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

Laurisa Ballew is a nurse by trade and mother to a special needs child by fate. She fiercely believes hope and grief walk hand in hand in life, and that storytelling is the universal language that connects us all.  Laurisa has three daughters and writes about the constant humility of parenting in her blog Raising A Sisterhood. 

When I Feel Alone & Forgotten

Do you have any verses in the Bible that are extra meaningful to you and that encourage you when you feel alone, overwhelmed and like no one gets it? 

A couple of verses I love are Isaiah 40:26 & 27 which say, “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?”

I have lived out in the country most of my life. I love being in nature and outdoors. Throughout my life I’ve been able hike and backpack in a few different mountain ranges. At my current stage of life and where we live, a walk around the pond on our property or a short hike at the local state park still lets me enjoy nature frequently.

Several weeks ago, my husband and I were out for a walk at night. The air was so fresh and clean and prompted me to take big refreshing breaths filling my lungs to capacity and releasing it all. We stopped, looking up at the stars. They were so bright and gorgeous and twinkling. The sky was full of them. And we noticed a big, bright orange one that I had never noticed before. A quick check on a phone app quickly told us it was Mars. We stood there and marveled at it, then went and got the boys out of bed so they could see Mars too. They laid down in the driveway and we soon discovered we were in the midst of a meteor shower and shooting stars were regularly darting across the sky. I laid down on the driveway with them and marveled at it all. 

That brings me back to Isaiah 40:26, “Who created all the stars?...He brings them out…one after another, calling each by its name…not a single one is missing.” When I feel alone and forgotten, I find that it’s important for me to reflect on verses like this one. Verses that remind me who God is, “Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” I may feel alone and forgotten. But that’s not true. This God is MY God. I’m his beloved child. He created all of these stars and planets and meteors. He knows each and every star by name and brings each one out every night. How much more does he know MY name? He even knows the number of hairs on my head. He sees and knows my joy and my pain. If you doubt it, check out verse 27. And then there’s the end of verse 28, “No one can measure the depths of his understanding.” Not only does he see and know, he understands fully, completely, beyond measure. And, if he is your God, the same is true for you. You’re not alone or forgotten or overlooked. He sees you. He knows your joy and pain and he understands.

Written by Sarah McGuire, Co-Founder of Hope Anew