Category Archives: Struggles

The Itch

January 23, 2021 By in Healing, Struggles, Trust 2 Comments

Sometimes life is like an itch. An itch can either be small like a mosquito bite or large like a rash that encompasses areas of the body. Everyone knows you should not scratch something that itches because it only intensifies the problem. Everyone also knows that it is a challenge not to scratch. The more you mess with it, the worse it becomes. Sometimes it bleeds, oozes or gets infected. Depending on the cause, it can often spread. The itchiness becomes your focus, even when you try to ignore it.

Our lives are often the same. The “itch” might be a person, an upcoming decision, a sin in our life, a poor choice, resentment, bitterness or unforgiveness. The possibilities are endless and just like a physical itch the spiritual itch can consume us. You might find yourself constantly rehashing what happened, mentally creating “worst case scenarios” or gossiping to justify your version. You might even complain in “great holiness” to the Lord about the unfairness. This merely intensifies the pain and itchiness.

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Though He Slay Me

November 16, 2020 By in Faith, Struggles, Trust 1 Comment

“Though He slay me …” Job 13:15 

Have you ever wondered how Job must have felt when he went through his trials? His friends made fun of him. He lost his health, family and possessions. He lost everything and it appeared that God had abandoned him. His situation looked hopeless. Yet Job never turned his back on God. Instead he proclaimed, “Yet will I trust in Him.”

Trusting in the Lord when trials and tribulations come into our lives is a daunting task. Often, self wants to have a pity party. Sometimes we whine and complain to our friends. Sometimes we just hold it in and worry. None of these are a “trusting in the Lord” response. 

Trials will come into our lives. That is a guarantee. James 1:2 reminds us to, “consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials of many kinds.” 1 Peter 1:2 says we should rejoice when we suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Thankfully, when trials come into our lives, the calamity is usually not as extreme as the one Job faced. However, we can still feel worried, hopeless and sometimes abandoned. Overwhelmed by emotions, decisions or uncertainty, we can often feel like the Lord is not listening to our prayers.

It is hard when the Lord is silent. Job did not have the Lord encouraging him as his friends expressed their dark opinions. Elijah discovered that God was in the gentle whisper rather than the wind, earthquake or fire. I believe that it is often challenging to wait for the gentle whisper. Too often we feel consumed by the wind, earthquake and fire.

When you are in the midst of the tempest, pour your heart out to the Lord. He never forsakes us. In fact, I believe He takes delight in our coming to Him. He is the Father listening to His children’s concerns. He orchestrates the best for His children, even when it seems like that is not happening. He uses these trials to mold us into His character, if we let Him. He is our Daddy God who loves us with an immeasurable love.

“If God is for us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31)

~ Marianne Wright

The Gate

April 27, 2020 By in Brokenness, Redemption, Repentance, Sin Leave a comment

Gates have many functions. They provide an entrance or secure an area. When opened they allow access or can signal the beginning of a race. In Biblical times the gate to a city was the seat of governmental and business transactions.

26-ideas-for-garden-gates-and-garden-gates-the-first-to-welcome-us-22-839We each have gates in our own lives. One of my favorite gates is in the book, The Secret Garden, by ‎Frances Hogsdon Burnett. This gate leads into a magical garden that initially is dead and unfruitful, but overtime transforms into an exquisite garden filled with beauty and healing.

I have been the dead, brown, lifeless garden. The Lord in His infinite mercy has, over the years, planted His flowers into my life to also transform me. Sometimes though, He allows us to go through seasons where we find ourselves severely pruned back and we are like the garden in winter – waiting for spring. The good news is that spring always, eventually comes and we see the glorious results of His drastic garden maintenance.

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The Impossible

December 21, 2015 By in Prayer, Struggles 2 Comments

Often it seems that the Lord places “the impossible” directly in our path and nothing we can do will change or alleviate the circumstances.

impossible giraffe“The impossible” are situations totally out of our control and they frequently converge within our normal everyday life. At times like these we have to look beyond what we can do. Our solutions are so finite, whereas His solutions are eternal.

Recently I have been pondering “the impossible” since it seems like the Lord is illuminating two impossible situations. Sometimes it is hard to know how to pray because there is nothing that I can do to change them. I might be able to give some advice, but in reality, my input can do nothing to alter the outcomes. They are literally and figuratively life and death.

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Garden of Delight

August 18, 2014 By in Healing, Hope, Woundedness 1 Comment

Working in my flower gardens is one of my favorite delights. I love to watch them change from mere soil into beds filled with beautiful flowers. I believe that the Lord is the Master Gardener. He delights in transforming dry, dead, dismal gardens into works of art.

my_gardenThe Lord frequently speaks to me through prophetic pictures and many years ago He showed me that I was like a lifeless, desolate garden. His picture was not pretty.

