One day syndrome

Is it just me, or do you also live for one day... one day when I get married, one day I when I own a beautiful house, one day when I have kids, one day when my kids go to school, one day when my kids are out of school, one day when I have a new phone/car, one day when I get a better job, earn that much then.. then what?! Then I will be happy. Ok we probably never say these things aloud, but secretly in our heart we think them.  What is it about the human heart that seems to never be satisfied (see Prov 27:20).  I think God created us with this huge vacuum in us, that is never truly satisfied apart from Him. It is this disaisfaction that drives us towards God. And sometimes we think the God vacuum is only for un-believers, but when we come to know Christ it is like we have tasted true water and need to come again and again to be filled by Him. That is why Paul, very much a strong Christian speaks of how he presses on to know God more (Phil 3). You see recently I’ve been looking to things and people to fill me, and it leaves me dry and thirsty. God showed me that “ohne dich (Gott) is alles doff”, meaning that if without God everything else is meaningless.

So how do we go from one day syndrome to saying like Paul, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” Phil 4:11. I think the important word is learned, you see it’s a process. I believe part of the process involves bringing your need to God. If for example I want a boyfriend, I can ask myself why- and then I realize it is because I feel lonely; then I ask God to fill that lonely spot with His loving presence. Because you see my need is not for a guy, but to feel I am not alone- which is something only God can truly do. Ok lets take a phone, why do I feel I want a new phone- do I desire status to feel acceptance, again I can bring that need for acceptance to the LORD. Please don’t understand me wrong it is not wrong to desire any things I mentioned in this blog, but I know that if God is not in it I don’t want it. Moses desired God’s presence more than His presents (see Exodus 33) and I want my heart to be the same.

The other way to overcome one day syndrome, is to be thankful here and now- the fact that I have a phone (even if its old), that I have Jesus, that I have family, that I have food etc. Let’s be thankful and count our blessings.  A good book on this is 1000 Gifts, if you get a chance go read it.

May the LORD bless you with a thankful heart for today

May the LORD keep you thirsty for HIM

May He make His face shine upon you as He fills you with Himself

And may God bless you with completeness in Him.

Restorer of the breach

BREAKUPS SUCK!!! I know of very few good breakups. My friend is hurting, she doesn’t need to say it but I know and I know that it’s because of the breakup that her heart is broken. And I can’t help of think of how it was for me. At first I was fine (denial big time). The one piece of advice I got, which would irritate me a bit was to keep going to Jesus with the pain. After a while the pain hit, not only was I losing my boyfriend, but my friend too which was hard. Not having someone to do things with made me feel lonely. I remember one time I wanted to go for a walk and there were no friends avalible to go with me. I remember while walking feeling that the reason was so I could learn to be alone again. 

God speaks to me with images and in that season God used the stair case outside my flat. My friends were concerned that there was a crack in the wall of the stair case, at first it was a small crack but it kept growing. I ignored it. Each week after small group someone would say I should do something, but yes I ignored it while the crack went from a hairline fracture till you could put your whole hand inside. And a friend said that the wall and crack must have some type of prophetic meaning concerning my life. I chuckled a bit at first. But after a while I realised the wall represented my heart. At first the breakup felt like a small crack and as time went by the pain grew worse. I remember there were 2 weeks, which was after 2 months after the breakup, that I just cried & cried. I remember I was at church and I was just crying. I barely heard a word the pastor preached beacuse I was too emotional. The only thing I remember the pastor mentioned, almost as a side-line, is that Jesus is the healer of the broken hearted. And I was pouring out my heart to the LORD asking him to do that for me. I felt as though my heart was breaking, maybe even completely broken! This was the time the crack had become a hole from the bottom of the staircase all the way to the top (I lived on 2^nd floor). So after lots of encouragement from my friends I emailed our estate agent about the wall problem. It’s the same way with a break-up we need to ask for help; I had a friend who let my vent on our walks which I found extremely helpful. And after these two weeks of intense heart-break I spoke to my ex, and that helped me get some closure. I would not recommend this for everyone, I’m just telling my story. It was around this time that they put cement into the hole of my wall. I then went for a road trip with a friend, and through some real deep discussions and her honesty I felt like the healing was done. As I returned home- the wall was painted white!!!  And I just felt like it was finished...

 

And although there was a real sense of completion, it doesn’t mean I never thought of him again. But rather the pain was not so intense anymore. And God even took me to a lot of the places we had memories so I could make new memories in those places...He did a restoration work!

Ok what do break-ups have to do with restorer of the breach? And what does that mean anyway?! Isaiah 58:12 says, “thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach”. It speaks of Jesus fixing the wall. You see walls represent protection and if there is a hole in the wall, the enemy could come in. So for me this verse speaks of Jesus coming to do what He did for me, of healing my broken heart. Of filling the gaps caused by the pain, not only from break-ups but our past, parents, friends etc. You see Jesus restores our broken hearts. So my advice for those who are broken-hearted is the same advice I received- keep going to Jesus with your pain. He will protect you, He will fix and cement your heart and He will at the right time paint it that you will not be able to see there was a crack in the first place.

May the LORD bless you with knowing the Healer of the broken hearted

May the LORD keep you safe as you bring Him your hurt

May the LORD make His face shine upon you with friends to walk beside you

And may He give you peace as He makes you whole.