Nourish your soul.
Why is it that when we’re sick we crave sugar? It’s strange that when our bodies most desperately need nourishment, we’re most likely to reach for a quick pick-me-up.
And that’s just it, right? We crave sugar because we’re tired and we feel lousy and sugar is the quickest “high,” the fastest way to feel (temporarily) better.
But, of course, then there’s the crash. We always feel worse afterward. While everything God created is good in moderation, refined sugar is notorious for its addictive quality and destructive effect on our bodies.
But it feels so good at the time.
What we really need, though, is nourishment, not a quick high. We need bone broth, loads of hot (unsweetened!) liquids and, of course, rest.
Our souls are the same.
Lately I have been struck by how critical it is that we nourish our souls. That we feed our spirits. It is when we’re “sick” spiritually, when we’re feeling low or discouraged or even physically run-down that we reach for whatever gives us that quick “high.” We reach for twaddle or turn on triviality. We are strangely energized by reading or watching people rant. Drama gives us a little rush.
But it really doesn’t nourish our spirits. We desperately need the bone broth of truth, of life-giving spiritual nourishment. Recently I had a cold so I curled up on the couch to finish Robby Dawkins’ Do What Jesus Did. I knew the Father was urging me to physical rest, and I knew my heart needed it too. Once I had cared for my babes and my man, I nestled under a quilt and sipped up some life-giving, soul-nourishing, no-nonsense, Jesus-exalting truth.
Completely void of hype, drama, or finger-pointing rants, this book just urges us gently back to do what Jesus did. Sadly, we’ve flippantly put “health & wealth” together because they rhyme (?) and sloppily stuck it all together under the term “Prosperity Gospel.”
But Jesus didn’t do that. He healed every person who came to Him for healing. He sent exactly ZERO of them away. He was always urging people to give away their wealth, but He granted them healing whenever they came to Him in need. He brought deliverance to every person who was oppressed by the devil. All of His commissions to the disciples and the 72 includes preaching the gospel and healing the sick. This WAS evangelism. It is impossible to miss this in the gospels.
He sozo‘d (saved) people left and right by bringing forgiveness of sins, healing to their bodies, deliverance for their souls, and showering them with such life-changing love that they were compelled to leave all and follow Him.
The love of Christ compels us! The love of God is so much more than we can comprehend! His love empowers us to move beyond our limits, our comforts, our control, our cynicism and hopelessness, His love is all we so desperately need and this love will lead us to do things beyond our wildest imagination.
Please, if you ever come across a book that is, essentially, Do What I Do, put it down. It’s sugar for your spirit. I have been convicted by how often I write things that are just that. What we most need is to feed our hearts and souls and spirits with the bone broth of Who God is. What is He like? What did He do? What is His heart? This truth will strengthen us long after the sugar-high has left.
Please, Nourish your spirit. Or, as God’s Word says,
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Prov. 4:23
May we nourish our spirits this week with the truth of who God is! He is life to our souls! Thank you for reading.
No manna on Saturday
Yes! A free Saturday. I wrote “WRITE” in caps across the square (Yes, I still use a paper planner) and looked forward with anticipation to the first free Saturday I’d had in months.
When the day arrived, I realized it wasn’t entirely free, as I’d forgotten Jeff had a fundraising race in the morning. So we loaded up, cheered him on, the littles and I ran the kids funrun, and we arrived home by lunchtime. I went for a quick run, got lunch prepped, served, and cleaned up, then took a quick shower and relished the fact I still had 4 free hours left in the day. Plenty of time to crank out some pages.
I sat down at my desk. Ahh…here we go.
Nothing. I read and re-read what I’d written before, but I suddenly realized how mentally tired I was. I’d been speaking the past 5 weekends straight, and had several other items on back burners that required mental space. I realized that it wasn’t necessarily that my body was exhausted, but my mind was. I laid my head down on the desk and prayed, asking the Father to lead me and show me what to write.
All I heard was: Rest.
Rest? Then it occurred to me as I lay there reveling in how good it felt to rest my head and close my eyes, that it was Saturday.
Sabbath.
Hm…
I quickly protested. But this is the ONLY FREE DAY I have to write! Have you noticed that ALL my other free time is spent serving other people??? I have to use this time to work. So could you please just give me some words to write?
