Forgiveness | The Truth About Forgiveness

Despite being one of the core virtues of the Christian faith, forgiveness is really not all that simple. As with most concepts that rely heavily on human behaviors, there is a lot of fuzzy, gray areas when it comes to actually defining and acting out forgiveness in a concrete manner. The commandment to forgive others as Christ has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32) can be laced with what ifs…

What if the person who wronged you hasn’t repented?
Does forgiveness ever cross a line into enabling?
What if the person who wronged you is abusive?
Is forgiveness a “one and done” or a daily choice?
Does true forgiveness mean you have to forget?

We all likely have our anecdotal answers to these questions, many of which were learned the hard way. But to be honest, there aren’t many clear cut, definitive solutions in Scripture to the gray areas of forgiveness. And this ambiguity has allowed many church members or leaders to speak up and instruct fellow Christians on how to forgive, but they have done so based on their own perceptions of forgiveness.

Jesus practiced forgiveness in the most extreme way when he chose to take on the pain of all of our sins and wash them clean, dying in our place as he removed the debt we owed for our sins. He had the ability and strength of heart to offer this degree of forgiveness because of his supreme divinity. For us to begin to model our behaviors after the perfect example set by Jesus, we are instructed to draw near to him and allow his Spirit to transform and renew our minds.

Thus forgiveness is a process, birthed out of the journey of becoming more like Jesus.

The challenge for many of us who have grown up in the church is to work out what we have been taught about what forgiveness is and how it’s accomplished, to determine if what we’ve learned lines up with the plumb line of Jesus’ life. I would argue that forgiveness is not something done overnight, it doesn’t require the act of forgetting, it is not always done prior to healing, and it’s very much not black and white. (see more about common myths of forgiveness here: https://relevantmagazine.com/life/9-big-myths-about-forgiveness.

Forgiveness is modeled by Jesus and commanded by the Father, with promised assistance from the Spirit. By pursuing how and when and why to forgive, we are presented with the chance to press in closer to the Trinity and to be refined by the renewing of our minds.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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About the Author

Britni is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health Care Coordinator.

Interruptible | Interrupted by Emotion

Growing up with an older brother, I often found myself doing whatever it took to be just like him. And in my mind, this meant avoiding anything “girly” and doing my best to blend in with “the guys.” I taught myself to belch, tried to pretend that I enjoyed watching football on t.v., and convinced myself to numb any and all intense emotions, to eliminate the risk of being seen as an overdramatic girl.

All these efforts didn’t produce much, especially considering my brother likely didn’t even notice all the energy I was putting into being as cool as he was. In fact, the most substantial consequence of this futile attempt was to become pretty proficient in numbing my emotions. Unfortunately, as I later went on to engage in counseling and studying mental health, I learned that I cannot selectively numb emotions--by training myself to stifle my feelings in an effort to not come across as needy or dramatic, I successfully developed the skill of numbing all my emotions, including the pleasant ones.

As I have grown in my discovery of how God wired our minds, bodies, and spirits, I have learned the vital role that our emotions play in our interactions with others and with God. He has designed our emotions to function as a sort of red flag, to give us information about our environment and to catch our attention when we need to focus and respond.

Feeling anger can inform us that our bodies, minds or hearts have been violated.
Feeling joy can catch our attention and direct us to fully savor the moment we are experiencing.
Feeling sadness can prompt us to recognize a reality of loss and to then take time to grieve.

God created human beings to be beautifully complex, to emulate His own complexity as we are created in His image.

But, the only way that we can use our emotions to their full potential of utility is to allow them to interrupt us. Emotions can often produce a physical response in us that is inconvenient, embarrassing, or inconsistent with the persona we are aiming to project. In my case, engaging my emotions fully would certainly disqualify me as a cool, even-keel ‘big kid’ like my older brother.

And as I matured, the potential for emotional disruption was amplified as I feared that by allowing emotions such as fear, anxiety, disappointment, or even excess joy or satisfaction, I would somehow expose a weakness or character flaw to those around me. So in numbing these emotions, I maintained some semblance of ‘control’ while also completely missing out on the messages those emotions were trying to provide for me.

Holy Spirit speaks to us through many avenues, including our thoughts, physical sensations, and our emotions. In order to receive His promptings, guidance, and affirmations, we have to be available to be interrupted. This often requires setting aside our agenda to tune into what He may be speaking to us through our emotions.

