Saturday 25 July 2020

Helpful Quotations.



I’ve read some things lately that have touched my heart and I thought I would share them:

“Running from suffering makes one suffer more and more, from even the small things, until you hate your own life.”  

From The Seven Story Mountain, by Thomas Merton.

I found this to be true in my own life. I kept running from my inner pain and the more I ran, the worse I got. I did come to hate my own life, because it was a life of misery of pain in my past and pain in the now and thinking there would only be pain in the future. This attitude makes you open to death and suicide. You know there will always be bad things happening in the future and feel helpless and hopeless.

Tauren Wells sings about this in his song, Until Grace. I too thought my life was cursed:

I knew I was broken but there was no one that I could tell,
Praying felt like I was throwing pennies in a wishing well
And I started believing I was cursed to carry this weight
I was listing the reasons of why I should walk away

[Chorus: Tauren Wells & Rascal Flatts]
Until grace called my name
Oh, I didn't know I could be free
Until grace found me

Until grace broke these chains
Oh, I didn't know I could be free
Until grace found, Your grace found me.

God has taught me through other Christians that I must live one day at a time, so when I start thinking about sad events I go to him and tell him how I feel. He always helps and comforts me.

Another quote I found meaningful is this:

“In our culture, ‘Love’ is soft. In God’s kingdom, love is a battle cry.”

I wish I could tell you where I heard this, but I forgot to write that down.

To love our enemies, to love those who make fun of us or hurt us is a battle. A spiritual battle. It goes against our culture and our human nature, which is about protecting ourselves. Certainly, we don’t have to hang around people who are physically or verbally abusive, but we do have to forgive and love them. God’s love, not human love. His love is higher than ours.

The last quote is another one where I don’t remember where I found it; I will try to do better at that.

“I am not a solid rock, but I am standing on one.”

I love the imagery of that and it is true I am not a solid rock. I’m like the sand or bending reeds in the wind. But I need not be afraid because I am standing before God on Jesus the rock. The one who made the universe and loves me.