I was planning to do a Thanksgiving post and give you some pie recipes today, but in light of all the events of the past week in our world, my thoughts are centering on something much more serious and completely different, and that is how to handle fear. Between the terrorist attacks in Paris, news of ISIS infiltrating our own country, and terrible things happening all around us it is very easy to get caught up in a spirit of fear.
As is so often the case, in both my teen girls Sunday School class and our Ladies Bible studies we have been studying topics which go along with this one. God wants us to love Him with all our mind, and there is a spiritual battle for our minds. 2 Cor. 10:5 tells us that we are to "cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." In short, we must determine to put the truths about God from His Word above every thought that we think. We are prone to a lot of dangerous thought patterns: regret, worry, discouragement, discontent, and - especially now - fear.
The thing that has helped me the most in dealing with fear is realizing that they are "what-if's". We can spend so much time and energy thinking of all the "what-if's" that they consume us. What if our area is targeted by terrorists? What if my children and grandchildren have to live under terrible persecution? What if someone I love dies? What if I get cancer? And so on and on our thinking goes.
"What-if's" are not true. They are speculative thinking about the unknown. In the list of things that we are to think about in Phil. 4:8. the very first thing on the list is "Whatsoever things are true."
Every "what-if" in life is something God already has knowledge of and has planned for! This week I read and gained some insight from Jeremiah 29:4-10. We are usually familiar with verse 11 which reminds us that God has a plan for us that consists of good and not of evil. But the verses directly preceding that are very interesting. God is speaking to His people who are in captivity in Babylon, through the prophet Jeremiah. If I was one of those people in that situation, I would have been very afraid! Look at these truths that God encouraged His people with:
verses 4 and 7 - twice God says "I have caused you to be carried away into captivity." He is the One who allowed it! We have to remember that nothing happens to us that God does not already know about and is not in His plan for us.
verses 5 and 6 - God gives them a list of specific things they are to do. They are to plant crops and eat the produce. They are to build homes. They are to marry and bear children and raise them. In other words, life is supposed to go on! We can't stop living because we are living in fear of what might happen!
verses 8 and 9 - the people are to keep doing right in obedience to God and not let the negative influences around them deter them from serving Him.
and finally, in verse 10 - there was a time limit established. God sets the boundaries of what can happen, and He is in charge!
There is cause for fear all around us, but God repeatedly tells us not to fear, and He tells us why: because of who He is. When you are tempted to be afraid, rest in His character and His promises!
Till next time,
Kathi
The Light in My Window
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Thursday, November 12, 2015
A Vision Adjustment
Sunshine! After a week of dark, rainy, gloomy days I was so happy to see the sunshine pouring in through my windows! The past few days it has been hard to not be in a "down" frame of mind. Are you thinking that you didn't think pastor's wives were ever down or depressed? Well, I have news for you - pastor's wives are like everyone else! We just happen to be married to pastors! That is one of the hard things about being in the ministry - the label that is put on me because my husband is a pastor. People have very definite ideas of what a "pastor's wife" should do or not do and feel or not feel.
Another pitfall of ministry is not being able to measure visible accomplishments or results. I think to some extent we are all "results oriented." Whether or not you are in full-time ministry, we all need the encouragement of seeing the fruits of our labors, whether it be in the form of a clean house, a written report, a homemade meal, a painted room, or a completed project. When it comes to the ministry, that rarely happens. I can think of no other occupation - builders, businessmen and women, doctors, plumbers, teachers, or farmers - that cannot look back over their day or week or month or even year and be able to see and measure their accomplishments. And to be honest - because this is a post of honesty - it can be hard to constantly give everything you have to ministering and helping others, and not be able to see results. And sometimes it even seems like things are going the wrong direction.
Between gloomy weather and the "stuff" of life, it can be hard to not fall into a negative pattern of thinking, which can disturb your joy. Yesterday I gained some valuable insight into the disturbances in my thinking.
Yesterday I visited the eye doctor.
I had not been in three and a half years, so I was long overdue for a checkup. I had my eyes dilated and was put through the usual battery of tests. One of those tests was to check my peripheral vision. In this test, you are given a clear focus point to stare at, and then when you notice disturbances in your vision around the outside perimeter, you respond. The technician warned me to not start looking at the disturbances, or I would become confused. I had to steadily look at the focal point. That ensured that I would keep the outside disturbances in perspective.
