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Growing in God through Sabbath REST

Posted on July 29, 2022 | Comments Off on Growing in God through Sabbath REST
“Rest Under the Shadow of His Wings” (Psalm 91) by Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple (c)

Tony and I have been Canadian missionaries in South Africa.  We have learned through our African friends in different countries how to slow down and be relational.  This is something all of us in fast-paced countries need to learn.  So come along with me and we’ll learn together on the adventures of Growing in God.

My name is Laurie-Ann, and I’m a missionary. During my mission travels, I have ministered with people in Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Canada and the USA.  I’ve also ministered in African countries like Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. But at this time, we are living in Toronto, Canada.

During our last article, we learned about growing in God through developing perseverance.   Perseverance is far more than resilience and coping.   It involves keeping sight of a target and moving towards it no matter what.  Tony shared with me the skill of “dead reckoning” that he learned in the navy.    If a ship or an aircraft loses communications and is unable to find land or hazards, they will look back on their chart for the last accurate position recorded, and calculate the direction they should have taken from there, and then follow that compass bearing, with an awareness of the uncertainty since that position was recorded.  They then steam on (or fly on) using the calculated bearing, and hoping that eventually they will recognize a feature of the land.   This takes perseverance, because their sense of direction will suggest a myriad of alternatives.  Keeping that goal or destination in mind, is like walking in faith.  Proverbs 4: 25-26 confirms this by directing us to: “let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.  Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure.”    This goal orientation meant a laser focus on the promises that are to come.  This scripture is a reminder to allow the refining and uncomfortable difficulties to purify us, without my giving up.  Sometimes there are difficulties in life, and especially when you are in ministry.   Unfortunately, the average time that a full-time missionary stays in the field is a year.  Many give up before that.  Our mission was designed to be 3 years but worked out at 4 due to Covid and visa problems, and we certainly didn’t resign.   Our time included L-A’s  cancer journey and Tony’s early stages of mesothelioma, and his retinal detachment.  I am coming to believe that perseverance involves actively pushing towards a goal.  Sometimes you push hard together with others, other times, you stand alone – standing in the place where you must be to ‘hold the line.’  Holding the line is exactly what we are doing in caring for my 93 year old father.   How do we move forward?  No matter what, God is ready to listen and make a way forward.  Prayer and contemplation gives us the inner strength to do what God would have us do.  Jesus is always with us.  We are not alone.  As we depend on God, our trust and intimacy with him grows.   We also grow better and stronger together, in relationship, which strengthens our perseverance.  Our work is actually an inter-generational thing, not just individual.  This puts less pressure on us, so we just do our part as part of the whole.  This is especially true when working in ministry.  We aren’t the saviours.  Only Jesus is. Nothing we have done is wasted; it all counts.  And since we don’t work on our own, we are ALLOWED to rest.  Rest is where we will journey next.

Rest is something that is not just allowed.  It’s actually a command to us!  It’s something that we often break without even a thought about it.  Friday sundown to Saturday at sundown is the Sabbath rest for the Jewish people.  The Orthodox Jews are VERY serious about following this command: from all the details to the bigger things.  Remembering the Sabbath rest and keeping it holy is an injunction that in our busyness, we often break.  So if we don’t take a regular weekly rest, a sabbatical or even a retreat, our health can force us to “lie down in green pastures!” (Psalm 23).  Is this a joke or an exaggeration?  Yes and no.  In my own story, I burned out so many times, got serious mono in my 20’s, and spent two months where I could do very little.  This is not an exaggeration. Later, when I was helping my parents (for three months in 2015),  I would go for days and then crash and spend a whole day in bed. 

In some ways I still don’t fully understand rest, but I believe at the very core of it is a sense of trust in the Lord.  You become content in his presence, and allow him to take the burdens, just as he offers in the Gospel of Matthew. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29)  Rest is a gift.  Rest is a choice to stop and trust.  You choose to pick up his yoke. 

Rest is also connected with repentance.  One of my favourite Bible verses when I was struggling with a mind that whirled a million miles an hour and a very sad heart, was Isaiah 30:15.  This passage didn’t talk about the ‘joy of the Lord being your strength’ (Neh. 8:10), which is also something I didn’t understand at the time. I thought the joy of the Lord was laughing all the time!  I gathered comfort from this message: “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation,  in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.  (Isa. 30:15 NIV)   Salvation and the Lord’s rest are one and the same!  Would we also have none of it?

When one third of the people of Judah were imported into the Babylon exile, and most of the rest died or were scattered; the poor, overused land had a seventy year rest (or fallow).  Even the land had to recover from the defilement mentioned in multiple Old Testament prophets.  The land was defiled from shedding of innocent blood (including child sacrifice to ‘rival’ gods), corruption on many levels, idol worship, dishonesty and cruelty to the poor and foreigners. These are some of the things that God detests.  It’s also likely that the land wasn’t given a rest according to the Leviticus 25:4 requirement where “in the seventh year, the land to have a YEAR of Sabbath to the Lord.  Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.” (Lev. 25:4 NIV)  So, the land was finally given a rest while its people were in exile. 

Does rest bring healing?  I believe so, and I’ve seen many minor illnesses go away after good bedrest in friends and family members.  Proper rest (and nutrition) is needed in order to work well.  I needed a lot of rest while fighting cancer, as does Tony on his mesothelioma journey.  Rest also is needed for your body’s natural systems to regulate and re-set themselves.  David wrote in Psalm 139 that our bodies are wonderfully and fearfully made. (Psalm 139:13-14).  

Another Bible favourite for rest is Psalm 46:10:  “Be still and know that I am God.”  This is the foundation of soaking prayer, that wonderful, gentle way of receiving gently as you physically rest on a chair, couch or floor. You rest, but your mind and heart are focused on Jesus.  I used to do this on a regular basis with my friend Lorna at the Bethesda retreat centre near Ottawa.  It was a lovely farmhouse that held many Alpha Holy Spirit weekends, church retreats and personal retreats. Lorna and I would pray gently to invite the Holy Spirit to come touch us and speak to us, while we listened to soft worship music and lay on a couch.  Nearly every time we would do this, we felt deep peace, and often impressions, images, scriptures and occasional words would surface.  We were waiting on the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit (1 Kings 19:12). We were able to hear these loving whispers of love because we were completely at rest.  This is the best kind of rest and I crave it.   This to me, is an instant Sabbath that we need as much as we need sleep.  Again, the presence of the Lord brings deep rest.  Can we live in this rest all the time?  Can we do our paid work, ministry and tasks within a context of rest?  Absolutely yes!  This is where “practising the presence” makes all the difference.  Brother Lawrence was a French lay-monk in the 17th century.  He practised the presence when he invited God into all his tasks.  Anything or everything you do can become a holy activity. 

Rest can also be a spiritual weapon.  I found a message on my Facebook feed in mid-July 2022.  It was from from the “Elizabeth Elliott quotes” page.  Listen to what was gleaned from her writings.  She said, “Rest is a weapon given to us by God.  The enemy hates it because he wants us to be stressed and occupied.”    I agree with this statement!  The devil wants us to be distracted from our source of peace (God) as well as our identity as a child of God.  He wants us not to find out our true mission assignments.  The cure?  Stay connected, but also have adequate time off from work and tasks for clear thinking, and allowing the time for you to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice.

