Stories about hope

‪”Joy is the flag over the castle that announces the King is in residence” 

Pastor Bob 1.9.2011

I have dealt with anxiety specifically worry, since I was a child. My life was so unstable as a kid. Times were grittier then. We Frost kids were tasked with being grown-ups when we weren’t ready.  I realize as an adult that a fractured family isn’t just my story. It’s a common theme. 

Here’s an example of what I mean by anxiety. This morning I was pulling weeds in my backyard, and I was really upset at the job I was doing. 

“You’re not getting the whole root. You must get the whole root or it’s going to grow back.” 

Who was this talking in my mind? I think it was one of my parents. But I felt the disappointment or disapproval of the job I was doing even as an adult. 

The battle for my mind is always raging. 

God has allowed me to walk through some deep waters. I have been in the fires of testing, and I thought I could not survive. The fire is still going in some of the same areas.

God does not owe me an explanation for what He has allowed however, there have been times when I have looked to the heavens and said OUT LOUD… 

 “Hello?!!? Are you seeing this? Hello? You can hear me, right?” 

It’s when the fire is hot that I love reading accounts of God’s faithfulness in the Bible. 

2 Kings 18:13 – 19:37

King Hezekiah was under threat of attack from the enemy King Sennacherib of Assyria.

Assyria conquered the fortified towns of Judah. 

Instead of asking God for help, Hezekiah sends Sennacherib a payoff. A trade for peace. He stripped the TEMPLE OF THE LORD and all the silver in the palace treasury. All of it. He stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD’S temple. 

Nevertheless, Assyria’s huge army took up a position beside an aqueduct that feeds water that is used for washing laundry. 

Assyria sends a message. 

“What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? I have all the military skill and strength. Who are you counting on? Certainly not Egypt.”

“But perhaps you will say, ‘We are trusting in the LORD our God!”

And the King of Assyria goes on to say that Hezekiah has insulted God. He insults their tiny army, and says that the LORD himself told them to ‘Attack the land and destroy it’”

It’s as bad as can be. The people are going to starve to death or be killed by the Assyrian army, there is no escape. 

Hezekiah sends a message to Isaiah, and the prophet Isaiah responds with a word from the LORD.  “Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech again me” that’s a good word. 

However, he also receives a message from King Tirhakah of Ethiopia 

“You know what’s about to happen, you know the kings of Assyria have done. You are about to be completely destroyed like all the others that stood in their way.”

My favorite part of this is when Hezekiah takes the letter from Tirhakah and goes to the Temple. He lays out the letter and says “Uh, do you see me? You know what’s about to happen to YOUR people, right? Rescue us!”

And the LORD heard. 

Isaiah lets him know that God will prove himself true to HIS people once again. 

That night the angel of the LORD wiped out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. And when the King of Assyria leaves the battle and goes to his own land, he too is wiped out. 

God rescued. God heard, God saw, God saved. 

There have been many times in my life and I am sure in yours, that God saw you in your room, with everything laid out before HIM. 

And he heard you. 

Although there were times He didn’t save me the way I wanted to be saved. And there were many times He was silent. Even in these times, even in the silence I knew He was with me. 

He promised to be with us.  

I can tell you for a fact He has been with me every day of my life.  Even on the worst days.

November 17, 1971 when my dad passed away from melanoma to May 23^rd 2015, when my sister Dori passed from breast cancer. On August 9, 2019, when I found out my sister Becky took her last breath on earth.  And that same year, he was with me on October 31 when my brother thought the cancer had returned (Praise God it didn’t) and then a few days before Christmas brought more news that seemed unbearable. When friends who are sick are prayed for and God doesn’t answer the way you think he should. 

When family members get sick, and you pray “I can’t make it without them.” And God says “I know you love them. Trust me in this.” 

I don’t like those answers AT ALL. 

I have been betrayed, ignored & wounded by people I thought were my friends. Nothing hurts worse than losing trust in someone. 

Yet, as I think about my close circle of friends, as I think about my family, I know God has not abandoned me. I know He has been & will always be with me. 

His promise? 

He is faithful. 

He has you in the palm of His hand. What a wonderful place to find yourself. 

