Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him,
“Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!
For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you,
for many people in this city belong to me.”
ACTS 18:9-11 (NLT)

“That’s the great thing a Christian community can provide: the opportunity to establish a network of caring and compassion that can support you when you are in distress – the way Paul was in distress when he first came to Corinth. When the wind gets knocked out of you, and as you gasp and finally begin to get your breath, you find that people have gathered around you. Faces emerge from the blur. Individual faces. And they are there for you. That’s what the Body of Christ was meant to be. And that’s why we need it. Because at sometime or other, we’ll all be disoriented, discouraged and in distress!” EUGENE PETERSON

Wow! What powerful words for all of us! Not only did the Apostle Paul need a community of Christ followers to care and have compassion for him but we do too! When we find ourselves disoriented, discouraged or in distress we all need this kind of community Eugene Peterson speaks of.

In these difficult times we live in people continue to face the uncertainty of the future. Families find themselves facing a recently heard diagnosis of cancer, the ongoing battle with depression and anxiety, the loss of a loved one and so much more. The greatest travesty of all as we face all the uncertainties of life, is to find ourselves all alone!

If you know someone who finds themselves in that place – alone – invite them into your community. Your caring and compassion will be a gift to that person as they journey through the uncertainty of that situation.

The bottom line is – we need each other to endure this life until He returns!

Let us think of ways to motivate one another
to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together,
as some people do, but encourage one another,
especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.
HEBREWS 10:24-25 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

A few days ago, I was reading James 3 and again WORDS was the hot topic. WORDS can either build you up and bring comfort or tear you down and create despair. I want to share with you the WORDS I read in James as translated in the Message Bible.

A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse.
A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands
of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.
A word out of your mouth may seem of no account,
but it can accomplish nearly anything-or destroy it!
It only takes a spark remember, to set off a forest fire.
A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.
By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos,
throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and
go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary:
You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue-it’s never been done.
The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.
With our tongues we bless God our Father;
with the same tongues we curse the very men and women
He made in His image.
Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
My friends this can’t go on.
JAMES 3:3-10

Did you catch that? At least for me, those WORDS are so convicting. All too often, I can be careless with my WORDS. All too often, I don’t take seriously enough the WORDS that come out of my mouth! But I am learning to pause and weigh my words before I speak! Eugene Petersen reminds us in his note on this passage:

“Huge horse, little bit-and the bit calls the shots. A small rudder is attached to the ship – and it, not the wind, determines the ships course. The tongue is like a spark in the forest. And we all know what happens when the spark catches fire!

It only takes a moment of carelessness in conversation, but in a gusty moment, that conversation can get out of hand, causing a forest full of devastation.

Can you believe that? Can you believe that there were Christians in those first century congregations who were full of praise for God, singing the hymns and making confession and entering into prayers, and then out on the streets they were gossiping, cursing, and belittling their fellow Christians with their WORDS? Well, we can believe it because we’ve all done it!”

A Prayer
Dear Lord,
Help me to realize the impact of my words on the lives of others. Help me to use my tongue as an instrument of blessing rather than cursing. Grant that when I speak my truth, I would speak it in love, that my words would be like the Lord, Jesus’ words, full of grace and truth. If it’s true as your word says, that the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart, then give me a better heart! Especially, I pray for that part of my heart….

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

Well-spoken words bring satisfaction …
PROVERBS 12:14 (THE MESSAGE)

“Nothing is easier than to make sounds in the form of words;
nothing is more difficult than to make those words
express truth and love. Those words, when they’re spoken, are well spoken.
And they bring both satisfaction to the
speaker and salvation to the hearer.”
Eugene Petersen

Words are powerful!They can either build one up or tear them down. Words can encourage you or discourage you. They either express love or hurt! Words can deceive or be honest and truthful. But said without love can destroy! Words can form opinions that quite frankly, often times, don’t want to be heard. Maybe that’s why we understand from reading the book of Job, that the best encouragement Job received from his friends was when they were silent. At times silence really can be golden!

Why do I bring up words and their power? It’s because this is my struggle. Over the years I have used words that have hurt others, especially the ones I love the most! I don’t want to do that! I’ve given my opinion when it wasn’t asked for. And if I’m going to be honest, I paid less attention to what was being said and more attention to what I wanted to say. I don’t want to do that!

And yet, why do I do that? Is it because of my own insecurities that I feel the need to be heard? I’ve been talking to God a lot about this lately. I’m feeling deeply convicted about this struggle in my life. I want my words to build up not tear down. I want to show respect by actually listening to one speak and try to understand what they are saying. Go figure, I might just learn something if I can listen well!

This is a part of the faith journey I find myself on and I’m so grateful for the grace God pours all over my struggle in this area. After all, He knows it better than I do and I’m just so thankful I am a work in process and He’s the one transforming my heart!

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
but only such as is good for building up,
as fits the occasion,
that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

I, John, your brother and
companion in suffering
and kingdom and patient endurance
that are ours in Jesus …
REVELATION 1:9 (NIV)

The Apostle John calls himself “your brother and companion in suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus.” Interesting choice of words!

John knew that shared suffering binds you to your fellow sufferers. Veterans from World War II know this. So do survivors of cancer, a plane crash or the polio epidemic of the 50s. Roommates in a hospital ward feel it.

When you are in the trenches, handing bullets to your buddy and fighting a common enemy, hearts can’t help but be pressed together. Your knowledge of each other is unique and intimate.

And when you share the common bond of knowing Jesus Christ, you are doubly blessed for you are truly “brothers and companions in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance” that are yours in Jesus!

