    Newer posts

    "The journey of our suffering was not hopeless. Through it we discovered the power of endurance - not in our own ability, but in the comfort, encouragement, and hope that God provides"

    LEARN MORE
     

    Connect With Us

    PO BOX 1912
    Salina, KS 67402

     

    Dravecky Fan Corner