Category: Joy

Don’t Give Up!

Posted on by Dorci

A lot of Christians have given up on church.  Many have been hurt by the church; many feel like it’s a waste of time, that they’re not learning anything anyway; and many believe their faith is strictly between them and God so they don’t need church.

I get it.  I get all of those. 

And I’ve read a lot of reasons why we should go to church.

But I want to tell you why we must go. Why we need to go.

When I read in Isaiah 53 that the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world, Jesus, is “despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” I understand. Granted, to a far lesser degree, but I understand living a life like that. I fully understand living a life of rejection and sorrow, and I understand grief being a very close acquaintance.

By the time I came to know Jesus as my Savior when I was 26, I had already lived a lifetime, a very long and painful one. I knew Grief better than anything else, including love. 

And for the next 14 years after I was saved and going to church, I knew God loved me, but God knew much of that was head knowledge. He knew Grief was still a closer acquaintance. And, oddly enough, He was about to increase the pain.

And yes, I know that doesn’t sound very appealing, but His plan was something far greater than I could have anticipated.

So for the next 15 years, through sickness and so many things that can come with it, I became even more acquainted with Grief, yet, at the same time more acquainted with the God of love in that grief.

Because that description of the Savior in Isaiah is not of a God in the heavens, far-removed or oblivious to our human suffering. He is not a God who is unfeeling or detached. In fact, the letter to the Hebrews tells us that “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  (Hebrews 4:15)

This is a God-Man who understands my pain.

He is a God who is “near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”  (Psalm 34:18)

That word contrite means “crushed (literally powder, or figuratively contrite): – contrite, destruction.” And the root word of contrite is daka which means “to crumble; to bruise, to beat to pieces, break in pieces, destroy, humble, oppress, smite.”

Brokenhearted. Reduced to powder. Crumbled, bruised, beaten to pieces.  Yeah, I understand that.  Maybe you do, too. But in my brokenness God was closer to me than I could have imagined. He was faithful to not only keep my faith in tact, but to grow it.

Still, during this 15 year period, being attacked from within and without, with no understandable cause or reason, led me to desperately need to feel God’s love. I needed it to move that impossibly long distance from my head to my heart.  I needed it to become my beloved companion in place of the old acquaintance.

Since salvation I’d settled for the belief that love was as close to me as it would ever get, and knowing Christ as my Savior, it was indeed closer than it ever was before. I had been content with the head knowledge, but the increased pain and suffering meant the head knowledge wasn’t enough anymore. I needed to feel God’s love.

So I began to pray just that – that God would let me feel His love. It wasn’t just a desire or a hope, but a need.  I needed His love to survive.  I needed Love to knock grief to the ground and live with me as my constant, Beloved Companion. 

I prayed and prayed that prayer over the course of several months. 

And gradually God began to lay on my heart “…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)  More and more those words filled my mind, and honestly, I didn’t connect them with my prayer at all.  I believed God was going to do something, but I thought maybe it had to do with a family member or a friend.

During this same time I started going to a women’s Bible study at our church.  I hadn’t been to one in years and I was excited to connect with women over the study of God’s Word again. 

After every Bible study I’d drive home and catch myself smiling and full of joy.  These women were so kind, so loving and accepting, and they had no idea they were being used by God to answer my prayers.  They just loved Jesus and because of that, they loved me. 

And then one day, as I stood there talking and waiting for the study to start, two of the women walked in with bunch of flowers for my birthday, and the group sang Happy Birthday.  That was the day grief (and his buddies rejection and sorrow) took a backseat to Love.  

God did a miraculous work of forgiveness in my heart, and suddenly the past was in the past. Both my mind and my heart were renewed, and I felt like a new, new creation.

Jesus used those precious women to show me how much He loved me, and bring to life in my heart those words “…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  And so I was.

That is why the letter to the Hebrews goes on to exhort all of us “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

God has built into us a need to gather together with other believers to meet spiritual needs. That’s the way He’s chosen to operate in and through our lives. But when we don’t fulfill that need in the highest, God-given way, we find a million other counterfeit ways of trying to fill that need to meet together as friends, even as friends close enough to consider themselves family – social media, causes, clubs, bars, stadiums, gangs. But they will always leave us unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

We need each other. But we need to feed our souls and our faith, not just our flesh. We need a setting with other Jesus-loving, Spirit-filled believers, our family in the faith, to love us (and us, them), to encourage one another in our daily walks with Christ, to keep us focused and moving into an even deeper walk with Him, the Savior of our souls, the one who understands our pain, and is there again and again to rescue us, to heal us, even more than we can imagine. And with our ever-renewing hearts, glorify Him with the good works He’s prepared for us to do. And the darker it gets out there, the more we need it. 

