Only God can take the brokenness in our lives and produce a beautiful light!
Author: Melody Westbrook
gods in high places
II Kings gives us story after story of the Kings of Judah and the Kings of Israel and the choice each of them made as to whether or not they were going to follow Yahweh God or follow the gods of their people.
Watch this video to hear about how each of us tend to want to follow God yet hold onto our own “gods in high places.”
The Return with a Twist of Transition
The Walk has taken a pause for the past several months due to life change and transition. I encourage you to watch/listen the video link below to hear the update and life changes.
I will be trying something new over the next several months with video over the written word. My favorite thing to do is teach/speak so let’s try this out and see what happens.
Any feedback would be great!
Let’s turn lives upside down for Jesus!
Melody
A Hopeful Hurt
There are times in our lives when hurt rushes in like a tidal wave. We may be standing in the calm of the ocean playing with our water toys when a monumental wave sneaks up behind us catching us so off-guard that there is no time to run for cover. It crashes over us taking us down to the bottom of the ocean floor struggling to orient ourselves to our surroundings. We try to gasp for air to live but we are quickly reminded that to breathe in the depths of the water will kill us. So, we hold our breath just waiting to come to the surface for air to live. When we rise to the surface, we are still disoriented not knowing what happened and how to release ourselves from this wave.
Back in October, I was hit with that wave pushing me to pause in my writing. Interestingly, the last blog that I wrote before I took this break was EMOTIONAL HEALING AND THE RIVER THAT DIVIDES based on Joshua 1:9…
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
This statement was made to the people of Israel right before they were going to cross the Jordan River to a land of freedom and promise. God gave them two things that they were responsible for…BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! In that fear will be gone and discouragement will vanish. Then the responsibility of God is that He WILL BE WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO!
This wave has been one of the toughest and biggest waves I have treaded in my life. Waves of deep pain and hurt toss around me as I try to survive this. Within this wave is confusion and upheaval in life that has caused me to question every aspect of who I am and what God has called me to be. I have screamed at God using a voice of hurt and confusion that I am confident He understands. I have been so angry with Him because He has yet to pull me out of this confusion and hurt. My physical body has responded in way that I have never seen before. But in the depth of my hurt that continues to haunt me, I am reminded that God is in control. He always has been, and He will always be.
Surrounding myself with friends who point me to Jesus at every turn has allowed their words comfort and remind me to face forward in my faith and to find peace knowing that when I stepped into that river of emotional healing to be strong and courageous.
Folks, I cannot tell you how far I am as I am crossing that river. I can tell you that yesterday I felt as though I was drowning and that today I have come to the surface trying to grasp onto the promises of God.
Why do I tell you this story? Why do I feel the need for you to hear my own hurts? Because you also may need to hear today that GOD IS IN CONTROL! Maybe you need to be reminded of that truth. I have questioned God repeatedly in this feeling that He has lost control and has let me just drive through this chaos totally on my own. But because of my foundation of faith, I know that is not true. And you too need to know that! No matter what is thrown at you in life remind yourself that this is life here on earth…it is NOT life in eternity! We have a hopeful hurt. Because of our faith in a living God, we may lose all hope here on earth because of our hurt. But our hope is not resting on hope in this world. Our hope is resting in our hope of eternity! I say that for your sake, and I say that also for me to remind us of that truth. As believers, our hurt can be a hopeful hurt!
I want to leave you with some scripture that have been my rock in this.
First, I believe that in all our trials in life that we need to lean completely on the word of God.
A recent scripture on YouVersion paints the picture of “scripture dependence”…
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 NIV
We want our path to be lit to show us what our next step in our trials and in life, but we will never find our way unless we turn on our lamp…open our Bible and read God’s word of enlightenment.
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13 NIV
This scripture was given to me at a point where I was so angry with God. I had begged and begged for Him to pull me out of this situation. I had literally been on my knees before Him to answer my prayer to release me. But to this day, it is a no. I am still in the throws of the wave. When I read this verse, I got stuck on the last phrase, SO THAT THE FATHER MAY BE GLORIFIED…!!! This hit me like a brick. I wanted out for my sake but not for the sake of God’s glory. God orchestrates and maneuvers situations that involve “yeses” and “no’s” for HIS GLORY and for His glory ONLY! I want out for the release of my pain but not for His glory. What if He will be glorified more and more with each day that passes? What if my pain must worsen for His glory to be heightened? Am I willing to do that?