I waited. I prayed. I waited and prayed and waited and prayed. I scribbled out some sentences that were terrible, deleted them all, and went back to waiting and praying.
Rest.
And then thought occurred to me: There’s no manna on Saturday.
Oh. You mean, that’s a thing?!
Here’s what I mean: Jesus told us clearly that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. This rest-thing wasn’t something God dreamed up just to keep us under His thumb. He created it for our good. The whole point is that we need rest. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We were created to need rest.
And He illustrated this clearly for the nation of Israel by telling them to gather bread (from heaven!) 6 days a week, but the 7th day they were to rest. And just to make it clear, on the Sabbath He said:
“Today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none” (Ex. 16:26).
There will be none.
No manna on Saturday.
He’s telling them, “Don’t waste your time going out and trying to scrape up more than you need. Just rest. I’ll give you plenty on the other 6 days. Trust me.”
But some of them didn’t. I can relate to these funny folks who just had to go out into the field to see for themselves. Maybe there was some left behind they could scrape up and save for later? Maybe there was extra they could sell to the neighbors? They carry their baskets out to the fields on the Sabbath, but there was none.
“On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none” (v. 27).
God makes it clear: Don’t bother. There’s no manna on Saturday.
God will not provide the strength to do something He hasn’t called us to do. He won’t energize efforts of the flesh. He won’t give me a single measly word if He knows I need to rest. Why? Because He loves me.
Because Sabbath was made for me.
Because the whole point isn’t which day we do it or whether it’s sundown to sundown or whether it’s ok to drive to the store or bake bread or blah blah blah. The whole point is, when the Father says Rest we’re wise to obey and not waste our time out in the field looking for manna that’s not there.
Manna is simply the stuff we regularly need — it can be different for each of us. For me, most often it’s words. Words to speak, teach, write. I don’t worry much about money, but I desperately need words on a regular basis. That’s my manna.
What is your manna? What are you scraping for in your own strength instead of resting in the Father’s good plan and trusting at the right time He’ll rain it down? Has He been whispering Rest to your soul too? He loves you so much … let’s listen to Him.
{Thank you for reading.}
Clarifying or Modifying?
This concept came back to me recently, and I remembered this phase we went through when Heidi was a toddler. Chewing on this again today, considering subtle ways we seek to modify His will. Praying we submit to His plans knowing they are always for our good!
~
It was in the toy aisle at the Dollar Store where she first said it.
We were picking out party favors, puzzles and games, when she pointed out some bigger puzzles that had caught her eye. In her bird-chirp voice: “Can I have that?”
“No, sweetiegirl, those puzzles have too many pieces for us. But you can pick out one of these kids’ puzzles for the party.”
She looked up at me with her wide eyes and sweet smile:
“When I’m bigger I can have that?”
My heart melted. Precious little thing. I reached down and picked her up, kissing her on the cheek. “Yes, babygirl, when you’re bigger you can have that.” We finished our shopping and left.
A few days later she asked for something unrelated. Probably a graham cracker or a drink of juice. For whatever reason, I said no, not right now, perhaps later. Her same sweet smile and singsong voice,
“When I’m bigger I can have that?” I grin. “Yes, babygirl, when you’re bigger.”
It was cute. She kept attaching little smiley questions when I’d answer no. One time I left her at naptime (instead of snuggling until she fell asleep) and explained that I was going to get the laundry. A few weeks later, when I left the room at naptime she said, “You going to get the laundry,” and smiled to herself, falling asleep. Cute.
But as time went on and she kept saying it, it was less of a question and more of self-talk. When I’d say no to something she’d say to herself, “When I’m bigger I can have that.” Again, not disrespectfully or unpleasantly, necessarily, but it started to get my attention. And then, whenever I’d leave her room she’d say I was going to get the laundry.
Finally one afternoon I clarified, “Mommy’s not going to get the laundry. I’m going to go write and you need to go to sleep.” She cried. What? “Mommy I want you to get the laundry!” What had I created here?
Finally, too, I intervened with the self-talk. Heidi asked for something and I said no, she started sobbing, and through her tears told herself she could have it when she got older.
I bent down, “Heidi-boo, Mommy didn’t say you can have it when you’re older. I just said you couldn’t have it. I need you to simply say Yes, Mama and not tell me or yourself that you can have it when you’re bigger. Just accept Mommy’s words.”
