Why Hide? God is there!

Many times when we struggle with something or are just going through a difficult time in our own lives, we tend to seclude ourselves from everyone else. We close everything out and drown ourselves in our own pity. This is not what God would want us to do, and is exactly what the enemy would want us to do. When we seclude ourselves, we lose the accountability and encouragement we would get from our friends and family members.

With no one around, we tend to do things we probably should not do. Many people turn to alcohol, drugs or whatever can help them escape the reality of what is going on. Many teens turn to cutting or self abuse to ease the 'pain' of life.

I recently heard a Junior High student share in front of her peers about some struggles she was going through. God made it very clear what He wanted this to be shared. Why? To help others out who might be going through the same type of situation or might be thinking about it. He does not want us to just expose what we are going through, He wants us to share and encourage others who might be dealing with something similar.

We might think we are all alone which might make us want to go hide and do things to try and make the situation go away but most likely there are others going through similar things. Don't run and hide, God will always be with you and there to help you. Instead of running and hiding, go look for someone whom you can encourage. God loves to work through us when we are going through struggles in our own life.

Prayer

Here is something I posted back in the fall of 2007. I still feel the same way about it now as I did then. Prayer is important!

I pray for my wife and children everyday. I didn't used to. I would be too busy to get to work to start on some mindless time consuming project or server update or just go in and surf the net and read countless emails from technology listserves I subsribe to. That's all changed now. I pray with purpose now for things that God wants to do in my life and the life of my family.

This weekend we spent some time down at Grand Bear Lodge in Utica Illinois. They have a wave pool, water slides a a lazy river. It's a great time. There are signs posted all over about no shoes, no food and no running. Three year olds can't only not read, but they have a distinct way of forgetting to remember what you have told them, especially when they are having fun. We were talking in the shallow end of the pool when we turned and noticed Macie lying on the ground holding her head. She had slipped and fallen while running on the wet pavement. Heidi and I rushed over and Heidi picked her up to see where she hit her head. At this point Macie had arched back her head as if to let out one of those blood curdling cries of it hurts!! I noticed she wasn't really breathing at the time, and so did Heidi. As we rushed over to the lifeguards office for help, Macie passed out for about 20 seconds or so (give or take). Heidi panicked (as any mother would do if there daughter passed out in their arms). There were no guards in the office so I ran and grabbed the closest one. Macie did come to and began crying...for the next hour. That was a good sign.

To make a long story short, Macie was transported to the closest hospital for a CTScan and X-Rays to make sure she was OK. The tests were negative and the CT showed she had a very mild amount of swelling but nothing threatening. As I found out at the pool, a lady about 10' away heard her hit the ground. Ouch! After we returned the villa where we were staying, we looked her over and could not find a bump on her head....ANYWHERE ! She had a small scrape on her leg, but nothing else. God had so totally protected her when she fell.

The last thing on my mind that morning, or any morning for that matter , is that my kids are going to need Gods divine protection during the day. Don't ever under-estimate what God can do in your life or the life of someone you pray for for. He will be there when you don't even think you will be needing him.

Strength For Our Trials...

This is a repost from Oct 2007...I thought it might be of some importance to some......

We all have trials in life, some big and some small. Have you ever noticed that sometimes the smaller ones get us down more then the bigger ones? I was thinking about this after I read one of my email devotionals today. Why is it we let the little things worry us so, but we can often trudge through and over the large mountains and deep valleys life often throws at us? I am pretty sure it is the supernatural strength that God allows us to have during these times because we seem to give the big things up to Him and fight the little ones alone.

Something else the devotional pointed out was why we suffer greatly sometimes. It was something I never really thought about. One of the reasons we suffer in our trials on earth is so in a way we can relate in a tiny microscopic way to what Jesus went through on the cross for us. The devotional has one sentence in it I must share direct with you. This is from The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional Oct 12, 2007 " But the Good News is that our pain, our heartache, our confusion, our doubts, our mountain-sized difficulties can push us – if we allow it – into the very center of God’s all surpassing power." I like some of the things that 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 brings to light in my life:

When people ask me how I get through trials I can say what 2 Cor 4:7 says " We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. "

Here is how Gods power protects us 2 Cor 4:8-9

We are pressed on every side But not crushed

We are perplexed But not driven to despair

We are persecuted But not abandoned

We are knocked down But Not destroyed

Why? verse 10 says "Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."

The song 'Trading My Sorrows' puts these versus into great perspective.

Have a great weekend!