Devotions

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Missed Exits: Turning Up the Voice of God
July 18, 2022
by Shala W. Graham

“And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21‬ (NRSV‬‬A)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Last summer, a colleague picked me up from the airport to take me to a conference. We had a long stretch of highway to drive, with Google Maps ready to lead the way to the conference location.  We laughed and talked as we rolled down the road.  Then something didn’t look quite right.  “We missed the exit!”

No problem. I’d missed exits before, even with Google Maps giving me a play-by-play. But here’s the thing my colleague had issues connecting her phone to the audio in the car, so we couldn’t hear the lovely voice that gives the directions well in advance. Google Maps was silent! And because we were in a more rural area, the next exit to turn around and get back on track was several miles down the road.  Thankfully, we weren’t in any rush, so the detour was just a minor inconvenience. But how often do we miss the exit or the on-ramp because we either can’t hear the directions or we simply aren’t paying attention?

This is what happens when we don’t hear the voice of God directing us or we’ve turned down the volume to prioritize another voice in our lives.  In Isaiah 30, we see the people of Judah being warned not to rebel against the Lord by depending on Egypt to help them instead of relying on God. Isaiah also spoke a prophetic blessing over them if they would just return to God for help:  “Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:19-21, NRSV).

What a blessing it is to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts if we trust in Jesus today! Like our personal GPS, He says, “This is the way; walk in it.”

But we have to tune in. We have to make sure we are connected to the Spirit of God. We have to intentionally seek out His voice and presence.  One of my favorite ways to seek God is through worship. So many of my favorite worship songs are simply scriptures set to a tune. As I proclaim biblical Truth in those songs, it becomes my prayer, and the Holy Spirit stirs in me to communicate with God and receive what God is saying. In those moments, as I submit my will to His, I can hear God affirm in my spirit what is needed of me. It’s like an internal check in my heart that feels so crystal clear.  It’s like when you look into the eyes of a friend, and though no words emerge from her mouth, you simply know everything she is communicating. You feel her words, and you stand in that truth with her.  As I worship, the peace of God rests over my spirit and guides me to confess, not worry about, the mistakes and wrong turns that plague me, even if I know I’ve "missed an exit" by trying to follow my own route for my life. There is grace for course correcting.

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On Wailing and Worship
July 19, 2022
by Karen Ehman

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 (CSB)

I stood and worshiped one Sunday morning while burning tears of grief cascaded down my face. My heart was overflowing with fresh sorrow due to several recent losses in my life.  My worship and pain might have seemed a contradiction. Is it possible to express deep worship while simultaneously revealing intense sorrow?

Jesus’ personal encounter with a New Testament woman seems to say worship and wailing can coexist.  One day around noon, a Samaritan woman went to draw water from what was known as Jacob’s well. That’s when she met Jesus, and a conversation ensued.  Jesus began to mention certain details about her life including the fact that she’d had several husbands and was now living with a man to whom she was not married. His keen insight into her life situation seemingly without having any prior knowledge caused her to believe she was talking to a prophet. (John 4:16-19) Well, if there’s a prophet standing in front of you, you’re going to seize the opportunity to ask any questions you have, right?

So she asked Jesus about worship, inquiring if she should worship on the mountain, where her ancestors did, or in Jerusalem, where others said was proper. Jesus replied, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

The Greek word used here for “spirit” is pneúma and means “spirit (Spirit), wind or breath.” While it sometimes indicates human breath, the most frequent translation of pneúma in the New Testament is written with a capital “S” Spirit meaning the Holy Spirit.  The Greek word for “truth” is alétheia. This indicates words that are honest, sincere and straightforward. When we take worshiping in Spirit and couple it with being entirely truthful, we can get two actions that although they seem opposite intertwine perfectly together.   Wailing and worship.  Wailing and worship can hold hands. We observe this in over 50 of the psalms penned in Scripture that are classified as psalms of lament, in which the authors cry out to God in times of overwhelming distress or deep despair. The psalmists typically ask God for intervention to deliver them from suffering, sorrow or an enemy. Then these petitions often end with expressions of faith and worship as the author places his trust in God.  But it’s not only in the Bible where wailing and worship hold hands. They can in our lives today.  We can worship both in Spirit and in truth. We can worship God through the power of the Holy Spirit, who leads and guides us. We also can worship in truth. This is no candy-coated worship, full of clichéd spiritual phrases. No, we can be honest, candid and straightforward with God, even going so far as to lament and wail, telling the Lord all about that which is causing pain in our lives. We may do this audibly as we pray to God in a secluded place. We might do it through writing out our sentiments in a journal. Or we can listen to some worship songs about crying out to God, echoing the words in our hearts as we do.  Pour out your heart to Jesus, raw emotions and all. He sees your situation. He understands your pain. And best of all He loves you with a deep and unconditional love that will never, ever end.