So again, Jesus is right when he invites us to come to him when we are weary and heavy laden.  And it’s OK if it’s not just once!  And when we encounter a dark, difficult time, he carries us right though the valley of the shadow of death.  (Psalm 23) The green pastures that we rest in are a place of safety even in the midst of the storm.  His deep presence is there. 

Last month I mentioned that Tony and I needed a week of rest at our timeshare.  Did we get it?  Yes, although I am still growing in my fragmented understanding of what rest and shalom means.  But trust is at the centre.  Trust in the Lord is what keeps us before his face and in his presence.  This is what abiding is, as shown in John 15:5:  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  How quickly you and I forget this!  

Lord Jesus, help us always to remember that you offer the rest, shalom that we need for our souls as well as our bodies.  Remind us to invite Holy Spirit into all we do.  Teach us deeper knowledge on the importance of rest, no matter what we do.  Thank you that you never leave us, even when we seem to forget your promises in scripture and our personal words that jump off the pages of your Word.  Thank you that you never slumber nor sleep in your care for us, while we work or rest.  We are so grateful that you are our Shepherd, keeping us safe in you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I will record an audio version of this article, which will be posted on the Ways to Grow in God (WTGIG) podcast page on coppleswesterncape.ca.  Mouse over the “Listen” drop-down menu, or click here:  (https://www.coppleswesterncape.ca/wtgig-podcasts.html)  and when it’s recorded, scroll down to #78! 

If you have been blessed by this article, please let us know! 

Updates:  For those looking for news on my cancer journey, I was declared chemically cancer-free as of February 2021, and as of June 2022, the growth in my right breast is benign!  It was still worth checking.

In Tony’s case, he met his excellent oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital in downtown Toronto in June.  She convinced Tony that immunotherapy was the way to go, rather than chemo.  He received his first infusion on July 15th, 2022.  So far, the side effects are minimal, other than tiredness.   His left eye has healed to the extent it ever will,  and in another month we will check on getting an updated eyeglass prescription. 

We ask you to give thanks for the skills of Tony’s doctors, and that the tumour in Tony’s lung lining shrinks and even disappears.   Thanks for coming alongside in encouragement and prayer.   If you feel led to contribute towards medications and hospital parking expenses, this would be most welcome.  Not everything is covered under his senior drug plan and OHIP, but don’t feel obligated.  L-A also has expensive lymphedema treatments that aren’t covered and we are delaying for lack of funds.  But meanwhile, all my teachings are online for free to bless you, with no pressure.  Here is our Paypal for any of you who feel led to contribute: https://www.paypal.me/WaystogrowinGod

Laurie-Ann’s Colouring Books:   If you are in South Africa, and would like to purchase one of L-A’s colouring books, some are available at LeRoux and Fourie wine shop on R60 beside Cape Lime.  This is west of Robertson in Western Cape.  Or you can have your own copies printed for you through Print on Demand through Takealot.com. 

Link for Colouring with Jesus 1:  https://www.takealot.com/colouring-with-jesus/PLID68586424

Link for Colouring with Jesus 2: https://www.takealot.com/colouring-with-jesus-2/PLID72991486

We plan to republish the updated books in North American format (and in English only) in the future (after taking care of family).   Colouring sheets are available to children’s ministries for free, please just let us know.  Bless you, and thank you for your support!

Love, Laurie-Ann

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Growing in God through developing perseverance

Posted on May 25, 2022 | Comments Off on Growing in God through developing perseverance

“From a Rainbow to a Tapestry” – July 2021. Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple (copyright)

Tony and I have been Canadian missionaries in South Africa.  We have learned through our African friends in different countries how to slow down and be relational.  This is something all of us in fast-paced countries need to learn.  So come along with me and we’ll learn together on the adventures of Growing in God.

My name is Laurie-Ann, and I’m a missionary. During my mission travels, I have ministered with people in Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Canada and the USA.  I’ve also ministered in African countries like Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. But at this time, we are living in Toronto, Canada.

During our last article, we learned about growing in God through a different kind of pause:  that of an oasis rest between seasons.  Transition usually is a difficult period of adjustment.  We had an unexpected month at the end of our season in South Africa.  On the day of our flight we were found to be Covid-19 positive, without a planned place to stay still in South Africa.  We had sold or given away most of our belongings (that weren’t accompanying us).   Thankfully, the very kind friend who was to take us to the airport instead took us to his home, until our third attempt to leave the country (the first was at the beginning of all the lockdowns).   We had a quiet place to rest, recover and by the time we were taken to the airport (Covid-free this time!), we were given the grace and favour to travel.  We both ordered wheel chair assistance at three airports, were picked up by my cousins at the airport, and taken to our second quarantine stay – a Residence airport hotel on the same street as our future Toronto church (Catch the Fire Toronto). 

Again we had a little oasis for fourteen nights, which allowed us to acclimatize to winter in the northern hemisphere (we had come from southern summer), and we purchased phone plans with new Toronto phone numbers.  We couldn’t do anything without them – whether ordering food, groceries or update our IDs with Service Ontario.  But we managed, apart from a fault on L-A’s phone with sending texts.

We knew that we would be in for a challenging season between the care of my frail dad, who turned 93 recently, and care for Tony.  I did some research on the asbestos.com website and discovered that naval personnel were exposed to asbestos on their ships.  This could explain Tony’s diagnosis of potential mesothelioma.  Thankfully, when we discovered this in October 2021, I researched if there was anyone I could reach out to for help.  I discovered that Toronto General Hospital is a world leader in mesothelioma care.  There wasn’t any answer, but a day after we arrived back in Canada, we received an email from the secretary of the thoracic surgeon I had emailed.  So we were noticed!  It took three months, but we found out later that it takes three months to respond to family doctors referring patients.  We waited that time in South Africa, so that worked out.   Tony went through a series of tests, and after two months, he saw his specialist. It wasn’t time to diagnose him yet – he needed a special biopsy where the thoracic team would cut a one centimetre hole in his side, so they could insert a little camera and the biopsy equipment.  

Again, we need to stop, wait and trust.  This time, while we wait for the final results of Tony’s biopsy (pleuroscopy), and then the treatment plan, we are learning perseverance.   We also are learning that virtue while caring for my dad, who keeps getting TIAs (mini-strokes) that take a little more of him each time.  The first one that we observed (there were many before we arrived), had him lose his balance and he could not get up off the floor.  At that time, his legs were weak like jello.   My sister called 911 to get the firemen to pick him up and let him be comfortable on a couch.  He was also looked at by paramedics.  He did not want to go to the hospital or a care home.  He recovered after an hour, and seemed stronger.   This TIA was unusual.  In the ones afterwards, he has usually just had a meal, and then goes off into dream land, or half asleep in a kitchen chair.  One time Tony could not move him, and he strapped him in with a luggage strap.  It kept him from falling.  Since then, my dad knows the drill.  When we see him acting strangely, we get him sitting or lying down in a safe place where he cannot fall.  Are we trained for this?  No, but we have learned.   Otherwise, either Tony or I constantly cook and have snacks for dad as he makes his rounds through the house, looking for things to graze on, and sights to see.    He has a PSW to come give him a daily shower or sponge bath, which he needs since he deals with incontinence.   Well, he is 93.   Tony in particular is kind but firm in our care of dad.  In some ways it’s like he is like a child, being inquisitive.  Yet with each TIA, he remembers less.  So we turn on music that will stimulate the stories and thoughts, when he has little awakenings.

