Author: Melody Westbrook
Fighting For My Heart…Psalm 55
Listen to my prayer, O God, …
Opening a moment of prayer addressing God and asking Him to listen.
How do we open moments with God?
Do we pause in the quiet?
Do we scream loudly for Him to hear?
Is it in passing?
Is it deliberate?
Opening a conversation with God is the beginning to any prayer. It is like pushing the buttons on our phone to call a friend. We hold out hope that our friend will answer. This hope gives way to the wish to talk, or cry, or celebrate.
The Psalmist’s opening line was simply…” HEY GOD…LET’S TALK!”
…do not ignore my plea
A demanding cry of the Psalmist!
I command you God!
I demand of you God!…
DO NOT IGNORE ME!
Or…was this more of a cry from a tender yet broken heart?
Please God, do not walk out the door. My heart is broken. Please stay. Please sit. Please listen…I need you!
At times, we simply need God to hear, to listen, to be here, …
Hear me and answer me.
A cry to be heard.
A cry to plead.
A cry for an answer.
I cry out to God. I need Your listening ears for comfort. Please let me feel Your presence. Allow Your listening ears to heal this loneliness and isolation.
Answer me Jesus. Please do not let me walk away from this moment empty and without answers. I need You! I need Your answers…Your wisdom…Your guidance!
I have tried over and over again to find answers, but they are empty and useless. They achieve nothing pushing me back into the same space as though I am chasing my own tail.
Please, God, give me Your answers!
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught.
My thoughts bombard me day and night. My sleep is restless, my dreams are of hatred and betrayal. I wake up in distress and agony. I can’t escape the monsters inside my head. They chase me down in a relentless pursuit.
because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked.
Oh, dear God, their words and accusations hurt so deeply. They do not stop. With the rise of each new day come familiar words of pain and betrayal. They have lost the ability to see me, a human. I am one who hurts and bleeds with each twist of the knife.
Threats that try to destroy!
for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger.
The rocks they throw at me are heavier and heavier weighing me down with their accusations. Lord, please lift these rocks from my shoulders.
They act violently with their anger. They come at me one by one. They come two by two. They accuse me in groups and in masses of wrong. There is no mercy, no grace.
My heart is in anguish within me;
If you were to squeeze my heart, the brokenness, hurt, and anger would pour out. I try to hide it. I try to smile, but my heart is so broken. I think I have let go of my hurt. Yet, my heart only pauses. More anguish fills it further. The supply is endless.
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
I would not describe death as terror. More than that, I would appreciate death as a relief from this pain.
Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.
My stomach trembles with fear. Fear for what is before me. Fear their accusations turn to right. Fear that God will turn from my wretched aching soul.
My fear turns to horror…like watching a movie as I sit on the edge of my seat. Friend changing to villain now turns towards his victim looking to devour. I cower in horror.
Oh, that I had the wings of a dove. I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert…
I long to flee but instead I sit face to face, cheek to cheek, eye to eye with my enemy.
Still crying out to God…Listen to my prayer oh God…LISTEN!
I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
My prayer never ceases. I look this way and that way for relief. My heart tells me to look only ONE way. My truth and my foundation agree. I force my gaze away from my enemy and onto my God. I cry out to God in despair three times a day. Every moment of every day, I long to find relief.
But as for me, I trust in you.
AMEN
A Smoke-Filled Room
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When we view life events as chaotic flukes, we might scratch our heads and ask, “Is God even involved in this mess?”
But, when we start seeing them as part of God’s master plan, well, then we can kick back and say, “Oh yes, He’s definitely pulling the strings!”
Watch the video link below as Melody dives deeper into the life of the widow in I Kings 17.
Have you ever considered the women who were present at the Manger?
Of course, we all know Mary was there. But who were the other women who influenced this birth?
Watch the video below to discover more women who met Jesus at the manger…
SINCERELY, ELIJAH (Part 2)
Have you ever had a time in your life when you could not find God? When you felt as though God vanished or disappeared?
Watch this video. Learn how the Israelites navigated with no voice from God in this next story of SINCERELY, ELIJAH.
SINCERELY, ELIJAH (part 1)
The story of Elijah from scripture is one of great power. The mightiness of God is shown before His people as fire is brought down from the heavens. It is a story that we hold onto grasping the power of God in our own lives. But this story had a beginning that is overlooked because it simply is not as big of a story. It is not a story that will be written within our children’s books or preached from the pulpit. But it is a story that can impact our lives as greatly as the story of the fire.
Watch this video below to hear Melody tell about why the beginning of this story is so important for our lives.
Capturing One Thought at a Time
Have you ever chased a firefly? Running through the woods or grassy lawn capturing that one beautiful light blinking in the dark? Once you find that special one, you place it in a jar with punctured holes in the lid in hopes they will survive to the next day. As the little critter continues to blink you are assured there is still life in his wings. His light becomes your hope.
In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul gives us the same hope. He tells us to capture our thoughts, look at them closely, then choose whether we need to hold onto them.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, IF there is any excellence, IF there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
This verse is familiar to most but within this verse is a hidden treasure.
The treasure lies within one word…IF.
To be honest, I had never given thought about this one word.
Why would the apostle Paul write that subordinating conjunction?
Is there any value within this one word?
The word IF gives us options we often do not think that we have. Just because we have taken a thought captive doesn’t mean we need to keep it.
Let’s break this down. If there is a thought that I have taken captive…a thought I obsess over.
Will my finances be okay?
Will my marriage make it?
Are my children going to be safe in this crazy world?
It doesn’t matter the thought, what matters is that we have taken it captive within our minds and our hearts.
Once that thought is captive, we need to look within that thought and tear it apart digging for the gold. The gold appears as pure, lovely, true, honorable, commendable excellent or praiseworthy. IF we can find any of those nuggets within that thought, then capture it. Switch the fear to the faith. Find that gold and treasure it.
If we cannot find any of those things listed, then release the thought. Adopt the process of sifting then letting go. When there is NOTHING good in that thought…find another one!
Fake Joy, Real Life
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. James 1:2-4
When I was a young girl, I was an innocent bystander to the guilt and shame church people misconstrued from scripture. My eyes were wide open to anything stated within the spiritual/church world therefore I will never forget the twist of this verse that caused tremendous shame in me.
This verse was pushed, coerced, guilted that we needed to be happy and joyous in all circumstances. I remember a church member who lost her husband and the only words that she expressed was, “Praise the Lord.” This caused confusion in me as I thought we should be sad when someone died. There was no room for sadness and even anger when life went south. I am convinced that this mentality pushed me even further into silence of the abuse within my home.
If times were tough, we were taught to smile and say “Praise the Lord” leaving anyone who was hurting feeling the weight of their “godly” shame. Hurt was hurt and there was nothing joyous about it. But no one cared about that.
Interestingly, though, it has become noticeably clear to me that our fake attempt at joy totally misses what this verse is honestly saying.
There is NO guilt push of joy in this verse, but instead, there is a strong attempt communicating perseverance. Perseverance has a name that is much more important than Joy. Our joy comes as a byproduct of the perseverance we are GROWING into.
Webster defines it as a “continued effort.” Joy is simply an emotion the writer of James was communicating we will have when we learn to persevere. Perseverance is to take center stage, not joy! God did not call me to joy…He called me to perseverance!
I love what it says in verse four…
Let perseverance finish its work…
Joy cannot finish the work, but perseverance can. If we allow the trials in our lives to run its course while we persevere and seek God, we will become mature and complete. We will lack NOTHING making joy a part of the final equation, not the full equation.
Remember…Perseverance has a name!
THE WALK 