example

Worship IV, Day 6 Praise You In My Pain

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 2:21-25
Matthew 5:38-48 
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Worship IV, Day 6

In my Christian journey I’ve learned a lot about myself, about God, and how those two go together. I’ve learned more of who God is and the intricacies of His character.
The more I know Him, the more I crave to be like Him.

How?
The answer is always follow Jesus’ example.

How again?
The answer is always taking in Scripture.

In 1 Peter 2:21-25, we see Jesus reviled by people, but He didn’t choose retaliation.
There were no evil threats spewing from His mouth.
He chose to entrust His life to the Father.
And then died for the salvation of the very ones who reviled Him.

In my everyday life, this example is just one Jesus is calling me to follow.
He’s teaching me to sit and be still in His presence.
He invites me not to worry about peoples’ opinions of me.

Because if He, the perfect spotless Lamb of God, was persecuted
then I should expect the same.
And if He upheld His testimony, boldly declaring unfathomable love for me
then so should I.
So should we.

And because He trusted His life to God,
then I should do the same.
So should we.

“But continued entrusting Himself (Jesus) to Him (Father God) who judges justly.”
1 Peter 2:23

It’s easy to lose sight of entrusting our lives to God in the middle of suffering.
It is as if our pain blinds us to the deeper spiritual battle,
keeping our sights set on our selfish entitlement.

Where is your suffering, Sister?

Maybe you’re fighting for a precious relationship, facing rejection, grieving a loved one, having your dreams crushed, or undergoing character assassination.

Regardless of your suffering….
Jesus’ example is to worship through it.
So should we.

Worship is not simply singing a song,
but entrusting our lives to the Almighty God.

When I was younger, I would listen to worship songs day and night.
One of my favorites was Casting Crowns’ Praise You In The Storm.

And I’ll praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm

“That You are who You are… no matter where I am.”

Sisters, Our God is constant!
Who He is today is exactly Who He will be tomorrow. Hebrews 13:8
He will never leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:6
He will uphold us with His righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
We will never be tempted to sin without a way out from it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Throughout experience I’ve come to understand what praising God in my pain means, through all kinds of stages and seasons of suffering.

I’ve been the girl sitting in the bathroom stall during lunch crying because no one wanted to sit with me.
I’ve been the girl grieving the deaths of those closest to me.
I’ve been the girl sexually assaulted multiple times.
I’ve been the girl lying awake with nightmares from the trauma I’ve experienced.
I’ve been the girl ready to take her life
because I felt like death would be better than the pain.

But, Sisters.
I’m also the girl whose life was interrupted by the God who saved me and walked with me in every single one of those seasons of suffering.

God has wrapped me in His arms so tightly I had no other option but to
praise Him through my pain.

And as I look back on my suffering, I see how God used it.
Not to accomplish what I wanted most.
But to bring me closer to Him.
To shape my heart like His.

I don’t know about you, but for me I experience God in an entirely different dimension when I am cloaked in painful suffering.

I crave His presence
I crave His love
I crave His promises
I crave His comfort

Suffering is the sweet tool the Shepherd of our hearts uses to point away from our weakness and towards His everlasting strength.

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content
with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

When we worship Him through our suffering we declare His Name.
When we worship Him through our suffering we find peace and comfort.
When we worship Him through our suffering we tell the world our God is good and worthy of praise!

He is still good, gracious, merciful, and just even when life is not. Therefore, He is worthy of our praise.  

So Sisters, let’s choose worship, just as our Savior did as He gave His life for us.
Let’s choose to praise Him in our pain, entrusting our lives to the One who loves us best!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Worship IV Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Worship IV!

The GT Weekend! – Screenshot Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Jesus loves you dearly, my sister. He has a plan to use your precious life. How does it make you feel knowing He loves you so much? How are you being obedient in letting Him transform your life? Who can you share truth with this week? 

2) Grab a card and write out Ephesians 2:8-9. Post it somewhere you can see it and be reminded of this truth all week long.
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; 
it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8-9) 

3) Radical love is costly and can take many different forms. When have you chosen to do something uncomfortable to reach across obvious social, racial or religious lines? How did it feel? If you haven’t taken that risk yet, what is holding you back? As the Holy Spirit to embolden you to love radically this week! Share your experience with us at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com . 

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage
from Luke 6:27-30  back to the Lord and let His Spirit speak to you through it!

27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back.  

Prayer Journal
Lord, we are provided with example after example of You calling us to love in ways that don’t make sense in our earthly culture. Loving our enemies doesn’t come naturally; it requires a close walk with You so we can learn to trust You calling us into these deeper waters. As we teeter on the edge of the boat, waiting to jump in, let us trust you as we take a step onto the water. Keep our eyes fixed on You Jesus, so we might not waver.  

