Human beings have been battling God’s will ever since the serpent told Eve to take a bite of that apple. You think we would have learned by now that questioning God can land us in a pretty bad predicament.

Just look at Jacob. 

Jacob was deceitful, manipulative, and selfish. He was constantly trying to do things his own way, which had some pretty harmful ramifications. He finally made everyone around him so angry that he couldn’t stay where he was, and he certainly couldn’t go back “home”. A lifetime of bad decisions finally got the best of him, and he found himself in a place of solitude. A depression. 

Up until that point Jacob acknowledged that God was his grandfather’s God. He acknowledged that God was his father’s God, but he never acknowledged that God was his God – until he couldn’t hide any longer. He was there. God was there. They wrestled. He struggled. He finally decided he would do what God wanted him to do. 

In that moment he faced all of his fears. He said farewell to pride and self. He admitted all of his failures, and he finally claimed God as his own. 
And God changed him. 

“We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone” -Genesis 35:3

Words.
 
They can lift us up, or they can pierce our soul. Deeply. One wrong word spoken against us can change our entire outlook and the trajectory of our

Because God’s Words – His Words are the stuff. These beautifully written words were thought over, scripted out, and intricately woven together to provide us with hope, guidance,  and love every single day of our life. 
Human words say you can’t because of: 

Your past

Your family

Your gender

Your class

Your job 

Your race

Your education

Did I mention your past? 

God’s Word says you can because He can. 

Don’t let the words of this world stop you from doing what God needs you to do. Don’t let the words of this world tear you down. Don’t believe the world. Believe God.
 
“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit” – Proverbs 15:4

Snakes are sly little creatures. They lurk in tall grass not making a sound. They camouflage themselves. Slithering quietly. Slowly. They often don’t cause a scene until it’s too late. 

Eve had everything. A beautiful place to live. A husband that adored her. Paradise. However, right around the corner the serpent was waiting. He was watching. He came in quietly not causing a disturbance. He wooed her with things that were slightly out of reach, and Eve asked, “What if?” She questioned God. She turned her back for one second. She lost focus. It was harmless, right? 

One flirtatious text. 

One more purchase. 

One lie. 

One look. 

Just one drink. 

The gluttony. 

The omission. 

One wrong look. 

One hurtful word.
 
God will forgive us of our sins; yet, there will always be a consequence. The aftereffect could be minuscule or catastrophic. Although we can’t see the price that these consequences will have in the long run, it’s quite possible that they will wreak years of havoc on everyone around you – including yourself. 

Don’t turn your back.

Don’t second guess. 

Stay focused. 

Is God truly our portion? Without His constant presence in our lives we will never truly be whole. He is there waiting to make us complete, but we have to be willing to give Him our all. 

We can’t just say we love Him. 

We can’t just say we pray. 

We can’t just attend church services. 

We have to have a true relationship with Him. One where we depend on Him for everything. The type of relationship where we are in constant communication with one another. He should be our absolute best friend. Our number one. If we don’t have that type of relationship with God then we will keep grasping for something to fill our souls. We will keep gasping for more breath to fill our lungs. We will never be complete without Him. 

Let God complete you.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” -Lamentations 3:24

Repent. Restore. Refresh.
 
The word “refreshed” has been on my mind this past week. Maybe because it’s summertime. Maybe because everyone is on vacation. I don’t know. As I was reading through God’s word I noticed a pattern. To be refreshed, you have to be restored. To be restored, you have to repent. 

Repent-
Feel sincere regret about one’s wrongdoing 

Restore-
Return to a previous state or condition 

Refresh-
give new strength or energy to

What an amazing promise! Not only will God return us back to where we were before we hit rock bottom – He will lift us up even higher. He will give us new strength and energy. He can and will turn our messes into miracles; we just have to be willing to repent. 

Human beings are prone to making messes, but that doesn’t mean we have to live in that mess. God’s word chronicles mess after mess being turned into a beautiful miracle. 

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” -Acts 3:19

Frank called me the other day from work to say that he found a one day robotic camp that Maggie could attend. I asked Maggie if she would be interested, and of course she said yes. 

Brain starts spinning. Worrying commences. So, in true helicopter mom fashion I ask, “Are you sure you want to go? You won’t know anybody.” Maggie shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t care if she knew anybody there or not. She would make friends, and she would have fun. In the words of Deb Reynolds, “It would never occur to Maggie that she couldn’t do something.”

Fearless. God wants us to have that type of faith. The kind we had as children. The kind we had before the world jaded us. God wants us to step out boldly in confidence. He wants us to know that with Him by our side we can do anything. 

I keep praying for boldness. I pray that I won’t be hindered by fear or lack of faith. I pray that I won’t let my what-if attitude stop me from doing what God needs me to do. And every single day He uses my children to remind me that He is right by my side. Holding my hand. Leading the way. 

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 18:3

Looking into our own heart, really examining it for the ugly, can be quite unsettling. We want to believe we are inherently good. We want to believe our motives and reasonings are pure. We want to believe that we don’t place preconceived notions inadvertently on other human beings – judgements that have been passed down from generation to generation.
 
Working on this- intentionally uncovering years of excuses and habits is not for the weak. Thankfully, God is strong. He is strong enough to redirect us. He is strong enough to hold us up as we muddle through the mess we’ve made. He is strong enough to transform the most calloused heart. God can take our ugly tendencies and turn them into beautiful traits that exhibit His unfailing, unending grace. 

“In whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;” 1 John 3:20-22

We are all human.

Flesh. 

We all suffer. 

We all make mistakes. 

We all have ghosts in our past that haunt us. 

Taunt us. 

Even Christians. 

If we never suffered, if we never struggled, then how could we possibly know what it means to fully rely on God’s strength and grace? We will never be strong enough. We will never be tough enough. We will never be holy enough. Only God is enough. 

Whatever you are battling today – let God be God. Let Him be enough.
 
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” -Hebrews 4:16

When you are in the midst of hard times. 

When fatigue has set in.

When money is tight and the bills are piling up.

When the days are short, but the tasks are endless. 

When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

When you’re disappointed, hurt, or scared. 

Whatever you are facing just remember that God is able. God can. He is the same God that parted the Red Sea. He is the same God that protected baby Moses as he floated down the Nile, and He is the same God that daily picks us up, dusts us off, and breathes new life into us. 

The daily wear and tear of life may take a toll on our body and spirit, but God’s colossal strength never diminishes.
 
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” – Isaiah 40:28

When one of the scribes approached Jesus and asked Him which commandment was the most important, Jesus quickly told him that it was to love God with all of your heart. Although most people may think this is the easiest commandment to follow, I am certain it is the hardest. To love God with all of your heart means you need to intentionally die to yourself, your needs, and your wants every single day. You have to truly put God above:
Your spouse

Your children

Your job

Your hobbies

Your friends

Your pride

Your vanity

Your bank account

This is a hard feat when we are not truly living in a God-centered world. We want to claim God’s existence in our lives, yet we don’t carry out the daily sacrifices that make us true disciples of His kingdom. It’s hard, but that’s what we are called to do. Love Him above anything else. 

If we can focus on daily making this commandment a reality, then all of the other commandments will follow suit. 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” – Mark 12:30