We have no idea how long our season with my dad will be, as well as the time for Tony’s treatment.  Yet we know we are to be here.  My dad is our assignment.  That is good. God has us in the right place, before we eventually return to our Ottawa condo.    Because I seldom leave the house, the only time I get to go out is when we go to church.  My sister comes most weekends and sees our dad, and with her daughter spends family time with him.   One Sunday, one of the church’s leaders asked the congregation to ask the Holy Spirit for a personal word for this season.  I was indeed given a word that was whispered with love into my heart.  The word was perseverance.  I’ve written about perseverance before, but it was in a different context.  At that time, I just had trouble waiting to get to the next season.  Now, I’m wading through just a difficult time that we must pass through one hurdle at a time.  I’m not the only one who is going through or has gone through this journey.  The families we served in Avian Park developed SOME perseverance in the form of coping, but then their desperation also made them shut down in sadness.  At this time, I choose not to go that route, but to instead TRUST in God.  He will give his grace that will be sufficient in this season.  2 Corinthians 12:9 gives this promise, when the Apostle Paul shares of his struggle with something he could not shake.  Holy Spirit told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 

What IS perseverance?  Is it coping?  Resilience?  Or is it not quitting out of pure stubbornness?  I believe that it is in choosing not to quit, with a goal in mind. Tony tells me that when he was in training for the navy, he was taught the skill of “dead-reckoning.”   If a ship or an aircraft loses communications and is unable to find land or hazards, they will look back on their chart for the last accurate position recorded, and calculate the direction they should have taken from there, and then follow that compass bearing, with an awareness of the uncertainty since that position was recorded.  They then steam on (or fly on) using the calculated bearing, and hoping that eventually they will recognize a feature of the land.   This takes perseverance, because their sense of direction will suggest a myriad of alternatives.  

This is similar to when Pastor Shawn Gabie prophesied over me before we went to Mozambique for our Harvest Missions School in 2016.  He told me that I must “keep my focus forward on what the Father has for me that season.”  This goal orientation meant a laser focus on the promises that were to come.  This word was a reminder to me to allow the refining and uncomfortable difficulties to purify me, without my giving up.  Proverbs 4: 25-26  confirms Shawn’s message, which is to “let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.  Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure.”    Sometimes there are difficulties in life, and especially when you are in ministry.   Unfortunately, the average time that a full-time missionary stays in the field is a year.  Many give up before that.  We lasted four years in our South African assignment, throughout my cancer journey.  Mind you, Covid stopped travel for some time, and it was difficult to get back to Canada.  Getting back required not giving up and returning at the right time.  We did try multiple times, to the chagrin of those well-meaning advisors, who insisted that we return even earlier.

I am coming to believe that perseverance involves actively pushing towards a goal.  Sometimes you push hard together with others, other times, you stand alone – standing in the place where you must be to ‘hold the line.’  Holding the line is exactly what we are doing in caring for my 93 year old father.   It’s a daily process of continual care.  At times when you are corporately persevering together, there is even more strength, because you can encourage each other, or change roles for a time.  It’s like the birds when they migrate south or north, depending on the season.  One bird will be the head bird leading the pack in their V-formation towards warm climes.  After that head bird gets tired, they retreat to another position, and another bird takes over for a while.  I’m thankful for the human equivalent, of leadership in teams, where there is a shared burden.  And in life, I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit, who gives me life and strength, and for my husband Tony.   Yet at the same time, God gives you little “kindnesses from God” as like a breadcrumb trail of blessing.  If you are moaning and complaining about the difficulties, you miss the little (and sometimes big) blessings he sends you along the journey.  It IS a journey.  You aren’t stuck in a little valley, surrounded by rain clouds or tornadoes.  And even if you do encounter severe storms, such as those that hit Ontario in the spring and summer, you can withstand the strength of a (spiritual) tornado far more than the fences of my sister and cousins that blew over in a recent derecho storm.  Those fences could not persevere.  But, if we don’t give up, we CAN.

How can we persevere?  Perseverance is something that we develop during the difficult times, whether it is illness (like our cancer journeys), financial stress, war (like the Ukrainian conflict), transition difficulties, domestic violence, gang issues or being in the middle of various chaos.  Through those storms, Jesus brings peace.  He can bring the peace that passes all understanding, so that it feels like you are in the eye of the storm.  It will not harm you, as long as you stay connected with Jesus.    Romans 5:3-5 reminds us that our suffering isn’t wasted, especially when we choose to trust God and not become bitter.  The Apostle Paul said that “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”   Suffering produces perseverance when we trust God that he is at work in our lives, in our ministry, and in situations that are way beyond our control.    When we stand alone in perseverance or push in community together in perseverance, we are refined and become better people.  Then we have renewed hope.  It’s a refining fire, where what is against us, becomes a pruning force to make us better.

Perseverance in the faith:   We grow stronger through engaging with scripture.  2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that “all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  We are encouraged by scripture being a “consistent anchor” that helps us to avoid traps of discouragement and apathy.  It encourages us to stay away from becoming prideful. It gives us direction and insight.  In ministry, scripture (along with Holy Spirit’s insight”) becomes the toolkit to live a life of outreach, as well as helping in our personal lives. https://www.fh.org/blog/gods-story-persevere-life-is-hard/     Holy Spirit helps us with the next step of persevering.  We gain strength to persevere by praying (communicating with God) and thinking on his revelation.  This is contemplation.  The Apostle Paul encourages us in Ephesians 6:18 to: “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”   “Throughout the Bible, God’s people are called to pray at all times, regularly, genuinely and in faith.  Moreover, prayer is a conversation with God, in which we cultivate deepening intimacy with him.” https://www.fh.org/blog/gods-story-persevere-life-is-hard/    

When we pray, God often answers right then, before we know it.  Other times, he answers those prayers gradually.  Sometimes, the full answers come a lot later.  But in hindsight, they end up being answered at just the right time.  In overseas ministry, we encountered insurmountable difficulties in the townships.  The emergencies and calamities that had been happening with the girls we mentored happened nearly continually.  Tony would constantly say to me that “they always seem to be living on the edge.”  In the first world, we can’t imagine those difficulties, although we have the hidden poor among us in cities and in rural areas.  We just don’t see them (but the need exists).  In South Africa, they aren’t hidden; the real poverty is confirmed with our eyes.  In less developed countries, roads can be washed out in cyclones (even British Columbia had that issue in Abbotsford).  People in hidden communities had no access to the outside world for help.  In that circumstance, medical emergencies can happen with no access to a doctor.  Or in the case of northern Mozambique, there are terrorist insurgencies that disrupt peaceful villages, where they persecute and kill Christians.  Corrupt government or police can stall aid workers and missionaries from making a difference in a practical way.    How do we move forward?  No matter what, God is ready to listen and make a way forward.  Prayer and contemplation gives us the inner strength to do what God would have us do.  Jesus is always with us.  We are not alone.  As we depend on God, our trust and intimacy with him grows.

