fbpx

Revive My Soul: A Meditation for Peace

by | Sep 22, 2020 | Devotional, Scripture

Revive My Soul: A Meditation for Peace

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to introduce my newest devotional for people in all sorts of “crisis,” “radically life-altering circumstances.” Today, I share an excerpt on how we  gain life through the Word in such troubling times. Maybe you need this book or you know someone who does. You’ll find it on sale at Amazon and all your favorite booksellers.

Revive My Soul

My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! Psalm 119:25, ESV

In one moment, one hour, one day, perhaps, your life has been radically altered. So altered that you’re not sure you’ll survive. When your world has been tossed like a rag doll in a tornado, where do you turn?

The writer of Psalm 119 tells us: we must turn to the Word, which revives and restores our souls. In this vast 176-verse ode to the Word, the psalmist catalogues the circumstances of life which sent him there and proclaims the abounding blessings he discovered there. From him, we can learn how the Word rights us when our world is not right.

Even as the psalmist declares his love for Scripture, he also names the desperate need which drove him there. Maybe you can relate. Among the trials he mentions in Psalm 119, he has experienced exile on earth, “scorn and contempt”, soul-melting sorrow, and the dread of reproach (Psalm 119:19, 22, 28, 39). His soul “clings to the dust,” perhaps because of the “evil-minded people” who have lied about him (Psalm 119:25, 115, 78 NLT). He has been ensnared by the wicked and known the faithful affliction of the Lord (Psalm 119:110, 75). He has been oppressed, persecuted, and despised (Psalm 119:121, 161, 141). And he has gone astray like a lost sheep (Psalm 119:176).

The Lord responds to his desperate need, and the psalmist declares his fervent devotion to the Word. As he details the ways the Word has restored and revived him, we see how it will restore and revive us in seasons of recovery:

  • The Word counsels and clarifies, lighting our way when we walk in darkness (Psalm 119:105). It exposes “false ways of life” and leads us away from them (Psalm 119:104 NLT).
  • The Word stabilizes and secures, revealing God’s steadfast love and faithfulness in our trouble (Psalm 119:75-77). “Firmly fixed in the heavens,” the Word reminds us of the unchangeable nature of God in the midst of a changing world.
  • The Word saves and delivers, acting as our “refuge and shield” against “evil-minded people” (Psalm 119:114-115 NLT). The Word’s rules give life even as its commands bring freedom (Psalm 119:93, 45).
  • Finally, and most importantly, the Word restores and revives us. It fills us with hope when we are afflicted; it raises us to new life when we are groveling in the dust (Psalm 119:49, 25). The Word gives us life by turning our eyes away from “worthless things”; the Word gives us life by reminding us of God’s promises (Psalm 119:37, 50).

Dear friends, if your world has been turned upside down or split wide open, keep reaching for the Word. There you will find the peace and hope you need.

Prayer

Lord,

We confess—sometimes the last thing we reach for in crisis is your Word. Help us to read first and react later. Grow in us a love and longing for the Word that gives us the life we crave. In the name of Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, we ask. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read Psalm 119 over a period of several days.

Listen to “Speak, O Lord” by Keith and Kristyn Getty.

For Reflection

As you read Psalm 119, underline or write down words that particularly resonate with you—for example, perish, revive, contempt, or delight. Then write a letter to God using some of those words to tell him how you are feeling and ask him to meet you in his Word.

If you enjoyed this blog, please share.

From Recovery to Restoration cover

Get Hope for Troubling Times

Advance Review for From Recovery to Restoration

"When the storms of life crash into our lives, the devastation left behind is often overwhelming. Recovery and healing is slow and arduous. Elizabeth Turnage's devotional is for all those laboring toward recovery. From Recovery to Restoration is a hope-filled, gospel-laced, and Christ-exalting book which invites us into God's story of redemption and helps us see how he is at work to redeem and restore all things, even the aftermath of our personal losses, heartaches, and trials."

