Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Uphill Climb

Our minds are tempted to stop the struggle on an uphill stretch. It’s okay to take it slow, just don’t stop now. Shift your eyes off the end and refocus your attention inward, on strength and the supply. Draw in those deep breaths and relax in the pace. This is what’s going to propel you forward in the climb. That’s how you finish a race.

Don’t get caught up in the climb. You got this!

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. Acts 20:24

And in the end we will say,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2015

Caught in the cross hairs of conflict

exodus, trishakeehn.com, sea ahead, army behind

Are you staring an obstacle in the face and wondering where you took a left turn when you should have stayed right?

The demands here and now have seized your time and you’ve abandoned your desires and dreams because the situation looks overwhelming.

Maybe in the midst of the struggle, you’re still sizing up the situation; is this high tide or low tide? Because if this is as bad as it gets, there could still be a chance to conquer the circulating currents in this conflict.

Whether this is the worst of it or not, you conclude that what lies ahead looks bleak and pretty impossible.

There is a sea ahead and an army behind.

The enemy is barreling down the slopes with speed and gaining ground on your hope.

You’re surrounded so you surrender not just your hands but your identity too, as the doubts close in. Defeat looks imminent.

Now you feel like you’ve failed God, you’ve failed yourself and you’re not who you thought you were.

What if the trouble you’re facing is the very wall God wants to drive you through?

Fear has an overwhelming tendency to increase in us but, praise God, so does courage.

Though the horizon looks hopeless, God has a miracle up His sleeve.

Our initial instinct is to stop everything at once. Yet, when we do that, we short sight the strong arm of God.

Give Him the opportunity to do what He says He’ll do. The Author and Creator cannot fail. This is the very nature of Almighty God.

In our trials, His power penetrates human wisdom to draw all eyes to the throne.

Stop staring at the surmounting surf and advance headlong into the swells of strife, my friend.

Do you feel adrift already, in an ominous ocean with no island in sight? Know that the waters are not beyond God’s reach.

If you’re treading in the deep end, I want to remind you the bedrock of Truth hasn’t been moved by the flood.

Take a deep breath from the bottom of your gut and exhale as you stretch your thinking. Let it lengthen your limbs a little further past their limit.

Now steady the stride of those flailing feet. There’s a Rock for you to stand on and it’s been there beneath the surface of your stress this entire time.

Trust it.

We’re all on a journey into the land God promised us.

Yours might be pursuing higher education, starting a business, selling an idea, or making a difference. Maybe it’s gaining some self-confidence, self-esteem, healing or extending forgiveness.

Stand with me here on the shoreline of your suffering as we scan over the story of Moses and the Israelites.

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. (Exodus 13:17-18)

I’m pretty sure whatever is in the way of your promised land, these guys felt the same futility as they stared at the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army closing in. Their pilgrimage to the Promised Land looked hopeless being backed up against the wall of a massive inconvenience.

It’s senseless to sit here too long wondering why life has to be so hard. Hidden behind the Hollywood highlights of this story, there’s some deep truths that can help move the mountains standing in your way.

First, you should rest. Army or no army, you need rest. This isn’t sleeping through the storm. It’s a peace of mind in the eye of a hurricane kind of stillness. Find a spot to camp out in serenity while you bring to God the concerns anchoring your heart.

Second, use what you have to work with. The Almighty can take what you have and turn it into whatever it needs to be in order for you to accomplish what you’ve been called to. Sharpen the skill saw. Cast out a line to your connections.

Third, press on. Oceans of emotion toss with demands every day trying to prevent us from God’s plan.

When floods of fear feel like they’re going to level your life…

As the rolling tides of resistance wrestle with you all night…

Even If there’s nothing but crickets and crashing waves staring back at you…

Press on.

While you’re waist deep in the waves of doubt or your heart is trekking up and tumbling down the rocky terrain of pain…

Press on.

Wherever the enemy packs a punch and swipes a roundhouse kick that leaves you lying flat on your face…

Press on.

The clouds will come but let the helium in hope carry you higher into the heavens.

Honor God with your trust.

He is with you. He is for you. Do not be afraid.

Keep walking. Keep believing.

This storm is just a season that is about to blow over.

Your faith in His unfailing forgiveness and unconditional love is the way out, my friend.

Summon the Holy Spirit to silence the solicitations on your soul.

Sink down into your stance on the solid stone of Truth.

Wait in expectation and watch as the winds and waves obey His command.

Get ready for God’s big reveal.

Tuck that hope in your heart.

God, I release to You all that I am and everything that I have. I invite You to flood every part of my being and use me for Your glory. Thank You for using what is in my hand.

Posted on Monday, June 8, 2015

Power is like being a Lady

Posted on Thursday, June 4, 2015

Don’t wait for the storms to pass

learn to dance in the rain

Posted on Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Strength through the struggle

trishakeehn.com, be immovable, 1 Corinthians

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you’re already surrounded by problems and pressures that are left over from the night before?

You may be overwhelmed with needs, uncertainty, hurt, burdens, to-do lists and regrets and you haven’t even thrown back the covers yet.

What if the strength you’re searching for is in you already and you just can’t see it yet?

As long as your focus stays fixated on the issues and obstacles, you’ll miss the opportunity to let courage control your thoughts.

The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, has already gone before every one of your battles and equipped you with armor you’ll need for the attacks coming.

And He’s bracing you from behind too. He’s got your back.

Your struggle is less about your own maturity and more about what you believe.

Your help is here. Your supply is here. Your strength is here.

Can you see it?

