Our Beautiful Minds

God truly pulled out all of the stops when he created the inner workings of the human mind. The brain is capable of some of the most amazing feats. I watched an interview of Dr. Ben Carson on the 700 Club a while ago and I was floored by some of the facts that he presented about the brain. Dr Ben Carson is a world renowned neurosurgeon who retired from Johns Hopkins Hospital. I wanted to share some of those fascinating facts with you all. I have no doubt that you will learn a few things in regards to these beautiful minds the Lord has so graciously bestowed upon each of us.

• The things you learn never leaves your brain- everything you have ever seen, everything you have ever heard, it’s all in there! Neuroscientists can actually use electrodes and stimulate the brain so you could quote word for word something you read in the third grade.

This one was a total shocker to me. I can’t even imagine quoting lines from “Charlotte's Web.” (Which by the way, I did actually read in third grade!) Can you imagine the capacity that our brains have if every single experience that has ever crossed our path, every word we have ever heard and every detail we have have ever placed before our eyes is all there, lined up like little soldiers neatly in a row? I can not even begin to grasp the vastness of this concept. Now knowing this, think about just how extremely important it is to monitor very closely what we put in front of our eyes and along our path of life, because those things are never coming out. Those things will stay locked away in the recesses of our minds until the day we leave this earth. These things will inevitably affect us for the rest of our lives on a subconscious level.

• You can’t possibly overload your brain because you can process 2 million bits of information per second. The vastness of our brains is this, if you learned one new piece of information per second it would take you more than three million years to challenge the capacity of your brain.

Wow! The Lord has truly given us a beautiful mind, which by the way has absolutely limitless potential! The Lord’s creative genius never ceases to astound and amaze me. We are limitless when it comes to challenging our minds. God has  given each of us a beautiful mind in which to stretch to endless proportions. Think about the possibilities, and not just in the natural, not just for the advancement of the things of this world, but think of the possibilities that the Lord can use our amazing minds to further His kingdom! Oh, the potential that is there if we only were willing to lay hold of just the smallest sliver of what He has created us to do!

Like riding a bicycle

When I heard these facts about the workings of our brains it encouraged me so much. Learning never came easy to me. I was the one in college that was found in the library on a Friday night studying for a test coming up in two weeks. Yes, I truly was that kind of person. If I had not stayed very rigid with my studies I would have flailed my way right out of college completely. I knew that with much determination and hard work I could turn college into a very successful venture for myself. It is encouraging to know that those countless hours spent studying were not wasted because all of that knowledge is still in there (somewhere). The struggle lies in being able to access those things tucked away in the crevices of our brains. I guess that’s why they say some things are like riding a bicycle. Once you get back into using that knowledge more on a regular bases it all comes back, just like it might be if you hadn’t ridden a bicycle in years and then suddenly needed that skill once again. That’s not to say that our skills wouldn’t be a little rusty, but it would come back to us. I am so grateful that we have such an amazing creator that has created us in such a way that we are not limited to our potential both with challenging our minds and the potential we have in the kingdom of God.

How GREAT is our God!

After learning these mind boggling facts about our brains, I have come to a better understanding of what it means in Genesis chapter 1 when it says...

“So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

God’s capabilities are endless! God has not even given us a percentage of mental capabilities that He Himself possesses. Wow! What an incomprehensible God we serve. In catching a small glimpse into the complexities of the human brain, and understanding God is the creator of our complex brain, which by the way to Him is so very simple and straightforward in His eyes, how much more vast is our God then our “simplistic” minds? Mind blowing isn’t it? It’s no wonder  that…

“no eye has seen, ...no ear has heard, and ...no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9

To read more about the creativity of our amazing God visit my blog post entitled “Our Creative God.”

Thank you Lord for our beautiful minds. We stand in awestruck wonder at your creative genius. There are no words that can even capture your vastness. We truly serve an amazing God. Thank you for the glimpse into just how truly mighty you are. Your vastness brings us to our knees in humility. Lord, we yield our lives to you because we truly know that our lives are in no safer place then in your outstretched hands.

