Separation can protect you when you are in an unhealthy relationship. We are not called to be subjected to abuse especially when the Bible is being used to justify the other person’s actions. We are starting a series on the concept of Biblical Separation and what it is and is not.
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There are many times in our lives when we feel helpless. They can be directly or indirectly connected to us personally. Our nature is to try to fix a problem so that we can move past it. What happens when that problem is out of our control, not ours or it is connected to someone close to us? Situations can be so great they are on a national or global scale, or we can have a child who is going through a personal crisis. Every crisis can be great in their own situation. The Bible offers us a perspective that can be counter to our natural inclinations to take control or fix the problems ourselves.
In the Book of Job we are given the example of Job’s friends. Job lost almost everything. Satan accused Job of loving God because of God’s favor and protection on his life. God allowed tragedy to touch Job’s life relationally and physically. When Job’s friends heard of the tragedies that Job endured they came together and mourned with him in silence. Job 2:12-13 says “When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”
Jesus also gave us an example of what to do when we have no control in a situation. He was about to be betrayed, arrested, tortured, and executed, and He asked three of His disciples to stay with Him and keep watch while He prayed. The disciples kept falling asleep. Matthew 26:40-41 says “Then (Jesus) returned to His disciples and found them asleep. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’ He asked Peter. ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'” Prayer is a powerful tool that God has given us during our trials and troubles. Jesus had the power to take away His own trials and sorrows, but He chose to endure them to the very end because of His great love for us. He knew that the sacrifice He was about to endure was great. Sin and death was defeated forever, and because of that we are reconciled with God.
Are you or someone you know going through a crisis? Do you feel helpless? Do you feel like you do not know what to say or do? You are not alone. Trials and troubles will always be with us. How we handle them when we feel helpless is crucial, and it can be hard too. Being present with others is so simple yet it is a great blessing. Not having words to say is ok, and sometimes the best thing we can do! And, praying is the one thing we can and should always do in every situation.
Are you constantly being distracted from what you know you need to do? Distractions can keep us from enjoying life, and it can be a leading cause of anxiety in your life. Here is Part 1 in our talk on Distractions.
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Do you have good heathy boundaries in your life. We are going to introduce to you what boundaries are and how you can start implementing them.
With Laura Dahne, and Joseph Ferreira
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In today’s episode we talk about grief and loss.
With Kevin Phillips, Laura Dahne, and Joseph Ferreira
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This is Part 2 on a talk about Grace.
With Kevin Phillips, Laura Dahne, and Joseph Ferreira
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This is Part 1 on a talk about Grace.
With Kevin Phillips, Laura Dahne, and Joseph Ferreira
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Setting The Trajectory
Kevin Phillips
Have you ever asked yourself, “where am I going in life, what’s my purpose, what do I want to accomplish, what kind of person do I want to be or become?” Growing up I always marveled at people who somehow inherently knew what they wanted to do in life. My daughter for example has known since she was in elementary school that she wanted to be an elementary school teacher. In high school I could never relate to other students who knew what they wanted to do and what they wanted to study in college. I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I didn’t understand why I had no idea what to do in life. It was so frustrating and at times I kind of felt like a loser. I really didn’t know that my calling was to be a therapist/counselor until my late 30’s, wow talk about a late bloomer. But after I reflected on this meandering way of settling upon a profession, I realized that all my frustrations and confusion and life experiences gave me the ability to become a better, more effective, real therapist that could relate to people. Then I started to realize that as individuals we need to set a trajectory for ourselves. If not, where are we flying to, where are we going, what do we stand for, what’s the purpose?
Anger Is Not Necessarily Bad
Kevin Phillips
The following is a quote from T.D Jakes in his book entitled, Let It Go, “Often anger helps us to confront what we would otherwise ignore. Occasionally, I hear people teach others to simply move on from an offense and forget it. But the truth of the matter is it’s difficult to move on when you haven’t had your say. The lack of closure can become a sticking point that keeps you attached to an incident from which you need to be free”. Anger is a natural emotion, an emotion that can either be bad and destructive or good and constructive depending on how one expresses it and acts upon it. Let’s be honest for a minute; if we have lived a few years, we have probably seen ourselves use anger in a right and constructive way and we have probably seen ourselves use anger is not so good ways. Hopefully in our lives the good greatly out-weighs the bad. It only takes seconds for anger to get the best of us. Anger can move us to do and say some pretty stupid things and create great pain. Anger can destroy parent/child relationships, rob marriages, zap work-place camaraderie, create drama. Anger can destroy sports teams, organizations and just about everything else man puts his hands too. Anger is often borne out of our trauma, broken relationships, from our parents’ neglect and craziness, failed opportunities, people cheating on us and otherwise letting us down. It becomes apparent, as we mature and gain insight and perspective, that we as individuals deserve and need to eradicate unhealthy, painful and destructive anger out of our character before, like Covid, it infects everything around us. If we’re not careful, we’ll wake up one day and discover that our unhealthy anger has destroyed the better parts of what we long for.
Written by Bianca Gurciullo
Executive Assistant of Encouragement Now Ministries
“The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.”
~ Charles R. Swindoll
Growing up, many of us never heard about or knew there were neurodivergences such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Those who suffered from this attention deficit were just told to pay attention and settle down or face consequences. I know because I was an excellent example of an ADHDer’s ability to mask my symptoms. I used to think of myself as a chameleon when I realized how good I was at hiding my problems and being what people expected me to be.