What if God Really Does Love You?

December 28, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16 NLT

The most amazing and hard-to-believe aspect of the God story is that this amazing King of the universe loves humanity. He loves all of humanity. But, even more amazing. He loves us as individuals. He loves you and He loves me. It’s a concept I am still struggling to apply to my life. What about you? How deeply have you contemplated His love for you?

God loves you because of who He is. The first letter of John declares that God IS love. He loves because it is His character to love. That can be difficult to remember when reading some of the judgements in the Old Testament! Remembering that God’s character is love raises the question of why hard things happen. “If God really is love, why did He allow this to happen to me?”

The questions don’t negate the truth. God is love. Yet, He allows tragedy and difficult consequences. He doesn’t fix everything in our broken world. Sometimes life is confusing. But when I remember that God is love and that He loves me, I can focus on that love and let the questions rest. Relying on and trusting in His love brings peace. I may not understand, but I can choose to let go when I believe God loves me.

God loves you regardless of what you do. God doesn’t reject people who make mistakes. He doesn’t write you off when you mess up. His loves doesn’t change based on your behavior. That scolding voice you hear in your head is NOT God. It may be the memory of a scolding adult in your childhood, but it is not Your Heavenly Father.

When you and I make foolish and selfish choices, God does not dismiss us in disappointment. He doesn’t reject you because of your imperfections. He reaches out to lift you up and help you make the corrections or to help you walk through the consequences. He loves you and I enough to help us learn from our mistakes.

I have realized that making a mistake is one of my greatest fears. Some of that was born into me. My mother has told me she heard me practicing words in my crib before I said them in public. I have an in-born desire for excellence. But there is a line between aiming for excellence and avoiding mistakes at all costs. I’ve realized a mistaken belief that a mistake meant I should be rejected. Becoming aware of that has brought freedom.

Perhaps people may reject me if I mess up, but God never will. I still need to fight the wrong thinking, but it doesn’t control me anymore. If any of that resonates with you, I hope awareness brings you freedom.

God loves you right now. You don’t have to earn it. Knowing that and living it out are two different things.

A Christmas Blessing for 2024

December 24, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

Dear Friends,

A Christmas blessing for you! Enjoy this holiday season and keep Jesus at the center.

With love,

Cathleen

How to Have Joy Even If

December 21, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11 NIV
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence…” Psalms 16:11 NIV

Joy is the theme of Advent Week Three. Joy has also been my word for the year 2024. You will hear more about it in a future post, but around October or November, I begin to pray about a theme word for the coming year. I was and am certain that Joy is the word that was meant to be my 2024 theme. But to be honest, I am still trying to discern why. Would you mind processing with me?

Here are a few of my notes from last year as I looked forward to 2024:

JOY - Joy is about HOPE fulfilled. Joy is in the hoping, but complete joy comes as the hope is fulfilled. Joy is a choice based on hope. JOY releases control and obeys with hope. JOY comes from hopeful obedience. JOY is the natural result of hope.

From Christianity.com: “Biblical joy is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction, because we know that God will use these experiences to accomplish His work in and through our lives.” Joy is a choice, but God gives us the ability to choose it.

From a YouVersion Daily Refresh: “To rejoice is a declaration of trust.”

My conclusion note: Joy is an emotion of happiness that begins with a choice to trust in God’s promises. It is the natural result of hope. Trust is the key to joy

So, what is my takeaway from a year of contemplating joy?

Joy begins with a choice. In our emotion-driven culture, people tend to let their feelings guide them rather than make choices that guide their feelings. The emotion of joy starts with a choice to remain in God’s presence, to make Him the center of life.

There have been many unanticipated changes in my life over the years. Changes that I didn’t want and that caught me off-guard. I have had to learn to take an “even if” perspective and that has led to joy. What is an “even if” perspective?

Do You Want Perfection or Peace?

December 14, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NLT

Do you feel like the holiday season is a giant tornado of responsibility, expectations and activity? I used to feel that way. I will be honest. One reason that has changed is that we celebrate Christmas with our adult children on the day after Thanksgiving. But that isn’t the full reason.

I remember feeling overwhelmed and like I was missing the point of the season. In His great love, God helped me understand that what needed to change was not the activity, but my perspective. He helped me shift the way I think about the season and that has led me to peace. The busy seasonal activities haven’t changed much, but I have learned to be at peace as the tornado swirls around me.

Could you use some of that? Here’s what I’ve learned.

Peace comes from an eternal perspective. An eternal perspective is simply remembering that this life is not the goal. A perfect Christmas is not the goal. The goal for a believer is a life that honors God. The goal is to experience heaven and that starts now. Heaven is where God is present. His presence consumes every space in heaven.

An eternal perspective here and now invites God to consume every space in my life. Isn’t that the biggest challenge of our earthly lives?

How to Stay Anchored in Hope

December 7, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV

What does hope mean to you? For me, it means expecting God to move. I have hope because, regardless of what I see happening, I know God is in control. I believe God is God and will act accordingly. Sometimes I don’t get to see the good outcome, but I believe it will happen all the same. Those aren’t just words to me. It’s something I have learned to live and that helps me stay anchored in hope.

Are there times when you wander from hope? What brings you back?

Here are a few things to consider that help me remain connected to hope.

