Tag:

Weighed down

You Can Stop Running Now

by Corine Channell May 2, 2022

When you are running so hard in the opposite direction of the love and mercy of God, there must be a reason. There must be a root cause for this marathon run!

EXAMINE THE REASON

The hardest thing you will ever do is to trace back to what started this run. Did you fall? Fail? Injure someone? Turn right when you should have turned left? Made an error with dire consequences? Did someone hurt YOU? Are you locked in shame? Trauma? Pain? Loss? All these things can send us spiraling out of control and trigger a run in our souls. As long as we are running in the opposite direction, that pain or failure or trauma seems long left behind in the thick dust we have raised to cover it.

Except that it’s not.

We don’t understand that we carry it WITH us. And the weight of it only will become heavier and harder to carry with each mile. Yet, most of us will keep running. Running seems like our only defense – if we stop, well – there IT is. And we KNOW this, whether we realize we do or not. Whatever you are running from, you are dragging it right along with you – into every crook and cranny of your future.

Stop. Running. It is exhausting.

TIME TO FACE THE TRUTH

You have long since lost your running shoes. Your feet are bloody from those sharp rocks.You can barely breathe. This is NOT the time for some sort of self protection or self preservation, because indeed you are NOT protecting nor preserving yourself anymore. It may have seemed that way at the onset, but now it is just futile. It is time to stop.

If you stop, and you turn around and you face that thing you are trying to escape from, you will find a strength in you that you never knew you possessed. If you just trade that energy you spend running, into energy to slay that enemy pursuing you, you CAN and WILL be able to stop running. Don’t you want to? Oh the relief of letting go and stripping off the unnecessary burdens we carry!

Time to stop running and start dancing in those broken places.

FINDING REST

In the movie “The Christmas Carol” there is a character who plays the ghost of Jacob Marley, who comes back to warn Scrooge to change his ways. He shows himself as one bound in heavy chains – in his words “These are the chains I forged in life.” I myself have felt similar chains while being alive! I have felt the weight of chains from my past and burdens I had continued to carry around with me, needlessly. God never meant for us to carry the weight of our own chains – really, He never wanted us to have chains at all. He wanted us to be walking FREE!

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30) I have learned (and am still learning daily) that I CAN face the truth that keeps me bound, and find freedom. I CAN stop running, and find rest for my weary soul.

“You shall know (and face) the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) NO longer do you need to run. You are stronger than you think. Head up. Deep breath. Time to stop and find your new beginning. It is in the stopping, that you are crowned the winner.

________

Share the Faith: 10 Inspiring Quotes that Will Strengthen Your Faith Today

by Nathan Simpson April 13, 2018

written by Nathan Simpson

We all Need Inspiring Quotes Sometimes

We all have rough days: Days when everything seems to be going wrong. In 2018, it’s easy to lose your faith. It seems like everything gets worse and worse, but we can’t afford to lose the faith! It’s time we take back our faith and wave it around higher than ever! If you’re needing a little boost today or know someone who needs some faith encouragement, take a look at these ten inspiring quotes about faith and find yours again!

1. “There isn’t enough room in your mind for both worry and faith. You must decide which one will live there.”

2. “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust him in the dark — that is faith.” —Charles Spurgeon

3. “Your faith can move mountains, and your doubt can create them.”

4. “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

5. “Faith isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice to trust God even when the road ahead seems uncertain.” —Dave Willis

6. “Faith is trusting God has a purpose for all that’s happening in your life without knowing why.” —Rick Warren

7. “Faith is trust — trust that God sees what we cannot, and that he knows what we do not.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf

8. “When we are in fear, we have more faith in the enemy’s plan, than in God’s plan.” —Chloe Gooden

9. “Your faith will grow, not by chance, but by choice.” —Neil L. Andersen

10. “Faith is to believe what you do not see; The reward of faith is to see what you believe.” —Saint Augustine

April 13, 2018 0 comment

Faith Lifestyle

Is Your Heart Weighed Down? Here’s How to Release the Heaviness You Feel

by Elizabeth Pitman July 17, 2017

written by Elizabeth Pitman

How to Release the Heaviness You Feel in Your Heart

“Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah.” ~Psalm 62:8

Hidden emotions, the sting of rejection, hurtful words, jealousy, anger, bitterness, the ache of loneliness and disappointment—all can take residence in our hearts at various times in our lives and masquerade themselves while we attempt to put big smiles on our faces and act as if nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, internally, we can struggle to express the pain that we feel. It can be quite wearing carrying the weight of our emotions. Are you weighed down and experiencing the burden of holding on to emotions that are burrowed in your heart?

There is a freedom that takes place when we choose to release whatever it is we hold inside to the Lord. Although man may fail us, God never will. We can trust Him implicitly as we release what we are clinging to over to the ONE who is always there and cares deeply. He will never break our trust, and His love is unfailing.

God’s heart is pleased when we come before Him with the very things that concern us.

“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. The Father sees our tears, every single one, puts them in His bottle, and records them in His book. Take time to think about that…The God of the Universe keeps track of every tear. Not one tear that falls from our eyes escapes His sight.

An image of this came to me recently after the area I live in has experienced almost constant rainfall for several weeks. When I was looking out the window, it reminded me about the tears that “rain down” from our eyes…the tears that maybe no one else sees. Although there are some raindrops that fall that we never see, God sees each drop of “rain” that we cry. He cares enough to record them in His book. Yes, tears from all over the world—they are not overlooked.

This truth should encourage us to pour out our hearts to the Lord.

The words, “pour out”, don’t mean giving some of our hurts to God. They mean giving all. “David says, ‘I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell Him my trouble.’” Psalm 142:1-2. As we cry out to Jesus, I visualize turning our hearts toward Him and “pouring” the tears that no one else sees into His hands—His nail-scarred hands. Yes, Jesus understands. He was rejected. He was spat upon. He was misunderstood. He took the weight of the world’s sin on Himself, so we could have the opportunity to have eternal life and live a life of freedom (John 3:16).

Because HE OVERCAME, we can too.

He forgave, conquered death, the enemy, and holds the keys to the Kingdom. Because He endured and suffered, we can know that He empathizes with the pain that we feel and that He wants us to rise above in His strength and live a life of freedom.

Pouring our hearts to God is an act of worship. Not only can we pour out our disappointments, frustrations, or hurts, but we can also pour out our praise as an offering to the Lord. Even in our brokenness, we can praise the Lord for who He is: an unfailing Father who loves us unconditionally and who wants the best for us.

This act of pouring is also an act of surrender…Releasing all our pain in the midst of our praise…Recognizing that He is the ONE who can heal us from the inside out. God can miraculously transform us as He can turn our heart of stone (hardened hearts) into a heart of flesh (soft and tender) (Ezekiel 36:26).

But, it doesn’t end there!

As we pour out the burdens that we carry to the Lord, He pours back in to us! And, the exchange is beyond compare. “And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication…” Zechariah 12:10.

As we release what we hold in our hearts to our Heavenly Father, He can also fill our hearts with His everlasting love and forgiveness. When we receive the forgiveness of Jesus and understand how much He forgives us, it makes it easier to release the offenses that come our way, and, in turn, have love toward the very people who have hurt us through the power of the Holy Spirit. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5.

Once we come to the place where we open our hearts wide open before God and let Him love us to life and wholeness, we can feel the weight that we have been carrying lifted. Our lives become living expressions of His grace and mercy. What has been weighing you down inside? Although a multitude of things can fill our hearts with heaviness, God wants to carry the burdens we feel and lift us above the circumstances that we face. Let’s live free.

“Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.” ~Psalm 38:9

“Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.” ~Psalm 36:5-7

July 17, 2017 0 comment