Hope Victorious

  I wish you more than the absence of chaos                I want peace to fill you                                         WHOLENESS      WELL-BEING                The feeling that life is increasing in quantity and quality I bless you with P E A C E   I wish you more than the freedom from conflict                I want peace to lead you                                         CONFIDENCE       BOLDNESS                A determination that assures you of who you are I bless you with P E A C E   I wish you more than the retreat of fear                   I want peace to overwhelm you                                         SECURITY      CLARITY                        A force that builds your sense of purpose and identity I bless you with P E A C E   I release peace as an ANCHOR                     Weighty and steadfast                        Feel its pull amid fierce waves Holding you firm, established, and true   I release peace as a VOICE                Calling to you in the wind     

  Our need to understand is huge, often it is a driving force in both conversations and prayers. Understanding gives us some sense of control, or at least we think it will.   Sometimes we ask “why” because we want to assign blame or at least establish our own innocence. ·        Why is this happening to me? ·        Why hasn’t this prayer been answered yet? ·        Why didn’t this happen? ·        Why did God allow this? ·        Why is this taking so long?   I often ask “Why”. I ask God “why” a lot because I believe He knows! I believe God has an answer to my “why” questions. Jesus tells His disciples to ask Him questions and we see He answered many of His disciples’ questions in scripture. The hardest part for me is that I seldom hear an answer to my “why” questions.   ·        Why does my son have this medical condition? ·        Why have our prayers for healing gone unanswered? ·        Why has so much been demanded of him? ·        Why did this relationship end without resolution

I’m tied up in knots and tired of pulling           Trying to unwind and instead getting tighter I’m weary of being angry and sad My pain needs to be comforted and healed            I cannot help myself This mess is bigger than I can fix or solve I come to my God; my source and my answer           You alone are my hope You are the one who leads me forward From my place of pain, sorrow and loss           Pain and disappointment Mystery and betrayal I seek you for comfort only you can give           I am tired of trying on my own I’m asking for help and I want to receive it I lay down my anger                And the hurt that is beneath it I lay down my defensiveness                And the blame that causes it I surrender my demand for understanding                I let the questions remain unanswered I quiet my tongue from blaming and demanding resolution I lift my eyes from my pain and focus them on the hope I see in you           I release my grip on what I want and what I think I n

  In Luke's gospel, we have the interaction between Jesus and the two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus was at their house, presumably for a meal. It seems that there are others there as well and Jesus is teaching them, as He often did. Luke tells us that Mary is seated at Jesus’ feet listening to what He is saying, while Martha is busy with the preparations. In verse 40 of Luke chapter 10 we have the question that Martha asks Jesus, “ Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.”  Martha is focused on action and all that needs to be done. Martha sees that while she is doing much, her sister is doing nothing. She asks Jesus to command Mary to help her. Jesus’ response follows; “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;   but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) Jesus calls Martha distracted. He says that Mary has made t