Preaching The Gospel To Yourself
As parents of children with special needs we all have been on the receiving end of biblical clichés that often hurt more than they do good. They come from well-meaning individuals, but instead of sweet promises that the Bible holds, they feel like heavy words. Words that often leave us feeling guilty or less than enough. “God will not give you more than you can handle” is one of my favorite phrases to hate. While I do believe this is true when it comes to TEMPTATION like the verse says in context, this doesn’t apply to the children that we have been given.
My daughter is often more than I am capable of handling. Caring for her in the way she needs is way beyond my abilities, and I am constantly falling short. So this verse, if I took it the way people say it, makes me feel like I just need to do better, since it implies I can handle it since God gave it to me.
In 2 Corinthians 12 God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more in my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” THIS is GOOD NEWS! And the better news is that the bible is FULL of these life-giving promises.
When I was a newly married women I had a friend from church who presented the idea of “preaching the gospel to yourself.” I was going through a hard time and so it was something I started practicing. It is a pretty simple tool I have used over the years to keep myself rooted in what the bible ACTUALLY SAYS and to remained encouraged even in the hardest of times.
So how do we preach the Gospel to ourselves? I start by sitting down with my Bible and a notebook. Then, I go through a few passages and simply write out the promises held in it. This is really easily done in Psalms, but it truly works anywhere you are reading. The point is being intentional about writing these passages out and having them to fall back on when the hard times come.
For the purpose of this blog I decided to use a Psalm to pull a few promises from.
Psalm 9.
9- The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10- Those who know your name trust in you, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.
12- He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
16- The Lord is known by his acts of Justice.
18- God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
In living this “Chronic Life” we must be firmly rooted in Christ. Discouragement is real, and ready to become a true thorn in our sides. Taking a few minutes daily to ground ourselves and remind ourselves who God is, and what His word says, helps remind us we are not alone in the brokenness of the world.
Written by Laurisa Ballew