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Take Up Your Bed and Walk
July 20, 2022
by Kelly Anne Burns

“… ‘Do you want to be made well?’… Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.” John 5:6,8-9a (NKJV)

I have always struggled with fear. In fact, there was a time not so long ago when you could say, from a worldly stance, fear owned me.  It owned my thoughts.  t owned my actions.  It owned my perspective.  And it certainly owned my emotions.  For over 20 years, I prayed for an instantaneous, healing miracle I never received. I desperately wanted God to set me free from the fear that plagued me.  After all, miracles had happened to others around me. So why that person and not me?

Why were they miraculously freed, while I was left here in this awful darkness?

Why did God pick and choose like that?

And worst of all was this thought: Why didn't God choose me?

Yes. I said and thought and yelled out these things (and so much more) in my anger at what I saw as God intentionally not rescuing or protecting me. Or just simply not caring enough to help me. I was disillusioned with the fact that I sought Him out consistently while others did not, and He gave me back what felt like a big, fat nothing.  So the only reasonable thing in my mind was to stop trusting God. If He wasn’t going to protect me, then I would have to protect myself.  And I did until I couldn't anymore.  In my resolve to do this came an ever-increasing awareness of my own powerlessness to help myself or change what was. And that is where we find the afflicted man in the following passage:  “In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?  Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked” (John 5:3, 5-6, 8-9a, NKJV).

This is a man who knew suffering well, who knew the frustration of being overlooked and forgotten.  And in the world?

He was.  But what he didn't know yet was that God had not forgotten him. And the time had finally come for him to be healed.  So why did God wait so long?

Why didn't He heal the man years earlier?

Because, friends, there is so much more to what God is doing than what is happening around us and to us. A purpose is being worked out in the heavens that is so much bigger than our minds can presently conceptualize.  In the end, all that is real and lasting is God’s glory displayed through us to touch a dark and weary world that does not yet know Him.  Is God willing to sacrifice something in our story for something grander in scale?

Well yes. Yet sometimes we are surprised, disappointed and disillusioned when this happens, even though our lives belong to Him. We feel forgotten, out of control, afraid.  But if we believe God’s promises as they are laid out in His Word, then we will know …

We are not forgotten. (Isaiah 44:21)
We have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us. (2 Timothy 1:7; John 16:13)
We have nothing to fear. (Isaiah 41:10)

God has made you a key player in His redemption story. So what will you believe about Him, His promises and His purposes?

I used to see my weakness as a crutch I had to eliminate to feel normal. But it is through my weakness that God displays His life-changing, fear-fleeing glory.  And friends, when that happens, guess what? We become the miracle.

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Where To Look When We’re Prone To Wander
July 22, 2022
by Beth Knight

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:25-27 (NIV)

I knew the margin for error was small; one slight drift to the left or right, and damage would ensue. So I glued my eyes to my rearview mirror and clutched my steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip.  For years, I’d avoided parking my minivan in our garage, fearful I might back into our narrow garage door opening. However, my scorching-hot driver’s seat, courtesy of the Georgia summer heat, persuaded me otherwise that day.  With determination, I inched my car backward when suddenly a loud “Mom!” disrupted my focus.

As I glanced over my shoulder at my son in the back seat, a cringe-worthy crunching sound alerted me I had wandered off the straight and narrow path, drifting toward destruction.  I had no idea I had turned the steering wheel slightly toward the right; a misplaced focus caused a subtle yet dangerous drift. My face burned with shame at the damage I’d caused.  Like the old hymn says, I’m also “prone to wander” in my spiritual life. More than anything, I desire to walk wisely and live faithfully for Christ. Yet I easily drift toward the desires of my flesh and cares of this world.  King Solomon understood the propensity of God’s people to stray, so he pleaded with his sons in Proverbs 4 to pursue God’s wisdom at all costs. He ended the passage with three instructions:  “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you” (Proverbs 4:25).

What I fix my eyes on is what I will follow. So, to walk wisely, I must keep my eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of my faith. (Hebrews 12:2) No news outlet, self-help book or social media influencer will suffice.  “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways” (Proverbs 4:26). Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (NIV).

Carefully living out my faith presents a divine opportunity to proclaim Christ.  “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:27).

