Tammy on Tuesday »

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Today, I am sharing a post in hopes of encouraging hearts that are struggling with overwhelming thoughts and fears. I wrote it back in 2017 and it’s not surprising that these truths are just as valuable today as they were for us at that time. Friend, the truth will set you free. I trust you are encouraged today!

(May 2017) The other night Mark and I were having a talk with our oldest daughter. She was feeling a little down and overwhelmed and when I asked her why she said she didn’t really know. Then I told her something I’ve told many people over the years, “Sometimes it’s good to sit down with a journal and think of the things that are burdening you – big and small. Just sit there and write until everything that you can think might be overwhelming you is on the page. Sometimes just sorting through our problems and clarifying the specific reasons we feel burdened is a big step on the road to peace and resolution.”

But I am so glad we don’t have to stop there! I don’t just want my daughter to find “coping mechanisms” for life. I want so much more for her. I told her to take each of the burdens she listed in her journal and turn them into a prayer to God. It reminds me of the verse Philippians 4:6

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Wouldn’t you know, I woke up this morning and immediately felt a mountain of burdens weighing on my own chest? – One of them being the fact that Abby has been in a difficult place. It’s never easy watching your children go through struggles. Before I could process why I was feeling this attitude of defeat, it was already upon me. The burdens weighed me down as I willed myself to get out of bed. My heart rate had already begun to rise. Then I remembered my advice to her.

“Write your burdens down.”

I opened a journal I write in occasionally and began listing what was troubling me. I wrote until I could think of nothing else. I took my time. Once I was done I sat and read over what I’d written. While reading I glanced over to the page before and noticed a verse I’d jotted there a while back.

“We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

I stared at the verse. I wondered, What does it mean to say, “More than conquerors”? Couldn’t Paul have said, “We are conquerors through Jesus.”

Looking at the passage and the context, we know that Paul had been through great tribulation. He even faced death. Let’s look at the passage the verse comes from.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39 (emphasis mine)

Looking at the original text, what Paul is saying when he says, “We are MORE than conquerors” is this: We are not only victorious over the present circumstances because of Christ’s love but we are “completely, overwhelmingly victorious”. And here’s the kicker. He’s saying it in the most perplexing and difficult times one could imagine.

Because of Christ, our eternity is secure. For those who call on Him, we can be confident that we are conquerors now in this present trial and for eternity.

I’m just glad that the verse doesn’t read, “In all these things we are able to cope because of Christ’s love.” Sometimes that’s what I’m settling for…just getting by.

But as I considered the victory this passage promises, my mind was turned to other passages that speak of the fact that God doesn’t just cause us “to get by”, “to muddle through”, “to survive”. That’s not who God is.  He lavishes His grace and mercy on His people.

Take for example the verse in Philippians I shared earlier in the blog. It said to not worry about anything but instead to pray about everything, to tell God what you need with a thankful heart. But that’s not where it ends. Let’s see what God promises he will do in the next verse.

If you will do this. If you will pray about everything with a thankful heart. THEN…

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

God tells us we will experience His peace that “will get us by”.

WRONG ANSWER!

We will experience his peace that will help us to survive our troubles.

NOPE!

He says we will “experience God’s peace which EXCEEDS anything we can understand.”

Why? Because His peace will guard our hearts and minds as we fall, with all our burdens, headlong into Jesus.

So I am more than a conqueror and God longs to give me peace that exceeds my understanding. But it gets better.

As you ponder the ways of God it doesn’t take long to realize He is a God of abundance.

Consider the feeding of the 5,000 men (plus women and children) we read about in the gospels. He fed them ALL with only 5 loaves and 2 fish.  That is an amazing God story already but it gets better. There were 12 baskets full of food left over.

Abundance.

How does God intend to answer when we cry out to Him? When we ask Him for help?  Let’s see what the Bible says.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21

What do we do when we feel overwhelmed – when we are met by troubles and burdens we can’t overcome?

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:2-3 (emphasis mine)

In God, we can count these troubles as an “opportunity for great joy.”

Those are big words.

Opportunity to grow? That, I can get my head around.

Opportunity to see God work? I can believe for that.

But counting my troubles as an opportunity for “great joy”? Did God just take it that far?

Yes, He did and He promises to deliver.

So, I am more than a conqueror,

serving a God that gives peace that surpasses my understanding,

causing even my troubles to be an opportunity for Great Joy.

Now this list of burdens I wrote down this morning doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

Christ tells us in John 10:10, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

• He didn’t say He came so we could get through life by the skin of our teeth.
• He didn’t tell us that we would have to wait to experience what He offers us on the other side of eternity.
• He didn’t tell us He came just to give us life.
• He said he wants us to have abundant life.

