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I Don’t Know How You Feel

July 12, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

We cannot know for certain how another person feels–the depth of their pain…their emptiness, loss or fear. We may think we know how a person feels when we see them under fire, trial, or difficulty. We may have had some similar situation in which we felt a specific heartache or crisis. However, unless we are the other person, we cannot know the loneliness, the grief, the anxiety, or doubt another has.  We cannot know their brokenness or experience their suffering.

Likewise we cannot know how deep their faith is based on their tears or depression. They may be trusting in God and clinging to Him with all that is within them in order to keep from totally falling apart. We cannot know what ”falling apart” looks like–the end of another’s rope to us may be the knots the LORD has tied around their wrists to keep them from slipping in the mire of circumstance. We cannot know another’s heart.

That’s why sometimes our impulsive words like “you just need to trust in the Lord”, sound so hollow and trite.

Yes…we all know we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens us”, but we do not all know when Christ designates the strength to meet the problem or trial we face. We who care would do well to exercise discernment and restraint when we seek to comfort or minister, or advise another in need.

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” Proverbs 25:11

Words that have helped me in trying times are:

“I am so sorry. I wish I had answers.”

“I don’t know how you feel right now, but I care that you hurt.”

“I can’t know the confusion and betrayal you feel right now, but I will pray for you during this time. Please hang on to that.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to deal with this, but please know that I care and will be here if you need someone to just sit with you. No need to talk. No explanations needed. Just someone in the room.”

“Do you care if I pray for you?”

Sometimes just a hug, and pat on the arm, or squeeze of an elbow is all a person needs to know someone cares and feels their pain. The best cards are blank cards with appropriate pictures and a handwritten, “I care” inside with a phone number.

PRAYER:  LORD, give us wisdom to discern the words another needs to hear as a soothing balm. Help us be sensitive to another’s pain and heartache so we treat others with kindness, love and gentleness. And, if there is someone in need of comfort, direction, or peace who read these words today, I pray You have mercy upon them and pour out Your abundant grace that they may know You are God and that You care for them. 

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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If God Made It, then…

April 25, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

why don’t I rejoice in the day?  Why is my soul cast down?  Why do I let adversity beat me?  What reason do I have to rejoice when life treats me unfairly, when day after day circumstance doesn’t change?  Why do I grumble, have pity parties, murmur, criticize and condemn those things which cause discomfort?  After all…

“This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

It’s not always easy to look at a day of trouble and rejoice.  It’s hard to watch a child suffer, a mother grieve, a widow cry, an elderly person lose all semblance of dignity.  It’s difficult to sing a song of harmonious joy when the piano needs tuning, the house burns down, the struggle with sin is lost.  However…

that is not the point in rejoicing and being glad.  The point is not the circumstances which surround us.  It’s not the heartache we are enduring.  It’s not the sadness we feel, nor the grief we bear.  It’s the fact that life is precious…that God is great…that no matter how bad things get, the LORD is still making days.  He is still creating air to breathe, bees to pollinate, seeds to die and give birth to new life to feed us again and again.

So often we tend to look at the darkest part of every cloud.  We fail to remember that God is in charge.  He knows what He is doing.  He cares more about us than we care about ourselves.  He knows what it takes to bring us closer to Him, to depend upon Him, to find the perfect peace that passes all understanding.  He knows our every thought and every motive.  He knows the desires of our hearts–the true desires.  He knows how much we can endure.

When we rejoice in a day the LORD makes, it doesn’t mean we are rejoicing and glad for the negative, troubling things we face.  However, even James tells us to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  James 1:2-4

God in His infinite wisdom is working all things together according to His purpose and glory.  As we rejoice in the circumstance, the chains of temporal pain are loosed.  The storms of unsettled thoughts are stilled.  The agony of bitterness is forgiven.  The irritation of being wronged dissolves.  Then, my friends, then we will be glad in it.  The abandonment we feel is replaced with the presence of God’s love and comfort.  We begin to trust Him all the more…our faith grows…and God gets the glory for the day He has made.  What a glorious thing to consider.