JONI EARECKSON TADA

We are confident that
as you share in our sufferings,
you will also share in the
comfort God gives us.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:7 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

Dear Friends, let us love one another,
for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God
and knows God.
1 JOHN 4:7 (NIV)

Before I went through my season of suffering, I had friends, but I didn’t understand how important those relationships really were. Sure, I enjoyed my friends. It was nice to have them. But it didn’t seem to me that I needed those relationships. Boy, did that change!

I learned that you cannot get through pain and suffering on your own. You eventually come to the end of yourself, and you need another person there to stand beside you and lift you up. To have a friend who is willing to make the personal sacrifice to be with you so that you are not alone is a powerful thing. When I was struggling, it was really important to know that my close friends were willing to sacrifice for me. Their sacrifice was a demonstration of God’s love for me.

This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love:
Christ sacrificed His love for us.
This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers,
and not just be out for ourselves.
If you see some brother or sister in need
and have the means to do something about it
but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing,
what happens to God’s love?
It disappears. And you made it disappear.
My dear children, let’s not just talk about love;
let’s practice real love.
This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly,
living in God’s reality.
1 JOHN 3:16-18 (THE MESSAGE)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

Then the Lord God said,
“It is not good that the man be alone.”
GENESIS 2:18

I would like to share what I hope will be some words of encouragement. These are not my words but the words of a pastor I have tremendous respect for. His name is Bryan Loritts. I had the privilege of listening to a message he shared during an interview that I believe will encourage us all.

His message revolved around his response to the racial tensions and fears we are experiencing in our nation right now. However, It is also appropriate for those of us who are walking alongside someone who is suffering.

There are four powerful words he uses to encourage us. We need to first LAMENT, then LISTEN and LEARN, and then respond or receive in LOVE.

LAMENT – Most of us would struggle with understanding how to lament or grieve when faced with difficult news. Especially when we find ourselves hearing the word cancer for the first time. I don’t know if I thought of it being a form of lament when I was first diagnosed, but now looking back, I lamented the news. It grieved me to think that I was about to go on a journey where I could potentially lose my career or maybe even my life.

LISTEN – For the person on the receiving end of bad news listening can be a struggle. And as we all know, trusting the words of that doctor or counselor or deliverer of the difficult news and understanding the plan is critical. That is why, it is so important to have an advocate with you. A loved one who can help you understand – who can listen on your behalf. Also, listening to other’s stories who have walked a similar path – much can be learned.

LEARN – Obviously learning follows what we’ve just heard. We learn through listening to the doctors and counselors and the stories of others. We learn what others have experienced and what we possibly are about to go through. We gain an understanding of the situation that helps us to be emotionally prepared as best we can. And trust me, at least for myself, even with the information it was still very difficult to face what I was about to go through!

LOVE – In the end, as we face whatever trial we are going through, knowing we are loved becomes a powerful part of giving us the courage we will need to face the uncertainty of what lies ahead! Knowing we are not alone on this journey means everything to the one going through it. To love others binds us together on the journey so that no one is alone.

That is why Jan and I consider it a privilege to come alongside the hurting together with all of you. Thank you for making this ministry possible by your prayers and continued faithful support.

Above all, clothe yourselves in love,
which binds us all together in harmony.
COLOSSIANS 3:14 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

All this comes from the Lord Almighty,
wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
ISAIAH 28:29 (NIV)

I understand how Christians can be skeptical about the emphasis some people put on using a counselor as a substitute for seeking wisdom from God – the God who is called “wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom” – but none of our Christian counselors ever led us away from seeking God’s wisdom. Instead, they shared with us the Godly wisdom they had gained while they taught us to examine our lives to make sure we were living the life God would have us live.

The Bible encourages us to seek out wisdom and search for understanding as one would “search for it as for hidden treasure” (Proverbs 2:4). That’s what we were doing in seeking Godly counsel. Without the understanding we gained, we would not have made the changes that helped us come out of depression.

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

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
ECCLESIASTES 3:1,4 (NLT)

Compassion and open-ended commitment begin with allowing others time to cry. There is a time to cry and grieve, as the Bible says. We cannot expect newly hurt people to dry their tears and listen to our well-rehearsed Bible passages about suffering, hoping they will change overnight.

They need time. Friends who lack real compassion find it difficult to give others time to adjust or accept their pain. Impatiently, they look for immediate results of their prayers and efforts.

So if there are rules on how to be a compassionate friend to a hurting person, the first would be to sincerely carry their emotional baggage. Allow your friend the freedom to express himself. Let him cry. Better yet, cry with him. Joni Eareckson Tada

Love each other with genuine affection,
And take delight in honoring each other.
… and weep with those who weep.
ROMANS 12:10,15 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Relationships

“I have not wronged you,
but you are doing me wrong
by waging war against me.
Let the Lord, the Judge,
decide the dispute this day.”
JUDGES 11:27 (NIV)

Have you noticed? Relationships are complicated! And adversity only complicates them more. Often the pain of strained relationships is more difficult than the physical pain of our suffering.

What do you do after you’ve done everything you can to patch things up – and hostility still radiates from the other party? You’ve forgiven, asked forgiveness for your actions, tried to talk it out, prayed for reconciliation and acted with integrity and in love … but all you get in return is animosity, false accusation and slander. What do you do?

You heed the wise words of Judge Jepthah: “Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute.” You leave the dispute with God and continue to show the love of Christ. Scripture acknowledges that we are to do all we can do within our sphere of responsibility. Having done those things, we can leave all matters in His hands – including our anxieties.

Do all you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge.
Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
Says the Lord.
ROMANS 12:18-19 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky