The Flow of God’s Faithfulness

~ Barbara ~ 2 Comments

Waterfalls always inspire me, whether it’s the simple tumbles at Ramapo Reservation, the stunning roar of the Paterson Falls, or the double delight at Dingmans Falls in Pennsylvania. You can imagine my rapt wonder last week when my husband and I visited the mother of all falls—the mighty Niagara.

We stood on the Canadian shore, awed by the power and majesty of the cascades. I watched with the same rapt attention as when I crest dunes on the Jersey shore and behold the persistent presence of the roaring waves.

In both scenes, the Niagara and the Atlantic, I see a demonstration of God’s faithfulness. Like the relentless movement of the waves and cascades, He is always there, ever present, resiliently powerful, continually moving.

As in nature, even without witnesses to behold its majesty, God’s faithfulness still flows, constantly, never diminishing, never pausing, never diverting from its display of splendor.

Finding Hope

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

When I wrote I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope, I was determined to keep the book brief. As a broken person, I remembered how challenging it was to read a full page, let alone a whole book. After it was published, I knew that wounded hearts needed more, so I wrote 65 short meditations. The book, Finding Hope, offers wounded readers small doses of hope, like one-a-day vitamins.

The following is an excerpt from “Day 15: Lord, I’m Frightened.”

My feelings clamored to take precedence, but I couldn’t trust them. My life had shifted, and I had no confidence in the shaky ground beneath me. As I looked at the uncertainty of my future, I knew I couldn’t figure this out—I had to rely on the Architect of my life. I was scared, but I determined to trust God’s heart. I chose to believe that all His ways are loving and faithful—always…

Many days I simply nestled into the Lord, helpless and hurting, but my heart was humble and He honored me. He soothed me and renewed me. He will do the same for you.

Friend, you don’t have to figure everything out. God will hold you until you’re stronger and then, in His faithfulness, He will instruct you in where to walk and what path to take. Day after day, He will walk alongside you with your hand safely in His.*

This is the last post from my books in celebration of their new covers. I hope these six weeks have encouraged your hearts and reminded you of God’s amazing faithfulness.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

*Enjoy the full devotional in Finding Hope: 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart.

The “E” Path to Hope

~ Barbara ~ 2 Comments

Broken people who are tending to their injuries from loss, struggle to face the future; sometimes it’s an effort to take their next breath. It is difficult to press forward when memories of what they lost keep pulling them back. It is hard not to become cynical, believing Murphy’s Law—that if anything can go wrong, it will.

The E path challenges every negative attitude that has burrowed in our minds and persistently pushes us toward hope. I believe this was the prophet Jeremiah’s experience.  

Jeremiah wrote chapters about the hardships that befell him… We feel his pain and identify with the words he penned: “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness… and my soul is downcast within me.”

Can you identify?

Read on because Jeremiah’s words don’t end there. He adds a “yet.”

“Yet…this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

The E of Hope is too full for me to share adequately in a short post, so I will jump to my book’s grand conclusion, a testimony formed when I was scrounging for hope. I learned to reject feelings and push against my emotions. Instead, I chose to Expect Grace. The pain of my losses remains, but I echo Jeremiah: “Yet… I have hope.” God’s grace is fresh every day, and His faithfulness is new every morning.*

* The full text is found in chapter nine of I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope

Image by Pixabay

The “P” Path to Hope

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

Are you ready for the third pathway to hope? The “P” path challenges our minds to Ponder the Positive, not the Problem.

If we allow our thoughts to follow their natural inclination, they will drift to life’s disappointments.

Left unchecked, this default setting invites us to obsess over our problems. We examine them from every angle, turning them over and over again in our minds. We waste an untold number of words and far too much time rehearsing the details of our challenges… One of the quickest ways to devastate hope is to let this pattern go unchecked. If our mind dwells only on our problems, we are blinded to the enormity of God’s promises and the goodness of His nature…
As true as our troubles are, there is a greater Truth.     

Immersing ourselves in the Word is our lifeline. It will overrule our emotions with truth, assure us of God’s faithful presence, and promise us a future with hope. As we ponder the positive affirmations we find there, we will be made strong and become overcomers.

How could I ponder the positive when my daughter’s death had plunged me into the negative? I saw no light, only loss. My saving grace was my confidence in God’s character and respect for His sovereignty. Bit by bit, revelations of  His goodness formed thoughts of gratitude that became my testimony. Pondering those thoughts rescued me.

I invite you to reset your default setting. Don’t rehearse the details of your pain, but feed your faith in God by filling your mind with the truths in His Word.

Excerpted from I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope, chapters seven and eight.
Image by Pixabay

Now available on Amazon:
I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope
Finding Hope: 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart