Growing in Resilience
Day 31, Read Philippians 3-4
Reflection: Focus Me, based on Philippians 4:6-9
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Almighty God,
Most powerful, most near, most good
I surrender my worries to you
My overthinking, my foreboding, my dis-ease
I ask, you supply
I reveal my angst, my weakness, my reality
You bring goodness and mercy all the days of my life
Thank you for your steadfast love
You are Faithful Forever
Thank you for your saving power
You are Resurrection and Life
Thank you for grace upon grace
Your generosity overwhelms my fear
Your peace surpasses all I need and understanding
Guard my heart with your peace
Guard my mind with your peace
Guard the fullness of me in the fullness of Christ Jesus my Lord,
the Prince of Peace
Focus my attention and hope on your goodness:
Your truth, your honor, your justice
All are at work in your world
Focus my attention and hope on your goodness:
Your purity, your delight, your commending
All are at work in your world
Focus my attention and hope on your goodness:
Your excellence, your praise
All are it work in your world
All are at work in me, my situation, this very moment
Focus my attention, my power, my resources
To keep doing all you show me to be right
All I am learning and receiving and hearing and seeing in Jesus
Focus me on your promises that I may persevere
That I may grow in resilience and hope
That I may stay true no matter the season or situation
That I may be effective in bearing your grace and peace
And in bringing honor and glory to your name. Amen.
Imagine walking through the grocery store. You and others are picking out their food as usual. Now imagine every person you encounter is wearing a sign revealing the truth of their life
New baby, no sleep for three nights straight
Caregiving for a sick spouse
Just lost my job
Grieving the death of my mother
Desperately lonely, how do I make friends?
All of a sudden, that trip to the grocery store is very different. You are seeing what is often difficult to see.
What would be on your sticker?
The truth is we must always be kind, we must always be compassionate because we never know what someone else is going through.
The trust is that when we face trouble there’s far more to it than what we can see on the outside.
Think about a time when you were going through something deep and dark, something scary. something you have never faced before, or something that’s raising it’s ugly head again. There’s the stuff that you can see, but there’s the stuff you can’t see
emotional toll
mental exhaustion
weariness down to your bones
Then there’s your soul. What is going on with your soul?
Our soul is like an inner stream of water that gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other area of life.– John Ortberg, Soul Keeping
In the midst of this trouble, is this stream of living water getting stopped, dammed up? Is it changing the direction? Is it going deeper than you could ever have imagined? Is it drying up, like a desert, like a wilderness?
The song I cling to in the midst of trouble: Precious Lord take my hand. Lead me on. Let me stand. I am tired. I am weak. I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
What gets the water flowing in my life is singing. And sometimes I can’t even get the words out and so I just let my soul sing.
What gets the water flowing again for you? Because when we face trouble its far than what we can see.
Sometimes we can see the source of the trouble
We’ve brought it on ourselves. The trouble is the consequence of a choice we made.
Sometimes its someone else’s choice. They want what they want and we’re an obstacle (through us) or a means to an end (use us). Or we just get caught it the backwash of someone else’s sin, the ripple effect and we’re collateral damage.
Or it’s the reality of living this side of heaven, the reality of living in a broken world. The Fall due to Original Sin is a universal condition. Every relationship is broken -with God, with others, with our true self, with the earth. It’s a reality on an individual level, group level, and systemic level.
There are times we can see the source of the trouble and there are times we cannot see it. It’s far deeper. It’s plain old evil and an Evil One. It’s a cosmic organized struggle against God and the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
We try to be strong on our own. This is not a battle we can win on our own and it’s not a battle we have to win on our own. That’s the grace of it. That’s the Good News of it.
Yes we play a part, we make choices, work, and strive but it is also about allowing ourselves to be strengthened by Almighty God. We can refuse or choose the strengthening. (Cooperating and collaborating with God)
Ephesians 6:10 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God
Sometimes life feels like a battle. God wants to strengthen you and protect you.