Will you give God His due praise and adoration today?  Will you thank Him for the situation and trust His plan to use it for His unimaginable, incomprehensible, infinite, eternal purpose?

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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Set Free

April 19, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

He could not sleep.  He had no solutions.  He felt overcome with anguish and brokenness.  He did all he knew to do.  Ideas eluded him as much as sleep.  His mind was tired.  His body was exhausted.  He felt as though every fiber of his being was being pulled in a dozen directions.  He felt like the walls were closing in around him, the ceiling pressing down upon him.

“Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free and in a large place.” Psalm 118:5

Sometimes it is out of complete and utter exhaustion we come to the point of crying out to the Lord.  Sometimes we are so comfortable doing things our way that the Lord introduces specific difficulties which we cannot handle.  We have problems we cannot solve.  We have questions we cannot answer.  Our body, soul, and spirit are simply empty.  When we reach this point, we turn to God and let Him know we need Him.  We cannot deal with life another moment without His divine intervention.  The mountain is too high.  The water is too deep.  We feel smothered, closed in and surrounded by our trials.  Out of that distress, we cry out to the Lord.

He answers us and sets us free from the bondage of self-sufficiency and stress.  He puts us in a spacious place where we can breathe again.

I don’t like close places.  I’m not claustrophobic, but I don’t like small spaces all that much.  I like it when elevator doors open.  I want to drive in front of an eighteen-wheeler and not behind it.  I cringe when aisles in stores are cluttered with stock waiting to be placed on shelves.  I love to drive in wide-open spaces of Oklahoma.  I love to see horizons far away, to look down from Mt. Scott and stare at the vast lakes, ponds, roads, and distant mountain peaks.  Spaciousness.  It’s so liberating.

I can understand how David felt in his struggle in this Psalm.  When God frees us from the burdens we carry, it indeed feels like He has placed us in a large spacious place.  We can finally breathe, deep cleansing breaths.  It’s then I am compelled to praise Him for His glory, for His presence, for His power, and His grace which sets us upon His solid rock of mercy and compassion.

Are you feeling crushed?  Distressed?  Pressured by the world’s demands?  Take a walk, or ride.  Find your open space…lie on the ground and stare into the sky through tree branches.  Thank God for His freedom and deliverance.

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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The Weight and Wait of Love

April 12, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

Ever feel weighted down by the heartache of others? Marriage problems. Betrayals. Various trials and persecutions. False accusations. You counsel, advise and share the discernment the Lord has given you. You struggle to right a wrong; you wear your knees out praying for wisdom. Your mind spins with words to say and logic to impart to help. Yet, your heart is heavier than when you began praying.

I have learned the hard way that the more I try to help God, the more stuff starts piling on. In other words, I cannot do what God wants to do. When I try, He shows me the futility of trying to do things in my own power. He lets me exhaust myself and my ideas.

We can really only make decisions for ourselves. Others must make their own. After sharing all we know to share, and praying as He leads, we really do need to say, “Thy will be done, Lord,” and mean what we say.

Do you have loved ones going through trying circumstances? Divorce.  Job loss.  Financial struggles. Do you talk till you run out of words to share and find all your conversations running in circles? You wonder, did I say the wrong thing? did I forget to say something right? Do you pray and get impatient that God does not intervene as you think He should?

What keeps us from trusting God? Independence. The I-can-do-it-myself syndrome.

We can’t trust God when we’re depending upon ourselves. Some situations in life are far beyond our ability to fix. A problem we see that needs our intervention, may be God’s cocoon of struggle to strengthen. Seriously. Can we love our loved ones more than God does? We must think we do or we’d be willing and able to accept God’s timetable. We’d relax and stop trying to fix what He will take care of. Unless it is a direct leading from Him, our job is simply to be available to undergird, to be a leaning post, an intercessor of prayer, or an encourager to look to Him Who knows the perfect answer and to point others to Him. It’s up to others to deal with their decisions, their choices, and their consequences. To have peace in our lives we must let go and let God work in everyone’s life as He sees fit. When we let go of the weight of love, the Lord blesses us with the peace and grace of His.