Now, does that mean my life is perfect? No. Grief doesn’t like to be knocked down, and when it’s found a comfy place to live for a long time it doesn’t give up that place easily (and satan doesn’t like it a whole lot either).

It tries to get up, again and again, and that’s why I need to keep going back, to be surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ, and encourage one another in love so we can then take that love on the road with good deeds, like my Jesus-loving friends did. Their love and good deeds in Christ changed a life, glorifying Him, and that’s what this life is all about.

And yes, I know it’s not always easy to find a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing/teaching church. Political correctness and a desire to be liked, among other things, don’t stop at the front door of every church.

Just pray. God knows your heart and He will answer your prayers for a body of believers who worship in Spirit and in Truth, a body that will accept you in the love of Christ.

Don’t give up.  We need you. 

* * *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the body of Christ, the family you’ve given us where your love and joy can come alive, where we can join hearts and worship you in spirit and in truth. I pray for each person reading this. For those who need a good spiritual home, I pray you would lead them to one. I pray you would remove any fears, grant forgiveness for past pains, and help them to step out in faith. For those who have one, I pray you would use them in the church homes you’ve placed them to show your love in tangible, Christ-honoring ways. For churches who may be a little stuffy and not used to acts of love, oh Lord, may you fill them with your Spirit, and lead them to a better way, where giving and receiving your love is as common as breathing. May you bring revival in the Body, and throughout the world.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name I pray, amen. 

Living on Gifted Time

Posted on by Dorci

My dad felt like he was living on borrowed time.  His dad and his oldest brother died in their early 50s, so every day he made it past that I think he felt was a gift.

The reality is we’re all living on borrowed time. Gifted time. Each day we have to love, to give, to learn, to grow, to prepare, is a gift given to us by God.

So what are we doing with our gift? Shoving it in a corner? Kicking it around?

Or embracing it, valuing it, and using to its greatest potential?

I recently watched an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.  The one where Marie takes them all on a trip to Italy. Everybody is soaking in the beauty and joy of the experience, except Ray. He doesn’t get it and he complains throughout the entire trip, until near the very end.

He stopped complaining and started looking around. He noticed the beauty of the landscape, the culture, the people, and his perspective changed.

He fell in love with everybody and everything, hopped on a bike and did his level best to soak up and spread as much beauty and joy as he could before it was time to go.

And I thought about how sometimes that is our life, especially when our outlook has been skewed by pain and suffering. Our perspective is dirtied from the trials and we can go through life not getting it. I think far too many people do that, even Christians, and that’s a tragedy.

We who have been changed, who have been given new life and made into a new creation have the opportunity to have a new perspective.  Sometimes it takes some time, and always some forgiveness, for our hearts and perspectives to be cleansed and made whole so we can fully see the beauty that’s all around us.

But every day we wake up we can ask God to purify our hearts, give us His perspective and start living our lives in Him now so we don’t wait until the end of our trip to get it. To start soaking up and spreading the beauty, love, and joy that God surrounds us with every day.

Sometimes I think of myself in my last days, and wonder what I’ll think of. What will I wish I had done? Who do I wish I’d been?  If I keep living the way I am, will I be happy that I lived that way? Is there anything I wish I’d done differently? What do I hope people thought of me and say about me? Will I have made an impact for good? 

Will I have carried out God’s plan for my life? Will I have lived in service to Him, carrying out the greatest command to love Him with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind and with all my strength? And will I have loved my neighbor as myself?

None of us is promised tomorrow. But we do have today.

And every day we have a choice.

The world is more than happy to sweep us up with it in its hurried, materialistic, unforgiving, angry, joyless way. That way is easy. Just stand there and it will take you with it.

Or, we can choose to take the narrow road – the one Christ walks. Few take it because He’s on it and instead of doing our thing, being our own god, we must follow Him, and to some that seems restrictive.

And in a way it is, cause here’s the kicker: Jesus said to walk that road we must carry a cross. He said each person must

“deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
           For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
                    but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

And He goes on to elaborate:

“What good will it be for someone to
           gain the whole world,                 
                     yet forfeit their soul?”

