This last year has been a spiritual battle for my family. There have been so many trials, lots of health issues, illnesses, doctor's appointments, and quite the journey. We still have little answers and more questions than when we started for both my daughter and myself. My family has been praying over many things - for healing, comfort, strength, wisdom, and also for guidance in what we need to do to get the treatment and answers we need.
I used to be an avid prayer journaler, and would love to still be, but a wrist injury made it difficult to hand write and my deep, personal prayer journaling turned into being in constant, deep conversation with God on a different level than before. I love to pray. I love to pray with others, for others, on my own, anywhere any time. If I didn't have prayer, I don't know where I would be in my life. God has been teaching me and growing me in this season of health issues in ways I didn't know I needed.
Lately, I had been realizing that I really wanted to start prayer journaling again, and have been praying throughout each day for God to help me make sure I am close to Him. I have been praying for God to help me make sure I am ready to hear Him when He speaks to me. I have been praying for God to make sure my heart, ears, and eyes are open to receive Him and obey. I was feeling like maybe, because I had felt so close to God while I had been deep in prayer journaling that maybe my prayer life was dwindling and I was deceiving myself.
God answered many of these prayers and more in one event. I didn't realize it at the time and was completely overwhelmed when it occurred to me. I ended up taking my child to urgent care. The whole experience from start to finish was God orchestrated. God kept showing up, and I realized later that day once I had gotten through the ordeal with my child settled in bed and medicated that I was hearing God all over the place. My habit of talking to God as I go through my day has taught me to listen for Him and recognize His voice on a level I had not realized or experienced before.
My point is not to say how holy and close with God I am, but to say that because I continue to check my heart, check where I am in comparison to where God wants me to be, to seek Him in everything, to talk to Him without ceasing I have been learning and growing my ability to discern Him in the midst of chaos. I certainly don't get it right every time. I certainly miss the mark, say the wrong things, make the wrong choice, and fall into sin more often than I would like to admit. But through this, God comforted me in a way I didn't know I needed.
I think of Peter when he told Jesus "if it is you, call me out onto the water" and Jesus did just that. Peter walked on the water for a little while, but before long he noticed the waters crashing around him and he began to sink. While Peter's eyes were on Jesus, though, Peter walked on water. He was so focused on Jesus that he was able to do the impossible. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, despair hit him and he began to doubt and panic. This is a perfect picture of what it is like to grow in faith.
I feel like lately my prayer has been a similar one - Lord, if it is you tell me to step out onto the water in faith. And of course, He does. He called me into stressful circumstances, He assigns important things to do for His kingdom, He calls me to care for my family through difficult seasons, He gives unexplainable illnesses and countless specialists, He allows turmoil to take place across my life, and He calls me to serve in difficult ministry seasons and circumstances as well. These are all instances where He calls me out onto the water. I can walk in faith with my eyes on Him, or I can look around me and panic. Sometimes my eyes stray and I start to sense my feet sinking. Every time, I have a choice. Do I look back onto Him, or continue to look at the waves of life crashing around me and sink further?
God loves to show us where we actually are in our faith - not because He doesn’t know, but because He always knows and we don’t. I had been asking Him to show me if I really am close to Him, or if I have drifted away without realizing it. He proceeded to call me out onto the water in several ways all at once. I could have easily turned my gaze to the waves, but I realized later that I am learning and growing to keep my focus on the voice of my Good Shepherd and not be deceived by the trials around me. He is with me through every storm. He is with me on the water. His hand is right there to grab when my eyes lose focus and my heart begins to doubt and worry. I am not a graduate, but I am so humbled to be able to see the work His Spirit has done in me and recognize how far I have come from who I was before Him to who I am now, yet also recognizing I have a long way to grow still.
When life is crashing around you, are you getting out of the boat? Are you keeping your eyes on Jesus? When you inevitably, like me, look away from Him, do you cry out and reach for Him again? What waves are you focused on right now that are keeping your focus from Jesus?