When I am able to allow myself to fully engage in whatever feeling I have in that moment, not to be completely driven by it, but rather to soak in it and acknowledge it, I have the opportunity to engage in a rich and raw connection with Holy Spirit. Without shame or fear, choosing curiosity and trust, I can press into my emotions and notice where He is moving and speaking to me.

It is in these sweet moments of abandoning my agenda and apprehensions, I allow the interruption of an emotion and engage with the message Holy Spirit has for my heart.

Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head. 
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

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About the Author

Britni is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health therapist.

Seeing the Other | Not So ‘Other’ After All

Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

There are numerous psychological studies that prove that humans are wired to fear what is different. Humans originally developed this perspective to keep ourselves keen and cautious, but due to emotions, media, and natural human flaws caused by sin, that skill has progressed into behaviors that are often bigoted, destructive, and ultimately driven by fear.

Some of those same studies highlight strategies to replace that fear with kindness and compassion. There is a theory called the “identifiable victim effect” which poses that it’s easier to empathize with an “other” when you put a name or a face to him or her, rather than be flooded by a sea of statistics.

In other words, when we hear an “other’s” story, we connect to the humanness in him or her and find that we aren’t so different after all, and there is no need for fear or intense self-preservation.

Learning the life events that led up to why that man is standing on the street corner with a sign, why that women is selling her body every night, or even why that 20-something made a bomb threat at the local mall, can allow us to understand how that person that seems so different had the capacity to make a decision that seems so far from what you or I might choose to do.

This isn’t requiring a justification of people’s actions or an exemption from due consequences, but rather just allowing us to hold space for love, connection, and acknowledgement of our fellow human beings. 

When Jesus instructs us to love our enemies, that is the ultimate instruction to see the “other.” And in all honesty, it feels pretty unrealistic in our day-to-day life. But nevertheless, He commands us to love those that are the most “other,” and to pray for them.

In a recent Ted Talk by author Sally Kohn, she discusses the spectrum of hate that human beings are capable of, ranging from hidden bias, to bullying, to terrorism. She then challenges listeners to examine where they fall on that spectrum, and to be willing to adjust those behaviors toward actions of love. In responding to Jesus’ call to love our enemies, increasing our efforts to “see the other,” it can begin with the small things.

• Being willing to increase awareness of our own hidden bias.
• Taking time to hear the story of someone we may have passed judgement on.
• Enduring what may be uncomfortable to enter someone else’s world, try their food, learn their culture, find what’s human.

It is then that we begin to act as the “true children of our Father in Heaven.”

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About the Author

Britni D’Eliso is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health therapist.

New Creations | Sacrifice and Atonement

As we prepare to transition to a new theme for the CitySalt blog, join us in reflecting on what God revealed about becoming a ‘New Creation’ in Him. This is ultimately accomplished through the atoning blood of Jesus, as illustrated in this The Bible Project video below.

The Bible Project website www.thebibleproject.com

New Creations | Upside Down Jesus

Jesus instructs us to love our enemies, he was a King born in a manger, and he declares that the last shall be first in his Kingdom. Likewise, when we consider being made new and born afresh in him, we must first be willing to die. In John, Jesus uses the seed as a metaphor for new life that comes from death: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” John 12:24

Leave it to Jesus to design life that flourishes in the face of death. I love how Jesus moves in the most unexpected and upside down ways. He tends to keep us on our toes.

But how does this work when it comes to humans?

Graham Cook puts it this way:
“Freedom begins when you consider yourself to be dead to sin and alive to Christ. He who is dead is free. Dead people rest in peace. They do not struggle with life. As Christians, once we are dead to sin, we can then focus on simply practicing being alive to God.” The act of surrender and the humble releasing of our own agendas, efforts and desires allows us to drift into the peaceful presence of Jesus, where we are fully pliable and available to his fruit-bearing work.

I’m reminded of doing the “dead-man float” in the swimming pool when I first learned to swim. Slowly allowing my arms and legs to go limp, trusting the water and my breath to hold me up. Hearing only the gentle current of the water lapping by my ears. My body relaxed and open to float wherever the water carried me. As a kid, it seemed almost magical that simply taking a deep breath and holding it, with limbs extended and relaxed, would keep me from sinking.

There is a beautiful serenity found in letting go. And holding our plans and our desires loosely is so counterintuitive to the tightly clenched fists we use to fight our way through this world. It’s almost backwards, or upside down, if you will. But as we release and sink into the arms of the Father, that envelop us like water, we allow the old and dying to be sloughed off. When we allow our sinful desires to die, we are free to rest in the healing presence of Jesus. And it is here that he has the freedom to move, to make us new, and to use our lives to create a plentiful harvest.