 

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Prayer Day 6 Hmmm, Daily Bread

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Exodus 16:1-35
1 Kings 17:8-16
John 6:25-59 

Prayer, Day 6 

Carbs. 
I like them. 
Especially those found in baked goods. This is a fact of which my family is well aware, and they have been known to plan meals with that in mind. I distinctly remember my aunt winking at me when referencing the rolls she brought to Thanksgiving each year.

While my love for bread has now been partnered with a moderation I did not employ as a lanky teenager (metabolism changes are real!), I still enjoy my carbs in many forms. Can anyone else relate to the love of bread? Or are most of you just curious to know why I have spent several sentences talking about it?

In the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to ask for our daily bread.
Now, I’ve already discussed my love for bread and appreciate being able to eat some form of bread daily; however, I recognize that praying, “Lord, please give me that flaky croissant” is not what this verse is encouraging me to do. In order to gain insights into what “asking for my daily bread” looks like, I dug deeper and broader into the Word.

My first thought of daily bread immediately took me to Exodus as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. There, they truly did ask the Lord for bread and He provided! That provision came in the form of manna, which appeared like dew on the ground. (Exodus 16:12) The Lord gave specific parameters for collecting the manna each morning as the manna would not last until the next day. The only exception to that occurred on the Sabbath, as the Israelites were to collect the manna for that day along with what was collected the previous day.

My second thought traveled to Elijah, an Old Testament prophet, as he knocked on the door of a widow who only had a jar of oil and jar of flour with which to make but 1 small loaf of bread. This story took place in days of famine. For a season, the Lord had directed Elijah to live by a water source and had ravens bring him bread and meat. Eventually that water dried up, and the Lord sent him to the widow’s home promising that the oil and flour for bread would not run out. Once again, the Lord miraculously provided a source of bread to keep His people alive.

We have these great examples of the Lord’s provision of physical bread from the Old Testament. The New Testament challenges us to move beyond the physical. Enter Matthew 4:4: “He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”” 

Move to John 6:35 where Jesus describes Himself as the Bread of Life. Verse 33 says, “For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus came to give us life and for it to be life more abundant.
We are able to partake of this life and eat the Bread of Life,
by believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

I made this choice at an early age and have discovered His faithfulness ever since.
He has been my provision and nourishment in sweetly blessed seasons as well as some of my darkest days. I am so thankful to be able to experience the bread referenced in the New Testament, and not just the literal bread I love to eat!

However, I find that the Old Testament references to bread still have some applications to my life.  

In the wilderness, the Israelites gathered the manna the Lord provided.
Elijah relied on the ravens to supply his food.
In neither story does the bread magically appear on a plate ready to eat.

The same is quite often true in my walk with the Lord where Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life. In John 1:1, Jesus is also referred to as the Word.
Just like the Israelites, I must gather the food the Lord provides.
This means digging into the Word of God for my everyday nourishment and sustenance.

I have discovered that my world is much more peaceful when I consistently and daily spend time in the Word. Additionally, I look forward to Sunday mornings and spending time seeking the Lord and worshipping Him corporately.
Thankfully I attend a church where the pastor teaches the Word and, through the sermons, my understanding increases.

As I look to the future, I recognize that my physical taste buds may change, but I pray my passion for the Word of God and my relationship with Jesus only increases. Please, Lord, give me my daily bread! 

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Prayer Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Prayer!

Resting Day 10
Purposeful Pace

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 43:19
John 11:1-45
Colossians 3:23-24

“If only there were 30 hours in a day, I could get everything done.”
Sound familiar, Sister?

I’ve had this conversation countless times with other women, women in every stage of adult life. I remember so clearly when the lazy days of my childhood stretched out endlessly before me, ripe with infinite possibilities. But as I stepped toward adulthood, someone hit fast forward and my life became hurried and I became harried.

How many times have we run through our mental to-do lists for the 800th time and found ourselves on the brink of tears, swallowing desperately the panicked explosion, “I can’t do EVERYTHING!”? Or perhaps, “I can’t BE everything!”
Sweet friend, this is me.
More often, and more painfully, than I care to admit.
And some days, the entire episode ends in a heaping helping of condemnation and shame before I rush on. But other days, when awareness penetrates the emotion and I stop to listen, I hear Him reminding me,
“I haven’t asked you to do EVERYTHING. I haven’t asked you to BE everything.”
Even good things. Even for our families, and our jobs, and our communities.
Even for the church, and the kingdom.
He hasn’t asked me, and He hasn’t asked YOU, to do ALL of them.
To BE all of them.

But we know from His word that He does have callings He’s placed on our lives.
We also know that some of these can change, as old seasons draw to a close and new ones unfurl. So when we find ourselves drowning in a sea of overwhelmed and overcommitted, let’s try something simple, yet revolutionary.
Let’s talk to Him about it.