We persevere better when we actively participate in a local church.  It is there that we ‘plug in’ to the Body of Christ.  Pastor Murray Smith encouraged us at Catch the Fire Toronto (May 22nd, 2022 11:15 am sermon) that we do need small groups in order to grow and develop relationship.  But in the setting of a larger church service, there is a corporate anointing, where the Holy Spirit isn’t just in us and around us, but then he works among us.  Something special happens.   We go to honour God, give him sacrifice and offer ourselves to him.  Yet, as a tribe or multi-coloured family, we grow both individually and as a group.  We are strengthened organically in a deep spiritual way.  It is like Hudson Taylor’s secret of abiding in the Lord, which is shown in John 15: 5-7.  “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”   You are pruned – yet you produce fruit by remaining.   This is what happens when you truly follow Jesus.  When we sat with young township kids, their mothers, and the local widows, and the inmates, we felt like we heard the heartbeat of Jesus.  It was like we were deeply in his presence.  They were the least of these, and Jesus was strongly with them.  Wendy McMahon at Food for the Hungry describes the dynamic for which I just can’t find the words.  She says, “we know that the poor are very close to the heart of God, and Jesus loved to spend time with them when He was on earth.  By seeking to closely follow Jesus each day, we invite Him to make us more like Him.” https://www.fh.org/blog/gods-story-persevere-life-is-hard/      

The writer of Hebrews also encourages us to not give up on being a part of church in Hebrews 10:24-25:  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on, towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day (of Jesus’ return) approaching.”  God reveals himself in a different, collective way – where different strands of his revelation and encouragement bless others.  He weaves us together like a beautiful tapestry, similar to an impression I had in South Africa.  In the vision, I saw God changing the South African rainbows (aka the Rainbow Nation) into a Rainbow tapestry.  The tapestry is much stronger than the rainbow, even though it’s inspirational.  The bands of colour are stronger and more useful when they are woven together with the other fibres.  It is in the local church that we are encouraged in our own calling, and are cheered on not to give up.

So when we are to persevere, we know that we are not meant to be alone.    Perseverance is meant to be a continual lifestyle, whether it’s to achieve the end of a big project, an entire life’s accomplishment, or something that is inter-generational (like building a cathedral).  My Iris and Harvest Family Network mentor is one who encourages, and cheers alongside those running the race in ministry and assignments.  He is mentoring me even in a season of hidden family care giving.  It matters just as much to God as our four year missionary season in South Africa.  Brian shared on his Facebook page in April 2022, this important message.  He said, “most people today, especially in our western culture, want to achieve great things very quickly.  But most great achievements happen through years of hard work, dedication and perseverance.  So most, when things get hard or time is required, will quit.   I know so many who were called and made for great things, who simply gave up over the years, as they faced resistance or things didn’t look like what they planned.  I have found that there is always resistance and things seldom look the way that I planned. Hold on to the promises of God, move forward with Him daily, pray, listen and trust Him!  You WILL see victory, and what He has shown you in the secret place, shall come to pass.  I believe in you!  You have been created for a purpose.  You have an anointing that abides within you! He will never leave you or forsake you! Expect to win! (Brian Britton, Facebook page, April 12, 2022)  What a rich heritage this gem of wisdom is!  Again, Brian encourages us to trust in God throughout the journey.  He is the one who will carry you though the journey as we grow close to Him.   He even carries us through senior issues!  Isaiah 46:4 says, “Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you,’  I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  This encourages Tony and me as we care for my dad, but also in Tony’s physical issues as a senior.  Trusting in God isn’t just a “senior thing.”  Sure there are a lot of ‘gray hairs’ in the church, but challenges and growing through them is an intergenerational journey. 

There is nothing in life that is wasted as we continue on.  Absolutely nothing.  If we stand still, it’s only to rest and regroup.  It’s never in running away or quitting.   The Psalmists often exhort the people to trust in God.  Psalm 71:5-6 shares, “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.  Upon you I have leaned (trusted) from my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.  My praise is continually of you.”   The prophet Jeremiah was encouraged at his young age to trust God as he picked up his calling and assignment as a prophet to Judah.  He was given strength, fortitude and extreme perseverance.  Such endurance shines as an example that only God can give.  It is beyond super-hero! 

So do not give up, choose to grow in the journey.  Grow in your assignment with the Lord, whether in a difficult task, ministry, job or being in a situation where you are called to make a stand for righteousness (like Jeremiah).   Let us remember the Apostle Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 3: 14-15: “Brothers (and sisters), I do not consider that I have made it on my own.  But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”   So as the writer of Hebrews shares in verse 10:23: “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Perseverance is actively tied to hope and trust in God while in the midst of staying IN the battle.  The battle is the Lord’s.  But we are IN it.  

Lord, thank you that you are there for us and with us while we persevere in your assignments for us.  Sometimes it’s a time to learn and grow.  Other times it’s to rest and be healed.  Then it’s times where we minister, whether in hidden places, or public.  You are always with us.  We choose to stay in our assignments, whether they are difficult or seemingly easy.  We choose the path of going “low and slow” (as we say in Iris):  in humility and patience; in trust and compassion, in illness and difficulty, and in all the things you experienced in your life on earth, Jesus.  We choose you, and we choose to persevere.  We choose to be rooted in you during the storms, and choose to pick up with you in transition. Thank you that you are faithful.  We choose to walk with you on the water, as we look into your eyes.  Carry us Lord, despite everything, and draw us deeper into you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you’d like to hear an audio version of this article, please visit the Ways to Grow in God (WTGIG) podcast page on coppleswesterncape.ca.  Mouse over the “Listen” drop-down menu, or click here:  https://www.coppleswesterncape.ca/wtgig-podcasts.html and scroll down to #77! 

If you have been blessed by this article, please let us know! 

Updates:  For those looking for news on my cancer journey, I was declared chemically cancer-free as of February 2021, and as of May 2022, I am currently having ultrasounds, mammograms and an upcoming biopsy of a lump on my remaining breast.  I expect it to be benign, but it’s worth checking.   Tony is in care at Toronto General Hospital for malignant mesothelioma in his left lung lining.  He had a pleuroscopy and we are waiting  to hear an analysis of the chemical components of the tumour.  I remember this process when I had breast cancer.  In Tony’s case, he hasn’t met his oncologist yet (that’s to come in early June).  Everything seems to be in slow motion, despite multiple scans and reports that don’t look good.  However, the reports (and the doctor’s diagnosis) isn’t the whole story.  We will see what God will do, especially as Tony is one of my dad’s caregivers, an essential team member.  Tony is having major eye surgery a week from now to complete retinal reattachment that was started a year ago.  We ask you to give thanks for the skills of his surgeons, and that in the case of the cancer the tumour responds and spurs into an accelerated healing like mine did.   Thanks for coming alongside in encouragement and prayer.   If you feel led to contribute towards medications and hospital parking expenses, this would be most welcome.  Not everything is covered under his senior drug plan and OHIP, but don’t feel obligated.  All my teachings are online for free to bless you, with no pressure.  Here is our Paypal for any of you who feel led to contribute: https://www.paypal.me/WaystogrowinGod

Laurie-Ann’s Colouring Books:   If you are in South Africa, and would like to purchase one of L-A’s colouring books, they are available at LeRoux and Fourie wine shop on R60 beside Cape Lime.  This is west of Robertson.  Or you can have your own copies printed for you through Print on Demand through Takealot.com. 

