Living at Odds

I absolutely LOVE reading my devotional each day. I love how when I come down and click on it there in my e-mail that I know something that makes me who I am in Christ will be confirmed. I will be affirmed. I will be encouraged. Encouraged to encourage others and to give from the flood of blessings that come to me from God. How is it I manage to fall away? It puzzles me - but I do, and I will - more than likely - but for now, what a wonderful place to be.

In my reading of David Jeremiah and his e-devotional this morning, for todays blog will be mostly about my thoughts on my reading and ruminations from it, he pointed out that there are many things that are at odds in kingdom living.

"Many things about the kingdom of God seem odd to those who are not its citizens. Kingdom citizens gain by giving, live by dying, and become great by becoming least. But perhaps the greatest oddity in the kingdom of God is when Christians find joy in pain and suffering. There is something unnatural about rejoicing in the midst of trials."
-David Jeremiah

This thrilled me. I literally had goosebumps. If you have read at all of my last year - then you know that I have had a few trials. They were less than some folks but to me they have been horrifying at times, so painful and I have been broken and sad. So sad. But one thing I know about myself is - I am a weenie. I am not made of stern stuff. So my trials would be blips in someone elses life, although I must say some of them were pretty big blows. Anyway - all that to say - I understand about finding joy in pain and suffering. I have it. It has been the oddest thing but I truly love being where I am. I have never depended on my heavenly Father more for my daily bread, for my and my family's needs - both spiritual and physical or for my happiness.

Not only can we find joy in suffering - but I have found that in order to GAIN, we are to GIVE. One more thing that has been impressed upon me. The hoarding and living like we have nothing to offer is wrong. We have plenty to offer. It may not be from a huge house with a man cave ( I admit - I would love a man cave for all the man cubs in my household), BUT it is a warm, sweet little house that has good food and laughter, a lake right down the street for one of life's more enjoyable pass-times (fishing) and a hill for sliding - whether leafy or snowy(HA) - yes - we have hill surfing and I offer it up to those who would like to give it a whirl. We have so much to offer.

David Jeremiah points out that the Bible does not say give thanks FOR everything but to give God thanks IN everything. No matter what we go through we are to thank God for the blessings we do have. To find a grateful heart in the midst of our hardships. God gave me the ability to do so. With every new hardship, I thanked God for what we had. For we are rich. We have much. We are not paupers - spiritually or physically.

And the most important spiritually impressive point being, believers DIE to themselves in order to LIVE life to the fullest. In dying to ourselves we find that we truly live. This is an amazing and liberating find. If one can find a way to understand this wonderful concept (pray for it friends - it will come, and if you are like me understanding will go, then come back again - as long as you keep on - keep on) life will become more full than it could ever be imagined.

I love living a life of paradox. It has been an amazing thing to find that in the midst of all the hard stuff that goes on, there absolutely can be joy.

1 Peter 1:3-7 (New King James Version)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.


6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,