While you have taken the time to pause and read these words, take a posture of stillness to hear the Lord speak.

Soul be still, and Spirit speak. Ask Him to reveal what still needs to die or needs to be released so you can fully surrender to the float, surrender to His presence and allow Him to make you new.

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About the Author

Britni D’Eliso is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health therapist.

First Sunday of Advent: Hope

My world has been a bit unsteady lately. Marriage and parenting are constant guessing games, as I wonder how to best love my husband and kids well. At work, my job duties have been shifting in a manner that feels far beyond my control. The current state and future of our nation seems divided and uncertain.

Life has left me grasping for consistency and familiarity.

God has brought to mind a scripture that has been a faithful source of comfort and peace throughout my years of walking with him: Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). Typically I resonate most with the idea of stillness and the need to quiet myself. But in this season, he has highlighted the command to know. When I read this word in this context, it speaks of confidence, an intentional effort to believe the truth that He is sovereign, He is divine, He is God.

This sense of deep knowing is a necessary ingredient of hope. And hope is the platform from which we dive into the season of Advent. For those who have walked with Jesus through past holiday seasons, you may be familiar with the season of Advent being one of anticipation, waiting, and preparation for the sacred celebration of the coming of the King, first in human form and then when he returns. Borrowing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Advent can be described as

“...when the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor’s birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.”

In expecting, preparing for and desiring the second coming of Christ, we are asserting that we have hope in something greater. We are walking out the knowledge that our Redeemer God will come and restore. When life seems especially unstable, we are given the opportunity to lean further into hope, and to further define what our hope is in.

What is it that we know for certain?

The red and golden leaves will fall from the trees every fall, and green leaves will take their place every spring.
As long as we are living earthside, we have breath and a beating heart.
Human beings will forever need and crave love and connection.
God’s presence will never leave us.
His mercies are new every morning.
He was, is, and will always be God.

A common practice of healthy living is to maintain a daily gratitude list, to acknowledge what we have to be thankful for. There is research that proves that keeping a gratitude list decreases depression and improves overall health. In honor of this Advent season, I challenge you to keep a daily or weekly log of what you know to be true. These truths are what we place our hope in. As we dwell in the truths that are deeply known, may our hope flourish and extend far beyond the worries of today.

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About the Author

Britni D’Eliso is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health therapist.

Facing Fear

My four year old son just visited Disneyland for the first time, and it turns out he is deathly afraid of Goofy.

Something about that oversized goon with a big floppy hat, skipping around Toontown, just rubbed Shiloh the wrong way. Now I can’t say I am all that surprised, as he has not been the biggest fan of the mascots he has previously encountered (Mr. Beacon was downright villainous in our house for months after his first NCU basketball game), but I did have hopes that our weeks of preparation for this trip might have been sufficient for Shiloh to overcome his fears of larger-than-life cartoon characters.

Shiloh’s apprehension about the Disney characters proved to be the theme of the day, sparking numerous conversations about bravery. Don’t get me wrong, he had the time of his life and will surely be talking about Dumbo, Cars Land and “It’s a Small World” for weeks to come. But these thrills were sandwiched between pep-talks from Mike and I, reminding him that the rides were constructed with safety as the top priority and the characters would really only approach him if he initiated it.

Over the course of the day, we revisited a discussion that Shiloh and I have had many times in the past: you can be scared but still choose to be brave at the same time. Those feelings are not exclusive. In fact, bravery resembles love in a way, as it’s a proactive emotion that one needs to choose.

For Shiloh, he had the choice to acknowledge his fear and live in it, which would have likely resulted in a fairly disappointing Disney day. But instead, he noticed his fear, and then allowed his excitement and curiosity propel him toward courage. These moments of watching him stand in line for a “big-kid” ride were undoubtedly the highlights of the day for this momma. I knew how his heart must be racing while his determination moved him toward the front of the line. And the pay-off? Laughter and smiles from ear to ear, with building anticipation for the next thrill.

Choosing to brave the bumper car ride at Disneyland is significantly less consequential for the average adult, but we too have daily opportunities to press into courage rather than settle into fear.

My beloved state is currently being devoured by forest fires at this very moment. Recently, large populations in our country were destroyed by the power of a hurricane. Globally, wars are waged daily, innocent lives are lost, and evil persists. There is truly a never-ending supply of sources of fear that can beckon us to live in a state of constant anxiety.