In the Lord’s picture I opened a garden gate expecting to find a beautiful garden, but instead what He showed me was a brown, dried up, dead enclosed garden that did not have even one sprig of green. I was not instantly encouraged by the Lord’s picture!

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Pain and Restoration

April 28, 2014 By in Brokenness, Healing, Pain, Struggles 2 Comments

Jesus used every day events to help his followers understand more about the kingdom of God and I believe that He still weaves our daily activities into teachable lessons for us.

Since I broke my elbow in February, I have been going to physical therapy (PT). This has been my first experience with PT and I have been PT2thinking about it a lot.

The reasons someone needs to have PT are varied. Usually it is one step in recovery from an accident or disease because the body has been injured or harmed and is not working up to its full potential.

The therapist uses many methods to help the body return to maximum flexibility and efficiency. But it takes time.

There are no quick and instantaneous exercises that will miraculous restore your health; however, with much patience and diligence your body does become whole again.

So it is with our walk with the Lord. There are many times when we are emotionally hurt and spiritually broken. Sometimes it feels like we have been mutilated and destroyed. Other times our pain or confusion is less severe, but we are still broken and need repair.

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The Unexpected

March 31, 2014 By in Gratitude, Life, Struggles 5 Comments

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

~ From The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Each day we have the privilege of choosing which road we will travel. It often really is our choice. Do we want the path that is smooth and drama free or are we willing to journey on the path that is frequently covered with pot holes?

the road not taken

The Road Not Taken

Throughout our lives there are times when each of these roads is a viable option. I must confess that, for whatever reason, the road I usually find myself on is bumpy, covered with overhanging branches and contains many twists and turns.

I would like to suggest that there is also a third path that can emerge. The sign post on that road reads “The Unexpected.” The unforeseen journey down this road brings with it the potential for destruction or immeasurable growth. When the unexpected occurs you might be tempted to ask, “Why, God?” or try to second guess what you could have done differently.

Jim and I have been traveling the Unexpected Road since January 6. In fact, all the family members who live in our house with us have been active participants on the unexpected journey. One man from our fellowship group summed it up best when he jokingly said, “Isn’t it a sad state of affairs when Joy (our dog) is the healthiest member of the Wright clan?”

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The Tyranny of Tolerance

December 27, 2013 By in Homosexuality, Love, Sin, Tyranny, Virtue 4 Comments

One day soon, you are going to wake up to a new world where your liberty to pursue virtue as an expression of your faith – and your right to proclaim those beliefs in the public square – are gone.

muzzleVice is now using “tolerance” to bludgeon virtue, and virtue is currently losing.

This newest weapon in the war against virtue has met with great success – and, most disturbing of all, the naïve support of many “Christians”.

Somethings, it seems, never change.

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The Problem of Evil

November 6, 2013 By in Epiphany, Grace, Love, Sin 2 Comments

Embrace

Someone asked if it is God’s will when evil happens.

I suspect it is God’s will that we have the right to reject Him and choose evil, because He wants us to have the related ability to freely choose the love, grace and rule He offers us.

I also suspect that He grieves with us at what some have done with those choices.

~ Jim Wright

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Redemption

August 26, 2013 By in Counseling, Redemption, Struggles Leave a comment

When we think of redemption we usually think about Christ’s atoning blood which delivered us from our sins. Yes, on the day we personallybundle surrender ourselves to the Lord and ask His forgiveness, He redeems us and we become His children.

Christ’s sacrifice was vital. We can now partake in His kingdom here on earth and when we die join Him in eternity. However, I believe that Christ’s act of redemption is far more encompassing then simply making a way for us to enter heaven.

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Trust

June 3, 2013 By in Faith, Struggles, Trust 4 Comments

Probably at some time in our lives we have all wondered what it means to trust the Lord.

Trust can be elusive. It is not something that we magically create, but it is something that the Lord develops in us over time. It usually requires walking through difficult circumstances for the Lord to implant trust in us.

bungee jumpingI believe that trusting God is like bungee jumping. You jump as a choice of your will, while you are connected to a large elastic, bungee cord. In the same way, we trust as a choice of our will while we are connected to the Lord.

For those who enjoy bungee jumping, the thrill and excitement come from the jump and the resultant rebound. Often when the Lord asks us to trust Him, it is difficult to experience the joy and the excitement that could be ours if we are willing to jump with abandon.

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Real Grace

May 29, 2013 By in Confession, Forgiveness, Grace, Grace Movement, Repentance, Sin 6 Comments

Facebook seems to be a hot bed for the new distorted view of “grace”.

taking-up-your-crossThe other day someone posted that through grace, God finds our sin acceptable. He thus no longer “deals” with sin in our lives – and we are free of sin – because it no long exists.

