by leaps and bounds

Sitting in church on Sunday morning, I was struggling with a heavy burden hidden deep within my heart. While we were there to celebrate the dedication of my sister I just couldn’t help but for my mind to keep going back to that burden… and it was weighing heavily on me as the guilt was starting to riddle my mind. I was struggling to get into the praise and worship as I should, and I vaguely remember saying, “Please Lord, help!”… 

He heard me and he replied with showing me Psalm 56. 

So like any good Christian, I opened my phone and skimmed over it right then and there and I am so glad that for the first time in my life I’m an obedient person because everything I was struggling with instantly subsided and went away. 

While facing persecution is pretty standard for a Christian, and honestly, I believe we all have come to just expect it to some degree, there are oftentimes when it comes from certain folks that it just downright hurts. While we can allow the criticism, disrespect and ignorance from the majority just roll off of us, there are those that when they throw it at us it hits us as if they threw a double-edged sword right between our shoulder blades. And when it happens to be those that were born of us or the ones that we thought defined what unconditional love entailed, man that can knock you to your knees and leave you gasping for air for a time. 

1-2 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack.

My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me. 

How many of us feel like this from time to time, especially after we have had to spend any kind of time with those that aren’t followers of Christ or maybe not in the same way as we are? To be honest, I believe those of us that have a relationship with Him often feel like this if we spend too much time on social media reading public comments and the like, as well. 

But something else that I have also noticed is the popular theme that a true believer in God has to be happy, content and always joyful and if we show anything otherwise then we come under scrutiny. And it’s said that our faith is faltering or is seen as being less than. Can we please stop this narrative? Because it is extremely toxic behavior for our community that only ends up pushing people away for starters, but more importantly it is so untrue.

3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 

He knows that we are human and we have emotions, that is how he designed us to be. If we lacked fear, being distraught, brokenhearted, etc., and only thrived on happiness and being content we would soon lose our need to (re)turn to him. We would grow more and more distant from him if we had no need for him, and that is exactly why we come bundled up with all of the emotions that we do. Why would the creator of all things have instilled us with such things if he had no intentions behind them? Trust me, he knew exactly what he was doing. 

5-6 All day long the twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. 

They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life.

That’s the thing isn’t it, the thing that all of us that have a relationship with Jesus has to be so very cautious of? How those that don’t believe can take a simple statement that we make and twist the narrative of it to suit their agenda and make us out to be the bad guys in almost any situation? We even watch as they take the Word and manipulate it in an ill attempt to push their ideology and script that they are feverishly trying to sell to the world. They desperately try time and time again to strip us of the life that we know and love, based on falsehoods, misconceptions and opinions that I’m certain would change if they’d just open their hearts and let that facade fall away so that God’s goodness could permeate throughout them. 

7-9 Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down. 

Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll- are they not in your record? 

Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. 

See, here is the beautiful part of having that relationship with Him. From the very things that we are taught throughout His Word, and that if we are to be honest, that we feel in our hearts through Him, we know that when call out to Him in our time of need or despair, our Father is going to come to our rescue. He will swoop in and pick up our pieces and put us back together again and help us face any battle that stands before us. That is what good and faithful Fathers do. That is what having faith in Him can and will do. 

10-13 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise- 

in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. 

I know that facing persecution can be tough, especially when it falls at the hands of those that we love the most, the ones that we are oftentimes fighting for the most. And I also know that sometimes we find ourselves wondering if it would just be easier to give up, throw in the towel and be who it is they want us to be so that we don’t lose them. But alas sisters and brothers, we can’t lose ourselves to appease those that have to live their own lives. We can’t compromise our path or relationship with Jesus out of our desperation in an attempt to hold onto what isn’t ours to hold onto anyways. This I believe, (especially as a parent to adult children) is one of our hardest tests of our faith to him. When we trust him, he will deliver our hearts desires, so stand firm in your faith and in him and I assure you it will be worth it in the end. 

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture,

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this;

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” Psalms 37.3-6

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Billie is a 40-something stay-at-home momma of five beautiful children and Grammy to three grandchildren. When not wrangling the littles, she babysits for her two adult children. You will find her gardening, canning, baking, and making the most delicious meals for her family. Billie is a multitasker juggling a team of miniature tyrants, a cat, a snake, two dogs, two rats, and nine chickens. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and studying her bible. Her passion is sharing the gospel through her writing! So, whether she’s feeding your body with delicious meals or feeding your soul through her writing, join Billie as she takes you on a journey providing you with “Food for Thought.”