Light in the Darkest of Places
The sermon at New Life on Sunday was about Joseph, the son of Jacob (not the father of Jesus). Kyle talked about pain and what we use to defend ourselves and ultimately our limited perspective. As I re-listened to the sermon I was forced to think and reflect upon my own tendencies. One of the questions Kyle posed was "What is your go to for self protection and self promotion?" Like many others, as I thought about this questions, I realized that my primary go to is to just shut down. Don't let anyone in, don't talk about what is going on, just act happy. I will say that I have grown a lot in this in the last year, but it is definitely still my go to. How often are we told to do that? Just be normal, don't disturb anyone, whatever is going on is YOUR problem so deal with it yourself. Then when we do hear these messages, rather than actually deal with it, it often seems easier to just stuff it down.
For Joseph this looked like him forgetting his family when he was favored in the eyes of the Egyptians. He had become hard hearted and as a result was very harsh with his brothers, but not for long. He soon broke down weeping, realizing that what he was trying so hard to forget was really what he was longing for. What do you long for? Are you trying to attain it on your own, or are you seeking God in it. Do you trust that if you don't get what you want (or what you think you want) that God is still good and care about you? Kyle made these two statements that I think are hard to hear, but so true:
"If you hope in anything besides God, you may get what you want, but you will be disappointed by it," but in contrast "If you hope in God he will lead you where you least want to go and satisfy you there."
This has been SOO true in my life. There are areas of my life that I thought I would never visit again because it is just too painful or shameful, but God tells us that it is not enough to forget because he desire to redeem every dark place that we think will surely swallow us up if we go there. He tells us that he will not only be the light in those places, but he will satisfy us and comfort us in those places. So beautiful.
I am posting the link to the sermon here for you to listen to yourself, because I simply cannot do it justice. I'd love to hear what you think if you listen to it so feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.
On the New Life side things have been slowing down a bit going into the holidays. That being said, the Christmas Concert is right around the corner! It is one of my favorite events of the entire year where we all get to come together and marvel and the beautiful gift of Jesus. The band sings a lot of Christmas and worship songs and we usually have a time of prayer and a candlelit portion as well! PLEASE COME! I would love to see each and every one of you there. It is a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Also in New Life news is spring break! Hard to believe I know, but the first week of March will be here quicker than we think and while thousands of students head to Cancun, many of our New Life students devote their week to service and spiritual development. I would love for people to be praying even now that God moves in big ways as I have heard many students talk about how spring break trips were a huge step in their walk with the Lord.
Not too much on the El Salvador front right now, but I would love continued prayer for the upcoming elections. There have been some fishy situations leading up to the election and I pray that God does something radical in the country to lead them in the right direction.
Standing in awe of how bright God's light truly is,
Sigourney
For Joseph this looked like him forgetting his family when he was favored in the eyes of the Egyptians. He had become hard hearted and as a result was very harsh with his brothers, but not for long. He soon broke down weeping, realizing that what he was trying so hard to forget was really what he was longing for. What do you long for? Are you trying to attain it on your own, or are you seeking God in it. Do you trust that if you don't get what you want (or what you think you want) that God is still good and care about you? Kyle made these two statements that I think are hard to hear, but so true:
"If you hope in anything besides God, you may get what you want, but you will be disappointed by it," but in contrast "If you hope in God he will lead you where you least want to go and satisfy you there."
This has been SOO true in my life. There are areas of my life that I thought I would never visit again because it is just too painful or shameful, but God tells us that it is not enough to forget because he desire to redeem every dark place that we think will surely swallow us up if we go there. He tells us that he will not only be the light in those places, but he will satisfy us and comfort us in those places. So beautiful.
I am posting the link to the sermon here for you to listen to yourself, because I simply cannot do it justice. I'd love to hear what you think if you listen to it so feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.
New Life News
On the New Life side things have been slowing down a bit going into the holidays. That being said, the Christmas Concert is right around the corner! It is one of my favorite events of the entire year where we all get to come together and marvel and the beautiful gift of Jesus. The band sings a lot of Christmas and worship songs and we usually have a time of prayer and a candlelit portion as well! PLEASE COME! I would love to see each and every one of you there. It is a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Also in New Life news is spring break! Hard to believe I know, but the first week of March will be here quicker than we think and while thousands of students head to Cancun, many of our New Life students devote their week to service and spiritual development. I would love for people to be praying even now that God moves in big ways as I have heard many students talk about how spring break trips were a huge step in their walk with the Lord.
La Libertad Update
Not too much on the El Salvador front right now, but I would love continued prayer for the upcoming elections. There have been some fishy situations leading up to the election and I pray that God does something radical in the country to lead them in the right direction.
Standing in awe of how bright God's light truly is,
Sigourney
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