We are all bearing a heavy cross. Some are trudging uphill in the heat of the day with theirs, and some are carrying their cross through a Texas-sized hurricane. It’s hard. 

Anxiety

Lust

Jealousy

Addiction

Loneliness 

Anger

Loss

Oppression

These crosses are heavy. They are back breaking and soul crushing. When we are in the midst of this uphill battle, we often times forget that the cross Christ bore would have been unbearable for humans. Not only did He lift a much heavier cross than we could ever imagine, He has promised to carry ours, too. Let Him take some of the load off of your shoulders today. He wants to help, but you have to let Him. 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). 

When bad things happen in our world it’s easy for me to cry out, “Jesus, come soon!” I call this behavior “The Christian Cop-Out”, and I do it all the time. 
In all actuality, I should be on my knees praying harder. I should be working harder. I should be hustling to win as many people over to God’s side as I can. 
The world doesn’t need a cop-out. They need Jesus. They need Christians that really care. They need Christians that put other people’s needs, including spiritual needs, as number one on their list of things to take care of for the day. 

Just because we are ready to walk through those gates of pearl doesn’t mean everyone else is. Heaven is going to be, for lack of a better word, amazing. However, there’s still more work to be done and more souls to save. 

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” – John 15:16

Hey. You. 

The behind the scenes person. 

The quiet prayer. 

The mover and the shaker. 

The house scrubber. 

The money giver. 

The supply packer. 

The team leader. 

The cheerleader. 

The hot meal cooker. 

The organizer. 

The spouse uplifter. 

The high-fiver. 

The food hustler. 
God sees you. 

He sees your heart. 

He knows your intentions are pure. 

He is so proud of you. 

You are His child. 

He raised you right. 

You’re tired. Your exhausted. You’re overwhelmed. But your Father needs you to keep going. In this big, catastrophic event – He needs you. 
Keep going.
 
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9

There have been two hot topics swirling around the World Wide Web in the midst of mass devastation to my great state of Texas. 

Guys, I bite my tongue. A lot. I work really hard on holding my sass level down. There’s a lot of prayer that goes into that – just ask Frank. I am extremely careful about the words I write and post. Nonetheless, I gave in and wrote about those two topics. It was going to be a great post, and my pros and cons on the topics would get my point across and hopefully make people see why my way of thinking was correct. I even sent what I wrote to two of my good friends and one of my sisters to “ok” (justify) what I had written before I shared it with all of you. 

But – this morning when I was sitting in church I was gently reminded that the world doesn’t need my opinion, too. The world is inundated with opinions. What the world needs is God’s word, and that’s what I will continue to base all my writing on. 
Other things the world needs:

Grace

Forgiveness

Grace

Forgiveness

Grace & Forgiveness 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31

The images are gut wrenching.

The devastation – unfathomable. 

My nieces and nephews are displaced from their homes like countless other children throughout Texas and Louisiana. It’s bad. A really bad situation. 
But neighbors are checking on one another. They are standing in the roads having conversations. They are doing what Jesus has called us to do – serve one another. They are putting others before themselves even if it means risking their own lives. This hurricane has forced us to slow down in the best possible way. 

I’m not saying it’s good – but I am saying there is good. 
I hope that when Harvey is long gone that we will remember this. This right here. The camaraderie. The love. The fellowship. The selfless acts that are happening all around us. 

Our towns will rebuild. Life will go on. The hustle and bustle of schedules will eventually return, but I truly hope we never forget. 
Harvey was huge, but God is so much bigger. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Where is God? I saw that question asked on Facebook. 

He is right here. 

He is working around the clock rescuing people. He is preparing hot meals for first responders. He is providing shelter. He is in the grocery store giving up His carton of milk to the family with more children. He is leaving His family in the middle of the night to get on a bass boat in uncharted waters. He is climbing an electric pole at 2 in the morning in hopes of restoring power. 
He is making sure a mom that just lost her home makes it to see her son’s Navy ceremony. Oh, He’s here. 

He is right here. You just have to see Him. 

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

I see so many people that feel helpless as the aftermath of Harvey unfolds. They want to help, but they are literally unable to leave their home. They are stuck. Talking to my dad this morning he reminded my sisters and myself that when people are struck by tragedy, whether dealing with a storm of this magnitude or chronic illness, they need brothers and sisters standing in the gap for them. When their minds are too bogged down with the grief and devastation surrounding them, they need other Christians calling out to God on their behalf. 

So if you feel helpless right now – you’re not! Intercessory prayer is so powerful. Call out to God on behalf of your family, friends, and fellow Texans. Ask God to give them strength and hope to endure this great trial. 

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18

When I look at the devastation all around me –

When I listen to prayer requests about children with brain tumors-

Family units falling apart-

When I hear about family violence- 

Kids going hungry-

Kids dealing with adult problems –

When I see depression strangling people-

All my worries seem so trivial. A messy house, a busy schedule, a flat tire, a broken door handle, computers crashing, a to-do list a mile long – of course I can keep going. However, in light of everything going on around me these little problems are pretty petty. 

It’s so important to remember that the devil uses these nonessential bothers to work us up in the most un-Christlike way. DO NOT let him win. Don’t focus on these medial issues. Focus on winning souls to Christ. Focus on the hurting. Focus on God. 

Lord, please help me to see past these trivial issues. Help me move past these meager problems and focus on the bigger picture. Give me your eyes so that I may see past me. Give me your heart for the hurting and the lost.
 
“But Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'” – Matthew 16:23

Sometimes God asks us to do what we perceive as crazy, radical, even scary. When we are standing down here on little, bitty Earth it’s hard to remember that God is painting a much bigger picture than just our tiny mind can comprehend. 

Look at Ananias. God told him to go and pray over Saul. Big deal, right? Well, it was a huge deal. At the time Saul was killing every single Christian that he came across, and Ananias knew it. 

But Ananias went. He was faithful. I’m certain he was scared, but his love for God was bigger. If you keep reading you will see that Saul was healed and became one of Jesus’ biggest fans. He went on to write a huge chunk of the New Testament. 

So thank you God for people like Ananias who are scared but still walk by faith. Thank you for people who ask, “Are you sure, God?” – but then they go. They go and do what you’ve asked because they trust you and know that there is a much bigger picture than just their own tiny world. 

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. – Acts 9:15

I bet Jesus was scared that night. Can you imagine? That night in the Garden of Gethsemane. I bet when the sun fell the cold wrapped around his bones and made him shake from within. I bet he couldn’t stop shivering. I am certain that every noise was amplified. The sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking probably sounded like thunder echoing in a valley. I can imagine that the fear and sorrow he endured in that one moment was worse than any single juncture that a human has ever experienced. I would guess that the overwhelming grief crept up His body like a vine. Twisting and turning until eventually the grief strangled the last bit of hope he had left. 

I bet his heart was pounding out of his chest. The anguish and anticipation of what he was about to go through had to have been unbearable. I bet he cried so hard that he couldn’t breath – eyes swollen, lungs burning, nose running. It’s really not a pretty story. It’s one of betrayal and excruciating physical and mental pain. He could have given up. He could have given in. But he didn’t. He didn’t because he loved us more. 

That love is unfathomable to me.

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” – Matthew 26:39