Finding Joy in Christ When You Feel Hopeless

Welcome to the Final Day of the 7 Deadly Thoughts series! Today’s topic is Hopeless Thoughts.

Don’t forget to check out the introduction to this series if you missed it!

#7: Hopeless Thoughts

Nothing will ever get better.

When my husband and I got married, we got a beautiful duvet cover for the master bedroom. It was white with blue and green leaf embroidery, and I loved it. As you may have guessed, however, the white didn’t stay that way for long. Over the last few months, I felt like I had to wash that thing every few days just to keep it looking presentable.

So, after nearly five years of stain-fighting, I’ve given up. The battle against constant dinginess is over, and I bought a nice, solid blue comforter. Our master bedroom feels clean and new again!

So often I feel the same way about my heart the way that I felt about my shabby, white duvet cover. My soul feels tarnished and dingy, and nothing I can do seems to make a difference. It seems hopeless to try. I feel stuck in my circumstances, and even worse, my sins.

I give in to anger, fear, and unbelief. I fail to trust, pray, and obey. And no matter how much I scrub at my soul with good works, my attempts to make myself presentable to the Infinitely Holy God always fail. The battle against my heart-dinginess is one I cannot win.

But, praise the Lord, I don’t have to.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

The battle for my holiness has already been won on my behalf. All I have to do is surrender to the one who has washed me clean. His love is great, and his salvation is perfect and permanent:

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:11-12

When my linens become too dirty and shabby, eventually I have to run to Target and pick out new ones, but God is able to do so much more with my heart, and yours! He does not replace us, because we are never too broken for him to fix. He makes us new! He does not hide our sins like I try to hide dirt with my darker duvet cover. He completely removes our sin so it’s like it was never there at all! He makes our stained, dingy lives clean and new again. Not just temporarily, but forever.

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Respond

How do you pursue God when circumstances and sin leave you feeling hopeless? What scriptures and songs encourage you in the depths?

Embracing Humility When You're Tempted to Judge Others

Welcome to Day 6 of the 7 Deadly Thoughts series! Today’s topic is Victimized Thoughts.

Don’t forget to check out the introduction to this series if you missed it!

#6: Victimized Thoughts

The only way to fix my problem is for someone else to change.

There are few things in life that are more humbling than marriage. I really had little insight into how self-absorbed and prideful I was before I married my husband.

I slowly realized that becoming “one” with my spouse wasn’t a one-time event that happened at the altar. We often disagree on music, movies, what to have for dinner, and what temperature to keep our bedroom at night. Often, and in many ways, our thoughts, feelings, and desires are not in unison. I’m particularly tempted to judge my husband when I feel like housework isn’t being dealt with “equally” (as if that should be the goal...?). So, when the dishes don’t get done in the time and manner that I prefer, I get frustrated and shift the blame for the house being messy. In my head, I play the victim, and I behave as though it’s can’t really be my fault. Somehow, I manage to maintain this delusion, all while sitting next to a small mountain of unfolded laundry from several weeks ago that I haven’t yet bothered with.

“‘Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.’”
Matthew 7:1-5

Gulp.

It’s so easy to see and judge another person’s shortcomings while ignoring our own failures. We do it in all of our relationships: with friends, family, coworkers, and strangers. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that this is anything less than pervasive, callous sinfulness. It is pride, vanity, and unrepentance. May God help when we become so comfortable in our own depravity that we don’t even see it!

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9

Our grief over our transgressions should change our hearts, turn us from sin, and remind us of the mercy that God has lavished upon us through Christ. When was the last time you felt truly humbled? Were you humbled enough to repent and commit to change,  or were you just disappointed and defeated? Did you make excuses and feel hopeless about your ability to change, or were you overwhelmed by God's grace and mercy, knowing you have freedom from sin?

When we remember what Christ has saved us from, humility will be woven into every word and deed, even when others sin against us. Whether we are moved to “cover over” or confront these sins in other believers, every interaction will be saturated in grace and mercy.

“One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”  
Proverbs 29:23

Where false pride will make us look foolish, humility will never leave us ashamed.

For Further Study

“The Worst Marriage Advice I Ever Received” by Sarah from The Orthodox Mama.

“When to Cover, When to Confront” by Ray Ortlund for The Gospel Coalition.

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Respond

What sins are you quick to judge in others, while being guilty of them yourself? How do you cultivate a spirit of humility in word and deed?

Replacing Fearful Thoughts with the Fear of God

Welcome to Day 5 of the 7 Deadly Thoughts series! Today’s topic is Fearful Thoughts.

Don’t forget to check out the introduction to this series if you missed it!

#5: Fearful Thoughts

I have to take care of myself, because I can’t trust anyone else.

My hardest trials and biggest mistakes have all centered around a fear that I can't really trust God to take care of me.

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.” I feel the tug every day: the temptation to do my own thing and take charge of my life.

In recent months and years, the unceasing sting of infertility and the ups and downs of the adoption process have made this obvious to me. In a particularly poignant way, my painful journey to motherhood has forced me to confront the fact that doubting God’s goodness is the sin I struggle with the most. I thanklessly forget past blessings and mistrust God’s provision for the future.

It’s taken me months to write this because I’ve felt so inadequate to address something that I fight against every day. I’ve been empty, but God has been faithfully refilling me through His Word. One verse in particular has revived me again and again:

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

This simple admonition is a great comfort and encouragement in my fight against fear.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be Still My Soul Lyrics by Katharina von Schelge Music by Page CXVI and David Wilton Arranged by Page CXVI and David Wilton performed by Page CXVI on Hymns III 2010 Independent Page CXVI store: http://pagecxvi.com/#store mp3 download: http://www.amazon.com/Hymns-III-Page-Cxvi/dp/B004F1GZ9K/ref=sr_1_4?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-4&keywords=hymns+III chord charts: http://pagecxvi.com/media/charts/PageCXVI_HymnsIII_ChordCharts.pdf

As I still my body and quiet my thoughts, my weary heart can find rest in the reality of who God is. I come before Him in humility, and my soul is strengthened by the truth of His many mercies, beginning with Christ on the cross.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:4-9

When I read, “Be still and know that I am God,” I see a beautiful picture of fearing the Lord. As I remember the bitter depths which God has saved me from, I can only be humbled by His loving mercy and comforted by his promise of abundant provision for my needs. 

“The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.” Proverbs 19:23

When I have the fear of the Lord, there is no room for fear of anything else.

Resources:

“Trading Fear for Fear.” by Christina Fox on Desiring God.

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Respond

How do you remind yourself of God's past mercies? Which Scriptures are a comfort to you when you feel yourself doubting God's goodness?