Jennifer Kostick– Jennifer Kostick is an author and speaker who teaches women how to activate their life’s purpose through the study of Scripture. Jennifer knows more about grief and loss than she ever thought she would, but Jesus met her in the middle of fierce storms and held her tightly with an even fiercer love. In addition to her love of teaching the powerful truth of Scripture, Jennifer is married to Paul, her husband of twenty-five years, has three children, and a beautiful daughter-in-law! She is also a full-time seminary student… because you can never know too much about the Bible! Jennifer blogs at www.Jenniferkostick.com and is passionate about encouraging women through a godly message of mercy and hope.
If you are new to studying with me, welcome! For some tips to help you gain the most from what we are learning together, click here.
This month our study is focused on prayer and what it means to come boldly to the throne of God.
Week Four Study Overview:
Today, we are wrapping up our series on prayer by discussing what it means to pack up pieces of pain.
Key Point of Struggle:
Why am I always given a bunch of Christian cliché’s to deal with the hard things of life?
Key Proof of Comfort:
Psalm 23:6
I’m slowly working my way through Lysa TerKeurst’s book Uninvited. In it, she has a chapter titled When Our Normal Gets Snatched, where she tells the story of a friend who went through a divorce and was forced to move from her home. The last item to pack was a wedding portrait. Lysa’s dear friend called her and posed this question: “What do you do with the things that have no place anymore?”
I was struck by that question because in life we’re always packing for something. Maybe it’s for a vacation or an address change that requires suitcases and cardboard boxes. We clean out the closet or basement where there’s been an over-accumulation of stuff. Or, much worse, maybe we’re forced to pack away friendships, marriages, or the death of someone we love deeply. We hit the unfriend button, speak through legal representation, or pack the left behind contents of life belonging to one who moved to eternity. If there’s anything of which we can be certain, it’s that there will be seasons of packing, and it won’t always be for a tropical trip.
I’ve been spending time preparing for a teaching series, and I keep coming back to one solid point that won’t ever require packing away. God will never leave us. Go ahead; take a moment to allow those words to sink deeply inside. Let them settle in peace. God will never leave. Not ever.
Throughout the month of June we’ve been looking at some powerful prayers, and there’s one particular Psalm written from the hand of David that begins with declaration, turns to conversation, and ends with powerful affirmation.
Let’s look at Psalm 23 and then single out one verse in particular.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
-Psalm 23:1-6
Now let’s look at the last verse one more time:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
-Psalm 23:6
I want to tell you this: whatever you find yourself packing away at this time in life, know that God is with you. His goodness and mercy will follow you every day of your journey on this side of heaven. Even when you cannot see or feel any indication of His presence, He is still there.
Lysa’s friend asked what to do with things that no longer have a place. There are no easy answers for that. Let’s just be honest and say that when life is hard, the last words we want to hear are a bunch of Christian cliché’s strung together to make us feel something we don’t. But, do you want to know something else? It doesn’t change the fact that Jesus refuses to leave us, won’t forsake us, and wants us to pack all the things that no longer belong in our lives inside His life. When we do that, we will gain strength that has no other explanation except the supernatural. We will stand on truth that comes solely through faith alone. A cliché is a bunch of overused words and expressions. The truth is if you want peace, then you need to overuse the Bible. Whether or not you find what’s in it to be nothing more than a plethora of platitudes or not, if you need to find life, you’ll find it in the pages of that ancient text.
Go boldly to the throne, hand over the packed up boxes of grief that no longer have a place and gain strength. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but you were made for hard things.
Love,
If you are new to studying with me, welcome! For some tips to help you gain the most from what we are learning together, click here.
This month our study is focused on prayer and what it means to come boldly to the throne of God. If you missed week one, or Week two, you can click on the links to take you there.
Week Three Study Overview:
Today, we will look at a powerful prayer from Paul to the Colossians.
Key Point of Struggle:
How can we ever fully please God?
Key Proof of Comfort:
Oh Lord, You have searched me and Known me. Psalm 139:1
“…To ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”
– Colossians 1:9-12
Prayer has become a lifeline for me. Not just because I know that God is the only One who can do the impossible in my life, and the lives around me, but because it deeply connects me to Him. I need those conversations in my life. I’ve learned I don’t do well without them.
One of my favorite parts of reading anything from the apostle Paul is that we are essentially peeking into his mail when opening up the Bible to the books he authored. His letters were meant to encourage, instruct, and warn newly established churches. What is even more powerful to me is that in these letters he sometimes speaks of what he is praying over the people.
I believe God gives us words to pray over specific people and situations. When I was praying to become pregnant and we were facing what seemed an impossible circumstance, God put on my heart to pray these words: “Lord, make a way where there is no way.” I faithfully prayed that each day until He made the crooked way straight and left doctors who told me it was practically impossible to conceive, slack jawed in disbelief. He recently gave me a new word over my writing and speaking ministry. I know the power of what He chooses to hide in my heart, and so I’m praying this new word each day. No one can tell me He didn’t do the same for Paul. With my whole heart, I subscribe to the idea that God put the words Paul prayed, over the churches he ministered to, deep inside his heart. It’s no surprise to me that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write those prayers so that we can know the power they hold.