Let Him continue the work He is doing in you. We're all far from the perfection that awaits us in Heaven, but the growth He is working in us will help us to navigate this stormy world, glorify Him through even the darkest trials and valleys, and draw us closer to Him than we could ever dream to be. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Get so close that when the waves do crash, you hear His still small voice and don't hesitate to recognize the voice of your Shepherd calling you closer to Him. It is a process of developing that personal, intimate relationship with your Savior, and it is worth the investment.
Sometimes we come across a passage that breathes much needed encouragement into our weary souls. We all have those verses we meditate on, could post on our fridge, print on a t-shirt, or set as our phone background - those personal favorites we cling to. When you think about your go-to verses, can you go beyond that one verse? When you quote it to someone in need of encouragement, can you tell them why this verse is so important within the context of its entire passage?
Isaiah 58:11 is one of my verses, but as you read it and are likely, like me, very encouraged by it, I am inclined to go beyond this singular verse and recognize that the true encouragement is held in the surrounding verses.
At this point in the Prophet Isaiah's life, he has been relaying God's warnings to the Israelite's for a long time. Chapter 58 begins with God commanding Isaiah to go tell His people that He sees what they are really doing and knows the selfish motivation in their hearts. God tells Isaiah to call out the people's sin and tell them yet again that there are consequences for wickedness.
The people have been putting on a show of obedience and piety, but God knows that their motivations are self-centered and self-seeking. They disregard what God commands, yet go on doing things that they expect to influence God to give them what they want. They disobey God all while trying to manipulate God into granting their selfish wishes, like He is a genie in a bottle.
We can easily look at the Israelites and say "shame on them!" In truth, however, we are all too often caught doing the same thing. Do you read the Word daily in order to have a personal relationship with God? Do you pray for God's will to be done, and are content with His will over your own? Do you show off the good things you are doing in His name or expect some thanks or recognition for your service to the Lord? Do you point out what others are doing wrong, yet make excuses for the ways you disobey God? Do you show up at church or attend a Bible study because you feel obligated or to make friends, but not to grow in the Word and with God? Are you refusing to go beyond the spoon-feeding stages of your faith? Are you refusing to be used by God for His purposes? Is there an area of your life that is off-limits to God? Are you willing to do uncomfortable things to serve God?
Isaiah 58:11 is a promise from God that He will guide His people, satisfy our souls, and make us prosperous and blessed. But here's the catch - God is telling the Israelites, and future generations of believers, that blessings come to the obedient. When you are living in authentic relationship with the Lord, walking with Him, loving Him with your life, living in obedience to Him because of your love for Him, and doing the uncomfortable things He calls you to do, He promises to bless you, provide for the work He calls you to do, and make you prosper in the ways He desires.
This is not a promise of provisions and prosperity in exchange for good works. This is not a promise of granted wishes for piety. This is not a promise of a trouble-free life. This promise is God telling us that when we put Him first, He blesses us, provides for us to do the work He assigns for us, and that by living in faithful obedience to Him and prioritizing His will, we will prosper in ways that will allow us to pour out His blessings beyond ourselves.
We must be selfless in order to be truly used for God's purposes. Before we can expect blessings from God, we must repent and turn to Him and His ways, and away from our own self-seeking ambitions and self-absorbed behavior. We must allow Him control and sovereignty over every area of our lives, and love and serve Him the ways He teaches and commands us to do.
Only when we are in proper alignment with God can we expect to receive what He promises to the righteous. It will not always, and honestly rarely will, show up in the ways we might expect or prefer, but God knows all things and will always provide and bless in the ways He knows is best for His purposes and glory, not our own selfish preferences or short-sighted wishes. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, and He knows how to work all things together for the good of all who love Him.
So, what is God calling on you to do? Where is He convicting you to repent and surrender to Him? Where does He need your focus to change? What hardness in your heart is He working to chip away and soften?
Where He calls you to go, He will not only provide for you but He will go with you. He is all you need, so He will never abandon you - even in the times you cannot sense Him, He is there with you and desires you to earnestly seek Him, draw near, and do His will all while laying your own will at the foot of the cross.