Christina Fox

Writer, Counselor, Speaker

author of A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament.

Click Here

You Are Forgiven: A Father’s Day Story

by | Jun 16, 2020 | Devotional, Parenting

You Are Forgiven: A Father’s Day Story

Today, ahead of Father’s Day, I’m sharing a story I told in The Waiting Room: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in a Health Crisis.

My father had been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer two years before this incident occurred in an oncologist’s waiting room.

You Are Forgiven

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…

Ephesians 1:7, NIV

One day, in the waiting room of my Dad’s oncologist, I happened to sit next to an (annoying) angel. The very word angel in the Greek indicates a messenger, and this unlikely angel had a message from God for me and my dad.

My dad, who was now immobilized by tumors in his hips, was sitting in a wheelchair facing me. He chose this particular time and place to reveal a crucial piece of information he had previously withheld: his oral chemo pill was no longer defeating the cancer from the prostate, and he had stopped all treatment.

In that moment, I felt undone by rage at my powerlessness to help my dad, so I left my chair and walked to the edge of the crowded waiting room in an effort to calm myself. When I returned, I said quietly to my dad, “You did not tell me the truth when I asked. You told me you were ‘tiptop.’”

He began to make excuses, to explain that he was only thinking of me and the burden I was carrying. I cut him off: “You should have told me.”

At this point the angel entered the story. A sturdy, middle-aged woman, she sat stuffed in the pleather chair connected to mine. Suddenly I felt a pat on my shoulder and heard her speak in a rough, country voice, “It’ll be okay.”

She continued, “Just so long as you know where you’re going, it’s all okay.”

I nodded and looked pointedly at my dad, who frequently fought me on this point. I still wasn’t sure if he was a Christian.

She repeated her message, “Just so long as you know you’re saved. Jesus makes it all okay.”

My dad turned back to me and repeated his apology. “I’m sorry.” No excuses this time.

I still couldn’t look him in the eye. I said, “It’s okay. You’re forgiven. I just wish you had told me.”

The angel in the waiting room was right, even if I wasn’t eager at first to hear her message. That day, both my dad and I needed the comforting knowledge of Ephesians 1:7, the knowledge that Jesus shed actual blood so that we might be forgiven.

I needed forgiveness for my unkindness to my dad. Dad needed a Savior to take the burden of guilt he had carried over a lifetime of unconfessed sin. As the angel had assured us, it would all be “okay” if we believed Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us.

Prayer

Precious Lord Jesus, thank you for shedding your blood for us, for bearing God’s wrath on my behalf. Thank you for lifting the burden of our guilt from us. Help us to live and love in the freedom of your forgiveness. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read 1 Peter 1:18; 1 John 1:7; 2:2.

Listen to “Forgiveness” by Matthew West.

For Reflection: In what ways do you and/or your loved one need to know forgiveness in this season?

If you enjoyed this, would you please share it with someone who might need this encouragement? Thanks!

Get free printable prayer worksheet and cards

Send them now!

Worth Waiting For

by | May 12, 2020 | Bible study, Caregiving, Devotional

Worth Waiting For

In some areas of the world and our country, quarantine has ended. Meanwhile, many of us wait. Either we wait for lockdown to end, or we wait until we think it’s safer—for others and ourselves—to begin going out more. If you’re stuck in an endless wait, you’ll appreciate today’s devotional, excerpted from The Waiting Room.

“I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.” Isaiah 63:7, NLT

After our son’s second brain surgery, a small piece of his skull had become infected, and the neurosurgeon had removed it. Six months later, they would implant a synthetic skull piece to replace the one removed. We were all eager for our son to have this fourth, and hopefully, final surgery.

The day finally arrived for this surgery. When we arrived at pre-op at the appointed time, ten a.m., there was a delay; we were asked to remain in the surgical waiting area. Finally, around noon, our son was taken to pre-op. Forty-five minutes later, my husband and I were invited back to wait with him. An hour went by, then two. We were told that the neurosurgeon was involved in a very complex surgery; we’d have to wait a while longer. As the wait was extended, my restlessness increased, but my husband and our son remained fairly calm. Finally, at six p.m., eight hours after he had been told to report, our son was taken back to surgery. Less than two hours later, the surgery was over, and all was well.

Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, puts words to how I felt in that “longest wait”: “…sometimes we are tempted to discouragement. So often we have believed that what we asked was about to be given, and then have been disappointed. But delays are for the trial of faith, not for its discouragement.” [emphasis added][i]

In the delay, my faith had indeed been tried. I held my tongue, because I did not want to infect our son with my anxiety, but internally, I was fantasizing about running down the hall of pre-op, screaming, “We can’t take this anymore!” I later asked our son, “How did you stand that long wait?” He answered very simply, “I knew they were going to come get me eventually.”

In order to wait well, we must know that the Lord is “going to come get us eventually.” As Isaiah 63:7-9 reminds us, we have every reason to believe in the Lord’s unfailing love. Despite Israel’s repeated disobedience, the Lord has shown them “great goodness,” “which he has granted according to his mercy and love” (Isaiah 63:7). As Isaiah also reminds us, “In all their suffering, he also suffered, and he personally rescued them….” (Isaiah 63:9, NLT).

Indeed, we have every reason to trust. God did not delay in sending Jesus to rescue us from the suffering of our sin. And, though it may seem like a long wait, God does not delay in sending Jesus back for us. When Jesus arrives, we will affirm, as Amy Carmichael so eloquently writes, “‘Lord, this was worth waiting for.’”[ii]

Prayer

Lord, in our longest waits, help us to remember your unfailing love and abundant mercy. May we never forget that you are coming back for us and that the sweet reunion will be worth the wait. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read Isaiah 63:7-9; Isaiah 65:17-25.

Listen to “It’s Hard to Wait” by Flo Paris at https://youtu.be/HbMsm328cu8.

For Reflection: What delays have you experienced during this season? What helps you to wait well?

 

 

[i] Amy Carmichael, 258.

[ii] Carmichael, 258.

Jesus, Foot Washing, and Servant Leadership

by | Mar 24, 2020 | Devotional, Gospel Coaching, Leadership

Jesus, Foot Washing, and Servant Leadership

“Lord, do you wash my feet?” John 13:6

 Our elder son will never forget the words Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, Inc., addressed to him after his job interview there. Touring the facility with the vice-president who interviewed him, they arrived at the “treehouse,” the then ninety-one-year-old’s office. After a brief conversation, Mr. Cathy looked at our son and said, “I look forward to serving with you.” Our son had two (inward) responses:

  1. Does that mean I got the job?! and
  2. Wait, don’t you mean, “You look forward to me serving you?”

With his words, Mr. Cathy had demonstrated the principle of servant leadership that derives from Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s mission statement.

That story always reminds me of Peter’s response when Jesus approached him to wash his feet (John 13). Peter objects, not wanting Jesus to stoop so low as to serve him in such a menial way. Jesus gently rebukes Peter, instructing his followers about servant leadership in the kingdom of God. Let’s revisit the story.

Jesus: The Ultimate Servant Leader

The time, Jesus knows, has now come, for him to depart this world. Even as he is enjoying his feast with his beloved disciples, he is eager to prepare them for their new life of service. He rises from his place at the table, removes his outer garment, and wraps a towel around his waist. Now dressed as a servant, he begins doing what only a servant, or a wife, or a child, the lowliest in the hierarchy of that culture would do—washing feet. At this point, Peter raises his objection. As we continue the story, we learn five realities about Christ’s servant leaders:

Five Characteristics of Servant Leaders:

