Ministry > Our Daily Bread Ministries
When We Don’t Understand
Read: Isaiah 55:6-13
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)
Although I depend on technology every day to get my job done, I don’t understand much about how it works. I turn my computer on, bring up a Word document, and get to work on my writing. Yet my inability to…
When Questions Remain
Read: Job 23:1-12
He knows the way that I take. (Job 23:10)
On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into the Mojave Desert. The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived. Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why. The title of a newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions…
Lord, Help!
Read: Hebrews 4:14-16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
I was so happy for my friend when she told me she was going to be a mum! Together we counted the days until the birth. But when the baby…
Join the Cry
Read: Psalm 122:6-9
I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. (1 Timothy 2:1)
A women’s prayer group in my country holds regular monthly prayer sessions for Ghana and other African countries. When asked why they pray so incessantly for the nations, their leader, Gifty Dadzie, remarked, “Look around, listen to and watch the…
Please Come In
Read: Hebrews 10:19-25
Let us draw near to God . . . with the full assurance that faith brings. (Hebrews 10:22)
Jenny’s house is situated on a little country lane, which is often used in rush hour by drivers who want to avoid the nearby main road and traffic lights. A few weeks ago workmen arrived to repair the badly damaged road…
Be Still
Read: Psalm 46
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
Years ago I responded to letters within a couple of weeks and kept my correspondents happy. Then came the fax machine, and they seemed content with receiving a response within a couple of days. Today, with email, instant messaging, and mobile phones, a response is expected the same day!
“Be…
Living The Better Way
We will never be totally free from codependent tendencies until we see Christ face to face. Those of us, however, who begin to admit our misplaced trust can also begin to discover something that is better than our doubt, despair, and disappointment. In the process we can start to become people who find a better way—living for God and others, and…
The Path To A Better Way
Codependency is a path that many of us have followed. At one time or another, most of us have been in relationships in which we’ve needed others too much and trusted in our codependent strategies more than God.
Learning to trust God instead of codependency is like jumping from a sinking ship during a raging storm. God is calling us…
What’s Wrong With Codependency?
There’s a lot wrong with codependency! It doesn’t work. It creates more problems. It’s a violation of love. And it’s a sign of an unrecognized problem.
It Doesn’t Work.
No matter how skillful people are in their codependent strategies, they cannot completely control anything or anyone. Life continues to be unsafe and disappointing. Friends and loved ones may comply temporarily, but…
What Drives A Codependent Person?
Although the faces of codependency differ, the driving motivations are similar. A careful examination of codependent people reveals that fear, misplaced trust, and poor examples drive them to control and be controlled by people.
Driven By Fear.
All of us are afraid of something. But codependent people are gripped with an inordinate amount of insecurity. Much of the way they think…
What Does Codependency Look Like?
Codependent people have countless ways of trying to manage others and their problems.
The Caretaker.
This is not the caregiver who is needed by a seriously incapacitated person. Neither is the caretaker someone who helps those who are in need (1 Th. 5:14). If a friend is sick and you run an errand or watch her kids, that is not caretaking. Caretakers…
The Problem Of Codependency
We can’t change a problem we don’t understand. We need to be able to recognize what codependency is, what it looks like, where it comes from, and what effect it has on ourselves and others.
The term codependency is professional language that surfaced sometime in the late 1970s. It was used to describe…
What's Codependency?
Jimmy Piersall was like most red-blooded American boys growing up in the 1930s. He loved to play America’s favorite pastime. From as early as Jimmy can remember, his father taught him to play baseball. In his book Fear Strikes Out, Jimmy recounts, “One of my earliest memories... was standing in the yard behind the house, catching a rubber ball and…
But I Still Have to Make Decisions!
At this point, someone might object and say, “But I still have to make decisions! How do I know what pleases the Lord?” Well, we begin with God’s revealed will; his character and purposes made clear in Scripture. God has called us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves…
A Few Final Things to Remember
Focus on God’s revealed will.
Rather than becoming obsessed with our “big plans,” focus on obeying God in the “little things,” things we already know we’re supposed to do. In fact, I would say that if a person is faithful in the small, everyday choices, they really can’t “miss” the will of God. They just can’t! It’s comforting to know that…