Though you’re tired by all the trouble, close your eyes and rub the seeds of doubt and disbelief from the corners of your mind. Now look again. Let your gaze fall upon the hills, where your help is mounted up and surrounding the very things that surround you.

It would be nice if God’s help was to keep us from hardships and prevent the problems from ever happening in the first place. But let’s be honest. As long as you strain hard enough, your success will point to your own efforts.

Pride tells us we have all the power and strength and there is no purpose for faith or trusting in a God we can’t see. Yet, the scriptures are stacked with stories rooted in human weakness, soaked in the supernatural strength of God.

Allow your problems to humble you, refine you, and use you more effectively. The places where we are pressed can most likely be where God wants us to plant hope. Compassion permeates from our pain.

You have a Defender who will deliver you with the very thing the devil meant to destroy you. When the enemy has a strategy to take you out, God always has a plan to keep you in and moving forward.

Let God pummel the enemy by bringing so much good from the bad that Satan will regret ever having taken you to that wilderness in the first place.

God wants to show you His faithfulness through your failures and strengthen you through the struggles.

But you may have to see it through your weakness.

So look again! There is potential in your problems and purpose through your pain. You can have confidence in the chaos and confusion. God downpours a great supply in the drought of your need.

You can’t control the circumstance but you can believe in a Father who loves you… still. In the darkest of hours, He is the supply of strength standing on a ground of grace.

Keep trusting. He’s already given you all you need.

It’s our faith that activates God’s power. If you’ve been standing and believing for a while, don’t give up! Press through. Keep praying. Keep asking. Keep seeking, and He’ll meet your faith with favor and His miraculous power.

Often times we’re surprised by our struggles. We can even be caught off guard when it’s the same stuff we’ve been wrestling with for so long. We give the enemy credit for being clever when he throws the same punch to our weak spots. Why?

What if we weren’t surprised?

What if we really did come to expect these kinds of ordeals, not as pessimists but as the prepared?

What if we did come to expect that life was going to push us with pressure?

What if we were ready in advance for things like temptation and oppression?

Plant your feet solid and bend your knees to brace your body for the impact, because I’m warning you from the Word, its coming. If you’re not prepared when the push comes, you will be shoved into a sinkhole of despair.

Let us not be prepared for only the pressures but also for the divine power.

Although we feel alone in our afflictions, I’m here to remind you we’re all in this together. As the persecutions mount and the pressures pound, remember God has already given us victory through Jesus. None of these struggles and trouble will be wasted. They will all work out for our good. We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (Romans 8:37). Our perseverance will be rewarded (Hebrews 10:35)

Therefore, my dear [friend], be… immovable” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

I pray that God opens your eyes so that you may see the strength that is already in you. Keep an open and humble heart so that His peace can help you press through to pain and find its purpose and His plan.

Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Let It Go

So something new can grow

Last night, I sat silently on my porch steps pondering life. A slight breeze swept through the loose strands of a messy knot piled high on my head and a chorus from everything living sang with sweet lullabies to my soul.

The peace of it all captured my thoughts as I marveled at the breathtaking livelihood of life.

It is Spring and technically a time of new growth, yet there in the boughs of towering tree was a lifeless limb caught up in it’s spindly vines.

It’s likely a storm had severed this part. The tangled timber was more of a stick now… the color had drained from its bark, but the branches weren’t ready to let go.

Isn’t that just like life sometimes?

A storm sweeps through, devastating our status or symbol of life. The winds snap off a chapter, but our arms cling to the kindling because we fear letting go.

When a field stops producing fruit, we have to accept what has refused to come back to life; we have to let it go.

Disappointment. Divorce. Death.

With a very tender heart and deep compassion, I offer only a trail of my own tears when I whisper these words to you.

Our mind likes to circle a barren crop, hoping a seed will magically produce by staring at it long enough, when we need to cut it down, pile it up, and let it burn.

As tears sizzle over the embers.

True, God sometimes chooses to resurrect something that has died.

And other times He wants us to call it what it is – dead – and let it go, knowing that He is good. And He is for us.

We’re reminded in the book of John that God prunes branches that bear no fruit so that they will sprout more. And what does not yield produce over time is “thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.” – John 15:6

Life is about growth.

God is all about the fruit.

You can huff and puff, but trying to resuscitate what’s not coming back to life just leaves you out of breath.

Sift the seeds of your life through the threshing floor of Christ to separate the dead from the living.

Don’t overlook the wholesome hindrances that have overstayed their season; sometimes these are the hardest to let go of because they are easier to rationalize. They’re not wrong; they’re just not right, right now.

Perhaps our ego may need to be shown the exit door first.

What doesn’t reap a harvest, what fails to resurrect in the sunshine and showers, finally needs to go.

That doesn’t mean you forget.

Some things are too sensitive or significant to let slip from memory.

These words are woven with empathy when I say, if it is gone, let it go. If it is possible to move the reminder from your sight where it has become a monument to your sadness and loss, pile it up and carry it off.

His wings will shelter you in the shadows and keep your sacred heart safe in the storm. He does not leave a life empty.

He will either restore the sterile or plant something brand-new. Know with all your faith that a fresh seed will sprout soon. Hold on to your expectation that it will be more than you can imagine.

His promise is to fertilize a flourishing future for you. He nurtures and cultivates the soil with great care and comfort.

Give it space. Sunshine. Water it with your tears if you must. And you will surely live to see His faithfulness sprout out of the seasoned soil.

Our breaths are too brief to spend another inhale grieving what could have been. Release your fears. You are stronger than you think.

Stretch out your arms and don’t let the storms scare you from pain.

Let go of what is broken and trust, for it is to your Father’s glory that you bear much fruit.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:3