You Are A Fierce-hearted Woman

I subscribe to some daily devotional pages on facebook and this one just spoke to me.

 

“Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24 (CSB)

I didn’t know loving people would be so hard.

I silently say this to God in a coffee shop on an ordinary Tuesday morning. I’m sitting at a table with a scratched wood surface and above me folk music comes through the speakers. My latte is half-cold and my mood is threatening to become lukewarm, too.

Haven’t we all been there?

I think back to another moment in a coffee shop when I was around 30 years old, wide-eyed and naïve, full of dreams. This is the age where I was both tender and ambitious. I thought I could save the world and conveniently forgot someone already had.

I’m looking 40 in the face now, and I have a few more wrinkles around my eyes. A few more scars on my heart. I also have a wound still healing from recent words that cut like a sword all the way down to the bone.

For a long time I didn’t understand that broken people have sharp edges. And if we dare to love, to make a difference, to put ourselves out there, then inevitably we will sometimes end up startled and bleeding.

I wish someone had whispered this in my ear years ago, leaned right in and said, “Oh, yes, a lifetime with Jesus is going to be a wonderful adventure. There’s going to be joy and hope and beautiful relationships. But, listen, there’s something else you need to know: You’re not going on holiday, you’re going into battle.”

I imagine I wouldn’t have liked or understood this at the time.

I probably wouldn’t even have believed it, or I might have told the person they needed to be more positive.

But later when the arrows started flying, I would have suddenly thought, “Oh, yes, I’m glad someone warned me.”

Perhaps that’s why today I’m writing all this down … to remind myself and, in case you haven’t heard yet, to gently tell you, too: We need to know we’re in a battle, because otherwise we’ll become disillusioned and discouraged.

We’ll think we must be doing something wrong or even that God has tricked us. We’ll retreat when it’s time to advance. We’ll hide when it’s time to charge. We’ll be caught off-guard instead of guarding our hearts. We’ll even misunderstand who we’re fighting. It’s not ever other humans; it’s always the darkness itself.

I recently saw the movie Wonder Woman and in one scene, she crosses a space called “No Man’s Land.” She walks with her head held high. She deflects the gunfire on behalf of others. She does what no one else has been able to so far.

As I watched, tears came to my eyes because I know what this is like, how it feels. There is beauty in the battle. There is strength. There is victory. “Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).

But it’s okay if sometimes we still need to whisper to Jesus, “This is harder than I thought it would be.” If that’s you today, then know you’re not alone. Also know feeling this way isn’t failure; it’s confirmation you are a warrior, mightier than you know, stronger than you’ve yet to see.

Love is a soft word in our culture. But in the Kingdom it’s a war cry.

And so we fight on — we serve and encourage and work and pray and change diapers and change the world. Because we are women of God, and this is what we do; this is who we are. We are a beautiful, fierce-hearted force. We cannot be defeated.

Lord, You know how hard it is to live and love in this world sometimes, because You’ve been here, too. Thank You for Your compassion toward us and Your promise to bring us through whatever we may face. Through You, we have strength, grace and victory. I pray You will empower me to keep fighting today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

Romans 8:37-39, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB)

1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (CSB)

RELATED RESOURCES:

If you liked this devotional you’ll love bestselling author Holley Gerth’s new book, Fierce-hearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely.

CONNECT:

You can also visit Holley’s website to join almost 40,000 subscribers by signing up for Holley’s encouraging emails.

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

What’s a battle you’re facing today? What truth does your heart need to remember? (Example: God loves me and promises me victory.)

Dealing with Deep Grief

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Losing someone you love can cut into your heart so viciously it forever redefines who you are and how you think. It’s what I call deep grief.

It strains against everything you’ve ever believed. So much so, you wonder how the promises that seemed so real on those thin Bible pages yesterday could possibly stand up under the weight of this enormous sadness today.

I once stood at the side of a casket too small to accept. Pink roses draped everywhere. And I watched my mom as she lay across the casket refusing to let go. How could she let go? Part of her heart lay within, so quiet and so still.

I stood paralyzed and stunned. Just days ago we were laughing and doing everyday things and assuming that all of our lives stretched before us in spans of many, many years. And then suddenly … it all stopped.

In the flurry of funeral plans and memorial services we all operated on automatic. People were everywhere. Soft chatter filled in the gaps that our stunned silence could not. And people brought in enough food to feed the whole neighborhood.

But eventually people went back to their own lives. The soft chatter dissipated. The food stopped coming. And we were forced to carry on. Only we had deep grief wrapped about us that made our throats feel strangled and our feet stuck in mud.

