One of the subpoints of a very bold and powerful message from Kay Arthur Saturday was to pray that God would allow the things that break His heart to also break ours. She cited Jeremiah 4:
"If you will return, O Israel," declares the LORD,
"Then you should return to Me
And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver...
Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart..."
Kay's message was centered on returning to Truth as it is presented in the Bible, rather than the watered down, politically correct, gray-area-laden, 'multiple truths' approach we are indoctrinated into in modern society.
While her point can be applied to countless things in our lives, it has been most apparent to me this week in what I see happening in marriages around me. Without getting into details that would lead minds to gossip and speculation, there are multiple marriages I am personally acquainted with going through traumatic changes. Most of these unions involve children, so I am watching the pain and hurt cascade from the lives of the men and women divorcing into the lives of these children.
I am not judging what is happening. I am heart-broken over it. I am so sad that these lives are going through all of this. As I have prayed for these folks and discussed the sadness of it all with my husband and closest friends ad naseum, I am reminded that this is an example of what happens in our lives when we are left to our own selfish devices. I can't help but think of the lies in culture that we can all "have it our way," that "we deserve a break," that "life happens" or that we should "follow our hearts" and "just do it." I am frightened and angry at how deceived we are, often without even realizing it.
I am a fan of pop culture, generally. I listen to mainly praise music, but I have a ridiculous, shameful weakness for celebrity gossip. I like Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy...but, seriously, I am feeling very convicted about getting back to the roots of Truth. Life is not a fairy tale or even a well-written sit com. It is not a romantic comedy. It is actually something FAR better, in that, it is real. But real brings pain with its beauty, suffering with its celebration and sacrifice and selflessness with its abundance. You don't get one without the other. I am frustrated by our (including myself here) attempts to make life into something fictional and without blemish.
"Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." Psalm 119:36-37
Oh, how I long to model this kind of living for my children.
Lord, break of the fallow ground of my heart--circumcise it--so that it may be tender for You and Your ways alone. Grant me insight to recognize the bluffs of this world and reject them for the sake of your Truth.
7 comments:
As a child of divorce, who has seen the ugliest of human nature because of said divorce, I always seem to take the break up of a marriage very personally. And it is for the children involved. I immediately begin hoping and praying that the adults will think of the children. If divorce must happen, I pray the children's feelings are always put first and that the parents will act in such a way as to prevent deep emotional scars on the hearts of their children.
I will be praying for these situations you have mentioned.
this was great. thanks for sharing, I went to hw blog above and she has written an excellent post of divorce for dummies. As a child of divorce she has shared some of her points. I am right there with you watching and wanting to help in situtations where it seems all we can do is pray for the people involved. Or is there more we can do? Thanks for your transparency and honesty. I had a good time last night,
w
As a mom of a son who has divorced twice, I am right there with you. The details are not necessary, but he should have never married either one in the first place. We raised him differently. It so changes everyone involved. I mean everyone. As to what Kay taught on breaking up the fallow ground, my Sunday School teacher just taught us for six weeks on breaking up the fallow ground in your heart and getting all of the yuck out of there, my terms not hers. She taught us on what we should plant there, so that the Word of God can grow and we can finish well. You are doing such a great job on growing now, I pray you will always be on the road you are on now. You bless my heart with your posts. Blessings on your day and your week.
I know way too many marriages in serious trouble now, too, and it breaks my heart. I have been divorced myself, and it is so hard for all involved. Now I am in a marriage that is centered around Christ and that really does make ALL the difference!
Coming from divorced parents myself and being married to a man who is also from a broken home, this subject is often on my mind.
I find it very easy to slip into the selfish thinking that leads up to divorce. However, I am always reminded my the Holy Spirit that divorce causes a multitude of pain that lasts for the rest of the affected families lives. And not just for the divorcee's. It is hard to explain to my children why they have so many grandparents who USED to be married to one another!
Great post!
I never even knew what a blog was until last Spring at my daughter's end of year class picnic at the park. A mom of one of my daughter's classmates spoke to you as you and your beautiful children walked into the park. She knew you from fpc and told me after you walked on that I needed to check out your blog. Well, I did and that hooked me!! Ever since, I have enjoyed several blogs on a daily basis. And now my husband has entered the blogging world. I am actually commenting from his blogname because I didn't know how to set my own up!! Computer savvy I am not!(so don't let the "man of constant sorrow" throw you off...I am the wife of a man of constant sorrow until I learn to get my own ID!) I figured that as long as I'm going to keep on reading and be encouraged by these blogs I may as well comment. Your blog today hit me hard in that it made me think about what a self-centered, selfish society we are these days. If we could ever grasp the concept that IT IS NOT about ME but ALL ABOUT HIM we would not be seeing families wounded by divorce and other catastrophes of our day. We set our hearts and minds on ME and MINE and we forget all about HIM until tragedy strikes. The thing is, if we communed with HIM daily and had the kind of relationship that HE desires of us we would see less of the things of this world take hold of our families. It seems like every blog that I read on a daily basis has recently been talking about drawing nearer to HIM and digging into HIS WORD, and putting HIM first. You have challenged me as well to do just that. I love to read Christian fiction, so I am laying it aside for a while to get into the habit of having more time with HIM in HIS Word. May God bless you and your family...
-wifeofamanofconstantsorrow
well here I go posting a comment. Just figured out how to do this. my! Anyway, love your boldness, keep it up!
Post a Comment