Faith Crisis? Don’t Stop Now. You’re Almost There.

I have many friends who are facing a faith crisis -- some in their health, their finances, their relationships and/or simply fear for what the future holds. After all, if we watched and listened to the news long enough, and believed it – we could all take a tail spin.
It's not that we don't believe in God or believe His Word. It is that our symptoms are speaking louder than our faith. Let's stop and consider that there is nothing too difficult for the great "I AM" Who is our Lord God. Let's strengthen our resolve to truly believe Him for complete restoration in His perfect timing. Let's be strong and immovable! Let's just BREATHE and have FAITH that God is working out everything for the best!

We know that this isn’t the end of our story. It’s a chapter in our story, and there are other chapters to write after this one. Our Savior isn’t a cold-hearted cosmic judge disconnected from our pain. He’s a loving Father and Friend who is walking with us and even carrying us through life’s most difficult times. Jesus said, “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

On this side of eternity, we don’t always see how God takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful with them, but we can have the assurance in knowing that He will redeem the circumstances somehow in His perfect timing. Perhaps some of the good He'll bring is using the pain to bring us closer to Him. At the end of each day, we can still proclaim: "God is good. All the time. And, all the time, God is good!" So don't stop now. Just breathe. Keep having strong FAITH that everything will work out for the best. You're almost to your miracle!

Psalm 107:19-21 "Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems. And He saved them from their troubles. He gave His command and healed them. He saved them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love. Let them give thanks for the miracles He does for his people."

Blast From the Past – REDEEMING S&H Green Stamps

Most of you youngsters won't remember S&H Green Stamps, but my peers will remember when we’d receive them at the check-out counter of supermarkets, department stores and gasoline stations. S&H Green Stamps were used as reward programs at merchants from the 1930s to late 1980s. I well remember collecting as many books of 1200 stamps as possible because that would mean a new appliance or household item that we selected from a catalog and REDEEM our books for the item that we worked diligently to get.

REDEEM: to buy back, to get or win back, to free from captivity by payment of a ransom, to release from debt, to remove the obligation of payment, to exchange for something of value.

I heard the story of a young woman who found herself suddenly “un-engaged” three weeks before her engagement pictures were scheduled to be taken. It was too late to cancel the photography session, so she went ahead and had a solo shoot done at Disneyland and the photos were published and went viral. But even more remarkable than the photos, was her attitude. She described the day: "It honestly couldn't have been a more beautiful experience, and I was filled with the peace and comfort that only comes from above. I'm so glad I decided to go through with the photos, and more importantly, I'm so grateful for the smallest acts of daily kindness that make all the difference in a broken world." She REDEEMED her pain for beauty and gratitude.

That story reminded me of my own daughter’s heartbreak in her early 20s after a broken relationship. As difficult that it was for her in that season, all of the tragedy was REDEEMED and used for good because it turned her heart to faith in God and service to others as she established her “Cinderella” ministries. She recorded “Cinderella: Dreams Do Come True” song that touched so many lives. I’ll give you the link at the end of this post. She created the Pledge for Purity program that taught the beauty of chastity before marriage and went across the U.S. and Canada speaking to young people about the beauty of purity. There was further REDEMPTION, as she later wore that gorgeous dress, with the addition of North Carolina’s state flower, the flowering dogwood, in the Mrs. America Pageant as Mrs. North Carolina.

Isaiah 61:3 says, "I will give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Isn't it beautiful that God says He will give us beauty for ashes? There is a redemption plan here. We give Him our ashes and in return, He gives us His beauty. Everybody has wounds; everybody has ashes--and all kinds of them. Those ashes look like rejection, a job loss, a miscarriage, a divorce, an illness, a loss of a loved one, and as my friends in South Texas -- the loss of a home. Ashes happen every place and to everyone.

In both of the girl's testimonies I mentioned above, it is obvious that tragedy can be REDEEMED for beauty AND I personally know that we grow from our experiences – good and bad. That’s WHY God REDEEMS challenges – by using them to show us our need of Him. In that way, we can count ourselves blessed when we face challenges. Jesus taught us “Blessed are those who know their need of God.” (Matthew 5:3).

Whatever it is that is overwhelming in your life today, gather it all up and put it in a safe place of remembrance, because, I assure you – REDEMPTION Day is coming where you’ll trade it in for beauty. Hold on, my child, joy WILL come in the morning!

http://staciwallace.com/cinderella/

Redeemed -- Exchanged for Value

I loved the First Sunday of Advent message brought by Fr Bryan Brooks.  He said, "This was before recycling.  Many of you youngsters won't remember when we took our glass soda pop bottles to the store to "redeem" them for some change.  But you mature folks will remember."

And, I add to that thought -- many of you won't remember the S&H Green Stamps that we put into little booklets that we "redeemed" for merchandise.  But, again, those of us who are "mature" will remember.  In fact, you still might have something around your house that you redeemed your stamps for.

REDEEM:  to buy back, to get or win back, to free from captivity by payment of a ransom, to release from debt, to remove the obligation of payment, to exchange for something of value. (Source, Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

But here's a redemption story that tops them all!   The reason for all the carols, and nativity scenes, and Christmas programs, and candlelight services, and the feeling of awe and wonder about a baby being born in a manager is that  Jesus Christ, Son of God, humbled Himself and became a man so that He could redeem us from our mistakes and the messes we make of our lives.  He came to redeem us from our sins.  Jesus paid the price for our salvation.

We used to sing a song, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to take my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace.   Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”   That is the good news. That is the debt we could never pay. God did it through His Son Jesus Christ coming to this earth to take our sins upon Himself.  And He did that, when He died on the cross for you and me.

Doesn't that give you a huge reason to give a sigh of relief.  IT IS FINISHED.  From the Manager to the Cross -- he paid the ultimate price for you and me!  He REDEEMED us.  Doesn't that make you feel that you're worth a million?