Link for Colouring with Jesus 1:  https://www.takealot.com/colouring-with-jesus/PLID68586424

Link for Colouring with Jesus 2: https://www.takealot.com/colouring-with-jesus-2/PLID72991486

We plan to republish the updated books in North American format (and in English only) in the future (after taking care of family).   Colouring sheets are available to children’s ministries for free, please just let us know.  Bless you, and thank you for your support!

Love, Laurie-Ann

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Growing God through courage part 2

Posted on April 19, 2021 | Comments Off on Growing God through courage part 2
“Armour of God” by Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple, 2001

My name is Laurie-Ann, and I’m a missionary. During my mission travels, I have ministered with people in Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Canada and the USA.  I’ve also ministered in African countries like Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana. But at this time, we live in the beautiful Western Cape of South Africa.

During our last broadcast, we journeyed through growing in courage.  We’re going to continue that journey.  We found that true courage is a gift from God. But it is also developed as we choose to focus on our source: God. This is what David did when he confronted Goliath in a mighty way to defend God’s honour to the Israelite army.   Courage, strength and joy are connected, as the joy of the Lord is our strength.  But so too, is courage.  Courage goes beyond the ability to stand and not back down. It’s also strength in the face of pain and grief; especially in the example of fighting an extended illness with great courage.  The illness could be cancer, or many invisible disabilities that bring daily pain and discouragement.  This is why courage to face the day is needed. Canadian prophet Darren Canning recently shared a great example of courage recently:  He said, “One person in a war may seem like one piece of sand upon the seashore but one person filled with courage can speak to the wildest waves and they will have to obey.”  (Darren Canning, FB post October 10, 2019)

Everyday courage is also shown in your life wherever you are.  It means you don’t have to be a soldier or a missionary to have courage.  Every day acts of courage include apologizing when you are wrong; it takes courage to admit that you are wrong partly because you are confirming that someone else is right and therefore has the advantage over you. You also need courage to be yourself, especially in a culture that likes to imitate, and succumbs so often to peer pressure. Don’t copy or compare yourself with others.  Pastor Shawn Gabie often tells his congregation that “comparison is a calling killer.”  You also need to take responsibility.  You are where you are in life because of your past choices, although God’s grace, mercy and favour may have altered these circumstances.  Keep your commitments, and don’t be a drop-out.  Let go of the past and don’t let it hinder you anymore.  Listen attentively to your mentors and grow. And there is still more.  If you’ve not listened to part 1 podcast, I invite you to do so; its available on our Copples Western Cape website.

Mark Altrogge shares five reasons to take courage.  One, we can take courage, because God is with us, by his Holy Spirit.  Even in Joshua 1:9, we hear, “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  We are not alone.  Jesus also promised that he would not leave us alone.  He left us the Holy Spirit, who is a wonderful companion.   “We can take courage because we aren’t facing our challenges alone. God, the creator of the universe, the all-powerful One, is right here with us. He’s not far off and uninvolved. When we don’t know what to do, he does. He’s never tired, never weary, never takes a break.” [Mark Altrogge,  5 Reasons to Take Strong Courage Today, https://www.biblestudytools.com/blogs/mark-altrogge/5-reasons-to-take-strong-courage-today.html]

Number two: God has a plan for us. An example of this was when Paul was encouraged by the Lord who spoke into his heart.  He said these words in Acts 23:11, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”  God had a plan for Tony and me to come to South Africa, which was confirmed by dreams, visions and prophetic words from many different leaders. We are thankful.  And there is more after this assignment, although South Africa will always be in our hearts.  We truly love it here.

Number three:  we can take courage (or take heart) because Jesus has overcome the world.  Jesus shares with his disciples, and us in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.”   Jesus’ words remind us that we WILL have difficulties in life, and when we have tribulation for our faith, don’t be surprised by it.  The world hates Jesus, even though Jesus seems to be given a veneer of respect. But Jesus was radically courageous.  He didn’t care what the Pharisees and others thought of him.  He just kept his eyes on the Father, and was led by the Holy Spirit.  And nothing can separate us from his love, even though it may outwardly seem that way. Keep looking up at him… or if you are walking on the water OUTSIDE the boat – don’t take your eyes off of him. Forget the circumstances. They change like shifting shadows. They don’t last.

Number four: we need to remember that nothing can separate us from God’s love.  Just read Romans 8 and see what I mean. The list Paul gives is amazing. No matter what you are going through, you can be assured that we aren’t outside of God’s love.  Jesus will hold us in his love and never let go.  It’s the case with me, as I let him carry me through this cancer journey.  He hasn’t let me down yet, and he won’t.   Number Five brings us to the promise that God himself will strengthen us.  The prophet Isaiah declared many promises of hope and strength. Isaiah 12:2 shares “See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.”  Isaiah also declared in [Isaiah] 41:10, “don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.  “We don’t have to summon up strength from within ourselves.” [Mark Altrogge]   There just isn’t any inside. Pastor Mark Altrogge says, “don’t worry if you’ll have enough courage for tomorrow. God will give you all the strength you need for today. And he’s got bags and bags of grace stored up for tomorrow, a whole warehouse of grace stored up for the future.” [Mark Altrogge] I find that thought liberating.

Britnee Bradshaw shares how God makes a way through what seems impossible at first.  Earlier I mentioned the story of David and Goliath.  Tony and I have had impossible situations on our mission trips – from travel blocks stopping us getting to Sierra Leone (like the Iceland volcano grounding most trans-Atlantic flights), to bureaucratic slowness dealing with many things in South Africa, to my illness.  Tony and I actually persevered through the Sierra Leone situation, when the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart that there was another way to get to Sierra Leone, and we took it, with a professional travel agent. Britnee has her own story. She also leans on the promises mentioned earlier of Joshua’s declaration of God’s power over circumstances.  She also reminds us to live out of his strength rather than our own, and calls on Psalm 40:2, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground, and steadied me as I walked along.”   This is as much a promise as my favourite winter prayer from Jude 1:24: “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”  Being steadied, and being kept from stumbling in many ways, is very much a promise that I depend on.  But then there is the time where God makes a way where there SEEMS to be no way. Here’s Britnee Bradshaw’s story. She says, “I thought my world was falling apart back when I was a new stay-at-home mom. Actually, though, my life was coming together. God gave me wisdom, experience, and the opportunity to keep moving forward in my life through faith, even though I didn’t understand how I was going to overcome. Well, I’m here and alive to tell you that God was right! During that season, he impressed on my heart that even though I felt weak, I was not. I had him on my side and my weakness only served to display his strength.

Since we are human, we all have areas where we are weak and where we are strong. In the areas where we are strong, we are, because He is. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul reminds us that in the ways that we are weak, God’s “power is made perfect.” [Britnee Bradshaw, Be Strong and Courageous: How to Rest in God when Fear overwhelms you https://www.ibelieve.com/health-beauty/be-strong-and-courageous-how-to-rest-in-god-when-fear-overwhelms-you.html]

In what areas of your life do you need to rely on God’s strength?  Missionary Tracy Evans uses the story of Gideon and his little band of 300 men.  Because this small group trusted God, the large army that came against them was routed – not by their own might.  They only brought lanterns and trumpets!  “No swords. No bows and arrows. No spears. No shields. Not one person in God’s army was carrying a weapon!” [Kris and Jason Vallotton, Outrageous Courage: What God can do with Raw Obedience and Radical Courage] Like Moses before him, who was led to battle for the release of the Hebrews in Egypt, Gideon was given the promise “I will be with you.” “An incredible bond of trust was formed between God and Gideon on the battlefield of self-abandonment.  Through Gideon’s courageous choices, and unyielding obedience, the impossible happened. A nation stepped back into its rightful place with God, and the people’s inheritance was restored to them. Those five words, ‘I will be with you’ are our security when God invites us to face an impossible circumstance.”

