connections

****i wrote this several years ago...but since in this writing i reflect on psalm 119, which is the psalm that our sermon was on today (awesome encouragement by the way), and since i am at a similar spot as when i wrote this....i'm re-posting.  ****

When times of transition loom ahead,and there are vast bubbles of unknown...Am I scared? No. I can talk my way out of fear, and stuff my emotions aside. Tell myself I don't feel scared. However, how does one connect the head to the heart? Do we submit our emotions to our will...and then submit our will to God? How do we trust Him more than just verbalizing trust? I want to without a doubt, wholeheartedly, with every part of my being, trust Him. 

Stop. 

How big are my struggles? How much potential in the unknown is there for hard times? Lots. I can easily stress out. But then I look around. So and so has it worse than I do. OK. But, how do I handle what seems to be such a large struggle to me?! The feelings that are not in control start to want to take over. 

I ponder some more. 

You know, NOTHING is a guarantee. Never has been. But, there are some things in this world that are progressing and for the worse...things like...holding a job, getting the medical care needed with funding, bad investments, faulty worldviews that are being slammed on us and invading and trying to tear down what we hold as truth. Relationships are struggling, hurting and failing. Number of babies being killed is escalating. Sex slavery.  Even though we never have had guarantees in life for security, it seems like everything is becoming less and less secure, not reliable. The rug could be pulled out from us at any moment. Essentially, there is nothing and no one who can be our rock on this earth. 

...But isn't that a good reality to come to? If nothing on this earth can truly be our security...instead of being discouraged and fear, we should be encouraged. Encouraged because we are brought to the reminder that this is not our home. The fact that we cannot control everything shows us our need for our God as we live and build His Kingdom. We have our real home to look forward to. In the meantime, we are reminded daily as disappointments or unsure transitions etc come our way, that we cannot make ourselves or anything on this earth our foundation or hope. 

The Lord is the only anchor for which we can put our hope in on this earth. He will not let us down, and His goodness is never failing. He always is with us and at the same time before us, and therefore b/c he is before us, we can trust where He is leading us. Even if we cannot yet see where that is. There is no need to fear. Deuteronomy 31:8....."It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." 

So connecting our head to our heart. What do we do when it seems impossible to do such? Well, we for huge starters can look back at all that He has done in our life. Everything that is good in our life comes from the Lord. He IS good and ONLY goodness can come from Him. Deuteronomy 7:9--"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." 
God has never let me down and He is a better hope than anything of this earth, for all things of this earth have disappointed at some point. His work on the CROSS is all we need, to have hope and complete trust in who He is...perfect goodness took ON all of the fears and shame that we deal with now and His wounds heal us. and I could go on for a long time on that... 
But when we think on what He has done, how can we not have confidence of what He WILL DO!? For all that we need to have a relationship with Him was done already through the work of Christ on the cross. He is the only person who can do the impossible...perfection to take on our sin and give us a way to have a severed relationship with God restored. If we think on this, should we not have GREAT hope? 

Furthermore, we should praise Him. For, when we are expressing thankfulness, we are affirming that we believe He is good...in our head...even if we don't yet feel it in our heart. But the more we express thanks and praise, the more likely it is that what is in our head will connect to our heart. The Lord too will bless us with understanding...He gives Wisdom to the simple. (Ps. 119:130-132--"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name." 

Thus, on top of praising Him, we should study His Word! It is His gift to us in understanding who He is, and as we understand who He is, we will see and marvel at His goodness and thus the Word of God brings us hope. The Psalmist is PANTING, longing for God's commands, which are found in the Word, and acknowledging that the Lord ALWAYS has mercy on those who love His name. Hoping in something/someone comes from knowing and trusting what you know. Thus, the connection starts when we Know God. When we know God we will love God. When we love God we will have an overflow of praise for God. When we praise God, we solidify and acknowledge our hope in God. And in our hope, we will have connection of knowledge with emotion/heart/feelings, for we are knowing AND loving. Loving comes from the heart. 


Ps. 119:75-76--"I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant." 


Colossians 2:2--"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ..." 

2 Samuel 7:28--"O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant." 

Deut. 10:12-13--"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"

PERFECT love cAsts out all feAr