Words from the Heart

I spent the first thirty years of my life seeking something, looking for love in all the wrong places, and wanting to be accepted.

What I did know for certain, was that I was looking for something but, like so many others, I really didn’t know what it was I was searching for. I tried to find it in a lot of ways and a lot of places, but I never discovered that sense of peace I desperately desired.

Wanting to surrender ourselves to God’s control is a lot easier said than done. We may want to follow God’s will for our lives more than anything else in the world, but if we don’t understand how that’s done, it doesn’t happen.

I wasn’t raised in a church-going family. I don’t even remember if there was a Bible in our home. Moreover, I certainly never knew much more about Jesus than the fact that he was born on Christmas and he died on Easter.

The awesome thing about God is that He truly does pursue us. And even though I didn’t know what I was looking for, I found it when I was thirty-one years old. I heard a loving voice inviting me to make a choice.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. New American Standard Version, Matthew 11:28-30.

I’d tried living my way and I knew it never completely satisfied and it never lasted. I was weary and so tired of hurting.

The Message puts it a little differently:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

That was what I wanted.

In the last days of his ministry, Jesus said, “… the Father is in me, and I in the Father,” Then during the night before Jesus was crucified, he told Peter, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” John 10:38, 14:6, New American Standard Version.

That was the beginning. Giving up control and surrendering to God isn’t easy. And, for me, it wasn’t a one-time thing. Like I said earlier, wanting something and actually doing it are two different things.

But, God had my heart.

Then, I spent another ten years desperately seeking to know God through other people’s words and experiences. That doesn’t work either.

During those years, I lost a career I loved, health, material possessions, income, independence, loved ones, and even my memory at times. I lost the security of everything most people place their security in. I was so tired of losing things.

That’s when I learned about control. Losing things taught me I wasn’t in control at all. The wondrous thing is that it also taught me that if the most precious thing in my life is my intimate relationship with God, I‘d never lose that. Regardless of what happens, He is with me, helping me to live above the circumstances of my life.

Because of God’s love and grace, I found the things money can’t buy – peace of mind, a hope for the future, the knowledge that I am deeply loved by my Creator, and eternal life.

I’m no stronger or more faithful than anyone else is. In fact, I’m probably weaker.

The difference is that I chose to seek the Truth. And, that is what I hope the words from my heart convey.

You see, surrendering is the beginning of a journey to discovering God’s love and purpose for our lives.

The idea of trying to know God may seem insurmountable. It did for me until I realized that by focusing on Jesus, I would come to know the Father. By inviting Christ into my heart and asking Him to work in me and change me, I opened the door.

In all honesty, there have been times when I’ve closed that door. I did that when I decided that I knew what was best for me. Things usually were fine – for a while. But eventually, whatever I had chased after, fought for, or believed in ultimately disappointed. It’s extremely hard to try and orchestrate perfection. In fact, I don’t know anyone who can. There is always something that comes along to change things.

By seeking God’s will and acknowledging His control, I’ve discovered the freedom of knowing that He is the one true thing. And so I began with one simple prayer – to focus on Jesus. You see, like everyone else, there were so many things going on in my life, so many heartaches, disappointments, and so much sadness that I knew the only way to survive was to begin with that simple prayer. God, help me focus on Jesus – nothing else.

The only way to focus on Jesus is by reading the Word of God and spending time in prayer. Neither was elaborate. I opened the Bible and began reading and I simply talked to God, pouring out all my heartaches and my desire to know Him.

That was when I began to understand God’s will in my life. It’s an ongoing process and it requires sacrifice. Unfortunately, too many people shy away from sacrifice, thinking it’s going to be painful. Sometimes it is. Yet, sacrifice borne out of love becomes almost cleansing, healing, and energizing. After all, what we are called to sacrifice are those things that prevent us from being all God has designed for us.

And, it brings a peace that is almost impossible to describe. I want to give up the things that keep me weighed down and hurting.

Knowing and believing that nothing happens in this world without God’s knowledge can give us an unshakeable comfort in relinquishing control to the Creator of the universe.

If you would like to know just how much the Father loves you, please visit this site called Father’s Love Letter at http://www.fathersloveletter.com

My prayer is that you will come to know His love for you.

Blessings, Francine

The reality of Paul’s words in both Timothy and Romans in the previous entry can create different emotions in different folks.

Many respond with a feeling of self-righteousness. It’s so easy to judge and criticize others who are caught up in chaotic living. As if we are perfect.