“give thanks in all circumstances; for THIS IS GOD’S WILL for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
This is a tough one and to be honest has made me angry. How could it be God’s will for me to be in so much pain? And I have yet to give thanks for these circumstances. There has been a little bit of thankfulness along the way…it has drawn me closer in my marriage, it has drawn me closer in my dependence on God…but a flat out “Thanks God for all of this” has not reached my lips. I do know that the only thing I want for my life is God’s will. I would never want anything less than that. So, I must choose to rest on following His will and trust that He will hold me in this.
“Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor MY COVENANT OF PEACE REMOVED,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
This was a verse on YouVersion the week my life crashed. The mountains in my life were shaken and the hills removed. The foundation of my life and world were wiped out from beneath me with one stroke. I was fighting for peace in so many ways. At one point I sat in my car for hours in a dark parking lot wanting to run and never return. I needed God and I needed His peace that He promised. But I didn’t feel it that night. But I can tell you that I experienced His protection. Instead of running, I returned to my home and began the search for His peace. You see, sometimes peace is a search. I search for it every day. And when I reach the end of my day, I thank God that I made it through one more day.
Hopeful hurt…is it possible? Can we find it? I believe that we can. It does not come overnight or turn on like a light switch but when we seek hope, we will find it!
Love to my readers who are hurting!
You Can’t Forgive Like Jesus
Hello Friiends,
The time has come for me to take a pause.
If you read my blog from last week, Emotional Healing and the River that Divides, you will understand my reference to taking a step into the river that separates us from emotional healing. We have to choose to cross through that river to reach the other side of emotional peace and freedom. Although I have spent years pursuing healing, there comes a moment when it’s time to go even deeper. That time has come for me. Therefore the reason for this pause.
I hope to rejoin you soon in the next few weeks or months. I am confident God will show me when that time is. But for now the focus needs to be on me and my healing.
In the meantime, I want to share with you a impacting blog written by my son, Caleb Westbrook. He is a published author with great insights into our world with Jesus. Let his words sink in and challenge your Christian faith as it has done mine.
A few weeks ago I read the social media post of a prominent pastor, someone whose work and ministry I respect. To paraphrase, he stated that unforgiveness is a form of idolatry in which an individual worships their hurt more than Christ.
You know the kind of post, the mic drop that leaves nothing to be said but an “Amen,” “Preach,” or even “Ouch” and “Convicting!” The comments were littered with those brief affirmations. (On a separate note that could fill a separate post, there’s a problem in culture with oversimplifying complex issues with brief sound-bytes, Twitter takes. Check out Haris Hosseini’s 2019 NSDA National Championship winning speech, “Simply Put.”) But something must be said.
So I did. I said a little more. Except, my comment was deleted.
I wasn’t even trying to stir up trouble or negativity. I rarely leave comments that could be interpreted as disagreeing with the author’s views; it’s just not really how I approach social media. In this case, I merely wanted to extend the conversation around a sensitive topic. Here’s the gist of what I said (I can’t remember word-for-word because, well, the comment was deleted):
I agree with the post, but we must be careful and recognize that calls for forgiveness have also been used by abusers to distance themselves quickly from their abuse. Spiritual mentors must help victims to recognize the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. We must remember that forgiveness is complex especially in the case of trauma and abuse. Within that context, I heartily give my own Amen to this post.
I was a little stunned to learn that my comment had been deleted. I felt guilty for a moment because my intent was sincere, and I never meant to add negativity. But as I’ve considered the post and my response, I stand by what I said and especially its urgency in an age in which many people who have grown up in faith have left their faith due to abuse (spiritual, sexual, verbal, etc.). Now, to be fair, I don’t know the reason behind the comment being deleted; perhaps there were valid considerations. So I’ll dedicate the rest of this article to the issue in general rather than one specific post because, truth be told, the idea posted to this particular pastor’s social media is not unique to him.
I believe that the idea that unforgiveness is a sin is one of those Christian platitudes that can be very harmful. It’s a classic example in which cold theology in a vacuum doesn’t align with the clear compassion of Christ; it’s just not the intent of the law, a reminder that Jesus gave his followers over and over again.