“You may be facing an impossible situation in your life right now, but whatever your circumstances, God wants to invite you to follow Him on this supernatural Great Adventure.  The key to answering his invitation is letting go of everything you look to for security, and simply trusting Jesus instead.” [Kris and Jason Vallotton]

What areas of your life do you need to rely on God’s strength?  If you can remember the book of Numbers, it features the leaders Joshua and Caleb. They were the only older leaders who originally had the faith, courage and confidence in God to cross into the promised land (where there were some giants living there).  Although the giants were bigger and stronger than the Israelites, Joshua and Caleb knew they could take the land because God was with them. Numbers 13:30 shares, ”And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”  This was because they knew God directed them to do so. Ten of the other scouts hesitated due to their fear of the Anakite giants. Their eyes were on the giants and their own physical ability; rather on God’s ability.   

Perhaps you are looking at your OWN situation through your perspective. God wants you to come up higher to where he is, so that you can view the things that make you feel small and weak.  Instead, be strong and accept HIS strength in you.

To move forward, it is best to face your deepest fears!.  Britnee Bradshaw shares how she faced hers. She says, “Fear and I have definitely gone round for round over the last two years of my life. I can say that I am a victor over fear, but it took my being afraid and having to be placed in situations to face and reject it. I met fear the day my daughter was born. We had to have an emergency c-section, which was never part of the plan for me and Christopher. We had planned for a natural birth at a birth center, not a surgical one in a hospital. I hated hospitals because it reminded me of sickness and death. Even though I intellectually knew that people get healed and live there, the reputation hospitals had in my mind wasn’t a good one.

I will say that I wasn’t ready to die on that operating table. But I felt like it. I mean, to be honest, up until that point, my pregnancy was healthy and extremely low-risk. I didn’t even understand how we got there. So, if being in the hospital could happen to someone like me, surely death could happen too, right? And it wasn’t just my life that I feared for. It was my daughter’s life, too. Her heart rate dropped with every contraction I had. The contractions that were supposed to bring her alive into the world were instead hurting her. I was afraid.”  [Britnee Bradshaw]  But Britnee did face her fears and found strength in her weakest moment.  She says, “In that operating room, I trembled with fear. I smelt it in the air. It was overwhelming. But in my heart, I knew that Jesus was my savior for a reason. He had defeated and conquered fear. So, I thought on his name. Almost instantly, the fear in that room melted away. Jesus gained the victory over fear and death. He gave fear and death black eyes and knocked them out for good. I had Jesus. I still do.”  [Britnee Bradshaw]    The scripture she clung to during that time was 2 Timothy 1:7, which says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and sound mind.”  Other versions of that verse say self control or discipline, but sound mind takes into account deeper aspects of not only the psyche but the spirit.  Britnee notes that Fear IS a spirit, but it is not one that God gives us. Therefore, we can be courageous and live above fear. This doesn’t mean that we won’t ever feel afraid. We will. This means that when we start to feel fear rise up, we can combat it with the truth of what God has given us: Courage. 

Maybe the source of your weakness and fear isn’t the same as mine. That’s OK, it doesn’t make your weakness and fear any less valid to God. God’s Word is the same for my situation, as it is for yours, as it is for the next person. It is real and active and alive. Decide not to live in a place of weakness and fear. Take captive of the victim mentality and choose to know yourself as God knows you. Be strong and courageous!”

Tracy Evans (through the writing of the Valattons), says that after you accept God’s invitation to trust Jesus instead, “at first, it may feel as though you are free-falling, but you can be sure that He will catch you before you hit the ground.  The MORE you trust him, the more fun it gets, Before long, you will be like an excited child shouting to his or her father, ‘Do it again! Throw me up and catch me again!’  THIS is the secret to the Great Adventure – blind faith and wild trust!”  [Kris and Jason Vallotton]

Tracy Evans has many stories of how she developed amazing courage, in the Philippines as a hostage, in the dumps among disease, in Mozambique in the midst of riots and gunfire, and in emergencies like one I read on an earlier radio show when Tracy helped over 18 wounded people on a remote South African road side. She didn’t even have medical supplies yet.  She used her medical skills to tend to the wounded, and God took care of the rest. The rest included major healings, and a lady, who was confirmed dead, but came back to life.  To read of these stories and the courage that came from radical obedience and trust, please go find a copy of Outrageous Courage: What God can do with Raw Obedience and Radical Faith.  

You may not be at that level of courage, but there are times that you can be if and when you trust God.  There are times that I’ve been emboldened and Tony has looked at me with amazement. But it’s Holy Spirit, and me responding with authority.  I especially do this when there are children involved.  I guess it’s the mama or auntie in me.  I’ve truly become a spiritual mom, and that in itself is a courageous thing. Something changes in you when you become responsible for someone else. It is when we sacrificially love someone that we can become a hero.  Tracy Evans says, “These days, it seems as if the idea of sacrificing for a noble cause has fallen on hard times in Western culture. [Just look at veterans and how they are treated.]  Heroism has gradually declined. It has been replaced by a self-centred, comfort loving, virtueless culture.” [Kris and Jason Vallotton]  “Simply put, people who do not know how to sacrifice do not know how to love. They will never know the depths of human fellowship the way [that those who sacrifice have learned. These include veterans].  In the words of Christ, only he who lays his life down for his friends, knows such great love. [Just read John 15:13]: “Greater love hath not man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  [Kris and Jason Vallotton]  I know of many such people who are not afraid to be at the centre of God’s will for them.  Tony and I are even shown respect when we go into Avian Park. Our car is known.  We are known as friends, and the gangs and any who seek to harm, leave us alone.  We are even given smiles and greetings of “Uncle Tony!”  Others, such as Erena in Change Makers, are greatly loved by the people in Roodewal.  It’s such a delight to be with people who aren’t afraid to walk in their calling.  They have great courage.

It is also a courageous thing to stand up to cancer and not let it get you down.  There is a reason why the support groups call those who battle cancer, warriors.  Because it IS a battle. Some days the cancer seems to be stronger – but not for long.  Remember, that God is still bigger than the cancer.  Thankfully, due to my faith, Jesus is carrying me through it. Even when I had a fall due to a walking stick accident, and a loss of balance in a moment of chemo brain fog, there was a nurse who just happened to walk by.  She even remembered me from my time in the local Mediclinic hospital.  She got me up off the sidewalk safely.  I am thankful she was there at such a time.  It reminds me that even if we DO fall, God will be there to pick us up at just the right time.  Psalm 91:11-12 Passion Translation, says, “God sends angels with special orders to protect you wherever you go, defending you from all harm. If you walk into a trap, they’ll be there for you and keep you from stumbling.”  While I did fall, I was cushioned slightly and rescued quickly. I believe that I will not fall again, and have learned there is such a thing as loss of balance due to chemotherapy, as well as the associated brain fog that comes with it.  Then it will take courage for me to walk where I used to walk normally.  It will be OK – since God will give me the courage I need, the awareness of the surroundings as well as his presence.  Courage faces us forward.  Fear has us look back.  Which will you choose?  Will you move forward WITH me? 

