Joel M Bradshaw

2if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, 3then they would have swallowed us up alive–Psalm 124

[Note: to you who receive this as an email, the format was crazy yesterday. I don’t know why it ended up that way, but sorry about that!]

I journey with people in counseling who face difficult relationship and personal choices. And when the Bible is clear on the matter they are left with tough decisions.

Take my friend who is in recovery for alcohol and drug addiction. In her past she hurt most of the relationships in her life. All of those relationships are messy and broken. They are stained in some way by her past selfishness. As faces herself, pursues sobriety, and begins to make amends to the ones she hurt, my friend is journeying a difficult but necessary road.

I thought of her this morning reading the psalm. Israel had God on their side in a way that the other nations did not, I guess. I don’t pretend to understand what they meant by that. When they were slaves in Egypt, God was on Israel’s side and not Egypt’s.

But my friend has Jesus on her side. She bravely has faced herself and has owned to others how she has hurt them. In humility she has asked for forgiveness to the ones she hurt most. They can choose to not forgive her or to have her in their lives. My friend is not in control of their responses. But in owning her selfishness and staying intentional about the right things, the villain stops being the villain. There is hope for her and for those relationships!

When would Jesus be on your side?

1. When you stop living in denial and bravely face your selfishness.
2. When you humbly ask for help and then got that help.
3. When you bring a trusted accountability person into your life.
4. When you humbly own how you have hurt someone else.
5. When you humbly ask for forgiveness and seek to make amends.
6. When you deny yourself instead of selfishly pursuing yourself.
7. When you submit to biblical counsel about the the things to intentionally stop and start in your life. And stay intentional!
8. When you stop trusting yourself for salvation and instead trust Jesus. Stop saying ‘I got this’.
9. When you not only respond with grace to difficult people, but actually lead with grace.
10. When you forgive the unforgivable because God has forgiven your unforgivable.

I turn 45 today. Birthdays get a person reflective. I have had to do every single one of those 10 things in my life!–JMB