Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Lesson 8: Chapters 21 & 22

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4 comments:

  1. ChantelOctober 30, 2009 at 9:35 PM

    I am thankful that God has allowed me to be married to a wonderful devout husband! We are not always "happy", but one thing is for sure we love one another and are faithful to one another. We are fooled to think, it could ever happen to believers, but we hear about it all the time. I pray each of us has not dealt with betrayal, but if we have that we can hurt then help vs. hurt then hurt.
    I am certain that most of us have suffered losses. Maybe not all at once, but reagrdless of how they come or how often they come we must allow ourselves to be renewed and brought back into His light! I pray God continues to use this Bible study in all our lives and I pray we can stand strong and courageous when the devil is fighting against us!

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  2. JoNovember 7, 2009 at 10:32 AM

    A heart broken by betrayal. Boy oh boy, if journals could talk. I have experienced this several times in my life especially in the romantic area. Every time it happens, I say I’m never gonna trust again but after a time, I have found that I’m able to forgive the individual and move on. The old saying that time heals all wounds is not completely accurate. The wounds are only healed if you place them in God’s hands and let him do the work. There were times that I believed I had forgiven the individuals that betrayed me but then every time I would see/speak to them, the hurt would come rushing back. I had never let go. I’m so glad to say that though I’m not completely mature in this, I’ve come a long way with HIS guidance. God is constantly demonstrating this point in my life. Several individuals that have betrayed me, have recently tried to contact me, mostly to apologize and to try and salvage the friendships that were there before the betrayal. I have to say that allowing God to do HIS healing in me have really made a difference in those cases. I know even a yr ago, that I would have reacted very differently to how I have this past week. The peace that I have felt during those conversations, I can only thank and praise HIM. It is such a joy to know that HE will meet me at any point that I am and sympathize and guide me through the process.

    Hearts broken by loss. I’ve really only had one major experience with grief and that was when my older brother passed. I now realize that no matter how long you may put off the grieving process, it will eventually catch up with you. I believed I had to be the strong one for my mom during that time and it wasn’t until I was about to leave grad school a few years later and realized that my brother wasn’t going to be at graduation that it hit me. My best friend and confidant was really really gone. The good thing was that since my mom and close relatives had gone through their grieving process, I was able to lean on them and by then, I had a better relationship with the Lord so I made it through.

    Now loss in the sense of individuals moving and relation changes, though sad to say, I feel are becoming more frequent for me. I’m usually the one leaving and it’s usually because of work. The first time in 2002, when I moved from my childhood home of FL to VA, it was the hardest thing to do. I cried everyday for the first 6 months. Friends that I thought were good friends moved on with their lives and lost touch. The few that are still maintained a phone relationship and get together when I go home are priceless. However, during those lonely nights the first couple of years, I had no choice but depend on God for friendship and companionship. I know what it is now when you need someone to talk to at 2am and you there’s not an audible voice on the other end. Fast forward a few years. I found a church I loved and had finally started making connections and then once again I was moving, this time I wasn’t even gonna be in the same time zone and I’d be a continent away. How was I going to deal with that? It was a little rocky for the first few months but Thank God for people like Melanie, who would send an email checking in to see how I was adjusting. The grace and peace of GOD were ever present and I was reminded of how far I had come from the early days of VA and that the move had a purpose and HIS assurance that all would be well. I am here to say, IT IS WELL!! I’m in a wonderful church and am making those life-long connections with my new friends here in England.

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  3. Angela BiggsNovember 8, 2009 at 12:37 PM

    I am very thankful for the insightful way that Beth Moore writes concerning hearts being broken by betrayal & loss. I have been blessed in that I have not experienced either kind of heart break that she is describing here. I pray that I will remember these 2 chapters in the future so that I can come back to them for myself or for others who are experiencing betrayal or loss. And, I pray for those of you who are doing this study & have experienced these, that you can find healing during this lesson.

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  4. MelanieNovember 8, 2009 at 6:56 PM

    Why should we turn to Jesus when we have been betrayed or heart broken? Because He will comfort and heal us...and because 1.He is sympathetic 2.He knows we are weak 3.He has been tempted in every way we have 4.He met the same temptations without sin.

    This lesson was difficult for me for two reasons. I have been betrayed (more times than I care to remember) AND I have been a betrayer. Even though I came to terms with the fact that I betrayed someone and hurt them deeply, thinking about it still brings shame. And even though I apologized to the person, I don't think I forgave myself....and through this lesson, I realized I need to leave this at God's feet and move one. When Beth said, "A true betrayer is motivated by selfishness....but not always by evil"....it hit me in the heart, but it is true. And I can honestly say that without the Lord in my life, I was definitely selfish.

    There was a part in this chapter that I just felt was HUGE...”In difficult times we too need to trust God's sovereignty just like Jesus did when He was on the cross. That means if He has ALLOWED something difficult and shocking to happen to one of His children, He plans to use it mightily if the child WILL LET HIM!! God did not CAUSE Judas to be a thief and a betrayer, but He used the fraudulent disciple to complete a very important work in the life of Christ.” This is just amazing to me!! It makes going through the difficult times in our lives “easier” to bear IF we can remember this and LET God use them for His good. Don't get me wrong...I also think there are times we are attacked by the enemy. But not all difficultly and struggle in our lives is an “attack”. Some things God has allowed to happen....and we may never know why...but they are all meant to be used for His Glory.

    It is never easy to change, especially when that change includes a loss. Personally speaking, it is especially difficult when that loss is unexpected and unexplainable. I lost a dear friend the summer before our 7th grade year. She was in a motor scooter accident. Being so young, it was difficult to understand why. It just hurt and I missed her. Then, my Junior year in high school my boyfriend committed suicide. I was broken and devastated for a very long time. I wanted to die. BUT...once I took this pain and brokenness to the Lord, He met me there and put all the pieces back together. I can actually look back at both of these losses and see how God has and will continue to use them for His good. He is an amazing God!

    My prayer is that everyone who has experienced a loss of any kind will find strength, hope, and love in our AWESOME GOD! He will not let you down...ever!!

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