“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 (NIV)
As I welcome my grandchildren into my heart, my mind wanders back to the days when I was a young mom and worried over my sons. As I get older, my concerns are constantly being challenged due to the rapidly changing moral compass. Change is coming from every direction, on every level, and with no solid footing to keep it in place. It’s a blur at best.
When my sons were infants, I would often say “I can’t wait”—until they can tell me when they weren’t feeling well. Until they could blow their noses. Until they could get in their car seats without fighting and screaming … and so it went. Each year I had something else to wish them out of, but with each additional birthday there was always a different worry added as well. Just when I thought I wanted change I had to adjust to a new worry.
Life seems even more unstable for my grandchildren because of constantly shifting standards and moral parameters in the world. Foundational truths are left to each individual to decide based on their emotions. I liken this to an orchestra who shows up to perform a symphony, yet each performer decides to play their instrument in the way they feel rather than follow the chosen sheet music. Instead of being treated to the intended soothing melodic respite, I think we can all imagine the utter chaos, if not emotional, assault we’d experience.
I can’t deny that every young generation, including mine, is considered the worst generation yet (and I’m at the age of those who normally say stuff like that). But I’ve talked with many millennials who are engaged with current events and the political climate and who seek to know the truth of matters and who feel things have taken a concerning sharp departure from key foundational pillars.
I did talk with one young man who shared that an ape has all the capabilities we do and is able to decide for itself. I responded, “But we know right from wrong.” If right and wrong are now subject to an individual’s understanding of his or her current emotional state or maturity, I can completely understand the confusion and questions when trying to figure out one’s identity—and not just from a sexual standpoint but with regard to our intrinsic worth.
In a society where the uniqueness of a woman is stripped away, the value of the tiniest human being doesn’t matter, and everyone can define their existence based on their emotions and feelings, we’re set up for a free fall. We’re left grappling with some tough questions and grabbing at anything that even slightly appears to give us the clarity we seek.
When emotions are given precedence and used as our compass, it blurs the lines of good and evil, of wisdom and foolishness, of clarity and confusion. Kicking out the foundation that gave us a solid place to anchor ourselves leaves us vulnerable and susceptible to others who might be even more lost than we. In order to get our answers, we chase experiences and feelings to define our existence.
While experiences are some of the best teachers in life, the problem with that method is that it can also leave us with some lifelong consequences. It can entrap us with various, as well as multiple, addictions. Every time we come up for air, Satan will make sure our minds are assaulted with our regrets playing over and over hoping they will crush our heart. Satan’s aim is to make us believe that we have been disqualified and separated from the love of God.
In a world that turns on hidden agendas, uncertainty, and flawed truths, we can plant our feet on the solid Rock, Christ. Taking what Christ did on the cross and making it personal begins a journey of experiencing Him as the unchanging, trustworthy God who longs to give us rest as we recline in His faithfulness. We can begin to understand who He is and therefore know who we are. When we solidify our knowledge of who we are based on who He says we are, there are no storms in life that will be able to capsize our lifeboat. When it can seem like it’s a blur at best and, in the chaos of a weary world that is frantically running here and there, His love is the lighthouse that shows us safety, acceptance, and rest.
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
- Do you have a solid understanding who God is?
- What scriptures tell you who He is?
- Do you have a solid understanding of who God says you are?
- What scriptures tell you how He defines you?
- What are some regrets that you beat yourself up with?
- What is keeping you from laying them down at the foot of the cross?
- Regarding what is keeping you from putting your regrets at the foot of the cross, write it on a separate piece of paper, kneel in prayer, and lay that piece of paper on the ground and submit it to the Lord. Ask God to show you how you can leave it there, and trust Him with your pain.
Use God’s word to take control over traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts, take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises found in His word.
Print, then cut and carry this Scripture with you and/or post it in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s word says to encourage you and to give you an example of His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
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 (NIV)
When you read God’s Word say to yourself: The Father’s heart will always receive me with a love that will never crush me. He will always have an inexhaustible (unending) compassion for me. A compassion that never tires or fails me. His love greets me every morning, fresh and new.
Now LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
