July 1, 2024 If Life Doesn't Make Sense, Read ThisTAYLOR JOY MURRAY Lee en español "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." Isaiah 53:3a (NIV) When I was a little girl, I used to have two journals. Every morning, I'd open my prayer journal and neatly pen my gratitude to God for His goodness and grace. Then I'd open my personal journal, where my real thoughts, emotions and questions would messily spill out. I kept this journal under lock and key, promising myself these were words God would never see. One journal held my praise. The other held my pain. I didn't know how to talk to God about both. That kind of honesty with God would require a gut-level confidence that He loved and accepted me even when I was sad, confused and angry. But pain had a way of creating difficult emotions inside of me that I wasn't sure God liked. I imagine you come to these words today with your own story of pain. Maybe you've endured an experience that has carved a line through your story and your soul. A miscarriage.Financial struggles.Unfulfilled longings.A wayward child.An ailing body.Grief that feels cruel.Lingering depression.Scars of abuse. Circumstances like these stand in stark contrast to the idea that life is always happy if we have faith. Growing up, I absorbed a narrative that we demonstrate holiness by demonstrating happiness. But when being "fine" became how I lived out my faith, it left me emotionally fragmented and disconnected, adrift in an internal sea of grief, thoughts and questions toward God. Questions like, Where are You, God? If You love me, why is this happening? However, Isaiah 53:3a describes Jesus as deeply understanding every excruciating part of the human experience - because He lived on earth as fully human and fully God, "a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." Jesus knows the agony of betrayal and the sting of denial. He knows the ache of grief, rejection and loneliness. He understands what it feels like for suffering not to be removed, no matter how much you plead or urgently pray (Matthew 26:39). When life doesn't make sense, Jesus demonstrates that pain and belief can coexist. We don't have to choose between feeling our emotions and having a relationship with God. Rather than hiding pain behind praise, our mourning can be a sacred act of worship. Every one of our honest tears is a tiny offering of trust that God loves and sees us. Here. Now. In our darkest days and most dysregulated moments. Our most faithful response to suffering is to follow Jesus’ example, allowing ourselves to express our honest sadness. Today, I wonder what it might be like to come to the journals of our hearts honestly, bringing our full selves to these pages. We have a God who doesn't want only our best but wants all of us. Dear God, right now, life doesn't make sense. How might You be inviting me to receive Your love and care in my pain? Please show me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Taylor Joy Murray's book, Stop Saying I'm Fine: Finding Stillness When Anxiety Screams, blends therapeutic insight with spiritual truth to help you dig beneath the surface of your anxiety. If you want to better understand why and where your anxiety comes from, and if you long to learn a different, more compassionate approach to engaging with your anxiety, this book is for you. ENGAGE Connect with Taylor on Instagram. To learn more about Taylor; her books; her podcast, Faith & Feelings; and other resources, check out her website. When life doesn't make sense, holding our faith and unresolved pain together requires a certain kind of wisdom. In her most recent podcast series, "When Life Doesn't Make Sense," Taylor hosted conversations with eight wise, deeply authentic and kind women about their stories of pain and sorrow, and they shared what they're learning about hope, lament, joy and courage when life gets really hard. Listen to the full series today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. FOR DEEPER STUDY Ecclesiastes 7:4, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ..." (NIV). When life hasn't made sense, what hard and painful questions have you asked God over the years, or what are you asking Him right now? Have you grieved this pain? If so, what has this been like? If not, what has kept you from entering into your own "house of mourning" (Ecclesiastes 7:4, NIV)? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments. © 2024 by Taylor Joy Murray. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post If Life Doesn’t Make Sense, Read This –  Encouragement for Today – July 1, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

