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Anxiety, Breaking the Chains of Worry, Peace, Words of Endurance

Thank God for All He Has Done

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July 20, 2011

- Category : Anxiety, Breaking the Chains of Worry, Peace, Words of Endurance

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Don’t worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need,
and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7



Nothing aggravates me more then when I am told to thank God for my suffering because I never feel thankful for the adversity that seems to occur continuously – on various levels – in my life. AND while I can verbally go through the motions and thank God for the adversity – God knows my heart. I always find myself asking God for forgiveness for my ungrateful heart.



BUT I have learned that when adversity strikes and I start down that ungrateful worry trail it helps to remember all God has done and promised for me. It does not change my circumstances but my focus is diverted from all my worries and obsessions to our awesome God and His Truth. After I consider all He has done it is then I can go to God with a true thankful heart.



“I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
PSALM 77:12 (NIV)



So when you find yourself on that ungrateful worry trail it will help to remember that no matter what happens to us during this earthly life, as a child of God we know and can be thankful for …



The gift of eternal life …



“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
JOHN 3:16 (NLT)



Jesus is preparing a place for us, Heaven, our eternal home …



“My Father’s house has many rooms;
if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
JOHN 14:2-3 (NIV)



We will live with God in heaven where He promises there will be no more suffering …



I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying,
“Look, God’s home is now among his people!
He will live with them, and they will be his people.
God himself will be with them.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
All these things are gone forever.”
REVELATION 21:3-4 (NLT)



The Lord is faithful to keep His promises …



The LORD always keeps his promises;
he is gracious in all he does.
PSALM 145:13 (NLT)



AND no matter how difficult the circumstance we are going through – He promises the following …



And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ROMANS 8:28 (NLT)



As I consider all He has done over the span of my life, this gives me great hope for any future circumstance – breaking the chains of worry – for the Lord has been faithful to me.



The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
LAMENTATIONS 3:19-23 (NLT)



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Guilt, Peace, Words of Endurance

Dealing with Guilt When We Stumble

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June 7, 2011

- Category : Guilt, Peace, Words of Endurance

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If we have only the will to walk then God is pleased with our stumbles.
CS LEWIS



I had always been a perfectionist – expecting perfection mostly from myself – especially in my walk with God. Every time I would stumble I would experience such guilt that I would want to run and hide from God. I could not fathom the truth of the above CS Lewis quote.



BUT then I recalled …



When my children were small, I remember the excitement of their first steps. I met each wobbly lurch forward with enthusiastic hurrahs and hugs. They went from heavily padded bottoms to reinforced knees – shock absorbers for their anticipated tumbles and tears.



I expected them to fall, to cry. I knew they were learning and delighted in each stage of their progress. That is what parents do. It is effortless to love our children – to nurture them – to delight in their growth. And when they fall we want them to run to us not from us.



We quickly forget that God is our Father who, like our earthly parents, loves us passionately. He delights in our growth. He knows we are learning. He expects bruised knees and hearts along the way.



He doesn’t want guilt over our occasional tumbles to paralyze us in fear of His response. He does not want us to run from Him but to run to Him. Our Heavenly Father wants us to brush off the dust, grab His strong hand and keep walking with Him.



The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
PSALM 37:23-24 (NLT)



True victory over guilt comes when we see ourselves as God views us – as children who are learning to walk the uneven emotional and spiritual road of life, children whose Heavenly Daddy spared no expense to walk beside them.



And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
EPHESIANS 3:18-19



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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False Guilt, Grace, Guilt, Peace, Uncategorized, Words of Endurance

Too Heavy a Burden

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May 31, 2011

- Category : False Guilt, Grace, Guilt, Peace, Uncategorized, Words of Endurance

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My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
PSALM 38:5 (NLT)



There is virtually no end to the things that we can feel guilty and subsequently miserable about. And if we feel guilty, most of us automatically assume that we are guilty. But like every part of our human nature, our consciences are flawed and imperfect. Sometimes we feel guilty when we are not. So it is important that we learn to distinguish between true guilt and false guilt:



True guilt says, “I have done something wrong that I am responsible to make right.”



False guilt says, “I feel responsible for something that is not my responsibility or is out of my control.”



