Burning Bridges Part 2

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

So…anybody read Proverbs 3 this week? I was asked why I chose this particular chapter of scripture in relation to the post. After reading it every day I realized that for me, it was just what spoke to me during those trying times of change. It showed me the true importance of not leaning on my own understanding in life but to fully lean on God. So many times when we are required to change something we get defensive on how it would be beneficial to us. Many times, maybe I should say most times, it isn’t until after the storm has passed that we realize why God placed so much importance on it. One of my favorite versus in this chapter are vs. 5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. If I ever needed anything at that point in my life it was a straight path. I spent so much time riding the craziness of the winding roads and being so worried about not knowing what was coming next that when I did jump on the straight and narrow it took me forever to adjust to the freedom and consistency that was provided. I read a quote out of a bible study a few weeks ago and it has stuck with me, the writer simply said this, “There is more freedom in boundaries.” In this society do we even know what it means to have freedom or boundaries anymore? Do we really have freedom in the way that we are pressured to look, act, spend and accept things? I have talked with so many that are shocked at how easy it is for us to become so desensitized to plain black and white sin all around us. I ask the question, “What happens as a result of all of this?” My answer, we began to water down what the Word of God says. He will not accept the ways of the world and we are not to conform to them. We cannot package God in our pretty little boxes and expect Him to accept the things in our life that He did not put there.  We can give many names to these “bridges” that we keep crossing in our lives. But the simple truth is, they become masters over us and the end result of not letting them go is bondage, some for the rest of our lives. I know I’ve said this before but honestly it is just time to call it what it is, get some serious healing and redemption over it and move on. I really never like to try and use a passage of scripture and leave parts of it out to make a point but I thought I would share this with you. I remember about two weeks after God had given me “The List” I sat down to go over it again. At that point I wasn’t ready to bust out the torches but I was willing for the first time to fully trust Him over it. It was the strangest feeling but I knew that He was serious. So like many other times I grabbed my bible and prayed for Him to give me an active word…this is what he gave me. Isaiah 30:15b, In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. (vs.18) Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!...(vs19b) you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it. Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered in gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!” Hmm, your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered in gold. That is exactly what I did. The things in my life that were so important to me became my idols even my sin, in some way I worshiped them or I at least placed them higher than anything else and certainly higher than God. – So whatever it is to us, whatever we call it…sin, idols, masters, strongholds, learned behaviors, slavery,  generational curses, poor choices, and hopeless situations, dead in roads with no way out…whatever it is, I will promise you this. ” There is freedom in discernment, freedom in change and freedom in deciding to trust Him and walk in His ways.  I know this one. I also know that letting go of some of these things may seem like death to you. But many burned bridges later I’m still standing and I am stronger and wiser from it. And you know what…I can say this with everything in me...it is for freedom that Christ has set us free! I once struggled over so many things that God was requiring but for some reason I feared not listening more than I feared the change. I guess it was my first dose of godly fear, and I grabbed a hold of it and haven’t looked back. This life is wild, isn’t it? So what about you? I would love to hear from you, of course no personal information about your dealings, but maybe just some things you may be feeling about it.

2 Corinthians  4:7-9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this

all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. – No matter what the enemy has told you, you are not abandoned, you are not destroyed.