I remember around that time when I tried to go to a drive-thru to order some food. But I couldn’t. I sat there with the speaker spouting words at me I couldn’t process. The cashier kept asking if she could take my order.

Yeah, I had an order. Take away my bloodshot eyes. Take away my desire to hurt the doctors that couldn’t save my little sister. Take away my anger toward God. And then take away my guilt for being the one who lived. I’ll take all that with no onions and extra ketchup, please.

I drove away sobbing. How dare they offer happy meals! No one should be happy today. Or tomorrow. Or next year.

This is the reality of deep grief. Even when you love God and believe in His promises. Even when you know without a doubt that some day you will see your loved one again. Even when you know hope is still there. Even when you know He is near.

It takes time.

It takes wading through an ocean of tears.

It takes finding a possession of your loved one you thought was lost and realizing God did that just to comfort you. It takes discovering one day that the sun still shines. It takes being caught off guard when you catch yourself smiling, only to realize it’s okay.

It takes prayer. It takes making the decision to stop asking for answers and start asking for perspective. It takes telling people to please not avoid saying her name — you want to hear it, over and over and over again.

Then one day you take off the blanket of deep grief. You fold it neatly and tuck it away. You no longer hate it or resist it. For underneath it, wondrous things have happened over time. Things that could only have come about when Divine Hope intersects with a broken world.

And finally you can see years stretching before you once again. You look up, blow a kiss, wipe a tear and find it’s still possible to dance.

Dear Lord, thank You for assuring me that Your promises hold true even when life seems to betray me. You are my strength and my hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 30:11-12a, "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent." (NLT)

Psalm 18:28, "You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." (NIV)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Are you deeply grieving the loss of someone or something?

Give yourself permission to mourn, cry and feel raw emotions. Bring your heartache to the Lord in prayer and allow Him to just be near in this hard time.

If you know someone deeply grieving, don’t ask, "Is there anything I can do?" Instead, be proactive and just do something to help them this week — buy groceries for them, mow their lawn, babysit their children, etc.

Originally posted on Proverbs 31 blog, you can see it by clicking here. 

Broken but still special

On a stretch of sand extending nine miles ahead of us lay hundreds of thousands of shells. Shells of all shapes and sizes littered the shoreline for as far as the eye could see. Our family strolled along the beach with the family dog in tow. I reached down to pick up a palm sized orange shell to add to my daughter's collection. I showed my three year old and said 'isn't it beautiful?' Her immediate innocent reply was "it's broken". "It's still special" I said. As those words left my mouth I felt like God said to me 'you may be broken but you're beautiful, and I love you.'

For some time prior to this I had experienced brokenness. During that season of my life I was convinced that God was the one doing the breaking and the single word 'broken' became the theme of my life. Looking back, I am not sure God ordained it. What I am sure of is that circumstances forced me to become immensely aware of just how much I needed God. I discovered, with great difficulty, that self reliance had reached its limits.

James C. Wilhoit says that, "To be broken means we recognize we are personally powerless to manage our life in a way that will bring the kind of pleasure we most deeply long for. To be broken is recognizing that we face problems we cannot overcome by willpower alone." Like the rich young ruler who encountered Jesus, I was confronted with a choice- give up something to gain the kingdom of God or continue as I was.

In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." Brokenness was my catalyst for change and the revelation through which I came to realize that I needed to deny myself in order to give my undivided attention and affection to God. There is promise and hope in brokenness. What I found as I came through this journey of self denial, as promised by Jesus, was that I found life. And Jesus promises life in abundance.

Jerry Sittser has said "Brokenness forces us to find a source of love outside of ourselves. That source is God." Some of us may feel like we've been washed up during rough conditions or dragged in with the tide. We may feel as though we have been pounded time and again by the relentlessness of life's challenges. We may feel that we're only a fragment of what we once were. Maybe people, situations and life events have gotten the best of us and piece by piece we feel we're a shell of the person we used to be. Perhaps there is an element of loneliness, despite being surrounded by a sea of people. Washed up. Fragile. Beaten. Broken. Those are heartbreaking, heavy words to write let alone feel. So maybe, just maybe, these are the words you need to hear from God as you read this; "you may be broken but you're beautiful and I love you."

Broken Shell Crafts

When My Mind Says "You Failed"

I got this wonderful devotional in my email and it spoke to me. I felt the need to save it. Even though my grief is not a failure, it still applies. I even made a couple things bold because they are ones I really need to remember.

by: LYNN COWELL, Proverbs 31 Ministries

"My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises." Psalm 57:7 (NLT)

Fail. It’s a word I’ve heard my kids use when something goes wrong. Just plain "fail."

