Posts
Hannah Morrell
Forgetfulness and Fear

I forget a lot of things especially when I’m afraid. I suppose a lot of us do. We revert back to running and hiding under the bed covers, trusting in them to save us from our fear. We forget who our God is, and what He has promised. I have been reading a lot about the people of Israel in the Old Testament, and I am reminded of my own forgetfulness as I see them witness incredible miracles and then turn away from God within days.

I fear darkness, and forget that Jesus is the Light of the world. I fear evil and forget that Jesus took away the power of evil forces through His death and resurrection. I fear Satan and demons, and forget that they are not more powerful than God. I fear pain, and forget that Jesus walks through pain and death with me. I fear being alone, and forget that I am never abandoned or forsaken by my Shepherd. I fear messing up, and forget that God doesn’t love me because I finally got it all right, but rather empowers me to do anything He calls me to. I fear curses spoken over me, and forget that the Cursebreaker Himself canceled all curses and they have power no more. I fear sickness and physical issues, and forget that the Healer heals us in all sorts of ways and it may not look like I expected. I fear loss and grief, and forget that my constant companion is a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and has no impatience for my emotion.

Forgetfulness and Fear
Posts
Hannah Morrell
Sweet Dependence

This year has not gone like I thought it would in so many ways—probably many of you have experienced the same. But today God reminded me that He has been teaching me about dependence, and kind of gave me a heads up that was where we were going this year! My verse for the year was Proverbs 3:5-6, and it’s been on repeat throughout the year.

I keep forgetting, though, and assuming I can do this life by myself. I realize I often don’t trust God, and do rely on my own opinions (even though that’s never helped me). I don’t rely on Him to guide me, and don’t look to Him as my Shepherd throughout decisions. But He is faithful to keep putting me in impossible situations where I remember.

None of us can do this life alone. We don’t have the wisdom, strength, patience, or love to walk in loving enemies, having hope in hopeless situations, or experiencing peace that makes no sense given the situation. God has all of that, and He is the one we get to depend on for this to blossom and grow in us. Whenever I get overwhelmed, it’s because I have decided it’s all up to me and God isn’t doing a thing about it.

Sweet Dependence
Posts
Hannah Morrell
The Surrounding Battles

I was thinking about David the other day, you know, the kid who took on a giant and won? I was thinking about how without human support he was as he faced down impossible odds. His dad sent him to take food to his brothers, implying he wasn’t strong enough to be a warrior and was only good for delivering food. His brothers mocked him for his curiosity about why everyone was hiding. He hadn’t forgotten who he was, or who their God was, but when he brought it up, he was met with dismissal and derision. His king tried to give him his armor, once again a demonstration that he was too small and insignificant to do any of these crazy stuff he was threatening. But he went anyway. He knew who God had made him to be, and he knew who his God was through him. Don’t let the rejection or scorn of others define who you are or who your God is.

David didn’t fight Goliath like the giant wanted him to do. Jamie Winship pointed out in a talk recently that David didn’t try to go wrestle him or fight him with a sword. He didn’t let the enemy determine how the battle was fought. He stood in his identity and the training God had led him through as a shepherd on the hillside with his sheep—he needed a sling and some rocks. Don’t let the situation dictate how the battle should be fought.

The Surrounding Battles
Posts
Hannah Morrell
Not Growing Weary

One of my husband’s firefighter friends had a terrible accident a couple of weeks ago, falling 50 feet in a training exercise and suffering traumatic brain injury along with lots of other wounds. One of the crew has been sending out updates on his status as he remained in the hospital and they evaluated spinal cord injuries, brain function, etc. He is on a positive trend, but the wins are so small that you can miss them sometimes. The thing that struck me was the update from the firefighter in which he said that the doctor had told him they need to compare things week-to-week rather than day-to-day. When we examine the wins and losses for one day, it can seem negative or nonexistent. But when we compare where he was a week ago to where he is today, there is a positive trajectory that displays growth and healing.

