As I was driving home from an appointment this morning, I passed an orange sign that said, "Inmates Working Ahead." I often pass them along this particular stretch of road and I usually don't think much about it, but today was different. Maybe it's because traffic was moving slower than usual, so I had a chance to pay more attention to the scene. There were about twelve inmates all wearing their orange jumpsuits with a reflective vest over top. There were three cop cars and about 5 or 6 police officers milling around, also with reflective vests on. What caught my attention was a certain inmate walking down the median with a trash bag in his hand. There was a police officer following him very closely with his hand positioned over his weapon. I didn't have time to keep looking as traffic sped up, but something about that scene tugged at my heart.
Here I was looking out at the blue sky, my music blaring, feeling so thankful for such a warm and beautiful day. I was thankful about the fact that I was having a day with less pain. I was thankful that I was able to do a little shopping after my appointment that I've been needing to do for several weeks now. I was just thankful. When I saw the inmates working on the side of the road, I began to feel sad for them. I was thinking to myself how nice it must be for them to be outside in the sunshine, but my next thought was of how they were going to have to go right back to prison as soon as they were done with their work. All of a sudden, I had much more to be thankful for. Most of all, freedom.
I started to let my mind wander. I thought about how many people there are who are walking around technically "free", but on the inside they are in prison. On the inside, they feel like there is someone or something following them around waiting to react if they make a sudden or wrong move...someone waiting to take them back to their prison cell. That used to be me.
I was married when I was 21 years old to a person that I thought loved me and would protect me. All of my dreams and hopes of what a loving marriage would be like were dashed on the rocks of my actual reality. I felt like I was in a prison. I felt controlled. The worst part was, during that time, I had also walked away from my true source of freedom, Jesus. I still went to church. I still looked the part of the sweet pastor's daughter. I looked fine on the outside, but I was in prison on the inside. I had made a huge mistake just a few months before that time in my life and I felt so far away from God that I thought I would never be close to him again. I thought he was angry with me for a long time. I know now that wasn't the case, but it's taken me a lot of years to forgive myself and accept the true, unconditional love of Jesus.
I wonder how many people in my own world are walking around like this, with invisible chains, like I was. If that is you, I am praying for you. I am praying that you will run into the open arms of Jesus and accept his love and forgiveness. If you are in an abusive or controlling relationship, then I am praying for a way out for you. I don't know who you are, but I am going to be praying for you.
It's funny to me how something so common, like driving past inmates working on the side of the road, can stir my heart to pray for people that I may not have even considered praying for today. I truly believe that when you wake up in the morning and say, "Hi, God. Good morning. I am here today to do your will, to serve you in whatever capacity you need me, to listen to you and keep my eyes and heart open for opportunities to be a blessing to others. Use me, Lord." I believe that when we pray like that, and we mean it, God will give us those opportunities.
I have no idea who those inmates were, or what they did to find themselves in prison, but it really doesn't matter. I am praying for them too. We all make mistakes. Sin is sin. In our eyes, some sin is worse than others, and there are different consequences for different sins. But, ALL sin has consequences. In God's eyes, it's all the same. In God's eyes, he loves us all, regardless of the sins we have committed. In that, there is freedom! Maybe you put yourself in prison. Maybe you let guilt consume you, so you've isolated yourself thinking that if you punish yourself long enough, you can pay your debt. My friend, that is wrong. If Jesus can forgive you the very moment you ask him to and throw your sin into a sea of forgetfulness as far as the east is from the west, then who are you to hold on to it and beat yourself up? Let it go! Be free!
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Psalm 103:8-12
"The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
See? It's all good! You are forgiven when you ask! Maybe you didn't put yourself in prison, but you feel imprisoned by someone else, or by the circumstances you're in. There is hope for you as well. Psalm 34:17-18 says, "The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Jesus saves, rescues, and restores. Nothing you have done is so great that he cannot forgive, nothing that anyone or anything can do to you is so impossible that God cannot and will not rescue you from it. Let that sink in.
God rescued me from my abusive marriage and he restored me. He has blessed me with an incredible husband of almost twelve years, and two beautiful daughters. Our God is the God who heals. He loves you. He forgives you. He accepts you. Walk in that today and know that there is someone praying for you. :)
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
It Is Well With My Soul
A friend posted a story on Facebook this morning about a man named Horatio Gates Spafford. I was surprised that I had never heard the story. Horatio Gates Spafford was a successful Chicago lawyer in the 1860's. He and his wife, Anna, were pretty well known. Not just for Horatio's success but for their prominent support and close relationship with famous preacher, DL Moody. In 1870, the Spafford's lives were turned upside-down when they lost their 4 year-old son to scarlet fever. A year later, every piece of real estate that the Spaffords owned along the shores of Lake Michigan was destroyed by the great Chicago Fire. It ruined him financially.
Two years later, his wife and four daughters traveled to Europe while he stayed in Chicago, delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, his family's ship struck another vessel and rapidly sank. His wife survived and sent him a telegraph with two life-shattering words: "saved, alone". Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna, born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of this great hymn....
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
This entire story was incredibly challenging to me. I was trying to put myself in Horatio's shoes, but more than that, when I read the part about his wife standing on the deck of that ship with her children, watching as they are torn away from her grasp by the force of the waters, tears overflowed from my eyes. I have two daughters. I can't imagine what that must have been like for her. The terror, the pain, the despair. But what struck me were the words that came to her mind from a friend. "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
How true that statement is! How often do we become a fair-weather friend to God? How we love to sing praise songs to God when all is going well in our lives. Yet, when tragedy strikes, or even when we're just having a bad week, how quickly we turn on God sometimes. We blame him for our problems, or yell at him for not answering our prayers according to "our" time table. Where is our loyalty to our God?
The other thing that struck me was that in her moment of despair, she heard the voice of God speak to her and tell her that she was saved for a purpose. She could have chosen in that moment not to listen to God, or even to curse God. But, she didn't. Her mind immediately went to the words of her friend, meant to encourage her to continue to trust God through her horrible circumstances. It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. I have no idea what I would do if I experienced what they did. But I do know that the God who sustained them would also be with me. Do you know that? Do you know the love of God deep inside of your heart? Do you believe he loves you so much that even if tragedy befalls you, he will never leave you or forsake you? If you don't know, you can know.
When sorrows come, when Satan attacks, when we face trials, when we sin, Jesus sees it all. He loved us so much that he shed his blood on the cross for our sins. He nailed our sins to the cross so that we could be forgiven, never to have to bear those sins again. And in the end, he is indeed coming for us. The trumpet will sound, the clouds will be rolled back, and Jesus will descend upon the earth to gather us to him and take us to Heaven to live with him for all of eternity. This is our hope. This is the anchor for our souls.
No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...
"It is well, it is well, with my soul."
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ~ Psalm 46:1-3
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. ~ Psalm 103:1-6
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~ John 14:27
Two years later, his wife and four daughters traveled to Europe while he stayed in Chicago, delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, his family's ship struck another vessel and rapidly sank. His wife survived and sent him a telegraph with two life-shattering words: "saved, alone". Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna, born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of this great hymn....
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
This entire story was incredibly challenging to me. I was trying to put myself in Horatio's shoes, but more than that, when I read the part about his wife standing on the deck of that ship with her children, watching as they are torn away from her grasp by the force of the waters, tears overflowed from my eyes. I have two daughters. I can't imagine what that must have been like for her. The terror, the pain, the despair. But what struck me were the words that came to her mind from a friend. "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
How true that statement is! How often do we become a fair-weather friend to God? How we love to sing praise songs to God when all is going well in our lives. Yet, when tragedy strikes, or even when we're just having a bad week, how quickly we turn on God sometimes. We blame him for our problems, or yell at him for not answering our prayers according to "our" time table. Where is our loyalty to our God?
The other thing that struck me was that in her moment of despair, she heard the voice of God speak to her and tell her that she was saved for a purpose. She could have chosen in that moment not to listen to God, or even to curse God. But, she didn't. Her mind immediately went to the words of her friend, meant to encourage her to continue to trust God through her horrible circumstances. It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. I have no idea what I would do if I experienced what they did. But I do know that the God who sustained them would also be with me. Do you know that? Do you know the love of God deep inside of your heart? Do you believe he loves you so much that even if tragedy befalls you, he will never leave you or forsake you? If you don't know, you can know.
When sorrows come, when Satan attacks, when we face trials, when we sin, Jesus sees it all. He loved us so much that he shed his blood on the cross for our sins. He nailed our sins to the cross so that we could be forgiven, never to have to bear those sins again. And in the end, he is indeed coming for us. The trumpet will sound, the clouds will be rolled back, and Jesus will descend upon the earth to gather us to him and take us to Heaven to live with him for all of eternity. This is our hope. This is the anchor for our souls.
No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...
"It is well, it is well, with my soul."
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ~ Psalm 46:1-3
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. ~ Psalm 103:1-6
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~ John 14:27
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