The Lord's Compassion

The very definition of compassion flows from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our Lord is the best example of compassion that we will ever see. If we ever doubt the level of compassion that Lord has for us, than we simply need to examine His hands and His feet. He looked upon us, full of sin, full of disregard for Him and His word and was still willing to lay down His life for us.There is no greater form of compassion that exists. This is compassion at its finest! This is also love at its pinnacle! God’s compassion also does not discriminate. Scripture tells us He has compassion on all He has made, not merely a select few. Can we even wrap our minds around this thought for just one moment? Without the compassion of the Lord, we would never have salvation. What a sobering thought. It is when God’s compassion flows that the healing power of salvation can come in like a flood!

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate slow to anger and rich in love, The Lord is good to all: he has compassion on all he has made.” Psalm 145:8-9

“(The Lord) who redeems your life from the pit and who crowns you with love and compassion.” Psalm 103:4

Our calling to compassion

Christ calls us to have compassion on one another. This can be a daunting task because unlike the Lord who is slow to anger, rich in love and full of compassion, we can sometimes be quick to anger, poor in love and running on empty in the compassion department. However, despite our downfalls, Christ desires us to flow with compassion towards others. I tend to believe that we must take extensive measures to clothe ourselves with compassion each and every day. There is no automatic button in the kingdom that we can push when we need to have compassion on a person and a particular situation. Being compassionate takes work! I know for me, I often forget to put on my compassion shirt some days. Clothing ourselves with compassion can be especially difficult with the people we are most close to, like our family and friends. When we forget to clothe ourselves with compassion we find ourselves saying or doing things we regret later. I don’t know about you, but I have found myself in this situation more times then I care to admit.

“Be kind and compassionate one to another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Christ has set for us the ultimate example of compassion. He knows that in our humanness we are not going to pour out compassion freely without missing the mark from time to time (or if you are anything like me, most of the time). I thank God that He is so patient in this area. He is willing to take His time with us to make sure that we not only know what it feels like to have compassion poured out on us in abundance with no strings attached to it, but He is also going to be patient with us as we learn how to pour out that same type of compassion for others. Let’s allow the Lord to teach us and mold us into people who move in great compassion on others. We never know when one small act of compassion can turn into eternal life for that individual.

Lord, I thank you for our beautiful example of compassion on us. I pray that we remember to clothe ourselves each and every morning with an abundance of compassion. Help us to yield to your process of teaching us how to be a people of great compassion. Teach us how to move in that vein of compassion with the people we come across in our daily lives. Help us to be slow anger, rich in love and full and overflowing with compassion. These are the things that a dying world needs to see in so many ways.  

Testing My Words

I appreciate how the Lord will take the things we have learned and finds ways to test us in those areas. God wants the things we have learned to be a permanent fixture in our lives, not just a passing fad. He does not want His word to go in one hear and out the other. He wants His word to be living and active. He wants His word to be so much a part of our lives that when the testing comes we pull out our Biblical lessons and lean on them with all that we are. He wants us to take Him at His word. The Lord recently took me back to a previous blog post entitled “Hurts.” As I read I was reminded of some recent dealings of the Lord in my heart in this exact area. That post was about how others are going hurt us, and cut us to the deep. It’s the unfortunate part about being human. It also talks about our responsibility of responding with the heart of God in the face of our hurts. I wrote that post in the face of a situation I personally was dealing with. That post was the culmination of the things in which I had learned from that particular situation. The Lord taught me these wonderful lessons and later down the road He called me out to see if I really believed what He taught me or if I was just going to revert back to my same old ways of dealing with these situations. I was tested in this area of being hurt by others yet again. I can honestly say, I failed with flying colors! Yes, I sure did! If God had a grade book I would have received a big fat "F." But I thank God that He tested me on those words I had written because He brought me to a place where His healing waters ran deep and wide. I found myself wading in His rivers like I never have before. My lack of dealing with the hurts that had been dealt upon my broken heart caused a deep conviction to my spirit. I am so grateful that the Lord was willing to call me out and help me see that there was still more work to be done in this area.

Healing work to be done
It is hard to deal with the painful wounds that can be left behind by the carelessness of others. The Lord has taught me that it is not my job to judge them for what they did. It is not my job to hold a grudge against them. If we are really honest here, most of the time the other person doesn’t even realize that they have wounded us unless we let them know and how often is it really even our place to give them a piece of our mind? (See: "Our Defense Mechanism" to know how to respond to those who have hurt us.) Bear in mind that coddling an open wound will not allow it to heal. If we keep going to that wound and picking off the scab by rehearsing the hurt we have been dealt, that wound cannot heal! It will continue to fester and possibly get worse, if not become infected. Yes, the constant rehearsing of our hurts will keep our hearts from healing. By recently going back and revisiting that blog post “Hurts,” I realized that I am still learning this lesson.Yes, and at times I am still picking off the scab and not allowing things to heal. There is still reconstructive surgery yet to be performed on this heart of mine. I have not arrived. In fact I never will. I will, however, be just a little more aware the next time my heart is hurt. I will be just a little more aware of my thoughts, my actions and my words. I am so grateful that we serve a patient God, a God who is willing to take His time with us, a God who does not give up on us, a God who never leaves us or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He’s still working on me. He’s still making me into the masterpiece that He has in mind for me to be.

Allow the Lord to work in your life. Allow Him to test the things He has been teaching you. Allow Him to make the things He has been teaching your heart to become a permanent part of your walk, and not just something you forget about tomorrow. God does not desire for us to live an “in one ear and out the other” lifestyle. He desires for the things that we learn to become part of us so that we can pass them along to others.

Share
I share this with you today because I want you to know that I am no expert in any area I write about here at learningirl4life. I just desire to share my heart in hopes that the Lord will use my experiences to encourage and strengthen you in your walk with Christ. We have so much to learn from one another. I encourage you to share your experiences and your heart with those around you. You have the ability to bless and encourage so many for Christ. You never know whom you might impact for eternity simply by sharing your heart.

Lord, I thank you that take the things you have been teaching us and you test us in those areas of our lives. You do not test us in spite, or to see us fail, but you test us so that we can come out the other side with these lessons as a permanent fixture in our walk with you, so that we will not easily forget the precious lessons you have taught our hearts on this journey with you. I thank you that you are not a God who leaves us to fend for ourselves, but you mold us and shape us on your potter’s wheel. You are creating a masterpiece with our lives. Masterpieces take time. Thank you for taking your time to make us right. Thank you for wanting us to be something beautiful. Continue to test us so that we can come out beautiful.      

Holding Up The Hands Of Others

“The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” Exodus 17:8-13

By the word of the Lord, Moses had commanded Joshua to go and fight the Amalekites. Moses promised Joshua that he would stand at the top of the hill with his staff and hands raised to the Almighty God. When Moses had his hands lifted, the Israelites were winning, but the very second Moses grew tired and lowered his hands, the Amalekites began to win. When Aaron and Hur saw that Moses was struggling to hold his hands up any longer, they came, one one each side and held up his hands steady till sunset, until a complete victory over the Amalekites had taken place.

We are no different then Aaron and Hur. We are all called to come alongside those in need and hold up their hands in those challenging moments. More than likely we are not going to be on top of a literal hill holding up the hands of a brother or sister in Christ. So how does this translate to us and our world today? There are several things we need to take into consideration. First, we must recognize that there is a need. Next, we must be available for that person. Lastly, we must be willing to hold up their hands and as long as it takes to see the hand of God move.

Recognize the need

We need to recognize those times when others need  us to come alongside them with our love, devotion and support. Scripture does not say if Moses asked Aaron and Hur to join him in this task of seeking the Lord on this mountain. It just states that they went. I would like to think that they recognized that Moses was in deep distress over the impending battle that they decided to join him for spiritual, emotional and moral support on their own without Moses asking. It is also likely that Moses asked his closest companions in the faith to join him on the mountain because he knew it would be a time that when two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord so He will be there also (Matthew 18:20). Whatever the scenario was, Aaron and Hur recognized the deep need that Moses had in having others surrounding him in this time of vigilant prayer and petitioning before the Lord. We too need to recognize in others those times of need. We must be careful not to assume that their silence means they don’t need others around to hold up their hands. Just because someone does not openly ask for help does not necessarily mean that they are capable of doing it on their own. If it had not been for Aaron and Hur, Moses would have surely lowered his hands in exhaustion and the battle would have been a complete loss for the Israelites. Can we see the importance of needing others in the body of Christ to help hold up our hands from time to time? God sometimes calls us to do the impossible, but He does not call us to do it alone.

