GenReal

Jeremiah 17:5-8

“The one who trusts in mankind, who depends on flesh for his strength and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed… He cannot see when good comes, but dwells in a parched place in the wilderness, alone where no one dwells… The one who trusts in the Lord is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by the water… It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.  The heart is more deceitful than anything else and incurable – who can understand it?”

She was my best friend, and I trusted her. How could she just abandon me? Sure, boyfriends come and go. But she was like a sister to me! I thought I could trust her with my secrets, my struggles, my heartbreaks. But after I poured out everything to her, told her things I’d never shared with anyone else, she said she “couldn’t handle my drama” and that she needed some space for herself. What does that even mean? So now, I’ve got nobody. I’m completely alone.

When we seek what we need most in life through human relationships, we are ultimately disappointed. Our hearts trick us into thinking we are alone in a dry, empty place, cut off from all sources of comfort.

When we look to people for things that only God can reliably provide, we are oblivious to what God is doing. We can’t see His hand wisely arranging our circumstances. We can’t hear His voice speaking truth into our minds. And we can’t feel His Spirit comforting our hearts with His nearness, putting things into perspective.

But when we run crying to Him with our needs, holding out our hands for what He is offering and nothing else, He enfolds us with His grace. Instead of feeling dry and empty, our hearts become watered gardens where beautiful things can grow.

For help entrusting your heart’s needs to God, follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming event in Epsom, New Hampshire in October, 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

John 17:26 “I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Isaiah 52:1 “Put on your strength and your beautiful garments…”

A little girl twirls in her fancy dress, balancing on her tiptoes in shiny black shoes. As she spins, she looks down at the ruffles flaring around her tiny hips and smiles. Then she looks up and risks it all:

“Am I pretty, Daddy?”

A teenage girl scoots up close to the boy she hopes she can trust. She twists her hair up into a messy bun, pulling a few curls loose to frame her face, soft and feminine. She smiles into the eyes of the one to whom she has given her heart and risks it all:

“Am I pretty?” she asks.

A young wife, her body changed by the process of carrying and nursing her first child, stands before a mirror, critically surveying the stranger that is herself. Uncertainly, she puts on the outfit she has just bought in an attempt to flatter this new woman’s figure. She turns to face her husband, who has not changed the way she has changed, and risks it all:

“Am I pretty?” she asks.

As women, we live in a tragic state of vulnerability when we make physical beauty the measure of our worth. We know this, and we hate ourselves for succumbing to it, yet we persist in forming our identity by the reflections we see in the mirrors of other people’s eyes. The solution to this is not to stop seeking beauty. It is to look into a different mirror!

Scripture teaches us that when we place our faith in Christ, our identity is merged with His. In John 17, Jesus speaks to His Father about us, and this is what He says: “I have given them the glory you have given me… I made Your name known to them…so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.” (v.22, 26). 

Paul expands this idea with the mirror metaphor. Paul says when we gaze steadily into the “mirror” of Christ, we grow to resemble Him more and more. We start to wear that glory that Jesus talked about like a garment, and it is beautiful on us! God does not want His daughters to be insecure, cringing and groveling before the eyes of people. He bids us to stand up tall and be both strong and beautiful, confidently wearing our identity in Christ, growing to resemble Him more each day.

Do you need some help finding your strength and beauty through your identity in Christ? Follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming event in October, 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

Psalm 7:9b “The one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.”

Psalm 119:26 “I told you about my life, and you listened to me.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.”

Do you know how hard it is to be invisible? Off everyone’s radar because they all think that I’m perfectly fine? I’m a straight-A student, the class vice president, and my parents aren’t divorced. I go to church and serve on a youth committee. So, what on earth could possibly be wrong in my life? Even I am ashamed of my “problems” because they are so small compared to what some other kids are going through. But they’re real to me.

I hate so many things about myself. I struggle to connect deeply with my friends, and I am so often alone. I am haunted by fears that keep me awake at night, and I wrestle with an anger so dark it would frighten anyone if I were ever to let it show. I know I need help. I drop hints like breadcrumbs that nobody follows. Sometimes I want to scream to my parents, my teachers, my youth leader, “Why can’t you see?” and “Are you even listening to me?” I have no idea where to turn.

Sometimes the people around us just don’t get it. Even if we can bring ourselves to share our deepest hearts with them, we are met with blank looks and empty words. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because people don’t take an interest in us, God must not either. If our parents feel our problems are insignificant, why would the God of the universe be any different? So, we curl up inside ourselves and hide even from God.

But do you know something? God is just the opposite of what we might expect. Psalm 7 tells us that He “scrutinizes our thoughts and emotions.” He makes a careful study of us, and He knows us inside and out. Our thoughts matter to Him, and so do our feelings. In Psalm 119, David writes, “I told you about my life, and you listened to me.”

