Wednesday Wanderings is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined While You Wait to Return to Normal. This week we will investigate how keeping the end in mind helps you maintain perspective in the middle.  When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV 

We await that day when we will be with the Lord with peace in our souls for Christ has tipped the scales in our favor. His righteousness has been imputed to us. We must work to please Him, not to satisfy the laws demands, but to demonstrate our hope  in Christ, even though we do not yet see Him.

I love how so many of the great hymns have this final upward look near their end. Spafford’s here is no exception to that. We are able to maintain our perspective amidst conflict and chaos, fear and even death, because our trust in how this all ends gives us hope. We will no longer be away from the Lord, but with Him forever.

PARABLE: Through COVID-19 and now the unrest caused by social injustice each of us has had the opportunity to come back to some compass that informs our perspective by helping us to see bigger truths in the middle of these troubles. It is easy to allow fear and anger to seep into our souls, but there is no place for the first, and the second must be held in an open hand before our God. How are you handling all this stress?

• Quiet yourself for a moment. Think of an empty chalkboard. For those of who who are more comfortable with a smart-board feel free to envision that instead, but make certain it is empty. Imagine it for a moment. Blank. Nothing there.
• Now, in your mind, think of these last few months and write on your blank board the first word or phrase that comes to mind.
• There is no right or wrong, just what is. Think about what is on your board. How have you been dealing with that? Honestly. Whether just in your thoughts or prayers, or if those have translated into words or actions, what have you done?

Each of us has been trying to find a plan to deal with these things, but the influences in our lives can either push us toward or away from God. In the next section, I want to take a few minutes to help you cultivate and maintain perspective here in the middle.

We have hopefully all started the journey with Jesus, and none of us reading this post have ended it. For the purpose of this exercise and your journey through the rest of this middle part between salvation and eternal rest we want to encourage you to think about how you are dealing with what you wrote on your chalkboard. There is a perspective, should we endeavor to keep it, that allows the journey to be marked with wellness of soul, even in the middle of life’s most challenging moments and seasons.

I hope you have begun your journey with Jesus. If you have not,  your spiritual journey may be a blank chalkboard.  If that is the case, you can resolve that today by asking Him to forgive you of your sins, accept His gift of eternal life, surrender control of your life to Him, and commit to follow wherever He leads.  Once you have settled that issue these next steps will be even more helpful to you.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the question: How is my eternal perspective impacting the way I deal with temporal challenges?

The soul training exercise HERE can assist you in deciding how to deal with our now in light of the your then.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete the H.E.R.E. exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you grasp the Hope you have in Christ which is yours now in part, and will be yours one day in full. 
• Next,  Envision your current challenge in light of your eternal reality.  In the moment things can be so overwhelming, but if we can learn to develop some perspective they begin to shrink in magnitude.
• Then, Remember we are promised a much better future than any of us are currently experiencing and it is important to recall that routinely.
• Finally, Enlist the help of the Holy Spirit to keep this perspective until the day you finally see Jesus face-to-face.

PRAYER: Jesus, help me to broaden my perspective when things here in the middle seem to threaten to crush my soul. I know better, but sometimes I forget. Thank You for the promise of Your return and an eternity with you. In the eternal name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to breathe and let the work of your wandering fill you with strengh.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post How to Maintain Perspective in the Middle appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:
Judgment Seat – https://pixabay.com/vectors/justice-silhouette-scales-law-147214/
Chalkboard – https://pixabay.com/vectors/blackboard-chalkboard-education-307799/}

BONUS REFLECTION: Over the next few weeks we will be pressing into this great hymn, but it makes a nice companion to our thoughts today as well.  Be resonant and hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined Being Well and Staying Well. This week we will investigate how to be strong and courageous While You Wait to Return to Normal.  When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE:  Psalm 27: 14 Amplified 

God, the Promise Keeper pledges to us that we can wait confidently and with courage for Him to strengthen us while we move toward normal.

The song writer begins the stanza with an objection, he states, “BUT Lord, tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait. In his recovery from the warfare of grief and calamity Spafford encouraged himself with God’s Word. He clung to the promise of blessed hope and rest of his soul on earth and ultimately in eternity as he walked through his grief process.

PARABLE: Grief is quick to come, but slow to leave. We can’t rush suffering. If we could, I would sprint like Jesse Owens to the recovery finish line. During the month of May, ten days apart, I experienced the death of my father-in-love and my uncle (his brother) to COVID-19. The monstrous roller coaster of the illness, circumstances of the death, and the conclusion of the ride hijacked my emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Not everyone experienced COVID-19 as I did but everyone experienced COVID-19.

As we discussed two weeks ago, loss and grief is something everyone will experience. No matter what type of loss you are experiencing (job loss, break up or divorce, loss of loved ones, loss of normalcy due to COVID-19, or a terminal diagnoses), there is no short cut, We have to experience the process.

While you Wait to recover from the silent war of COVID-19 and return to normal you will experience one, some, or all of the stages of grief in any order. 

