Where You Were Is Not Where You Are

June 18, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. ' Colossians 2:12

When I look back on certain times in my life, I can feel the blush begin to burn in my cheeks. No one else would notice it, but I feel like I want to crawl under my bed or disappear completely. Do you ever feel that way? I remember things I said or things I did that I would never do now. I wish I could go back and just relive that whole circumstance from my current perspective. I would have made completely different choices and saved myself a lot of grief. I would have saved the people around me some grief as well. What about you?

I hate that squirmy feeling! But when those memories surface, and they are going to surface for all of us, I need to stop and remember something. That old life is gone! I have trusted in the power of God through Jesus Christ and from the moment I did that, my life has been different.

So, should I completely forget my past? Should you? Then those blush-making memories would disappear, right? None of us like to feel that uncomfortable feeling! But what if you and I allowed those crawl-in-a-hole memories to lead us somewhere else? What if we actually took the time to recall and reflect? How can those memories lead us forward? What if remembering your old life could lead to compassion for others, recognition of your own growth and gratefulness to God for your new life?

What’s Your Source of Truth?

June 11, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. ' Colossians 2:8-9

Maybe you are like me. I love to learn and that leads me to love to research. Not like me? That’s okay. Keep reading, you might be more like me than you think!

I worked in a middle school library for almost ten years, and I loved it! First, I love books. I have always enjoyed good fiction. But I also loved having all those reference books so easily accessible. For example, my Mom and Dad traveled to Australia. “Cool! I can follow their itinerary on a map in this atlas and learn more about Australia from these books. Oh yeah! I also have access to some research websites through our library computers or I can just Google every place they are going. Maybe I’ll even find some photos! It will be almost like I am going with them!”

If it was a slow day (which wasn’t often!) I could fill the day learning about Australia and where Mom and Dad were traveling to, but if I wasn’t careful, I could also get bogged down in repeating information or even in opinion pieces on the places they were visiting. Then it would be time to apply a good rule of thumb that we gave the students: Make sure it’s a reliable source! If it’s someone’s opinion or the story of their own trip that doesn’t qualify for research.

So, where am I going with this? When it comes to learning about God what sources do you rely on? The internet? A TV preacher? A YouTube worship channel? Your own pastor? A good friend or family member? Social media? Are you certain that you are learning from a reliable source?

The most reliable resource for learning about God is the one He provided us with, the one source of truth that never changes: The Word of God. If you want to know what God is like, then take a look at the Living Word as described in the Bible. Take a look at Jesus. The Scriptures declare that the fulness of God lived in Jesus’ human body. If you want to know God, then you need to know Jesus. Are your sources helping you know Jesus?

Here are a few things to consider in evaluating your sources.

What You Need Right Now

June 4, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. ' Colossians 2:6-7

Life is a challenge. Okay, Okay! I know that is an understatement! You have got some things going on in your life right now that seem…well, overwhelming. Right now, you are just trying to figure out how to navigate those unforeseen and unusual circumstances. What can you do to just survive? More than that, what can you do to live out your faith in such difficult situations. How do you apply faith to this?

I am so sorry that you find yourself in such an overwhelmingly difficult situation. I have also found myself in my own unforeseen and unusual circumstances. In those seasons, sometimes it can seem like taking a breath is the most difficult thing you can do. Continuing to simply live when such a huge wrench has been thrown into the works of normal seems unbearable. You find yourself in survival mode. You do what you have to. You eat, sleep, work and pay the bills. You take care of your family and do your best to just keep going. But is that all there is? Could there be more? Could there actually be a way to do more than just live? Could there be a way to thrive even as you struggle to survive? Could this be an opportunity to let Jesus to permeate every part of your life?

What if God has chosen to allow this situation in your life for the purpose of helping you grow closer to Him? What if what seems like the worst possible thing could turn out to be one of the best possible things for your relationship with Christ? It’s hard for you to see it now. I get that because I have been in your shoes. Oh sure, it wasn’t the same situation. It was my own normal-life-grinding-to-a-halt moment in time. I felt disoriented and unsure of how to do more than just get by, but as I chose to cling desperately to Jesus while I continued to do the basics – get my kids to school, go to the grocery store, do the laundry – I found Jesus to be closer than I expected and, even though I couldn’t really articulate it, I knew that He was carrying me through the darkness and I was learning how to better build my life on Christ. You are, too. You can’t see it now, but you are.

What To Do in the Dark

May 28, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ' Colossians 2:2-3

It was a dark time, one of the darkest times I have ever lived through. A loved one was struggling through the shadows of depression and every day was a battle. Just getting out of bed and facing the mundane tasks of daily life took every ounce of my strength. The future was a wall of fog. The present was a slog through mud with a backpack full of rocks. It was all I could do to just get through today.

Maybe that is where you are right now, Dear Friend. I am so sorry that you find yourself in such a difficult time. One thing I heard from a conference speaker that helped me through my darkness and gave me perspective was this: Every trial will come to an end. As those words rang in the arena and resounded in my ears my heart knew that they were true. In the course of a time that seemed to last forever, I eventually experienced that truth in my circumstance. You will experience it in yours. You will.

But while you are in it, can I offer you some perspective? Something I learned from walking through my own fog? Jesus really is enough. He is!

All You Need Is Love?

May 21, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“All you need is love.” So sang the Beatles. “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Maybe you are too young to remember that one. I used to know every word of so many songs that were on the radio. Maybe you know a few, too! Popular songs are full of a desire for love, a recognition of the need for love. It’s true: Individuals need love; the world needs love. But, as many songs declare, finding love is illusive. We know we need it, but don't really know how to get it. And, if observation is accurate, we spend more energy trying to figure out how to get love than how to give it.

