moving hell

When someone tells you about a difficult decision they’re facing or something they feel they have done wrong they are basically hoping that one of two things will happen: 1) either you’ll tell them how to fix it- easily - or 2) you’ll crucify or admonish them for what they have done…. Either way, I think we seek closure to difficult situations along with the ability to move on.

I recently read somewhere that you find true happiness when what you think, what you feel, and what you say are in harmony. Think about that for a minute – is it not very true? When we are completely honest with ourselves (and others) we tend to feel a lot better about things.

Sometimes, the hard part is convincing ourselves that we’re worthy of happiness.

A wise friend recently pointed out the difficulty of understanding that there is no hierarchy of sin. I mean, as humans it is hard to wrap our heads around the fact that the ‘little sins’ (like lies or just bad thoughts in our heads) are equivalent to the big sins – such as murder. When you look at it like that there is no logic…..but as she pointed out….it’s not the order of hierarchy, or lack thereof, so much as the fact that Jesus paid for ALL sin and that when we believe and trust and accept and repent in Him we are protected.

The hell that we experience on earth has a lot to do with what we allow in our lives. Now don’t read too much into that. I’m not saying that we always CREATE our own hell, but often times – we ALLOW it. I am speaking from personal experience here. We all have difficulties in our lives. We all face tough decisions. We all experience some type of pain or suffering or sickness. Those things in themselves are not the hell. HELL is when we DO NOT ALLOW God to work in our lives. It is when Satan is able to manipulate or thoughts and convince us that belief and happiness are wrong or unachievable. It is when we convince ourselves that we are not worth love. Every obstacle we meet is an opportunity….An opportunity to trust God and strengthen our relationship with Him. An opportunity to show the world that no matter what we face we can come out on top – not because of our OWN strength - as a matter of fact it’s often IN SPITE of ourselves…..rather the opportunity lies in admitting complete helplessness and letting God lead us…..it is during that time that we become humble…..that our light shines brightest….and that God can do all that He promised…….true peace, true happiness and the hope and faith of eternal life.

Sometimes it takes a true friend to point out the Hell that we allow in ourselves…..whether it be our thoughts or actions. It is difficult to point out what is wrong….I find it ironic that our pastor has recently had some very revealing sermons on this very topic while at the same time I am witnessing and experiencing some of the same tough situations……….It’s easy to love someone when they do what you think it is right and it’s easy to look the other way (or just give up on them) when what they are doing is wrong – the hard part is reaching out and helping pull someone out of their own hell. Just as we all have fallen victim to feeling like we deserve the hell we’re in or we just can’t figure out how to get out of it……God loved us enough to pull us out……. and if you think about it there may be at least one person in your life who has done the same for you (and if there hasn’t been then get on your knees and pray because He will be there for you and He will reveal himself in your life)…….shouldn’t we be responsible enough to show others love and grace – even if that means loving and guiding in the most difficult times….and if God cared enough to breathe life into us shouldn’t we care enough about ourselves to fully live in His glory?