Hmm. I think there's a lesson in there. It is a reminder that in order to keep the proper perspective, I need to steadily focus on my Lord, and not get distracted by the outside disturbances. I was reminded of Hebrews 12:2, which tells us, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." The word "looking" means to fix my eyes on Him, and keep Him as my focal point. The problem arises when we fall into a pattern of looking at all the trials and problems, and keep Jesus somewhere in the background. No wonder we get unbalanced and distracted by all that is going on.
How do we look unto Jesus? We spend time in His Word getting to know Him. We thank Him and praise Him for all that He is - the Giver. We thank and praise Him for all that He does - His gifts. We focus on things like His grace and His sovereignty and His goodness. We remember that the outside disturbances are all part of His perfect plan for us.
In my reading this week, Romans 12:12 caught my attention: "Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulations, continuing instant in prayer." That is a great recipe for dealing with the disturbances in life. Rejoicing in hope - I can rejoice in the Lord who is my hope, because of what He has done for me and continues to do for me each day. Persevering in tribulations - God has done so much for me, and He just asks me to be faithful. The results, or lack of them, are up to Him. And continuing instant in prayer, which means being really devoted to prayer. Also notice the word "instant" - we are more likely to be praying about things as a last resort or an after thought.
Is anything disturbing your vision this week? If so, I hope you will go to our Great Physician who can give you a vision adjustment!
Lovingly,
Kathi
Another pitfall of ministry is not being able to measure visible accomplishments or results. I think to some extent we are all "results oriented." Whether or not you are in full-time ministry, we all need the encouragement of seeing the fruits of our labors, whether it be in the form of a clean house, a written report, a homemade meal, a painted room, or a completed project. When it comes to the ministry, that rarely happens. I can think of no other occupation - builders, businessmen and women, doctors, plumbers, teachers, or farmers - that cannot look back over their day or week or month or even year and be able to see and measure their accomplishments. And to be honest - because this is a post of honesty - it can be hard to constantly give everything you have to ministering and helping others, and not be able to see results. And sometimes it even seems like things are going the wrong direction.
Between gloomy weather and the "stuff" of life, it can be hard to not fall into a negative pattern of thinking, which can disturb your joy. Yesterday I gained some valuable insight into the disturbances in my thinking.
Yesterday I visited the eye doctor.
I had not been in three and a half years, so I was long overdue for a checkup. I had my eyes dilated and was put through the usual battery of tests. One of those tests was to check my peripheral vision. In this test, you are given a clear focus point to stare at, and then when you notice disturbances in your vision around the outside perimeter, you respond. The technician warned me to not start looking at the disturbances, or I would become confused. I had to steadily look at the focal point. That ensured that I would keep the outside disturbances in perspective.
Hmm. I think there's a lesson in there. It is a reminder that in order to keep the proper perspective, I need to steadily focus on my Lord, and not get distracted by the outside disturbances. I was reminded of Hebrews 12:2, which tells us, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." The word "looking" means to fix my eyes on Him, and keep Him as my focal point. The problem arises when we fall into a pattern of looking at all the trials and problems, and keep Jesus somewhere in the background. No wonder we get unbalanced and distracted by all that is going on.
How do we look unto Jesus? We spend time in His Word getting to know Him. We thank Him and praise Him for all that He is - the Giver. We thank and praise Him for all that He does - His gifts. We focus on things like His grace and His sovereignty and His goodness. We remember that the outside disturbances are all part of His perfect plan for us.
In my reading this week, Romans 12:12 caught my attention: "Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulations, continuing instant in prayer." That is a great recipe for dealing with the disturbances in life. Rejoicing in hope - I can rejoice in the Lord who is my hope, because of what He has done for me and continues to do for me each day. Persevering in tribulations - God has done so much for me, and He just asks me to be faithful. The results, or lack of them, are up to Him. And continuing instant in prayer, which means being really devoted to prayer. Also notice the word "instant" - we are more likely to be praying about things as a last resort or an after thought.
Is anything disturbing your vision this week? If so, I hope you will go to our Great Physician who can give you a vision adjustment!
Lovingly,
Kathi
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