Tag: suffering

You Made It

It is the day after Thanksgiving and a large amount of people have already been Black Friday shopping since early this morning. Actually, with technology today, Black Friday is more like most of November, ramps up around Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, and they try to keep you spending until the Super Bowl.

What does this have to do with divorce and you making it?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Anniversaries, and many other big days are the hardest when you have lost someone or your marriage. Reminders of kids opening presents early in the morning, the smell of a dozen different foods being enjoyed with family, and that special someone being with you through it all…..but all is really not all.

You look at the important days like graduation, the loss of a first tooth, and a new job only to experience these without the one you planned to have by your side. It is hard, and it sucks to put it mildly.

BUT….You made it!!!

It is a new day and the sun came up this morning. You have breath in your lungs and you are on the right side of the grass. God’s mercies are new every morning according to Lamentations 3, but there is so much more to this passage of scripture.

The Book of Lamentations is exactly what it says; a book lamenting to God about the nation of Israel and it’s suffering. Jerusalem has been destroyed by Babylon. Things are not the same. The wonderful past is now a painful present. If you want to watch a powerful video describing the Book of Lamentations, here is a link to a short video. It will open your eyes. Take the time to watch the video and you may relate to our ancestors much more than you realize.

The chapter has only 3 positive verses, ones that describe the goodness of God.

Lamentations 3:22-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

You made it this far because of God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness. Does it still hurt? Yes. Does it change the situation? No. Does it mean anything will change today? That is up to you.

When you allow God to be your portion, He gives you a hope that you will only understand with the passage of time. You will be able to look back and say, “God got me through it. I made it!!”

Did you make it to the end? Not yet, but God will get you there.

If you are struggling today, take a few minutes right now and just lament to God. Tell Him how you feel. Tell Him what hurts. Tell Him what you want to change. Just talk to God. He wants to hear from you. He wants to have a real conversation, not just a list of prayers you say as you are running out the door to whatever you have to do.

People talk about self-care. I prefer God-care, because God created you and knows you way better than you or your bestie knows you. Give Him a little time to do a real work on your heart. Don’t settle for self-care, reach for God-care.

Part of healing is opening up the wound, cleaning it out, and providing an opportunity for it to heal.

Lament to the One who gives love, mercy, and faithfulness new every day.

You made it to today. You will make it to tomorrow. Have hope in Him.

Be blessed!!

YouVersion Bible App Reading Plans:
(over 294,000 downloads to date)
31 Days: http://bit.ly/2DNy6E6
7 Days: http://bit.ly/2DTHQwD
5 Days: https://bit.ly/3uxvntS

If you would like to support this ministry, feel free to purchase a copy of my book or donate below:

Book: http://amzn.to/2ctwjHp

Paypal: http://PayPal.Me/brentpapineau3

Venmo: @Brent-Papineau

Any purchase or donation would be a huge blessing. Much love!!

0

Comfort in Suffering

Everyone grows tired of the same old attempts to make us feel good when we are going through the most difficult times in our lives. For the most part, they mean well. Does it really feel like that to you, though?

If we are being honest, we want to believe that “everything will be alright” and “time heals all wounds”. At 2AM in the morning when you can’t sleep and have been crying your eyes out, these words ring less than hollow.

The meaning behind those words are saying, “I care, but I don’t really know what to say or do.” In the end, they mean well and really do care for you.

Unless they have gone through what you are going through or are a professional counselor/minister, anything they say may not give you any sense of relief or comfort.

When I learned that almost everything I can say or do for someone going through a divorce will not provide much help, it set me back a little bit. It caused me to rethink my approach when it comes to advice and direction for divorce healing.

To those of you who have read my previous blog posts or I have been blessed to help you in person, you know those words. I will share them later in this post, for those that need them.

Today, I saw a video that I had to watch twice. It is a video from Celebration Church of Jacksonville, FL. They produce a weekly video to compliment their daily bible study called The Whole Story Reading Plan. It is in partnership with The Bible Project and an amazing way to gain a fuller understanding of the Bible.

In this weekly video titled “Comfort in the Mystery“, I gained a fresh perspective of the Book of Job.

We all know the story (or do we?). Job was a good man that God allowed to go through suffering. Man, did I learn some things. From a guy who has been a Christian for over 25 years and heard numerous sermons on Job, this was eye-opening.

The video is about 30 minutes long. When you are ready and have the time to process it, feel free to watch it (posted again below). Watch it fully a couple of times, like I did.

(Disclaimer: You may be confused by some of the things said, if you have not deeply studied the Bible. Just listen for the application of the Word, paying attention to how God’s Word provides comfort in and through suffering. I will refer you to the book Supernatural by Dr. Michael Heiser for information on what be new or confusing to you.)

Hopefully, you will feel encouraged that God knows what you are going through and desires you to be whole, not just healed.

He has the answers to your questions. He has the salve for your wounds. He has the hands to mend your broken heart.

I promised you earlier that I would share with you what I say to those needing comfort and direction in times of divorce.

If you are looking for answers, I don’t have them. If you want me to tell you it will get better, it will eventually. If you want to know how to fell or how to act, beats me. So what good can I provide?

A continually, fully surrendered, honest relationship with Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior that is growing each and every day is what you need. Simple as that.

It is not hard, yet extremely challenging. It is not easy, yet it is exceedingly fulfilling. It is not warm and fuzzy, at least when you start. It is not confusing, as long as you remain obedient.

I have not had one person tell me that the above has not worked, if they honestly surrender complete control over EVERY area of their life and follow Jesus with blind and growing faith.

Don’t kid yourself. What you are going through is real life!!! Guess who gave you that life? God did and he does not make mistakes.

He is the only one who knows exactly what you need, when you need it, and how you need it. A true and honest growing relationship with Him will provide the peace, wisdom, and knowledge needed as you process from divorce to healing and on to wholeness.

God knows. God loves you. Let Him love you the way He wants to love you.

Get to know Him.

Be blessed!!

YouVersion Bible App Reading Plans:
31 Days: http://bit.ly/2DNy6E6
7 Days: http://bit.ly/2DTHQwD

Book: http://amzn.to/2ctwjHp

0

God’s Perspective on Suffering

Suffering

Why does God allow suffering? Is God just? Does God rule this world with true justice? Why do bad things happen to good people?

We all have these questions sometime in our lives. As someone dealing with divorce, you may be questioning these right now.

One of the most unique books of the Bible is Job. It is known for it’s teaching on suffering.

I could give you a bunch of encouraging words, anecdotes, feel-good methods, and applications when it comes to suffering. I will choose instead to point you to this video.

If you are struggling with suffering and just need questions like those above answered, take just 11 minutes and watch this. It is an overview of the whole book of Job from The Bible Project. It can do in 11 minutes what most preachers and counselors would take weeks to convey.

The end of the video does help describe how to process suffering and leads us to lean into God through prayer and faith.

After you watch the video, feel free to let me know in the comments your thoughts, feelings, or just let me know if it helped you. I would love to hear from you.

Be blessed!!

Here is a more question and answer/simpler version. More story telling. 7 minutes.

YouVersion Bible App Reading Plans:
31 Days: http://bit.ly/2DNy6E6
7 Days: http://bit.ly/2DTHQwD

Book: http://amzn.to/2ctwjHp

 

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