Try this tonight, when you tuck yourself into bed: Curl up with a pillow hugged tight to your chest, and whisper your story to God. Tell Him everything, like you would a best friend on a sleepover. And when you’re tempted to feel alone in the room, hear 1 Peter 5:7 whispering back. “Cast all your cares upon me, for I care about you!”

If you could use some help connecting with God in this way, follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming events in May and October, 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

My mom caught me crying in front of my mirror again today. She told me I was being ridiculous. Like that helps. She’s always telling me how lucky I am. How she would have given anything for my long blonde hair, skinny figure, and clear skin when she was in high school.

She doesn’t have any idea what it’s like to hate what I see in that glass so much. She doesn’t have to hear the voices in my head that tell me how ugly I am. How flawed. I hear my grandmother’s voice remarking on how “cute” it is the way my ears stick out when I wear my hair in a ponytail. I hear my doctor’s voice commenting on my posture, how it isn’t worrisome yet, but I should try to stand up straighter. And I hear my ex-boyfriend’s voice telling me how stupid I look when I laugh. Loudest of all is my own voice telling me I should do the world a favor and hide in my room forever so no one has to look at me. I want to scream at my mother, “Don’t you get it? I hate myself!”

Therapists call it “negative self-talk”, but whether or not we know the term, we are all painfully familiar with that accusing, mocking voice in our heads that tells us how flawed and unlovely we are. Nestled in the middle of Zephaniah 3:17 is something truly precious for those of us who do battle with this inner voice. It’s a promise: the Lord “will quiet you by His love.” He will sooth your spirit and silence the cruel words that play over and over in your mind. And He will do this with singing. Not our singing, but His.

Are you seeing the word picture here? Pan out with your imagination and visualize what this verse is describing. Picture yourself as a crying infant in the arms of your mighty Heavenly Father. Can you see Him holding you against His chest in His strong arms, drowning out your frantic cries with His voice as He sings a song of delight over you? This is your God, dear friend. This is how He loves you.

If this sounds too good to be true, you need to learn more about how to receive this quieting love of God. Follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming events in May and October of 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

“For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.” 1 Samuel 12:22

It was his voice on the phone, but I could hardly believe it was him speaking. He sounded so cold. And the words made no sense at all.

“I don’t love you anymore,” he said. “I don’t want you in my life. It was good for a while, but things change. So, I’m done. And don’t bother texting. I won’t reply.”

The line went dead, but in my head, I could still hear his voice, repeating over and over like an echo: “I don’t love you anymore…”

It was the “anymore” that hurt the most. He loved me, and then he didn’t. I belonged to him, and then I didn’t. He wanted me, and then he didn’t. What changed? More importantly, what is wrong with me that makes me so hard to love?

Honestly, nothing hurts quite like rejection. It hits us where we are most vulnerable: at the core of our sense of worth. When we experience rejection, we internalize the message that we are inadequate, unwanted, and fundamentally unlovable.

This passage in 1 Samuel assures us that God stakes his reputation on the fact that He will never reject His people. He has bound Himself to love us, and because of His very nature He can never let us go. But this verse tells us something else that we really need to hear: God will not reject us because He is “pleased” to call us His own. Let that sink in for a minute: God loves to love us!

When we experience rejection, we need a safe place to take those feelings. And then we need Someone to take those feelings away! Learn more about how to bring the pain of rejection to the God who loves to love you. Follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming events in May and October 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.” Psalm 27:10

My parents don’t get me. They’re so busy doing their own thing, I get totally overlooked half the time. Or other times, they spend all their energy nitpicking every little thing I do.

At school, my friend group is up and down. Friends one moment and then I feel like an outsider the next.

I don’t really feel abandoned, and yeah, they all tell me they love me...but that’s just it. If that’s what love is, I’m not sure I want it. I always pictured love being a little bigger, a little warmer. A little closer. That’s the kind of love I want anyway, and I’m going to look for it. I don’t care where I find it.

Haven’t we all been there? At one point or another, every girl realizes that the love she wants, the love she needs, is bigger than what Mom and Dad, friends, or a guy can give her. For some the word abandon is an all too real wound.

This verse speaks to the issue that so many women face today: looking for love in the wrong places. Neglected and deeply hurt, girls and women of all ages are seeking out the love they were made to feel. In this Psalm, David feels utterly unloved, and he turns to the Lord. He doesn’t just look for the love he’s craving...he finds it. He feels it. “The Lord will hold me close.” Are you ready to know that love?

God, I want to believe that you have the kind of love I need. I’ve been down some dark paths, and I’m ready for a change. I want to know the love you offer, and I’m ready to be held close. Show me what your love can do.

Experience the One who loves the unloved. Follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming events in February, May, and October 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

Register for the GenReal Unveil Event on February 10, 2017.