At the root of much of our false guilt is a fuzzy understanding of our responsibilities. Some of us have what can be called an overactive responsibility reflex. We think we are responsible for everything!



I know that I experienced tremendous false guilt because of my overactive responsibility reflex. I thought that if a responsibility came across my path, it must have come from God. And because it was from God, I was responsible to take care it. I put completely unrealistic expectations on myself and felt incredibly guilty when I couldn’t meet that standard.



Robert McGee, author of The Search for Significance, describes the responsibility trap that sets us up for false guilt as being “rooted in the false belief that we must meet certain standards to be acceptable and that the only way to deal with inadequacies is to punish others and ourselves for them. There is no way we can shoulder such a heavy burden. Our guilt will overpower us and the weight of our failures will break us.”



Unfortunately, an overactive responsibility reflex often shifts into high gear in the face of personal crisis. False guilt continually lies waiting at the door – pointing an accusing finger that spurs its overburdened victim to assume yet another responsibility – often a responsibility that belongs to another family member, a friend, a medical professional or even to God.



Someone suffering from any illness, for example, may feel false guilt for “being a burden” or “being self-centered” because of their needs. A caregiver may feel false guilt for having personal needs as well as for being unable to meet the needs of everyone else. Close family and friends may feel false guilt for their own good health or not being able to remove their loved one’s pain.



In each of these situations, the individual has assumed personal responsibilities that belong to others or sought to meet an unreasonable expectation. It isn’t necessary to shoulder such heavy burdens. If you are feeling overwhelmed by guilt, ask God for wisdom and discernment.



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

Ask God to show you if you are taking on a responsibility that belongs to others or if you are feeling responsible to meet impossible expectations. If your responsibility reflex is in overdrive, it is important to learn to let go and place the responsibility where it belongs. As you do that, the burden of false guilt will diminish.



Dear Lord,
Thank you for loving me so much that you care about every part of me even my emotions. Please give me Your wisdom, discernment, and truth so that I don’t take on the burden of responsibilities that belong to others. Help me to have appropriate expectations so that I will avoid the trap of seeking to prove that I am acceptable. Make my heart sensitive to your leading so the I will walk confidently on the straight, safe path in the midst of this difficult time.
Amen.



Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
PROVERBS 4:26



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Guilt, Hope, Peace, Words of Endurance

Breaking Free from the Burden of Guilt

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May 26, 2011

- Category : Guilt, Hope, Peace, Words of Endurance

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“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
MATTHEW 11:30



At first I seemed to handle the stress of Dave’s illness well. I just worked harder to keep up with the demands. But there was no way I could begin to meet all the needs that surrounded me. I started falling short of the expectations I placed on myself and the more I fell behind the louder the accusing voice of guilt became.



SO I pushed myself even harder until I totally burned out and was thrust into the pit of depression. It wasn’t until I was confined to bed – unable to take care of myself – that I realized I had a problem.



The only way I was set free was when a wonderful Christian counselor stepped in and helped me identify all the guilt burdens I was carrying. He helped me identify the false expectations I was trying to meet. He helped me see the Truth about what God expected of me. He helped me evaluate each expectation individually so that I could identify the legitimate expectations and throw away all the others. When I look back on the load of expectations and resulting guilt I was carrying, it is no wonder I collapsed under the burden!



I discovered that guilt motivated many of the things I did. I did things because I felt I should do them. That doesn’t mean I did things begrudgingly. It simply means I did them because I felt other people expected me to and I wanted to please them. So I learned to ask myself what my motivation was for doing a particular thing. If my answer was I should or I ought, that became an alarm for me. I’d take pause to see if I was doing it because it was what God called me to do or because of someone else’s expectations.



Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
GALATIANS 1:10



I actually believed that I should have been able to meet everyone’s needs that crossed my path. But I believed a lie. God never intended us to meet the needs of everyone around us – that would be an impossible task. Our responsibility is to obey God and to meet the needs that He would have us meet.



Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
PSALM 119:34



I even felt guilty for having needs of my own. I confused stewardship of my own health and needs with selfishness. If I was ever going to be able to help others – I needed to tend to my own needs first – make sure my own tank was filled before I filled the tanks of others. It was OK for me to love myself first.



‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
MATTHEW 22:39



I felt guilty expressing the pain and grief I was feeling. I hated to be a burden to others. But there is a time in all of our lives that we need to allow others to come in and share our burdens because they are too heavy for us to bear alone.



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



I even felt guilty that I could not remove the pain Dave was suffering. I had to learn that it was not my responsibility to heal Dave. Dave’s suffering was out of my control – I could only do so much and with much prayer, I had to leave Dave in God’s hands.



It wasn’t easy to break free from the burden of guilt – much of which I had carried all of my adult life. Even today, I at times fall into the guilt trap. But when our hearts are troubled and burdened by guilt, we can bring the guilt that troubles us before God. We can ask Him to shed the light of His Truth on our guilt so that we can discern what is true guilt and what is false guilt. And as we learn the Truth we can be set free from the burden of false guilt.



“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
JOHN 8:32



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Guilt, Hope, Peace, Words of Endurance

Not Guilty

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May 19, 2011

- Category : Guilt, Hope, Peace, Words of Endurance

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“I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking? I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you. But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief.”
JOB 16:2-5 (NLT)
Words of Job spoken to his friends



Several thousand years ago, a man named Job endured terrible personal suffering. I can’t even imagine the emotional and physical pain he endured – in one devastating blow after another he lost his children, his wealth and finally his health. As he sat on an ash heap and scraped the sores on his diseased body with bits of broken pottery, some friends came to visit. Job’s condition was so appalling that for the first seven days his friends sat with him in silent comfort. But after a time, they each felt compelled to offer an explanation for Job’s personal torment. Although their explanations varied, they each conveyed the same clear message: JOB, YOU ARE GUILTY!!! Adding to Job’s burdens – the burden of guilt. When it comes to the world of pain and suffering, things haven’t changed much since Job’s time. Many people who suffer today hear the same message from their would-be comforters: YOU ARE GUILTY! The message may be offered in a variety of terms – if only you hadn’t done this – if only you only had done that – if only you had more faith – if only you would confess your secret sins – IF ONLY –IF ONLY – IF ONLY – but it is the same message of guilt. Rather than bringing peace and comfort to the individual suffering, the condemnation of guilt only adds to the burden. I don’t think that finger-pointing comforters actually intend to hurt people who are suffering. Most of them sincerely want to help and fix our problem but deep inside they may fear that the suffering they observe may happen to them so they build up walls of false protection by thinking, I am not like that person – I have not done what that person has done so I won’t suffer like that. I remember one young man who confronted me during my battle with cancer. He approached me after a speaking appearance. He told me I had cancer because of the sin in my life and that if I confessed that sin, God would restore my health. He was saying to me YOU ARE GUILTY DAVE! What a load of guilt he dumped on me! Fortunately by that time I had struggled enough with God on the “why” of my cancer to recognize the false guilt inherent in the young man’s solution. Thank you God that I had the strength to politely but clearly, reject that guilt. I responded to him by saying, “I appreciate what you are saying. I do have sin in my life but I can’t say that this has happened because of it. I do know that cancer has caused me to draw closer to God. Who am I – or you – to say what God should or should not be doing in my life? God is in control of that. We are not.” We rarely know the reasons for suffering in our own lives – much less in the lives of others. Authentic encouragement doesn’t come from the person who says, “I have the answer to why you are suffering.” Those words often produce guilt. Encouragement most often comes from the person who lovingly says, “I don’t have the answer to why you are suffering but I care about you. I want to stand by you as you go through this.” Job, although he suffered greatly and was deeply troubled by his lack of understanding of why he suffered still he was able to reject the false guilt that others placed upon him and God later affirmed Job by declaring him NOT GUILTY.



The suffering one endures is enough of a burden without adding to it the weight of false guilt. False guilt is a very heavy burden – a burden that keeps hurting people from discovering the peace and hope that is so necessary to endure suffering. My prayer for you is that you, too, will reject the false guilt that is placed upon you, receive God’s verdict of NOT GUILTY and receive His peace and His hope as you endure.