Do I just accept His Words?
In our last session of Bible study we talked about how sometimes we have learned beliefs from our families, from growing up, things we’ve always believed, that aren’t necessarily God’s Word. We tell ourselves these things, often even subconsciously modifying God’s commands. The first time Heidi had asked the question she had genuinely been clarifying my word. But as it progressed it developed into her modifying my word. Instead of simply accepting my commands, she modified them in her mind to make herself feel better.
Taking a straight-up No. is too hard. So she added a qualifier to soften the blow.
How do we modify God’s Word to soften the blow?
When God says, “no” or gives a clear command and we add some sort of modification, even if it’s a tiny thing like “when I’m bigger”, it’s still a big deal.
Why? Because as long as we add the modifier we’re insisting on the final word.
We’re not really bowing.
We’re still making ourselves the god of our life, by adding modifiers, however innocent or subtle they may be.
Honest, clarifying questions are always welcomed by God. Subtle statements modifying His will are not. When we clarify, He is on the throne. When we modify, we’re trying to usurp. We forget He is a good Father and all His commands — even the “no’s” — are for our good.
Let’s trust our good Father and just accept His Word … even when we’re bigger.
{Praying this for us today! Thanks for reading…}
He is the Supply
“We are but a capacity, He is the supply.”
-AB Simpson
This quote has been open on my computer, at the top of an otherwise blank document, for several weeks. I typed it there, was interrupted (imagine that!), closed the laptop, and left it there. Every time I was feeling desperate, needing to type a blog post or needing to prepare for a speaking event, or needing to study for women’s Bible study, every time I felt inadequate or empty, I would just happen to flip open my computer, open Word, and there was this WORD just for me.
Over and over and over He’s been whispering it to my heart. You are but a capacity, I am the supply.
What does this mean?
This means if He calls me to speak to two people or two thousand people, and I feel hopelessly inadequate, it doesn’t much matter … He is the supply.
This means on the days when parenting gets hard, and I’m hitting the wall of my own ability, feeling lost and overwhelmed with how to raise a particular child, it’s ok that I’ve reached the end of myself … He is the supply.
This means when there are 55,000 words to be written in the next five months and I’m staring at blank pages and fear begins whispering, “You don’t have what it takes…” I can turn from the screen up to the Father and recall the truth … He is the supply.
This means when He leads us to a vision bigger than ourselves, and He begins cutting loose the old ways, the safe ways, the risk-free ways, and when I’m facing the free fall of faith and I’m not sure I have enough courage to go this way, I remember I don’t need to have enough anything, because He is the supply.
We all are learning to step into the unknown. It looks different for each of us, but guaranteed none of us are called to be sufficient, in and of ourselves. None of us are called to something we can handle on our own. None of us has “got what it takes” to do whatever faith-thing faces us today. Thankfully, we have a promise. His promise:
His commandments are His enablements. In other words, He will never call me to do something unless He also supplies the resources (ability) I need to do just that.
And, it’s worth noting the supply doesn’t usually come in advance. *smile* I don’t get a lump sum of resources ahead of time. When I need it, He provides it. When I step out into the “need,” into the emptiness, into the unknowing, He brings the road up to meet my feet and provides the words, wisdom, wealth, or strength to go His way.
Guaranteed.
{Resting in His limitless supply today. Happy Monday! Thank you for reading.}
When you’re feeling defensive…
Me? Guilty?
I kept going through my day, but inside I was agitated. We did our normal stuff, but finally Dutch (who never ceases to amaze me at his occasional sensitivity and insight) remarked, “What’s wrong, mommy? You seem concerned.”
Yes, that was it. Concerned. I was concerned because it had so completely caught off guard to have someone accuse me of guilt. Me?! Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not perfect. Good grief I know I fall short in a million different ways each day. But this was different. This person was implying real genuine GUILT.
Without saying a single word, I found myself crafting clear airtight defenses in my mind. Even though this truly wasn’t a big deal, it caught me off guard how defensive I felt.
Defensive.
That was it. That was the feeling, lingering there, agitating me, distracting me from the day. I felt defensive.
I didn’t like the feeling. I knew it was wrong, but it was the feeling nonetheless.