What does the word abundant mean here in this passage?  Don’t miss this!  It means – pertaining to a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate – ‘that which is more than, more than enough, beyond the norm, abundantly superfluous.’

I like abundant.

• So, I am more than a conqueror,
• serving a God that gives peace that surpasses my understanding,
• causing even my troubles to be an opportunity for great joy because
• He desires that my life be one of abundance in Him.

Do you know that I’ve been up for about 5 hours now and God has already handled several of the burdens on my list! He works in mysterious ways!

He doesn’t tell us to bring our burdens and “proposed solutions” to Him. Just to bring them to Him and He will answer. He will work. That’s a promise.  

While I think of how my heart has already been encouraged today I am also reminded of the many times I allow my burdens to fly freely in my mind with no relief in sight. What a blessing to write them down and give them up to the Lord.

How about you? Are your troubles and fears whirling through your mind with no relief? Maybe you should write them down and turn them into prayers. God wants to do more for you than you can even understand. Let Him have your burdens and watch Him work.

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Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.  Matthew 7:13-14

These are heavy words. It’s sobering when you consider many means many, and few means few.  

And what is most tragic to me is that many on the broad road have been deceived into believing they’ve chosen the narrow way.

Someone recently said,

“I believe in God. But I believe in a God of love, not control and hatred.” 

The passage I shared above said the way to eternal life is narrow and hard? Surrendering to God is difficult because when we come to Him we must deny ourselves and our way for His. Our flesh rebels against this kind of surrender. These are difficult words for those who want God but do not want to submit to God’s plan for our salvation. Instead, it’s easier to champion a God that works on our terms.  

But friend, think of it! 

God loves us! Sovereign God! 

HE LOVES YOU! This is great news!

He wants a relationship with YOU! And the great news is, He not only longed for it, He made a way!

That’s why He sent Jesus. Knowing that we are spiritually dead and separated from Him and His holiness because of our sin, God sent a rescue. 

The truth is we ALL need rescue.

All of us. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

Jesus paid the price for our sin with His blood on the cross. He died. And then He rose again, conquering death and sin for us.  It’s the beautiful story of the Gospel.

But one thing God has never done is to fight for us to stay the way we are – dead in our sins. If that be the goal, why would Christ shed His blood?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

But Satan, the father of lies, looks to deceive us into thinking we can secure our position with God by any other means than surrendering to Jesus and accepting His sacrifice for our salvation.  

Many so quickly claim they walk with God while their lives contradict His own words and teachings – as if they have a special agreement with God. But the words I read this morning in Matthew 7:21-23 struck me deeply.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21-23

These people were prophesying in His name.  

They were casting out demons.

They did “MANY mighty works in His name.”

In the eyes of men, they were looking very holy and “Christian.”

How does Jesus respond to them? “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Friend, does this cause you to pause for a moment?  

Does this get you thinking?

It does me.  

Why does Jesus condemn them?

Let’s look again at verse 21 – Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 

We do not come to salvation by our works of righteousness. We do not come to salvation by simply proclaiming our “belief in God.”

We come to salvation by doing the will of the Father.  

What is the will of the Father?

His will is repentance – (God is) not willing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

The repentance (metanoia) called for throughout the Bible is a summons to a personal, absolute and ultimate unconditional surrender to God as Sovereign. Though it includes sorrow and regret, it is more than that. It is a call to conversion from self-love, self-trust, and self-assertion to obedient trust and self-commitment to now live for God and his purposes.[ It is a change of mind that involves a conscious turning away from wrong actions, attitudes and thoughts that conflict with a Godly lifestyle and biblical commands, and an intentional turning toward doing that which the Bible says pleases God. In repenting, one makes a complete change of direction (180° turn) toward God.

Repentance – Wikipedia

Notice repentance begins within and is demonstrated without. The individuals Jesus condemned showed the outward works of Christ without the inward work of Christ in their hearts.

They did not seek to KNOW Him or follow Him.  

Don’t many today make the same claims?  “Lord, look at all I have done for You! Look at how I spoke about loving You or believing in You!”

Upon what do you base your salvation?  

• Your assumption about God’s character?  
• Good works? 
• A Christian family?
• Church attendance?

Oh, friend, God forbid that you put your trust in anything but the work of Jesus on your behalf. It is His life freely given for you.

