Author: Christine Wyrtzen

Withholding Praise

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Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord.  Psalm 119:108

People who withhold words may do so to maintain a sense of power over others.  They refuse to affirm, or praise, and one never knows where you stand with them.  When those people are your parents, it’s very unsettling for a child.  You grow up unsure of yourself.   So when I approach God, am I repeating the past by being stingy with my own words?

  • When someone loves me, I want to hear all about their love.  Why they love, what they love, when they first loved, and how committed their love is.  God is no different.  May I never just croak out a stingy form of expressed love by joining the crowd in singing, “I Love You, Lord.”  That won’t do.

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  • When someone has really hurt me and attempts to offer an apology, I don’t want a token “Sorry!”  It’s important to hear them express what they did and how they feel about the fact that they hurt me.  Feelings of remorse should be present if the apology is real. When I go to the altar to deal with my own sin, am I offering a token “Sorry!”, or am I willing to tell God what I did and how I feel about the fact that I’ve offended Him?  Am I brokenhearted because I broke our fellowship and will I tell Him so?

Hosea is one who encouraged plentiful words.  “Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.”  Hosea 14:2 If my words are few, I don’t have a speech problem but a heart problem.  It is the heart which dictates what lips say.  If my heart is full, speech is uninhibited.

I have been in awkward situations.  So have you.  Words have been stuck in my throat.  My heart was in conflict.  If I find myself ambivalent about God, loving Him one moment but feeling nothing the next, the most important thing I can do is admit it.  I am invited to pour out words in prayer that addresses my conflict.  If I’m just stingy because my heart has grown cold, then I must take myself to the Word and deal quickly with my spiritual condition.  The Spirit will show me when my heart died, and why.

Having been someone who lived for long periods of time in wordless places, I know the exhilaration of now having a language which bubbles over.  My passion for Jesus spills out in words; teaching, storytelling, pleading, encouraging, praying.  God has brought me out of a silent well to a spacious place.  The first thing I heard was my own voice.

Whether I weep or sing, my words are poured out toward your gracious heart for me.   In Jesus name, Amen

I Don’t Have To Answer The Question

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They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose.  They talk of laying snares secretly, saying, “Who can see them?”  Psalm 64:5

Questions are wonderful catalysts.  They express sincere interest in a person.  They bring clarification to a matter.  They encourage someone quiet to express what is hidden.  But questions can also be dangerous depending on the intentions of the one asking them.

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Accused of Being a Stumbling Block

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.  Psalm 25:3

         I’ve been acquainted with numerous Christian organizations that wanted to legislate nearly every part of life.  Admittedly, if someone listened to everyone who had an opinion about every peripheral issue of life, they’d be frozen in place.  So many have something to say about everything.

          Having lived in a fishbowl of some notoriety, I can tell you that your life is often studied by others.  With study comes criticism.  Some is ludicrous, some is ignorant due to lack of information, and some is probably justified.  Sifting through it though, and sorting out the hurt feelings that come from others’ comments, is difficult.  Criticism usually comes from those with whom you have no personal relationship.

How dare you         So, am I to adjust my behavior to every person who say they are offended by me?  That can’t be the right answer because legalism will always be with us.  So will honest seekers who stumble because we’re a forgiven, yet sinful, people.

         I believe, for me, the answer lies in considering the one I am offending. If the spirit of legalism rules this person’s life, seeking to encroach upon the true spirit of liberty Jesus died to extend to His children, then I am not obligated to comply.  I want to extend the grace of Christ Jesus to others so why would I take on a yoke that Jesus died to free me from?

         But, if I encounter someone who is honestly seeking Jesus, one who loves the Word and is growing in his faith, but also one who stumbles over a particular thing I’m doing, I should consider his fragile faith and change my behavior.  I am not to impeded in any way what God is building.

         For any of us who have walked out of the pit of legalism into the spacious place of grace, this can seem like a step backwards.  It might feel like I am walking again in the bondage I left behind.  It probably does feel like that but it is not like that.  Look, I can’t sort this out without prayer and looking for the nod of my Savior over whether anothers issue with me is a valid one.  If it is, Jesus will give me the grace to consider my brother even though it will take some time for my emotions, damaged by past experience, to catch up.  Legalism will always be a tender spot for any of us who have been beaten up under its umbrella.

Who can sort it out?  Only Your Spirit.  I’m glad You’re in me, teaching me, making hard things clear.  Thank you for the grace to obey when my feelings betray me.  In Jesus name, Amen

Is This Really A Prayer God Answers?

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

I have done what is just and right, do not leave me to my oppressors.  Psalm 119:121

This is the prayer of many today, maybe even you.  Each of us will taste of a season where oppressors torment us.  We will cry out, as David did, to be saved from our enemies.  Sometimes, God immediately delivers but in my experience, that is the exception.  Are we then to presume that God turns a deaf ear to our cries for help?  Continue reading “Is This Really A Prayer God Answers?” →

Can I Really Pray This Prayer?

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen1 Comment

Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.  Psalm 119:78

There are those who have it in for one of God’s servants.  They will misconstrue what he says, find ways to make him look bad to others and envy his joy.  When he enters a season of God-appointed suffering, there will be private rejoicing in the house of his adversary.