Psalm 119:9 reveals we can keep our feet from evil by living according to God’s Word. But a determined will isn’t enough; wise living is only accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer.  When I detour from these instructions, I feel mashed up and broken, just like my dented-in car door. Thankfully, God’s grace is sufficient to repair what is broken and redirect my steps.  Precious friends, distractions will come. But distractions needn’t completely derail us if we’ll keep our eyes on Jesus.  So, when suffering and tragedy discourage, look to Jesus. When divisions and disunity dishearten, look to Jesus. When tempted to compare yourself to others, look to Jesus.  Come what may just keep looking up.

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Peace By Piece
July 29, 2022
by Brenda Bradford Ottinger

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

The relentless heat of a late southern summer hung in the air as I cheered from the sidelines of my son’s football game.  At halftime, while I stretched beneath the searing sun, a curious wonder caught my eye. High above the field, like a vivid smile in the sky, was an upside-down rainbow!  Puzzled by this unusual sight, I did some research and learned this atmospheric anomaly wasn’t technically a rainbow but a “circumzenithal arc”: a vibrant arc formed from the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals rather than through raindrops, which form traditional rainbows.  The calendar has now turned many a year since that afternoon at the football field, but my mind often returns to that upside-down rainbow, for it mirrors life in many ways.  So often, parts of our lives can feel upside down, rearranged in ways that don’t appear quite right according to our human understanding disrupted plans, health struggles, discouraging news, complicated relationships, financial setbacks, etc. We naturally comprehend life from a right-side-up perspective of normal and familiar, so we can easily perceive those upside-down pieces of our stories as backward and awry.  Yet more and more, I’m realizing the legacy of those upside-down pieces of our stories for the God who shaped our souls for purpose understands every part of our lives from the eternal perspective of completion.  In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of our hazy, human perspective compared with a heavenly perspective: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Paul’s illustration of a mirror was apt for an audience of Corinthians, as bronze mirrors were manufactured in the city of Corinth. Those ancient mirrors reflected less clearly than modern-day mirrors, but even modern mirrors reflect backward images that aren’t as clear as direct sight.  The Greek word Paul uses for “reflection,” αἰνίγματι, translates to “in a riddle” and is where we get the English word “enigma.” An enigma is something puzzling or hard to understand. Just as that upside-down rainbow seemed an enigma to me that afternoon at the football field, so the seemingly upside-down pieces of our stories can feel puzzling, as well.  When we walk through the confusing arcs of our lives, we often long to understand the whys and hows and whens. Yet the peace we seek from these answers can’t be found in the partial, earthly understanding we have available to us now. Paul speaks of a greater, perfect perspective we’ll hold in eternity, assuring us that one day the upside-down pieces of our lives will make sense, complete in purpose and perception.  Still, how can we reconcile this with our spirits today, while we’re still in the throes of questions and confusion? By developing a habit of living peace by piece: We receive His abiding peace in exchange for every puzzling piece of our stories.  Day by day, hour by hour, peace by piece we release each confusing piece of our lives into the able hands of Peace Himself. (Judges 6:24)  Sweet friend, when you can’t understand the puzzling parts of life that feel so upside down right now, may your soul find rest in God, who has infinite insight for every word in every chapter of the story He’s writing upon your life.  Start right where you are today; ask the Lord to help you release each confusing piece of your story to Him, and receive the perfect peace of the eternal God who sees the end from the beginning and does nothing without purpose. (Isaiah 46:10)

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Shining Your Light for Jesus
August 3, 2022
by Karen Wingate

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

When new friends learn of my lifelong limited eyesight, they often ask what will help me see my world the best. My answer is simple yet surprising light.  I see best when light comes in from the side. I’m sensitive to glare, and if the light is too bright, I avert my face from the light source. To further complicate life, I have a rare disorder called nystagmus, which makes my eyes jitter. Some lights flicker more than others, and light flicker combined with my eye jitters can make me feel disoriented.  Good light makes all the difference in how well I function.  In our key verse, Jesus tells us we’re the light of the world. Our good light makes all the difference for the world and the Kingdom of God.  We’re coming into a season of the year with new beginnings for shining our light: the startup of school, sports, church activities, and a new slate of community events. That means we’ll be rubbing shoulders with new acquaintances, and we’ll have opportunities to live our faith out loud to those with whom we connect.  Jesus calls us as Christ followers not to be timid about sharing His good news, for we hold the answers to what happens after death and how to have a restored relationship with God.  Jesus tells His followers that God’s good news is as alluring and essential as salt and light. (Matthew 5:13-16) But how can we encourage others to accept this eternity-changing message?