July 1, 2024 If Life Doesn't Make Sense, Read ThisTAYLOR JOY MURRAY Lee en español "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." Isaiah 53:3a (NIV) When I was a little girl, I used to have two journals. Every morning, I'd open my prayer journal and neatly pen my gratitude to God for His goodness and grace. Then I'd open my personal journal, where my real thoughts, emotions and questions would messily spill out. I kept this journal under lock and key, promising myself these were words God would never see. One journal held my praise. The other held my pain. I didn't know how to talk to God about both. That kind of honesty with God would require a gut-level confidence that He loved and accepted me even when I was sad, confused and angry. But pain had a way of creating difficult emotions inside of me that I wasn't sure God liked. I imagine you come to these words today with your own story of pain. Maybe you've endured an experience that has carved a line through your story and your soul. A miscarriage.Financial struggles.Unfulfilled longings.A wayward child.An ailing body.Grief that feels cruel.Lingering depression.Scars of abuse. Circumstances like these stand in stark contrast to the idea that life is always happy if we have faith. Growing up, I absorbed a narrative that we demonstrate holiness by demonstrating happiness. But when being "fine" became how I lived out my faith, it left me emotionally fragmented and disconnected, adrift in an internal sea of grief, thoughts and questions toward God. Questions like, Where are You, God? If You love me, why is this happening? However, Isaiah 53:3a describes Jesus as deeply understanding every excruciating part of the human experience - because He lived on earth as fully human and fully God, "a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." Jesus knows the agony of betrayal and the sting of denial. He knows the ache of grief, rejection and loneliness. He understands what it feels like for suffering not to be removed, no matter how much you plead or urgently pray (Matthew 26:39). When life doesn't make sense, Jesus demonstrates that pain and belief can coexist. We don't have to choose between feeling our emotions and having a relationship with God. Rather than hiding pain behind praise, our mourning can be a sacred act of worship. Every one of our honest tears is a tiny offering of trust that God loves and sees us. Here. Now. In our darkest days and most dysregulated moments. Our most faithful response to suffering is to follow Jesus’ example, allowing ourselves to express our honest sadness. Today, I wonder what it might be like to come to the journals of our hearts honestly, bringing our full selves to these pages. We have a God who doesn't want only our best but wants all of us. Dear God, right now, life doesn't make sense. How might You be inviting me to receive Your love and care in my pain? Please show me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Taylor Joy Murray's book, Stop Saying I'm Fine: Finding Stillness When Anxiety Screams, blends therapeutic insight with spiritual truth to help you dig beneath the surface of your anxiety. If you want to better understand why and where your anxiety comes from, and if you long to learn a different, more compassionate approach to engaging with your anxiety, this book is for you. ENGAGE Connect with Taylor on Instagram. To learn more about Taylor; her books; her podcast, Faith & Feelings; and other resources, check out her website. When life doesn't make sense, holding our faith and unresolved pain together requires a certain kind of wisdom. In her most recent podcast series, "When Life Doesn't Make Sense," Taylor hosted conversations with eight wise, deeply authentic and kind women about their stories of pain and sorrow, and they shared what they're learning about hope, lament, joy and courage when life gets really hard. Listen to the full series today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. FOR DEEPER STUDY Ecclesiastes 7:4, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ..." (NIV). When life hasn't made sense, what hard and painful questions have you asked God over the years, or what are you asking Him right now? Have you grieved this pain? If so, what has this been like? If not, what has kept you from entering into your own "house of mourning" (Ecclesiastes 7:4, NIV)? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments. © 2024 by Taylor Joy Murray. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post If Life Doesn’t Make Sense, Read This –  Encouragement for Today – July 1, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

1816 - French frigate Medusa wrecked; basis of Géricault's painting "Raft of the Medusa" 1859 - 1st intercollegiate baseball game, Amherst beats Williams 66-32 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts 1901 - Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Arthur Gore beats defending 4-time champion R.F. Doherty 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 for his 1st of 3 Wimbledon singles titles 1904 - III Summer (Modern) Olympic Games open in St Louis, the first held in the United States 1911 - The German gunboat 'Panther' arrives off Agadir allegedly to protect German interests and nationals in Morocco 1915 - Australia begins Commonwealth Lighthouse Service 1936 - Watchfulness Committee forms in Amsterdam 1974 - 1st Laura Ashley store in the US opens (San Francisco) 1994 - Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-19 launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan 2005 - Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers is suspended for 20 games and fined $50k for shoving a cameraman - sentence later overturned More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1097 - 1st Crusaders defeat Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea 1200 - In China, sunglasses are invented 1924 - Dircet regular transcontinental airmail service between New York and San Francisco forms 1961 - KNDU TV channel 25 in Richland-Pasco-Kennew, WA (NBC) 1st broadcast 1972 - The first Gay Pride march in England takes place. 1979 - Sweden becomes 1st nation to prohibit "corporal punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment" of children by their parents More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1844 - Verney Lovett Cameron, English explorer (Tanganyika), born in Radipole, Dorset, England (d. 1894) 1902 - William Wyler, American film director (Ben-Hur, Mrs Miniver), born in Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (d. 1981) 1925 - Art McNally, American Pro Football HOF referee and executive (NFL Head of Officiating 1968-91), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2023) 1926 - Robert Fogel, American economic historian (Nobel Prize 1993), born in New York City (d. 2013) 1971 - Melissa Peterman [Melissa Margaret], American actress (Reba, Fargo), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota 1985 - Chris Perez, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 2011, 12 Cleveland Indians; World Cup gold 2007), born in Bradenton, Florida More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1877 - William Henry Davenport, American stage magician, claimed to be a spirit medium, dies at 36 1884 - Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American barrel maker, private detective (co-founder of Pinkerton Agency), abolitionist, and spy, dies at 64 1953 - Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist, dies 1988 - Hellmuth Christian Wolff, German composer, teacher, musicologist, and painter, dies at 82 1999 - Jack Moroney, Australian cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 118; NSWCA), dies at 81 2018 - Peter Firmin, British children's book illustrator and puppet maker (The Saga of Noggin the Nog; Clangers), dies at 89 More Famous Deaths »

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Their third album, complete with I’m Not In Love, moved away from three-minute singles and embraced opera and concept pop. Did it also inspire Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody?

Worldliness distracts from pure-heart devotion to God. What might you need to let go of today to experience the goodness of God?