findinghopeandhealing

We all live in an “instant” society. Instant breakfast… microwaved dinners. If email is too slow, just IM or text. Most of us wouldn’t be able to tolerate the slow speed of a dial-up Internet connection any more (if you even remember those days!). 3G is too slow for all we want to do on our smart phones—we need 4G. If the speed limit is 75, most of us will be going 79. Chances are, if this blog is too long, you won’t read it! We’re all in a big hurry.

In contrast to going through life in a hurry, God talks about endurance.

             “You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” Hebrews 10:36.

Webster¹ uses the example of a marathon runner having endurance. It defines endurance as:

             “the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.”

The point is time. God is in no hurry. His perspective is eternal, and I believe He wants our perspective to become eternal as well. Often He accomplishes His purposes through the difficult things that seem to go on and on.

When we trust God day after day, when nothing seems to change; when we learn through hardship that He is faithful and can be trusted, we are doing the will of God. And what is this promise Hebrews says we receive? A deeper, richer, more vibrant, more real relationship with the God of all eternity.

So I challenge you today, to slow down, to let God speak to you, to listen, to trust, and to endure. God is in this with you for the long haul.

¹ 7/22/13 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

I am always amazed when I read my Bible, how different God’s perspective is from ours. The things that God values are not our natural values. We value comfort, peace and happiness. God values the things that discomfort, distress and suffering accomplishes in us.

Now, I’m a Marriage and Family Therapist. People come to me for help with the many difficulties in their lives they can’t seem to fix. And I believe God can use therapy to bring hope and healing to our hearts and our relationships. Many people ask me, “Doesn’t God want me to have a good marriage, obedient children and a balanced budget?” I believe God does want these blessings for us, but He has something far greater in mind for us than these earthly blessings.

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the concepts of suffering, trials and testing. Who in their right mind would want to suffer? Not me! I want only the good things God has to offer. But if we are satisfied with these earthly blessings, it’s very possible we will miss out on the very essence of God’s blessings!

Paul certainly didn’t want to suffer either, and yet suffering was exactly what God used to allow Paul to experience intimacy with Him. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul tells us he was tormented by a “thorn in the flesh.” Wikipedia¹ defines thorn in the flesh as “a colloquialism used to describe a chronic infirmity, annoyance, or trouble in one’s life.” We don’t know what kind of chronic trouble it was, but we do know that Paul asked God three times to remove it. But God didn’t.

In what circumstances have you found yourself that you wanted out? Maybe you’ve prayed and prayed that God would intervene. Heaven is silent. I know the feeling! It’s hard to understand where God is. Why would He allow some chronic problem to go on and on and on and on? Doesn’t He care?

What God does want to change is our perspective. He wants to separate us from our craving for comfort and peace and a trouble-free life, and bring us to a place that we desire to know Him in a deeper way regardless of our circumstances.  God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” In other words, God wanted Paul to know that, no matter how difficult things get, or how long they go on, He is enough.

Not only is God enough, but it is actually through the very difficulties that seem so overwhelming at times, that He shows His strength in our lives. It is only in coming face to face with our own weaknesses, our own inability to fix things (even through prayer!) that we can, not just know, but truly experience intimacy with God. That is what God values. That is what He knows will really bring us peace.

Paul experienced a change in perspective. From a desire to be free of his suffering, he came to embrace something greater. When he was finally able to turn loose of his desire for comfort, God came in like a flood, sweeping over him with grace and peace and strength.

So what is your perspective right now? What have you asked God to change over and over and over again to the point of discouragement? Do you need a change in perspective? Do you need to experience God’s grace and peace and strength more than you need a stress-free life? It’s a wonderful trade-off!

What was Paul’s response? “BRING IT ON! If this is what it takes for me to know more of God’s grace and strength and to experience Him in a more real way, give it to me!”

¹ 7/20/13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_in_the_flesh

Welcome to my blog!

Let me start by telling you a little about myself. My name is Brooke Seager, and I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist in Wichita, Kansas. The foundation of my therapy practice is my personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So to start out, let me share one of the best explanations of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that I’ve ever heard:

“The gospel is the good news, that at the cost of his Son’s life, God has done                       everything necessary to enthrall us with what will make us eternally and                     ever-increasingly happy—namely, himself.” (John Piper)

Now that the foundation has been laid, let me share with you some other important things that inform my practice.

1)     The sovereignty of God. I believe God has a unique plan for each one of our lives and that He uses absolutely everything in our lives to accomplish his purpose in and through each one of us. That means He even uses other people’s sins against us to accomplish that! How amazing is that!

2)     The goodness of God. Everything he allows in our lives (even the bad stuff!) is because of his own inherent goodness and lovingkindness.

3)     The wisdom of God. God uses many influences to accomplish his purpose in our lives. I believe he uses people, including therapists, in much the same way that he uses physicians for the healing of our bodies.

4)     We were created to bring reflect his glory, not our own. When we get that right, everything else seems to fall into place!

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantel of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified. (This is a prophecy about what Jesus Christ came to earth to do, and to continue this work through His Spirit)

These are hard-learned lessons over a lifetime of asking hard questions of God. I’m a seeker, wanting to understand who God is and how He works. I hope to share some of these hard-learned lessons with you. Stay tuned…