Lord Jesus, thank you for protecting me, despite my fall.  May you keep me from falling again.  Thank you for those who are listening.  Reach out to any who have been dealing with fear of their circumstances.  And for those who are in a battle.  You fight for us.  Yes, we are warriors and you embolden us, but the battle is yours, and YOU fight FOR us.  Thank you that you do, and that you have won.  We don’t have to whine like victims. We are victors, as my name says.  Laurie-Ann is victory through grace.  And may you give us that victory through YOUR grace.  In Jesus’ name.

If you’d like to hear an audio version of this article, please visit the Ways to Grow in God (WTGIG) podcast page on the coppleswesterncape.ca website (under the “Listen” drop-down menu).  Click here:  (https://www.coppleswesterncape.ca/wtgig-podcasts.html) and scroll down to #65!  If you have been blessed by this article, please let us know!

Updates:  For those looking for news on my cancer journey, I’m now declared chemically cancer free as of February 2021, but still in post-cancer treatments (lymphedema massage, physio, medications, scans and bloodwork).  On a side note, while I was in my cancer journey, I ordered a “Courage” key from the Giving Keys NGO in Los Angeles.  I still expect to wear this after we return to Canada later this year. 

It will take courage to uproot ourselves and move back to Canada in the midst of heavy covid-19 restrictions in Canada that will severely limit us re-settling in both Toronto to take care of my frail 92 year old dad, and then in Ottawa, where we have our condo (which is rented out to others at this time).  We also need courage to face a crisis with Tony.  He has TB, and has been in treatment for six months. 

He also is battling a nearly detached retina in his left eye.  It’s one thing after another, but we are in SA on medical visas now, so it’s appropriate that we are having treatment as well as ministry.  We believe that the medical treatment here is excellent, although expensive, despite the rand-Canadian dollar exchange has helped keep costs almost 15 percent lower. 

We have incurred significant medical debt, although kind people in Canada and around the world have helped us so far.  God bless each and every one of them.  But we still need help. Tony has significant medical bills as well for TB, eye surgery and other issues. Please click here for the medical campaign page to get more info: https://www.coppleswesterncape.ca/medical-campaign.html. 

I want to thank Teriro, who blessed us with a gift in February.  We weren’t expecting it when it came!  Most people who are led to give are friends, or friends of friends, so when friends we’ve not met yet respond, it’s very special!

We are still crowdfunding to cover the post cancer treatments (as well as Tony’s TB and eye treatments). If you feel led to contribute, please do so via our PayPal:  https://www.paypal.me/WaystogrowinGod

L-A’s colouring book:  If you are in South Africa, and would like to purchase one of L-A’s colouring books, they are available at OliveTree Bookshop in Mountain Mill Shopping Centre (near Pick n Pay), Worcester, Western Cape.  You can also buy them at LeRoux and Fourie Wineshop on R60 beside Cape Lime (between Nuy and Robertson).  Or you can order one (or more) printed for you through Takealot.com through this link:  https://www.takealot.com/colouring-with-jesus/PLID68586424 The Colouring with Jesus 2 is in the works.  We just finished translation mode into Afrikaans, and are awaiting a proof reader in both languages. After we return to Canada, we plan to republish the devotional colouring books into English-French. 

Bless you and thank you for your support!

Laurie-Ann

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Growing in Gratitude and positivity: Giving up negativity for the new year

Posted on January 2, 2019 | Comments Off on Growing in Gratitude and positivity: Giving up negativity for the new year

Happy New Year!  In our last article, we journeyed through divine appointments that we’re given during the Christmas holidays.  Often people are more open to receiving help at Christmas, and this opens them up to the real meaning of Christmas – about Jesus.  The gift is Jesus, not physical presents, as good as they can be sometimes.  This year Tony and I had two Christmases – a South African one with our friends Andre and Janey, and one with some of our Iris Western Cape family, Maggie, Kaysha and Kaysha’s fiancée, Alex. They are to be married on January 19th. We greatly look forward to that event and blessing their union.   We had a Christmas feast with them of hard to find turkey, honey glazed ham, stuffing, veggies, and two puddings – syllabub and Christmas pudding.  We’ve not had turkey since Canadian Thanksgiving 2017, so this was a big treat for us.  Life is a time of feasts and fasts. Tony and I have an Anglican background, so we’re familiar with the concept of both feasts and fasts.  Fasts aren’t just for lent, or when you are praying for miracle breakthroughs in healing or the mission field.  Deeper fasts involve allowing God to change US, which is a good thing.  So for the beginning of 2019, we’ll step into a refiner’s fire for something better.  I’ve heard quite a few prophetic words that 2019 will be a breakthrough year and a new season for many.  I trust that will also be the case for you and for us.  But when you step from one season to another, there is change and transition.  I’ve spoken on transition before, and how we need to keep a thankful attitude during times like this.  It opens our hearts to the wonderful surprises that we might miss if we are in complaint mode. I’m not talking about a one-off rant.  Sometimes we need that – I’m talking about stopping a lifestyle of complaining that just drags us down.

While many others are considering the New Year’s resolutions of losing weight – which is something I’ve already been doing for a months – we’re going to offer a different challenge.  How about a fast from negativity?  We can do this in small steps.  But how do we fast at all?

Some people do fasts during Lent – the season between epiphany and Easter.  It’s a devotional time to remember Jesus’s earthly ministry and his suffering.  It’s an intentional time of discipleship.  My Anglican priest John, tells us to not just give something up, but also to take something on.  So perhaps what you might take up is more devotional time – more dates with Jesus. Or maybe volunteering in a soup kitchen. Some give up coffee, tea, chocolate or sweets.  One year I gave up television, and another credit cards.  Some give up Facebook and other social media. And then in 2015, I took on a negativity fast for Lent, although sadly I didn’t continue it through the year.  In 2015, I had just finished my third Ways to Grow talk on thankfulness and gratitude.  Originally, I had planned to write only one post on being thankful.  But there was so much more on the topic than I realized – and out came four talks.  It was the same when I wrote on honour, which resulted in three talks.

I believe one major barrier to thankfulness and gratitude is a complaining attitude.  You may remember that in-gratitude, grumbling and complaining kept the Hebrews in limbo land.  Their fear and complaining kept them stuck between Egypt and Canaan, their promised land.  This attitude can also keep us stuck in the quicksand of nagging, doubts and complaints.  If it feels like we are being pulled down by this bog,  we are! This situation can even be life threatening!  Endless complaining and nagging steals the joy and life out of you, even if you try those methods to motivate, they often back fire. Husband and wives of nagging spouses can relate to this phenomenon.

Back in 2015, I was drawn to learn more about the ‘joy of the Lord.’  This is something that is called our strength in Nehemiah chapter 8:10.  He shared a message of encouragement to the disappointed Jewish refugees, after they arrived to see Jerusalem in ruins.  Nehemiah told them to “go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”  That was to be not only a feast of food, but a feast of trusting God.  The joy he describes is more of a deep contentment and trust in God. It’s not always actual laughter, but it can include this as well.  Sometimes this is like being so filled with the Holy Spirit that you can’t help laughing.  But usually, it’s an unshakeable knowing that God is faithful. You believe you will be okay despite difficult circumstances.