“My times are in Thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.” Psalm 31:15 ESV

PRAYER: Lord, forgive us when we try to get ahead of You. Help us understand when to act and when to pray. Help us help others learn to wait on You and Your timetable.

 © Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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But, Lord, I Need You

March 23, 2011
Filed In Daily Devotionals

“Is there no healing balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician in the house?  Why can’t something be done to heal my dear people?”  Jeremiah 8:22

Sometimes I join with the Lord’s inquiry above.  I wonder why I hurt so bad.  I wonder what can be done with  so much devastation, strife and heartache in the world.  Then I read this and wonder even more: Why would the Lord ask such a question?  Surely He has all the answers, doesn’t He?

Exactly.

It is rhetorical in nature, to probe the hearts of the self-sufficient people of Israel.  They think they can help themselves without God’s intervention.  There is no balm or ointment or soothing lotions and potions to heal their sinful desparation.  Only the Lord can heal like that.  Only the Lord can pour forth His incomprehensible peace and fill a void when a mother loses a son, a husband, his wife, a five-year-old, his baby sister–or a nation loses an entire village.  Only God can restore His wandering people when they walk away from Him and follow after their own desires and lusts.  God wants them to remember Who is their great physician.  Some folks say God does not care, that He sits on high and lets our world go by with barely a yawn.  The people of Israel didn’t think that when they said:

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted Thee and Thou didst deliver them.” Psalm 22:3-4 KJV

The people of Israel, in all their sinful ways, recognized God in their midst when they praised Him for all He is and all He’d done for their forefathers.  How much closer is the God who dwells inside the hearts of people trusting Christ Who has made our bodies the temple of His Holy Spirit?

Amid the broken, fallen, adulterous nation of Israel, God sat enthoned when they remembered all God had been to them.  As they praised Him for His sustaining grace, His mercy, forgiveness and deliverance, He was in the midst of them and He alone was able to heal their brokenness and sin.  Only Hemthe Most High God…Only He has the Balm of Gilead to soothe the troubled heart and meet their needs.

If you are going through a dark place right now…a time of crushing loss, I pray you see the glory of His goodness–the righteousness in His deeds.  May you find your voice and praise Him for all He is, has been, and will be for you.  I pray your mind receives His all-sufficient grace, and your heart–His balm of peace.  And may He receive all the glory due His holy name amid your pain and heartache. selahV

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

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Running Interference

March 22, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

In football, a receiver catches the quarterback’s pass, secures the ball, then runs for the goal line.  His teammates legally block defensive tacklers to protect and make way for their ball carrier.  The opposing team does all it can to catch that receiver and keep him from meeting his objective.  Sometimes a confident ball carrier is blindsided and taken down, despite teammates running interference for him.

Ever been blindsided?  It can be financial, vocational, physical, emotional.  It’s like hitting a brick wall.  When a Christian is running his race, any hit becomes a spiritual one. We think we’ve settled something in our minds or hearts, then ”that something” rears its ugly head.  It challenges our faith, tries our patience, or tests our faithfulness.  When the problem looms higher than life itself, we are most susceptible to forget about the goal ahead.  All our energy and mental capabilities is spent dealing with this interruption.  Before we know it, we are sitting on the sidelines.  Aggravated.  Confused.  Weary.

“You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.  A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.  I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.” Galatians 5:7-10

In Galatia, Paul saw people he had led to Christ being tripped up by another’s false teaching.  He knew how to run interference for fellow Christians.  He stood on the truth of Christ and did a bit of cheerleading: “I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.”

Christ lives in our hearts.  When we turn to, and rely upon Him, He meets our need and provides a way to accomplish what He calls us to do. He gives us clarity and discernment.  Most times in football, the ball carrier is brought down before he makes the touchdown.  However, those who run interference often are successful enough to help the runner make a first down.  With a first down, the runner gives his team four more tries at the goal.  So he gets up, and starts all over again.

