Devotions

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You’re Never Too Much for God
December 19, 2022
by Jodi Harris

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these … will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28b-30 (NKJV)

I’m so angry! I cry out to God. My chest tightens as I clutch the couch pillow.  Anger is the outside armor protecting my tender heart from the rejection I feel beneath. I want to be closer to my loved one, but fear tells me I’m just too much for them.  My lament to God continues: It’s like I’m this rose, but they see me as a cactus. So they give me the attention a cactus requires: not much. But a rose needs more. It needs shade and sun in the right amounts; it has thorns that need navigating, soil that needs nutrients and water, dead branches that need pruning.  In other words, I realize midprayer, roses are high maintenance, and so am I. Sigh. I can see that. It is a lot.  I am a lot.  As I sit in silence, listening for the Holy Spirit, I envision Him as the One who loves me just as I am. Oh, Lord, help me release my loved one from fulfilling a role that isn’t theirs but Yours.  God brings to mind an image of my yard full of blooming roses bursting with color, planted by previous owners years ago. They’ve never bloomed like this since we’ve lived here until this spring. I was so taken by them the pinks, yellows, whites, lavenders, peaches and reds in various shapes and sizes.  God, why this?

I wonder. Then I feel Him speak these words tenderly to my heart:  My beloved daughter, look at those roses I have nurtured and brought to full bloom! See how I care for them exactly as they need to flourish. If I can create and nurture a gorgeous garden of roses for you to enjoy, I can nurture you just the same.  Your longing to be valued as you are is only fulfilled in Me. You are never too much for Me! I created you and will nurture you perfectly so you will flourish, but you have to come to Me. You cannot put that burden or role on anyone else. I’m the only One who knows you fully and can meet your needs. Will you let Me?

This gentle voice of God sounds a lot like the one that taught the people on a hillside long ago:  “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these … will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28-30).

Those words from Jesus in Scripture jump off the page and into my heart and life as I experience them firsthand. I am not too much for God. I am deeply valued and loved just as I am.  In the days following, I wander through my yard, soaking in God’s constant reminder that He not only cares for the roses surrounding my home but also the rose inside.

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Lift Our Eyes
December 20, 2022
by Sarah Freymuth

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2 (ESV)

Dusk is coming, but instead of letting it slide through the windows of my apartment, I am drawn to seek more of the sun. I’m tired physically, mentally and emotionally but I don my down jacket and scarf, slip out the door and put my feet to pavement.  It’s an unusually warm day for this time of year in Wisconsin, so I take advantage of the fleeting good weather and head to a tiny park that consists of one small but steep hill.  It’s been a long season full of unanswered questions, loads of waiting and a plethora of uncertainties. There have been times I’ve prayed and pleaded with God only to get no answer, and I’ve felt alone and unheard.  But this week, Psalm 121 has been ringing in my mind. I’ve been drawn to it, read it many times, and remembered God as Helper and Keeper.  My boots transition from the pavement to patches of grass and snow as I enter the park. All the while, I repeat portions of the psalm to myself, breath crisp and clear:  “I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

The sun’s lowering behind clouds, but there’s enough color left to know there’s a sunset coming. I begin my climb up the hill, which is already slick with packed-down snow and a layer of ice. After slipping in my boots, which are designed more for comfort than functionality, I cling to the snowy fence posts and haul myself slowly to the top, where I watch the sky churn raspberry, blazing orange and soft red as the sun breaks through the clouds.  Rays of orange light spike through the charcoal and purple clouds into the still-bright blue sky. Worship music in my earbuds, I stand with hands outstretched, knowing I’m meeting with the God to whom my eyes have lifted. I watch and worship the God who’s spinning colors effortlessly.  My situation doesn’t change or immediately clear up, but as I stand and worship, simply being in His presence helps remind me that He is over all things, that He is the maker of heaven and earth.  “The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8, ESV)

We may be weary from things that don’t seem to change health struggles, strained relationships, job challenges, loneliness from a need for community but we can lift our eyes to the Lord, who will not allow us to stumble. He who provides beauty in a sorbet sunset atop a small hill surely sees us, His children. He invites us to rest in His unchanging grace, soak in His strength, and be still and know He is with us.  When we pause and take in the magnitude of His glory, we get to remember how faithful He has been to us in the past and trust He is taking care of us today.  When we lift our eyes to the hills and set our hopes higher than our eyesight, the Lord comes into view.  He is above our challenges and pain, yet He personally resides within us, drawing us close, whispering to our hurting hearts. Let’s lift our eyes to the hills of hope and look to where our help comes from: God, who makes a way and holds us steady.