The stages of grief are:

• Denial (a coping mechanism)
• Anger (a masking effect)
• Bargaining (a way to postpone sadness, confusion or hurt)
• Depression (overwhelmingly feeling foggy, heavy, and confused)
• Acceptance (understanding loss is a part of life and examining what it means to your life now)

My temporary roller coaster can travel the track of any of these on a given day. Yet I know that there is no suffering or situation greater than the PROMISED hope and rest of my soul found in the arms of Jesus. Suffering is a part of our journey, it is the medicine that cures us from walking on our own. It is the weight too powerful to lift that drives us to scream, pray, and/or worship while we wait for the warfare of sorrow to terminate in the powerful and peaceful Presence of God.  

COVID-19 is a national trauma that the world will need to grieve. As some of the world sprints back to normal and other parts of the world jogs the marathon of the normal recovery race from COVID-19, we will approach the recovery of the grief of sorrow differently. Some of us have already returned to gatherings without our masks, our hugging and hand shaking, and traveling for summer vacations. Others are still wearning masks, avoiding crowds, and carrying hand sanitizer like a treasured jewel. While some are cautiously testing the normal waters with masks sometimes, 6′ feet social distancing, and some small gatherings. No matter how you are recovering from the trauma of COVID-19, while you wait, you can wait courageously, confidently,  and in expectation that God will deliver us from this pandemic plague and any other loss we have experienced.

PONDER and WANDER:  In my last Wandering we examined the losses and unresolved grief within our life. If you choose, Ponder the question: What stage of grief am I currently most experiencing as a result of the losses of COVID-19 or any other loss in my life?

The soul training WELL exercise can assist us in examining our loss and strengthening our hearts as we wait for the grief process to end.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete the W.E.L.L. exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Wait courageously, confidently, and expentantly as you ask God to identify which stage of grief you are currently most experiencing as a result of COVID-19.
• Next,  Invoke the assistance of God to strengthen your heart. Ask speficially for strength regarding in the stage you are experiencing .
• Then, Listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Finally, Lay down your burden and receive the strength of Jesus.

PRAYER: Jesus, help me to wait in courage, and confidently expect you to strengthen my heart. The silent war of COVID-19 has faught us in ways we are unaware. While we wait to return to a normal let our response be to pray, worship, and seek you during this recovery process. In the healing name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to breathe and let the work of your wandering fill you with strengh.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post While you Wait appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:
Stages of grief: Google images
Wait on the Lord: Google Images}

BONUS REFLECTION: Rest and resolution don’t always come easy. You may experience more rain, while you wait. If you choose, listen to this song and be reminded that God is never late so praise Him while you wait.

Wednesday Wanderings is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering, we considered Being Well and Staying Well. This week we will think about Once It’s Nailed, Will We Leave it There? When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: 2 Corinthians 5:21  (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Did you catch why God did this? For our sake. This is a remarkable truth. Jesus became sin for our sake, to make our souls well. So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. There is nothing stopping you, except maybe yourself.

Spafford quotes Psalm 146:1 in the last line of this stanza.  There is much that causes us to admonish our soul to praise the Lord, but this truth must be near the top of the list. Christ bore our sin to the cross and we can leave it there so it no longer plagues us. Praise the Lord!

PARABLE:  In your hand you hold a hammer. Though it may pain you to think about it, you are part of the reason Jesus is nailed to that tree. Did you drive those nails in that pierced His hand and feet? No, of course not.  You were not there. But was Jesus being nailed there, becoming sin for us, partly your responsibility? Absolutely. To accept your need of a Savior means coming to an understanding that He was willing to go to the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Standing here on this side of salvation that is plain to see.

But I wonder, is the hammer still in your hand? The nailing part is complete. But are there times when you need the other side of the hammer? Times when if you were honest with yourself you are willing to admit you twist the hammer around to the rounded claw part and pull out some of the nails holding your sins in place? We would all have to admit that if our sins are nailed to the tree, we must be guilty of prying them loose at times, otherwise there is little explanation for why they still seem active in our lives.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the question: Are there sins I am inclined to pry free from the cross?

So how do we break free from this pattern of nailed and prying? Can it even be done? Good news. Yes it can, but it will require a desperate dependence on the Holy Spirit to maintain the wellness of soul available when our sin is nailed to that tree. 

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete the Leave It Nailed exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Discern any patterns that would reveal a sin you are inclined to pry off the cross. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring even subtle, subconscious things to mind.
• Next, Acknowledge the bent and rounded off nail heads markings those sins in your life
• Then, Confess the patterns of sin that may be marring your righteousness.
• Finally, Surrender those sins to Jesus. He has already paid for them. Nail them to the cross one last time and ask Him for the ability to live them there, even when they catch you eye in the future. 

PRAYER: Jesus, You became sin for me and I want to die to those sins that were nailed to the cross with You, all of them. Help me to walk in righteousness continually transformed to be more like You. In the healing name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to breathe and let the work of your wandering fill you with peace.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Once It Is Nailed, Will We Leave it There? appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:}
Nailed – https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-nail-symbol-wood-old-woods-3080144/
Hammer – https://pixabay.com/photos/hammer-white-tool-equipment-repair-451987/
Hammer and Nails – https://pixabay.com/photos/hammer-nails-wood-board-tool-work-1629587/