The Lord is Close

I tell y’all what, I know God is growing me right now and not in a way I would have ever imagined or preferred! But isn’t that how God works? If we knew what he was doing all the time and knew how he was going to do it then why would we need him?

We live in a broken sinful world so we know conflict will arise. Unfortunately, that conflict usually takes us by surprise and we have no time to prepare. Here is something we can remember when we find ourselves in these situations,

Ephesians 4:29 says “Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear it.

Max Lucado put it this way, “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.”

If that isn’t how your last conflict went and your feeling a little convicted, that’s okay! God is growing you! It’s part of your sanctification and being humble and being willing to forgive and ask for forgiveness is such a beautiful thing.

Also, I want to encourage you. If you are going through a time that seems like every aspect of your life is tainted with conflict, give it to God. Lay it down at the foot of the cross. Let go of what is weighing your heart down and let Jesus carry it. It’s a sweet sweet relief.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

We can’t handle this life on our own. That’s why God gave us his one and only son, so that those who believe in Him won’t have to bear the burdens alone. We may not have the answers to why we go through hard times but we know the one who does. We just need to trust the process and have faith that whatever He is doing will be all for His glory!

Seasons

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Our Creator perfectly designed our world to have seasons. Each year we inevitably transition through the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall. In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that life is also full of seasons and each is purposeful in strengthening our faith and leading us toward a deeper relationship with God. 

I am currently going through a season of change. The truth is, I dread a lot of change all at once because it can feel overwhelming and propels me into the unknown. Predictability feels safe. Surrendering control feels heavy. Change can make us feel exposed and unsteady and exhausted. It can leave us longing for the past when life felt predictable and safe.

But life is not about staying the same, which is why God will continuously change the seasons of life we are in. We can be assured that the length of our seasons, the time at which seasons arrive and depart, are set by God for our good and according to His purpose. The best way that we can move through such a season is with the assurance that even though our lives will change – God will not. Whether you are moving, transitioning jobs, adapting to being an empty nester, or all three like me – He is working in your life to create plans that are for your good and His glory.

When you find yourself walking in a season of change, use your circumstances as a catalyst to strengthen your faith. He will not leave you…

“I am with you always.”

Matthew 28:20

For a reason

As I fought the first day of school traffic to park my car in the staff parking lot where I knew it would remain until the sun went down (because…first day of school, right?) I sang along to one of my favorite songs by All Sons & Daughters called “Great Are You, Lord.” I guess the Holy Spirit was showering me with all the warm fuzzies He knew I needed before I faced another school year full of high school freshmen (bless it) because I was FILLED with the Spirit! If you drove past me that morning, you. are. welcome. for the concert I was giving on Highway 69 South–windows down, hair blowing, singing at the top of my lungs, “It’s your breath in my lungs, so I pour out my praise to You only! Great are You Lord!”

As I found my parking spot, God spoke to me in ways I can understand that I was not to waste my day. He gave me that breath in my lungs for a reason. He led me to what is likely the oldest Psalm that Moses himself wrote when he was wandering around with the people of Israel in the desert. He may not have spent his days with hormonal teenagers all hyped up on too much caffeine and still learning the intricacies of personal hygiene, but at this point in his journey, he was surrounded by a nation of people who were hangry because they had been eating manna and quail for far too long!

In the 90th Psalm, Moses begins by expressing the fact that God always was, always is, and always will be; then He contrasts this with the fact that we are mortal and that our lives are but a blink of an eye in light of eternity. As I’m sure Moses was surrounded by complainers, moaners, and groaners, he confessed to God that he was aware of the fact that they were all miserable because of their own sin! He also describes the lives of an entire generation ending during their time in the desert because of that sin. Psalm 90:12 in the Living Bible translation reads, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Watching the end of an entire generation of people, and knowing that he, too, was living on borrowed breath, Moses cries out in verses 14 and 17, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days….May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us–yes, establish the work of our hands.” In view of life’s brevity, Moses asks the Lord to fill His people with wisdom and to reveal His work, demonstrate His power, grant His favor, and make Israel’s labor successful.

