Breaking Life's Cycles

Have you been out walking or at the gym and you see this energetic and graceful elderly person(s) engaging in physical fitness or just expressing joy and enthusiasm? It may have caused a smile to come to your face or just made you think of how much you look forward to having that kind of attitude and energy in your elderly years. Sad to say, this is not often the response in today’s society. Aging is often met with negative clichés, disrespectful jokes, and harsh language by impatient people.

The aged often live with a sense of guilt, shame and feeling that they are more of a burden than a blessing. This can be very discouraging to the aged in our society, especially if their aging experience has been met with various physical ailments, medical expenses, relational disharmony and financial challenges.
God has provided a wonderful perspective in His word for the aged. This perspective needs to become part of the fabric of our entire society.

God’s Word Declares:
 Wisdom is with the aged men (women), and with length of days, understanding. (Job 12:12)
 The silver haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness. (Proverbs 16:31)
 The older men and women are to possess godly character and instruct the younger men and women in how to manage their lives and their families. (Titus 2:2-3)
 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)
 Children are to honor their parents and God promises to make things go well for them in life.
 (Ephesians 6:2-3)

Aging is not a curse, but a blessing according to God’s Word. Psalm 91:16 declares, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” The Bible also says, “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him (Psalm 92:13-15)

The Blessing of Aging

The aged often live with a sense of guilt, shame and feeling that they are more of a burden than a blessing.

Overcoming Insecurity

Have you ever desired or considered reaching out to someone or stepping forth toward a goal you wanted to do in life and found yourself focusing on all the reasons why you should not? Perhaps there are underlying insecurities that you may be struggling with.

Demands of Time

How busy has life been for you lately? Sometimes there are so many demands on our time that is difficult to “get it all done.”

Getting Free From Destructive Patterns

Many times when negative and self-destructive patterns are part of our life choices, we often do not consider the “stakeholders” who are being impacted by our poor choices.

Living Worry Free

Living life worry free may sound like an impossible phenomenon since we often identify worrying with caring, being concerned, or a need to maintain control.

Defining and Denying Spiritual Bondages

Often Christ’s followers are open and eager to embrace and employ so called spiritual terms, traditions and religious fads without requiring or researching the true Biblical basis for such belief or behavior.

Overcoming Financial Anxiety

God never intended for money issues to have control of and produce negative effects in our lives. In our materialistic, fast-paced, “gotta have it right "...

Healthy Mate Selection

What would you consider the two most important decisions in life? If you are a follower of Christ, I am sure you may suggest a decision to accept or reject Jesus Christ and perhaps next would be choosing a life partner in marriage.

Psalm 25:16 David prays to God saying, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am LONELY and afflicted.” Could you imagine a man after God’s on heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22) and a great king and warrior like David identifying a time of experiencing loneliness in his life. The truth of the matter is that loneliness does not discriminate. It is part of the human experience that results from the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Prior to the fall, Adam and God had great fellowship, but the Creator new that human beings need other humans if they are to get along effectively. So God created Eve and instructed the couple to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). The first human beings get to enjoy fellowship with God and with each other. But as mentioned earlier, sin entered the scene of the human experience and now the two who had never known loneliness, now has to manage life by trusting God to be their answer in times of loneliness.

Loneliness is that painful emotion that reminds us of the importance of human communication, contact and camaraderie. However, there are factors that often make this a desire of one’s heart, not a lived out reality. A number of factors can lead to loneliness from social, developmental, psychological and even spiritual in nature. Regardless of the causes and symptoms of loneliness, God has a way of escape. In 1 Cor. 10:13 the word of God says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

So when feelings and thoughts of loneliness produce emotions of fear, despair, hopelessness, low self-esteem, worthlessness, entrapment, a need to seek attention in various forms in order to find acceptance or to overcome loneliness and even painful suicidal thoughts, don’t allow these dark moments or memories to be your dwelling place. Turn on the light of God’s word and allow his grace and power to aid you in times of loneliness. Below are a few wisdom nuggets in addressing loneliness and perhaps even connecting with a trusted and trained professional could be a great investment for your future success:

Remember God is present regardless of one’s pain (Hebrews 13:5-6; Psalm 46:1)

Develop an intimate relationship with God (Proverbs 18:24: James 4:8)

Pray for God to lead you to building strong relationships with a few trusting friends (Prov. 17:17; James 5:16)

Faithfully connect to a local fellowship of believers and intentionally find a place to serve alongside others (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Remember, you are not alone in moments or experiences of loneliness. We all have traveled this path before. God is waiting for you to cast this care or concern on him (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). He will encourage your heart and help you to encourage others whom you meet on the path of loneliness.

The Door Beyond Loneliness

The truth of the matter is that loneliness does not discriminate. It is part of the human experience that results from the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Prior to the fall, Adam and God had great fellowship.

Grace Meets Guilt

Guilt is a universal language that we all experience somewhere along life’s journey. However, God never intended for those who trust in His amazing grace to live life under the cloud of guilt. Regardless of whether or not your guilt is from what is often called “Objective Guilt” (resulting from the breaking of a law)

Breaking Life's Cycle: Getting Free From Destructive Patterns

Many times when negative and self-destructive patterns are part of our life choices, we often do not consider the “stake holders” who are being impacted by our poor choices.