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Silent Surrender

4/26/2018

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By Erin Elizabeth Austin

There are moments in life when the unexpected happens, when a tragedy or problem comes seemingly out of nowhere like a summer storm, and we wonder how we’ll make it through. These moments are life-changing. It’s impossible to come to such an impasse and not be changed. The question becomes, “Will it make me better, or will it make me bitter?”

Last week, I talked about my recent life-defining moment (See Slaying Dragons). If I’m honest, for almost a month I wrestled with the question of how to respond to my personal tragedy. True, no one died, yet for me, such a huge, unexpected sickness had me questioning what God was doing in my life. For four years everything seemed to indicate that God was slowly healing me. Dealing with a brain infection went against what I believed God was doing. I was expecting good to happen in my life and instead, I got pain and drama.

I couldn’t help but think of Job as I struggled to respond to God in absolute trust. Job went from the height of success to living in desolation, and although he didn’t walk away from God like he was tempted to, he did question what God was doing. It isn’t until Job 40-42 that he finally learns an important truth. Knowing God is in charge is completely different than resting in His authority.   
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One of the most quoted verses in the Old Testament is Psalm 46:10, which says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Most people think that “be still” means to “be quiet.” However, the original Hebrew root for this phrase means something completely different. What God is actually saying in this verse is “let go.”  

Let go and know that I am God. 

I’m not very good at letting go. I like order and plans. I like knowing what’s going to happen next. So, to come to a place where I can take a step back, throw my hands up in surrender, and say, “God, this is yours,” is incredibly difficult for me to do. Yet it’s one of the most vital things a believer can do, to come to a place in life of absolute surrender where we can honestly say, “God, I need You more than I need to be healed. I need you more than I need this problem to be resolved. I need you more than I need my family and friends. I’m letting go. Help me know that You are God!”

So many of us are going about our lives trying to hang onto a little bit of control. We may not admit it, but we don’t want to give everything to God. We want to be in charge of our lives; we want to have a say in what happens next. As the poet William Ernest Henley said, “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”[i] But this isn’t biblical or God-honoring. It only steals our joy and peace when trials come our way, and it keeps us from walking in all the blessings God wants to give us.
God, in His infinite wisdom, has a plan for each of our lives. No matter what personal tragedy you’re facing, God can reach into the mess and turn it into something glorious. He’s not overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of your problem. He’s not questioning what He can do to fix it. God is present. He is with you, at this very moment, inviting you to surrender everything to Him. Can you hear Him?

It’s time to let go!
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“Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” ~ Psalm 46:10 (NASB)
© April 25, 2018

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/718319.William_Ernest_Henley
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Slaying Dragons

4/19/2018

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By Erin Elizabeth Austin
​“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ~ G.K. Chesterton
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I’m good at dying. As morbid as that sounds, I have been told by doctors on six different occasions that I was about to die or I should already be dead. It sounds horrible to say, but after so many times of hearing a doctor say this, death has become routine. It’s expected; the only question is when it will happen.

Maybe that’s why this latest bout of sickness was so incredibly difficult for me. You see, this past October, I spent a week being tested and prodded like a lab rat by my doctor. What she discovered was mind-boggling. After four years of intense treatments, my body decided to do something profound. The organs decided to work! Before I started treatments, my liver was barely functioning at only 10%. My kidneys were only slightly better, working at 20%. My stomach and intestines were massively inflamed. My lungs had scarring that kept them from fighting off the simplest of colds, and I was told years before that my uterus would never carry a child. But God decided none of that mattered, and this past October I was told that my organs work! Not only is every organ functioning at 100%, but I was told my body can now carry a child to term if I ever decide I want to get pregnant.

I can’t describe what hearing that did to me. There are no words adequate enough to share that mountaintop experience. My life suddenly went from knowing death was imminent to being told I might live until I’m an old woman, which is something I’ve NEVER experienced in my adult life. So when I got sick the day after Thanksgiving, my spirit plummeted. Suddenly, I was no longer good at dealing with sickness. I was supposed to be getting better. Severe pain and fatigue were supposed to be in my past. The joy I used to claim was gone. There was no song in my heart, and laughter was nowhere to be found.

It didn’t escape my notice that we just finished a Bible study on Believing God. I made the statement months ago that sometimes we have to make a conscious decision to plant our feet and choose to trust God no matter what. And I did! My joy may have fled when I became sick, but my trust in God remained firm. Yet I still couldn’t help but wonder what a person is supposed to do after praying and making a stand to trust God when problems prevail. Just because we choose to trust God doesn’t automatically make the problems disappear. So, what does one do while waiting?

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Worship.

I heard God whisper this after I asked Him what to do for the twentieth time.

​Worship Me.

If I’m honest, I didn’t like the answer. You see, I didn’t feel like worshipping God. It turns out that because my organs didn’t work for years, they held onto bacteria and viruses. When they started working, they suddenly realized that all the bad germs needed to leave and began attacking everything at once. Like a broken dam after a flood, my blood showed twelve different bacteria my body was trying to fight at once, two of which had the potential to be fatal. Awful doesn’t come close to describing how I physically felt for five months. I didn’t have the mental clarity to hold a conversation half the time, and yet God wanted me to worship Him.

After telling God I thought He was crazy, He showed me numerous times in Scripture where worship was the key to tearing down strongholds, winning fierce battles, and triumphing over giants. My favorite passage is 2 Chronicles 20 where three different armies decided to come together and fight Judah. Everyone came before God crying out for help, and His answer was, “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you,” (vs. 17). The next day, the people gathered together and they began to worship God. Even though God said He would deliver them, it wasn’t until the people began to worship that the enemy was defeated.

Time after time in Scripture we see this truth. Worship is a battle cry. When we turn our eyes off our problems and put them on the only One who matters, God does amazing, miraculous things. Giants fall. Dragons are slain. God’s people walk in victory!
For the past five months, I’ve saturated myself in worship music. Throughout the day, I keep worship music playing in the background, and an amazing thing has happened through this. When I first started, all I could do was sit in silence and surrender. But more and more, worship has become a source of joy and encouragement. It’s become an anthem for my soul, and I’m starting to see God do things I could never have imagined. What I've learned through this is that worship connects us to God’s dynamic power.

Do you have a giant in your life that seems impossible to overcome? Or maybe you have a dragon that needs to be defeated. If you have a relationship with God, there’s good news. God is the dragon slayer! It’s time to shout your battle cry and worship Him!
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“As they started to sing praises, the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who had come into Judah. They were defeated.”  ~ 2 Chronicles 20:22 (GW)   
*Note: If you’re looking for a good place to start worshipping God, check out the music group Rend Collective. They have quickly become one of my favorite bands.

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​​Do you have a favorite quote that regularly motivates and encourages you? If so, please share it in the comment section below. You might just see it in a blog post.
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    Erin Elizabeth Austin

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    Erin Elizabeth Austin is a writer and speaker with a passion to help people find healing in the midst of their brokenness.

    If you want to contact Erin directly please click here.


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    Josie Siler

    Contributor

    Josie Siler, like millions of others, is living with chronic illness. She is eager to share the hope and joy that she has found in Christ, whether that is in a church, at a women’s retreat, over a cup of hot cocoa, or through a blog post.
    Click here to email Josie.


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