God’s Verdict – Not Guilty


After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite:
“I am angry with you and your two friends,
for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. … my servant Job will pray for you,
and I will accept his prayer on your behalf.
I will not treat you as you deserve,
for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.”
JOB 42:6-7 (NLT) Words of God spoken to Job’s friends



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Anger, Healing, Peace, Words of Endurance

Living with Anger

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April 26, 2011

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

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A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
PROVERBS 19:19



I wasn’t used to living with an angry husband. After Dave became a Christian, I saw him lose his temper only once. Even when he first got sick, Dave kept his anger under control. But when the pain and frustration really began to increase, Dave didn’t know how to deal with it. That is when his emotional pain came out in expressions of anger.



Being the type of person I was, I hated anger. It scared me. I didn’t like to see anyone angry so I would do my best to avoid making anyone angry. During Dave’s battle with cancer, he became easily irritated. I dealt with Dave’s anger by trying to make everything perfect around him. The kids and I walked on eggshells, trying not to do anything that would irritate him and set him off.



I also tried to cover up for Dave’s anger because I didn’t want people to see that side of him. So I would step between him and other people – attempting to stop the anger and confrontation – but then I would be the recipient of the anger he felt toward the other person.



I loved Dave and I could see how much he was suffering. I could see that even when he was angry he felt miserable. And after each rage tirade, he felt terrible because he knew he not only had hurt us but he knew he had sinned against his Heavenly Father. So I felt sorry for him.



You may ask how could I feel sorry for him? Well, I knew Dave’s heart and I understood that a person who is suffering from cancer has a lot to be angry about. There is a great deal of frustration, hurt and fear. I understood the frustration he felt for not being able to do the things he used to be able to do. I could see the intensity of the pain that he dealt with on a daily basis. And I understood that he was afraid of the unknown.



But I needed to do more than feel sorry for Dave. God showed me the next step I needed to take with Dave by leading me to Proverbs 19:19. When I came upon that verse I realized that because I felt sorry for Dave I never wanted him to pay the penalty for it. But the problem was, his anger was out of control. He needed to pay the penalty so that he would be motivated to bring his anger under control and learn to vent his pain in a better way than through his outbursts of anger.



As hard as it was, I needed to learn to draw boundaries to protect myself and our children from his outbursts. I was not responsible for him not to sin in his anger– he was. My only responsibility was to love him even it meant exhibiting a “tough love” for him.



So I stopped stepping in-between his battles and I also stopped covering for his anger. And whenever he would go into one of his rage tirades I would walk out of the room and not give an audience to his temper tantrum.



It is amazing to me how allowing Dave to pay the penalty for his actions and forcing Dave to take responsibility for his anger and sin before God, dissipated his anger. I stepped out of the way and let he and the Holy Spirit duke it out! Thank you Father that your Holy Spirit always won!



But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
MATTHEW 12:36



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Anger, Hope, Love, Peace, Words of Endurance

On the Receiving End of Anger

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April 19, 2011

- Category : Anger, Hope, Love, Peace, Words of Endurance

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A gentle answer deflects anger,
but harsh words make tempers flare.
PROVERBS 15:1



It is important for the loved ones, friends and caregivers who are journeying alongside someone who is going through the valley of suffering – to be sensitive to the fact that people who are suffering will get angry at some point along the journey. It is not a very comforting fact but that anger is usually directed at the ones who least deserve it. To be on the receiving end of anger is scary. And it is human nature, more often than not, for us to respond in a like manner – in anger. But in the book of James we read …



My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
JAMES 1:19-20



In order for us not to respond in anger – to respond with a gentle answer – it is important for us to expect and be prepared that anger is part of the journey through the valley of suffering. Do not be shocked by it and do not take the anger being expressed at you personally but understand that there are deeper root issues behind the anger – hurt, frustration or fear. When you realize there are deeper issues and then give your loved one permission to be angry – NOT PERMISSION TO BE ABUSIVE IN THEIR ANGER – but permission to experience that emotion – you open the door to a relationship where you can help your loved one discover the root issue that lies behind the anger. When there is understanding, love and compassion – not judgment or condemnation for the one experiencing it – your loved one may instinctively feel ‘I am dealing with someone who accepts me for who I am – this is a relationship that is safe.’ Safe relationships open the door to honest conversation and hopefully open the door to the truth.



“ … And you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.”
JOHN 8:32



There is great freedom in knowing you can share your deepest thoughts and deepest fears with someone who accepts you and in the process, helps you work through your anger. No one wants to stay angry. The goal is to move from a place of anger – which keeps us from dealing with what we are up against – to a place of peace that comes from effectively exposing and dealing with what is really going on inside.



