Month: June 2020

It’s Personal…

Have you ever heard this statement? When someone takes anything seriously and it affects them it’s personal. What is going to happen if knowing you by name is personal to God? And just how would that change your relationship with him? To me this makes the relationship more intimate.

Isaiah 43:1-3 “But now thus says the LORD, who Created you. O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel; “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine.”

God knows your own name. He is personal and relational. He understands more about us than we do. When we are talking to someone and you know them you know their name and who they are as a person. That is personal.

The Almighty God, the King of kings and the Great I Am knows my name. Think about this He really knows your name that’s personal. If your feeling alone or else distant from people because of life circumstances or just busyness of life. Recall this, God knows your name. Call on Him He will answer. Be still long enough for you to hear his response.

He not only knows your name but because it is personal and relational, He is going with you into whatever your facing.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

How comforting to know God goes with us we are never alone! My husband and I are faced with new medical difficulties in our lives. I know God has been with us and will get through the river with us That He isn’t leaving us to pass through it alone nor will he have forgotten about us. It’s the same for every one of us in any case we face we can be confident God is with you.

If you’re reading this and thinking how I know that this is true. I can tell you from my own experience the Word of God and the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus. You can depend on God’s Word as truth. I personally have never been let down or been abandoned by God. I know it might seem like life situations are severe at times, but God isn’t ignoring you he’s always at work even when we can not see it or feel it. That’s the part of faith that we hold fast to the Word of God and speak that over our situations. When we’re doing this, it will produce calmness and comfort you whenever you walk through the difficult situations.

Be encouraged today God knows your name and He is going through the problems of life with you.

Grief and Sorrows…

What is grief and sorrows? How long does it last and how do you walk through grief and sorrow?  These are a few of the questions we will look at.

Grief is “a deep sorrow especially that was caused by someone’s death” but not limited to death it’s a loss of someone or something. Grief will come from loss of job, relationship, health decline etc.… I think it’s important to understand that grief comes from many different types of loss.  In Psychology Today “Grief is the acute pain that accompanies loss.”

Sorrow as a noun “A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others. Sorrow as a verb “feel or display deep distress.”

I know they say grief has stages and each stage can be non-systematic the stages can flip back and forth one day denial next anger then back to denial to bargaining etc. But what is important to know is deep sorrow/grief for more than two years means you’re stuck in grief. I have read grief can last up to five years but that isn’t the deep sorrow aspect.

When I lost my mom in Oct 1999, I was having such a hard time. My mom was like a best friend to me. Not only was she my mom but we could talk about anything. She validated my life with positive affirmations, acceptance and affection.  We hugged coming and going. I loved her dearly.

So, having to say goodbye felt like I had to let her go.  I couldn’t let her go the thought of letting go was stuck in my mind I couldn’t. I wrote about this in my article “Grief Work.” But what I didn’t realize is my heart and mind said if I let her go, I will lose my mom, but reality was my mom with always be my mother.

I was trapped in grief. I had to learn I wasn’t letting her go I was rearranging my life. I have no regrets my mom knew I loved her and was available for her. She knew all of us loved her.

Sometimes though once we are stuck in grief the deep grief can take over.  If there was some unfinished business as to hurts, offenses, pain or unforgiveness we tend to believe we can’t have closure. The truth is you can have closure by going through inner healing. You can process by your words and give your grief a voice and forgive whatever needs to be forgiven.

Unforgiveness will leave you stuck in grief and stunt your life. That’s the same thing as a prison wall around your heart and mind. The forgiveness is for you not the offender. They must deal with what they did with God. But holding onto the unforgiveness in the direction of a person or loss just keeps past present and past hurts does not belong in your present life. It’s time for you to release the past and move forward beyond grief and sorrow and into hope for the future and love.

Isaiah 53: 3-4 states, “He is despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4) Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

Jesus bore our sorrows and grief. It’s time to let go of the pain of loss and let Jesus heal your hurts, pains and sorrows. It’s time for the internal healing to take place so that you can walk free from grief and sorrow.

My prayer is that today is your day to be set free of the hurt and pain as you surrender the sadness and sorrow of loss, hurt, pain, and offenses to God the Father and through Jesus sacrifice you receive healing today.

https://insightsbydrannette.com/grief-work/

https://insightsbydrannette.com/should-i-forgive/

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Giving Advice…

How often do we receive advice without asking for it? How do you feel about that? Usually unwanted advice isn’t received well.

I read in the Bible that Job lost almost everything plus finished up with sores all over his body. His faith in God remained being tested but what I observed is the advice most of his ‘friends’ gave him was not good and neither was it accurate. They were giving advice according to what they believed about God and Job but accurately it was incorrect.

There are forty two chapters in the book and at the conclusion after God speaks Job says to God in verse five “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6) therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” God showed Job who he really was, and this is Job’s response. He was a humble man.

Giving opinions without basis of truth does not constitute wisdom. Giving advice without all the circumstances isn’t understanding either. There are always both sides to a narrative and then there’s the truth. Make certain that the advice you give someone is backed in the truth and not your views only.

When providing advice be compassionate. When we care about someone, we need to detach from the emotions of their dilemma so we can clearly look at and hear their situation.

Like I wrote earlier most people don’t want unwelcome advice or opinions. It is important to know the timing to speak as well so that our words produce life.

Can they hear you? That is the question to ask yourself whether they can’t hear you due to wrong timing or else unsolicited advice then you’re wasting your breath.