Burning Bridges

Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 So here is the first part of my testimony. I had no intention of sharing this today but I read this quote on Facebook this morning and knew this was to be the topic. It said, "The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn". Wow, I need a sign that says that for my office. Around 6 or 7 years ago I reached a point in my walk with God where I felt empty. I had spent a huge amount of time and healing on the mountain top with Him when all of a sudden I felt like I fell off a cliff. I was really confused and talked to my mother in law about it. She showed me Psalm 139 and after reading it I decided to start my daily prayer time with those last two versus that I listed above. Can I just say that it is not for the faint of heart! God did not waste a moment before He began to give me what I have called for the last 6 years, “The List”.  What struck me about this quote was that I literally looked at each of my sins and strongholds as individual bridges. As He would give me something (person, place or thing) I would actually picture myself walking up to the bridge. Then I had to make the decision as to walk across or tear it down. If I walked across who would encourage me on, Jesus or the Enemy?  Was Jesus waiting for me on the other side or was I about to step into the dark wilderness all alone? I think the hardest part for me were the things that He required for me to hand over that weren’t so obvious. I mean some bridges just looked scary, broken boards, warning signs and old. Then others seemed safe and new and harmless. I went through a season of hurt and frustration over them and at a time stopped praying for Him to search me, I’m laughing as I type this. The fact was that more than anything else I wanted to be saved from my guilt, my shame and my worries and if I were going to do that then I knew there was no turning back, and how could I…those bridges were gone. Deuteronomy 6:5, The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. I mean how can you do that if your life is filled with things that hurt you heart, empty your soul and make you weak? I accepted the challenge and six years later still fight with burning bridges. Have you ever been across one of those HUGE bridges? Like the one that you have to cross in Louisiana? Well, that is the bridge that I struggle with today. Swap land underneath, no place to pull over and once you enter on there is no end in sight for a really long time. I’m inching my way closer to torching it and when I do the victory that will be won will have the devil fighting mad. The bible holds so many scriptures that helped me, and encouraged me when things were hard. Here are a few. 1Peter 5:8, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Galatians 5:25-26, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Matthew 18:7, Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! My list could go on and on. One thing I want to make clear is this. Your list probably wouldn’t be the same as mine. God knows our hearts, our struggles and our weaknesses. I wanted to ask as a group if you would be willing to commit to something for the next 7 days. Find a notepad, piece of paper, journal or whatever you have and daily open your bibles to Proverbs 3. Commit to reading it daily and ask God to reveal to you anything that is holding you back. Take the time to journal any feelings or thoughts and at the end of these seven days be willing to do a little bridge burning of your own.

Proverbs 3 ¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, ² for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.^{[a] 7} Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. ⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. ¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, ¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed. ¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; ²⁰ by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. ²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; ²² they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. ²³ Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, ²⁶ for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared. ²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. ²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you. ²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. ³⁰ Do not accuse anyone for no reason— when they have done you no harm. ³¹ Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. ³² For the LORD detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. ³³ The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. ³⁴ He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. ³⁵ The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame.

I’ll end with this, one of my favorite versus.

Psalm 97:1-6

¹ The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
² Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. ³ Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. ⁴ His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.