Now he [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Luke 13:10-17 ESV
Here Jesus makes it clear that biblical mandates were meant for human flourishing and not for harmful and neglectful legalism. Sure, forgiveness should be sought consistently and radically. Jesus responds to the norm of the day by saying forgiveness should not be given seven times but rather seventy times seven! But if he fought religious legalism then, wouldn’t he say the same now?
What about someone who has experienced abuse: physical, verbal, sexual, spiritual? What if their only response to the mandate of forgiveness is simply, “I can’t,” eyes cast down like the tax collector beating his chest in Luke 18? Is there no space for them in God’s ecosystem? In fact, in religious circles, forgiveness has even been weaponized by abusers. “Shut up! Stop making a fuss. Forgive, just as Christ has forgiven you,” declared without remorse (or momentary remorse, only to repeated again when it’s convenient).
So, yes to forgiveness. It’s healing. It’s important for people who have been wronged and is representative of the act of Christ’s blameless sacrifice on the cross, an act of sacrifice, substitution, victory, forgiveness, and every other conceivable act of glorified response to the problems of individual and systemic evil throughout history. But, let’s stop treating everything as straightforward. Let’s recognize nuance. Mourn with those who mourn rather than adding salt to open wounds. Walk alongside victims and understand that forgiveness often takes time.
Forgive like Jesus? I can’t. That’s why I need Jesus.
Caleb Westbrook; October 16, 2021
Emotional Healing and the River that Divides
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Do you remember the story of Moses and the Promised Land? Do you remember how he led the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years? Do you remember that even though he was never able to see the Promised Land with his own eyes, he commissioned Joshua to lead the people through the Jordan River to reach what was promised?
Joshua 1:9 is the continuing of the story of Moses. It is a well-known verse and often used to cheer us on in some endeavor, but the context of this verse provides a deepness, a richness that we often overlook.
Within this context, the Israelite people were beginning the exploration into the Promised Land. Moses had died and now it was Joshua’s turn to lead.
The only thing that stood between them and the Promised Land was a body of water called the Jordan River. It is safe to say that these people had crossed many rivers in their day. Heck, they had heard the story of the fathers walking on dry land through the Red Sea. So, rivers and seas were a common obstacle for them. The significance of this river, though, was more than just a body of water. On the other side of the river was life and freedom; promise and prosperity. It represented God’s grace and deep love for His people.
So, Joshua said…” IT’S TIME! Gather all of your possessions and in three days we are going to complete what your ancestors started.”
Have you ever anticipated the day that you leave on an incredible vacation? Sleep is lost, schedules are disrupted, and bags are packed days in advance as the long-awaited departure approaches.
On a much larger scale, this reflects the hearts of these people. Their day of departure was soon approaching. But where were they going? The land had been described to them, yet their eyes had not seen it. This was the land of promise, yet they did not fully understand what was promised. The land was flowing with milk and honey yet a land they had yet to conquer.
As they chose to dip their toes into the Jordan river, there was no turning back. Could they trust God to do what He said He would do? Would this land be worth the journey through the river?
Often in our lives, God wants to take us across the river to the land of promise. This is not a physical destination that we can plant our feet upon, but it is a land that is promised for our hearts. It is a land of emotional healing and peaceful prosperity. But to reach the other side, we must cross the river…a river with a flowing current that could easily sweep us away, a river with a muddy bottom causing us to take small purposeful steps so we don’t stumble and drown, a river that leaves us wet and cold. But to have the peace that God desires for us, it is a river that must be crossed.
There are four powerful words that God states to His people; four words that captured the essence of their journey; four words that we need to claim and stand upon before crossing the river…
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS
Looking at the context of the scripture, this is the third time God said this to His people.
Joshua 1:6 – Be strong and courageous!
Joshua 1:7 – Be strong and VERY courageous!
Joshua 1:9 – Be strong and courageous!
When you look at the beginning of verse nine you will see that God actually starts with a question…” Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!”
Strength and courage is not a suggestion but a command! If God merely suggested, we would treat it as optional. But God’s strength is not optional. God’s strength and courage is commanded when it is time to cross the river!
If you are standing on the edge of the river today, the command is still the same…BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. Your bags may be packed, your belongings gathered. But the fear to take your first step into the water of emotional healing may be so overwhelming that you are paralyzed while standing on the shore. The only sincere hope that you have is waiting on the other side. Once you choose to enter the water, you must go with both feet. If you don’t carry command and strength with you, you will not make it across. If you choose to wade in the water without completing the journey, it will result with more emotional hurt causing you to be weighed down by the water.