When I am obedient to God and my focus is on Him; when I am repentant and selfless, the Lord will perpetually guide and stretch me, turning my eyes toward Him, and my desires will be satisfied in excess. The very seat of my emotions, character, will and desires will be equipped for spiritual warfare, transforming me from a parched land of self-centeredness into a prosperous and fertile source of His light, life and nourishment to those around me so that I will not disappoint Him, hurt others, or lead them astray in selfishness.
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Have you ever felt like you don't belong? Ever feel like this life doesn't make sense and you just can't seem to fit in? That actually is a good thing. For believers of Jesus, we are not supposed to fit in. We are not supposed to belong in the world. We are merely travelers passing through on our way home to Heaven. If you are a believer and you are focused on fitting in, you are focused on the wrong thing, and a very dangerous thing it is.
Peter gets a lot of flack. He was the disciple who told Jesus he would die for Him, but then denied Jesus when things got scary. He responded in such painfully relatable ways to Jesus' teaching and instructions, and situations the disciples were put in, but not the things we like to relate to. After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, Peter became a leader in the new church. He grew and matured in faith and confidence, and he ended up suffering immensely for it. He knew what it meant to not want to stand out, and then later learned he must stand out for the sake of Jesus no matter the cost. Eventually, it cost him his life.
In this life, followers of Jesus will suffer. We are in the thick of a war over our very souls, and everything we do is being judged by the world around us. The world wants to condemn us, and we are warned that when…not if…when we are persecuted, when people speak evil against us, when we are slandered and mocked, when evil is targeted at us, we are to keep on going the good work Jesus teaches us to do. When we suffer, we should keep on being faithful, keep pouring out those fruits of the Spirit, and keep looking up to the One our help comes from for such a task.
Scripture is filled with encouragement and commands about how we are to live as followers of Jesus - to love, to forgive, to be gentle, kind, and patient. These instructions are not just for when it is easy. These are commands for us to stand on and hold fast to when it is difficult; for the times we really want to react in frustration rather than respond in love.
Christ knew all along how hard it would be for us to respond His way rather than react in the way that feels natural to us. This is why He left us His Helper, the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to sanctify us, convict us, and transform us. It is our job to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and allow ourselves to be used by God, for God, to bring Him glory through the way we live, speak, work, and respond to all that the world throws at us.
So the next time someone says something unkind about you, accuses you of something, picks you last, pushes you out, or knocks you down - look up and seek His strength to do the difficult thing and respond in the way that will bring God glory. Seek His help standing out to be set apart for Him, unashamed, unafraid, ready to defend your faith and take the hit knowing you have Heaven's armies fighting this fight alongside you, and a whole court of heavenly hosts cheering you on and praising God all the more for the work of His Spirit working in you.
How do you need to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit better? How is He calling you to be set apart today? Where do you need to let go of the world and cling to the Lord? What areas of your life are you neglecting to give God the glory? Where are you more focused on earthly things and God's glory?
Surrender it today. Give way to God's Spirit. Give Him access to all of it, and let Him lead you through this life in which you are merely passing through. Don't make this place your final goal and destination. Set your eyes, heart and mind on the hope we have ahead for us in Heaven.
Scripture has a tendency to be pretty repetitive. Sometimes, we catch ourselves thinking "haven't I read this already? Can't I just skip this part? They've talked about it like 15 times already!" It can be easy to skim or skip parts of scripture that on first glance seem redundant or unimportant.
Psalms 105 and 106 are a couple of great examples of passages where this can happen. In Psalm 105, we get a log of Israel's history, and then in Psalm 106 we get a continuation where we read more of the history and again about how sinful the Israelites were. There are whole books dedicated to this history. Why do we need to read it again and again?
Much like the Israelites, we need the reminders of our need for grace. Like those who wandered the wilderness and were constantly provided for by God, we run the risk of being provided for yet discontent with the provisions we are given. And also like the people of ancient times, we need to be reminded constantly of our need for God and His goodness and plans, and the repentance of our own sin and wickedness.