Have you hit a brick wall?  Remember Jesus is with you, in you.  He is your advocate, the propriation of your faith, your Redeemer.  Will you get up one more time?  Is He calling you to run for the goal?  Do you know someone who needs you to run interference, to block the forces that seek to wear them down?  Whatever God calls us to do, Paul gives words of encouragement:  “You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Gal. 5:13-14  A single command, love.

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for giving us the opportunity to get up.  Let us be ever mindful that You, Lord, are in us, giving us freedom to move away from our sinful nature.

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2010

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When I Call Upon God

February 11, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

Life throws us into mires of difficulty.  Are these times meant to break us?  Hurt us?  Or are these times to test our faith and challenge our trust in God?  When we find ourselves in situations without provision, position, job or savings, it can feel more crushing than challenging.  When we have been doing all we know to serve the Lord and follow Him, we can be tempted to question our circumstances.  Yet, when we have placed our heart before Him and asked Him to search us, we can be assured that wherever we find ourselves, the Lord is everpresent.  He will not desert us.

“I called upon Your name, O Lord, out of the depths [of the mire] of the dungeon.  You heard my voice: O hide not Your ear at my prayer for relief.  You drew near on the day I called to You: You said, Fear not.”  Lamentations 3:55-56.

God’s prophet, Jeremiah, once found himself lowered into a miry pit, without water or food. [Jeremiah 38:6]  Jeremiah had simply been doing what God told him to do.  The Lord didn’t leave Jeremiah there to die.  Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian eunuch, heard what had happened to him and went to the King to intercede on Jeremiah’s behalf.  Just as God provided for Jeremiah’s release from that dungeon, God will hear our cries for help.  He may provide a friend, or stranger to help us.  He may lay it upon a family member to help us.  But we can trust God to hear us and not to abandon us.  Our Lord still tells us, to “fear not”.

PRAYER:  Lord, You know our needs today.  You know our difficulty, the mire in which we’ve found ourselves.  I know we can trust in You, dear Father, for provision and protection.  Show us again, Your sustaining power.  Lift us up and let all rejoice in You.

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2010

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God Brings Us Out of Our Distresses

January 17, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

Every day brings another difficulty. Systems that always worked before, fail. People we could depend upon in life, abandon us. All the good we’ve done for others is forgotten. Our very integrity is on the line. We’ve made promises we cannot fulfill. Obligations demand our attention, but we are weary. We cannot see any end to the onslaught of trials. We beat ourselves up for mistakes we made, for decisons that led us to near-ruin. We cry out to God for direction, but feel like we are drowning in a sea of sand with no solid ground to stand upon. Where is God?

“Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:15

Sometimes the distresses in our lives become so monumental that we are smothered by their very shadow. We hurt. We’ve done all the things we believe God wants us to do; we’ve lived a life of integrity and honesty. We’ve given Him access to our lives and used our material things to bring honor and glory to Him. Yet the circumstances of life have beaten us down. We question our every decision; we analyze our motives and intentions. We scrutinize our every move and wonder where we could have done something differently. Where do we go for relief from the distresses the world has brought upon us?

“Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivers them out of their distresses. He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps. 107:19-21.

We cannot praise God for His goodness when we question the drought He allows in our lives. We cannot trust God when we rely on ourselves to get us through the desert sands. Our praise is a clarion call. Our praise shows God we rely on Him no matter what befalls us. Our praise lifts our blinded eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. Our confession of self-reliance, of pride, of anger and bitterness, opens the floodgates of heaven and releases the rain God is ready to pour down upon His devoted ones.

“And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving and rehearse His deeds with shouts of joy and singing!” Ps. 107:22

It is a sacrifice for those broken beneath of load to lift weary heads and weakened arms to the Father for all He is and all He has been. I know. I’ve been there. When we get to the end of our strength, and use what is left to praise the Lord, God meets us and lifts us out of the distresses. He empowers us–refreshes and restores us. When we are grateful for the strength left to praise Him in our darkest hours, He lights a lamp. “Oh, that men would praise the Lord.”

© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2010

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