Not Growing Weary
Posts
Hannah Morrell
Battling Discouragement

Several years ago, I received an email from a brother in Christ reprimanding me for saying that followers of Jesus could be discouraged or anxious. He tried to tell me that I was wrong for suggesting it, and that couldn’t be part of the believers’ experiences. I wanted to respond in anger, maybe trying to fight back for all the amazing people I have worked with who struggle with these things and not because they are messing up. Instead, God directed me to sit in the Psalms for a while, seeing the pattern so often with David of despair and hopelessness turning to new hope and encouragement.

Psalm 42 is a great illustration of this pattern, and I recently went through it again to look for David’s process in dealing with his own discouragement. I think so often we see discouragement as the end, rather than another place to hear from God and walk back through His faithfulness to a place of encouragement. Here are the steps that I see David taking in moving from darkness to light.

Battling Discouragement

sickness

Forgetfulness and Fear

Forgetfulness and Fear

I forget a lot of things especially when I’m afraid. I suppose a lot of us do. We revert back to running and hiding under the bed covers, trusting in them to save us from our fear. We forget who our God is, and what He has promised. I have been reading a lot about the people of Israel in the Old Testament, and I am reminded of my own forgetfulness as I see them witness incredible miracles and then turn away from God within days.

I fear darkness, and forget that Jesus is the Light of the world. I fear evil and forget that Jesus took away the power of evil forces through His death and resurrection. I fear Satan and demons, and forget that they are not more powerful than God. I fear pain, and forget that Jesus walks through pain and death with me. I fear being alone, and forget that I am never abandoned or forsaken by my Shepherd. I fear messing up, and forget that God doesn’t love me because I finally got it all right, but rather empowers me to do anything He calls me to. I fear curses spoken over me, and forget that the Cursebreaker Himself canceled all curses and they have power no more. I fear sickness and physical issues, and forget that the Healer heals us in all sorts of ways and it may not look like I expected. I fear loss and grief, and forget that my constant companion is a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and has no impatience for my emotion.

Walking in Dependence

Walking in Dependence

My son and I were talking yesterday and I watched him finally confront the sadness that he had kept at bay for the last couple of weeks. He was sad he wasn’t going back to school for the foreseeable future, that he wouldn’t get to enjoy days with his great teacher and friends. And he asked me how long the sickness was going to last. And I don’t know. So, we talked about how we do hard things, and find the joy in them. And we talked about how it’s okay to be sad and miss things, and then also okay to enjoy the day in the way we could.

The reactions from many of the people I work with in counseling have been similar—how do we do this season when everything has been uprooted and made raw?

I was thinking through practical tools I’ve been giving people, which I will talk about later in this post. But first, God reminded me this morning we do this season of life just like we do every other season--in dependence on Jesus. Every morning we can wake up knowing that the day is too big for us, and ask Him to be all we need for it. That hasn’t changed with the magnitude of the situation, or the radical difference many of us feel in our lives. God hasn’t changed. He is still more than enough for all the pieces of our lives, even the ones that look like pandemic, shelter-at-home and remote everything.

Recognizing God in the Struggles of Life

Recognizing God in the Struggles of Life

My friend and mentor Mike Wells used to talk about recognizing God in everything a lot. He probably taught it often because all of us needed the reminder constantly. When things happen in our lives that seem bad, it’s really hard to recognize God in them. We want to get an answer to why circumstances are the way they are, and usually we want to lash out at God for allowing the particular problem. Or even to doubt His existence because we don’t see His hand in caring for us in the midst of the suffering.

How Do You Find the Strength for Today?

How Do You Find the Strength for Today?

This morning, so many people woke up and couldn’t dream up the strength to get out of bed.  I can think of ones who face chronic pain and illness, ones who woke to support loved ones at yet another doctor’s appointment, ones who see an uncertain future for a rocky relationship, ones who approach what seems like an insurmountable obstacle.

Walking with the broken to find hope in Jesus