You pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
Psalm 118:13-14
I don’t know about you, but I have been in seasons when the world has pushed me violently… I have been in a place, more than once, that I found myself falling because the circumstances of life were doing all they could do to push me down.
But… the Lord helped me.
That’s one thing that the circumstances of life do not consider when they push you violently so that you are falling… the Lord can even be found face down on the ground in the pit of rock bottom.
From my distress I called upon the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.
Psalm 118:5
Tonight I will be sharing at a women’s event. The message that the Lord has given me is one of encouragement. Sadly, we seem to have come to a place in our day, where those who are called by the name of Christ get more fired up about condemning than encouraging.
The posts that go viral are the ones with the mom’s degrading the preteen girl who is posting less than modest selfies on social media… or the one’s that use sarcasm to prove a point (and I am pretty sure if I looked through my own blog, I would find myself having written those sarcasmy posts as well)
Let me tell you what I see when I see a preteen or even teen girl posting immodest pics… I see a young girl who has never had a father who hugged her tight and told her that she was beautiful… inside and out. I see a girl who is starving for someone to tell her she has worth and value and that she is absolutely stunning.
There is a reason that even a grown woman when she gets ready asks, how does this look? She doesn’t want to know if it matches… she just wants to know if you, the one she has asked, thinks that she looks beautiful. I don’t know if men understand the level of vulnerability that is there when a woman asks that simple question, that has become a punchline in so many comedic circles.
This past Thursday, my husband and I, along with our middle daughter attended his company crew party where we had the honor to hear John Croyle share about a ministry that he and his wife started many years ago, Big Oak Ranch. As he shared he made a huge point… well he made many huge points, I could have listened to him for hours longer (and in case you want to know more about him and this ministry I have added it to my blog as a highly recommended ministry to support).
One of the points was that that there are two things every girl and every boy wants to know.
Every girl wants to know 1) that she is loved, no matter how bad she screws up, she wants to know if she is still her Daddy’s little girl, 2) and she wants to know that she is pretty, does someone think she is beautiful?
Every boy wants to know 1) am I loved, and 2) do I measure up? John shared that there is a reason that little boys want to wrestle with there Daddy all. the. time. There is a reason they ask how am I doing. There is a reason they say, hey watch this.
We live in a world today that tries to convince us that we will never measure up. We live in a world today that tries to convince us that we will never be pretty enough. We live in a world that is doing all it can to strip us of our identity and value… a world that is pushing us violently so that we are falling.
And to often those who are called by the name of Christ are right there to make the final push instead of reaching out to help. I think we have forgotten something very important…
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Psalm 118:7
Let that sink in.
The Lord is for me among those who help me.
Beloved, when was the last time you helped someone? I don’t mean sent a check to an organization that helps. I mean you, with your hands, with your feet, with your words… when was the last time that you helped?
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him…
Genesis 2:18
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I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
John 14:6
We are on this earth for a purpose. You have a purpose… and that purpose is not to get all you can out of this life… your purpose is to give life, to give help, to share the love of Christ with others…
But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
Revelation 12:16
That slippery serpent, that nasty dragon, that evil one does not need our help in making a way for his river of vile condemnation and deception to pour out upon the souls of others… the world is hurting… people are hurting… precious ones… Let. Us. Be. Help.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and He has given us light;
Psalm 118:26-27
Let us come from the house of the Lord with light and with hope and with help. Let us shine life into the darkness of the hearts of those that God places in our path… let us speak words of truth with grace and love. Let us never forget that others will only discover that the Lord is for them when we who know Him choose to help them… not ignore them… or hurt them more.