A Well-Timed Fortune Cookie
By Sarah Bryant, Fellowship Bible Church, Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team 9/18/19
The God of glory thunders. The voice of the LORD is powerful and majestic. It breaks the
cedars. It hews out flames of fire. It shakes the wilderness. It makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare. (Psalm 29) It is mighty (Psalm 68). It’s like the sound of many waters (Ezekiel 43). It comes in a whirlwind (Job 38), from the midst of a fire (Exodus 3). It comes on the mountain tops (Exodus 19). It comes in a…fortune cookie? OK, I don’t have a scriptural reference for that one…but today, for me, I believe it did.
A few years back I’d struggled with some suicidal thinking. I seriously doubted my worth and value. I was hopeless, and exhausted. But God saw me through that in an amazing way through CR and therapy. This past year, however, has been a little rough, and recently some of these worthless and hopeless feelings have started to rear their ugly head again as I find myself working through issues from my past that I thought I’d put behind me. But despite my current struggles, this past Friday night I celebrated by taking a three year chip for well…basically still breathing! The first chip I ever took at CR was in the midst of a crisis as I acknowledged that my life is not my life, it’s God’s life, so my life is not my life to take. Three years ago I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to keep breathing, but now, even in the midst of some pretty difficult struggles, I thankfully and gratefully celebrate God’s gift to me of life and breath.
This month is National Recovery Month, and yesterday (9/10) was World Suicide Prevention Day. So if you are struggling, hurting, hopeless, exhausted…reach out! There’s life beyond the darkness that can seem so overwhelming. The fight can be unbelievably hard, but it’s absolutely worth it, and there are people out there who want to walk through it with you. CR is a great place to meet some of those people and to get plugged into the heartbeat of what (I believe) God intended the church to be. You matter to God, your life matters to God, and your life can make a difference in this world.
I have a lot of great days now. In these past three years since deciding to keep breathing I’ve
gone stand-up paddle boarding with wild dolphins, I’ve run a half marathon, I’ve competed in eight triathlons, I’ve won blue ribbons at the state fair for baking pies, I’ve solo-vacationed in Alaska, I’ve lead step studies and open share groups, I’ve even been a sponsor a few times. But the absolute highlight of these past three years was sharing my testimony with my forever family on a Friday night. None of those things would have happened if I had made a different decision three years ago, but because I’m still breathing, I have the privilege of offering hope to other hurting people. As long as you’re breathing God can use you to make a difference.
The week I wrote this was a tough week for me, I mean really tough. Like literally panic attack on the floor hard. I would typically pack my lunch for work, but I was exhausted, depressed, and running late, so I had to grab some fast food. Chinese food. And what did that little fortune cookie have to say?
“Without you in it, the world would be a less friendly place.”
Maybe it’s not a voice like the roaring thunder. It didn’t come in a whirlwind or the midst of the fire. But what if I heard the soft, gentle voice of a loving God in a fortune cookie today? Just to remind me that my life matters to Him. Have a great week! See you at Celebrate Recovery!
The God of glory thunders. The voice of the LORD is powerful and majestic. It breaks thecedars. It hews out flames of fire. It shakes the wilderness. It makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare. (Psalm 29) It is mighty (Psalm 68). It’s like the sound of many waters (Ezekiel 43). It comes in a whirlwind (Job 38), from the midst of a fire (Exodus 3). It comes on the mountain tops (Exodus 19). It comes in a…fortune cookie? OK, I don’t have a scriptural reference for that one…but today, for me, I believe it did.
A few years back I’d struggled with some suicidal thinking. I seriously doubted my worth and value. I was hopeless, and exhausted. But God saw me through that in an amazing way through CR and therapy. This past year, however, has been a little rough, and recently some of these worthless and hopeless feelings have started to rear their ugly head again as I find myself working through issues from my past that I thought I’d put behind me. But despite my current struggles, this past Friday night I celebrated by taking a three year chip for well…basically still breathing! The first chip I ever took at CR was in the midst of a crisis as I acknowledged that my life is not my life, it’s God’s life, so my life is not my life to take. Three years ago I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to keep breathing, but now, even in the midst of some pretty difficult struggles, I thankfully and gratefully celebrate God’s gift to me of life and breath.
This month is National Recovery Month, and yesterday (9/10) was World Suicide Prevention Day. So if you are struggling, hurting, hopeless, exhausted…reach out! There’s life beyond the darkness that can seem so overwhelming. The fight can be unbelievably hard, but it’s absolutely worth it, and there are people out there who want to walk through it with you. CR is a great place to meet some of those people and to get plugged into the heartbeat of what (I believe) God intended the church to be. You matter to God, your life matters to God, and your life can make a difference in this world.
I have a lot of great days now. In these past three years since deciding to keep breathing I’ve
gone stand-up paddle boarding with wild dolphins, I’ve run a half marathon, I’ve competed in eight triathlons, I’ve won blue ribbons at the state fair for baking pies, I’ve solo-vacationed in Alaska, I’ve lead step studies and open share groups, I’ve even been a sponsor a few times. But the absolute highlight of these past three years was sharing my testimony with my forever family on a Friday night. None of those things would have happened if I had made a different decision three years ago, but because I’m still breathing, I have the privilege of offering hope to other hurting people. As long as you’re breathing God can use you to make a difference.
The week I wrote this was a tough week for me, I mean really tough. Like literally panic attack on the floor hard. I would typically pack my lunch for work, but I was exhausted, depressed, and running late, so I had to grab some fast food. Chinese food. And what did that little fortune cookie have to say?
“Without you in it, the world would be a less friendly place.”
Maybe it’s not a voice like the roaring thunder. It didn’t come in a whirlwind or the midst of the fire. But what if I heard the soft, gentle voice of a loving God in a fortune cookie today? Just to remind me that my life matters to Him. Have a great week! See you at Celebrate Recovery!
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