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An Unexpected Way To Set Your Life on the Path of Godly Wisdom This Year
January 5, 2023
by Lysa TerKeurst

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

I’m not great at setting New Year’s resolutions.  However, I do like to examine my everyday habits as I enter a new year. Taking inventory of my daily rhythms can give small indications of whether I’m pointing my life toward order or chaos, health or unhealth, wisdom or foolishness. I’ve learned it’s more realistic for me to tackle adjusting my small decisions rather than listing out some big, major changes I want to make in the new year.  Better small decisions lead to better habits. Better habits lead to positive changes. Daily positive changes over time lead to life change overall.  Here’s how this has played out for me on a practical level just a few days into 2023: I've noticed that I have a bad habit of putting dirty dishes in the sink and thinking, I’ll get to this later. The problem is the longer they sit there, they never get better on their own. And they don't magically end up in the dishwasher. Honestly, they just get grosser and grosser. By the time I finally face them, it is a much more awful task than if I’d just done the dishes right away. So I’m trying to start with the dishes and teach myself the habit of tackling things right away, as they come, rather than putting them off and making them harder in the long run.  I think sometimes I hope life will fall naturally in order. But unfortunately, most of the time, that’s not the case.  This is true inside our homes, and this is also true inside our relationships. If we want more peaceful relationships, we have to pivot from accepting chaos to pursuing peace. We can’t wait for other people to bring order into our lives. We have to initiate decisions that lead to peace. And I’ve discovered a big part of this comes through establishing boundaries where dysfunction is present.  Now, I’m not saying boundaries are a quick fix for some of our most challenging relationships. People are complicated. We ourselves are complicated. So, of course, relational dynamics are going to be complicated. But I’ve found the communication and consistency that good boundaries provide bring such clarity around what to do when we’re navigating damaging dysfunctions.  Dysfunction doesn’t come from God, nor did He create the human heart for unhealthy relationships. However, I do believe God can help us with these realities. If we want to have real, loving, thriving relationships and know what to look for to determine what is unhealthy and what is healthy, we need God’s wisdom.  Let’s turn to Proverbs 13:20:  “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

A relationship can only be as healthy as the people in the relationship. Like that verse tells us, living in the company of people who have set their lives on the path of wisdom will lead to us experiencing wisdom ourselves. So we need to be looking for patterns in someone’s life that are moving them (and us) toward wisdom or away from wisdom.  As we pay attention to others’ choices, we have to remember to also examine ourselves, both our actions and our reactions. In order to rightly look at someone else, we must first rightly look at ourselves.  After careful examination, if we are trying to move toward wisdom and another person is moving toward foolishness with their choices, therein lies the need for a boundary. Even after this discovery, boundaries are going to be challenging to implement. But at least we know what to do even if it’s still hard. The worst part of dysfunction in relationships is the feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness that too many of us have been swirling in for years.  Over the last year, I’ve established some healthy boundaries and, as a result, had some really important relationships transform and become healthier and more life-giving. I’m amazed and thankful. There’s a freedom to enjoy these people in my life now without the hesitations and pitfalls that used to create so much chaos and pain. I’ve also had to say goodbye to some unbiblical and destructive relationships. I still grieve those losses in deep ways. And I can now see why it’s so crucial to use godly wisdom to process all of this, remembering we shouldn’t use our boundaries as excuses to shove other people away but rather use them to keep us in a place where we love others well without losing the best of who we are.  None of this is easy. But it is worth it. I’m more convinced than ever that good boundaries work, and when set appropriately, boundaries really do serve to help keep us safe and healthy and in a place where we can honor God in all of our relationships.  This is possible for you, friend. Let’s make 2023 the year of better relationships, one wise choice at a time.

