Vol. 16 No. 08 | February 25, 2013

I suspect there are some reading these words might take exception to the title: We Do Not Lose Heart. You do not mean to lose heart. You do not want to lose heart. You know that you should not lose heart. But, you are. You are losing heart…or at least you feel like you may be losing heart.

You have dreams that seem to be fading. You think about opportunities that have passed by, or never came. You see obstacles that are too big and too powerful to overcome. You are faced with problems that seem to have no solution. You feel the pressure, you are perplexed, you feel you are being attacked on every side and from the most surprising people, and are afraid that if you are knocked down one more time you make not be able to get back up. You feel weak, tired, and defeated.

What are you going to do? What can you do?

Start here. Read what Paul wrote,

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12, NIV84)

Does that sound like you? At least the “hard pressed, perplexed, in despair, persecuted, abandoned, and struck down” parts sounds familiar. The other things? Not so much right now.

Read what he wrote at the end of the chapter,

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV84)

Feel any better? Does it help to know you are not alone in your struggles? Do you find any comfort in hearing that others have experienced the same difficulties? Maybe? Maybe not? I know. I have been there.

Before you quit take a deep breath. Before you slump off into depression and hopelessness because you still cannot figure out how to fix all the stuff that is wrong in your world read this third paragraph that fits between the other two. This is where Paul reveals the reason he does not lose heart.

He wrote,

“It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-15, NIV84)

Did you see it? It is right there in the middle of the paragraph. One sentence:“…because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.”

That is the secret. That is the key. That is what can keep us from losing heart. Look up. Look at Jesus. Rely on the fact that He will raise us up. Our struggles show that the Gospel is at work in us. Our difficulties will be turned into His glory. There is a lot we cannot see if we stay focused only on what we can see. This is temporary stuff. We are about the eternal.

I pray that through our faith in Jesus Christ who will raise us up we will not lose heart.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 07

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV84)

It has been a long full week. Pressures at work have been even more intense than usual. Deadlines are getting closer. Conversations are getting more strained. Because of the pressures at work your home life is suffering. It is time to rest.

The weekend was great! Traveled for hours for a time of spiritual refreshment. The schedule was full. The emotions were all over the place. You were refreshed, revived and restored. And your energy was depleted. It is time to rest.

Your vacation was the vacation of your dreams. You did everything you had dreamed of doing. You went everywhere you had ever hoped to go. You saw things up close that you had only seen in photographs. Now it is over. Now it is time to rest.

You have not had a day away from the children in weeks. You and your husband have not had a real date in months. You are tired. You are frazzled. You are on the brink. It is time to rest.

You have studied for the test for months. You have not taken a break in days. You keep thinking once you get beyond the test you take some time off, but it seems like an eternity away. It is time to rest.

We push. We shove. We put stress on ourselves. We feel pressure from others. We deal with it. We don’t deal with it. We ignore it. We try to pretend that it does not exist. It does.

We talk about rest. We think about rest. We talk about how must we need to rest. We talk about how difficult it is to find time to rest. We talk about the consequences of not taking time to rest.

Jesus’ words are an invitation that we need to heed. The words are more than just nice sounding words. The words are a promise that that there is a better way. The words promise that with God’s help life can be lived at a different pace, a better pace, an easier pace, and a healthier pace.

The words are good words and wise words. But unless we hear and heed the words they will always be just words. Jesus invites us to rest. Jesus is inviting you to rest. Is it time for rest for your soul?

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2013. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 06 | February 11, 2013

“The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for your area.” Those were the words from the computerized voice awakening me from a peaceful sleep at about 2:30 a.m. I listened. Checked the time. Got up to see what was happening. As I stepped out onto the front porch there was an eerie quiet with only the sound of storm warning horns in the distance. Although not usually unnerved by weather events, this one seemed different so I turned on the television tuned to the local station to see their weather screen lit up with severe storms moving across the area. Within in minutes the forecaster pinpointed an area not far to the east of us and issued this statement: “If you live in this area it is time for you to get to your safe place.”