This is a joy that comes even in suffering, and is far deeper than the optimist’s ‘half-full’ glass.  It is more like the cup of thankfulness that runs over that King David mentions in Psalm 23:5, which depicts a feast in the midst of a difficult time.   David prayed, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.”  This cup of joy or blessing sustains you even in the deepest, darkest suffering. It is not diminished in persecution or difficult times. The cup sustains us because of the One who gives us the cup. When you drink this cup of joy, your eyes are completely focused on Him.

I thirsted to journey with and for more of that joy.  I took a stand on negativity and complaining in my own life, and took this stand again when Heidi Baker asked us to go on a negativity fast at Harvest School.  It was more difficult in Mozambique, since I was already in an intense refining season that was necessary for people to see Jesus in me without my own worries getting in the way.  But I did try, as I will again.   Before Harvest School, my Kingdom Culture pastor, Shawn Gabie prophesied over me and told me that I would go through a difficult refining season, but I was to not quit.  During this time, as joy and trust were worked deeper into my heart, I remembered encouragement from Heidi Baker to not quit, and that if you don’t quit, you win.  The other encouragement was from Pastor Shawn, who told me to “fix my focus forward on what the Father had for me that season.”   I need to remember these same encouragements in my current weightloss journey, which has had me lose 5 kilos, or 11 pounds so far. Slow but sure, just like our faith.

So back in February 2015, I took a stand on negativity and complaining in my life for the first time.  I declared with Shawn Gabie that “if I have a problem, there is a solution.” And if I get impatient, I will leave the struggle in God’s hands.   I then entered negativity fast.  I had some challenges along the way, and some days I completely fell off the wagon, due to disappointments, pauses and challenges.  Confusion and restlessness became my response to delays of hoped-for advances.  Yet, it’s necessary to spend time in the pause, to reflect and prepare.  We must not rush this season, as much as we want to do so.

Sometimes, life throws you more difficulties than heavy traffic and a set of red lights on the road when you’re in a hurry.  How many of us get upset in heavy traffic?  How many of us are impatient when you want to ‘do’ something, but that time is ‘not yet?’  And what about those who deal with other things that hold them back in their daily lives? It may be time for a “re-frame!”  What’s a “re-frame?”

I learned the art of “re-framing” in one of my counselling classes at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Canada. To re-frame is to look at a ‘bad’ situation in your life through a new perspective.   In order to do this, you must take how you perceive as a difficult situation and choose see it through a new ‘frame’ of mind. Sometimes it requires a higher perspective – that of the Holy Spirit.  A friend can also give you a different view of how they see you in your current circumstance.

When you view a difficult situation in a negative way, it seems even more menacing.   It begins to “look” like you’re facing an impossible obstacle.  What do I mean by this? Think of how you may feel if you’re having a ‘crummy’ day. You may believe the ‘crummi-ness’ will last all week.  You may feel as if a rain cloud is continually over your head, despite the weather. You might feel that negativity encompassing all of your life, when in reality, that difficulty is a very small part of your life!  So along comes a friend or counsellor who has the art of re-framing. They see possibilities in your difficulty.  They see a positive challenge that offers growth and reward on the other side.

I recently drew a prophetic drawing while having a soaking and drawing session with our girls that we minister with through My Father’s House in Avian Park.  We listened to a series of beautiful soaking songs, and then all of us drew.  Even Tony drew.  The girls drew Christian symbols of hope, faithfulness, peace and love, as did Tony.  I drew a girl who raised her umbrella up against the rain.  Although the rain was really an abundance of hearts of God’s love, and the umbrella was limiting the flow of love into her heart and life.  Then I was led to draw Jesus, carrying his cross, and the love that flowed from him to the girl.   The word that came to me with the drawing was “I love you. Don’t put a limit on my love for you. Time to put the umbrella down.  Soak in the rain of my love.”

And so that was the Holy Spirit’s perspective to one friend who limits God’s love in her heart.  Some of you may feel the same way, but don’t see that you are stuck.  So it helps to have a friend who can encourage you in this way.  However, you can also learn to do this yourself!  This doesn’t replace our need for godly friends in our lives. But does help to create a daily discipline of choosing to see every aspect of your life in a positive way. This may be a challenge, but the Holy Spirit can help us. He is the ultimate  ‘re-frame’ counsellor in our lives.  God never puts us down; he never condemns us.  He convicts us of sin, yes. But he cleanses us when we come to him and say we are sorry.  He also shows us possibilities.  He is the God of Hope.

Have you considered taking up a negativity fast? Some people may wait until Lent, but I believe the beginning of the year is even better.  The longer you practice this discipline, the more it will become a daily practice. Leaders Steve and Wendy Backland of Igniting Hope Ministries encourage this kind of fast for at least forty days.

Christian neuro-scientist Caroline Leaf also works on the same principle in a 21 day period. She concentrates on eradicating one negative thought pattern rather than many.  But if you target one negative thought or self-talk per three week period, by the end of the year, you will be free of old lies that you have believed.  You will be a much happier person!

A negativity fast also includes feasting on and thinking positive thoughts, like Philippians 4:8 encourages us to do: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Consider yourself a pilgrim in the land of the positive. I wish you well on your journey as we walk along together with thanks and gratitude.  May you have a blessed 2019, full of breakthrough and joy.

Let me pray over you:  Lord, thank you that you have plans for our future that are to prosper and not harm us.  Help us as we journey to see the joys in life that you give us.  Open our eyes to the lies we tell ourselves, and the complaints that fall from our lips. We don’t even realize it.  Set us free by renewing our minds one thought at a time.   Help us day by day as we walk out of the storm into the light.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you would like to hear an audio version of this article, please visit our podcast page, on the Copples’ missionary site – Coppleswesterncape.ca, and scroll down to #43.

Ways to Grow in God podcast page

This article will be broadcast as the devotional segment on January 3, 2018 on CWCP’s The Worcester Reports.

Blessings and love,
Laurie-Ann Copple

 

 

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Transition and family shaking

Posted on September 24, 2015 | Comments Off on Transition and family shaking

care

Hi!

I’ve often talked about life in transition as a time of stretching, surprises, and wondering what is next.  During my transition lately, I’ve taken my mother to Iris Virginia to hear David Hogan (a missionary to some dangerous areas of Mexico), and returned to Canada to see my whole family shaken.  We’ve had an unexpected death, a miracle birth, and illnesses with family members in the hospital.  I’m also part of three churches – two of them in transition.  One is a church plant, the other, a church that had a building but has to go mobile since the building will be torn down to make room for a new Costco. We’re all  hopeful for what is next, no matter what.

While I was praying about this season, I had a picture of my husband and I being strengthened in what looked like an eye of a hurricane.  All around us things and people were being shaken – including our families. And this is indeed what has been happening in our lives. We are being strengthened in the storm and will do more than just persevere.

At the moment, I’m working through helping care for ailing parents, so I don’t have a Ways to Grow in God post for this month.  However, I can encourage us all to persevere in the calling that God has given you. Sometimes it doesn’t seem “nice” or exciting, but believe me, it is needed.  Just remember Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

A time is coming when every Christian will have to be onboard to serve… Revival is coming!  It may be messy, but what matters is how God’s love will touch lives… including ours.  Are we willing to work for God (especially God’s way)?  Stand in his strength and love.

Be Blessed,
Love, Laurie-Ann

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