These chapters and songs remind us again and again of the need for Jesus and what He did for you and for me. These tedious repetitions are there what feels like a million times throughout this massive text that is the Bible because we need the million reminders. This is an example of the grace of God who knows our needs further, deeper, wider than we know them ourselves and constantly gives us reminders of our need to help us draw closer to the source of our help and hope.
God constantly reminds us how much we need Him, and how much He provides for us out of His love for us. So as we for the 5,768th time read about the Lord's faithful love having no end, we can be encouraged yet again that when we sin, His faithfulness still hasn't run out. Reading again for the 7,457th time how those who treasure and guard God's law and justice are blessed and happy, we remember that it is because He gives us our peace and provision.
I've read the Psalms through several times, but I never stop growing in my appreciation for these reminders. Why? Not because I am more righteous than you, or so much stronger in my faith than you - but because I am just as needy of the grace and mercy of God and the salvation of Jesus Christ as you. The Psalms are a beautiful reminder of what the depths of my soul really lack and actually need every day - the goodness, faithfulness, and mercy of God that perpetually exists and has no end because my need for it also has no end. I thank God He knows me better than I know myself and provides for me based on His understanding, not mine.
I cannot even count how many times I have heard it quoted about those who are not vocally inclined but throw their hearts into worshiping the Lord in song. Looking deeper within the words of this much-quoted passage, however, we learn so much more about this command than to simply sing even if our voice cracks.
You've likely seen some movie or another that portrays a medieval battle where the soldiers run into battle screaming something along the lines of "FOR THE KING!" You can imagine it in your mind's eye, the running, weapons raised and ready, eyes set on the enemy, determined to attack and have victory. The cry goes up as they hit the ground running, and the cry encourages and emboldens those behind them to take up the shout and run behind them toward the battle ahead, banding together for their master.
It is contagious, and it is exhilarating. This cry is piercing, and if taken up by enough of the army, if it has the effect the commanders and generals are aiming for to enflame the hearts of their soldiers for the battle ahead, if it is loud enough and piercing enough, it also insights fear into the enemy.
This war-cry is a shout of victory. It is a call for soldiers to stand and fight together as one under the banner of their master. It is a declaration of who you are standing for and fighting with. It is a shout of confidence in the side you chose.
To "make a joyful noise" is to "shout to the Lord". This shout, this joyful noise is a war-cry. We are commanded to worship the Lord as if taking up the war-cry of the Lord's army, ready for the spiritual battles we face every day. When we worship, we are declaring war on the enemy. When we sing God's praises, we are shouting triumphantly in the face of the enemy, running in for the kill swords raised, together, as one, united in Him, confident in the victory He has already won.
Worship is our war-cry. Lift up a war-cry for the Lord, our King who is coming to judge the earth righteously and fairly. Shout for Him who is faithful and calls on us to be ready at all times for battle. Make a joyful noise for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who goes before us, behind us, and beside us into every battle we fight under His banner. He never leaves or forsakes us, is with us wherever we go, and provides us with His own armor to run to the battle and cry out for His glory and praise.
Integrity. In English, to have integrity is to adhere to moral and ethical principles; to have sound moral character; to be honest. When exploring the depth of this word in the Bible, we find that to have integrity also means to be entirely in accord with truth and fact; to be complete, whole, sound and healthful; to be innocent and unimpaired.
Integrity at its full capacity is what the Lord requires of His children. Jesus is the Truth, and we are called to be entirely in accord, in agreement, and in harmony with Him. On our own, this is impossible. We are inflicted by the presence of sin which demands "our" way, desires and preferences over those of a Holy God. This is why we need Jesus.
When Jesus is our Savior, His Spirit lives inside us. When His Spirit lives within us, we are given the ability to know the thoughts, desires, and will of the Lord. Not only this, which is more than we could ever dream or deserve, but He gives us access to His power so that with His help we can grow in integrity in this fallen world. By His power, and only by His power, we are able to walk with Him out of love, and abide in His ways that are higher than our own.