Is talking and preaching the only effective way to influence people? Jesus answers that question when He says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

In the previous verses, Jesus gives the first step: Don’t keep this good news to yourself. Then, in verse 16, He outlines how we are to share this new life. First, He says, let the good deeds speak the message. Second, He clarifies we should do good deeds in a way that leads people to glorify God instead of praising us.  It’s not enough to tell someone about Jesus or to do a kind deed, expecting the person will make the connection between what I do and my faith in Christ. How I tell and how I live will determine the effectiveness of my message.  With the memory of what kind of light helps me see best, there are three words I keep in mind to help guide my good deeds on a daily basis. My good deeds need to be directed, balanced and consistent.  Directed: The good I do in Jesus’ name should direct people’s attention to the deed, not to myself. If what I do makes people look at me, they will miss the intention of my good deeds: to show them the love of Jesus. I can check my motives by asking, “How will this action point to Jesus and His way of living?”

Balanced: Jesus says we need to do good quietly, as if one part of our body doesn’t know what the other part is doing. (Matthew 6:2-4) It’s a balancing act. Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our righteous acts, but He cautions against spotlighting what we do. Like those Jesus praised in His parable of the sheep and goats, (Matthew 25:31-40) we’ll reach the proper balance when what we do becomes so much a part of our lifestyle that we’re hardly aware we are doing it.

Consistent: Our Christ-infused behavior needs to be constant and consistent, something people can depend on. If I extend kindness one moment, then react in a hurtful way the next, I’ll leave my recipient confused about the message I’m trying to convey.

As we speak God’s good news and engage in consistent good deeds of compassion and righteousness, I pray that God will light a fire in the hearts of those watching us and that God will be honored and magnified by all we do and say.

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How Do We Keep Going When Our Situation Still Looks Hopeless?
August 11, 2022
Lby Lysa TerKeurst

“'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

I am a planner. A problem-solver. So when I bring my struggles to the Lord in prayer, I also tend to bring my carefully thought-out ideas and suggestions He can choose from.  Here’s what I think will work, Lord. I just need You to sign off on one of these, OK?

But the longer I walk with Him, the more I’m discovering that simply isn’t the way God works. His ways?

They aren’t our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)  Today, I want to introduce you to an Old Testament friend who has something to teach us about God's ways: Joshua.  In the sixth chapter of the book of Joshua, we find Joshua and the Israelites experiencing a problem of epic proportions. There was a massive wall preventing them from moving forward into their promised land. I’m sure there was no shortage of ideas or opinions on how they should tackle the wall, but God didn’t ask anyone for their opinion. Not even Joshua, Israel's leader.  Instead, God asked for His people's complete and unwavering obedience. Obedience in the face of a battle plan that would make no sense to their rational minds. A plan that actually involved no “battle” whatsoever.  All God wanted them to do was march. For six days straight, they were to march around the walls of Jericho. Then, on the seventh day of marching, they were to end with trumpet blasts and a great shout. God declared this mighty sound would bring the walls down. (Joshua 6:5)  What moves me most about the Israelites’ part in this story isn’t so much their willingness to take that first step of obedience. It’s how they kept taking steps of obedience. Step after step after step. Even though nothing appeared to change even though there wasn’t a single sign of cracking or crumbling in those massive walls they kept marching.  What if they’d stopped after day two?

Or day three? Or even day six?

Think of all they would have missed. They would have cheated themselves out of certain victory from God.  I don’t say any of this casually as if it’s easy to keep going with God’s instructions when there’s no evidence of our situation changing. It’s hard to continue marching when we don’t see God move the way we thought He would. It’s sometimes difficult to trust He’s working behind the scenes.  So what do we do when He asks us to move in ways that don’t make sense to us?

How do we keep “marching” when the situation still looks hopeless?

We make the same choice the Israelites made. We choose to walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) We take God at His word and hold fiercely to His promises. (Hebrews 10:23)  God had promised Joshua that He would deliver Jericho, its king and its army into Israel's hands. (Joshua 6:2) And that is exactly what He did.  The victory of God's people never hinged on their ability or any of their well-thought-out plans. It was solely dependent on their unwavering obedience offered to a loving and mighty God.  I don’t know what steps of obedience God is currently calling you to take that don’t make sense to you. But let me be the gentle whisper in your ear encouraging you to keep going. Keep trusting. Keep taking step after step after obedient step.  We don’t have to understand the “why” of God’s ways. But we do have to keep choosing to follow them.  Let’s not stop short of our victory with God. He is working things out. He is present. His plan is still good, and He can still be trusted. These are certainties even when life feels so very uncertain.

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The Cost of Control
August 22, 2022
by Sharon Hodde Miller

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

For two weeks in the fall of 2018, I became a meteorologist.  Not literally, of course, but emotionally.  In September of that year, Hurricane Florence was forecasted to plow through the state where my husband and I lived. For weeks, we monitored its progress and prepared for the worst. At its most powerful, Florence was a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, and our local weatherman warned that we might suffer a direct hit.  This forecast sent me into a tailspin for two reasons.  The first is obvious: Hurricanes are scary! I had lived through only one hurricane in my life, so I was not exactly a seasoned veteran. I wondered if we should pack up the kids and go stay with my parents, but there was another complicating factor that was also contributing to my stress.  My husband and I were weeks away from launching our church. We were planning to hold a practice service on the very weekend Florence was scheduled to hit, and we weren’t quite sure what to do.  As my imagination ran wild with all the worst-case scenarios, I did the only thing that gave me some sense of predictability. I tracked that hurricane’s every move. I downloaded our local news channel’s weather app; I clicked “Yes, I DO want notifications!” and I became intimately acquainted with the Weather Channel’s website. I followed each new development, in real time, 24/7.

And then, as the date of our church’s practice service neared, something happened that I didn’t expect. The hurricane’s path shifted. On a dime, weather experts changed their predictions and speculated it would skirt our area entirely.  In the end, that hurricane never did hit us. In fact, we experienced only an ordinary amount of rain, so when I look back on how I responded to the hurricane, the source of my anxiety is clear: My stress was the fallout of taking my control issues to the internet instead of to God as 1 Peter 5:7 instructs: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

This is the great temptation of our age. Thanks to technological advances like the internet, smartphones, satellites, modern medicine, air travel and more, we have access to more knowledge, more choices and more certainty than any generation before us which is, by and large, an enormous gift. However, underneath all of these daily habits of checking our phones and combing the internet, our technology is nurturing in us a belief in an attractive lie: the illusion of control.  The illusion of control is convincing because we mistakenly think knowledge is the same thing as influence. But as a friend once told me, “Knowing how the weather works does not mean we can control it.”

When we forget this distinction and then turn to the illusion of control to help us, it cannot provide us the peace we crave.  In fact, it will only provide the opposite.  That is the paradox of control. The more we seek control, the less we feel it. We experience this anxiety in relatively harmless situations like tracking the weather or an incoming package, but we experience it more acutely in other situations.  In the church that my husband and I lead, some of the greatest anxiety I have experienced has resulted from my naive belief that I could make people think or act a certain way. I was convinced that if I just explained something enough, I could walk people back from the self-destructive decisions they were making. In short, I thought I could control them, and this illusion of control has been the source of many sleepless nights and strained relationships over the years.  Control is a false gospel of sorts, promising us a security that only Jesus can provide. But while the promise of control is quite literally a devil’s deal dating all the way back to the garden of Eden the good news is this:  We don’t have to settle for the enemy’s offers of power or peace because we can have the real thing in Jesus.

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Help Is Here
September 14, 2022
by Max Lucado

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

Somewhere in my mid-30s, I ran out of fuel.  While serving churches in Miami, Rio de Janeiro and San Antonio, I resolved to study hard, counsel wisely, solve problems, organize committees and satisfy each cranky member.  But after three or four years, I lost my energy. Suddenly, I could not sleep. How does a person lose the ability to sleep?

When my head hit the pillow, my mind would race. I thought of members to be called, decisions to be made. On more than one Sunday morning, I stood before the church having had little, if any, sleep. I was desperate.  In those late-night hours while I was still awake, I would climb out of bed, pad down the stairs, kneel at our couch and pray. What a dejected figure I was. Not Max the pastor. Not Max the church leader. That fellow in the crumpled pajamas was Max the depleted, confused disciple.  My prayers were moans. My faith was a frazzled thread. I couldn’t even summon the energy to fake it. I was honest. Honest to God, I was. Turns out God has a soft spot for an honest prayer.  Little by little I began to sense the Spirit. He led with a kind touch. He wooed with a whisper. Mysterious?

By all means. But figment of my imagination?

No. Not at all.  I requested strength. He gave it. I asked the Spirit to heal the sick. More than once, He did. I prayed for vitality and joy. Both returned.  Why?

Because the Holy Spirit comes with power.  Jesus told His disciples, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Mark it down. Power. Power to make good choices, keep promises, and silence the inner voices of fear and failure. Power to get out of bed, get on with life, get busy about the right things in the right way. Power to face the unexpected, unwanted passages of time. This is what Jesus promised then, and this is what Jesus promises still.  How is your power level?

Maybe today you find yourself lacking energy, enthusiasm or strength. Your step has lost its spring; your voice has no song. You want to be a joyful, empowered person, but you are weary from life’s chaos.  Friend, I want to encourage you that the Spirit of God longs to give you His great power. He will guide, teach and energize you. He will shoulder the burdens you were never intended to carry.  Help is here.

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We Can’t Please All the People All the Time
September 15, 2022
by Lysa TerKeurst

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

Hello, my name is Lysa, and I struggle with people-pleasing.  For years I’ve had to face the reality of being a “yes” woman even when I didn’t have the capacity or honestly the desire to do what others were asking of me. And if I’m really honest, it often wasn’t purely out of love for people that I would stretch myself way too thin. It was because I couldn’t figure out how to manage the fear of what disappointing them would cost me.  And this mindset became a very apparent obstacle as I tried to draw healthy boundaries in my relationships.  You see, this people-pleasing struggle made me the perfect candidate to resist boundary-setting and to view any kind of boundaries as unkind. But the problem is that if we live allowing other people’s opinions to define who we are, we will be desperate to try and control people’s perceptions of us. We will spend our lives managing opinions to ensure they're always favorable toward us so we can feel good about ourselves.  But think about the tragic reality of this.  Being too concerned with gaining the approval of others can give us a heart divided with God. Ouch.  Our key verse today points out this issue: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

It’s impossible to please all the people all the time. We know this. Until we forget especially with people whose opinions affect us. So when we disappoint people, think differently than they do, don’t do everything they think we should do, or try to draw boundaries they don’t agree with, then others might think poorly of us. And if they think poorly of us, we fear it will be impossible to feel good about ourselves.  I think this hits at my core fear around setting boundaries. If I set a boundary, someone will no longer see me as I want them to see me. They will no longer know me as I want them to know me. They will no longer believe the best about me, and there’s something inside of me that really wants them to believe the best about me.  But here’s what I’ve failed to realize until now: All people have limits physically, financially, relationally, emotionally. We are all limited. Only God is limitless. People-pleasing will tell you that drawing boundaries means you’ve failed. But I think drawing boundaries means you’ve had the beautiful, biblical revelation that only God can meet everyone’s needs. (Philippians 4:19)  Do I want to be loved by others?

Of course I do.  Do I want to fear another person’s love for me is based on me always making them happy?

Absolutely not.  Love should be what draws us together, not what tears us apart. And I’ve seen how much boundaries help with this in my own life.  As you let all these words sit with you, I want to leave you with these simple words I first wrote in my journal years ago: “God’s love isn’t based on me. It’s simply placed on me. And it’s the place from which I should live loved.”

Live loved today, friend.

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When You Feel Like You’re Not Enough
September 16, 2022
by Brenda Bradford Ottinger

"And Elisha said, 'Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.'” 2 Kings 4:3-4 (NLT)

I’m a woman of habit, so every morning, like a playlist on repeat, I make the bed, shower and dash downstairs to the automated grace that brews my cup of caffeine.  One morning, as the water ran low in my single-serve brewer, I thought, Oh, how my weary spirit can relate. I, too, felt like I was running low low on time, skill and energy to pour into the people and places God had called me to flow into. Perhaps I don’t have enough or I am not enough to make a difference.  But as I refilled the reservoir on my brewer, pouring water into the tank while the brewer simultaneously splashed tea into my mug, I noticed the water level in the tank remained unchanged. Even though the machine was withdrawing water to fill my cup, the water pouring in restored the water pouring out.  Immediately, my mind chased the biblical story of the widow’s flowing oil jar. A distraught widow approached the prophet Elisha with news that her husband, the household provider, had died, and creditors were looming. The only valuable possession she had left was a flask of olive oil.  “And Elisha said, ‘Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.’ So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!” (2 Kings 4:3-6a, NLT)

What a wonder it must have been for that widow to pour and pour while the oil level in her meager flask remained unchanged! Yet abundance didn’t flow from her flask until she lifted it up in faith and poured.  The Lord could have commanded Elisha to produce a bounty of oil for this widow in need, yet instead God chose to pour into her jar as she faithfully showed up and poured out. Trusting God, she filled every borrowed jar from her humble vessel, selling the oil to pay off her debts, with enough money left to support her family. (2 Kings 4:7)  Much like that widow assessing the meager resources she had for her family, all too often I can feel that what I have to offer is insufficient. But that morning, God reminded me that my lack is ample means for His measure.  You see, as we lift up the small vessels of our lives in faith, trusting they're more than enough for our big God to use, He pours His abundance into us as we pour it out into the world just as the Lord poured oil into the widow’s jar while she simultaneously poured out.  Believing our modest offering is enough can sometimes feel unnatural, as it presses us to move beyond comfort and perceptions. That impoverished widow exercised faith when she risked disgrace and discomfort, asking her neighbors for multiple empty jars without having obvious means to fill them. Yet she wasn’t distracted by notions of inadequacy or comparison.  Friend, even when it feels like everyone else has an overflow of all we seemingly lack when we feel empty of ability, opportunity or means may our faith inform our feelings, for our God is able!  We need not rely on our own power or perceived enough-ness; rather, let's rightly place our faith in the God who is able to do infinitely more than we can ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20) For when we make ourselves available vessels for Him, He pours His full measure of love into us as we pour out His love into the world.