This morning when I awoke I began to pray the anointed, power-filled prayer from Paul to the Colossians over those I know and love.
This prayer speaks what seems impossible for the human condition, “…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.” I often struggle with the sin of my own heart and wonder if I will ever become who God intended me to be. However, I also know the power of our impossible God, the hope He gives, the mercy He pours, and the blood Jesus shed on the cross to gift me the opportunity of allowing my heart to be read through a filter of grace by the Almighty Himself. We have the power to escape the trap of sin because of forgiveness complimentary of agape love.
Today, I pray this prayer in Colossians over you. God looks at our hearts, searches, and knows us. He reads us through filters of grace and mercy through the Power of His Holy Spirit, which promises to break chains that nothing else has the power to break.
Love,
Jennifer
If you are new to studying with me, welcome! Here are some tips to help you gain the most from what we are learning together:
Week Two Study Overview:
Today we will look at Hannah’s prayer to God in the midst of her distress.
Key Point of Struggle:
What if God doesn’t answer me the way He answered Hannah?
Key Proof of Comfort:
Because of Jesus we can boldly approach the throne, and that gives us hope for God to work the impossible in our lives.
This month our study is focused on prayer and what it means to come boldly to the throne of God. If you missed week one, you can read it here.
A healthy prayer life didn’t come overnight for me. As a child, I don’t think I ever moved mountains with mighty prayers of faith, but as an adult I pray about everything. It took me a long time to get where I am. Communicating with my Father in heaven has been a process that began in desperation, transitioned to discipline, and became a desire. I’m confident in telling you that at this point in my life I can’t live without prayer. I actually miss God when I don’t talk to Him.
When I think of bold prayers, I think about Hannah. If you know anything about my story then you know why I feel a connection to Hannah, but there’s more to why I love this particular prayer. Let’s take a look at it.
So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”
-1 Samuel 1:10-14
Before we can fairly view this account of Hannah’s life, we have to put it in cultural context. There’s a bit of a backstory to circumstances surrounding Hannah and there are a few things you’ll need to know to properly understand her. In the Old Testament it was commonplace for a man to have more than one wife. It was also a great honor to have a male child first. This is why Hannah specifically asked for a son. When studying the Bible, we have to look at the way society functioned, historically, to give us insight as to why certain circumstances happened the way they did.
Hannah was barren and to make matters worse she was one of two wives. The other wife had an open womb and an unkind demeanor, to say the least. Her name was Peninnah. She was jealous because their husband, Elkanah, had a love for Hannah that he didn’t share for her. We all know jealousy tends to lead to cruelty, in one way or the other, and this is exactly what happened where these two women were concerned. Elkanah, with all his heart, wanted Hannah to be free of hurt, but pain ran deep and her desire for a baby of her own, deeper still.
One evening, after refusing food and weeping throughout dinner, a broken heart and bitter soul led Hannah to confess everything she felt to God. She begged, pleaded, and pledged a child that didn’t yet exist to a life of service for the Living God, if only He would grant her request.
I would like to highlight one specific point about Hannah’s prayer:
Desperation often leads to overwhelming transparency. I often wonder why we wait until we feel completely forsaken before arriving in a place of pure honesty. We serve a God who created us. This means He knows everything about us, and yet we often try to hide. Hannah was burdened with misery so profound it uncovered every ounce of pride she may have had. It drove her to a dependence on God she might have otherwise never experienced.
It’s okay to be a hot mess before God. It’s okay to be authentically you before the Almighty. He already knows who you are and expects you to come boldly to His throne.
For any of us who struggle with wondering if God will answer us in desperate moments the way He answered Hannah, I want to say this: All we know about Hannah is a few isolated events recorded in the Bible. We have no idea how many times Hannah had moments just like this one where she pleaded to God for a child with every stitch of her soul. We have no idea how long Hannah waited before this particular prayer changed everything.
Listen, no one wants to be told to wait for God’s plan. We need things from God. Whether it is physical healing, inner healing from brokenness, financial miracles, a baby, or wisdom in a particular decision or relationship, we often feel we don’t have time to wait because the clock is ticking. Comfort doesn’t usually come in the form of counsel telling us to trust God and wait. Yet, when we choose to listen to that advice we don’t want to hear, hope is produced. In fact, hope actually becomes plentiful.
In WW2 a Jewish person sat in a German concentration camp and scratched three lines on a wall. This is what was written:
“ I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when I don’t feel it.
I believe in God even when He is silent”
When we cry out God will meet us. It might not always be the way we expect, but God will give us hope and our faith will rise up. Whoever wrote those three lines had deep faith. I believe they boldly approached the throne and received a hope more powerful than anyone can begin to understand. I see peace woven throughout those words that cannot be explained by anything else except an encounter with the Almighty God.
Friend, you need to know that having an open heart before God and bringing your needs to Him every day will not cause Him to become bored of you. You also need to understand that if your answer doesn’t come the way you expect it that you are not loved any less. Regardless of the outcome, you need to make the decision to approach the throne with boldness. I believe approaching the throne looking like a hot mess counts in the bold before God department!
It is true that we have no choice but to wait and trust, but that doesn’t mean we remain stagnant in the meantime. We need to live our lives communicating with our God. It brings us into deeper relationship and brings hope and peace that we will not tap into any other way.
Love,
