Feeling Broken?: Finding Rest in His Wisdom

By R. J. Helm

p>Debut author R.J. Helm experiences Gods grace through a life-changing, traumatic experience that could have ended her life. But she realizes that God is using her to serve a higher purpose. That purpose is to help readers like you. He is the one who told her to write My book, and she has obediently complied. Though her fun-loving life has evolved from one of self-interest and self-direction, where her inconsistent thoughts vacillated all over the place and caused great brokenness, to a life enlightened and peacefully settled by biblical values with God-given direction, she tells her story of her faith in Jesus and provides many comforting and strength-enhancing biblical verses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490872896

R. J. Helm

R.J. Helm graduated from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, with a bachelor’s degree in education. Since her graduation in 1971, she has experienced many things, including going through life “her way.” She has come to the conclusion that God’s wisdom is the key to life. After receiving a diagnosis of lung cancer in 1997, she can attest that miracles still happen and knows that God wants you to realize that, too. She feels she has fully experienced God’s love over the years and knows that Jesus is totally responsible for all of the solace in her life. Since retiring from a position in the business world, she is able to reflect on life. She loves to relax by observing nature and listening to its sounds, reading, and devoting time to her husband, children, and grandchildren. She and her husband live in Decatur, Illinois.

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Copyright © 2015 R. J. Helm.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7290-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7291-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7289-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015903862

WestBow Press rev. date: 4/3/2015

Contents

Introduction

PART I:  FINDING REST WITH GOD’S COMFORT

1    Why You?

2    Learn to Trust Jesus

3    Condemnation?

4    The Truth

5    Do Not Be Afraid

6    God Will Talk to You

7    The Not-So-Secret Secret!

PART II:  FINDING REST WITH GOD’S STRENGTH

8    Whatever Should I Do?

9    Weakness and Strength

10    Samson and Delilah

11    Change Your Thinking

12    Your Anguish; His Awesomeness

13    God’s Invisible Protection

14    Let the Vengeance Be God’s

15    Don’t Be Unaware

16    Your Steps

17    Strength Comes from God

PART III:  FINDING REST WITH GOD’S COURAGE

18    My Story

19    Be of Good Courage

20    Fear Not

21    Believe

22    Mary Had a Little Lamb—To Help You through Your Latest Jam

23    What Kind of Soil Do You Have?

24    Life Is Hard!

25    Be Faithful until Death

26    Jesus Shows Us the Way

PART IV:  FINDING REST WITH GOD’S CONTENTMENT

27    Who (Or What) Is Your Master?

28    Don’t Worry; Be Happy

29    Contentment from God’s Words

30    You Have an Opportunity!

31    Appreciation and Gratitude Will Change Your Attitude

32    Have a Merry Heart!

PART V:  FINDING REST WITH GOD’S PEACE

33    Find Real Peace by Finding God

34    Bible 101

35    The Bible Will Help You

36    Are You Feeling the Nudges Yet?

37    Finding Your Purpose in Life

A Closing Prayer from the Author

For Jesus

Introduction

Do you believe miracles do happen? I’m here to tell you that they still happen and one can happen for you as it did for me. Thus, I am feeling a sense of urgency to write this book. I know God wants you to be healed. He doesn’t want you living a life in distress. He wants to heal broken bodies, hearts, emotions, souls, spirits, minds, relationships, and lives!

Do you need comforting? If you are experiencing a difficult time in your life, you definitely need some comforting. This book can help you. But do you also seek assurance that you are loved? Most of us do—even if we are loved by someone on this earth. Realize that love from another human is necessarily temporary. Find a love that will be forever. Find a love that will never leave you. Find a love that will be true love, a love that definitely comforts you.

Do you need courage to overcome the attacks that make you feel helpless in certain situations? Are you aware that you are one of God’s children? Read on and find out how you can truly find the comfort, contentment, and love that will assure your mind—and hopefully provide you with some immediate relief. You will also find chapters on how to get the courage to overcome this difficult time in your life. You will realize how God’s presence can strengthen you to get you through this distress. Who knows—God may be wanting to use you for a greater purpose, a purpose that you could be totally unaware of at this moment. In fact, you may not find that purpose for many years, but He could be calling you as He called me. Read on and feel comfortable with the understanding that your body’s stress can finally be put to rest. Read on so you can see how your mind can finally rest in Jesus, how you can be engulfed in His love for you. Know that life should be all about Jesus. God, our powerful, strong, and loving Father, can definitely use His powers to help you. Do you want His help? Do you desire someone who can help you? He can. And He will. So find out how.