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Where the Exhausted Find Strength for the Battle
September 26, 2022
by Beth Knight

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7 (NIV)

As we made another trip down the hallway toward our infant twins’ bedroom echoing with late-night wails, my husband sarcastically quipped, “If God loves us, wouldn’t He want us to sleep?”

With tired smiles, we soothed our sweet babies back to sleep and tiptoed back toward our bed.  Nine years later, I reluctantly roll over in bed to check the time on my phone: 3 a.m. I’m wide awake. Again. I fail to find this season of exhaustion cute or humorous because, unlike the passing newborn phase, this season seems endless.  Like me, do you desire to live faithfully for Christ, but your body is oh so tired?

Sleep feels essential during this time in my life because I am trying to heal from chronic illness. And when the sun comes up, I have children to raise, a husband to love, friendships to nurture and personal sin to battle.  Weary from approaching my daily tasks with heavy eyes and limbs, I burrow deeper beneath my blankets and question God. How am I supposed to do all You’ve called me to do when sleeplessness and chronic fatigue are relentless?

In the quiet of the night, a still, small voice gently reminds me that my confidence is not in how well-rested I am but in how well I am resting in Christ.  Psalm 20:7 comes to mind: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

At first glance, warriors with chariots and horses appear to have the advantage. Yet King David put his complete confidence in the name of the Lord for victory in battle. Other psalms also echo this trust.  “A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.” (Psalm 33:17, AMP)

“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” (Psalm 18:32, NIV)

Although I may not trust in chariots and horses, I’m guilty of thinking worldly advantages will assure my success. I often believe I would be a better reflection of Christ in my roles as a wife, mom and friend if only I had more ________. Being well-rested, having more help or having everything go my way might make me feel better prepared for my daily battles. But the Bible tells me victory is found by calling on the name of the Lord and relying on His strength.  As difficult as it may be, this means being utterly depleted is a gift from God because it’s teaching me total dependence on Christ. I might be exhausted right now as I rely on Him, but nothing would be more exhausting than trying to live for Christ in my own strength.  So, precious friend, there’s no way around it becoming warriors for Christ requires that we first become weak. Though we desire physical advantages, the strongest you and I will ever be for battle is when we're fighting on our knees in prayer.

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A Little Goes a Long Way
October 10, 2022
by Rachael Adams

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12 (NIV)

“A little goes a long way” is a familiar saying we apply to all sorts of things spice, garlic, logic, flattery, perfume, jewelry, makeup … The list goes on.  But beyond our kitchens, closets, philosophies and compliments, every little thing we do can go a long way in God’s hands. I am learning small things make a big difference, especially when done consistently over time.  Consider Jesus Himself, born in a manger in the middle of tiny Bethlehem, who grew up to save the entire world. God’s greatest plan began with something small, as our key verses show:  “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12).

During Jesus’ time on earth, He demonstrated the importance of “a little.”

    He valued the little things: hairs on our heads, birds in the air, and flowers in the field.
    He noticed the little gestures: a slight touch of His garment, a tax collector perched in a tree, and a widow and her two coins.
    He served in little ways: washing feet, holding children and cooking fish.
    He rewarded little deeds: the woman who washed His feet with her hair, the leper who said “thank you” and the woman by the well who gave Him something to drink.

Nothing was too insignificant for the Savior of the world. So why do we regularly consider bigger to be better?

We want our lives to count, but we feel minuscule, like our ordinary, everyday moments will never amount to anything. We take stock of the families we were born into, the towns we grew up in and the positions we serve in, then determine they are of little value in His Kingdom. If we aren’t careful, we can start to believe that who we are, where we are and what we are doing don’t really matter.  But, friend, God sees and values every little thing you do. You can impact others while standing in the checkout line or sitting on the sideline of the game, while walking the dog or talking to a colleague at work. Believe it or not, when you partner with God, He can use even the most minute things to affect eternity in ways beyond what you can imagine. People like you and me can accomplish great things in our everyday moments by offering all we are and all we have to God.  Little things aren’t little to God. He rejoices in what is right, not necessarily what is big. So let’s be faithful in the small things, begin where we are, do what we can and leave the results to God. When we do, I believe we will discover that a significant life is simpler (and smaller) than we think.

