The Friend Who Makes Us Brave

Oooooh! Found this in my inbox yesterday...LOVED how it speaks into our lessons on Trust...and on HOPE! Enjoy!

The Friend Who Makes Us Brave

By Alicia Bruxvoort

“This is My command: be strong and courageous. Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, and I will remain with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (VOICE)

When my youngest son, Joshua, began kindergarten, the skip in his step disappeared. Day after day, he shuffled off the school bus with his backpack bulging heavy and his head hung low.

He had a wonderful teacher in a life-giving school, yet his heart was unsettled and sad.

I missed the fast-footed giggler who had raced across our yard all summer. And I wondered what it would take to beckon back my bounding boy.

When I shared my concerns with my son’s teacher, she listened with a knowing nod. She assured me Joshua was excelling in the classroom and adjusting to the daily routines. Then she paused and asked, “What does Joshua do at recess?”

I told her he often sat alone on the chain-link swings. Too tentative to join the noisy kickball games or climb the crowded monkey bars, he chose to watch the action unfold from his swaying seat in the corner of the playground.

“Of course,” I added with a doleful chuckle, “He tells me the swings aren’t much fun without someone to give him a push.”

The teacher responded with a sage smile, “I think Joshua will flourish when he finds a friend.”

My spirit leapt in concession, and suddenly, I knew what to pray for my kindergartener.

Weeks later, Joshua hopped off the school bus and crossed the yard with a familiar giddy gallop. The good news spilled from his lips as he munched on his afternoon snack.

A new friend had joined him on the swings. Not just any friend — a friend who knew how to make the swings soar. And before recess ended, that 4-foot answered prayer had taught my son how to do the same.

From that day on, Joshua and his friend embraced the noise and joys of recess together. They sailed on the swings and climbed courageously on the monkey bars. They spun themselves silly on the merry-go-round, and eventually, they even joined those rowdy kickball games.

Steadily, my son’s confidence and contentment returned. And the skip in his step did, too.

As the school year drew to a close, I asked my little boy what made his buddy so special.

“He makes my legs brave,” Joshua replied with a grateful grin.

Hot tears burned my eyes as my son’s declaration stirred my soul. I realized it wasn’t bold words or daring deeds that had fueled my son’s fearless feet. He’d found courage in the “with-ness” of a friend.

Maybe that’s why God reminds us over and over in Scripture that He is with us:

He goes before us, and He stands behind us. (Psalm 139:5)

He walks beside us, (Isaiah 41:10) and He dwells within us. (John 14:17)

And, according to Joshua 1:9, when we’re short on courage, it’s in His presence that we find our pluck!

“… be strong and courageous. Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, and I will remain with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

So next time we’re overwhelmed by the challenges that stretch before us, let’s remember the Faithful Friend who stands beside us.

Because we weren’t made to walk the dusty road of life alone. And as a wise kindergartner once taught me, we all need a friend who makes our legs brave!

Dear Jesus, thank You for calling me friend. Please increase my awareness of Your presence, and synchronize my steps with Yours. I want to walk in confidence and courage because You are with me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Truth for today:

Psalm 31:24, “So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD!” (NLT)

John 15:15, “I don’t call you servants any longer; servants don’t know what the master is doing, but I have told you everything the Father has said to Me. I call you friends.” (VOICE)

Trust: week THREE class discussion summary

Hi ladies! 
With our third and final class discussion on What is Trust?, so many beautiful lines of thought began to finally come together for me! I truly felt as if all of the pearls and pathways had started to weave themselves into a golden thread that I was beginning to recognize and see. How did everyone else feel? If you can put it into words, go ahead and post what touched you most through these sessions on Trust!
Here is my summary:
As we moved our discussion from Fear and into Trust, I think it became basically clear that at the end of the day, a decision has to be made: each one of us, for each and every situation (good and "bad"), needs make our own choice to continue to fear...or to begin to trust.  But we also talked about how the process of learning to walk out of fear and into Trust is just that: a process--sometimes merely a perspective change that empowers us to take that single difficult step into absolute belief, that scary leap of faith into confidence in something hoped for but not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1)... Rarely, it comes as a sudden lightning-bolt paradigm-shifting blow that literally catapults us into something/someplace we probably knew in our hearts all along but refused to see or accept with our minds... But most often, it is a life-long process of searching, with a gradual awareness leading to acknowledgment (however reluctant) and eventual acceptance, while all along the journeying the HolySpirit is beckoning us, inviting us to grow in a relationship proven over and over and over again to be true and dependable, finally leading to willing wide-open-ness for God-ushered (not 'man'-handled) inner transformation and confident trust in all that is, well, HIM.

wow...writing it down sure does emphasize the "process" part, doesn't it!

I loved how Lorraine bridged our thoughts about Fear and Faith...how often comes the realization that fear isn't so much the absence of our faith as it is the forgetting the Who and What of our faith! And in that process of "remembering", we have to honestly ask ourselves: Who IS the God of my faith? What are His attributes--the ones He has shown me to be trustworthy, mercy-filled and ever-lasting, as well as the ones He has shown, if not directly to me, then through the stories and lives of others?
And, if, in remembering/knowing/experiencing the true God of my faith, I still find myself choosing to NOT believe/trust in Him, then who or what am I choosing to believe in...instead?

As Franciscan friar and American spiritualist writer Richard Rohr so poignantly wrote:
"You will never turn your will and your life over to any other kind of God except a loving and merciful One. Why would you? But now that you know, why would you not?" 

Which landed us squarely on the questions of deep self-reflection for ANY circumstance:
Who IS this God that I declare...the One I say I believe in? Can He truly be trusted? 
What are His attributes? His words? Can they truly be trusted?

and as one of my teachers used to ask us:
Is it possible that God could be trying to BE something for me through this circumstance that He couldn't be for me until now? 

And then, once we have answered those questions, a choice needs be made...to stumble around in fear. Or take that hard leap of faith...into Trust.

Eileen F shared something she had been told: that Fear is a Lack of Love.  I really needed to think about that one for a moment--but immediately two verses were recalled to my mind:

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails...

And suddenly it hit me that for every moment of fear that I could recall, it was the direct result of me standing in something NOT of love:  Impatience (wanting MY timing instead of right timing, wanting desperately to see/prove the effectiveness of MY words, MY ideas, MY plans, MY mis-understanding), wrong intent (that driving self regard hiding under the guise of "well-intent", desire for attention or laud not yet attained, seeking the control of lives that were never mine to control), pride (afraid of being embarrassed, ratted out for being "wrong" or not good enough, or just plain "meh"), jealousy (for things I couldn't have/do/perform; and the fear that I am not able to withstand the testing for approval given to others; being less able, unable, or even dismissed as barely able to walk the standards set by others), living and reacting out of hurt-filled past experiences and long records of being wronged, mis-placed trust, loss of hope, weakness, unable to see Truth...we get the picture.

if Fear = Lack of love

and if God = Love

then Fear = lack of...  (but NOT through His choice...rather, through mine.)

We talked about how, when we know the true nature of the true God within us, only then we can begin to recognize and maybe even acknowledge the true nature of our selves--and of each other. We talked about how, in God's great love for us, He gave us the incredibly powerful gift of "free will". In fact, whatever and whomever we choose to allow to sit in the throne room of our inner sanctum becomes the nature with which we will approach our every circumstance. As Mandy so well said, "I may not be able to change my circumstance, but I have been given the free will to choose how I feel about it...how I react to it...who I choose to trust through it."  I was struck by the next most obvious thought: it is "I" that therefore makes the choice from which consequences will come forth...not God's fault, not "my brother's" fault, not anyone else's fault but my own.  

When the God I give myself over to is the ALL-knowing (and yet still ALL-loving) and mercy-filled God of all that is right and Truth, then it becomes SO much easier to trust Him with my life and my circumstances. And not because I have to, but because I want to.  Why would I not??

But to Trust Him, we need to know Him.  To know Him is to know His Word, His words, His nature and His promise that is...HIM.  

At the beginning of our class, Eileen F shared a song and recounted the pathways on which the Holy Spirit took her these past weeks, bringing us to a foundational stone that is a powerful key in our journey in Trust: In order to be able to walk in Trust in God no matter the circumstance, we must be able--and willing--to stand steadfastly and unwaveringly upon the promise of God that says:

"I will never betray your trust in Me." 

So DO I believe in that promise? Can I remember to remember HIS Truth and not the deceptions fed to me by the world?

One of the new verses she brought up reminded me of the immense calm and confidence that overflows my heart and soul when I DO "remember to remember" Him and the Truths that HE speaks into me:

Isaiah 49:15-16 
“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.

As promised, here are the lyrics to the song:

Honestly

Honestly I believe in you
Do you trust in me
Patiently I will stand by you
I will stand beside you faithfully

And through the years
I will be a friend
For always and forever

Call on me and I'll be there for you
I'm a friend who always will be true
And I love you can't you see
That I can say I love you
Honestly yes

Call on me and I'll be there for you
I'm a friend who always will be true
And I love you can't you see
That I love you
Honestly

I will never betray your trust in me
And I love you can't you see
That I can say I love you
Honestly

(Songwriters: Jim McCormick/Adam Reilly/Mike Krompass)

Ok, one last pearl from Sue Reilly (who joined us last minute when she got kicked out by the carpet cleaners--and kicked over to us by the HolySpirit!!):

FEAR:  False Evidence Appearing Real

Selah on that one for a good moment, ladies!

Next on the agenda:  DEFINING HOPE!! 

NEW TOPIC & HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK

Hi ladies!
Sorry about my silence--was traveling to help with my dad and my sister this last week and then got home and somehow messed up my days (luckily Lorraine happened to text me to let me know of class on Wednesday cuz I totally thought we were only on Tuesday!!) I guess that's what happens when my nest becomes empty and I am no longer driven by the routine of school schedules!!

So, before I do anything else, let me give out the homework for THIS week:

TOPIC: Defining HOPE

Terri has offered to take on the leader/facilitator role and I will walk alongside her! YAY! THANK YOU, Terri!!

So--Terri and I will work on the questions in the Leader's Guide while everyone else will do the following (from the Participants' Guide for WEEK ONE HOMEWORK):

As always, PRAY BEFORE YOU START.
Write down the following in your journal:
-TOPIC: DEFINING HOPE
-VERSES from Scripture that speak into this concept for me
-Answer the following questions:
     1. WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS VERSE?
     2. HOW AND WHY MIGHT THE HOLY SPIRIT BE USING THIS VERSE TO SPEAK INTO MY LIFE RIGHT NOW (or might have in the past)?

I will wrap up the summary from this Wednesday's amazing class as soon as I get my thoughts re-gathered.  Thank you, again, for all of your testimonies and incredible heart-felt and HolySpirit-given pearls! AMAZING!

love
maggie

TRUST EVOLVING

Trust and faith go hand in hand. As I re-read the verses in the Bible on trust, ones that I know so well, I am in awe. Faith and trust are both gifts from God to his people. God gives them to us freely, no strings attached. Last year we walked in the world of forgiveness, God's forgiveness of our transgressions and our journey of forgiving others. As I think of the path we are on this year, I am inspired by what I learned last year. Focusing on forgiving, I came to learn that it is a process, not a one shot deal so to speak. For me that was a giant pearl! A process, one that God will help me accomplish. The Holy Spirit dwelling within me, is helping me to walk in forgiveness daily. All I have to do is ask for help! Growing up in Catholic I learned that God asks us to forgive, to have faith and to trust in Him. I didn't understand that forgiveness was a process! Why did I bring up last years forgiveness journey? Because as I read the verses on trust, I realized that trust is also a process. Jesus came to earth to save us. As Jesus walked on the earth He experienced the Human limitations. He asked the Father to let this cup pass but then said let the Father's will be done. GOD knows that trust is not always easy for human beings. We can become anxious and frightened. Especially if we have been hurt. Life has different hardships and because of these problems we can wonder. Wonder why this is happening. Wonder why at times it can feel that God is hiding somewhere. Yes the Bible teaches us that God is always there waiting to help us. We can find multiple verses that teach us that God is there for us. But because we are human, we are fallible! God understands that. Just like forgiveness, trusting is a process. Our ability to trust in God increases on a daily basis as we walk with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. JEREMIAH 17: 7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for the Lord will be his confidence." Like forgiveness, trusting is a daily process. What an incredible gift! Just as God helps us to forgive, God helps us to trust in Him. God who created the universe in all its magnitude and creative details, is not hidden. Not distant or aloof. Not somewhere out there. He welcomes us into a relationship, so we can know God as a close friend. We can know God intimately. God doesn't just tell us to trust in Him. God walks with us on our journey. When trusting is difficult Jesus carries us in His arms. The Holy Spirit comes to us. The Holy Spirit covers us and dwells in us giving us what we need to place our trust in God and his love for us. Psalm 145: 18. " The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth "
Matthew 11: 28. " Come to me who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."
Yes God commands us to trust in Him. But He doesn't expect us to do it alone. God invites us to talk to Him and to bring to him what concerns us. We don't have to get our act together first. We don't have to get our life together first. We don't need to be polite, theologically correct or holy. It is God's nature to be loving and accepting when we go to Him. God is ever watching and waiting for us to cry out to him. When we are stumbling in a rough patch in life, God will lead us to the sunshine of a better brighter day. He will renew our faith and trust in Him!

Terri

Second Topic: Trust - My Journey

TRUST.  Nice pick for our second topic ladies! 

 The verse that I picked for trust:

Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.

I thank God when I wake up and let Him know I am available. (and remind myself).

As I was thinking about Trust and telling myself that I trust (then why did I fear?!), I realized that I do trust and when I fear, I forget – I don’t doubt…. I forget.  So I needed to remember all the times that I was in a pickle and  just gave it up to God and He had the perfect solution.  Remembering became my focus.

Then I went down the path of  -  if I trust – who am I trusting IN? My verse:

Matthew 16:16

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

(This led me to words that describe our Triune God – Knowledge, sovereignty, patience, grace, mercy, love, forgiving, righteous, compassion, friend, healer, shepherd, omnipotent, infinite)

Again, time to remember.

THEN….  I saw a verse that made me hopeful…..i kept thinking about what is said when there is hands down, full trust and giving it all to God (truly partnering with the Holy Spirit)

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

WOW!  Full trust no matter the circumstances (So now I have something to work towards  - it can be difficult) God is so good.   And what does he ask of me? On to my next wandering…

Micah 6:8

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

 Another version RSV Catholic Edition:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.

Okay one more!

Good News Translation:

No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

There has been a lot of thinking here for me.  I have found it very difficult to put it into words.  It was great to lead for this topic!  Thank you all for your verses on Trust!  They were perfect, and I love to reread them all!