18th-century pastor and teacher Matthew Henry said of Christ’s rebuke in Matthew,

“Christ here shows that it will not be enough to own him for our Master, only in word and tongue. It is necessary to our happiness that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. This is his will, even our sanctification. Let us take heed of resting in outward privileges and doings, lest we deceive ourselves, and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand.

– Matthew Henry Exposition of the Old and New Testaments 

On what principle or belief do you align yourself with Christ?

How do you know your relationship is secure?

Let us not be foolish to think we can come to Christ by any way other than the means of His cross. His blood.  His sacrifice.

Christ often says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  In fact, in verse 24 of Matthew 7, following his strong condemnation, He says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock.

Friend, do you have ears to hear? What a tragedy it would be to put your faith in anything but Jesus. Today, you can surrender your life to Him and walk with Him on the narrow road to life.  Take some time to ponder what Christ would say to you if you found yourself before Him in this moment. He wants you to receive His gift of salvation. He wants to restore you to fellowship with God. Call on Him today!

To learn more about knowing Him, click this link – https://harvest.org/know-god/how-to-know-god/

Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

The other day, my Bible reading plan led me to the familiar story of Mary and Martha.

In a nutshell, Martha invites Jesus into her home. He accepts, and while he’s there, He begins to teach. Martha is focused on serving Him and the other guests while Mary sits before Him. You see what transpires in the passage above.

Like Mary, I enjoy taking the time to sit at Jesus’s feet and have Him teach me from His Word. I make it a point to carve out quiet time each morning to read my Bible, pray, and seek Him and His purposes for my day. The older I get, the more I see the absolute necessity for this time alone with Him.

But, like Martha, I also want to serve the Lord. I want to use my gifts for His glory. I want to please Him.  

I want to mention before I go on, Mary and Martha both sought to do a good thing. But Martha was missing the most important thing.

Sometimes, like Martha, I go about serving the Savior, working hard, while neglecting the time spent sitting before Him. It’s easy to do. In fact, the devil does all he can to disrupt my time at His feet.

But let’s not forget something significant as we reflect on this story in Martha’s home. Jesus, the Son of God, is there.

Jesus… 

the Redeemer,

the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 

the Alpha and the Omega, 

the Healer,

the Giver of Life,

the Lion and the Lamb,

the Lover of my soul,

the Good Shepherd.

I could go on and on!

When I consider this, I want to go to Martha and say, “Stop what you’re doing! Do you know who is here??? He’s come to Your house!”

Do I live out my days like Martha? Serving the Lord and missing Him at the same time???

If you’ve made Christ your Lord and King, you may have fallen into the trap of serving over sitting.  

Where are you today? Serving Jesus, but not sitting before Him?

I want to suggest some indicators (pointed out in this passage) that reveal we’ve forgotten Who is in our house.

When we serve Jesus without sitting before Jesus:

1. We are often distracted with much serving.  I’ve been there. I have been in a place where my service to God took precedence over my time alone with Him. When I am distracted with much serving, I’m missing the kingdom work Jesus prepared for me long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)  
   1. Distracted serving is work we do with our eyes off of Jesus.
   2. Distracted serving is often work that exhausts us because we have not been empowered by God’s Spirit to do it.
   3. Distracted serving is often self-motivated and self-exalting.
2. We are protective of our work and easily offended. Martha was disgruntled that Mary did not place high importance on Martha’s plan to serve that day. Instead, Mary (from Martha’s perspective) was perhaps being lazy and insensitive. I always know when my service to the Lord comes from my wrong motives by my response when it’s not noticed or celebrated.
3. We harbor and often exhibit sinful behaviors instead of peace and joy. Martha was anxious and troubled. When we seek to do a work for God without sitting before Him, the usual response is anxiety and trouble. This type of work is often followed by burnout for many in full-time ministry.  
4. We offer prayers that are self-seeking and neglect Christ’s kingdom purposes.  Do you think Jesus came to Martha’s home to scrutinize the effectiveness of Martha’s ability to execute a perfect meal or gathering? Jesus came in because He had something to give. He sat and began to teach. But Martha’s request was, “Hey, I feel like all eyes are on me here, and my sister is not helping.” How foolish does her request of Jesus seem? Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.  

I cringe for her. Think of the requests she COULD have made! 

But sometimes, I am Martha.

Martha did not fully understand Who it was that came, or she would have done like Mary and fell on her knees before Him.

Look at Jesus’s response to Martha’s request.

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Jesus points out Martha’s condition.

You are anxious and troubled about many things.

Martha is trouble about MANY things.  

But Jesus tells her ONE thing is necessary.

One thing is necessary.  The original text is χρεία (chreia), which means requirement. Needed.  