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Let Silence Be the Source of Your Renewed Prayer Life
January 6, 2023
by Denise J. Hughes

“In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.” Romans 8:26 (CSB)

The doctor entered between the flimsy curtains in the emergency room. He said the CT scan showed multiple pulmonary embolisms in both of my lungs, which explained my difficulty breathing.  As my impaired lungs struggled for every breath, I lay in that hospital bed, unable to say much of anything, much less pray anything. God, please help was the best I could muster.  In that place, God taught me about the power of silence in my prayer life.  My words were more desperate than eloquent, pleas from the depth of my being. Sometimes that’s all we have to give. Thankfully, that’s enough for God.  Have you ever experienced a season when you just couldn’t utter more than a few words in prayer?

When you weren’t even sure what to pray for?

Maybe the physical pain was overwhelming. Or maybe your heart was suffering more than your body. All you knew was that you needed help. And only God in heaven could understand the depth of your pain.  I’ve been there too. It’s never fun, but God has consistently shown Himself faithful. Every time.  Our small prayers, offered with a sincere heart, can be the equivalent of the widow’s two coins given sacrificially to the temple treasury when “many rich people were putting in large sums” (Mark 12:41, CSB).

That’s what I experienced when my clotted lungs struggled to squeeze out audible words. Even if I tried to pray quietly inside my heart, the pain proved too distracting. My groanings were more exact. Which is why I’m so grateful that God understands even this and that He provides for us in those moments when we don’t know what to say or maybe can’t say anything at all.  In our key verse, Paul says “the Spirit also helps us in our weakness.” This could mean physical weakness, but it could also imply spiritual weakness. When we’re distraught beyond words and we don’t know how to pray, the “Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings” (Romans 8:26).

What a gift this is to God’s people.  Whether we consider ourselves to be mighty prayer warriors or we admittedly sometimes struggle with it, prayer remains a central part of every believer’s life. It’s a fundamental way we express our dependence on God. When we go to Him daily, we acknowledge that we cannot supply anything for ourselves. We look to God for everything we need, including every breath we take.  This idea of daily dependence on God counters everything we hear in the world, yet it’s an elemental part of cultivating a quiet heart in a loud and restless world.  While the “quiet life” Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (CSB) speaks more to a person’s inner quietness of heart, it’s also wise to experience actual quiet from time to time.  Whenever we’re not sure how to pray, we can lean into the silence and let the Spirit do His healing work inside us.  To experience deep quiet, take inventory of the sounds around you. Then turn off as many sounds as possible. For some of us, we may be so unaccustomed to actual silence that we find it eerie or unsettling at first, but don’t let this sway you.  I can’t promise that your prayers will lead to spiritual fireworks, at least not instantaneously. For me, my lungs were not immediately healed, but slowly, over time, God was faithful to meet me in those quiet hours that filled each day. And in His time, He restored my breath.  Let the power of silence be the source of a renewed prayer life. For when we are still, God often does His best work.

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Divine Fingerprints Everywhere
January 9, 2023
by Shauna Niequist

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV)

Last fall, our younger son, William, started middle school, and that meant I needed to walk him to school and from school every day, about a 30-minute walk each way.  It’s a good thing, really it’s great one-on-one time, and it’s good exercise.  But for the first month, getting used to it was embarrassingly hard after more than two years of William walking with friends to his school just one block over, this new schedule felt like a lot I was always late and dressed wrong for the weather, and my legs were mortifyingly sore, as though I were training for a marathon, not just walking to the West Village.  Something shifted, though, about six weeks into this new routine: I found that I’d started to look forward to it. My legs weren’t constantly tired anymore, and the part of the walk I did alone after dropping him off or on the way to meet him in the afternoons started to become one of my favorite times of the day.   I started what I call “delight hunting,” being on the lookout for beautiful, interesting or funny things: an ivy-covered building; the sun glinting off the Hudson River; a dog in a backpack, his front paw slung over his owner’s shoulder in such a human way that I still giggle when I think about it. I found a little secret garden near the school and sometimes left home early to sit there in the quiet. The walk became a source of delight, and I began to see God’s divine fingerprints everywhere. The psalmist of Psalm 139 seems to have felt the same way: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (Psalm 139:7-12).

We see what we’re looking for. You know the phenomenon: You buy a Jeep Wrangler, and all of a sudden it seems like every third car on the road is a Wrangler. When you get a puppy, everywhere you go, there are puppies! Were there always this many puppies?

The opposite is true, too, of course. When you wonder if a friend is mad at you, every text from that friend supports your sneaking suspicion. After a series of delayed or canceled flights, when you look at the “arrivals and departures” board, all you see are the delays.  We see what we’re looking for, and what I’m looking for these days is delight. Beauty. Evidence of God’s sacred presence all around us and within us, in the face of every person on the sidewalk, in the intricacy of the flowers in that secret garden, in the sky as the sun rises and sets everything ablaze.  Theologian Eugene Peterson has said that “to eyes that see, every bush is a burning bush.”

That’s how I want to live: a witness to the glory of God all around us. Even especially on the school-pickup walk, on plain old streets and sidewalks, in the daily moments of life.

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Nothing Else Satisfies
January 18, 2023
by Wendy Speake

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” Jeremiah 31:25 (ESV)

When I was a young child, my mother dolled me up in homemade dresses and black patent-leather shoes and took me to church. Sometimes she’d let me skip my Sunday-school class and skip all the way into the main sanctuary with her.  Sliding down the sleek wooden pew, I’d settle in at her side. Familiar faces were all around me in our pew.  To my left was always the old man with bushy eyebrows who smelled of Aqua Velva and butterscotch candies. Not only did he always sit in the same place and smell of the same aftershave, but each time Communion was served, he’d pass the elements my way and say the very same words.  Taking a small piece of bread in his wrinkled hand, he’d lean down close and whisper with butterscotch breath, “Christ’s body was broken for you; take this in remembrance of Him.”

He would then place the bread in my hand and pass the silver tray to my mom, with a grandfatherly nod.  Similarly, when the grape juice was passed down our pew, he’d give me a miniature plastic cup and tell me what to do: “Christ’s blood was poured out for you; take this in remembrance of Him.”

Today, I still remember. I remember that memory, but most of all, I remember that God satisfied the payment for my sins.  Satisfied. What a beautiful word. God fulfilled every debt I owed. Paid in full. All my need for saving was fully satisfied the moment I believed that the gospel was true. However, if I’m honest, I don’t always remember to live satisfied. In recent years, I’ve found myself running to other things to fill my hungry heart. Bypassing my Bible, I've feasted on empty fillers that only reinforced the emptiness.  I know I’m not alone.  We are a generation of Jesus-hungry women who tend to misplace our spiritual hunger. We take our appetites to the wrong stuff all fluff false fillers that never fulfill.  In the mornings we reach over our Bibles and pick up our phones. We scroll through social media, then make ourselves a cup of coffee. When emotions well up midafternoon, we take our angst to the wrong wells broken wells that don’t satisfy. We go from sugar high to sugar high instead of turning to the Most High. With a phone in one hand and a fork in the other, we consume all day long, but we never have the time to ingest the Truth in our Bibles.  Then, when we find ourselves utterly weary and heavy laden (on the backside of another caffeine crash), we hop on over to Amazon Prime, or we hop in our car and drive to Target, only to miss the bull’s-eye again.  None of those things has ever satisfied. We were made for more. We were made for God. And our Bibles are where we will find Him. It is time for us to open up God’s Word and feast! The One who satisfied our outstanding debt all those years ago does an outstanding job of satisfying us still.  There is a feast that satisfies. Christ, who satisfied our eternal debt, is more than able to satisfy every hunger we have today.  The feast is already on the table. Don’t rush past it today. Pull up a chair, open your Bible, and dig in.

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Broken Crayons Still Color
January 25, 2023
by Toni Collier

“‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” John 8:11b-c (NIV)

One evening after dinner, I walked into the living room to a pretty wild scene.  All over the floor in mini piles were crayons that looked like they’d gotten into a fight. My preschool-age daughter, Dylan, had peeled off their paper wrappers and broken each and every last crayon.  When I asked why she’d ruined all the crayons, she just looked at me and said, “Mommy, color.”

Later, as I was on my knees scraping up the crayons, I broke down exhausted, alone and in tears. This wasn’t about crayons; it was about a life that had come crashing down into broken pieces of despair broken like the crayons scattered on our carpet.  I’d been let go from a church that had promised me a promotion and raise a few months earlier. Countless nights had been spent shuffling through divorce papers because I couldn’t afford a lawyer. Looking at my finances and the bills I would now be carrying as a single mom, I didn’t see a way out of this valley of complete darkness.  Thinking back on Dylan’s comment “Mommy, color” I realized she was saying, “Yeah, I broke the crayons, Mom, but they still work!”

Here I was in a valley, thinking that my brokenness discounted me. And yet there are stories all throughout the Bible showing broken people, including broken women, whom God rescues and welcomes.  There’s a hard but beautiful story in the Bible that shows a picture of Jesus’ desire to choose those of us who struggle to see our value. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in adultery to the temple courts where Jesus was. Could you imagine being caught in the very act of some of your biggest mistakes, arrested on the spot, and dragged to a public setting to be killed?

“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  4At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’  ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:7-11, NIV).

You see what just happened?

He flipped the script.  Not only did Jesus create accountability for the public shaming, but He also chose to show love to a woman who, to her community, was blemished and worthy of death. Her brokenness didn’t discount her access to, and love from, the Savior of the universe.  When you decide to bring your hurts into the light, hope and healing can be yours. Through this act of choosing the woman in John 8, Jesus is showing us today that He chooses you and me as well. Jesus is choosing you right now. The question is: Will you be brave enough to fight for your greatest hope by fighting through your greatest hurt?

We all have things that have deeply hurt us, things we need to heal from. We need restoration and true freedom. Our childhood wounds can be transformed into adult scars that are healed and sealed.  You can absolutely look at all your past mistakes, your past pain, the parts of your story that you just want to forget, and declare that they don’t get to have the final say in your life. That’s exactly what Jesus did when He died for you declaring that those things don’t get the final say, but God does. And, friend, He’s not done with you yet. Broken crayons still color!

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Is Everything OK in Your Heart?
January 30, 2023
by Andy Stanley

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

We spend a good deal of time teaching our children to monitor their behavior. But what about guarding their hearts?

The Old Testament book of Proverbs is filled with extraordinary wisdom. That so much good advice is packed into this ancient document is all the more reason the following statement should cause us to sit up straight and pay attention:  “Above all else, guard your heart …” (Proverbs 4:23).

Not our wallets?

Our purses?

Our daughters?

Why our hearts? And why “above all else”?

“… for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Think about that. Everything we do on the outside originates on the inside. If that’s true, then, by all means, we should pay attention to what’s going on inside. Jesus agreed. He said this:  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19, NIV).

According to Jesus, these sins originate in our hearts. They come from within. That being the case, we would do well to guard our hearts. The problem is: No one taught us how to do that.  One evening as I was putting Andrew, my son, to bed, I decided to take the direct route. Andrew was probably 6 years old at the time. We had already prayed and were chatting about the events of the day. Right before I got up to leave, I put my hand on his chest and said, “Andrew, is everything OK in your heart?”

Andrew smiled and said, “Yes, sir, Daddy.”

That became a bedtime routine I eventually did with all three of our children. I decided the first step to guarding their hearts was to help them get in the habit of paying attention to what was going on in there. Over time I added several other questions. Eventually, the list looked like this:

    Is everything OK in your heart?
    Did anybody hurt your feelings today?
    Are you mad at anybody?
    Are you worried about anything?
    Did anybody break a promise to you today?
    Is there anything you want to tell me, but you’re not sure how?

One night I was working through my list with my daughter Allie, and for some reason, I added, “Is there anybody whose failure you would secretly celebrate?”

She was so young at the time that I wasn’t sure she would understand the question. Her response shocked me.  She immediately blurted out a name. Fortunately, it wasn’t one of her brothers. But it was one of her brother’s friends.  I said, “Allie, do you know what that question means?”

She said, “Yes, sir, Daddy. It means if they didn’t do good at something, I would be happy about it.”

Turns out she had something lodged in her heart that needed unlodging. So every once in a while, I would toss that question into the mix.  This was our routine for years. These questions became so ingrained that one night, as I was putting Allie to bed, she lay down, closed her eyes and said, “Daddy, everything is OK in my heart. Nobody hurt my feelings. I’m not mad at anybody. I’m not worried. And nobody broke a promise. Good night.”

The questions we most often ask our children communicate what’s most important to us and what we’re convinced should be most important to them.  For our entire lives, we’ve been encouraged to monitor our behavior. But if Jesus is correct, guarding our hearts may be more important than monitoring our behavior. His Word is filled with guidance related to behavior, but at the same time, He instructs us to get in the habit of paying attention to what’s swirling around on the inside because what’s on the inside doesn’t stay there. Our hearts direct our behavior.  And the author of that statement from Proverbs isn’t wrong. The condition of our children’s hearts is “above all things” (Proverbs 4:23) because their emotional health determines their relational health and, ultimately, their behavior and their lives.

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God’s Pursuit of Us
February 1, 2023
by Kia Stephens

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)

“God is an ageless romancer” were the words of the beloved Bible teacher at an all-female retreat.

Her words took me by surprise and appealed to my heart. I have always been a hopeless romantic a sucker for rom-coms, Christmas movies on Lifetime, and happily-ever-after endings.  Having grown up in church, I often heard God described as Father, Friend, Way-Maker and Wonderful Counselor, to name a few. These names were easy to accept as true, but “romancer” was a bit difficult to embrace.  I'd reserved the word “romance” for men on white horses who slayed villains and rescued damsels in distress. Romancers were Prince Charmings in tuxedos, with roses in one hand and chocolates in the other. When I imagined a romancer, I didn’t imagine God.  But over the course of the weekend retreat, God began to enlarge my understanding of romance. This word isn’t limited to novels and date nights. This word encompasses God’s tremendous love and His relentless pursuit of humanity. I saw it throughout Scripture.

God pursued Adam and Eve after they sinned in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3)
God pursued Hagar when she ran away from her problems. (Genesis 16)
God pursued Elijah when he ran from Ahab and Jezebel. (1 Kings 18-19)
God pursued Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9)

And God pursues us.  Motivated by unexplainable love, God pursues humanity. No matter our state in life married, single, dating, living for God or running from Him God seeks to win the affection of our hearts by relentlessly and faithfully pursuing us.  We see a clear depiction of this pursuit in our key verses, John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

The love John refers to in this scripture is agape love, which is sacrificial and considered the highest form of love that exists. This love was costly for God, but He pursued us through the radical act of sacrificing His Son. God’s love is unmatched and far greater than any box of chocolates or bouquet of flowers.  And even more astounding is that God demonstrated His lavish and sacrificial love while we were sinners. He pursued us while we weren’t thinking about Him. His actions on our behalf overshadow the man on the white horse. Once and for all, God valiantly saved humankind from the spiritual villain Satan when we were in distress.  But God’s pursuit of us did not end with Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection. For all our days, He will continue to pursue us with His unexplainable love.  If you long to be romanced and pursued, may this be an encouragement: You are the object of God’s affection. He has relentlessly pursued and will continue to pursue you.

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Is My Speech Sweetened With Grace?
February 3, 2023
by Beth Knight

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:24 (ESV)

The words came tumbling out of my mouth like boulders in a rock slide barreling down a sharp cliff. One by one, they rolled off my tongue toward their unsuspecting victim: my dear husband.  In front of my kitchen sink, I stood tall upon my list of grievances: the leftover coffee cups forming a community on our bathroom counter, the clothes piled on the floor beside the laundry basket, and the dishwasher he forgot to start yet again.  On and on I droned when suddenly a sound interrupted my self-righteous rant:  Drip.  Drip.  Drip.  The kitchen faucet that had remained silent during my tirade gently spoke up to remind me that “a quarrelsome wife is like [a] constant dripping” (Proverbs 19:13, NIV).

My lips merged into a guilty grin as I thought, Holy Spirit, why do You have to call me out like that?!

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Personally, the sweetest words I’ve ever heard are found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus tasted the bitter wrath of God on my behalf so my soul could taste the sweetness of His grace. And because I’ve been saved by grace, I’m called to live and speak with grace.  But why do I so easily fall short of this calling and speak words dripping with sarcasm, anger or an unquenchable desire to be right?

Well, like most of my troubles, it begins inside my heart. Luke 6:45 warns, “out of the abundance of the heart [the] mouth speaks” (ESV).

So the ungracious thoughts I’ve secretly stored inside will eventually make their way toward my mouth, spilling over onto unsuspecting family and friends or the neighbor I’m called to love.  That day in the kitchen was no exception. My ungracious words flowed directly from the thoughts and grumblings that had been stirring inside my heart over the previous days and weeks. I’d been exhausted, overwhelmed and anxious. And instead of focusing on all the wonderful things my husband does for our family, I’d been focusing on minor irritations I could’ve easily overlooked.  Friend, does your heart ache just like mine when you wish you’d been more careful with your words?

No one wants to be the wife, mom, family member or friend who is quarrelsome or uncharitable toward others in thought or speech.  We desire to make our homes sanctuaries of safety from the harshness of this world. Yet we are fallible and prone to weariness, making us vulnerable to taking out our frustrations on the ones we love most.  Speech sweetened with grace will only overflow from a heart overwhelmed by God’s grace. Therefore, our only hope is to approach God’s throne of grace daily with confidence, (Hebrews 4:16) trusting Him to flood our hearts with the mercy and grace we desperately need.  Faces lift, shoulders soften and hearts heal when gracious words are spoken. Today, may we let God’s grace wash over our souls so our speech will be healing and sweet, drenching others with the love of Christ we have first received.

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Letting Go of Lonely
February 8, 2023
by Denise Pass

“O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.” Psalm 38:9 (ESV)

Reaching for the tub of ice cream in the freezer, I settled for a movie night to soothe my lonely soul. But extra calories and escaping into someone else’s story could not satisfy the ache in my heart.  Loneliness was still waiting for me the next morning. Comfort food was not what my soul needed. I needed God to be my comfort.  Loneliness relentlessly followed me wherever I went because it was in my mind. Loneliness surrounded me even in a crowded room and made me feel like everyone knew I was alone.  Then I saw her. Another lonely woman like me: Hagar. Running away from her lonely, harsh circumstances, she found herself alone in the desert yet seen by God. “You are the God who sees me …” she said (Genesis 16:13, NIV).

Then God sent her right back to the lonely place she came from. (Genesis 16:9)  What?! (Insert tire screech.)

That kind of deliverance does not make sense to me. I feel God’s rescue should have removed her from the lonely place she escaped and should have surrounded her with people who loved her. But there in that holy, lonely place, Hagar let go of loneliness and held on to God.  God’s deliverance is often through life’s pain rather than around it.  What can we learn from this?

Loneliness is not a place. It is a state of mind. God wants to meet us in our loneliness just like He met Hagar.  God’s deliverance wasn’t just that He saw her; it was that Hagar was no longer alone. God’s presence gave her strength to return to a hard place. She could live loved, knowing God was enough.  Similarly, King David knew God saw him in his suffering too. His friends had abandoned him, but God hadn’t. David wrote our key verse, which says:  “O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you” (Psalm 38:9).

David did not give in to his loneliness. He fought through it by crying out to God and found himself comforted.  So how does being seen and known by God help us?

We are never alone.  We are significant.  We are accepted unconditionally.  We are loved by God.  Living loved isn’t a matter of location or situation it is a matter of the mind that impacts our souls.  Now, rather than feeling lonely, I feel cherished. Lonely moments are now embraced places of solitude where I run and hide away with God. I have learned that nothing can comfort me like being still in His presence.  And I’ve also learned that loneliness is not dependent upon a relationship status. We can be lonely when we are single or married, divorced or widowed. Loneliness is not a respecter of persons.  But, friend, the good news is that our loneliness is seen by God. So we are never truly alone. Let’s live loved because we are.

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Come … Bare Your Soul
February 15, 2023
by Rachel Marie Kang

“But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'” Genesis 3:9 (NIV)

I have a welcome mat by my home’s front door that reads: Bare your soles.  As in, bare your (feet) soles, but also bare that actual soul of yours. Smooth out that wrinkle on your forehead, calm your beating heart, and come to stillness, to presence.  The mat at my door is like a welcome sign that beckons visitors to walk and enter through, all barefoot and barely breathing, all desperate for a couch to catch their tired bodies.  I cannot help but think of how the same is true of a blank page, a blank canvas or an empty stage they are all invitations that bid:  Come.  Bare your soul.  On the blank canvas, page or stage, you are welcome to create. You are welcome to bare your heart, the very words buried within. You can create in confidence, all while withholding criticism, as you work through the wandering and the wondering of your soul.  Thinking back to the garden of Eden, to our beginning, it’s so vital to know that God’s call for humans to bravely bare their hearts was not meant to instill condemnation leading to hopelessness. Rather, it was to inspire confession leading to hope.  In Genesis 3:9-13, after they had sinned, God called to Adam and Eve, asking, “Where are you? … Who told you that you were naked? … What is this you have done?” (NIV).

With these questions, these invitations to tell truth, God presented His presence. God established Himself as an eternal audience of one, ever listening and leaning in to the laments of our living, loving and losing.  God is still that safe place indeed, He is the safest. And He welcomes our stories, our honest words and artful songs and poems and posts and paint-filled pieces.  Could it be that black ink on blank pages might help make sense of all that doesn’t make sense in the world?

Could it be that baking cakes and stretching limbs long toward lofty skies might help release peace into every unseen piece of our lives?

We write and sing and dance that we might experience the exhale of God again, the sigh and sound of His voice that reminds us of His plan to fill our lives with light. Yes, by way of art, we can stand bare before a God who does not badger or beat the truth out of us. He is a gentle, whispering God standing with, not against, His people through it all. He moves us to breathe a brave release to confess and gradually push back our darkest memories and moments.  God calls for you and also comes to you, telling you it is OK to bare all of who you are even the parts that need forgiveness and healing and through Him, you can become new in spite of it.

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How God Shows Us the Path We Can’t See
February 24, 2023
by Abby McDonald

“He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.” Psalm 78:15-16 (NIV)

I was lost again, driving in circles in our new town for the hundredth time. My phone’s GPS was just as confused as I was. When I consulted it for directions, my location didn’t even appear on the map.  After trying to reroute, I called my husband to ask for help. He had worked in the area for several months before we purchased a home there and was familiar with parts of town I hadn’t explored.  Later that week, he encouraged me to learn several routes to get to the same place. That way, I would know multiple ways to get home, even when I was detoured or my GPS failed. But for years, I didn’t follow his advice. I knew one route to my destination, and if I couldn't take that route, I was completely disoriented.  Sometimes this same type of thinking overtakes my spiritual life. I have a specific need or request in mind, and I map out the steps to fulfill the need. But because life and God do not adhere to my well-laid-out plans, I often encounter a detour.  My obsession with getting from point A to point B keeps me from seeing there are multiple ways God can provide what I need. We serve a God who creates roads unknown to any GPS, but my limited vision keeps my eyes locked on my way.  In Psalm 78, Asaph recounts countless miracles God performed after delivering Israel from Egypt. He used the most unlikely circumstances to show His power and created a way in one impossible situation after another:  “He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers” (Psalm 78:15-16).

But even though the Israelites repeatedly witnessed God’s miraculous power, they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Like me, they roamed in circles. And when they finally got to the promised land, they sent spies to scout it and were fearful of entering because of the army they would face. (Numbers 13-14) Instead of remembering their God who makes a way, they only saw the opposition.

How do we remember we serve a God of limitless possibilities?

When we only see one solution to our problem, how do we shift our focus toward the God of infinite vision?

Honest confession. When we tell Him how we’re feeling and what our hang-ups are, He often answers in ways we can’t comprehend.  Following the outline of many of the psalms, my prayers go something like this:

    An honest admission to God about what I’m feeling.
    A call for God to open my eyes to the truth.
    A recognition of God’s unfailing love.
    A decision to praise God despite the roadblock I’m facing.

Here’s the miracle: When I practice this in my daily life, God opens my eyes and shows me the path I can’t see on my own. My admission of my lack shows me new possibilities in Him.  God won’t leave us stuck when we come to Him with an honest plea for guidance. He longs to be our Guide. And when we come to Him, He just might show us a path we’ve never seen before, overflowing with hope and opportunity.