A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict,
but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
PROVERBS 15:18



On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

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Cancer, Dealing With Doubt, Doubt, Healing, Love, Peace, Trust, Words of Endurance

Be Inspired by the Faith of Others

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April 12, 2011

- Category : Cancer, Dealing With Doubt, Doubt, Healing, Love, Peace, Trust, Words of Endurance

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Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
JOHN 20:29



When dealing with a season of doubt, I am always encouraged and inspired by the faith exhibited by others -especially those who believed and had not seen.



First consider the famous “Hall of Faith” listed in Chapter 11 of Hebrews. The list includes such “Greats” as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. All who exhibited great faith in the midst of much tribulation and what is even more amazing to me is that …



All these people were still living by faith when they died.
They did not receive the things promised;
they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,
HEBREWS 11:13



Then there is Stephen, “… a man full of God’s grace and power …” (ACTS 6:8) who as he was about to be stoned he …



… looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God.”
ACTS 7:55-56



Wow! To have that kind of faith, strength and trust while facing imminent death- I truly cannot fathom!



But nothing inspires my faith more than when I have the privilege to witness the faith of the people we meet through our ministry, Endurance. Our ministry is to bring comfort, encouragement and hope to all we meet but inevitably we are the ones who end up encouraged the most. One such person who has blessed us is Mary Schiltz.



Mary lost her battle with ovarian cancer this past weekend. I have followed Mary’s journey ever since she walked through our ministry door over two years ago when she was inquiring about encouraging resources for others in her church who were battling cancer. Mary was one of the most awesome people I have ever met. She has been an inspiration to me and to so many others just by the way she lived her life and fought to beat her cancer. Her love for the Lord, her family, friends and church family was something to behold.



This past summer, when she felt she might not beat her cancer she asked me “Jan, how do I do this? I don’t know how.” I did not know how to answer her but I can honestly tell you for someone who did not know how to walk through her final days on this earth, Mary did it with grace, love, humor and great faith.



Like the “Greats” listed in the “Hall of Faith” Mary did not receive her promise for healing on this side of eternity but like the “Greats” and Stephen, Mary’s eyes were fixed on the eternal and her faith has brought her into the eternal presence of her Heavenly Father.



Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18



On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

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Anxiety, Love, Peace, When God is Silent, Words of Endurance

Where is God When We Need Him Most?

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February 26, 2011

- Category : Anxiety, Love, Peace, When God is Silent, Words of Endurance

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by Amanda S. Sorenson



The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23



Next to the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm is perhaps the most familiar passage in the Bible. Children memorize it. Composers set it to music. Commentators explain its deeper meanings. And for many, it provides great comfort during times of suffering. People who have endured great physical or emotional pain often tell how they have repeated the phrases “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…The Lord is my Shepherd…” during their times of trial. Sometimes those are the only words our pain-wracked minds can form.



Sometimes our familiarity with this Psalm dulls our senses to its true meaning. I have found this to be true of my experience. In fact, I recently discovered an image buried in the middle of that wonderful Psalm that gave me a whole new picture of God’s presence in the midst of my suffering.



At the time, I felt utterly abandoned by God. I could not feel His presence. I could not seem to reach Him with my prayers. Even His Word had grown cold. I felt frustrated by His apparent lack of concern for my well-being. But when I read R.C. Sproul’s commentary on David’s description of what it is like to go through the valley of the shadow of death, my picture changed. Let me share what Sproul writes.



The valley of the shadow of death. It is a valley where the sun’s rays often seem to be blotted out. To approach it is to tremble. We would prefer to walk around it, to seek a safe bypass. But men and women of faith can enter that valley without fear. David told us how:



Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4



David was a shepherd. In this psalm, David puts himself in the place of the sheep. He sees himself as a lamb under the care of the Great Shepherd. He enters the valley without fear for one overarching reason: the Shepherd goes with him. He trusts himself to the care and the protection of the Shepherd.
…We have a Shepherd who cannot fall. We have a Shepherd who cannot die. He is no hireling who abandons his flock at the first sign of trouble. Our Shepherd is armed with omnipotent force. He is not threatened by the valley of shadows. He created the valley. He redeems the valley.
David’s confidence was rooted in the absolute certainty of the presence of God. He understood that…God will not send us where He refuses to go Himself.