  1. Servant leaders must be willing to be weak, even despicably so.In removing his outer garment (John 13:4), kneeling before his friends, and taking their dirty feet into his hands, Jesus performs the role of the weakest and most despised in his culture—a servant. Jesus’ menial act is the basis of Peter’s objection, just as it was the basis of my son’s objection to Mr. Cathy.
  2. Servant leaders serve even in times of travail and turmoil.Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, knowing that he is facing the torment of the Cross and separation from his Father, not to mention separation from his beloved friends. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, knowing that some will betray him in coming days. Trials do not excuse us from servant leadership.
  3. Servant leaders open themselves to the care of Jesus and others.When Peter objects to Jesus’ washing of him, Jesus responds, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:8, ESV). It is Jesus who empowers us to serve others. Without receiving his care and love, we have no love to share.
  4. Servant leaders serve because Jesus first served us, just as we love because Jesus first loved us (1 John 4:7-8).Jesus washes his disciples’ feet to illustrate a spiritual point—he alone can cleanse them from their sin. Then he instructs them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). Jesus’ foot washing is more than an example to the servant leader; it is the empowerment for servant leadership. Because we have the riches of his grace, we pour them out on others.
  5. Servant leaders will get down and dirty, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.Jesus calls his disciples to go into all the world, even the uncomfortable and unfamiliar world. To wash another’s feet may mean sitting on the sidewalk next to the homeless man while he eats the chicken sandwich we brought him; or it may mean enduring the stench of urine in the nursing home as we visit residents there. It may mean entering messy conversations or not exiting miry conflicts.

As you ponder Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, do not miss meditating on his sacrificial service to his disciples. Let us serve because he first served us, just as we love because he first loved us!

A Prayer about Servant Leadership

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you not only showed us the way to servant leadership, you dug the path for us by your death on the Cross. Thank you for lowering yourself that we might be raised to new life. Help us to follow you into the down and dirty places you call us to lead. In your saving name we ask. Amen.

Further Encouragement: John 13:1-17; Philippians 2:1-11.

For Reflection:

  • How do you feel about having your feet washed, literally or spiritually? What encouragement or conviction does this passage bring you?
  • In which of the five areas of servant leadership would you like to grow? Ask God to help you in this area.

Listen: Take My Life and Let It Be, written by Frances Havergal

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

 

 

Counting Our Losses in the Midst of Crisis

by | Mar 17, 2020 | Devotional, Suffering

Counting Our Losses in the Midst of Crisis

Dear Readers,

I don’t have to tell you it is a season of suffering losses—suffering from anxiety about getting the COVID-19 virus, suffering from the illness itself, or suffering losses due to the precautions being taken. Today it seemed good to share one of the meditations I wrote for The Waiting Room: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in a Health Crisis. I hope it ministers to you, whatever you have lost to this pandemic.

Counting Your Losses

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.  Psalm 56:8, NLT

Missing our daughter’s white coat ceremony for PT school.

Cancelling our trip to celebrate our 35th anniversary.

Missing my uncle’s funeral.

Caring for my dad in the latter stages of his illness….

One day I began listing all the losses I had endured during our season in the waiting room. I didn’t even count the profound loss our son endured or all of the losses that affected my husband, our other children, and our extended network of family and friends. During a health crisis, the losses mount like so many soldiers on the beaches of Normandy. Is it appropriate to count them, to take stock of our sorrows?

The Psalmists say, emphatically, yes. Of the 150 Psalms, somewhere between 65 and 67 are “psalms of lament,” depending on how they are categorized. Asaph, for example, cried: “You don’t let me sleep, I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs…. Has the Lord rejected me forever?” (Psalm 77:4-5a, 7, NLT). And David, the man after God’s own heart, moaned, “My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me…Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.” (Psalm 69:3, 21, NLT).

As each person cries out to God, even as he raises his fist at God as the one responsible for his sorrows, a tectonic shift of the heart occurs. God’s unfailing love drives this shift, and the lamenter begins to assert hope in God.

After his outcry, Asaph’s focus shifts to God’s power: “Oh, God, your ways are holy. Is there any God as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations” (Psalm 77:13-14, NLT).

David’s heart also changes: “For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people. Praise him O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them” (Psalm 69:33-34, NLT).