Why do we have to deny ourselves? Because in our flesh dwells no good thing. Only in dying to our flesh and letting Christ live His life through us is there true life and freedom. 

That narrow road of cross-carrying and self-denying opens to freedom from sin and its regrets, from shame and guilt, to fullness of joy and love and purpose.

That narrow road is where life is.

And we never walk it alone. The resurrection power of the Holy Spirit is with us, upon us, and dwells within us to forgive, cleanse, and lead us on in our walk, no matter where it goes. And ultimately, of course, it leads to eternity, where we won’t be judged for our sins (as long as we’ve believed in Christ as Lord), but we will be rewarded according to what we have done. 

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16



“I’m telling you it goes by fast. If you don’t give it your all you’re going to regret it.”  
~Kobe Bryant


If you want to know how to get on that road of following Christ, or have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment or email me by clicking on the post card to the right.  


 

 

What Hope Looks Like

Posted on by Dorci

Not gonna lie, this Christmas has been a little bit more difficult than usual. 

I’ve needed more recuperating/decorating/planning/shopping time from Thanksgiving to Christmas and had less; we’ve had a storm of things breaking down over the past 8 weeks or so, sometimes two things conspire to break down at once; we’ve had multiple plans change beyond our control; and this Christmas season has been one of those I miss, well, a lot. But I know I’m not alone. 

The holidays are notorious for being stressful, wishful, mournful. We’re worn and weary. Family members can be difficult to deal with, and so can not having them with us. We can compare our lives to others and think theirs looks like a Hallmark Christmas movie or a Rockwell painting.

And then there’s the outside world with its constant fighting, crime, threats.  I can’t read the news without seeing words like hostile, accuses, attacks, and my personal favorite – throws shade.  (Where do people come up with these phrases?) So much pride, so much hate, so much despair.

With all that going on we can start to feel a little lacking in peace. In hope.

So where can we find hope?  What exactly does hope look like?

Hope looks like this. 

 

 

A young woman who humbled herself and answered the call of God on her life no matter the cost.

A young man who humbled himself, obeyed God, and married a pregnant woman.

And Hope Himself, The King and Creator of the world who humbled Himself, giving up all that was rightfully His – His throne, His equality with God, His divine splendor, His right to be treated like the King He was, and was born a helpless babe, for the joy that was set before Him…

And that joy was us.

To forge a relationship with us so that no matter what’s going on in our personal lives or in the world around us, He can be our Light in a dark and weary world, He can give us His peace that passes all understanding, and He can give us hope.

He calls on those of us who are weary to come to Him and He will give us rest. 

I know firsthand that’s true. It doesn’t always come immediately, but if we keep seeking Him, it will come.

I was walking around the house the other day, and though I’m not normally one to spontaneously break out in song (the very next gift I’m getting after my crown is a beautiful singing voice), I suddenly found myself singing a song I hadn’t even thought of in a while. And it made me smile.

My Lord, my Heavenly Father, had heard my cries, seen my weary heart, and turned my focus again toward what’s important – my relationship with Him, my eternal salvation, my hope in the life of the One who came to save me and all this weary world.

It may not be a traditional Christmas song, but it embodies the spirit of it as much as any. 

I hope you’ll come away from the stress of the season, from the world, from life and weariness, and embrace the Hope that was born that day in all humility for the joy of knowing you and giving you hope.

 

 

The Spirit of Thanksgiving Past, Present, and Future

Posted on by Dorci

If H.G. Wells had been able to build a time machine, I wonder how many people would jump in the morning after Halloween, push the lever forward a couple of months and stop on December 25.  Eh, maybe the 24th. Jump from party to party, candy to presents, and skip Thanksgiving altogether.

I’ve never quite understood why some people seem content to forgo Thanksgiving.  Maybe because it’s not a commercial holiday it’s not as popular.

Maybe giving thanks doesn’t come as easy to us as getting gifts. Maybe people don’t understand how vital it is to our spiritual, mental, emotional, and even physical health to have a thankful heart. Maybe people don’t think they have much to be thankful for.  And maybe that answers a lot of questions about the state of our States.

Let’s jump in H.G. Wells’ time machine, pull the lever, and travel back to October, 1863, when Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

***

We’re in the middle of the Civil War.