I completely disagree with the saying that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. He DOES give you more than you can handle, Because He wants us to give it over to Him.  

In the midst of it all the sadness He gives me JOY. 

My pastor has several saying’s that are “Bible worthy” meaning I write them inside the covers of my Bible

One of my favorites is: “He is still God; He is still Good. He is still governing.” 

It’s hard to believe that sometimes. Help me in my unbelief. 

I have so many blessings that God has given me as well. I count them every day when the “Woe is me starts”. They don’t get me out of my pit. But they remind me of his faithfulness. 

I am a wife, mom & gramma. A whole new part of my heart grew to include the sweetest little grandson and granddaughter in the history of ever. That has been a tremendous blessing. Watching my eldest son be a dad has been one of the proudest moments of my life. In a few months my youngest will be married, and a few months after that, my middle son will be married as well. I am so thankful for these gifts that God has given me. These blessings that I count every day. 

I have also made some very close friends over the years. They know exactly when to text me or call me. It’s pretty awesome to have friends who you have known your entire life. 

They have helped me carry some really big things. And although they have seen the worst in me, they love me still. I’m so thankful for each of them. 

 I have a wonderful brother and sister who remind me of His promises. 

I have a husband who loves me the best way he can, I have a father-in-law & mother-in-law who grafted me into their family tree so well. 

 At any rate He is in control. And he always does the right thing. We may not understand right now but we know his love endures forever. He comforts the broken hearted and saves those who call on him. ❤

Maybe today you need to remember “there is another in the fire” 

Daniel 3 is another favorite reminder of His faithfulness.  

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.””

Daniel 3:16-18

 “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!””

Daniel 3:24-25

These guys were miraculously saved not OUT of the fire, but THROUGH the fire. What an incredible thought. 

I have quite a few scars on my body. The first is a burn scar from when I dropped a pot pie on my lap as a little girl. Right out of the oven, all 350 degrees of peas, chicken & carrots. To this day I can’t eat pot pies. I mean who puts peas and carrots in pie? 

The second scar is on my chin from where I went over the handlebars of my friends’ janky old bike. 

I also have scars from 5 significant surgeries in my adult life, each one has also left some pretty visible scars. 

The first surgery was to deliver my son Evan. That one is the scar that I love. My upside-down baby boy who changed my name to mom for the first time in my life. 

I have a scar on my neck from a blown disc, a scar around my knee from a torn meniscus root, a scar on my foot from another repair, and a couple of scars on my back and side from a laminectomy & fusion. The visible scars have an explanation. It’s the hidden scars that are hard to explain. 

The times where I was cut deeply that no surgeon could repair – no counselor, no pastor, no friend. These scars are the kind only God can put a finger on and start to fix. 

Time, it takes time. It takes me bringing each thing to Jesus and asking him to do his work.

Today’s counselors call these things “trauma”. That’s a good word for them. The thing is, we all have “trauma”. And while some of mine seem worse than others, I don’t want to be labeled by them. I don’t want to remain broken or burned by them. I want the scars – the things that say “Yes, you went through a big battle and you came out victorious.” I want to live life as a victory. I want to listen to another tell me what they have been through, let them know I UNDERSTAND and then point them to Jesus. 

“He has scars too, and because of them He can help you.” 

“He can repair the damage”

Oh, the pain of what you went through might still flood your memories on some days, like when I was pulling weeds and could hear disapproval in my mind. Why this happens, who knows. Why I shut down with sadness, why I have a hard time trusting. No explanation. However, I can say to my maker “I need a stitch or 2 over that wound”. There are times when I am in a pit so deep, I don’t know if I can ever climb out. No cheerleading, no washing my face, no plastering on a smile can fix it. I just keep taking steps forward, keep breathing in and out, keep getting up and making my bed, keep going. Moving forward is hard to do some days. 

God’s promises ring true in my heart. Always. True I certainly wouldn’t mind if I didn’t have to go into the furnace. Nevertheless, as my husband was singing this very morning. 

“Whatever my lot, It is well.” 

// H e I s O u r S t r e n g t h //

#WeaknessIsNotACharacterFlaw

#ItForcesUsToDependOnJesus

#HisGraceIsSufficient

#AMightyFortressIsOurGod