Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

God Heals Broken Hearts {No Matter What Monday}

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Ps 34-18 (2)

The Great Breakup of January 1991 swept through Woodland Junior High like a social earthquake. One couple after another toppled, and it seemed no one was immune. Even the long-term couples couldn’t withstand its force. When it was over, all that remained of the junior high dating culture was a bunch of brokenhearted adolescent girls, including me.

At the time, most of us who were dumped thought it was the most horrible heartbreak of our lives. But 25 years later that pain pales in comparison to the heartbreak we know as adults. We watch friends endure illness, job loss, divorce, death. We experience pain and loss ourselves. If we’re paying any attention to the world around us, heartbreak is everywhere.

When sadness threatens to crush us, there is a place for us to seek comfort: in the arms of our Heavenly Father. He cares for our broken hearts. He sees our pain and surrounds us with His love and peace. He will never leave us alone with our sadness. We can trust Him to lovingly mend our lives back together when the destruction of grief blasts through.

This truth isn’t a platitude that sounds nice but has no real power. And it isn’t a band-aid that we put on our grief that makes it all feel better. Grief and loss is still painful, even with the Lord. But as we run to Him with our broken hearts, He gently takes our pain, heals our wounds, and gives us the strength to go on. We can face our grief without despair because we belong to the One who heals broken hearts. And we know that one day, there will be no more broken hearts when we are with Him in heaven (Revelation 21:4).

Psalm 34:18: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

No matter what you face this week, our Heavenly Father heals broken hearts.

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We have a Reason to Rejoice {No Matter What Monday}

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Romans 5-2

What makes you happy?

A good night’s sleep? A delicious dinner you didn’t have to cook? A new pair of shoes? (Those are all near the top of my list!)

These small blessings bring happiness, but often those feelings are fleeting. We enjoy dinner out with friends and then our mood sours because an inconsiderate driver cuts us off on our way home. We’re ecstatic about our new shoes until we see someone else with a pair we’d rather have. And when we struggle with ongoing, difficult circumstances, happiness can be hard to find—no matter how many pairs of shoes we buy.

Last week, we saw in Romans 5:1 that we have peace with God through faith in Christ. In the next verse, we read that we always have a reason to rejoice:

“Through [Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)

Because of Christ, we have a secure standing before God and a firm hope in eternal life. We stand in the grace of Christ’s righteousness given to us. He gives us the promise that we will share in God’s glory one day in Heaven. This is an unchanging reason to rejoice!

This week as you face difficulties, cling to the promise that you stand secure in God’s grace and the hope of eternity with Him. And as Paul says in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

No matter what you face this week, God’s promises give you a reason to rejoice.

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Breaking Free from the Superwoman Trap

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06012016_GUESTMarissaHenley_WalkInFreedom

I sat in my counselor’s office with silent tears sliding down my face, feeling flattened by the pressures of life. The expectations placed on me by myself and others were more than I could bear. My counselor handed me a blank sheet of paper and a cup full of markers.

“Draw it,” she said.

I’m no artist, but I tried my best. I drew a stick figure lying at the bottom of the page, with harsh arrows pointing down at the distraught figure. (That is, the stick figure who would have looked distraught if I had known how to draw that.)

The arrows represented the pressure I felt to be:

  • an attentive mom who gets all the mom stuff right;
  • a loving wife who gets all the wife stuff right;
  • a wise and compassionate friend who makes everyone happy;
  • a perfect homemaker who serves nutritious, savory meals from her spotless kitchen;
  • a healthy, thin woman who looks effortlessly put-together, but not in a snobbish or intimidating way;
  • all while juggling a million responsibilities with ease.

The impossible standards of those arrows were a heavy weight on my shoulders, reminding me of my daily shortcomings. I felt trapped, laid out on the floor, just like the defeated, joyless stick figure in my drawing.

Then my counselor asked me to draw how it could feel better.

Can you relate? If so, click here to continue reading with me over on (in)courage today . . . 

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God Supplies the Hope We Crave {No Matter What Monday}

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rom 15.13

Last week’s verse reminded us that our Heavenly Father is the only source of unshakeable hope (Psalm 62:5).

 

But as I’ve already confessed, I struggle to place my hope solely in the Lord. I am constantly tempted to place my hope in something more tangible: my abilities, my wisdom, my people, my possessions.

 

No matter how hard I try, I can’t muster up a hope that is firmly in Christ alone. I know He is the only source of true, unfailing hope. But my heart is so fickle! I forget so easily. Like a clueless sheep, I become distracted and wander off in another direction. I need the Shepherd to gently reach out and bring me back to safety. I crave a hope that endures.

 

So I find comfort in Romans 15:13:

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

 

God Himself is the answer to our struggle with finding our hope in Him. He is the God of hope. Through the Holy Spirit, He fills us with joy and peace so we can enjoy bountiful hope. The hope He gives will never run out and will never fail. The hope He gives endures forever, through all circumstances.

 

No matter what you face this week, God supplies the hope you need to have lasting joy and peace.

 

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