It might seem a peculiar time to think about declaring a national holiday of giving thanks, but maybe it was the best time. A God-appointed time.

When we’re facing trials and hardships and pain and suffering is when we most need to stop…  and remember all we have to be thankful for, and most importantly, Who we have to be thankful for. 

So on October 3, 1863, roughly six months after he signed a Proclamation of a Day of Fasting, and a year and a half before the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed his Proclamation of Thanksgiving.

Of course, that’s only the beginning of Thanksgiving as our national holiday, but not the beginning of giving thanks. Other historical moments might also seem to have peculiar timing.

Let’s travel back a bit further…

***

After seeking the Lord and fasting, King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, appointed men to sing these words to the Lord as they went into battle against their enemies:

“give thanks to the LORD,
for His love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21b

“As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22)

***

While fleeing from his enemies, David gives thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness. (Psalm 7:17)

***

In the darkened night as He faced being arrested, tortured, and handed over to be crucified, Jesus gives thanks.

***

And while in the chains of a dark prison, Paul exhorts all of us to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philip 4:6-7)

***

If praising God and giving thanks had the effect it did in the lives of all these who saw the Lord triumph in impossible situations, what could a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord do in our own lives?

While most of us aren’t facing a war, or prison, or death, we may be facing other, more personal trials. Could giving thanks not keep our eyes focused on our Father of the heavenly lights, from whom every good and perfect gift flows? And could giving thanks not be a gateway that would open our hearts to God’s joy and love and triumph in impossible situations?

I think so.

Another bit of peculiar timing I love is that Thanksgiving is just weeks before Christmas. Observing a time of giving thanks to God for all we’ve been blessed with might just keep us from allowing greed and materialism and self-importance to swallow up a pure and grateful heart as we (and our children) head into Christmastime, or any time.

Now, let’s time travel into the future just a bit…

***

We’re in heaven, living a life more full of love and joy than we ever could have imagined. God has wiped every tear from our eyes, and there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. 

We’ve received the eternal inheritance we’d been promised could “never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:4-6)

Truly, we have more to be thankful for, more treasures in this life and in heaven – more than we can see with our eyes, and infinitely more than could ever be contained in this life – than we have time to voice them.

Go ahead, I dare you to try…

 

Heavenly Father, we are filled with thanksgiving for all you’ve blessed us with, and all the blessings you have yet to show us. Thank you for your immeasurably gracious love, for our salvation from certain death, for your continual presence, your faithfulness, and for our eternal home in heaven with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Are We Really Living a Christian Life?

Posted on by Dorci

I am so blessed to be able to sit in church on Sunday and worship the Lord with some beautifully composed music and be fed by pastors who love the Lord greatly and study hard to bring us Bible-based sound teaching. During the week there’s a Bible study and home groups. My social media page is full of pastors and messages that remind me about God’s truths. I have at least 15 Bibles in several translations, and more faith-based books than I will probably ever be able to finish.  On the internet I have access to teachings from some of the most gifted pastors and teachers from all over the world, countless commentaries, uplifting Christian music…

And I wonder how many other people are doing the very same thing Sunday after Sunday, week after week.

We are deluged with messages from and for believers of every type, for every situation, every level of faith, and every age.

So why does the church, at least here in America, seem more anemic and ineffective than ever?

Why do we live our lives largely indistinguishable from the world?

Why do we get up in the morning and still feel like we’re being sucked under the trials of life, wondering where the joy is we’re supposed to be experiencing? Why we’re not feeling like an overcomer? Why we aren’t living that life Jesus talked about when He said:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10)

That question has a lot of answers, but I want to tackle just one right now.  Could it be the thief is still working hard to steal, kill, and destroy as much of that abundant life as he can, and maybe he’s using busyness, even “Christian” busyness, to do it?

Could it be that we have so much all around us that we are kidding ourselves into thinking we’re living a Christian life that would lead to abundance without really living it?

Maybe all the doing – sitting in a seat on Sundays, singing along, having a Bible (and maybe even opening up from time to time), maybe listening to a Christian song every now and then or even reading a faith-based book, is causing us to think we’re accomplishing something.

But maybe all it’s become, if done in the flesh, in our own strength, is nothing more than a rote religion, or just another sort of self-help.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
(Galatians 5:22)

Jesus came to give us life, and when He went back to the Father He gave us His Holy Spirit to bring about the abundant life we desire and Christ died to give us.

