Your Hope Coach
Your Hope Coach
Praising God With a Broken Heart | Ep01
How do you praise God when your heart is broken? In my special Christmas message, our discussion focuses on God's beautiful redemption story. Through God's grace and mercy, His light shines on us when we are sitting in a dark place. Our faithful God will help us, one step at a time, down the path of peace.
Links and verses:
Free Download: Faith Over Feelings
Verses to ponder:
Luke 1
Luke 2:34-35
John 3:16
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Psalm 56
Luke 1:78-79
Psalm 23
Hello, friend. Welcome to Your Hope Coach podcast. I'm Carmen Horn , your host, and your hope coach. I pray that you'll look forward to our visits as a few minutes of hope in a world that wants us to feel hopeless. Hey y'all, you're listening to a special Christmas episode. This is my very first episode and I'm so thankful that you're taking the time for a visit during this busy season. I really wanted to get this episode published so I could encourage you during the holidays. Many of us are feeling sad, stressed, and disillusioned right now, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year and also one of the most difficult. You may be grieving a loss. Larry and I have no living parents or grandparents that makes holidays really different, but y'all Losses include many circumstances that are not tied to the death of someone dear to you. Maybe your job is uncertain or you're fighting a challenging diagnosis. Maybe your life just seems to be topsy-turvy right now, and you're just not in the mood to celebrate anything. I mean, you love Jesus, but your joys at war with your circumstances. I hear you . Christmas time was hard on Jesus' mama too . Every Jewish woman's dream was to birth a messiah. Mary was chosen. Her dreams had come true. Yet Mary wasn't spared hurt the woman. God chose to bear his only son for his earthly life also watched her sinless son die, a criminal's death. On the cross, Simeon gave Mary a glimpse of Jesus' future when he prophesied. This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your very soul. Okay, now, can you imagine that kind of prophecy of your child? I'm thinking Simeon, did you need to tell her that on the day of Jesus' dedication, we dedicated our daughter to God when she was a baby, and I'm so thankful no one gifted me with that kind of news. Mary watched Jesus grow. She listened with all to his teachings, saw or heard about all the miracles. She grieved all the hatred and abuse heaped upon him. Ultimately, Jesus's little mama stood at the foot of the cross and watched him die. No Mary wasn't spared. God had a plan, a beautiful redemption story that would unfold through Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Mary was a part of the plan. Did Mary praise God through her tears? The Bible doesn't record Mary's feelings, but I bet she did. How do you praise God when your heart's broken? The only way to praise when we are broken
Speaker 2:And worship when there is an empty spot in our hearts is through our relationship with Jesus. Praising God changes us. It might not change the circumstances and the situations we face, but it will change our response to it. Praising God helps us maintain an an eternal perspective, reminding us that we don't grieve as people with no hope and that there's more to this life than what we see. Now, let me tell you what sometimes our praise may look like. Tears washing our cheeks as our hearts surrender our pain to our heavenly Father. Tears are our language of their own. Our tears are important to God. As a matter of fact, David, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us in Psalms 56 that our heavenly Father collects them in his bottle and records each one in his book. Listen to Dr. Luke describe God's mercy and grace to us during our struggles. I love how it reads in the message. Through the heartfelt mercys of our God, God's sunrise will break in upon us, shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, then showing us the way one foot at a time down the path of peace. God's light will shine on us when we're sitting in a dark place in the shadow of death in our brokenness from so many circumstances and situations, God's gonna be so faithful one step at a time. He will help us travel down the path of peace. Within the pages of the Bible, we hear God speak. The Holy Spirit will open our eyes to verses and help us understand what he's saying. Our heavenly Father is the master restore of brokenness. David writes so transparently about his struggles in the Bible. That's one of the reasons I like to read the book of Psalms. He may begin his lament with mourning and sadness, but he always ends with praise. David reminds himself of God's faithfulness. David encourages himself. Please take a moment soon and read Psalms 23. You might even have him memorize. Y'all have quoted that chapter to myself for comfort Many a Dark Night . I created a free download for y'all based on Psalms 23, faith Over Feelings. I'll put that link in the show notes. It's during these times that we also make the choice to trust what we know about the character of God instead of our feelings. God is faithful when others are unfaithful. God is love when others are unloving. God is truth. When others are dishonest, God is peace when others cause chaos. Remember, this is all a process. The Holy Spirit is our comforter. He will walk alongside us. Merry Christmas my friends. December is our month to celebrate the Birth of the Prince of Peace. May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way while you're here. Hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Be sure and check out the show notes for all links and Bible verses . I reference . Talk to you soon.