He calls on us to be set apart, to be uncommon and unconformed to this fallen world. This world is filled with the effects and evidence of sin and wickedness, prizes "your truth" and "my truth" as separate and acceptable, and rewards getting ahead in whatever way works quickest and with the most benefit to "me". We are not meant to succeed by the standards of this wicked world, but to seek the kind of success that leads us to one day hear "well done my good and faithfulservant."
As followers of Jesus we are commanded to follow His example of integrity by tapping into His power to do so. On our own we will fail, but by walking closely with the Lord, hand in hand, eyes and ears on Him, with a heart ready to obey His will, a mind ready to glorify Him in selflessness, He will succeed in us and be glorified through the integrity we bear in this world of temptations and tempers.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to see the blessings before us. It can be a challenge to feel like we have what we need, like there is no lack in provision, like we are being cared for the way we should be. Sometimes, trusting God's plan over our own is downright hard. Can you relate?
Life has been a bit topsy-turvy for my family and me for the last couple of years. I sustained a dominant wrist injury that after 2 years can still not be explained, I've since had another injury in my knee, ruptured my eardrum twice, and my family has been up and down with illness for the last 5 months straight. Not only this, but my daughter's mental health is practically in shambles. Aside from health, I could point out plenty of things that have stressed us out, caused us panic, or left us wondering what God is doing.
In this time, God has been teaching me pivotal truths from Ephesians 1.
First, God is always worthy to be praised no matter what is happening in my life. Even when life is hard, when things don't make sense, when I panic, when tears pour out and the question of "why?" is on my lips and my mind… God is still worthy of my praise. Not just for what He has done and is doing, but for who He is. God is good all the time. God is on the throne all the time. God is in control all the time. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent all the time. I can trust God all the time, even when things don't make sense to my small human understanding. He is worthy of praise, even when life hurts.
Second, God is providing for my family and me, and has been showering us with blessings all through this long season of difficulties we've been in. We don't always see the blessings, and they are not always what we'd expect, but boy have they been there. Even in the areas I have not yet recovered my full health, God has been teaching me about Himself. Even with my daughter's mental health, He is teaching me about His sovereignty. Even when we have questions, He provides all we need and reminds us that what we need and what we think we need don't always line up.
God showers us with blessings - tangible and spiritual. The spiritual blessings are the best ones, though. Sure, we all want financial and material stability and blessings, but the blessings we can't see with our eyes are the best blessings we could ever have. When God provides, He provides thoroughly. I love the saying "be careful when you pray for patience. God doesn't give you patience, He gives you opportunities to have patience." This is true all over our lives. When we pray for provisions, He gives us opportunities to step toward Him and accept His blessings on His terms. This in itself is a blessing, but the process of growing in the provision is also a blessing.
In this season, I have grown in my faith, learned to depend on Him better, and He has taught me peace and contentment in circumstances I once panicked and failed to trust Him. He has put my family through a season of learning to recognize and utilize these blessings He provides, and rest in the peace that comes with them.
What blessings Has God been inviting you into? What provisions are waiting for you to take hold of and utilize? What areas are you being convicted to grow in and trust Him with? Take that step toward Him today and begin the process of learning to trust His plans and provisions.
We lack no blessing. We lack no provision. Every need is known and understood by the Lord, and His provisions for those needs are sufficient. The most beautiful of them are being stored up in Heaven for us, where Jesus Himself prepares a place for us to dwell with Him. The most precious blessings are spiritual, and He is training us to seek and see those blessings.
Look to Heaven for your blessings and you will never be disappointed, and you will never feel deficient of blessings.
What does 1 Peter 5:6-7 tell me to do in tough circumstances?
1 Peter 5:6-7 is a great lesson for me this week. This week has been off to a really tough start. We've had such an insane heat wave it has broken records. For someone like me who is highly heat sensitive these temperatures have been dangerous. I've had a hard time focusing, have tried to stop myself from complaining, and truly strive to thank God even in this discomfort.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.