The journey to emotional healing is one of the toughest courses you can set yourself on. With each step in the river, you will be faced with choices and memories that will make your desire to return to the shore unrelenting. But I promise, if you choose to return without crossing the river, the journey back will be worse than the journey forward. I know because I have been there.
There were moments in my emotional healing that were so dark I couldn’t move. I was stuck in the darkness of my despair knowing that if I went back to the shore, I would die in that despair. But I also knew that if I continued to move forward, the thought of living through the healing did not seem possible. I was stuck in my despair…I was stuck in the river not able to see the peace from healing awaiting me on the other side. In these moments, I would pray this prayer…
“God, take me as deep as you need to take me, but I beg You, DO NOT LET GO!”
In my despair, I held my breath as God, and I dove deep into the waters. I prayed for strength and courage as I faced the demons of my past. I watched with each step in the waters how God held my hand. Then when the waters got unpredictably deep, He let go of my hand picking me up to carry me in His arms as we made our way to the other side.
I can say with confidence that the journey to the promised land of emotional healing is worth crossing the river!
Disappointments
Life is filled with disappointments. We feel the disappointment when we don’t get what we wanted on our pizza, but we also feel the disappointment when we don’t get what we wanted in a marriage. The word “disappointment” is used to fill the gamut of life’s sad moments.
Just the other week, my husband and I had to vet through one of life’s disappointments. This disappointment didn’t shatter our world, but it did put a strain on our relationship as we processed through it differently than one another. We had a contract on our house hoping to move into a smaller house. This is a dual purposed endeavor. One, to clean out our finances a bit to give us an opportunity to give more to our community in a financial way. Second, simply because we don’t need this big house. The journey in this has been a spiritual one for me walking side by side with God to the point of surrender. When the contract fell through, I felt as though the rug had been wiped out from under me, but truthfully, this was just one of life’s disappointments. Not life shattering, just disappointing. The continuing of the story is pretty cool in that we now have a new contract on our house offering more money for our home. Cool story and as we often say, “A God story!”
But sometimes life doesn’t have this beautiful bow wrapped around it. Often, we are not able to see the silver lining, or the silver lining doesn’t exist. Several years ago, in the process of building our current home, we got “stuck” with an extra piece of property. Now this is a long story as to how this happened, but it had to do with our integrity and keeping our word. Very noble therefore we believed that our nobleness would be rewarded. As we put this piece of property on the market, we knew that God would reward our integrity and we would make a profit. Not true! Ultimately, we lost $40,000 and the person whom which our integrity was directed towards walked away and we have not seen them since. This was $40,000 of disappointment that was never reconciled with God swooping in and saving the day. This is $40,000 that will never be accounted for or redeemed. This was $40,000 we could have used to pay for our sons’ tuition or given away to someone in need. But years later, it is gone never to be seen again.
Why? Why God? I have poured out my heart to you in faith. I believed so strongly that this was of You. I followed You. I obeyed You. I believed in You. What happened to the verse “Ask and it will be given…knock and the door will open?” I asked and I knocked only to receive a “no”. We are not only disappointed by life, but we are also disappointed by God.
Disappointments in life are God’s moment to shine. But is this putting God into a box or treating Him like the genie in bottle? Kind of like a “poof…life disappointment turned into life triumph.” Often within these disappointments, well-meaning friends of faith will comfort us with phrases such as “God is just waiting to do something even bigger.” I have made that comment myself. I used to find comfort in this until I realized it isn’t necessarily true. There is no promise in His word telling me that because He said no to something that He is just waiting to say yes to something bigger. This is just how we choose to patronize ourselves in our disappointments.
Sometimes a “no” is simply a “no” without us ever seeing it become something different. Sometimes there is no silver lining, no “big God” moment. Sometimes it’s just a disappointing story.
So, what do we do with our disappointing story with no silver lining? I wish I could reach out to each of you readers to catch some of your wisdom of how you handle disappointments. Then maybe we could fold each of them up and put them in a jar labeled “Disappointment Jar”. Then at the next life disappointment, I would reach in and pull one out.
Bottom line is that there is no three-step process. There is only faith and hope and belief that God is in control always and forever. End of sentence. Put a period on it!