We try to be strong on our own and we try to protect ourselves
Put on our own armor – financial security, connections, achievement, expertise, stiff upper lip, my big girl pants
It’s like David going out to fight Goliath, the giant. (That’s how our troubles can feel. King Saul wants David to wear his royal armor, his human armor. It doesn’t fit, doesn’t work, weighs him down. David refuses and faces Goliath in God’s armor.
So much of what we are facing is beyond us, something we just can’t fix in our human strength.
Ephesians 6:10 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God
The Whole Armor of God – Verses14-17
belt of truth
God helps us to know what is real and not real
God helps us hold on to perspective in the midst of pain
breastplate of righteousness
covers our heart so we stay in right relationship and have a heart of peace
shoes for your feet, make you ready to proclaim the Gospel of peace
The Gospel of Peace is the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace
who Jesus is, his sacrifice, his salvation, his hope and healing, power, and promises
Jesus is the foundation, the strong rock on which we stand
Stand on the power of story = Jesus’s story intersects our story, thanksgiving and testimony to God’s goodness in the past and in the present
shield of faith to quench the flaming arrows of the evil one
Evil One takes sniper shots after us, feels like we’re taking hit after hit after hit
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)
helmet of salvation
Who I am in Christ- I am a child of God, I am beloved and blessed of God, I am made in the image of God and nothing can separate me from the love of God and my salvation in Jesus Christ
Know God’s voice and hear God’s voice. If I can’t hear it my brother or sister in Christ will speak it to me.
My mind stayed on the goodness of God no matter the circumstance. Nothing changes the goodness of God.
sword of the Spirit which is the word of God
Why we must read the word of God regularly
Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. It is always scripture and prayer. Always and forever.
Call to action- Prayer Care
Pray with you after every service: Sundays after the 9:00 am and 10:30 am services, Wednesdays at 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 7:00 pm
Become a prayer keeper
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Withstand = take the hit, persevering, enduring, resilience
Stand Firm = push back against evil
The Evil One is our real and primary enemy – not other people, not ourselves, not God, not the system.
The Evil One devours and destroys and steals
The Evil One is a deceiver and liar
The Evil One twists situations into something they were never meant to be
That’s why we need truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the word of God and pray, pray, pray. When we face trouble there’s far more to it than what we can see.
You are not alone. You are never alone. You do not have to face it in your own strength. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God.
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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Sean and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9:00 am or 10:30 am, or join us live on our Facebook page at 9:00 am Sundays or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
Day after day, week after week, I’m blessed by the wisdom and beauty of God passed along by Steve Garnaas Holmes on his blog Unfolding Light. Consider subscribing to the goodness.
Steve most often bases his posts on his walks through the beauty of Colorado or on the week’s Gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary. As such, this week Steve’s been writing on themes from Luke 15:11-32, most commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son.
These writings have been extraordinary, so I’ve gathered them here with Steve’s permission. May they challenge you and inspire you to more and more embody the wasteful, reckless, extravagant love of our God in Jesus. – Lisa <><
Click here for the Younger Son’s Prayer (2016) Click here for the Older Son’s Prayer (2016) Click here for the Prodigal Father’s Prayer (2016)
The word “prodigal” does not mean “wayward,” as many believe (based on our tendency to join the brothers in making judgments). It means wastefully or recklessly extravagant, extraordinarily generous, giving “prodigiously.” The term was meant to refer to the younger son’s lavish living—but it’s really the father who’s prodigal, isn’t it? The father extends generous grace and love to both sons when neither of them “deserve” it.
– Steve Garnass-Holmes, Prodigal Father (2013)
Excerpt from Prodigal People by Steve Garnaas Holmes (2013)
The prodigal father extends love and blessing to both his sons. No demands, no qualifications, no judgments, no favoritism. He sets aside any judgment of either son, simply wanting to be in relationship with them. He loves them both, offers himself to them both, and invites both of them to share his joy.
If our Prodigal God is this generous, forgiving and inclusive, how can we be otherwise? If God declines to judge and punish, how can we? Jesus embodies God, giving himself for the sake of the poor, welcoming the outcast, taking his place among the condemned, offering nothing but love and life. And we seek to follow him, to be godlike in the same way.
