I have had a busy few weeks. Weeks that have made me feel out of touch with myself and Jesus. Fortunately, I am learning that feelings are just feelings that do not represent truth. I am absorbing the truth that Jesus lives in me, whether I feel Him or not. And as I lean into the fact that Jesus and I are in an eternal union, some of the lies I’ve believed in the past are crumbling.
I recently listened to an episode of The Unfolding Podcast by WBGL that featured radio host and author Susie Larson. She said that after multiple childhood traumas, she began to believe the Devil could terrorize her anytime and God wouldn’t do anything to protect her. I don’t know about you, but I have a long history with that soul-damaging, faith-sucking belief. She said that during an intense battle for her health, God told her, “The storms reveal the lies we believe and the truth that we need.”
She said that statement revealed that she had lived her entire adult life being a Jesus-loving woman in ministry who secretly believed the Devil could arbitrarily wreck her life at any moment. She stayed in constant fear and said she lived her life “braced for impact.” Once again, I felt she was telling my story.
The big lie I have believed is that my future holds doom, and something catastrophic is coming my way. I know eventually, it will all work out, and Jesus loves me, but I’ve frequently felt fearful of the future. I think that’s rooted in my history of numerous traumas where catastrophic things happened regularly. Drug addicts don’t have stable lives, and I was no exception. That made the expectation of calamity always seem reasonable.
I’ve had plenty of pain, sorrows, and trials since I’ve been a believer, but Jesus was always with me. I’ve never faced anything alone, which made the catastrophe much less of a calamity. Plus, my stability is not in my circumstances but in my relationship with Jesus and my unalterable union with the Father. That is where my life is found. And that is something no Devil in Hell can touch!
Susie Larson said she heard God tell her that she had no idea all the times He protected and sustained her. And that He always would. She also heard Him say, “I will always be with you and never let you lose, but you have to learn to fight.” And evidently, that was the truth Susie needed. It’s one I needed to do, considering her story’s impact on me.
Yes, there will always be fights, but He is always good and won’t let us lose, even when the story looks like a bad ending. I recently thought I had lost my puppy, and all the while I was praying and frantic, she was on the property and had accidentally gotten locked in a garage. There was never a problem, but I thought it was the world’s end. A lot of our lives are spent in that kind of thinking.
And then there are the other times when the losses are genuine. When loved ones die, or the bank account runs dry. Is God any less good on those days? I don’t think so. It’s difficult to hold on to Him in the storm. But remember, when the storm rages, it will reveal the lies you believe and the truth you need. I need to remember that my union with Christ makes me bulletproof, and I can’t lose. He is always with me, but I must learn to fight.
Thank you, Susie Larson, for sharing your story. And folks, you would be doing yourselves a real favor if you went to the WBGL Podcast page and started listening to The Unfolding. The God stories there are incomparable and will give you faith in your storms.
One response
Uuuugh! Impactful!🫶