Yes, love is central to life, but love isn’t primarily something we are supposed to get. It’s something we are supposed to give. Jesus gave his disciples a command to love one another. He said that the world would know those who belong to Him by the way they love each other. (John 13:34-35) That’s a command to love. Not a command to search for love. The command to give love is the primary directive. Yet, it’s been twisted into the main thing everyone is searching for. What if we turned our focus to giving love rather than getting it? In the current culture wouldn’t that immediately establish us as different? In a world where everyone is looking for love (“in all the wrong places”, as a popular country song once said), what if the identifying factor of Christians was that we gave love away rather than seeking it for ourselves?

Are You Listening For His Voice?

May 14, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

No words of my own today, but some words from the One whose Word matters most. Are you listening for the voice of the Lord? What has He been speaking to you lately?

Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.

He Lives in You!

May 7, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:27 NLT

What do you do when you hear God’s voice calling you? Somewhere between marriage and my kids graduating from high school I recognized God’s voice calling me to ministry. I had always been committed to helping my husband move forward in God’s plan for his life. That was my job, right? But as I began to recognize God’s voice calling me, a seed of dissatisfaction began to germinate. Thankfully, it never fully blossomed, but shoots did emerge as I struggled through the question of how to respond to God’s voice. When would what I envisioned for my life come to pass?

The question gnawed at me continually, even though I couldn’t really articulate it. I knew that God had called me to do more than raise my kids and help my husband. Those roles were important, but I knew that there was more. Had I missed it? When would I have my opportunity? I felt left out and left behind. There was more to life than this, but no matter how far I stretched, I felt like I couldn’t grab ahold of it.

Perhaps you struggle with some of those same feelings, my friend. You know there is more for you, but you feel left out, left behind and less than. Where and when is your opportunity?

I want to encourage you. God has not left you out of His promise. You are included. When you decided to put your life in Christ’s hands, He made His residence in you. His presence is evidence that you are included in God’s plan. You have a part to play in the future glory of God on the earth. That is the truth! How do I know? I have seen that truth playing out in my own life. Those years of feeling overlooked and left out now seem far away. Don’t miss now! God is using your now to prepare you for your then. I know it! I am living proof!

Do you want to know the secret of living with passion and purpose now with hope for the then you can’t see? Remember that Christ Himself lives in you. He lives in you! Consider this: The fullness of God resides within the confines of the space that is you. When you gave yourself to Christ, He gave Himself to you and made His address in your heart. Why don’t you stop now to contemplate the implications of Christ living in you?

Faultless? That’s You!

April 30, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. ' Colossians 1:22

Have you ever heard the term “analysis paralysis”? Just in case you haven’t, it means analyzing a problem so thoroughly that you never make a decision. I can fall into this trap. In my attempt to make the best possible decision I try to make sure that I have examined all possible decisions. “ALL possible decisions” isn’t really the best way to go, is it? Could it be possible that pondering all the possibilities isn’t about deciding at all? Could it be that analyzing all angles is really an avoidance tactic? A way to stall actually deciding? Um…maybe…I’ll have to ponder that.

Fear of making a mistake has been one of the issues that has often paralyzed me. For most of my life I wasn’t aware of it, but I would say that fear of making a mistake is probably my number one fear. The only problem is that there is no way to avoid making mistakes. It’s part of the human experience, part of living in a fallen, imperfect world. You and I will make mistakes and we can’t let that fear be the controlling factor in our lives.

So, what do we do about it? How do we get past fear of making mistakes? How do we overcome the lie that making a mistake is an indication that we are not worthy of love? We remember that in Jesus we are faultless.

When You Don't Know Why

April 23, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:21-26

So many tragedies. Watch the news for two minutes. Look around at the lives of your friends and acquaintances. Look back over your own life. No matter how hard we try we can't avoid the pain of life in a broken world. We hurt for others. We hurt for ourselves. How do we handle it? How do YOU handle it?

Most of us are not self-aware enough to recognize our own self-protective strategies. We can look at someone else and see how they are turning to work, or addiction, or TV, or shopping, or food, or anything else to avoid their pain. Yet, we don't recognize what we do to avoid dealing with the biggest of questions: Why does God allow pain, in my life and the lives of those around me, and why doesn't He stop it when He can?

I can't answer that question. Oh, I can give you answers. I've done it many times in the past. That is part of my self-protective strategy. If I can explain my pain, or someone else's, to some extent, if I can convince myself that in some way it makes sense, then it becomes easier for me to deal with. But it doesn't really answer the question of why God allows it. It just avoids truthfully bringing the question to God. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to make sense of tragedy, it just doesn't make any sense at all.

So then, how do we handle this huge question of pain and tragedy? How do we acknowledge the question we can't truly answer and still maintain our faith? How do we keep saying YES to a God who sometimes allows hurt to come to us and those around us and doesn't give us satisfactory explanations?

Silent Saturday: Counting the Cost of the Cross

April 16, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

This post was first published on Saturday, April 19, 2019. The title has been changed.

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” ‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭12:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is Saturday of Holy Week. Good Friday has passed. Easter Sunday is yet to come. We wait in anticipation of that joyous celebration. But what did the disciples do on that Saturday after the crucifixion? They did not know that joy awaited them. They observed the Sabbath in obedience, but that day of rest from work was most likely anything but a day of rest in the mind. How could they do anything but continue to relive Friday’s horror and wonder how they would ever face, not only Sunday, but every day after?

It is in human nature to avoid the painful, but what if you and I took this Saturday to relive some of Good Friday’s pain? Might it increase our joy of the resurrection?