Each of us strive to make our lives richer – capture moments of joy, experience new things, and spread love to people we connect with. This is what this series is all about: despite all your major problems, you can still make your life richer and better. Kapit, kapatid, it will be a fun ride. :) NOTE: IM A WORK IN PROGRESS«« Perfection not achieved yet. :)
RICH LIFE SERIES: 3 | ETERNAL FLAME
My devotion today had this opening line:
"Perhaps, the most painful statement a person can hear is...
I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE."
It struck me because I know it is! #NarinigKoNaYan as they say on Twitter.
I've heard it, and I was not able to process things the right way.
Kapatid, a lot of times in life we realize many things will fail ––
You trusted someone to lend you notes in class, and it turned out that this person won't come to class.
You believed your co-worker will help you defend your project, only to find out this person will rest the case.
You tightened your grip on someone who promised to love you forever, but it came out as empty words.
And you maybe happy now, or tomorrow, or next week, but in all the years of your life at one point you will go through something like this –– disappointments will flood on you because people and things failed you.
WHY?
Because these are tangible things. These are REAL things. Tangible and Real, but not everlasting. It was so easy for me to put my trust on every relationship I had – promising forever, depending on that person's availability, and losing sight of the more important things just because this person holds my security. Yours maybe different –– you feel secured with your credit card, the job that pays your bills, or with the friends you keep close to your heart, your husband or wife to whom you have promised to be with you until you die, your sons, daughters, officemates, your cellphones –– the list goes on and on.
But they are not infinite things, and we both know kapatid, at one point, they will fail. They will disappoint.
Mauubusan ka ng pera. Mauubusan ka ng credit limit. Yung kaibigan mo magkaka-partner, mate-third wheel ka.
Jeremiah (Lamentations 13-26), a servant of God, fell down in tears and disappointment because no matter how he tried, he just can't get over this hurdle of challenging people scrutinizing him. He speaks of himself being the laughing stock of his own people (v. 14), and even said he forgot what prosperity is and was deprived of peace (v. 17). His soul is DOWNCAST within him (v.20), and to say that sort of sounds like his inner self is dejected, broken, and that he had hit rock-bottom.
David, yes, the man after God's own heart, was also broken-hearted. He has committed a lot of wrong things like his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11), and in one of the psalms of penitence, David cries out that God's hand is already heavy upon Him day and night (Ps. 32:4), sabi pa niya "my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer" –– natuyo siya, he was dry and weak, broken because of his own inequities.
SO IF LIFE WILL GIVE ME DISAPPOINTMENTS,
WHAT DO I DO NOW?
"I figured life's a gift. And I don't intend on wasting it... To make each day COUNT."
That's what Jack Dawson said in the dinner he had with Rose and the higher ups of TITANIC.
(What a reference, boy romantiko...)
But it is true! Life is a gift and we are poised not to waste it by depending too much on things that fail! In the most painful things that happened in my life, I realized people can fail me. People's concerns aren't everlasting, because at one point, they get tired of hearing all your dramas. Broken-hearted? Step out of it as soon as possible. Alam ko mahirap, and after a month yes I'm not crying anymore, yet the pain will linger on for quite some time... But the more you sink yourself in this quicksand, the lesser and lesser hands you will see stretched out to help you. BANISH –– remove and pluck out –– that anxiety from your heart and cast off all your troubles (Ecc. 11:10).
Jeremiah in Lamentations 3 ended with the acknowledgement of God's unfailing compassion (v.22), and that the Lord is his portion forever (v.23). David realizes this too in his psalm (32:10), and said that the Lord's unfailing love surrounds those who put their trust on Him.
We get broken because we depend too much on things that aren't eternal. Whether it's love, friendship, money, opportunity... you will realize they are not the reasons why you feel broken. THE REASON is, YOU DEPENDED ON THEM TOO MUCH (my words hitting me in 3...2...1... Boom).
Yet fear not. The ETERNAL FLAME, the love you can trust and that won't give you up for anything, is always up for grabs. Run to God, the Father of compassion and the God of Comfort and be amazed in seeing you can pass on that comfort to others too (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Siksik, Liglig, at Umaapaw na compassion you can't help but share it! What was God's promise in Joshua 1:5? "No one can stand against you, I will never leave you nor forsake you" –– #NarinigKoNaYan, but this time you are hearing it from an everlasting God, consistent in loving you and in bringing you closer and closer to Him!
* Cast all your cares on Jesus. (1 Peter 5:8)
* Claim the promise that He came here so you may have FULL LIFE (John 10:10)
* Let God turn your mourning into dancing –– He will fill your heart with JOY (Psalm 30:11)
WHY? BECAUSE HE IS OUR ETERNAL FLAME... Our undying security... Our unfailing strength.
It feels good to have someone like God receive you everytime you break down.
It's sad that I had to lose a relationship for me to realize it was GOD that I needed to depend on...
But it gives me joy to find out I can find comfort in the God who doesn't change, who doesn't get tired,
and who would desire to have me forever... A God that will not give up on me.
Start today. Commit your day to Him, and look forward to life's challenges and victories,
because even if people and events fail you,
you know your ETERNAL FLAME would not. :)
RICH LIFE ADVICE:
I feel so blessed when I wrote this today... because this is exactly what I need to hear. Words of comfort, a lasting security, these are things we all need as we strive to make our lives fuller and richer. But life is full of challenges. The most important thing is you have something in your hands –– like HIS hands –– to anchor you as you go through the storms of life. As they say, faith isn't about God stopping the storm. It's about God getting you through the storm... And He will, because unlike others, His love for you is eternal. He won't acquire satiation or fatigue, He won't give you up, He won't leave you for anything else. And God can love you through His people. Receive the love. Receive the care. But know that while He uses people to make you feel better, that ETERNAL FLAME still came from His abundant heart. Put your security on things that are eternal. Let Him love you, and He'll walk with you through this storm.
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