Lysa TerKeurst | Becoming More

Tuesday, August 30

Cure for the ugly “C” word

It’s a Holly Day today~

Lysa is once again tucked away in a quiet place making the most of her writing time for her next book. Thank you for your sweet comments yesterday. We were so moved by the words of one of our blog friends, that we wanted to share them with you today~

Lysa,

I read an article on CNN today about people who live in a garbage dump, my mind can’t even begin to grasp how they even survive a day.

To always be dirty, feel the pain of hunger, to dig through trash in the hope of finding something of value. Oh how God has convicted me of my behavior through your recent post and the article.

I have been comparing myself to others and coveting what they have. Coveting is such an ugly word yet it is the sin that puts a wall between me and my Heavenly Father.

I keep remembering your words in your book, “Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl”, that I am not equipped to handle their good or bad and that God has given me what I am equipped to handle.

But the struggle with Satan rages on in my mind as I allow myself to become victim of his whispered lies. “The life we waste everyday because we want a better one or because we are never satisfied with it, is the life that many wish and yearn to have and would give everything to have it” is a quote by the photographer in the CNN article.

I pray that I will never forget that quote and that when Satan whispers, I will not give him an opportunity to write his words on my heart. May I yell the truths of God’s word to Satan when he tries to weave his web of lies.

Perspective does change everything.

All of that to say thank you for your post about the Dream Center. I am so happy that you have challenged me to send a card with encouragement to souls who just need to know someone cares.

Thank you for allowing God to use you and your words to challenge and convict me. A challenge to focus on others instead of myself, a challenge to remember the blessings in my life, the challenge to be the hands and feet of God that I am called to be. I did not post a comment to the article but I will be sending a card with encouragement with one of my favorite verses.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Amber

A cure for jealousy

“Wow… look at her marriage. They seem to have it so together.”

“She eats whatever she wants and never gains an ounce. Must be nice.”

“Her outfits always look so snappy while I have a serious case of the frump.”

“I wish I had her job- her smarts- her income. Sigh.”

Whenever I get an overly idyllic view of someone else’s circumstances, I often remind myself out loud, “I am not equipped to handle what they have—both good and bad.”

When I want the good things someone has, I must realize that I’m also asking for the bad that comes along with it. It’s always a package deal. And usually if I just give a situation enough time to unfold, I thank God I didn’t get someone else’s package.

One of the first times I came to understand this truth was in middle school when I met a beautiful girl at the children’s theater in my town. We were both budding child actors cast in a Christmas play. During rehearsals I remember feeling envious that her long dancer’s legs could move in ways my stubby limbs never would. Her legs were muscular and lean and graceful; mine couldn’t be described with any of those adjectives.

One day she felt an unusual pain in her left leg. A doctor’s appointment turned into a battery of tests that turned into a hospital stay that turned into a diagnosis. Cancer. A surgery to remove a tumor turned into an amputation turned into a complete life change. Her world became filled with words no child should ever have to know: chemotherapy, prosthetics, hair loss, and walking canes.

As a young girl I was stunned by the whole thing. Especially because I clearly remember night after night watching her glide across stage and asking God for legs exactly like hers.

Of course not every situation is as dramatic as this one. But, it’s a good life lesson.

I have learned that I am not equipped to handle what others have—both good and bad. I am, on the other hand, completely equipped to handle what I’ve been given. And the more time I spend being thankful for my life, the less I look around wishing for something else.

Today’s article is taken from my book, “Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl.”

If you’d like to enter to win one of three copies I’m giving away today, leave a comment below. I’m taking the rest of the week off to spend some special time with my family, so I’ll announce the winners on Monday. Have a great rest of your week!

If only we knew

Here is my prayer for us this weekend, May we catch even the slightest glimpse of the tender mercy of our Jesus. For one drop of His mercy realized is better than an ocean of the world’s comfort.

The marriage situation that seems impossible.

The finances that never balance.

The hope so deferred it makes the heart sick.

The anxiety over a child bent on a wayward path.

The diet you are sick of.

The broken promises of a friend.

The lack of true friends.

The constant messiness always distracting the peace you want in your home.

The impatience and frustration and anger and disappointment in losing it once again.

If only we knew how deeply Jesus understands, cares, and feels for us. If only we could see the wonder of His love. The skies He paints, the flowers He blooms, the world He arranges just for us.

If only we knew to open our hands and catch the drops of His tender mercy. If only we knew how to stop clinching our fists feeling the weight of trying to fix it all ourselves.

If only we knew to stop in the midst of it all and whisper, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

Just a whispered breath formed in the wholeness of His name carries all the power and mercy and wisdom and grace we need to handle what we face.

If only we knew.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need,” (Hebrews 4: 15-16).

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
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I will be speaking at East Paris Baptist Church in Paris, TX on February 11-12. I would love to see you there if you live nearby! Please click here for more info on this great conference.