When our precious Ember was just learning to pull up and walk, she would come to my Daddy—her Great Grand-Poppy—and hold out her arms for him to pick her up. Absolutely loving it, my Daddy would gently take hold of her as though he was too weak and say, "Help me!" as he pulled her up onto his lap. Initially, she had no clue what that meant, but in time, she began to understand.
The cutest part is how now she will press her legs into whoever is lifting her arms and walk right up their body to be held. The most beautiful part of it all is watching her use that same phrase -- "HELP ME!" -- in the correct context. I wish you could hear her voice...in the same inflection she heard the first time. Now she has no problem confessing her need because her Great Grand-Poppy instilled in her from the very beginning that it is ok to need help.
In the past year, I have begun to understand how necessary that confession is. My entire life, I have heard the encouragement to lean into the Lord and NOT try to do things with my own strength, but truth be told, I didn't know the difference. I mean...aren't we supposed to pray and then pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and give our best to deal with it?! Won't God help us if we have good intentions?!
What I did not understand was that all along, I had not been confessing my need for my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and my Counselor, the Holy Spirit. I had just been telling God to bless my efforts to fix things according to my desires.
But in this year of our Lord -- 2024 -- I have heard Him giving me the freedom of helplessness, and this state of prayer has brought me to the confession that I was in bondage to social media, television, and, well...my devices altogether. I shared my need for help with my spending and saving habits. I laid down my battle with food and then went even further to hand Him my nagging spirit that often plagues my marriage.
I tried several times to continue to fix these things, but one by one, the Lord has either taken me through heart-shifting events or has just simply—supernaturally—changed the way I think about things. Either way, He has made my life new by giving me an encounter with His character and experience with Him in His fullness, and He initiated it all by pulling me up onto His lap and teaching me how to say, "Help me!"
"Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways. Establish Your word and confirm Your promise to Your servant, As that which produces [awe-inspired] reverence for You." Psalm 119:37-38 AMP
This is not the first time I have shared Psalm 119 in the past handful of months. I genuinely cannot get enough of this spacious place that the Lord has moved me into. Think about this...the longest chapter in the Bible is a song about how much the Psalmist then -- and us now -- need God and His Word, His protection, His direction, His discipline, and what God has allowed through His permissive will to shape and refine his life according to God's plan, purpose, and pleasure.
It is mind-blowing to consider how long ago this was written, yet how relevant and appropriate it is today. I read this and am stilled to the core of my being. God didn't just fix things...He changed me by placing a cry in my heart for His presence and then confirming His presence. This is so far beyond the base level of personal piety. This is fellowship with a miracle-working God!
So, I guess the question that comes to mind is....What do I do next with this experience...
In Matthew 16, Jesus warns the disciples against the Pharisees and the Sadducees and false teachings. He asks the disciples to talk about who others say He is and, more importantly...who they say He is. In his zealousness, Simon says that Jesus is "Christ. Son of the living God." Here, Jesus calls him by his new name: Peter, the rock. But out of his limited understanding -- and seeing himself higher than he should -- he also corrects Jesus on the Father's purpose and mission (Matt 16:16; 22-23, CSB).
Can you imagine the emotional roller coaster the newly renamed Peter must have been on?! Jesus blessed him and scolded him, telling him that he had his mind on the things of this world as opposed to the things of God. His mind must have been whirling as Jesus went on to tell all the disciples that to follow Him, they must lay down their lives, deny everything that they thought was good for life and living, and surrender it all.
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” Matt 16:25-27
It does not show us how Peter responded in that chapter. However, let's go a little further in the New Testament to 1 and 2 Peter. By this point, his zealousness and self-aggrandizement had melted into humble passion in his experience with his resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus. With his renewed heart, Peter encourages Church members to endure persecution, remembering that they are the royal priesthood of believers who have the hope of eternity.
He tells them they have everything they need -- God and His Word, His protection, His direction, His discipline, and what God has allowed through His permissive will -- to take their next steps in and for the glory of God through Jesus Christ. They were not to shrink back but grow in God's grace by recognizing His generous patience. Peter challenges the Church, in light of their experience with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, to release the things of the world, committing themselves to continuously climb the ladder of faith.
So what do we do with our experience? We keep laying our lives down one humble "Help me!" at a time. We release ourselves from the rhythms of this broken world and perverted generation by asking Him for more of His precious and perfect pleasure (Phil 2). We stop trying to force Jesus to be a Lord of our own making and this world one that only works for us by calling on our willing Father to make us into His likeness and leaning into His everlasting arms, trusting He will pull us into a joyous fellowship beyond our imagination!
“Grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be multiplied to you in the [true, intimate] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature. For this very reason, applying your diligence [to the divine promises], make every effort in [exercising] your faith to develop moral excellence, and in moral excellence, knowledge (insight, understanding), and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, steadfastness, and in your steadfastness, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly affection, and in your brotherly affection, [develop Christian] love [that is, learn to unselfishly seek the best for others and to do things for their benefit]. As these qualities are yours and are increasing [in you as you grow toward spiritual maturity], they will keep you from being useless and unproductive regarding the true knowledge and greater understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is blind—shortsighted [closing his spiritual eyes to the truth], having become oblivious to the fact that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin];” 2 Peter 1:2-10 AMP
"The kindness of God is intended to lead you to repentance." Romans 2:4
SUPER SIMPLE SUPPER
I promise you want this super simple supper in your life!! All you have to do is...
Cut your spaghetti squash in half and place on aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle your favorite herbs and spices. (I used salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes). Cut 8 oz Feta block in half, put 4 oz in each side. Put as many cherry tomatoes as you can fit on top. Bake at 400 for 50-55 mins. For best flavor, shred as soon as possible to mix tomatoes and melted cheese.
ENJOY!!!!
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