A Prodigal People’s Prayer by Steve Garnaas Holmes (2016)
O Prodigal God, wastefully loving,
recklessly extravagant with grace,
excessively generous with forgiveness,
liberal with tender mercy and compassion,
lavish with hope and delight:
you shower us with love
that we are not prepared to receive.
You know the hurt beneath our fleeing,
the fear enclosed in our anger
and our clutching of what is deserved.
You embrace us freely and passionately,
free from our past, knowing and healing our pain,
in the present moment, celebrating.
You have recklessly given us your love:
may we spread it wantonly, give it all away,
spend it on the unlovely, waste it on the unworthy.
May we set aside our pride and practice delight.
May we claim again the siblings we have spurned,
and gladly celebrate those we have excluded.
May we offer hospitality to the unlovely,
forgive where it is unwarranted,
and love when it is unreasonable.
In your love may we love lavishly,
without exception or measurement.
Yes, it will break our hearts;
we shall be taken advantage of, and worse—
we shall be crucified, and only your love will remain.
And then for us, who have died and are alive again
you will give a great feast.
By your grace may this life be a reunion,
a celebration, a resurrection,
that in prodigal love we may know your joy,
your giving, dancing, feasting, running, embracing joy.
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Steve Garnaas Holmes retains the copyrights to his work referenced and posted here. Contact him directly for posting and publishing considerations.
This worship resource features selected verses from Psalm 59 and the timeless hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. (United Methodist Hymnal #139, verses 1, 3, 5) Feel free to add more verses as desired. Feel free to use the traditional version of the hymn or consider Christy Nockels’ contemporary version made popular at the Passion Conference.
ALL SINGING:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near, join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do who with His love doth befriend thee
Instrumental music continues during the scripture reading
Psalm 59:9, 16-17 NRSV
ONE:
O my Strength, I will watch for You
For You, O God, are my fortress
ALL:
I will sing of Your might;
I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning
ONE:
For You have been a fortress for me
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
ALL:
O my Strength, I will sing praises to You
For You, O God, are my fortress
The God who shows me steadfast love
ALL SINGING:
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the amen sound from His people again
Gladly forever adore Him
Colours of Happiness by Camdiluv ♥ via Wikimedia Commons
Worship Resource: Joyful Praise
ALL SINGING: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee vs. 1
Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!
Instrumental music continues during the prayer
ONE OR ALL PRAYING: from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto
You alone are holy, Lord God, Worker of Wonders.
You are mighty
You are great
You are the Most High
You are omnipotent, our holy Father, King of heaven and earth.
ALL SINGING: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee vs. 2
All thy works with joy surround thee,
earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.
Instrumental music continues during the prayer
ONE OR ALL PRAYING: from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto
You, Lord God, three and one, are our every good.
You, Lord God, all good, our highest good-
Lord God living and true.
You are charity and love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are patience.
You are security.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
ALL SINGING: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee vs. 3
Thou art giving and forgiving,
ever blessing, ever blest,
well-spring of the joy of living,
ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our brother,
all who live in love are thine;
teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the joy divine.
Instrumental music continues during the prayer
ONE OR ALL PRAYING: from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto
You are justice and temperance.
You are riches altogether sufficient.
You are beauty.
You are meekness.
You are our protector.
You are our strength.
You are our refreshment.
You are our hope.
You are our faith.
You are our most profound sweetness.
You are our eternal life, great and admirable Lord,
omnipotent God, merciful Savior!
ALL SINGING: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee vs. 4
Mortals, join the mighty chorus
which the morning stars began;
love divine is reigning o’er us,
binding all within its span.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music leads us sunward,
in the triumph song of life.
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Prayer from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto
Orbis Books (April 1, 1982)
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.
The United Methodist Hymnal #89
Text: Henry Van Dyke
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven
Public Domain
Growing in Resilience
Revlisad.com 