And as human beings who are wired to feel and have functions in our brain designated to trigger fear as a protection mechanism, it’s natural to experience fear. Shaming ourselves or others for experiencing and acknowledging fear is not the solution. Like any other emotion, the significance lies in how we respond to this fear.

Our gracious God provides ample instruction for what steps we ought to take in response to fear, with urgings to take heart, for he has overcome….to allow his perfect love to cast out all fear….and to not choose to live in fear as he has redeemed us, summoning us by name and calling us his own.

God calls us to choose courage, being motivated by his love and by trust in his power and faithfulness. It is the same God stirring in Shiloh’s little heart to grant him the strength to face the ride with the twists and turns who also provides us with a deep well of love that sparks courage for the painful twists and turns in this life. He beckons us by name to join him and find our footing in his presence, that we may choose courage in the face of fear.

John 16:33 (NLT)
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

1 John 4:18 (NLT)
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

Isaiah 43:1 (NKJV)
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.

Confession and Community

I have to confess, today this devotional is something I really just need to write for myself. Of course, my prayer is that you may find encouragement, resonance or divine revelation as the Spirit moves through these humble words…but I just need to be upfront about where it’s coming from. Because we are family, right?

These last few weeks I have found myself feeling distanced from the Father. I’ve heard his gentle whispers, and found myself turning instead to the senseless noise of the busyness around me. I’ve caught glimpses of his goodness and hope, yet chose to remain in the somewhat satisfying despair of more bad news and disappointments that the world offers.

Living in my little corner of self-pity and exhaustion has not produced a wealth of inspiration to draw from in writing a devotional blog. But it does allow me to be honest and to expose a season of struggle. On top of that, by forcing myself to sit down and take inventory of how I’ve spent my time and where I have let my thoughts wander as of late, I can call that out and invite the Spirit to come in and renew, transform, and refresh.

So thank you, for (likely unknowingly) functioning as my plumb line of accountability. Thank you for functioning as the Church: a space for people who are broken to come find God’s healing in form of connection and relationship. Brené Brown, a favorite author of mine and familiar to many in the City Salt clan, describes this so beautifully: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” And we know that the Church is meant to be the ideal environment to practice vulnerability, as we come together to kneel before the Cross.

My prayer and hope is that my confession and transparency may not simply function as a story about me. May you be reminded that the divulging of our struggles and burdens is what allows us to find others who have an extra hand to help us carry them to the feet of Jesus. May you reflect in gratitude on the beauty of being a part of a body that breeds connection and safety. And may you find healing and sweet grace when bring yourself back to the faithful forgiveness of our Lord.

Hebrews 10:19-25 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

"Drawing Near" by Britni D'Eliso

I’ve noticed a recent trend in parenting articles (my go-to leisure reading in this season of life) that something parents can do to help support the development of boundaries early on in their children is to resist the urge to “force” their kiddos to hug or kiss friends and family members before they are ready. Naturally, some children are wired to be more physically affectionate than others and take no issue with handing out hugs like candy. My son Shiloh falls into a different category of being more hesitant to make physical contact with others, often even with people he knows. It has been a learning curve for us as parents to respect his process of establishing safety and to encourage him to continue observing his own feelings and perception of his surroundings before conforming to the norms of what might unfairly be expected of him. And of course, as a three year old, he can also demonstrate some defiance in refusing to give a hug to someone he knows as safe, just to be a stinker.

Our tender Father is the one who designed us with these boundaries and emotional safeguards with the intent that we are prepared to protect our fragile hearts in this often treacherous world. And He follows that design so beautifully by giving us that same respect and time to acclimate before we are ushered into his arms. He remains available, with a posture open to us pressing near, while allowing us to enter his embrace as we feel safe and ready to be vulnerable. 

He knows that some of us have been wounded, and our sense of safety has been skewed, while others of us are wired to be cautious and contemplative before diving into the depths of the relationship he has intended to have with us. And for those of his children, he understands that forced proximity might more resemble restraint and suffocating rather than intimacy.

When we are ready to surrender our qualms and receive the embrace that he offers, we find a source of endless revelations and the deep calling out to deep. Beyond that, we have permission to be still. In the arms of the Father we experience complete peace, as his arms wrap around us and calm the fidgeting of our anxious thoughts and restless hearts.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. Isaiah 40:11

"Choosing Hope in the Midst of Turmoil and Darkness" by Britni D'Eliso

One might say our nation is experiencing a bit of unrest at the moment.

