STAY HUNGRY

On By Lynda VaradaIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled – Matthew 5:6

Hunger is our friend.  We’ve learned to approach it as a problem to solve instead of a highway to travel.  The state of hunger flushes our bodies of impurities, produces in us clarity, discipline, lightness and energy… yes energy.  Our hunger is a powerful catalyst for change in our life.  We all wake up each morning with a hunger to connect, to be informed and to hear from God.  A life hid in Christ is not just a neat turn of phrase; it’s a reality available to all of us.  When Jesus speaks of a food you know not of He’s speaking of that very same blessing, that very same sustenance He talks about in Matthew 5:6.  To hunger and to thirst is to endure what feels like emptiness while God works in us His transforming process.  It is up to us to create the space in our crowded lives for the Divine presence of the Holy Spirit, to prioritize His presence in our day above all else.

I’ve heard it said that there are people who eat to live and there are people who live to eat.  I clearly live in the latter group when it comes to my food.  I’ve never forgotten to eat.  When I hear people say something like ‘I haven’t eaten a thing today’ and its ten at night, I remain puzzled at how that is even possible!  For too many years I hated myself for not being like the person who forgets to eat.  How thin could I be if I could just ‘forget’ to eat?  I forget everything else it seems without much difficulty, why not food?  Well in my spiritual walk it’s just the opposite.  I can easily forget about the banquet breakfast God has waiting for me in my quiet time while I sit there mindlessly snacking on the never ending drivel of information and entertainment resting in the palm of my hand! Of course the phone is a utility in our modern world, I get that, but it also has the power to usurp human connection and become a surrogate to real meaningful interaction with God, our families and with others.  When I’m particularly attached to that device in the palm of my hand, I try to remember what I would see if I were looking in the palm of my Savior’s hand.  And when I do that, it’s pretty easy to see if I’m honoring God or self in that moment.

It is a paradox.  That is, to stay hungry to be filled.  I desperately want all that Christ has for me and the hungrier I am for it the more blessed I am in it.  Protect your hunger and the energy it contains in all areas of your life.  Remember, your hunger serves a unique and transforming purpose that helps us, as the proverb goes, ‘wind ever upwards’.  (Prov 15:24)

పుట్టినరోజు శుభాకాంక్షలు

On By Lynda VaradaIn Uncategorized8 Comments

  

My heart swells with such gratitude to God who gave me such an amazing husband and on his 50th birthday indulge me as I lay praise on him for the man of God he is. 

As you know, he wasn’t always. I remember when he began asserting spiritual leadership in our home. It was hard and scary. Eventually we came to the realization that it all comes down to trust. Trusting his good intention for us, trusting in the grace of God when we misstep and knowing regardless of the outcome, to walk in obedience to what God was showing us was really to TRUST GOD. Earlier this year, Venkat had to make a huge decision.  One that I knew was his alone to make. It hasn’t been easy, but I must say that it’s been a testimony to his commitment to follow Christ and the call on his life. I’m just so proud of this man for putting one foot in front of the other and leading our family in the direction God has called us to serve. I look forward to our future together and give thanks to God for YOU every day.

So here’s to you Venkat Varada AKA Chinna Babai on your 50th! I couldn’t be more proud to be your wife and continue this journey with you. Thank you for leading us. Thank you for making this picture and so many more like it a regular part of my life. Thank you for showing me so much love in sickness and in health and for richer or for poorer. I know I’m in good hands with you and I thank God for you. 

As the apostle Paul describes his heart here, it reminds me of you and the beauty of your faith in Christ.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Phil. 3:12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

The Power of Discouragement

On By Lynda VaradaIn Encouragement4 Comments

Discouragement.

It comes upon all of us.   Years ago I was having a conversation with my daughter and I needed to remind her of the fact that, like an ocean wave, these huge negative emotions we experience that threaten to engulf us, are relegated to the laws of nature.  Like that wave, a huge emotion has no choice but to creep back into the ocean from whence it came.  Though this sage advice is not much help when you are in the midst of it, it is curious to note how one day you can be overwhelmed and the next day not when no hard circumstance has changed.  I have experienced that too many times to count.

Many people think that depression and discouragement are weapons of the enemy…and they are. I believe that too.  I also believe God allows these experiences to sharpen our focus and address wrong thinking.  Perhaps, in His mercy, he allows us to see where our broken thinking leads without actually physically letting us go there.  All I know is that no one is immune to it.  We all go through periods of sadness and periods of deep discouragement.  If God permits this then what can we learn from it?

Yes,  discouragement is a powerful force, but it is only a mighty gust at best, incapable of sustaining itself.  Our thoughts, our thinking, the beliefs we cling to either perpetuate the discouragement or vanquish it.  This is why our thinking is our most powerful ally, or our most effective enemy.  In the midst of trials we can feel blown apart as all the work we’ve done seems to add up to nothing.  So we must ask ourselves, “if God purposed this, what could be the purpose?” When we are blown apart, perhaps if we are fortunate, it may just blow the lid off of something sealed tight in our hearts. And if we examine our hearts, taking our pain into prayer, trusting in Truth and not in emotions, we may find that all along His intention was to reveal our unacknowledged sin.

Just months after the passing of David Wilkerson, I received one of his daily devotions from David Wilkerson Ministries. The topic was the root of fear.  Here it is in its entirety. I want you to read it and see if you see the correlation to discouragement:

David Wilkerson Today from November 29, 2011

THE ROOT OF FEAR

by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

“If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear” (Job 11:14-15).

All fear can be traced
To a spot
Of sin and secret iniquity
Harbored in a man’s heart.
He has the power in his hand
To put it away.
Despising the riches of God’s grace,
His . . . forbearance and longsuffering,
He continues in his evil way,
Allowing in his own life
What he condemns in others,
Becoming a law unto himself.
He seeks to be God’s favored exception
To escape wrath and tribulation.
But God is no respecter of persons,
Judging all alike,
Promising glory, honor and peace
To those who put evil away.
And then he shall lift up his face without spot.
He shall be steadfast
And shall not fear,
For only where sin lies at the door
Is man afraid.

Wow!  Nothing is easy in this, especially if it reveals sin in our heart, but be blessed because revealed sin is the precursor of true repentance.  If  ‘to repent’ means to turn away from, how can we turn away from something we neither see nor believe is at work in us?  Enlightenment comes with a cost.  Through humility (what we bring) and through grace (what God brings), we can experience an exchange rate that is unparalleled anywhere else on the face of the earth.  As the prophet Isaiah tells us in 61:3, “He gives us 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.”