According to their “logic”, sin ceases to an issue in our lives because it ceases to be considered sin by God.

That neat theological sleight of hand was followed by lots of “likes” and “amens”.

To deny the reality of sin and its bondage – and to say God doesn’t deal with sin in our lives or that we are free of sin – is an abuse of grace.

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Voices from Jail

April 16, 2013 By in Grace, Jail, Life, Redemption, Struggles 4 Comments

A rap/poem by a brother in fellowship in the local jail, who is learning to become the man God created him to be.

A Brother in Jail

A Brother in Jail

Perfect Wisdom

When I reached out
You took me in
When there wasn’t a soul in sight
And all I saw was you
You took me in
Dusted me off
Cleaned me up
Asked me if I’d yet had enough?
Knew about my past
Had been there through the struggles
Said you’d carry my burdens
If I’d give you my troubles

I grabbed to my shirt
Expressed a cold smirk
Yeah I’d heard that before
Seems never to work

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The Cult of Giftedness

March 19, 2013 By in Abuse, Judgment, Predatory Leaders, Sin Leave a comment

Steubenville and the Misplaced Sympathy for Jane Doe’s Rapists, by Megan Carpentier.

This article addresses a disturbing phenomenon: In America, we have a cultish worship of those who are charming, gifted and inspiring. They are given every benefit of the doubt, and then some.

So it always goes… sympathy and excuses by some for the gifted predator, shame for his “wayward” victim.

As an aside:

Thanks for bearing with us as we take a week or so to focus on these issues. In the Body of Christ, we should be better than this. Unfortunately, we often aren’t.

Gentleness

March 12, 2013 By in Compassion, Courage, Fruit, Struggles 2 Comments

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness… Gal 5:22-23 NIV

Webster lists the characteristics of gentleness as being soft, meek, passive, mild, delicate, kind and docile. In Psalm 18:35 David says that the Lord’s “gentleness has made me great.” This seems to be a contradiction. How could the characteristics of gentleness, as defined by Webster, make someone great? Perhaps the Lord’s definition of gentleness implies much more.lion and the lamb 2

I believe that the Lord wants us to be gentle, but His gentleness is not a wishy-washy docility. Gentleness has a hidden core of strength and this core is what makes someone great. Gentleness’ strength runs deep, like the molten lava in a volcanic magma chamber. Tremendous heat transforms hard rock into a flexible, moving force.

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Faithfulness

March 4, 2013 By in Faith, Fruit, Obedience, Struggles 3 Comments

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness… Gal 5:22 NIV

Faith is a seed the Lord plants in us. Faithfulness is the fruit that develops over the seasons of our life. The fruit of faithfulness requires a long growing season. There is no way to expedite the process.

tortoise and the hareIn the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare, the tortoise demonstrates faithfulness. He keeps on doing what he needs to do, without any fanfare or dramatics. Steadfast, loyal, conscientious, all describe a person who has allowed faithfulness to become ingrained in their life.

Often, the people who are the most faithful receive the least acclaim.

In the Bible, Joseph exemplifies faithfulness. After he was sold to Potiphar, he conscientiously served him and the Lord blessed Potiphar’s household because of Joseph. Joseph did not grumble and complain because he was in Egypt away from his family.  He faithfully served in the place the Lord had him.

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Letting Go

March 3, 2013 By in Bondage, Confession, Forgiveness, Repentance Leave a comment

For most Christians, the greatest struggle is not resisting sin but in being willing to let go of our hurts. More than sin, we allow our hurts to define us, and find it difficult to leave the familiarity of our pain for the unfamiliarity of a truly new life in Christ. Even among Christians, few risk the grace of confession, forgiveness and repentance to become whole and complete in Him.

Really, it’s not that difficult…

Here’s a story of one man’s journey: Getting to Simple.

Goodness

February 21, 2013 By in Brokenness, Courage, Fruit, Struggles 3 Comments

god is goodThe fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness… Gal 5:22 NIV

When reading fairy tales or watching movies, good usually triumphs over evil by the end of the story. Often in real life, our desire is for the happily ever after fairy tale ending. But even in movies or fairy tales, the hero or heroine has to overcome many obstacles before they achieve goodness.

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Single Parents

February 2, 2013 By in Church, Community, Fellowship, Ministry, Single Parents, Struggles 6 Comments

single momSingle parents are ubiquitous in the church; however, often they are a very misunderstood group that usually doesn’t quite comfortably fit anywhere.

As a former single mom with 25 years of single parenting experience, these are some of the impressions I have collected. Maybe it is different if you are a single dad, but I don’t have any expertise in that area.

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