Interestingly, Paul apparently feared the same thing, because in the verses following his almost prophetic description of today’s world, he turns around in the next chapter in Romans and warns us:

“Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.

“You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” The Message, Romans 2:1-4.

Others might feel frightened because the apostle’s words ring true and it isn’t a pretty picture of our society today. It would be easy to get caught up in fearful living. While the world sometimes seems to be falling apart all around us, we can find hope in God’s love for His children. It’s easy to focus on circumstances rather than the one who gives us hope.

Hope. If our world needs one thing in the midst of the chaos that swirls around us, it is hope. And people hunger for it. The preponderance and popularity of self-help books is proof that we are looking for something. However, which book is the right one? There are thousands and, unfortunately, many contradict each other.

There is one who gives hope that truly is eternal – it never changes, it is constant, consistent, and available for anyone who chooses to accept it.

One of the best places in the Bible to find encouraging words of hope is in the Psalms, especially many of those written by David. You know – David the shepherd boy who killed the giant Goliath and David the King. However, he was also David the adulterer, the murderer, the liar. Yet, David was identified by God as “a man after his own heart.”

Why was he so special to God? Even though his life was full of conflict, sin, guilt, and shame, he lived a life surrendered to God. God knew David’s heart. He knew David’s love was genuine even if the man was flawed. And therein lies a truth so few people seem to understand. We are all flawed and imperfect, but like a doting parent, God loves us, only He loves us more and He loves us best.

In Psalm 18, David wrote a song after God delivered him from all his enemies and from the hand of King Saul. It’s full of amazing praise and gives evidence to all God did for this adulterer, liar, and murderer. Regardless of his weaknesses and sin, David chose to follow God and serve Him. God does the same for those of us who chose to accept Jesus as our savior.

David wrote:

“But me he caught—reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning.

“They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me.

“He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!

“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start.” The Message, Psalm 18:16-20

Here’s the truth – the Creator of the universe reached down from heaven and rescued David from his enemies. Can you picture that? Moreover, while David’s enemies were flesh and blood, our’s can be anything that harms us – fear, hate, addictions, depression, panic. They can even be those worldly things we desire – money, power, prestige, self-sufficiency – the things that lull us into a false security.

Why did God save David? In the New International Version, verse 19 answers that question quite eloquently: “… He rescued me because he delighted in me.”

However, I believe David continues that answer in verse 20. In other words, God made David’s life complete when he placed all the pieces (of his life) before God. In other words, David surrendered his life.

Regardless of the bad things happening around us, we can have a supernatural peace that goes beyond human understanding.

Until next time, I pray your weekend is full of peace and contentment, and that you are refreshed and lifted up above the world’s chaos. If you need a little help, check out the Psalms. Or, email me. I promise to answer.

Blessings, Francine

Special Note: As you may have noticed, I use different versions of the Bible. I encourage you to do the same. You may find one that speaks to you, but to really get an in-depth understanding of God’s word (based on personal experience), use several different ones. Along with the Bible, there are a variety of reference books that will further help you hear the message God wants to give you in His word. If you aren’t sure where to start, please contact me.

My last entry asked who is in control of your life. The desire of my heart was to show that we truly aren’t in control of anything. The rest of that thought is, who or what is controlling your life?

Maybe it would be good to explore what happens when we surrender to something other than God’s love and guidance.

Take a look around you. Read the headlines of any newspaper, turn on any news cast (you can always find news), or watch some of the more popular television programs. What do you read, hear, and see?

Recently, we’ve learned about a serial killer who was a church member and now calmly describes the murders he's committed. We’ve also been witness to a sexual predator who allegedly killed three adults in order to kidnap two children for his own twisted pleasure. Hundreds of thousands watched planes fly into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania killing hundreds of people and forever changing the landscape of our hearts. London is now dealing with the same thing. CEOs of large corporations allegedly diverted funds for their own personal use, robbing employees of their future retirement. Highly rated television programs promote promiscuity, adultery, homosexuality, lying, cheating, and just about anything other than Godly principals and beliefs. The entertainment industry even recognizes they can target more people with cartoon-like programs promoting the same things.

Movies, video games, and popular music sometimes go even further.

And we wonder, what’s the world coming to?

Several books in the Bible are prophetic but Timothy is eerily so. Consider Paul’s guidance to the one whom he considered his “son.”

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power …"

Paul uses nineteen appalling characteristics in the first five verses. He then goes on to say in verses 6-8: "For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of truth, … men who oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. And then, in verse 13: But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse; deceiving and being deceived." The New American Standard Bible, 2 Timothy 3:1-8

Those verses are chillingly close to describing our world. Moreover, if we look even further into words written almost two thousand years ago, we find something even more frightening.

In the first chapter of Romans, Paul writes of the sinfulness of humankind and in the last half, he specifically addresses unbelief and its consequences. The Message, Romans 1:21-32, puts it in the cold, harsh reality of today:

"What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

"So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

"Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men,—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

"Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!"

These are perfect examples of people who are trying to control their lives. Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? Sounds like it could come from today's headlines or top news alerts the media likes to use. More importantly, it should illustrate the disturbing examples of people living without God.

But, life doesn’t have to be that way. The good news is that God can take a surrendered life and create something of beauty. More about that next time.

I pray you will come back and discover how the Creator of the universe wants a personal relationship with you. God changes hearts, spirits, and lives.

Blessings, Francine

One of the hallmarks of a true believer is that we give up control of our lives and trust in God’s control.

Lots of folks say they believe that, but how many live their lives in the total confidence that this is true?

If we were to honestly believe God has control of our lives, knows exactly what’s going on, and has guidance for each of us (if we choose to seek it), then it would seem there would be a lot more joyful believers.

Think about those things that cause stress in your life. Are you satisfied with who you are, how you look, how smart you are, the talents you possess, or any number of characteristics that describe your life or lifestyle?

If you aren’t, chances are you are probably feeling a little stress. Think about the millions of dollars spent on self-help books. While we all can, and should, try to be the best, we have to recognize that none of us has complete control over those things.

Many of us want to have control over our families, our jobs, and our situations. Certainly, we can influence others, work to improve our careers, and try to change our circumstances. But, at the end of the day when we look into the mirror, can we honestly say that we do have that kind of power?

If we acknowledge that the Creator of the universe has control of our lives yet continuously strive to orchestrate things ourselves, then we are, in essence, trying to be God.

There was one in the Bible who wanted to be like God. He was, in fact, the Creator’s most beautiful creation – Lucifer. Most know what happened to him.

Giving up control isn’t easy. It means surrendering every part of ourselves to God. What does that kind of surrender look like? It starts with obedience regardless of whether we understand God’s plans or not. It means living without knowing the who, what, when, where, why, and how of our lives. But then again, can anyone know those things for certain?

There are times when surrendering full control means doing things that don’t make sense. However, the real question is, makes sense to whom? The world? That is no barometer as to what does and doesn’t make sense.

Knowing and believing that nothing happens in this world without God’s knowledge can give us an unshakeable comfort in relinquishing control to the Creator of the universe.

Blessings, Francine

Sometimes, those of us who are perfectionists, tend to place a higher value on getting things right rather than on getting things done. In other words, we are guided more by our concern of what others might think than what God might think. I

I must confess that I’ve been one of those people.

To be used by God is my heart’s desire. Yet, I’ve procrastinated adding to this blog because I wanted to get it right. In other words, if I didn’t believe what I wrote was absolutely perfect, then I wasn’t going to post it.

Silly me. Of course it isn’t going to be perfect. Nothing in this world is. Nevertheless, I let my need for approval keep me from one of the avenues God has opened for me to follow His will.

It’s made me wonder how many others diligently strive to do whatever it is they feel led by God to do but never complete it because, like me, they want it to be perfect.

I don’t want to imply everyone is like this. Yet, I believe there are those who desperately seek validation in the eyes of others. I believe it’s human nature to do so. But I also know that in the Spiritual Realm, our worth and value come from being a child of God.

Getting it right has nothing to do with perfection and everything to do with following God’s leading. I was reminded in one of my devotions how Noah responded to God’s leading. If he had been concerned about getting it right … well, I suppose it’s possible none of us would be here. I mean, it’s easy for us to visualize it raining for forty days and forty nights. Here’s a man building an ark on dry land – and, in a world that didn’t even know what rain was.

I know there are hundreds of examples in the Bible that illustrate that getting it right usually meant doing something others would not agree with. But then, I guess that’s how it is when we choose to follow God’s will and not the world’s way.

My prayer is that I continue to realize my purpose isn’t about fulfilling my plans but rather, it’s all about fulfilling God’s plans.

It’s my desire to share those things I believe God is teaching me. And, do it on a regular basis. For those returning readers, please forgive the lapse of entries. For those new to my blog, come back again. I promise not to wait till I get things perfect but will act on getting it right.

Blessings, Francine

P.S. God's perfection surrounds us. This photo, taken during a recent trip to Ireland, that shows just how perfect our Creator is.