Sometimes we face difficulties and discomforts in life that seem too small for God to be bothered with. As I lay here at 9:30pm, it's still over 90 degrees and theres no escaping it. The ice maker stopped making ice, kiddo is sleeping on our floor because her room is dangerously hot, and I've had ups and downs of heat exhaustion for days.
I can hear some of you saying "oh boy now that's a good reason to complain!" But here's what 1 Peter 5:6-7 reminded me of.
Humility isn't just for when it's easy or convenient
Humility is for all circumstances. In this extreme heat I have a choice. I can keep complaining, talk about how miserable I am, brcome a grouch to my family, or I can praise God, pray for endurance, and focus on the blessings and ways He has exalted me.
I can choose to cast my cares, no matter how petty, small or mundane they may seem, and allow Him to work in and through me.
Remember that everything we face is an opportunity to learn and grow closer to God.
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Is there an extreme heat blowing through or even settling into your life?
How can you humble yourself and cast it to the Lord today?
I encourage you to remember who is in control, who provides, and who cares for you more than you could imagine. Lift your heart, eyes and words up to the Lord and seek Him in all circumstances. Let Him bring you the comfort that only He can provide.
Finding comfort in difficult times can feel impossible. In John 16:33, Jesus is speaking and tells His followers that "In the world you will have tribulation." This word "tribulation" in John 16:33 is also translated as "suffering" (CSB) and "trials and sorrows" (NLT). The original Greek word is thlipsis (G2347) which, in context, means oppression, affliction, or distress. This same word is also translated as trouble, anguish, and persecution in other verses throughout scripture.
In this world, we will have tribulation - we will suffer.
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
I love that while Jesus is telling us we will suffer in this world, He sandwiches this painful statement with two additional truths that should be an encouragement to every believer.
Right before Jesus tells His believers that in this world we will have trouble, He begins by telling us that it is in Him we will have peace.
This peace, eirēnē (G1515), is "a state of tranquility; exemption from the rage and havoc of war". Jesus brings us to a state of tranquility, quietness, and rest. This is spiritual peace. While the world rages and life is chaos, the soul rests in Jesus Christ.
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In Jesus, followers of Christ can find spiritual comfort and rest.
This isn't the only encouragement He gives us, though.
Before Jesus tells us we will suffer in this world, He tells us that in Him we will have peace.
After what feels like two contrasting statements, He then tells us to "take heart" because He has "overcome the world".
This right here is vital. We must remember that Jesus Christ died and rose again so that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He sacrificed Himself so that we could have peace in Him. He conquered this world so that we may come into a relationship with God through Him.
This is the ultimate comfort - that if we trust in Jesus, He will give us spiritual peace in this crazy and painful world which He has already conquered.
Lately, I have heard many people ask "if God is good, why is there so much suffering in my life?" Comfort doesn't always seem easy to come by in a world so filled with sorrow.
I asked this same question most of my life as I went through incredible pain for over 20 years. I wondered how God could love me if my life was so painful. Why would a loving God make me suffer so much?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Just over 7 years ago that question changed. I changed. I recognized God reaching out to me, and I remember the exact moment I grabbed hold and let God pick me up. My life was in shambles, I was a wreck, I was emotionally broken, physically scarred, but God lit a fire in my soul and ignited me in such intense faith in Him I have never been the same.
Matthew 5:4 is a reminder to me of what it felt like to be picked up and plucked out of my despair. I mourned, I struggled to understand the pain I'd endured, and even further, I struggled to comprehend that I'd been pulled out of it. I continued to struggle, but the incredible difference was that this newfound faith in God put me into the arms of my Heavenly Father.
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God is good even when our circumstances are terrible
Through the struggles, pain, and suffering we have an opportunity to grow in faith and relationship with our Heavenly Father and grow in our reliance on Him. We have an opportunity to seek and find comfort in the Lord and trust Him with the pain.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
God is good even when our circumstances are terrible. We have to resist becoming slaves to our circumstances and instead release the pain to God and trust Him to see us through it all as the One who can comfort us through whatever we may experience.