It’s a word I know as well. Failure is what I felt when I’d done all I knew to do to make a large project successful. Yet, according to my measurement, I had fallen very short. All I could think was, You failed.

I found my mind swirling, trying to process what happened. Confused, I wondered, God, why didn’t You help me? The project was for Him, after all. You would think He would have stepped up and helped me, at least in the way I was looking for help.

What did I do wrong?

Maybe I’m just not cut out for this?

My confidence was gone.

Can you recall a time when you thought you were doing what God wanted you to do, yet it didn’t turn out how you anticipated? Was your confidence shaken, not just in yourself, but in God?

Friend, you are not alone. It’s so easy to lose our confidence when things aren’t going well.

In today’s key verse, David speaks of confidence: "My heart is confident in you, O God."

Reading these words, we might assume David wrote them when his life was going well, possibly moments away from marrying the king’s daughter and living happily ever after.

His reality, in fact, was far from happy. As David penned these words, he was literally running from a mad man (King Saul) who not only wanted to kill him, but also had the power to do so. {You can read 1 Samuel, chapters 19-22, for more of this story.}

When David wrote these words found in Psalm 57:7, "My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises" – words filled with faith and hope – he was hiding in a cave. Not alone, but with 400 guys who were also running from trouble, in debt or just plain discontented with life as they knew it.

Here, in this awful situation, David reaffirmed his security hadn’t changed even if his circumstances did. His confidence was still built on God.

According to my study Bible, the word "confident" in the original Hebrew means: "set in place, make secure, to be made ready, be attached."

I love this last definition: "be attached." My mind pictures a new bride, attached to someone who cares deeply about her, with her face glowing. Her relationship brings her confidence.

David’s relationship brought him confidence as well. Despite his horrific circumstances, David experienced security and contentment because he knew God was with him even in those circumstances.

God can make us brave whether our lives are coming together or falling apart. We can have a heart and mind that is set in place, secure and attached, even when our circumstances seem to say, "You failed."

I want to be like David. Confidence attached to God. Unshaken by any situation or circumstances. Unable to hold back His praises.

Dear Jesus, the way You define failure and the way we define failure is so very different. Help me see when my circumstances are a set-up, an opportunity to build my confidence in You. Always and only in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Hebrews 10:35, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." (NIV)

Philippians 4:12, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (NIV)

Ephesians 3:12, "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." (NIV)


RELATED RESOURCES:

Do you know a young woman who needs to learn to build her confidence on God instead of cues from culture? If so, Magnetic: Becoming the Girl He Wants, by Lynn Cowell, empowers young women to move beyond negative thoughts, capricious emotions and others’ opinions to gain unshakeable confidence.

Visit Lynn’s blog today for 10 Verses For Building Unshakeable Confidence. She is also giving away a Confidence Combo — a set of resources to help you build your confidence on God.


REFLECT AND RESPOND:

Think of the last time something in your life didn’t go as planned and you felt like you’d failed. How did you respond? Were you able to press into God or did you struggle in self-defeat?

Write out Hebrews 10:35 and place it where you experience the greatest struggle with your confidence: the scale, your desk, your calendar. Read this verse out loud, allowing God’s Word to fill your heart with His confidence in this area of your life.

How Do I Trust Again?

By: Suzie Eller

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)

We walked into the doctor's office fully expecting good news.

We walked out carrying a slew of pamphlets and news that we didn't see coming.

Cancer is a place we've been through before as a couple. Except back then it was me, and now it's him.

In the hours after his diagnosis, we attended a sweet birthday celebration for a grandchild. We danced under the stars at a family wedding. When the busy weekend finally passed, I sat in the living room with my Bible in front of me. Sun streamed in through windows as I grieved.

Lord, I don't want to do this again.

I glanced at my open Bible and read the Scripture verse in Jeremiah I'd committed to memory the week before:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

As I memorized it, I had pictured a tall tree, its leafy branches hovering over the water, roots reaching for nourishment. The tree was laden with fruit, though everything else around it was burned and dry.

Now I sensed the heat coming our way. Hard decisions. Financial burdens. Emotional uncertainty.

With tears, I whispered the beautiful words over and over until they soaked into my heart: Blessed is the {woman} who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

Maybe you are in a hard place today. Perhaps it's a place you've encountered before, and it's the last place you wanted to be. I pray that Jeremiah's words bring guidance to you, as they do to me.

First, Jeremiah reveals that we can be honest about how we feel.

Sometimes, in that hard place, we don't give space to the feelings trapped in our hearts. We somehow believe that acknowledging our emotions is a lack of faith.