As we tally our tears, we discover a compassionate God who is counting them right alongside us. The same God who counts our tears sent his Son Jesus to weep human tears for and with us. The same God who counts our tears will one day wipe every one away when Jesus returns to restore all broken things. Remembering God’s kindness helps us wait with hope for the day when all losses will be accounted for.

Prayer

Tear-tracking God, help us to count our losses and to discover your amazing love even as we do. Help us weep tears over our own sin as well as the pain we encounter in a fallen world. In Jesus’ compassionate name we pray, Amen.

Further Encouragement

Choose one lament Psalm: Psalm 56, 69, or 77, and read it all the way through.

Listen to “We Will Feast in the House of Zion” by Sandra McCracken at https://youtu.be/ujVBV3lNSbQ.

For Reflection: Make a list of the losses you have suffered during this season. Ask God to reveal his compassion to you in the midst of such loss.

To minister more hope to people in this season, I have placed  The Waiting Room on sale for the next two weeks.

Do you know someone who needs this message? Please use one of the share buttons to share it!

Photo by Anton Darius on Unsplash 

A Good Read for Hard Times: The Waiting Room Devotional

Buy Now

You Are With Me: A Meditation for the Lonely Times

by | Feb 18, 2020 | Bible study, Devotional, Valentine's Day

You Are With Me: A Meditation for the Lonely Times

When you’re feeling lonely…

Valentine’s Day can leave us feeling lonely, no matter how well-loved we are. Today I’m sharing an excerpt from the new devotional I’m writing for people recovering from all sorts of crises. It’s called “You Are with Me.”

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4, ESV

Traversing the road of recovery is not unlike walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Each journey is complex and mysterious, of uncertain length, and fraught with unknown fears. And yet, according to David, who journeyed through many dark valleys, we can “fear no evil,” because we are not alone. The Lord is closer than whispering distance, guarding and guiding us with his presence.

Imagine you find yourself in a narrow alleyway running between two high buildings in a dangerous urban area. No streetlights. No building lights. Stark starless night darkness. You can’t see the tips of your fingers, much less the end of the alleyway. It’s too late to return to the other side; before you saw what you saw, before the surgeon made the cut, before your loved one died. The recovery road has much in common with David’s valley of deep darkness.

Notice that David walks through this valley of deep darkness; he doesn’t run, even though he might be tempted to do so. Running isn’t an option when you’re recovering from disaster. Notice that David walks through this deep valley. There is no way around it; there is no turning back. The only way is to go through it, to get to the other side. Notice that David is alone in this deep darkness: “Even though I walk.” Even when we are in healthy community, we can feel isolated in recovery, as if no one else has ever walked this particular shadowland before.

How would it be possible to fear no evil in a place of such “suspense and surmise,” in which “the evil of evils is uncertainty”[i]? The answer comes in the pivot point, verse four, “For you are with me.” Earlier, David told us that the Lord, third person, is his shepherd; now he addresses the Lord directly:

“You are with me.”

You, the King of kings, are with me.

You, the lion of Judah, are with me.

You, the crusher of Satan, are with me.

Take heart, dear friends. His light, the light that has overcome the darkness, has flooded this dark valley. The Lord, your Shepherd, who counts you as his sheep by his rod, who protects and guides you with his staff, is with you.

Prayer

Lord, You are our Shepherd. We trust you to guide us, protect us, and secure us in this dark valley of deep uncertainty. Surround us with your love and mercy that we may never stray from you. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read Psalm 23.

Listen to “God Is My Shepherd,” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtDXHgTi-5s.

For Reflection

What dark valley are you walking through right now? What is uncertain and frightening? How does it help to know the Lord is your shepherd?

[i] Charles Spurgeon, THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH NO. 1595 https://www.spurgeongems.org/vols25-27/chs1595.pdf, 3.

Want to know when the new devotional is available? Please join Living Story subscribers to stay tuned and get free gospel centered resources.

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash