Broken Sacrifice

Lately many of us have struggled with emotions.  The coronavirus  pandemic has created stress we did not anticipate, yet has provided a golden opportunity to look at present circumstances and determine if we are living our best life, or if there are some changes we need to make.

Much of what we have experienced is heartbreak, plain and simple.  There is a grieving process we go through -- or grow through -- when things change.  Whether it is the loss of a job due to unforeseen circumstances or a shift in our ideology brought on by outside forces, it is natural to mourn the loss and be anxious about whatever changes we may need to make.  For the introspective among us, deliberating and thinking about these things can bring on a brokenness and guilt that is oppressive.

As I was praying about my emotions, I felt led to write the words of Psalm 51 in my journal.  It is a familiar psalm to many of us.  Of particular comfort to me were the words in verse 17:  "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (ESV).

If God regards a broken spirit as a sacrifice, and does not despise a broken and contrite heart, then why should we feel guilty about the emotions and sorrow we may feel during this very stressful season of our lives?

God is merciful.  He understands.  Rather than fret over our lives and the hard challenges we may be facing, let us offer up our broken hearts as a sacrifice of praise.



Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

New Normal -- Same God

I'm not one to cry easily, except at happy endings or when I am angry about something. However, I have had a couple of moments recently when tears just came out of nowhere -- no particular stress trigger or depression, just intense momentary sadness. As I prayed this morning for God to reveal why, I realized that like so many of you, I am GRIEVING. As blessed as I am -- as we all are -- we are each grieving, on some level, the loss of our lives and the reality that our "normal" is forever changed.

Some of us have lost jobs, loved ones, and the sense of identity that comes from being employed or in the company of those whose presence we can no longer enjoy due to social distancing and stay-at-home orders. ALL of us have lost the freedom to come and go and do as we please without fear of becoming infected or infecting others.

We have seen the best and worst of humanity during this crisis and learned hard, hard lessons. Many of us have risen to serve, some making the ultimate sacrifice to care for those who have been sickened by the virus. Some of us have sunk into despair because of loss and loneliness. All of us have been changed in some way.

Despite all the changes we have seen and the reality that life will never again look like it did on January 1, 2020, we can still enjoy LIFE and walk in FREEDOM because of what happened on Easter -- not this Easter, but on that first Easter when Christ, who IS our FREEDOM and our LIFE, forever conquered death through His Resurrection.

For those who know Christ:
He is our Life. -- John 1:4
He gives us Freedom. -- Galatians 5:1
He himself is our peace. -- Ephesians 2:14
He is our hope. -- Colossians 1:27

If you don't know Christ -- if you have not asked Him to save you from your sins and entered into a personal relationship with Him -- I pray this will be the day you ask Him to be your Savior and Lord and begin walking in the freedom, hope, and peace that can be yours as a child of God. The Bible tells us:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17, ESV).

Life will never be the same again, but "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

This world -- this broken, sickened, saddened, decaying world -- is not our home. Jesus himself says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:1-3, ESV).

"Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear away from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:3-5, ESV).

Praying for you,
Dee Dee

Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

Words of Hope for Hurting Hearts

One of the hardest things to do is to pray and wait on God to act.  When faced with a difficult decision, a challenging circumstance, a despairing heart -- it seems God is never in a hurry to make everything better for us.  That's because we look at things through the faulty lens of our human eyes, forgetting that God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to his power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).

Today I found myself despairing over things I cannot control and wondering if there is anything God would have me do differently than I am already doing.  As I sit here thinking about it all, I wonder why I spend so much time fretting about these things when I know that God is quite capable of handling it all.  No matter the scenarios that I play in my mind, only one thing ultimately matters to me -- being in God's will, even if at the moment it is a difficult place to be. 

Friends, when will we ever learn that God is good, his ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)?  When will we learn that today has enough trouble of its own so we best not be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)?  Will we ever trust that God's plan for us is a good plan, one to prosper and not harm us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)?

No matter how difficult things may seem, or how long the wait, may we learn to trust in the LORD with all our hearts rather than lean on our own understanding.  And may we trust him to keep his promise that if we acknowledge him in all our ways he will make straight our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I don't know what you may be dealing with right now but I do know that God cares deeply about you and the pain you bear in your body, heart, and soul.  He cares about your grief, as surely as he cares about mine.  This life is not all there is, and if you are his child, you already know that there is coming a day when "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4, ESV). 

When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, thank God for his blessings.  God knows the way that you take and when he has tested you, you will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

May we sleep in heavenly peace because God himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).



Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com