Jeremiah doesn't paint a pretty picture with his words about what is taking place. Instead, he describes intense heat that withers everything around the tree. But He also points to a God who is close by. Our God knows what we are going through. He's our safe place.

While we are being strong for others, He will be strong for you and me.

Second, we can run to the life-giving Source.

Hard places require wise choices. Hard places can make you feel empty. Yet there is a promise of refreshing that runs so deep that we are strengthened and nourished in spite of what is taking place.

Last, let's settle into this promise found in today's key verse: When we remain close to God in the hard places, there's fruit.

Because I've walked this path before, I know it to be true.

Fruit might come through joy that makes no sense in relation to circumstances.

Fruit can spring forth in laughter that erupts where darkness wants to take hold.

Fruit is the very real promise of eternity.

Fruit is planted inside of us as we hold tightly to a faith that is bigger than we are.

I'm still rocked by the news, and I still don't want to be in this hard place, but I know what to do. I'm pushing my roots deep in my faith. I'm scooting closer to my God in the midst of drought. I'm even anticipating the fruit that will drop from our lives as a result.

Today, let's whisper it together. Let's hold close to it in the hard place: Blessed is the {woman} who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

Dear Jesus, today I intentionally walk to the water and I dip my roots in deep to find all that I need in this hard place. Thank You for being my Source. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (NIV)

Psalm 118:14a, "The LORD is my strength and my song." (ESV)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Matthew 11:28-29 offers rest when we feel overwhelmed. Isaiah 40:29-31 promises renewed strength. Romans 8:37-39 assures us that He keeps us company in hard places.
Read these verses and underline the words that describe what you need from God today.

These are just a few verses that really jumped out at me from the above.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah 40:29

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. vs 31

When you feel forgotten...

Have you felt forgotten?
Maybe you feel unappreciated or unnoticed by your husband or a child.
Maybe you have a father or mother who has walked out on you.
Or perhaps a friend has quit calling or caring.
Maybe you have missed church a lot lately and no one has called to see if you are okay.
Or maybe you have helped someone…more than once… and now you need them, and they are no where to be found.
And maybe, just maybe, you wonder sometimes if God has forgotten about you too.

It hurts. I know.

Today, the Good Morning Girls are in Genesis 40 and looking at the life of Joseph. Joseph received his coat of many colors and out of jealousy, his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. But the Lord was with Joseph.

Genesis 39:2-4 says:
The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

The Lord was clearly with Joseph and giving him success…but then his master’s wife pursued him to lie with her –over and over. Joseph declined, over and over, until one day she grabbed him by the garment and as he ran away – she was left with his garment in her hands.

In her fury, she accused him of pursuing her and the king placed him in prison.

It’s in prison that Joseph met the chief baker and chief cub bearer. One morning he saw they were troubled and he asked why they were downcast. They answered: they had a dream but no one to interpret their dream for them.

Then it happened.

Joseph interpreted their dreams for them. Joseph told the chief cup bearer he would be released from prison in 3 days and he asked for a favor. To be remembered.

Genesis 40:14,15

14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

Notice that Joseph even tries to appeal to the cup bearers compassionate side. He tells a little of his story and the injustice he has suffered.

And so the cup bearer is released, just as Joseph foretold. But then, this happened:
“the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Genesis 40:23)
The cup bearer forgot ALL about Joseph!
No mercy, no compassion, no memory, nothin’.
Ouch!

If you are a woman with a big heart –then you have felt the sting of giving and helping others, and then being forgotten.

The emotions that go hand in hand with feeling forgotten are dark. It hurts.

But I’m reminded of the story in Luke 17 when Jesus healed the ten men of leprosy. After healing them ONLY one returned to say thank you. Only one! Jesus asked the one who returned – “where are the other nine”?

Those other nine men, healed of leprosy, went on their merry way enjoying their new health.

Jesus was forgotten.

When we see that the Lord of the universe was forgotten –we realize that none of us will escape being hurt by someone who has forgotten us.

I find that comforting.

Though others had forgotten Joseph – like his brothers and the cup bearer – God had not forgotten Joseph.

God was weaving Joseph’s story.

One commentary writes this:
If Joseph’s brothers never sell him to the Midianites, then Joseph never goes to Egypt.
If Joseph never goes to Egypt, he never is sold to Potiphar.
If he is never sold to Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape.
If Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape, then he is never put in prison.
If he is never put in prison, he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh.
If he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh, he never interprets their dreams.
If he never interprets their dreams, he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.
If he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, he never is made prime minister.
If he is never made prime minister, he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region.
If he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region, then his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine.
If his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine, the Messiah can’t come forth from a dead family.
If the Messiah can’t come forth, then Jesus never came.
If Jesus never came, you are dead in your sins and without hope in this world. Thank you, Jesus!