Be available

Along with recognizing the need, also comes being available when the need arises. The outcome would have been totally different if Aaron and Hur would have told Moses, “look, we are just too busy to go with you right now, can we take a rain check for next week?” Victory would have never been the portion of the Israelites if Aaron and Hur would have been “too busy.” We need to make sure we are not too busy when the needs of others arise. We need to be available when God is moving and not make excuses for why we can’t hold up the hands of others.

Be willing

We need to be willing to hold up the hands of others for as long as it takes to see the hand of God move in their particular situation. For Aaron and Hur it was all day (until sunset). Please note that not all situations get resolved in one day. It can sometimes take months and even years of holding up the hands of others until we see the Lord move. The key is to not get off the mountain and grow weary in the time of waiting. In the case of Aaron and Hur, they were literally holding up the hands of Moses. More than likely we will not find ourselves on the top of a mountain physically holding up the hands of others toward heaven. (Although, don’t count it out, anything is possible with the Lord.) So, what is this more than likely going to look like for us? The holding up of hands can take on so many different forms. I want to touch on just a couple ways we can hold up the hands of others toward heaven.  

Prayer

Prayer is quite possibly the number one way we can hold up the hands of others. This can take place in a number of different ways. It can be done by ourselves in our prayer closets with no one else around. (Matthew 6:6) It can be done in a group of other believers. (Matthew 18:20) Not everyone feels comfortable sharing their needs to a group. So, we need to also be ready to hold the hands of others up when they just come to us with their needs and begin to share their heart. (James 5:16) So in these moments, embrace them and lead them to the feet of the father in prayer.

Biblical Encouragement

Good old fashioned Biblical encouragement is another area in which we can hold up the hands of others (Hebrews 3:13). We all know what it feels like to walk in a place of discouragement. How many of us would be so grateful for an encouraging word in those moments? I sure would! The people we find ourselves placed around are in no less need of an encouraging word then we are in our times of discouragement. So, what does Biblical encouragement look like, and how do we encourage others? First of all, Biblical encouragement is not simply saying nice things to or about someone (AKA - flattery). It does not merely point out a person’s strengths. Biblical encouragement does not focus on the person and how they are going to get through their situation. Here is what Biblical encouragement does. It points out God’s strengths. It points the person to the nature and character of God the Father. Biblical encouragement focuses on God and His faithfulness. It takes the focus off of the person and their trials and puts their focus on God and His faithfulness. Our job of encouraging is not to make the other person feel better. Our job of encouraging is to put their eyes back on the one who is the author and perfecter of their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Biblical encouragement does not preach at them, it simply refocuses their attentions to where it truly belongs, on Jesus.    

Support

Sometimes Biblical encouragement says nothing at all. Romans 12:15 tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. We can hold up the hands of others by simply being a support to them in their times of deep joy and sorrow. We do not need to have all the answers and right words to say. We just need to point others to the one who does have all the answers, who is able to bring comfort to the deepest sorrows and hurts,  our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Serving with love and compassion

Serving others with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ is yet another way we can hold up the hands of others. Jesus Christ is our ultimate example of a servant. He did not come to this earth to be served, but to serve, and to give up His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) Just as He came to serve. He is calling us to do the same. The Lord desires that we serve out of a love and compassion for the other person’s heart, not merely because we feel sorry for them, but because we care for them and because God cares for them. That is where our motivation for service needs to come from, straight from the heart of Jesus Christ Himself!

Dear Lord, I thank you for your example of Aaron and Hur who held up the hands of Moses in his time of need. Help us to be the just like that, to come alongside others and hold up their hands in their times of deep need. Help us to be observant and not miss the times when others need us to hold up their hands. Put a burden in our heart for those around us who need some spiritual support. Help us to persevere with holding up the hands of others for as long as it takes to see you move on their behalf. Help us not to grow weary and frustrated in the time of waiting, but to be an encouragement to those we are trying to support.

For more about this subject see my blog post entitled “Carrying One Another’s Burdens”.