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Christina Cook Lee

Media Producer - Author - Blogger - Songwriter

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Humility

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You are significant to God. You were made with a special purpose. --Christina Cook Lee, A Quest For New Strength
Link to New Strength Devotional, Audio Version
You are significant to God. You were made with a special purpose. --Christina Cook Lee, A Quest For New Strength
New Strength Devotional Inspirational Statement of the Day

Focus: Knowing who you are

Ephesians 4:1-3 (KJV) …Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

One of the beautiful things about the human life form is that each of us is created completely unique. There may be many similarities among family members—and even friends who have known each other a long time and spend a lot of time together, but every individual is one of a kind.

You may not feel all that special or think what you do is terribly important, but there is something different about you and the way you do things that God planned before your life began. According to scripture, no human life is an accident.

Each of our lives was ordained by God for a purpose. Do you know your purpose? A person’s purpose can also be called a ‘vocation’. It isn’t necessarily what you do for a living. A person could be a customer service representative—but possibly their vocation is to be a ‘listener’, or ‘one who prays’, or ‘one who gives encouragement’.

Your vocation is not always a ‘paid position’. It may not be something you will ever wear a name badge for—and others may not even realize you have that special calling on your life, unless they are able to spiritually discern it. Nevertheless, you have been called for that purpose.

The great thing about your purpose or vocation is that no one can deny it from you. You can never be ‘fired’ from it. It is a God-given gift that resides in you. It can’t be removed from your character. You may already know what your vocation is—or maybe you have yet to discover it…but it’s in you.

Your vocation develops throughout your life. Some people leave everything else behind when they discover their vocation to pursue that calling with all their heart, soul, and mind. Others continue to go about their life with new diligence and confidence…realizing that what they ‘do’ is only part of who they really ‘are’.

Sometimes when a person realizes their calling—they become overly bold and zealous. Their passion is so intense that others might not be able to relate to them anymore. Ephesians 4:1 encourages us to be sensitive and humble as we relate to people in our everyday life. In this verse we are exhorted to have humility about the gifts we have been given so our gifts can benefit others to the full extent. What good would it do for a person to realize their calling, if their pride about their gifting drove others away?

Part of the purpose of your calling is to perform the duties of your life and all your activities in such a way that the character of Jesus Christ would be seen in you; that the likeness of Christ—in you—would draw others to Him. That’s the purpose of any person’s vocation, in a nutshell. Your calling is not just for your own use—it’s so that the purpose of God can be accomplished on earth in a better way because you were here and were willing to participate.

When people realize everyone is ‘called’ for a special and unique purpose—there is no reason for competition. The discovery that every one of us has a specific job to do should remove all envy and jealousy. It would be crazy for us to want to do what someone else is doing—or take their job, if we fully embraced the importance of our own work and calling.

If you could imagine all of the people in the world as making up a big machine and imagine each person as an important  ‘part’ of the machine—it would be easy to understand that every single part of the machine is important to its ability to operate. If you take one part out—it breaks down. If one part decides it wants to be a different part—that will mess things up, too. Every individual part of the machine is just as important as any other…if it takes all of the parts to function.

It might appear as though certain parts of the machine do more work than other parts—or it might look like their responsibility is greater. But if you remove one little part that seems insignificant and the whole thing stops—it becomes clear that every piece of the machine plays a critical role in the overall performance and is equally important.

You are significant to God. You were made for a special purpose. You have a calling that is unique. Your vocation has the potential of bringing people together in the bond of peace.

Declaration: I will find new strength in embracing my vocation and pursuing it with humility. As I use my gifts to bring glory to God, I will become more secure in ‘who I am’. Finding peace with myself and my calling will enable me to be a blessing to God and others.

http://youtu.be/Ts6tOlJh3mg

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For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse:http://www.youtube.com/view_all_playlists

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee 2012. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog.

 

Bitterness

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Don't listen to the lie that you will never be any different--that there is no hope for you. --Christina Cook Lee, A Quest For New Strength
New Strength Devotional Inspirational Statement of the Day
Don't listen to the lie that you will never be any different--that there is no hope for you. --Christina Cook Lee, A Quest For New Strength
Link to New Strength Devotional, Audio Version

Focus: Not turning back

Exodus 16:2-3 (NIV) In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

There will be days when you will be tempted to fall into old habits and patterns of behavior–times when you lose sight of the future and the blessing just ahead–because you made the decision to look behind you. It is so important that you keep facing forward.

Posture yourself for progress. If you are turned sideways, you will be tempted to remember some small moment that was pleasurable when you were in bondage and turn back. If you do that, you will have to start all over again—or you may never become free, at all.

Face forward. Where you are going is far better than where you have been. You can’t move ahead when you have one foot in the future and the other foot stuck in the past.

The Biblical story of the children of Israel is one you can benefit from right now.  For more than 400 years, God’s chosen people were held as slaves in Egypt. They had no freedom and were unable to break away until God sent them a deliverer.

When they were finally able to leave their life of captivity, they embarked on a journey to a rich land God had promised to them. The trip ended up taking a lot longer than it should have. They became lost in a wilderness and wandered for years, not making any progress because of their constant complaining and disobedience.

Instead of being filled with gratitude that God had brought them out of their hopeless circumstances and was leading them to a new life that would be filled with plenty, they could only think of what they had left behind. Those who didn’t have faith never got to experience life in that new place. They died in the desert.

When you have stepped out of the past and have made the decision to come out of depression and addiction, there will be a time of temptation–a period when you will wonder if there is such a thing as being really free. Even if you hear stories of others who have made it through—you will think, “Well, it might have worked for them—but it can’t work for me.” There will be times when the enemy of your soul will whisper in your ear, “You don’t have to keep suffering in this wilderness—just turn back. What you had before was better than this.”

Don’t listen to the lie that you will never be any different—that there is no hope for you. Don’t believe because there is a history of depression and addiction in your family, you are just going to have to live the same way because it is in your blood.

Keep making it through one day at a time knowing you have a Deliverer. The power you have working in you has brought you this far and you will make it this time.

Declaration: I will go forward and not backward. By the power of God, I will win this battle. I will not die in the desert. I will live and prosper–as my God has promised.

If you subscribe to New Strength, a new segment will come to your email each day.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse:http://www.youtube.com/view_all_playlists

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee 2012. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog.

 

Hope

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New Strength 5-1
MAY 2 

Focus: More of God

Psalm 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

During a long battle with depression, or a recurring battle, you ask yourself, ‘Why am I still going through this?’ Or, ‘Why am I going through this again?’ What is it about depression that is so hard to shake?

The word ‘depression’ indicates a ‘low spot’. A place of emptiness. A condition of lack. Have you ever given any thought as to whether the loneliness of depression could be related to the soul’s cry for more of God?

Psalm 42 was written by someone who was struggling with a very deep need. The writer begins by saying he is thirsty for God. It’s interesting he uses thirst as a comparison of his need for God.

Before we go any further, think about how water consumption is basic to human survival. We were created with a continual need for hydration. God made us that way. For basic health requirements, it’s recommended the average person should consume eight glasses of water a day.

Thirst is a recurring condition. So, the writer of Psalm 42 uses thirst to describe his need for consistent infilling—or more and more of God.

After the verse about thirst, the writer launches into a statement that essentially says, ‘When am I going to get to come to You? I am living through a veil of tears—not even desiring food. My loneliness and homesickness for You makes me a subject of mockery, as people ask me where my God is.’

The Psalmist explains how even after going to a religious event—a celebration of joyful praise with many people—he is still ‘cast down’ with a depression that is actually loneliness for even more of God. The writer is clearly not thirsty for more religion—he craves more relationship with God.

He goes on to refer to some lofty mountain peaks and a vast fertile land—but states he is not satisfied by the most beautiful sights of earth—knowing the dwelling place of God to be far superior.

In verse seven, we see the phrase, ‘Deep calls unto deep’. Here, the writer is using the word ‘deep’ to describe the extent of his great capacity and desire for God. Yet, he acknowledges God as ‘deep’ in His ability and resources—which are compared to noisy waterspouts, waves, and billows. The writer knows God is capable of covering him with great and overwhelming springs of living water. He doesn’t use ‘still water’—which also can run deep—as a symbol of God’s ability to sustain him. He uses a wild and lively outpouring of water that is continually overflowing and unstoppable.

He continues, declaring his confidence that he would survive his present circumstances with the lovingkindness of the Lord in the daytime, the song of the Lord in the night, and his own prayer to the God he can’t live without.

His need for more of God is so great that even with these wonderful provisions of comfort from the Lord—he still feels as though he has been forgotten—compared to how much more of God he desires.

He goes around mourning because people who don’t have the kind of desire he has for God—are so heartless toward him. Even though he is consumed with a great love for the Lord, he lives with the daily assault of the enemy of his soul. He grows tired of the battle and his loneliness for more of God.

In spite of his sorrow and suffering, he commands his soul to have hope in God. He knows more of God is the only hope for him. He is sure God is the only One able to provide him with the nourishment he needs for his spiritual and physical health to be restored. He promises to continue praising God—now, and in the future—as the One who will transform his circumstances.

As you view your own situation of depression, consider whether it might actually be a loneliness for more of the Lord. Think about your own ‘low spot’, emptiness, and lack. Is it something God can’t fill? Contemplate these things, and in your desperate moments when things appear hopeless—say, ‘Give me more, Lord. More of You. I thirst.’

Declaration: I will find new strength by viewing the condition of depression with a different attitude. I will see it as a need for more of God. I will take comfort in knowing the depth of the Lord’s love and resources is as deep as my need.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book in 2013, by the grace of God. To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse:http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1&flow=grid