He is not laughing, mocking, or enjoying your mourning, your hurt, or your agony. God is there, ready to comfort you and show you how much He loves you. The Lord is asking you to trust Him and seek your comfort with Him, the only true source of comfort.
I lived most of my life thinking I'd never feel anything but all-consuming darkness and depression and pain. Coming to Christ changed that and now I understand that it is only with Him that it's possible to live in the light, to be truly comforted and healed and blessed. God is good and I know that even though I went through so many years of pain.
My question changed from "if God is good, why is there so much suffering in my life?" to "what does God want to teach me through this pain?"
I have learned to focus on the lesson and how I can grow and become stronger in my faith through all that I experience. What started as the tiniest of tiny faith like a mustard seed has grown over the years into seeing God move mountains I had lived convinced were unmovable.
20 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.
I have healed from wounds I never thought would ever heal and have forgiven where I never thought I could forgive. I have trusted God where I never thought I could.
10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
In all of this, I have learned that God is for me. God strengthens me, upholds me, and comforts me.
What do you need to give to God and trust Him to handle?
Where do you need to let God comfort you, guide you and teach you?
I pray you will empty yourself of whatever bitterness, hurt, mistrust, and anger you have to our God who understands and is ready with arms wide open for you just like He was with me, and still is even when I continue to miss the mark. We all fall short, but God is there to forgive, fill us up, and comfort us with immeasurable love, peace, and joy.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
When was the last time you went through a dark valley in your life?
Are you in the midst of one right now?
What does it even mean to "go through the darkest valley"?
Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. Psalms 23:4 CSB
When I was growing up I lived through many years in the darkest valley of my life. For me, it felt like complete depression, helplessness, and hopelessness. I was in such agony I just wanted to feel anything but the all-consuming darkness.
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At that point in my life, I didn't know the Lord. I was raised going to church, but honestly the more I learn and grow in my faith the more I look back and realize how trapped and blinded I was by the enemy. Satan wants to consume and destroy us. He wants to separate us from God and convince us the Bible is false, that there is no God or that if there is He couldn't love or forgive us, that we are all alone, that life is meaningless.
Satan wants to destroy you in your dark valleys
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Does that sound familiar? Do you know what utter hopelessness feels like? Yeh, me too.
...[the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The truth is that the devil is full of lies. All that darkness he surrounds us with is deception. All the whispers he tells us are false. For so many years I was convinced I was alone, that I was unlovable, that my life was pointless except to be used and abused by those around me. I was convinced peace didn't exist, that comfort was a lie, that love was just pain.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God is the true source of comfort, and He is with you in every dark valley
One day, I felt His hand reach out to me in my dark valley and I finally reached back. It was an inch but He took me a thousand miles. At that moment I had faith the size of a mustard seed and God moved those mountains and parted the sea for me. I was free in Him, I was saved by His grace, I was given His light to show me the way through the darkness.
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
The darkness didn't vanish - the devil will constantly be there waiting to pounce, desiring nothing more than your destruction - but God is with us through even the darkest valleys.His truth stands firm no matter what our hearts believe.
God has pulled me through my darkest valley and now every dark valley I must walk through I know He is there with me. I know I have nothing to fear with Him on my side. There is evil all around but I can rest in the safety and strength of my God. I am comforted, guided, protected, and corrected by the Lord. I definitely stumble and fall - we all fall short of the glory of God - but I trust in my salvation, knowing that through repentance and confession I am forgiven again and made stronger every time.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Let the Lord be your strength through every dark valley. Let Him guide you, provide for you, correct you, teach you, and grow you. He is our source of comfort in all that we face, and as He comforts us He strengthens us so we can strengthen others in their dark valleys.
How can we pray for you? What dark valley are you facing or even healing from? Let God surround you with His peace and His people. Seek comfort in the Lord first and above all, and let us pray over you in your struggles and pains.
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As a woman, a wife, mom, and homemaker I have been really convicted by Proverbs 31:15, and this verse in particular. This passage is about a Godly Woman, and v. 15 declares that “she rises while it is still night” to take care of her household. The last time I studied Proverbs 31, and I have studied this many times over the last many years in different stages of my faith and life, this really stuck with me.