I opened up my Bible, and by His hand of providence, I happened to be slated to study Romans 3. Y’all know the subject of Romans 3, right?
Guilt.
The whole point of Romans 3 is to make it crystal clear: We are all buried in guilt. Every one of us. Our case is worse than we even realize. It doesn’t matter who you are, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (3:23)
Oh yeah. That’s right. I’m included in that “all.”
The reason we feel guilty is because we are. Sometimes we’re more keenly aware than others (I don’t care for those times, thank you very much) but the truth is, we’re still buried in guilt even on our best days. This is the bad news.
But this bad news brings the Good News, right? Romans 3:23-24 are all one sentence. Yes,
“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God AND are justified by His GRACE as a GIFT.”
We aren’t justified because we went to trial and won, proving our innocence.
We aren’t justified because we cleaned up our act and promise we don’t do it again.
We aren’t justified because so-and-so thinks we’re wonderful.
We aren’t justified by anything other than grace.
A gift. Completely undeserved, unmerited, free favor from God.
There is no need for defensiveness. Jesus is our defense.
When I become defensive, it proves that I don’t understand the gospel. Or that I’ve forgotten it. I’ve strayed from finding my identify only and ever in my status as a loved daughter of God, adopted into His family by His free gift of grace.
When I slip into defensiveness, I prove that I’ve forgotten grace and begun to build my own identify on entitlement, achievement, and performance.
How gracious is our God, to gently remind us … run back to the gospel of grace.
God is the just and the justifier, the One who demands perfection and the One who satisfied that demand in His Son Jesus and freely offers acceptance and new life to all who receive this gift of grace.
Best. Deal. Ever.
Yes, we’re guilty. Every day.
But the Judge also happens to be our Dad. And He has declared us FORGIVEN because of His Son Jesus. All pride ends here. All self-justification ends here. All efforts to prove our innocence, end here.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me.
{May you know this grace today. Thank you for reading.}
RISK
My middle name could be Safe.
I don’t have a thrill-seeking bone in my body. I’m a habit girl. Why try something new when you can do exactly the same thing you’ve always done and it’s worked all this time?
At restaurants, I always order the same thing. Why try something new? What if I don’t like it?
Why risk?
Right? Is there anyone else out there? Actually, no sense in asking you to speak up, you’re playing it safe and staying quiet. *smile*
When I talk to various friends, I love hearing the “words” they’ve chosen (or been given, by God’s Spirit) to be the theme of their year. I’ve heard TRUTH. (Yes! That’s awesome.) I’ve heard FREEDOM. (Woohoo!) I’ve heard LIGHT. (Great!)
My word? The one I keep hearing. The one that won’t go away. The one that echoes in my prayers and pops up everywhere I turn?
RISK.
Say, what?!
That doesn’t seem like a very churchy word at all. There’s no “blessed are the risk-takers” verse.
RISK.
But there it is, and there’s no denying that is my word for the year, no matter how hard I try to make it something else. But here’s what a love about it — you’ve probably figured out, it’s really the same thing as FAITH. Faith is plenty church-sounding. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. Our faith is the most real thing about us, it’s the core of who we are. The essence of growing in our walk with Jesus is growing in faith.
But you know what real faith requires?
RISK!
Scared-out-of-my-pants, God-better-show-up, how’s-this-gonna-work-out faith.
All real faith requires risk. Without risk there’s no faith. Right?!
- What if I pray for the person and she’s not healed?
- What if I give sacrificially and I don’t have enough money for my needs?
- What if I embark on this faith-venture and it flops?
- What if I speak the truth and the person rejects me?
- What if I choose this hard road and I can’t handle it?
- What if I fail?
All steps (or leaps!) of faith require risk.
I’m only a little ways in, but I have a feeling I already know what my favorite book of 2016 is going to be. Do What Jesus Did by Robby Dawkins is BLOWING MY MIND. It’s like I’m reading the answer to my heart’s cry. It’s like someone is sitting down next to me and speaking directly to my heart, fanning flames into a blazing passion, encouraging dreams I’ve always thought were too far-fetched, speaking truth where I’ve become disheartened, pointing to our great God where I’ve gotten my eyes on other things. Yes, Lord! It’s that good.
And over and over and over I see it: RISK.