Boom!

Isn’t that powerful? We see the sovereignty of God working in the life of Joseph.

That same sovereignty is working in your life as well!

Isn’t it comforting to know that all of our hurts and pains and trials are serving a greater purpose? None of it is wasted.

God loves you. You are not forgotten.

Walk with the King,
Courtney

The Crushing Times

A devotional by: LYSA TERKEURST

No one wants to have their heart crushed. But being wounded in deep places happens. Sometimes it just seems to be a part of the rhythm of life.

And when these hard times come, we feel it all so very deeply. And we wonder if others have these hard, hard moments. After all, we don't snap pictures of the crushing times and post them on Instagram.

We just wonder if we have what it takes to survive ...

... when the doctor calls and says he needs to talk to me in person about the test results.
... when the teacher sends one of "those" emails about my child.
... when someone I love closes their heart and turns their back on me.
... when I feel so utterly incapable and unable and afraid.

I suspect you know the tear-filled place from which I speak.

So, let's journey to the olive tree and learn.

To get to the place I want to take you, we must cross the Kidron Valley in Israel.



John 18:1-2 tells us, "When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples" (NIV).

Jesus often met in the shadow and shade of the olive tree.

The olive grove mentioned above is the Garden of Gethsemane. In this garden is where Jesus, just before his arrest said to Peter, James and John, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," (Mark 14:34, NIV).

Jesus knew the crushing-heart feeling. He felt it. He wrestled with it. He carried it.

And I don't think it was a coincidence the olive tree was there in this moment of deep sorrow for Jesus.



The olive tree is such a picture of why our hearts must go through the crushing times.

The crushing times are necessary times.

First, in order to be fruitful the olive tree has to have both the east wind and the west wind. The east wind is the dry hot wind from the desert. This is a harsh wind. So harsh that it can blow over green grass and make it completely wither in one day.

The west wind, on the other hand, comes from the Mediterranean. It brings rain and life.

The olive tree needs both of these winds to produce fruit ... and so do we. We need both the winds of hardship and winds of relief to sweep across our lives if we are to be truly fruitful.

The crushing times are processing times.

Another thing to consider about the olive tree is how naturally bitter the olive is and what it must go through to be useful. If you were to pick an olive from the tree and try to eat it this month, its bitterness would make you sick.

For the olive to be edible, it has to go through a lengthy process that includes:
washing,
breaking,
soaking,
sometimes salting,
and waiting some more.

It is a lengthy process to be cured of bitterness.

If we are to escape the natural bitterness of the human heart, we have to go through a long process as well ... the process of being cured.

The crushing times are preservation times.

The final thing I want to consider about the olive is not just how bitter it is, but also how strong and hard it is when picked straight from the tree. If you are harvesting olives for oil, you must pray for a soaking rain to come if you hope to get oil from the olives. It needs a hard rain of at least two to three hours so the water can make it all the way up the roots, through the tree and to the olives.

Then the olives can be picked and preserved.

And the best way to preserve an olive for the long run? Crush it and extract the oil from it.

The same is true for us. The biblical way to be preserved is to be pressed. And being pressed can certainly feel like being crushed.

But what about our key verse, 2 Corinthians 4:8, where it says we are "pressed ... but not crushed"? Let's read verses 8 and 9 in the King James Version: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; ..."

This was one of the biggest "aha" moments for me standing in the shadow of the olive tree: crushing isn't the olive's end.

Crushing is the way of preservation for the olive. It's also the way to get what's most valuable, the oil, out of the olive. Keeping this perspective is how we can be troubled on every side yet not distressed ... pressed to the point of being crushed but not crushed and destroyed.

But here's the thing I must remember as I think back about my time with the olive tree:

When the sorrowful winds of the east blow, I forget they are necessary.
When I'm being processed, I forget it's for the sake of ridding me of bitterness.
And when I'm being crushed, I forget it's for the sake of my preservation.

I forget all these things so easily. I wrestle and cry and honestly want to resist every bit of this. Oh, how I forget.

Maybe God knew we all would forget.

And so, He created the olive tree.

Dear Lord, speak to me in whatever way You need to. Whatever part of this is for me personally, may I see, receive and be revived. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY: James 1:2-4, "You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (MSG)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Are you going through a crushing time? Look back on the points Lysa made: crushing times are necessary, and allow for processing and preservation. Write out how your situation may fall into one or all of these categories.