With demonstrations stretching across the globe, political parties standing staunchly in their opposing views, and a social media platform that allows for endless disparaging comments with little accountability, our milieu can feel pretty grim.

This reality is one I can’t overlook or ignore as I sit to reflect on what God has been speaking to my heart and what He is prompting me to share. Interestingly enough, this song sounded a bit familiar, so I went digging through City Salt blog posts and discovered I had written on a fairly similar topic months ago.

At the risk of sounding redundant, I feel compelled to continue this message. One of choosing hope in the midst of turmoil and darkness. The Holy Spirit has been impressing upon me the dire necessity of the Church to not shrink away from the strife and the tension of this world.

I’d venture a guess that the majority of us prefer to avoid conflict. I certainly find myself in that boat. However, it is the very silence and reticence of the Church that cultivates a breeding ground for darkness to flourish. We can see in the words and actions of humankind that our world is crying out for proactive peacemakers to stand up and stand out.

In the book of Jonah, we read of a man who is mandated by God to bring the Truth of the Gospel to a broken people. And, we see that same man resisting obedience to that call. Now clearly, the context of the account of Jonah doesn’t quite mirror our experience in 2017 America, but there are some significant convictions to glean.

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.” Jonah 1:1-6

Not only was Jonah avoiding the call of God on his life, he fell asleep during a time of danger and unrest in the life of the broken people around him. We see them cry out in desperation, made vulnerable by their fear of impending death and destruction and thus primed for the beauty of the Gospel to bring hope and life to their hearts. 

And after Jonah awakes, apprehends the situation and the danger his boat mates are in and acknowledges the God of the sea and storm, the crew’s cries turn to ones of praise and surrender to that one true God.

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Jonah 1:15-16

The people in our spheres of influence, those that are on the boat with us, are desperate to survive this storm that faces our nation and our world. But many of them are lacking the hope that we hold so tightly, and are scrambling for something secure to grab ahold of.

God has so graciously chosen to include the humble people of his Church to be the ones to offer a life saving hand of hope. Those of us who are able to trust in the unwavering goodness of God and have tasted it firsthand must wake from our slumber and fiercely contend for those that are slipping away, unaware of the Source of true life.   

“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
Ephesians 5:14

"We Have a Choice" by Britni D'Eliso from Coalescetribe.com

11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:11-20
 

Sometimes, it feels like evil is winning.

When we take the time to pay attention to international news and allow ourselves to be inundated with sobering statistics of genocide, war, human trafficking, and poverty. Or when we open our eyes to our own backyard and witness accounts of racial unrest, shooting, rape, and neglected children.

God, where are you now?

While walking the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia after dusk a few years ago, I encountered this overwhelming sense of defeat firsthand. As I watched middle-aged, caucasian men whisk young, Cambodian women down dark alley ways right in front of my eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder, is God really the Victor here?

And I know I’m not the only one to have asked this question.

David questions “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” (Psalm 13:1-2)

For all of time, men and women have suffered moments of broaching their breaking point, and are left with only enough breath to utter a feeble “why?”

And for most of those men and women, there is eventually a season where they begin to catch their breath, regain their strength, and press on. What is it that equips humankind to survive these moments of intense oppression? And how to we access that momentum in our place of deepest despair?

What God reminds His people of, through the powerful commission given by Moses before they seize their promised land, is that we are given a choice.

Each and every experience we have as His children presents an opportunity: a fork in the road. Give into despair, resign to your last breath, and choose death,

or

take another step forward and choose life. Our God is a God of hope (Psalm 65) and as His heirs, we have access to that hope. The key to unlocking this hope, and the subsequent will to keep living, is to make a proactive choice. We are mandated to choose life, choose hope, and to choose to believe that he is indeed Victorious–then, now and forevermore.

Viktor Frankl, a well-known psychiatrist and neurologist who survived three years in Nazi concentration camps, derived a surprising message of hope from his time of extreme suffering during the Holocaust. He concluded that despite losing family, health, and basic human dignity, there is still one thing that will always remain: man’s ability to choose. He stated that “everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

And for those of us who have tasted and known the hope of Christ, that means we will eternally have the choice to choose to believe in the promises of the God we follow. He has promised us life, a future, and a life one day marked by beauty and the absence of tears.

Join me in choosing, for today, to cling to the hope found in his promises, in the midst of the evil and darkness that is all too familiar in this world.