While I do believe that we need to feel every emotion in our disappointments in life, there comes a point along our journey where we simply must let go and label it as one of our perplexities in life. If not, we will spend all our energy on this one disappointment leaving no energy for the next.
Our goal in life needs to be to seek Jesus, not seek the Jesus who takes away our disappointments! Simply Jesus!
JESUS…a bold wrongdoer
To understand where I am going in this blog today, you will first need to read the scripture in which I am referring to.
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:1-11 NIV
In this scripture, it gives two examples or stories of Jesus’ wrongdoing. He boldly disobeyed but with a purpose.
For me, I would tell you that I am a rule follower. I used to live steeped in fear following the rules. If I missed one que, one rule, I would live in horror of my mistake. I’ve grown up a bit and now I live by “I will follow your rules if they make sense.” If they don’t make sense, then my rule following wavers. I don’t go against the rules because “I can”, but if a rule doesn’t make sense and I will break it. My setting or climate of rules has always been the church and the legalistic constraints given within the church.
I see Jesus doing the same in these scriptures. He did not set out to break the rule simply because He could, but He broke the rule because the rule no longer made sense. In our churches, we applaud Jesus because of His boldness; we even preach sermons on it because He took on the establishment. But when we break the rules, rules which are often like Jesus’ rule breaking, we are ridiculed and judged.
In this scripture, what was the rule broken?
To do absolutely nothing on the Sabbath.
This goes back to the Old Testament to one of the “big ten”. In the ten commandments one of the commands was for us to keep the Sabbath holy and holy meant to not do any work and allow the household to cease from working.
But the definition of work was only as clear as the one defining it. Rules can become as extreme as the “rule pusher” decides or as the “rule breaker” chooses. We often call it “splitting hairs” or “slicing it thin.”
In this passage of scripture, the Pharisees were placed on the throne of “rule definer” and they took that position very seriously. But interestingly, Jesus also defined this rule by His actions. No words were needed because his definition was warranted by His behavior. Words only became a necessity when the Pharisees pushed Him into providing a definition. When push came to shove, He was bold.
The first example was just a simple swipe of the hand in the fields of grain. As the disciples swiped, they filled their hands with grain, then ate it. But the Sabbath police were standing close by ready to pounce. Once accused of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus boldly beat them at their own game. He quoted Old Testament scripture from the life of David to put them in their rightful place…judgmental, pious, idiots.
The second situation was even more bold on the part of Jesus. Visiting the synagogue on the Sabbath was right but healing on the Sabbath was wrong. As Jesus and his men entered, they noticed a man with a withered hand. This need was not going to go unnoticed no matter what the day of the week was. I can imagine what went on in the mind of Jesus’ and His buds. Withered hand on the left, coddle the Pharisees on the right, or focus straight ahead and do nothing as though left and right do not exist.
These are the same three choices with which we are often faced. Look to the left and break the rule for the greater good of others; look to the right and obey the rule for the greater good of peace with those who have defined the rule; or ignore all and walk straight ahead keeping the peace.
But look at the example Jesus laid out here. Not only did he turn left towards the withered hand, but He also grabbed the withered hand and stood front and center for the audience of the Pharisees. Breaking this rule just made sense. So, on the Sabbath He disobeyed.
Looking at this from our present-day perspective, it makes sense what Jesus did. But we walk this road daily in our churches and religious environments. Our church world is filled with rules. Rules that probably made sense at one point or maybe not! But we continue to walk within this because it is what we know. But unfortunately, we not only choose to walk this for ourselves, but we choose it for others to walk whether they want it or not.
In this story, the rule did not make sense, so He boldly chose to heal. I’m so glad He did because there are times, I need healing on a Sabbath and simply cannot wait until Monday.
What is the lesson here? Well, it is quite layered.
#1 Don’t be the Pharisee in your church or your world who is hiding behind an ancient rule. Question the rule and redefine it as needed.
#2 Choose wisely to break a rule when that rule does not make sense in your churches.
#3 If you choose to break it, break it confidently knowing it is for the greater good.
Rules are given to us to give structure and guidance, but when the rule “rules” over us, it is time to question the purpose. Then we can redefine it.
I leave you with this…
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
What if the world you conform to is the world within your churches or your religion that keep you trapped in your religious piety?
THE WALK 