I personally try my best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He always has the right word for the need and it’s always a word that produces peace or healing.

Back to Job, after God dealt with the three friends, He had Job pray for them in verse 10 “And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” 

There is a moral to this narrative when bad things are happening don’t assume it’s because the individual did something wrong. Don’t judge someone because his friends believed, he sinned against God. When giving advice tell what truth is and what’s your opinion. And don’t carry a grudge against individuals who give bad advice. Forgive and pray for them.

So, if we choose to give someone advice the thought before you have a conversation ought to be is it true, is it helpful and what will your comments produce.

Root of Rejection…

Everyone faces rejection although some do not respond well to it. When you have a root of rejection it manages to override our perspective on situations. Have you ever stepped into a room and felt unaccepted or unseen? That is derived from the unhealthy roots of rejection.

What is rejection? According to Webster’s Dictionary: “rejection means 1) to refuse to accept, recognize, or make use of: Repudiate 2) to refuse to consider or grant: Deny 3) To ruse affection or recognition to (a person) 4) To throw away: discard” “syn: reject, decline, dismiss, refuse, spurn, turn down, Core meaning: v. To be unwilling to accept, consider or receive.”

When rejection is the root/stronghold in our minds and the heart it can produce a devastating impact on the psyche. Roots as well as their strongholds are developed early in life created by the trauma, abuses, neglect, abandonment etc. Anyone of these will be able to and do produce the root of rejection in an individual where they feel and believe no one likes or wants me. This root/stronghold clouds the person from believing their accepted, loved and cherished. One may even reject themselves from any number of reasons.

In the blog post “the Rejection Connection” I gave three different ways people handle rejection. The third way is to identify it, let it out, forgive and move on. 

This post is information about the root of rejection. When we have a root of rejection our perceptions are cloudy. It’s harder and harder to see clearly that the rejection may not always be personal. Therefore, it is vital to get a healthy reality viewpoint from a trusted individual.

A root of rejection may be uprooted as well as healed by God. When we have the root/stronghold of rejection the fear of rejection is overwhelming.  God sent Jesus to defeat all our unhealthy roots and by His mighty name I uproot rejection and plant his seeds of unfailing love in your hearts and minds today.

My prayer for you today is, that Our Heavenly Father wrap you in His loving arms and uproot rejection and shame and you begin to sense His love and acceptance for you through Christ Jesus.  May He by His Holy Spirit quicken you to know He’s uprooting roots of rejection and healing whatever caused rejection in your life and the rejection is broken off of you now by the power of God and all fear of rejection is loosed off of you in Jesus name. I pray you begin to sense freedom to love and except yourself and others.

https://insightsbydrannette.com/the-rejection-connection/

https://insightsbydrannette.com/beauty-for-ashes/

https://insightsbydrannette.com/three-areas-of-rejection/

Peacemaker’s…

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

What are peacemakers? Who are the peacemakers in periods of injustice and racism? These are some of the questions we will be looking at. I like to get acquainted with the definitions of words according to the dictionary. We can say an idea of what a word means although sometimes we need to know exactly what it means.

From Websters online Dictionary. The word injustice means “lack of fairness or justice: an unjust act or occurrence.  God is just he does not condone injustice or racism of any kind.

Also, from Webster’s Dictionary the word racism means “1) a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. 2a) a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles.”  Webster’s Dict. On racial prejudice means “prejudice against or hostility toward people of another race or color or of an alien culture.”

“Racial discrimination is any discrimination against individuals on the basis of their skin color, or racial or ethnic origin Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with or share resources with people of a certain group.” Wikipedia

I put those definitions here so that we could see and know exactly what injustice and racism is.  God doesn’t judge by outward appearances He judges by way of our hearts and actions. Once again God is just, and he doesn’t condone injustice or racism.

I haven’t posted for a week or so, I was helping a friend pack and move. Plus, I wanted to convey the truth of God’s word at the right moment.

We need to be pursuers of peace. Peace brings calm to situations. Psalm 33:4 “For the word of the LORD is right, and all His work is done in truth. 5) He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.”

I Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,”

Fighting or arguing about politics, religion, injustice etc. just keeps individuals divided. Division isn’t from God, unity and peace remains God’s way. We need to be solving the problem orientated.

Blessed are the peacemakers it says in the bible. Peacemakers make up the stand for justice and speak up. They don’t just place their heads in the sand. But peacemakers walk in truth, they are those who don’t necessarily need to argue to be heard. But they go forth in the truth, walk in peace, calmness and talk to bring healing, peace and unity. Be the peacemaker.

The word peacemaker in the Strong’s Greek Dictionary means “peaceable, peacemaker.” It comes from “to make or do; agree, hand together.’ Also, from ‘to join, lit or fig peace, quietness, rest and set at one again” This is a peacemaker.

Peacemakers aren’t co-dependent it’s not peace at whatever cost its truth and righteousness. They have debates and solutions. I remember Pastor Baker use to say, “If you’re not part of the problem or solution then don’t say anything.” In the United States we can talk about and voice our opinions but simply because you have a right to doesn’t mean it is going to produce peace and unity. Our words need to generate life not death and unity not division.

It’s time to search for real solutions which produce peace, justice and unity. We need to prayerfully ask God for justice and peace, and may the real peacemakers arise who walk in truth, unity and have genuine solutions.

https://insightsbydrannette.com/walk-in-peace/

https://insightsbydrannette.com/peace-in-the-storm/

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