Then your face will brighten with innocence.
    You will be strong and free of fear.
You will forget your misery;
    it will be like water flowing away.
Your life will be brighter than the noonday.
    Even darkness will be as bright as morning.
Having hope will give you courage.
    You will be protected and will rest in safety.
You will lie down unafraid,
    and many will look to you for help.

"Rest for the Weary" by Britni D'Eliso

The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.
Psalm 23:1-3

Having survived my first two weeks as a mom to a 3 year old and newborn, I’ve discovered a few things about rest.

Rest has looked a bit different these days, but not in the way you might think. Most hear “newborn baby” and picture parents with bags under their eyes, milk-stained shirts and a question of how long ago their last shower was. Mike and I definitely identified with this stereotype on round one of having a newborn.

But this time around, we’ve been gifted with a little one who basically sleeps all. the. time. As in, I frequently have to wake her up just to eat! (don’t worry, I’m not assuming she will always be this way…just enjoying it while I can!)

Having an exceptionally sleepy baby paired with having a saint of a husband who takes on the bulk of caring for our toddler while my body recuperates from giving birth has allowed me ample time for rest.

And it has allowed me ample time to confirm a suspicion I already had about myself:

I’m not too great at rest.

When given an hour or two with no obligations and a sparse agenda, I so often find myself either squandering it away on mindless entertainment or building a meaningless to-do list of tasks that could really be done another day.

Isn’t ironic that we so often find ourselves counting down the days until the weekend, or our next vacation, or the kids’ bedtime, and then when that oasis arrives, we don’t really know what to do with it?

These pockets of time in our day are prime opportunities to reconnect with Jesus and reorient our perspective to that of the Kingdom.

So as of late, my question has been “why am I not seizing this unique season of rest to pursue Him deeper?”

And the answer he has provided comes down to identity. Honest and authentic rest requires vulnerability—releasing our grip on the masks we so carefully adorn ourselves with throughout our daily mission of living successful, productive lives. When we reach the point in our day or our week where our to-do lists can be retired, we are left to scurry in search of another mask (i.e. social media, zoning out, or just creating yet another to-do list).

Or we can choose to let our naked face be humbled and encounter the face of Jesus, who welcomes us to the place of rest and accepts us without any additional accomplishments required.

This degree of vulnerability can feel foreign and sometimes painful at first, but it allows us to walk into the embrace of the Father who heals and loves and invites us to come to Him… for He will provide rest (Matthew 11:28).

So true rest is found in the grounding of our identity in Christ—allowing ourselves to stand exposed before our God and bathing in his pleasure and acceptance. And the beauty of this rest is that the more we seek it and abide in it, the easier it becomes to enter it as he further refines our identity.

As we happen upon seasons of newfound rest, or choose to intentionally set aside more time for rest, may He grant us the confidence to practice vulnerability and to fully receive the healing, comfort and growth that His rest provides.

"His Private Garden" by Britni D'Eliso from Coalescetribe.com

I’ve long wrestled with how exactly I was to interpret Song of Solomon and find some tangible meaning for it in my life. Whether it was 7th grade Britni giggling at innuendos I pretended to actually understand, or 19 year old Britni trying to examine the text under the lens of the Old Testament course I was taking in school, I just couldn’t quite make it fit.

Sometime around my junior year of college, God gifted me with a season of unique interpretation of this scripture. I am in no way claiming that the original intent of the text was to emulate how God views us, or anything even close to that. However, during that tumultuous time in my early twenties of beginning to learn just who I really am in Christ, this book was for me.

God gently prompted me to open His word to the seemingly forbidden pages of this book and whispered the instruction to read it as a love letter from Him to my heart, with His Spirit providing the depth of meaning that pierced in the way only He can do.

He bathed my questioning heart and uncertain mind with reassuring words of how I captivate him, capture his heart, and stand alone and unique as his chosen lily in the fields. I relished in the freedom of being vulnerable, transparent and…accepted.

Isn’t it true that we so often find ourselves needing to be reminded of how he views us? We are his treasured ones, the ones he deemed worth dying for, and he sees us as nothing less–even in our most shameful moments.

And the tender words of Solomon, and for our sake today, of Jesus, remind us that we hold deep wells of life and meaning. Jesus himself has planted within us a secret garden, meant for only him to trod its paths and enjoy its beauty. May we be able to recognize the wellspring that abides within us, and have the courage to invite him in.

To read more of Britni D'Eliso's writing and from the Come to the Garden series, visit: http://coalescetribe.com/

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