Fear vs. Faith

Well, here it is the big one for me. Fear. I am crippled by it at times and at least once a week I convince myself that I need medication for it. Why is it that after walking so close with Him that this one still has hold of me? The answer is….I have no idea. I can only believe that it is a lack of trust and faith in Him and a constant struggle in letting go of my control (Ok so I may have some idea.). It makes me sad to even admit this to you but it does no good to keep these thoughts to myself. I told myself from the beginning that if there were anything that I wanted to bring to this blog it was honesty and I am just being uncomfortably honest with you on this one.  I remember hearing Beth Moore ask us this question one time and I wanted to ask it to you today. Do you believe that God is more of a taker then a giver and that your blessings are only to be received in heaven? It was huge for me, and my answer was yes. I wonder how many of you feel that way.  Since then I have made it my focus to be healed in that area and to be able to except the love, plan and blessings that my God has for me. Of course my answer to that question could not have been farther from the truth; but unfortunately inside my fear stricken way of thinking it was the first time I was able to hear my fear put into words. I have asked God to be brutally honest with me in showing me the sin in the lack of my faith and trust and thought you may get a kick out of one of the ways He has chosen to show me. I guess in this situation there was a third option, choose faith, fear or… move. About two and a half years ago our friends were watching our children when I got a phone call that went like this, Hello…Kristy, I’m about to freak you out…silence…is everything ok?...Well, everyone is ok but we just killed a baby copperhead in your son’s bedroom. I’m not sure what my response was from that point on or maybe I’m just not willing to type it but needless to say I was freaking out. Now, I am married to a manly man, a good old Lubbock country boy, but when it comes to snakes he handles it about as good as I do. When we got home that night I was obsessed with searching every part of our house.  All I could think of is that if it was a baby then there was a family and I was praying that their family wasn’t living with my family, follow me? I searched and searched until after midnight when I finally, reluctantly crawled into bed. I was so freaked out by the thought of a poisonous snake anywhere close to my children and hated feeling so invaded. After tossing and turning forever I finally prayed. I thanked God for protecting my children and that I in no way believed that it was just luck that the snake was found where it was. I also said that I trusted Him to show me at any time if there were ever another snake and believed that He would be faithful again. Let’s just say He has been faithful…and consistent. Since then I have had another snake in my dining room, several (and I do mean several) encounters outside (kids included), a few at the lake and just last week one in my garage. We have more snakes here then Swamp Brothers, at least that is what Braydon says and every single time God has been so totally in the middle of it. He has made things happen and people move in ways that my children were protected and the snakes were found. I know that God prompted/warned Will and I the other night to not let Braydon go in the garage by himself and as Will opened the door the snake was there in between him and the car. After everything settled I nicely asked God (with a smile on my face) if we could be done with this one. I pictured Him smiling at me saying, I don’t know, you tell me. I trust Him completely in this circumstance but have seriously contemplated leaving our place in the country and moving to concrete. Unfortunately, my fear goes deeper than snakes. Isaiah 7:9b says, If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. I think I’m done sitting, anybody else? I was able to share for a few minutes with two of the ladies in my small group yesterday and was blessed by their encouragement and stories of faithfulness. I am already feeling a bit of freedom in the area that I am struggling with and I truly believe it is because I just put it out there for prayer. We don’t have to be ashamed or worried that it is wrong to have doubts or concerns with God. We just have to be prayerful and diligent about letting Him help us defeat it. At the funeral for my step mom the preacher looked over at the casket and said these words that I will never forget. “She was promised nothing more than this.” In some weird morbid way it made sense to me and I was overcome with peace that my Father knows me and has every single second of my, my kids life, written out. There is not one single thing our worry can change (I’m speaking to myself here). My mind knows this but at times my flesh is still afraid. Matthew 6:27 says, Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Isn’t that the truth. I wonder what would happen if we took all that fear and laid it at His feet and in exchange grabbed a good healthy dose of fear of the LORD.  Deuteronomy 10:12 says, ¹² And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Therefore we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Should faith have substance? I looked up the definition of substance and really loved this one. Substance: the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow, reality. The Greek word for substance in this scripture is hupostasis meaning that which stands, or is set under a foundation. So based on those descriptions yes faith has substance. It’s not just something we agree to while speaking out into the sky. It is a choice, a lifestyle.  It becomes an active reaction to an action taken against us. So when we are up to bat what will we choose faith or fear? There’s not a third choice here.  Grab your bible or someone else’s bible (if you don’t have a bible send me a message and I’ll make sure you get one) Ask God to give you a few scriptures in dealing with your specific situation. If you don’t know a lot of scripture go to biblegateway.org and do a word search (example: fear, worry etc.) write them on an index card and study them like your life depended on it. Place them under your pillow, carry them with you in your car. Post them in your kitchen, your bathroom mirror, your desk, wherever it takes…whatever it takes. Isaiah 55:9-13 says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me (void) empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  … This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.” - I will close with this last thing. Make Him your beginning and your end, at least. Before our feet hit the ground running spend some time with Him. Grab a notebook and start talking to Him. He is all about relationship and relationships take two. Ephesians 6:10-18, (I almost put this in the King James Version, it’s worth looking it up) ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and pray…Be blessed my friends, I’m praying for you.