Not only can He help you, but also He loves you. So much in fact, that He wants you to know that you can be healed. As the Bible shows in Matthew 19:26, Jesus said the very words that inform us how much we can depend on Him: "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’"

Know that Jesus is telling you this.

Yes, there can be comfort for you. You can also get strength to help you through any turmoil you face. With Jesus, you will get the courage to see you through. Once you realize that you have a helper out there, you will definitely have assistance in getting you through all of this pain.

In this book, I will share my thoughts on how to begin the wonderful journey with Jesus that will enable you to realize that Jesus, our God, is here to help you. (Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech (2 Corinthians 3:12).) In my second, forthcoming book, I will share more about the journey you can take to help you achieve the realization of God’s divine healing powers. You can come out on the top of this situation. You see, when it is God’s will, you—yes, you—can be healed! With God, all things are possible.

Part I

Finding Rest with God’s Comfort

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The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,

A refuge in times of trouble.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;

For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You

—Psalm 9:9-10

Chapter 1

Why You?

He fashions their hearts individually;

He considers all their works.

—Psalm 33:15

You Are Altogether Beautiful

Do you know you’re beautiful? Yes, you absolutely are. After all, God created you. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11a, He has made everything beautiful in its time. And Song of Solomon 4:7 (ESV) says that "you are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you." Even if you think you have flaws, God loves you. God created you to be exactly who you are. Would He intentionally create someone with a flaw? No. Do you have free will to think for yourself? Yes. If you think your free will caused a flaw, you can work on fixing it. Remember this: there was only one person who lived life perfectly, and that was Jesus.

Yet Paul tells us in 1 Peter 3–4, Do not let your adornment be merely outward … rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of the Lord. You should know that God never makes mistakes. Didn’t He create you? You aren’t a mistake. He didn’t create you and put you on this earth to just get through life non-equipped. Instead, He created you to be capable and efficient, to conquer life and prevail over adverse circumstances.

Perhaps you were created for such a time as this, as Mordecai once told Esther’s servants. In the book of Esther, Mordecai and his niece Esther couldn’t communicate directly with each other, but Mordecai had such faith in God that he thought perhaps Esther’s beauty enabled her to be in the king’s court for a higher purpose than they knew at the time: Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14).

Think about this: if God doesn’t make mistakes and He created you for this exact time in history, might that lead you to believe there is a reason for your presence? In fact, were you created for some purpose at this exact time in history? Could it be that your presence and actions are needed for future generations of your family? Or perhaps God may bring a situation into your life in the future that requires your presence on this earth. You probably don’t know how your actions today may affect someone in the future. But nonetheless, God created you for a reason. Believe it. Even if you have no idea why, He does.

We humans make mistakes, but we don’t have to keep making mistakes. In John 15:16, Jesus tells us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (Italics added to Scripture quotations are the author's emphasis.) I once saw this saying: Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they may actually be falling into place."

You picked up this book for a reason; it wasn’t just coincidence. Don’t be surprised by this. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. After all, He gave all of us His grace, and He is just waiting for us to accept it from Him.

Since God knew you before you were born, He loved you so much already that He created you. He wanted you to be born. However, He is waiting for you to love Him back. Please realize that He gives you words of love and guidance in the Holy Bible.

Miracles Still Happen

I was devastated when a doctor told me that I had two, maybe three, years to live. However, I know that God put me through the diagnosis of lung cancer, the consequent surgery, and the resulting huge scar for a reason. I just knew in my heart that He wanted to use me.

I got over the shock of my diagnosis, endured the painful surgery, and recovered. That was back in 1997. During my recovery, I realized God was using me, but my thinking was narrow as I thought I was just supposed to help my immediate friends and family. When I asked God in 2014 what He wanted me to do, I realized that I should write a book so that I can help you. I now see that God wants to use me to tell the world that miracles still happen.

Yes, there can be peace, healing, and comfort when facing destitution. And I’ve figured out, almost twenty years after my cancer diagnosis, that my reason for being here is to help you by sharing my thoughts and feelings about turning to God for comfort and healing.

You Don’t Have To Go It Alone!

Jesus died and came back to life. He let His apostles know that He would always be there for them (and us) even after He died. See John 16:7 for further explanation but know that Jesus is here to always help you.

God is so powerful that He helped David, a young child, kill Goliath, a giant. He is so powerful that He parted the sea so people could walk across safely to the other side.

And God can use His powers to help you. He created you and called you for a