She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants.
Now, the point isn’t necessarily that the godly woman must get up in the middle of the night. The point is that there is godly wisdom in rising early to tend to the needs of the household. There is wisdom in taking quiet time at the beginning of the day to prepare for the day ahead.
One thing to remember is that we are ALL, men and women alike, the Bride of Christ, and should take the example and wisdom of the Proverbs 31 woman upon ourselves. We can discern that there is wisdom in rising early to prepare ourselves and our household for the day ahead. Being intentional about how we begin our day has a great impact on an entire day.
I encourage all of us to heed this wisdom and begin each day with intention, focusing on actively preparing for the day the Lord has made for us. Pray over what this means for you today and every day, and give the day to Him and His plans for you, your home, household, whatever the dynamic and circumstances. Prayerfully begin your day set on God and His plans for you.
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Read through the book of Proverbs in our 31 day Bible reading plan. Learn more about who God is, and what He has to say about wisdom. Let it sink in and resonate with you every day, rekindling that fire for Him in your heart.
Are you known for your kind and loving words, or for your foul mouth?
Are you easily instigated and quick to complain or lash out?
Do you bridle your tongue and speak with patience and wisdom?
By leaning into the Lord at all times and allowing His Spirit to fill us, guide us, and lead our reactions and words we can speak wisdom and not folly. Don’t be caught blurting out unattractive foolishness. Instead be found harnessing God’s Spirit that lives within you, allowing His wisdom to flow from your lips.
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Sign up for our mailing list and Download the Free Printable Bible Reading Plan
Read through the book of Proverbs in our 31 day Bible reading plan. Learn more about who God is, and what He has to say about wisdom. Let it sink in and resonate with you every day, rekindling that fire for Him in your heart.
The pivotal truth reinforced in Proverbs 9:10 is that true wisdom is from God and begins with the fear of the Lord. Our world is filled with opinions and what culture likes to call “objective truth”, which basically means that what one person believes to be true can be true for them, and what another person believes to be true can be true for them. This is completely counter to God’s Word that declares His is the only Truth there is.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
If we are not seeking God’s wisdom, truth and knowledge then we are living in falsehoods and believing lies.
Seek God and His truth above all else and you will find it and be blessed with the knowledge it brings. God will reveal understanding to those who trust in His truth. Those who lean on human and worldly “truth” will find deception and destruction.
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Sign up for our mailing list and Download the Free Printable Bible Reading Plan
Read through the book of Proverbs in our 31 day Bible reading plan. Learn more about who God is, and what He has to say about wisdom. Let it sink in and resonate with you every day, rekindling that fire for Him in your heart.
Proverbs 1:23 instructs us in the ways of wise and godly living. King Solomon, the wisest man in his time, imparts on us the call of wisdom and encourages us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (v. 7). We are called out of “simplicity” and told that “fools hate knowledge” (v. 22).
If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.
Wisdom comes from God. To live a wise and godly life is to live in the ways of the Lord. If we choose to abide in the wisdom of God, striving to live a righteous life, we will seek God’s true wisdom. The consequences of rejecting God’s wisdom are grave and clear, but there is great reward in fearing the Lord and His holy righteousness.
We should never be wise in our own eyes or lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), but lean into and trust the instruction of the Lord in all things. His is the only truth and the only trustworthy Word to live by and abide in. Heed His warning and let Him teach you His ways so that you, too, may live a wise and godly life.
Sign up for our mailing list and Download the Free Printable Bible Reading Plan
Read through the book of Proverbs in our 31 day Bible reading plan. Learn more about who God is, and what He has to say about wisdom. Let it sink in and resonate with you every day, rekindling that fire for Him in your heart.
I am a wife, mom, writer, crafter, and above all, a Child of God. I love to study the Bible, fellowship with other Christians, and serve God. I am thrilled to invite you to join me in seeking to satisfy our thirsty souls with the Living Water of Christ, which is what Water On Thirsty Land is here to do.