What are You calling me to do . . . who are You calling me to be . . . in this season?
We may need to gracefully step back from former roles and tasks. Or we may need to tell others, “Not yet,” with faith that when the fullness of time arrives, He will fulfill those desires and dreams.
When we are able to identify and partner with His will for the now,
we find strength and passion to carry out His work wholeheartedly.

We find time to be intentional,
to give and to be our best.
We find time to rest.
We find time.

But hang on . . . could He really be showing me how to effectively work for His kingdom by slowing down and perhaps saying “not anymore” or “not yet” to good, even ministry-based opportunities? As I wrestled with this question, He brought the story of Lazarus to my mind. Lazarus was Jesus’s dear friend, and when Lazarus fell ill, his family sent word to Jesus (who was ministering elsewhere), asking Jesus to come quickly and heal Lazarus.

A request for help from a close friend – surely this is a good thing to do!
An opportunity to demonstrate the power of God through healing – surely this is a perfect avenue for ministry!
But Jesus doesn’t come.
At least, not right away.
His pace has a different focus.

It’s two days before He journeys to Judea, and during the waiting, Lazarus dies.
So why wait?
He could have dropped everything and rushed to Lazarus. By all appearances, that was the right and good and holy thing to do. But I believe that He didn’t, for two reasons.
First, He knew there was work still to be done where He was. Departing immediately would have left the purposes of God for those people and in that place unfulfilled. However, when the fullness of time did arrive, He left. He closed the door on that season, because God had a new work for Him to do.
Second, He chose that which was most impactful in furthering the kingdom.
In John 11:4 and again in verse 42, He makes His intention clear: He is acting for the greatest glory of God, so that those around Him will believe.

Which is the more powerful testimony?
“Yeah, I heard Lazarus was a bit under the weather. But he’s doing better now, right?”
Or
“Lazarus was dead. I watched Jesus pray. And now Lazarus is alive.”

Jesus knew that hurrying to heal Lazarus from sickness would have been good. But He also knew that finishing His former work, then following God’s direction to move on to raise Lazarus from death was best.

So dear friend, rather than rushing to fight time, let’s choose to seek the Father’s guidance, step into His pace, and operate in the fullness of time. Let’s find the courage to say “not anymore” or “not yet,” leaving space for rest. Like Him, let’s choose to be intentional with our commitments, so we can give and be our best, letting Him choose what brings the greatest glory to God!

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
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Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Safe Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Resting!

Remade Day 14
The Law of Love: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out The Law of Love!

Matthew 22:34-40 English Standard Version (ESV)

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Questions

1) What was the spirit behind the Pharisee’s question?

2) What kind of love is commanded here?

3) What does it mean that the Law and the Prophets depend on these commandments?

The Findings for Intention

1) What was the spirit behind the Pharisee’s question?
Verses 34-35 give us a clue as to why the Pharisees were asking this question. The Pharisees heard that Jesus had escaped from a logical trap that the Sadducees (another group of religious teachers) had set for Him (see verses 23-33). They were not asking this question because they wanted to learn from Jesus, but because they were critical and skeptical and wanted to test Him.

2) What kind of love is commanded here?
The word for “love” used here is agapáō, the verb form of agápē. This is the kind of unconditional love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13, and is the same kind of love that God Himself has for us. We are to love God and love our neighbor unconditionally. In addition, our love for God should come from every part of us—our heart, soul, and mind.

3) What does it mean that the Law and the Prophets depend on these commandments?
The word translated “depend” literally means “hang.” All of the Old Testament laws and everything said in the prophetic books hang on love for God and love for others. The concept of love does not negate the law, but love supports every command given. As Paul says in Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

The Everyday Application

1) What was the spirit behind the Pharisee’s question?
Women, let’s not be like the Pharisees, who didn’t truly want to know Jesus’s heart. When we study the Bible or look for answers to our questions, let’s not go looking for evidence to support our pre-determined ideas, but let’s seek to understand the original intent of the Scriptures, so we can know God better in order to love Him more.

2) What kind of love is commanded here?
Agape love is unconditional and selfless. It is the hardest kind of love, because it is completely unnatural to our selfish, sinful nature. But as believers, we have the Holy Spirit within us to enable and empower us to love as we are commanded. Pray for help with this difficult, but important task!

3) What does it mean that the Law and the Prophets depend on these commandments?
If all the law and the prophets hang on love, then all the law and prophets teach us how love is worked out in daily life. Next time you read a command from the Bible, ask yourself how this demonstrates love for God or love for others, and let that deepen your understanding of how God wants you to work out this agape love.

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I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Brave Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Why!

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Remade!