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Continue reading “Can I Really Pray This Prayer?” →

Prayer For Those Living With Criticism

Published on by Christine Wyrtzen4 Comments

He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.  He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.  Psalm 18:16,19

            Lord, I am confined.  I’m in the company of those with whom I cannot talk freely.  I’m weighing my words.  When I speak, I am not known nor understood.  I have little influence.  The wisdom that comes from You is not wanted and without it, there will be calamity.  I see it coming.  The consequences of unbelief and rebellion will fall upon those who despise Your ways.  I am so frustrated.  I have attempted, over and over again, to speak for You.  They have rejected You and me. I feel like a modern day O.T. prophet.

            I am struggling with rejection, Jesus.  I know it is You they hate but they do not know that.  I am the one they contend with.  I am the one they ridicule.  You have prompted me to speak, to sow seeds of righteousness, but this sprinkling of Your Word has fallen upon spiritually deaf ears.  You said, “Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.”  John 3:19

            My frustration is robbing my joy.  My lips are shut.  Anger is simmering.  Where can I go with my complaint?  King David knew and assured me that You would come to me from on high.  You would draw me out of this place for spiritual rest.  You would, and are, providing emotional and spiritual safety from this dangerous situation.  You are opening the prison doors of limited language and inviting me into a broad and spacious place where my words are welcome.  I hear Your voice, “What’s wrong, child?”  Oh, not to weigh my words.  With You, I can be myself without a second thought of rejection.  You are my refuge.  I can speak freely, cast words to the wind, and You are not shaken.  You hold my life, and the ones who have driven me to You, in the palm of Your hand.

            Grow me to see this situation as You see it.  “Your Word is perfect and restores my soul.”  Psalm 19:7 So, speak Lord, into my tears.  Mend the ragged edges of my soul.  It feels battered and weak.  Restore me so that I may live.  Renew me so that I can speak for You again and not grow weary of spreading Your fame to a wicked and perverse generation.

            “You have answered me in the day of trouble!  You have set me securely on high.  You have sent me help from your sanctuary and supported me from Zion!”  Psalm 20:1-2   Since You, my God, are for me, whom shall I fear!  Amen

An Atmosphere of Disgrace

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Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.  Psalm 74:21

           Why do seasons of disgrace often span a decade or two?  Shame doesn’t usually last a month or two and God can appear to be out of the picture completely; ignoring me when I’m oppressed.  When a wilderness marks a large portion of my life, can I know that God is in the process of bringing about redemption?  Yes, if I am God’s child. Captivity is never His intended outcome.  No daughter of promise is to suffer crippling shame.  God said, “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.”  Isaiah 61:7   Shame is to be replaced with double favor.  Disgrace is to move out of the way for joy.

         I have known seasons of affliction. None of them were short. All taught me perseverance, the power of prayer, and the nature of the wilderness. While great spiritual things prevailed at the end, the beginnings and middle of these seasons were pretty ugly.  I had no clue how to navigate the years.  Now I do know and that feeds my passion for ministry.    Continue reading “An Atmosphere of Disgrace” →

Can I Trust God With My Child?

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         When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  Psalm 56:3

         We can watch our children suffer from many causes.  They may get sick just because we live in a fallen world.  They may groan under the consequences of their own choices.  If they have followed the call of God on their lives, we will see their faith tested.  Perhaps we’ve walked a similar road and we know how crushing testing can be.  There will be moments when we cry out, “Lord, it’s hard to trust You with my child.  Please strengthen my faith!”

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         As I watch my child come to the end of their resources as Jesus did in the desert of His testing, I will do about anything to end their torment.  But the worst part of divine shaping is not the physical pain but spiritual anguish.  To see childlike faith crack into pieces rocks a parent’s heart.  I stay on my knees and ask God to preserve my child’s confidence in His love and promises.

Continue reading “Can I Trust God With My Child?” →

Patience. The Virtue of a Fool?

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Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.  Psalm 37:34

In the midst of desert experiences, the call to wait on the Lord can sound hollow.  I want to know how long suffering is going to last?  King David doesn’t throw out this challenge without personal experience.  He had to wait over a decade to inherit his kingdom and had to also wait to see God’s purposes come to pass against his enemies.

James calls me to remember the prophets.  As an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  James 5:10   Abraham received a promise but he never saw it fulfilled in his lifetime.  Knowing that, would I ever say, “What a fool!”  Instead, his faith inspires me.  He believed that endurance would yield a nation, even if on the other side of his own death.

What about a parent who prays for a lifetime for the spiritual return of a child?  Fifty years of praying amidst little encouragement can appear to be futile. Yet, when that child returns to God, yet when that child comes to Christ, would they say that their patience in prayer was wasted? Continue reading “Patience. The Virtue of a Fool?” →

Living Amidst Hostility

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 The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1

         Many have prayed for the will of God, followed His voice, and experienced complete disillusionment when they found themselves in hostile surroundings.  They blame God for being unloving or they blame themselves for being poor listeners.  Hostility within the will of God is common and should not surprise God’s children.

         Some years back, our family lived in a hostile environment.  We begged, daily, for release.  We were willing to move anywhere and do anything to escape our surroundings.  Surely, we reasoned, God wouldn’t want for us to endure such a place.  Yet, every request for a move away was met by the silence of God.  Continue reading “Living Amidst Hostility” →