“Jesus had 'joy set before him'. Experiences of shame hurt us. Shame is always hurtful. But we are not entirely defenseless. Jesus drew strength to endure shame from the anticipation of joy. Shame can be better endured if we allow ourselves to remember that God has plans for us that include joy. We are not aimlessly adrift in life, headed nowhere, wanderers in a meaningless maze. On the contrary, every day takes us closer to the fulfillment of God's purposes. Justice and righteousness will reign in the end. Jesus' followers share his conviction that joy, not shame, is God's purpose in creation.” (excerpt from Dale and Juanita Ryan)
Despite what happened yesterday (shows me I still have my work cut out for me in the healing process) on Easter Sunday with the insensitive remarks made to me by 'family' before church and then having to deal with the same person a few hours later for Easter dinner, I still want to grow in strength as Jesus did to endure my past shame and have it replaced with joy! That is what we all are fighting for who struggle with our past. I constantly remind myself of my favorite Bible verse, Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.”
I tell you, if it was not for God saying in His Word that He has a plan (and a good one) and a future for us, then what would be the purpose of living?
Thank the Lord for his word!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great using the Lord's word to help you. You know family can always be the most insensitive to each other, try to take it with a grain of salt. Family holiday's are some of the most stressful of times to the average family, I sometimes cringe when the Holiday's arrive...even though I love my family :)
ReplyDeleteTabby-Thank you for the encouragement and reminder. I am working on it and hopefully one day will be able to wipe my hands from any insulting and insensative thing anyone says or does to me.
ReplyDeleteT.Anne-Amen!
Well, it sure makes sense to me that Creation would be about Joy, not shame.
ReplyDeleteWhen I gave birth to my son, the joy I felt was indescribable. I still can't explain it and it's been over 12 years now. I wish I could have bottled up that joy somehow and just uncork it whenever I want to. ;)
It's wonderful that you have strong faith that you can lean against during times of trouble. I wish my faith were as strong.
ReplyDeleteAD-I tell ya AD, if it was not for "faith" in God, no matter how strong, I would not be typing this to you now!
ReplyDeleteMarj-What a lovely story. Thank you so much for sharing it!!
Hi again
ReplyDeleteYeah - God is into joy. Yay!
It's great that you're listening to God rather than your family.
I've been praying for you every day.
God Bless
Amber
Hey Amber! Wow, thank you so much for your prayers. Certainly encouraging to know that you are praying.
ReplyDeleteI believe I CAN "bottle up joy" and call on it any time in my memory. Just recall the aura of those moments, what was happening, how I responded...it takes practice. I can call back many experiences from waaaay back: 1st girl friend Wow! Etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd...Just Be Real, you have touched in this blog, on what so many seek: The meaning of life!
Again: my opinion. Thank you SO much for being a part of my/our blog world.
Stevie, that is truly wonderful how you can re-capture beautiful moments of your life! That first girl friend sounded really special....
ReplyDeleteStevie, you are certainly an inspiration to me as well, thank you!