I’m not talking stupid risk, selfish risk, worldly risk. This isn’t the stuff of casinos and scratch-its. This isn’t living in isolation and refusing the sound wisdom of trusted counselors. That’s foolishness.
This is that risk that resonates with the mission of God. The stuff of Noah (a BOAT?!), of Abraham (Where exactly?), of Moses (Say what to Pharoah?!), the disciples (Feed 5,000 with a boy’s sack lunch?!), of countless others who have gone before us taking risks that we can’t even imagine.
All for the glory of God and furthering of His kingdom.
The Bible is full of risk.
Are our lives?
This year, my aim: RISK for the glory of God.
{Where is God calling you to risk, for His glory? Thank you for reading.}
Stuff Jesus Does
I just began reading a book called Do What Jesus Did. I’m not far enough to comment on it yet, but it reminds me of this, wrestlings and thoughts from studying the gospels last year:
When Jesus said in John 14,
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (v. 13-14)
What exactly did He mean by that? That’s a crazy promise and we’re left scratching our heads, Surely He didn’t MEAN that??
Did He?
Well, the context always helps us. The verse directly preceding says that whoever believes in Jesus will do the works that He does, in fact even greater works. So, those who believe in Jesus (i.e. those who pray to Him) will be carrying out His work. The verse directly following this passage says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
So those who believe Jesus will be all about His business, doing His works, and those who love Jesus will be obeying His commandments.
If I’m employed by a powerful official and he sends me on an official errand or trip, I will go bearing his name and do exactly the work he’s directed me to do. If there are expenses, of course he’s the one who’ll pick up the tab. I might even get a per diem or a company credit card.
If I need special access into some building, he’ll make sure I have his pass-card or ID or that I’m granted whatever access I need. If I need a company car, he’ll provide it. Of course since I’m on his errand I won’t be messing around, stopping at Target shopping for a new purse. I’ll stick to task because I’m on official business and my boss has given me everything I need to carry out his work. If he’s a good boss, he’ll make sure I know exactly what that work is, so I can do it successfully.
So as long as I know the stuff my boss wants done, I’m set! Everything I need he will provide for me. Anything I ask for, in carrying out King Jesus’ special mission, will be provided. [bctt tweet=”Anything I ask for, in carrying out King Jesus’ special mission, will be provided.”]
It’s kind of starting to make more sense, isn’t it? So as I’m reading through the gospels right now, I’m taking note of the stuff Jesus does. What exactly are “the works He does”?
Now, of course there is too much to list all here, but it’s helpful to note these glimpses from the book of Matthew, of the stuff Jesus does:
And [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. (Matt. 4:23-24)
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matt. 8:1-3)
“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” … And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve Him. That evening they brought to Him many who were oppressed by demons, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (Matt. 8:6-7, 13-17.)
And getting into a boat [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Matt 9:1-8)
While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said,“Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (Matt. 9:18-25)
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” (Matt. 9:27-30)
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.(Matt. 9:35)
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matt. 10:1)
And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (Matt. 10:7-8)
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! Soit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all. (Matt. 12:11-15)
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. (Matt. 12:22)
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matt. 14:14)
And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. (Matt. 14:35-36)
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matt 15:28)
And great crowds came to [Jesus], bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking,the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:30-31)
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:14-20)
And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. (Matt. 19:2)
And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. (Matt. 20:30-34)
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (Matt. 21:14)
This is the stuff Jesus does, and more. For today, consider looking straight into the face of our Lord Jesus, through the pages of Scripture, and consider the holy errand He has called you to today. His Word guarantees that whatever we need for that work, He will provide for us. Welcome to prayer! It’s a glorious adventure.
Thanks for reading.
Hope for those discouraging days…
Some days end with tears. You too, right? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can feel the pressure mounting. A hard day, some unpleasant conflict, challenges with the kids, sad news, incessant rain, sometimes it can all just mount up, slowly through the day, and the next thing you know you’re reading aloud Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and the kids are asking, “What’s wrong with your voice?”
Well, kids, it’s cracking because I’m about to cry but now’s not the time, I have fifteen more minutes until you are tucked warmly into bed, and then I can crawl into bed by myself and cry my eyes out and let all those waves of discouragement just crash over me.
Maybe you don’t do that. I don’t very often, but I had one of those days recently, and woke up the next morning and the first words that ran through my mind: I don’t want to do this day.
But that wasn’t really an option, so I pushed off those warm covers and dragged myself into the cold morning. I found coffee waiting for me (that good man!) and this small gesture of love lured me out of my pit, just a tiny bit. I curled up, under layers of quilts, and pulled my Bible onto my lap.
Hot coffee and His Truth. Even the worst funk is no match for that combo.
In the way that only He can, by His Spirit, through His Word, these ancient truths, always fresh, envelope my heart and bring me back to light, back to hope. Two friends, who I texted to ask to pray for me, responded right away with Scripture. (Note: Pick friends who bring you back to the Word when you are down!)
Despondency is no match for Truth. The darkness is no match for Light.
His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. It discerns our thoughts, motives, intentions. Nothing is more powerful for diagnosing the heart-issue, what’s really going on. All other wisdom falls hopelessly short — only His truth is strong enough to cut through to the core.
And the voice of Jesus, gently, softly, authoritatively, sets aright all that had been off and heals what is broken. He carefully leads us out of lies and self-centeredness, back into truth and joy.
I slowly read and re-read the Beatitudes, Jesus’ precious words for the weary, with promises and perspective to put everything aright in our souls. As I read, wrote it out, prayed, I could clearly see my wrong-thinking. I could see the skewed perspective.
Though I hate crying, the discouragement was so helpful, because it brought to the surface something out of whack.
When we respond to discouragement by masking it, faking it, or covering it up through coping mechanisms — shopping, eating, vegging out, escaping– then the issue isn’t solved, it’s just buried deeper. It’ll surface again, guaranteed.
But when we respond to discouragement by going to the Truth, the Source, the Life, He will speak that word that brings all hidden things to light, that reveals and comforts and changes us from the inside out.
In that way, discouragement actually works to our advantage — it brings that broken place to the Light. Therefore, when we come through it, with renewed hope and faith, we aren’t just at the place we were before …
we’re further ahead.
We’ve seen new truth. In some critical area, we’ve been healed. We aren’t who we were before, we’re better. We’ve proved God’s faithfulness, experienced His love, and come through the fire just a little lower, but better, than before. We’re worshippers in a whole new way.
Friend, if you are tempted to turn away from Him in your time of discouragement, to turn to a “filler” or some sort of escape, can I just plead with you to turn instead to the pages of His truth? His Word never returns void, it always accomplishes His work, it always reveals sin, brings light, brings life. If we turn to him, this discouragement can actually leave us better than before. Such hope!
{Thank you for reading.}
Look both ways before crossing the year
I finished writing the little devotional on fear and sent it to Jeff.
“Great,” He replied. “Let’s each write up some discussion questions to go with it.” Super. I scratched out some thoughts, but before I clicked send his own set of questions popped up in my inbox. His questions were these:
1. Can you think of a time this past year when you were afraid? How did you respond and how did it turn out?
2. How can you see ways that God is delivered you from fear? What is one area where you used to be afraid and now are not?
Fair enough, right? However, my questions were these:
1. What unknown in the future is making you afraid of right now? Is there anything looming ahead that’s causing you anxiety?
2. How can you take that thing and go to God in prayer? What would it look like, practically, to trust Him with your future in this area?
See the difference? So small, yet so profound.
My man is a past-oriented person. I, a future-oriented.
He actually pointed this out to me several months ago. I narrowed my eyes and listened, skeptical. Now I see it everywhere; we’re really ridiculous creatures.
- He loves to hold onto things. He keeps old clothes, pictures, books. For him they hold memories of the past.
- I’m a ruthless purger. Haven’t worn it in a year? How about 6-weeks? Close enough. Toss it out. Kids haven’t played with it? Toss it out. Keep moving forward. Make room for new things we’ll inevitably get in the future.
- He takes pictures. Remember the past.
- I rarely take pictures. Keep moving forward!
- He never finishes the carton/bottle/box/bag/plate. Leave a little bit in there and keep it in the fridge/cupboard.
- I drink/eat whatever little bit is left just so I can toss out the container and move on!
- Jeff keeps receipts for decades.
- I throw them away as soon as I get home.
- Jeff loves studying history.
- I love studying things that motivate me toward a better tomorrow.
- The kicker? I have a dry-erase calendar on my fridge. I realized that I would erase every single day as soon as it was over, and would start over writing the next month in the blank spaces, so that at all times the calendar was all future dates. No record of what I’d done. Only un-lived days.
- He doesn’t have a dry-erase calendar because he’d never erase it. 🙂
Do you see? We really are all wired a little differently. Neither is better, but certainly very different. Thankfully, we’re learning from each other. Jeff is learning to throw away the ratty gym shorts and I’m learning to reflect, look back and bit and learn from yesterday before moving onto tomorrow.
And that’s what we need as we cross into 2016.
Some of us, perhaps, are prone to gaze intently at the future. We’re ready, excited, climbed on board and racing toward another new year. Some of us, on the other hand, want to ride backwards on the train. can we just look behind and remember all the good. Reflect. Review?
We need both. So as we cross the year, perhaps we’d be blessed by setting aside some time for looking both ways? I’m looking forward to doing this tomorrow (haha! I even write with future-oriented language!), with Jeff, as we drive to Corvallis for the day. We’ll be asking ourselves these:
- What was your greatest victory this past year?
- What surprised you about the direction of your life this past year?
- What was harder than you thought it’d be?
- What was way better than you’d ever imagined?
- In what way have you changed from January 2015 to December 2015?
- What are you hoping to see God do in you this year?
- If you could choose one thing to change about yourself or your habits this year what would it be?
- What fruit of the Spirit will you focus on this year?
- What spiritual discipline (prayer, reading Word, fasting, fellowship, service) would you like to grow in this year?
- What current relationship would you like to invest in this year?
Just a few ideas to get started. Are you more past-oriented or future oriented in your thinking? I’m curious … Enjoy looking both ways as you cross into 2016, and I pray for God-inspired and God-initiated ideas, dreams, and reflections.
{Thanks for reading.}
*Originally from 2011
The gift you didn’t ask for
We’ve all gotten one, right? The gift you didn’t ask for. The thing you’re not sure how on earth that person thought was just perfect for you.
Inwardly you think, This most certainly was not on my wishlist.
Out loud you say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!”
I think we’ve all been there. You might be there again next week. *smile*
But what about when it’s bigger than the contents of a gift-bag?
What if you find yourself staring at the content of your life, overwhelmed, and find yourself, in weak or tired moments, saying these same words…
“I didn’t ask for this!”
I’ve heard these words, from others. I’ve silently said them, in my heart. Not necessarily talking about utter despair, but haven’t we all looked at some certain aspect of the hand dealt us, and shaken our heads,
This most certainly wasn’t on my wish list.
It’s silly, perhaps, whether I intend to or not, I subconsciously craft my life-wishlist. And then, each day is handed to me as a fresh gift of grace.
It is unwrapped and often there are squeals of delight.
But some days there are moans. Disappointment. Really? THIS is the gift for today?
I didn’t ask for this.
I’d venture to say we all have aspects of our life where we battle this. Sometimes I’m tempted to redraft my wish list, spend a little more time in prayer to let Him know, Whoops-a-daisy! I think you gave this to the wrong gal! I actually didn’t want this AT ALL. Thanks!
But He smiles. Patient.
“Oh no, dear daughter. I knew this gift was perfect for you. I know, it’s not exactly what you had in mind. But it’s so much better. It feels a little awkward when you first try it on. I get it. I knew it’d be a struggle for you at first. But I promise if you’ll just trust Me in this. I promise you’ll be so glad someday. I promise you’ll see that this was, indeed, the best gift for you.”
And so we take that sting of disappointment, or that ache of longing, or that weariness of carrying a gift that feels heavy and hard … and we ask the Father to help us see this gift the way He does. To help us trust Him in the meantime. To help us fight evil but love people. To see beauty in broken places and celebrate victories in the midst of what feels like disastrous failure.
Heavenly Father, our Good and Perfect God, thank You so much for the gifts you give us that we don’t ask for. The ones that aren’t on our wish list. The ones that feel confusing, just a little bit. Thank you that You love us so much, and that LOVE is what we rest in, no matter what we feel. Thank you that You equip us to carry whatever load you call us to bear. Thank you that Your burden is light and there is new mercies every morning. Thank you for Christmas. All Your gifts are good, and perfect.
{Thank you for reading.}