All those things – the teachings, the worship (the music is not a warm-up concert for the pastor!), the studies, the reading, are all meant to draw us closer to Jesus as we walk through them with the Holy Spirit. He is the power in our lives. He will bring about the abundant life we all so desperately want.

We’re on a journey with Him to know God and love Him more, to grow in faith, not to just put in our time on Sunday morning. Walking with Him is not just part of our life, it IS our life.

God desires to do so much in our hearts, our minds, and in and through our lives, and He wants us to partner with Him – to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him – as we do those things.

Do we pray before going to church, asking and fully expecting to hear from God, to receive from Him what He wants to say to us? Do we use the time we sing together to truly worship the Lord, to enter into the throne room of God and praise and exalt Him and let Him prepare our hearts for His message? Do we pray for our pastors during the week, that He will speak to them as they prepare the teaching, and that He will speak through them on Sunday morning? Do we pray before reading God’s Word or other books, or before listening to teachings online?

Do we pray without ceasing, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us and change us through those things?

Are we, the branches, clinging to the Vine, allowing Him to use all those things as nourishment for our souls, bringing its fruit in His time?

What all those things are meant to do, what they should do, is draw us closer to Jesus, reminding us of His love and grace and mercy so that we will continue reaching out to Him, reading and studying His Word and praying, inviting Him into every aspect of our lives. Inviting Him to leave no sin-stone unturned in the sanctifying of our souls. Inviting Him into every bit of suffering, every attitude, every decision, every joy.

Oh Church, we must leave the dead religion behind and get back to a living, breathing relationship with the One who died to bring us abundant life – to mold us into His image, to bring about the godly treasures we could never find in the world if we looked forever, and to be a light to the world.

Can you imagine if we invited the power of God into our lives every single day? If we let the Holy Spirit continually have His way in and through us?

If He changed the world with 12 men, what could He do with a nation full of Spirit-filled, God-fearing, mercy-loving believers?

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

.

Heavenly Father, thank you for not only giving us your Holy Spirit to be with us, but to indwell us.  He is an amazing gift and we are so grateful. Help us to always walk in the Spirit, to breathe and live and grow and speak in the Spirit. Help us to cling to you through Him so that He might produce the fruit and gifts in our hearts and lives that you desire so that we, as your church, your kingdom, can be effective witnesses and bright lights to the world around us that’s so dark and seems to get darker every day. Help us to have wisdom and discernment to know how to live in this world, but not to be of it.  Help us to glorify and magnify the name of Jesus.  It’s in His precious name we pray, amen. 

Why Christmas in the Fall is a Good Thing – Really

Posted on by Dorci

Soon (if we haven’t already) we’ll be seeing Christmas decorations in the store and hearing Christmas music, and we’ll start saying to each other “Can you believe there’s Christmas stuff up in the stores already?”

But there’s one good reason to start talking about Christmas in October, and that’s for Operation Christmas Child. This year will be the 26th year Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered shoeboxes to children all over the world, not only giving them gifts they never would have otherwise had, but introducing them to the love of Jesus, and immeasurably changing countless lives forever.

And in order to get those shoeboxes where they need to go before Christmas, collections begin early – a mere 44 days from today, November 18th to the 25th.  Just click on the hyperlink above and they’ll show you how to pack a shoebox and where your local drop-off locations are.

Yes, it’s easy, and it’s definitely a lot of fun, especially if you take your kids to help pick out the gifts or have a shoebox packing party.

It’s a simple act for us to do, but the impact the gift boxes have on these kids is not small.  Here’s the story of Boun Thorne.  It’s a tough, real story of a girl who grew up with no hope, finding hope in the person of Jesus Christ through someone who took the time to fill a shoebox with some simple gifts, and the power of His love, and how God’s blessed her since.

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer For Our Sanctification

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father,

We praise your holy and precious name. Lord, we thank you for our sanctification.  Thank you for loving us enough to work with us and see us through the process of becoming more and more like your Son.  Yes, it takes trials and tribulations of all kinds, and I know you hurt when we hurt, but you also see what you’re making us to be, how you’re molding our hearts into something beautiful, how you’re permanently changing our souls to conform to you.  Though we can’t see it, we trust you and thank you for your perfect plan.  Thank you for preparing us for our eternal home with you.  Please give us courage and strength as we go through that spiritual metamorphosis, through the pain and sorrow and grief, and in it may you also give us times of refreshing, and a deep down hope and joy that act as an anchor to our souls to keep us grounded in you. Fill us with your Spirit, Lord, and as we daily nail our sins to the cross, may He flow through us as a holy river, overflowing with love and joy on all we meet. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, amen.