Sure enough the morning light revealed significant damage had been done by a number of tornados that had moved through the area and touched down in a number of places. Along with one life lost, trees were twisted and tossed like toothpicks. The roofs of homes and businesses were torn off and tossed aside.

(As I write this, storms are beginning to move again through our area with similar concerns, and thousands in the Northeast are without power due to the latest snow storm, and thousands more are still without power or homeless because of another storm 100 days ago.)

When I hear the exhortation from the weather person to, “Get to your safe place!” I am reminded of other times in my life when I have received similar encouragement. Like when the nurse said, “You need to get to our office NOW!” And when the doctor said, “You need to have the surgery as soon as possible.” And another said, “You need to go to bed and stay for a while.” There is wisdom in hearing and heeding the warnings from doctors, nurses, and weather forecasters when they tell you get to your safe place.

There is even greater wisdom in knowing that we have a spiritual safe place where we can always go when the storm is raging, or when life is calm. God is our safe place. Consider these words from Scripture:

2 Samuel 22:2-4 (NIV84)
He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent men you save me.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.Psalm 18:1-3 (NIV84)
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 62:6-8 (NIV84)
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 91:1-3 (NIV84)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

Psalm 144:1-3 (NIV84)
Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
O Lord, what is man that you care for him,
the son of man that you think of him?

Do you have a safe place? When the storms of life are raging, He is a safe place. When the weather is really bad the forecasters may say, “Do not hesitate. Now is the time to get to your safe place.” In life, the urgency is even greater. “Do not hesitate. Go to your safe place now.” He is there. You will be safe.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.

Vol. 16 No. 05 | February 4, 2013

When weare added to the body of Christ we become recipients of certain and immediate blessings. Kingdom life is the best life. One such blessing is the immediate formation of relationships with other members of the Body. In a section from Paul’s letter to the Romans consisting mostly of instructions on how to develop and

maintain those relationships we find these words: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15, NIV84)

If you have been in the Body for any length of time there is a strong possibility that you have enjoyed not only being the giver of this blessing, but also being the recipient of the blessing.

As members of God’s body we rejoice with those who rejoice.

When a friend’s son graduates from high school we rejoice with them.

When a friend’s daughter is crowned homecoming queen we rejoice with them.

When a friend gets a promotion we rejoice with them even when we really hoped we would get that promotion.

When a brother wins an award we rejoice with them.

When a sister is recognized for her hard work and contributions to her profession we rejoice with her.

When our son and his wife have a child our brothers and sisters rejoice with us.

When our daughter gets married our brothers and sisters rejoice with us.

When a new sister is added to the body we rejoice with her.

When our friends celebrate another wedding anniversary we
rejoice with them.

When a friend goes home to be with the Lord we rejoice with them.

As members of God’s body we mourn with those who mourn.

When a friend loses his job we mourn with them.

When a friend has an automobile accident we mourn with them.

When a sister has a miscarriage we mourn with her.

When a brother gets so depressed that he wants to end his life we mourn with him.

When a friend tells us his wife has moved out we mourn with him.

When a friend shares that she has learned that her husband has had an affair we mourn with her.

When a couple we have loved for decades inform us that they are getting a divorce we mourn with them.

When a friend confesses an addiction we mourn with them.

When a friend reveals they were abused as a child we mourn with them.

When a friend admits they cannot let go of the hatred we mourn with them.

When a friend who has walked beside you in faith for years tells you he is struggling to hang on we mourn with them.

When God created us He knew there would be times when we would need someone to hear the cries of our heart and the fears of our soul, so He designed His living Body to meet those needs. When God created us He knew there would be times when our hearts would be filled with so much joy that we could not contain, so He designed His living Body so that together we can share the joy of our salvation.

Let us rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. And let us always remember how blessed we are that have those who rejoice with us when we rejoice and mourn with us when we mourn.

Tom

© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.