God’s promises help me stay anchored in hope. “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19 NLT

The promises of God are a lifeline that keep me connected to Him. When I stay connected to Him, I stay connected to hope.

There are times when I feel like I have to figure everything out. I feel responsible for solving the problem in front of me or helping someone I care about by giving them an answer to their dilemma.

Always. Never. Be.

November 30, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“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 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT

Here in the U.S. November reminds us to be thankful. You may think I chose the verse above due to the Thanksgiving holiday. You are partially right but not completely. I have had a weekly reminder of this verse popping up on my phone since January of this year.

My word for the year has been Joy. In January I chose some verses to support that theme and help me meditate on the meaning of Joy in my life so that I can apply it. I am still trying to distill the lessons that meditation has taught me. Do you mind if I process with you?

This verse helps me know a few things about Joy.

Joy is a choice. I can always choose to be joyful. 2024 America is a feelings-based culture. Advertising is designed to appeal to our feelings. People often disregard logic and make decisions based on feelings. Their logic boils down to the conclusion that feelings affirm what is true. But feelings aren’t always a good indicator of truth. That’s what makes the Word of God so important. Like a compass in the hands of a ship’s navigator, we need something to keep us headed in the right direction when we can’t see. A compass always points north. Always.

You and I can choose joy because God never changes. I can choose joy because I know what is true. He is. He was. He ever shall be. And I get to walk through it all with the One who never changes regardless of my feelings. I can choose joy. And so can you.

Joy results when I bring my concerns to God in prayer. I can choose to never stop praying.

You Really Do Need People. And They Need You.

November 23, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

I am a people-oriented introvert. I love people. I enjoy being around people, but social interaction is draining to an introvert. After a while, I just need some quiet alone time. If you are a task-oriented introvert, you may love people but focus more on getting stuff done. Either way, when you have reached your limit, you need to retreat just like me.

If you are an extrovert, being with people fills you up. You can be with people all day long and feel energized. You could be a people-oriented extrovert or a task-oriented extrovert. Either way, you don’t need the same kind of alone time that we introverts need. Viva la difference!

So, where am I going with this little personality lesson? I’ve learned that even as an introvert I need the people of God, and they need me. The same is true for you.

Both introverts and extroverts are called to love and serve people. I recently attended a conference where I knew a lot of people. However, I went alone, not with a group.

How to Be Better

November 16, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 NLT

Better. Most of us desire to be better or do better, but sometimes we compare ourselves to others and, whether we admit it or not, we think we are better.

The Dicionary.com definition of better is this:

of superior quality or excellence
morally superior; more virtuous
of superior suitability, advisability, desirability, acceptableness, etc.; preferable:

Am I really better than someone else? Am I of superior quality or morally superior? Am I preferable? Let me put it this way: Does God prefer me over someone else? You and I are well aware that the true answer is no, but there are times when we may painfully feel like God prefers someone else or pridefully feel He prefers us. Ouch either way!

When I think of myself or my ideas or my convictions as better than someone else, I am not thinking like Jesus. Jesus showed us the way of love, a better way (1 Corinthians 12:31 CEB)

The better way is the way of humility, kindness, gentleness and patience (Col 3:12-14). The better way is love which elevates the needs of others above my own. Better is serving. In a cultural climate of division, we can do better. We can be better. Division comes from thinking that my way is better and because my way is better, I am better.

What Are You Thinking?

November 9, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 NLT

Where are your thoughts these days? Are you expecting the worst? For your family? For our nation? Are you expecting the best? There are a lot of questions about all of it.

Where is God in your thinking? I have found that when my thoughts wander to the worst, God has provided a tool to wander back to truth. God has given us guidelines for our thinking. Philippians 4:8 describes what to think about so that we stay focused on Him and expect the best that only comes from Him. Expecting the best is expecting God to come through.

Expect the best even when you accept trouble. Does expecting God to come through mean you will never have any trouble? Of course not. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Focusing your thoughts in a positive direction is not about ignoring trouble or expecting God to deliver you from every trouble. Despite what some preachers have told you, trouble is a part of Christian life. Read the New Testament more carefully and you will notice that the New Testament writers came from that position.

The Promise of Perseverance

November 2, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” Hebrews 10:36 NLT

Life can be hard. True? There have been times when my life seemed so incredibly difficult that I could only handle one moment at a time. Perhaps you’ve been there. I call managing those moments “survival mode.”

In survival mode, you do the needed tasks but have nothing left for the extras. You focus on getting through the present but have no energy left to imagine the future. Perhaps your hopes have been decimated. I’ve been there. Imagining a different future is not possible while you process that pain. Survival mode gets you through.

But it is in survival mode that you begin to truly understand “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) It is in survival mode that you experience the truth “He is near to the broken-hearted.” (Psalm 34:18) It is in survival mode that you find strength in the “everlasting arms.” (Deut. 33:27)

Through every survival mode season, there are some things I have found to be true. Here is some hope for your current or upcoming survival mode.

God is using survival mode for your good. Current pain can blind us to the current positives. It can be hard to see beyond how hard it is now. But please, Dear Friend, remember that God is good and only does good. There have been moments when all I could do was remind myself of God’s good character. I couldn’t see the situation as good. I didn’t feel good. But because God is good, I chose to believe He was at work for my good.

That is true for you as well. Feelings are not good forecasters.