I'm Not, I Am

I’m not homeless

I’m not hungry

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

I’m not lost

When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

[Jesus parable of the prodigal son.] Luke 15:6

I’m not hopeless

Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:5

 


I’m not powerless

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

I’m not alone

You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God.

Ephesians 2:19 CEV

I’m not helpless

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20 NIV

I’m not depressed

For the Lord delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.

Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

Psalm 149:4-6 NLT

Hard days. Pressing situations. Frustration.

Wounds. Confusion. For all of us. All real.

Still.

I am protected

You are kind, LORD,

so good and merciful.

You protect ordinary people,

and when I was helpless,

you saved me

and treated me so kindly

that I don't need

to worry anymore.

Psalm 116:5-7 CEV

I am comforted

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever--

John 14:16 Amplified Bible

I am loved

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

[Words of Christ] John 15:10-12 NIV

I am secure

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” [Jesus speaking] Luke 12:6-9 NIV

I am gifted

Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.

1 Peter 4:10 CEV

I am free

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Romans 6:22 NIV

I am blessed

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:8 NIV

I am grateful

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:27-29 NIV

Sometimes, when I find emotions or confusion rising inside me, or lies that the enemy would have me believe, I find it comforting to review what I know to be true. I’m Not, I Am is fruit of one of those times.

I know God is true. I know He is faithful, even when I am not. I know I belong to Him alone. I know that my God and Savior wants me, and He wants you, too. What I am and what I am not that I recorded here, is all because of the saving relationship I have with Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, the plan of the Father. These truths for me, can be truths for you, too, if you choose to ask Jesus Christ into your life.

God doesn’t promise his followers continual ease here on Earth. But in Him, we receive strength to face the realities of this world, and the joy of eternity with Him. And, this I’m Not, I Am poem shares just a short list of the ways the One True God has blessed me, because He is the God of grace, mercy and love, not because I have earned it.

Scriptures copied and pasted from Biblegateway.com. 

Photo by Helene Bergren


©Helene Bergren. All Rights Reserved.

Gratitude Journey

     Plenty. My life demonstrates one filled with abundant blessings. My Pepsi One can overflows. And I'm not talking about my tendency to spill.

     On Thanksgiving, I want to direct my gratitude upward, beyond the textbook stories of harmony and peacemaking between the Native American tribes and the pilgrims, beyond the beginning of a nation that has generally blessed me, but hurt others. I want to direct my gratitude above the human-created ideals. To the Maker of the Universe, the Lord of my life.
     In his sovereignty, God could have made me the same person from the start, and placed me in an entirely different situation. But He didn't. He put me in this life, rich with friends and necessities covered, and in a safe neighborhood. He gave me a husband that worships Him, and us three healthy, precious children. He is the God of grace beyond comprehension.
     In her book, Radical Gratitude, Ellen Vaughn, explores countless stories about people who remain thankful, or find thankfulness again, through and after sudden family deaths, captivity, persecution, rape – and everyday life.

As a great friend of ours has said, a thankful heart gives a greater sensitivity to beauties both divine and mundane. He often finds himself sitting still in the moment and looking at what's around him, processing it all with different gradations of appreciation, but using the same word throughout: “Oh, Lord! I love my family. I love my house. I love the sky. I love this cup of coffee. I love You! Thank You!”

That's not only gratitude, and love, and worship. It's called joy. Radical Gratitude, pg. 205

     Granted, it's not always easy. But I believe to start the habit, I can record thankful thoughts in a gratitude journal, and when complacency, tragedy and difficulty enter, perhaps I can find thankfulness anyway. I do keep a gratitude journal, irregularly, and it is a good practice.
     Vaughn relays a truth, though, that Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, emphasized to her. Gratitude is not at all a spiritual discipline, it is, in fact, the response of a believer to the Spirit's work. In turn, Vaughn says, if grace is the gift of God (which it is), so too is the gratitude that grace creates. I want both. Please, in Jesus' Name, Lord, give me an overflowing of both.
     In my life, I've experienced loss of friends and family. Disappointment about goals and prayers God has answered, “No,” or “Not yet.” Frustration with myself and others. Anger about injustice. Wounds. Grief. (And I confess to dishing out these, too.)

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:16-18

     Lord, That's a tall order. I can't do that without You doing it in me. Please, please help. I know if you give me a heart of gratitude, you'll also be giving me a heart full of joy. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Helene's Thanksgiving '10 Gratitude List, Abbreviated
A phone call this week from a friend who I had not spoken with for about 10 years. For younger church friends who let me cuddle their babies, and get my fix. My women's and couples' small group friends. Children's ministry at my church. Sisters. Family. Great tunes that bring back fun memories of high school. Pepsi One. Chai. Laughter. . . .



©Helene Bergren. All Rights Reserved.