Did you see it too? David’s God wasn’t far away in heaven, David’s God was right next to him! David’s God walked by his side as he stepped through that dark and terrifying valley. David’s God was ready to do whatever was necessary to keep him from harm.



David did not, as I did, call out to a God who was far away, shrouded in heaven’s bliss and hope that He would hear his cry and answer before he perished. David could reach out and grasp onto the Shepherd at any time because the Shepherd was with him – walking beside him, close enough to touch. The Shepherd’s presence was David’s refuge and strength, and by virtue of the Shepherd’s immediate presence, the terror of the valley could be conquered.



The fact that David’s God is also my God has encouraged me to look for Him and to trust that He is, indeed, with me. I no longer see myself walking through the valley alone, I intentionally see my God and Savior fully armed and walking beside me. And that gives me hope.

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Peace, Who Am I Now, Words of Endurance

When Life Spins Out of Control

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January 18, 2011

- Category : Peace, Who Am I Now, Words of Endurance

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Few of us like the out-of-control feeling that comes with change, but life is rarely as predictable or controllable as we would like. Our health fails, a loved one dies, a relationship is broken, a job ends. One moment we feel safe, secure, and in control. We know who we are and how we fit into life. The next moment everything changes. We’re unable to manage our time, activities, relationships, emotions, and decisions. We lose our sense of identity and purpose. We feel helpless, confused, and scared.



Changes that limit our ability to “call the shots” in daily life often have a dramatic impact. After discovering her husband’s secret drug addiction, one nurse said, “I went from making critical, life-saving decisions on a daily basis to not being able to decide which shoes to wear. I felt completely incapacitated.” The inability to make daily decisions and the uncertainty of not being able to function “normally” can threaten our well-being and sense of identity.



Jan Dravecky remembers fighting to hang onto control – to hang onto her life and identity as she had known it – while her life spiraled out of control. “Each time I’d get knocked down,” she write in A Joy I’d Never Known, “I’d say, ‘Okay, I’m going to be strong'” Like a weary prizefighter, “I would pull myself up by my own power, by my own strength. But I couldn’t stand up under the unceasing blows: Dave’s cancer, his retirement, his recurrent illness, my parents’ deaths, Paul’s (a close friend) suicide, our unrelenting schedule. Finally, I told God, “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do this.'”



Most of us, like Jan, don’t surrender control until we have no other option until we’re at the end of our rope.



Although surrendering control is never easy, the benefits are more than worth it. When we finally surrender, when we admit to God that we aren’t in control, that we no longer know who we are, and that we need His help, something amazing happens. Peggy, a recovering cardiac bypass patient, describes it as an immediate feeling of relief. “As soon as you give up the situation, a complete peace washes over you,” she says. “You realize that God is in control, He is good, and He will take care of you. You can relax and rest in His protection, knowing that He is in total control.”



Jan agrees. The more she surrendered control to God and let Him work out the problems and show her who He created her to be, the more she saw that God could do a better job with her life than she could. “I’m so glad that my life didn’t follow my plan, that it followed God’s,” she writes. “Things turned out so much better than I would have planned them.”



Even so, surrendering control isn’t a one-time event. “The peace that comes from giving your situation to God can come and go,” Peggy explains. “It’s like scrambled eggs. You have to work to keep them from running all over the frying pan! It takes a conscious effort to keep your anxious thoughts and worries corralled and surrendered to God.”



It not only takes work to surrender control to God, it takes courage, especially if you’re a “recovering control freak” like Jan. She knows that God wants us to trust Him outside of the plan we have for our lives, but that’s a scary step. Life becomes an adventure when you give up control, Jan says, “because you don’t know what God is going to do next.” Yet she can say with confidence that “everywhere He has led us has ultimately been what is best for us and for His kingdom.”



Despite the feelings of uncertainty, giving up control enables us to receive untold blessings. We benefit from God’s companionship because giving up control requires ongoing communication with Him. We receive God’s peace because we let Him carry our burdens. We find God’s rest because we can trust Him to work out the master plan for our lives. Plus we learn to walk confidently in our true identity of God’s children, an identity that is unchanged by the winds of adversity.

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