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray for every woman reading this, no matter what stage of motherhood they’re in today. You’ve blessed us all with your nurturing spirit, and we thank you for that blessing. May we use it, wherever we are, for your honor and glory. And may every woman know how much they’re loved. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

Our Redeemer Lives

Posted on by Dorci

The Place of Victory

Posted on by Dorci

“And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly…”
Luke 22:44

 

I grew up in a small, older house on a hill that had one unusual but useful feature: a sundeck.  When things got especially stressful inside the house, which they often did, and I wanted to run away, I’d walk outside and up the stairs to my solitary place on the roof.  There I sat alone and quiet, as far away from my troubles and the world as I could get, looking out over the valley below.

As I grew older and was able to get away from the house, without really realizing it, I carried my sundeck inside me. And when life got rough, which it often did, I’d run away by crawling inside myself, alone and quiet.

Even after Christ came into my heart, there have still been times when circumstances were so overwhelmingly painful that I did what I always did – withdrew inside myself, running away from the world, even from God.

There I’d sit, alone and quiet, where thoughts and anxiety replaced words.

But words are sometimes necessary for prayer. And without prayer I’d effectively shut God out of my circumstances, out of my pain, and out of my answers.

There can be no more painful trial than what Christ faced in the garden as He prayed about the speeding train that was coming straight for Him – arrest, rejection, torture, and death. Death on a cross.

A death that would cause Him, a perfect man who had never known the guilt and shame of sin, to feel more than an agonizing death, but the weight of every sin that had ever or would ever be committed.

If there were ever a darkness to descend on someone that could cause anxiety and a loss for words, this was it.

“And being in anguish…”

This was not just anxiety or worry.  The Greek word for anguish is agonia, meaning agony, and it comes from another word agone, which is “a place of assembly (as if led), that is, a contest (held there); an effort or anxiety – conflict, contention, fight, race.”

Christ had withdrawn to the garden as He faced the darkest, bleakest time of His life, but not to shut out the world, to run to His Father.  To pray, and not just any prayer. This was a fight.

He agonized with the conflict in His own humanity, asking His Father if it was His will that He would remove the suffering, and He fought against the enemy.

But the harder the prospect of deep suffering pressed in to Him and the anguish weighed on Him, the harder He pressed into the Father.

He prayed more earnestly.

The more He struggled the more intently and more fervently He prayed, so much that He sweat drops of blood falling to the ground.

By the time He left the garden of olive trees, He was strengthened in His Spirit, one with the Father, and resolute in His purpose.  He was ready.

Because He turned to His Father, He went through the suffering and was victorious in accomplishing His will, for the joy set before Him…

Sometimes in our anguish we are tempted to turn to other things.

This world offers a million things and people and ways to get through our times of suffering.

But only one way will bring us through suffering even more strengthened, more courageous, and in the end victorious, and that is by pressing into God through prayer.

Sometimes all we have in prayer are groans, but even then the Holy Spirit knows our hearts and our minds and is able to interpret those groans and intercede to the Father on our behalf. He knows what we need even when we do not. All we need to do is show up.

Christ found victory in the garden through prayer before He ever saw the cross, and we’ll find victory, too, if we’ll show up in our garden, our sundeck, our closet, wherever we seek the Lord and His will and provision, and pray.  Don’t mull, don’t pout, don’t feel sorry for ourselves, and don’t try to figure it out on our own.

Pray.  With whatever faith we have, enter into the throne room of God by the blood of Christ and pray the boldest prayers we know how.

Prayer is the avenue that gives us His strength to keep believing in the darkest trials, to line up our will with God’s, to fill us with His peace, and to give us a vision of the joy set before us…

Christ showed us the way in the garden.  And because He was victorious, in death and in life, so are we.  His joy was to bring reconciliation and relationship between the Lord and us. His joy was to know us now and forever.

And our joy, if we’ll seek Him even in our darkest times, especially in our darkest times, is to be more than conquerors.  To conquer our sins and our fears on the backs of those trials, and through it all to know Christ, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Friend, now and forever.

“Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.”
Revelation 2:7 The Message