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Can You Release the Jar?
The other day, a jar of enchilada sauce defeated me. I gripped the lid tightly, twisted the bottom in the opposite direction from the top, and tried to access the sauce inside the jar. The lid stubbornly refused to budge. I re-gripped and tried again, but the lid remained in place. A third attempt also proved useless. Various family members passed through the kitchen, and I solicited their help to release the grip of this tenacious lid. Finally, my husband appeared and saved the day. The lid opened with a pop and the jar surrendered its contents to the enchiladas lined up in my pan.
The jar’s top functioned as it was designed. It kept the sauce contained and protected until the contents were needed. If anything, the protective lid struggled to release the sauce when it was time.
I know how the top of that jar felt. I have prayer requests that I have gripped as tightly as the lid gripped that jar because I’m sure they are the right solutions to my problems. You might do the same.
Why Am I an Emotional Wreck?
Have you ever considered trusting God with your emotions even though your circumstances are unlikely to change?
I wish I could say that stuck in crippling emotion, I sit cross-legged, with my eyes closed and my palms up, trustingly laying my feelings at the feet of Jesus. Maybe I could even add some scented candles to the scene, creating a peaceful setting that I report smells like lavender. Unfortunately, that’s a work of fiction that exists only in my mind. Instead, my narrative is filled with turmoil, restlessness, and frustration. I become pre-occupied. My mind distractedly focuses on my problem, and my brow goes into a prolonged furrowed state. Lavender is nowhere to be found.
Would You Rather?
As I journeyed through my years of healing, one of the things I had to realize was that I had chosen so many other things for fulfillment over Jesus. My life revealed this in many ways, yet, I didn’t recognize it because I was blinded by comfort and complacency. We often think we are living good and right because we are checking all the good christian boxes, but the reality is how our lives reflect it. Does your life reflect that you choose Jesus above all, that you’d rather Him than any other thing in your life?
How Can I Find a Blessing in My Pain?
Are you going through something right now that feels hard and painful? Whether it’s a divorce, the rebellion of a child, an injustice that threatens your future, or a different stressful situation, life isn’t short of difficulties that disrupt our peace and threaten our contentment. On top of the ups and downs in each of our lives, society has dealt with a pandemic, supply shortages, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. It’s not surprising that many people say their mental health is challenged. Combining a personal hardship with our societal challenges is enough to steal our hope and rob us of any remaining optimism for the future. When our lives are interrupted by unpleasant circumstances, we just want it all to stop and life to return to “normal”. My normal was disrupted the other day
How Do We Live a Life of Significance?
Saying yes led to us dedicating a water well in Africa in June 2016. The world might call it a deed of significance. God called it obedience. God called it loved. God showed me loving Him will look like loving others.
What’s stopping you from living a Life of Significance?
At fourteen, I did not know how to hold my thoughts and feelings up to the Word of God. I did not know how to take every thought captive. Because of that, I was easy prey for the devil. He deceived me. I believed my feelings. I believed my thoughts. I believed my friends Dread and Fear when they told me I would be all alone in Africa, with no family or friends, living in a mud hut, with no food, starving children, mosquitos, HIV, and malaria. Dread and Fear told me God was not good, and he was holding out on me. I believed they were right. There was nothing good to be found by following Jesus to Africa.
What is a Life of Significance?
God has a way of proving Himself true and He’s eager to share His secrets with anyone in search of His truths. He uses our prayers uttered in frustration as invitations. That’s what He did for me as I wrestled free from the Allure of More’s clasps. God had graciously provided many of my heart’s desires and yet my soul longed for more. Only by His grace, did I realize, the answer was not a bigger house, better job, or more exotic vacation. Gently, He whispered to my soul, I am the more you crave. After 20 plus years as His daughter, I craved the cadence of His voice, His subtle prompts directing my paths.