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You Don't Have To Hang On; It's OK To Fall
October 12, 2022
by Rachel Norman

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 (NIV)

For many years, I operated at the end of my rope. Through international moves, marriage crises, pregnancies, postpartum seasons and normal life, I was nearly always in survival mode.  I’d reach the end of my rope, tie a knot and hang on for dear life. My prayers during the worst of times were usually something like, God, I’m sorry my life is not together! I’ll do better tomorrow please forgive me!  Some nights, I’d lie in bed with all the ways I’d failed that day running through my head. I wasn’t as present as I wanted to be. I got short with the kids and used a tone that wasn’t great. The house wasn’t quite clean enough, and the dinner I cooked wasn’t quite organic enough, and my pants were a little too tight.  Since I’m a capable person, being at the end of my rope felt like one more problem to solve. I’d do a “brain dump,” make a list, think up 12 different strategies for my three largest problems and start fresh the next day.  And this strategy worked OK until it didn’t. Until the day I got a devastating health diagnosis that made me physically, mentally and emotionally incapable of hanging on any longer.  I truly reached the end of my rope, and I had no more energy. So I fell. I went into a free fall, which previously would have been my worst nightmare. But what I found in my free fall was a beautiful surrender.  I was so terrified of what my future held but unable to affect any real change with my best efforts and human strength. Because of that, I felt free to release all control. All striving. Instead of hanging on to the end of my rope and telling God all the ways I would become a better person, I surrendered to whatever His plan was. I became poor in spirit and desperate for God’s presence. And because I wasn’t “putting my best foot forward” and avoiding my own reality, I was able to receive His comfort.  Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I love The Message paraphrase of this verse: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”

What began as my worst nightmare became the best year of my life. That year I learned to come to God raw and real, without trying to prove my worth to Him. It was then I learned that I didn’t need to hang on for dear life because I could fall into His comfort, grace and peace.  A free fall was just what I needed to realize that I was never in control anyway and He always was.

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Giving Our Kids a BIG View of God
October 24, 2022
by Jennie Allen

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (NIV)

I remember one time when my oldest son was 3 and we were driving in the dark. We had gotten lost out in the country where there weren't any streetlights. Now, this was before iPhones, and I didn't have a map with me.  I was exasperated because I didn’t know what to do, but my son said, “Mom, we need to pray.”

He started praying the most passionate and sincere prayer I've ever heard. He knew and believed as a 3-year-old little boy that God could deliver us from whatever was causing us to be stuck, lost and scared. That is the faith of children.  In Matthew 18, Jesus talks about this idea when He says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4, ESV).

Let me tell you, as I watched my son pray that night, I realized that he really believed that God could change things for us. He believed that God heard his prayers and that there was a God powerful enough to lead us out of the darkness we were in.  So how do we help our kids have this BIG view of God?

I think as we get older and more pragmatic, we tend to lose this view ourselves. But as parents, we are uniquely equipped to partner with God to help our kids experience His power and love for them. We can join God, day by day in the little moments, in raising up a generation who believes not only that Jesus is real but also that they can talk to Him, hear from Him, walk with Him and know He's going to take care of them.

Here are three simple ways we can give our kids a BIG view of God:

1.  Share our mistakes.

We sometimes think parenting needs to be this great exercise in perfection, but perfection steals the need for God. When our kids see we are imperfect, they see us need God just like they need God so let’s become the best apologizers and confessors our kids have ever known.

2.  Learn about God with our kids.

We will have sweeter conversations if we study and discover God together. And this is actually a command in Scripture:  “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).

We don’t need to know everything we just need to trust God, and our kids need to see us do so.

3.  Have the end goal in mind.

There are a million other things to do, but there's nothing more important than giving our kids God. These years go fast. This can make us feel a lot of pressure, but it can also give us a lot of vision. We don’t have to set aside tons of structured discipleship time. Let’s be intentional in the little moments throughout our days. This will help our kids see God throughout their daily lives as they grow.

My prayer is that we would use these short years with our kids to set the foundation of their understanding of God’s character and spark a friendship with Jesus that they’ll carry the rest of their lives. I want to reassure you that you are not doing this alone God is working with you and is going to use your shepherding, no matter how imperfect.