What is necessary? What is needed?

It’s what Mary chose – to sit before Him.  

If I want to serve Jesus, I must first sit before Him. 

An indicator that I have been before the Lord and am acting in submission to Him is the singleminded focus to please and obey Him. I exhibit peace and simplicity because it is the power of His Spirit in me that accomplishes His work through me. The results of that service are in His hands. (Phil. 2:13)

Friend, are you Mary or Martha?  

Are you disgruntled in ministry?  

Are you feeling overlooked?  

Are you tired and burned out? 

Are you dissatisfied with the opportunities before you, feeling your talents are being neglected?

Maybe it’s time to sit.

Let us not foolishly spin our wheels to impress Jesus or appease our conscience by serving without sitting. Instead of protecting “your ministry,” protect your time alone with Jesus. There at His feet, you will find peace and purpose. And, my friend, when you serve from your knees, you will no doubt change the world.

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A long time ago, I heard a quote, “God is a God of happy endings. If it isn’t happy, it’s not the end.”

I really liked that quote, but I spent a lot of time pondering its truth. Doesn’t it sound a little too good to be true? Like, if you are God’s child, you are always going to be happy.

As I face difficulty and pain, it’s been my natural desire to look for the quickest exit plan – to get back to happy as fast as possible. But often, in my experiences, God doesn’t wave a magic wand and make me happy. At times He allows me to walk painful paths that stretch on with no end in sight. Oddly enough, in those times, I have experienced Him in the most profound ways.

Isn’t that why God encourages joy – not happiness?  

We are told happiness is fleeting, but joy remains?

Joy can be experienced even amid sorrow. So, should Christians seek happiness at all? Or just settle into joy?

Is the idea of joy God’s substitute or a consolation prize for happiness when things don’t work out? I mean, everyone wants to be happy, right?

I used to struggle with such thoughts when I have faced hardship. And I can honestly say from experience, joy from the Lord IS NOT a consolation to happiness. Joy has sustained me in the darkest seasons of my life. I’ve even said, at times, joy is a gift wrapped up in pain. There is a mystery to the depths of joy. Frankly, I have learned I long for it more than happiness.

But does God also want us to be happy? Is God a God of happy endings?

The other day I was jotting some thoughts in my journal. I had been praying about our culture’s present condition: the division, the anger, the ugliness. I thought about how, when I was a girl, things were nowhere near this bad. Life seemed so much simpler then. Maybe you’ve thought that too. Then the phrase came to my mind, “All good things must come to an end.”  

You’ve heard that phrase before, Right? You’ve had a great vacation or a great dinner or a great gathering with loved ones, and someone says upon leaving, “Well, I guess all good things must come to an end.” 

As I transferred the phrase from my thoughts to my journal, almost immediately the words, “but of His kingdom there shall be no end.” followed. 

 It looked like this,

“All good things must come to an end…but of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Isaiah 9:7)

Immediately my heart swelled with happiness. 

His Kingdom!  

That’s one good thing that will never end.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about His eternal kingdom. He rules His kingdom even now. It’s a real and perfect place. I have thought about seeing God face to face. Thinking about going there, I get weak in the knees. And Jesus! He will not only be there, but He will know me by name. In fact, He’s preparing a place for me in God’s kingdom. He said in John 14:2-3,

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  

I am a citizen of God’s Kingdom because of Jesus! What peace and happiness it brings when I am tempted to ask, “Have all good things come to an end?”  

I am getting ready to teach through the book of Revelation in our church’s women’s Bible study. It’s the last book in the Bible and tells us of things to come. I know there are many speculations to the imagery we see in its pages, but one thing is certain, God is sovereign, and the end belongs to Him.  

God is sovereign, and the end belongs to Him.  

Revelation 21: 1-5 describes John’s vision given to him by the Lord. He said, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.“

Do you know Him?

Humble yourself and call on Him. It takes childlike faith to believe and turn to God. He is not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) You can have a personal relationship with Him today!

John 3:16-19 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  

If you have questions or want to know more about a relationship with God as He shows us in His Word, message me on Facebook or e-mail me at tammy@tammyontuesday.com.

How about you, believer? Have you been gripped with fear and uncertainty? Have you forgotten the promised happy ending for those who are in Christ? I encourage you to search the scriptures and meditate on the promises of God for His children. In Him, all peace, joy, AND happiness are found. Even happy endings. Are you sharing this good news while there is still time?  

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Let’s fix our eyes on God today. Call upon Him if you haven’t yet done so. Believer, rejoice because, through Him, we know not all good things come to an end. He’s the God of happy endings.