Friends, I am the first to admit that I get grumpy during a crazy school day and tend to moan and groan about paperwork or meetings. But that morning, God hit me square in the nose with the fact that this life on earth is far too short to waste that breath he gives me each morning on complaining about things which have no eternal relevance! He prepared the work He has given to all us in this life long before we drew our first breath! Let’s not waste it! Let’s spend time with Him each morning! Let’s ask Him to establish the work of our hands so that it might glorify Him and bring us joy! Let’s find God in every conversation throughout our day and ask Him to reveal his purposes for us in every task! When we face trials or troubles, let’s remember this world is not our home and that they are only temporary! Let’s thank God for that breath and ask Him to fill up our lungs with joy and praise for the One who is worthy of it all!

Seen

One of the kindest acts ever done for me was over 20 years ago when I was still a new soldier in the army. I was in AIT, job training, and had finally earned the opportunity to go off post on the weekends, so I found a church I could attend.

Since it had been months that I had had a home-cooked meal, a lady in the church wanted to invite me to her home for lunch one day. Unfortunately, her husband was an instructor on the post, so I could not go to their home as that would be considered fraternizing. She could have just said, “Oh, well,” and let that be that. It’s the thought that counts, right? She instead decided she was going to bring a plate of food to me at the barracks.

Awesome! The day she was going to bring me a plate of good, home cooking, it started raining and not just a little bit either. It was POURING! Again, this SHOULD have been where she said, “Well, I tried,” but she didn’t. This woman drove and got out of her car in the midst of a rainstorm to make sure this soldier had that meal. Ever heard, “ Come Hell or high water?” She meant it.

It has been almost 23 years since she did that for me, and while I cannot remember her name I have not forgotten her or what she did. I am often reminded of that act of kindness, and I intercede for her every single time. She was faithful in that moment, and I have been faithful ever since to bring her before the Father. Maybe that’s why she was relentless in her efforts to bring a simple meal to a single soldier. Maybe Holy Spirit had her plant that seed so that she could reap the harvest of an intercessor. While I have no idea where she is or what her life has been like, Holy Spirit does. The Bible says we entertain angels unaware…maybe she was mine. Or maybe, in some way, I was hers.

I said all of that to say this: Everything you do for others is seen by all of Heaven. Don’t dismiss the value of your mustard seed. It only takes one match to set the world on fire.

“You cannot see the hands of God

Or feel the grace that flows

From Him through you to those you touch

In ways you’ll never know

You cannot measure worth by human standards

That’s always a lie

Oh, you have to see through heaven’s eyes how…

Your life woven day by day

Is a new design of the glory God displays

On the canvas of creation

Through the poem of history

In the pattern of redemption

Running through the tapestry

Your life in Christ can be

The greatest story ever told”

-The Greatest Story; Avalon

He knows.

In this life we are constantly faced with ever changing seasons. I don’t mean with the weather, but more with the way our lives unfold daily. There are good seasons and bad seasons. Each one can bring or take away people in our lives. We experience emotions from happiness to sadness, loneliness to feeling loved by everyone, and etc. With each one God uses them to mold and make us who He intends us to be. He has a purpose for every season in our lives and He makes everything suitable for its time. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. I know with my own personal experience the good sometimes seems fewer and farther between than the bad and the ugly. So why is that? Why are the harder seasons of life the ones that seem to dominate?

One thing we need to remember is that God knows!!!!!

He knows when we are frustrated.

He knows when we feel broken and alone.

He knows when we feel like failures.

He knows our losses and the heartaches they bring.

He knows when our hopes and dreams are gone.

He knows our fears and doubts.

He knows when we are just sick and tired of it all.

HE KNOWS ALL OF IT!!!! And most importantly He cares!!

As I said before, He uses each season to mold and make us who He intends for us to be. He allows each one at the right time. God’s plans for us work best during these times in our lives. In our weakness He is strong.

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” Psalm 73:26

When we are in a season of goodness I feel it is sometimes easy to forget just how much we depend on God. We can even become prideful and arrogant in our accomplishments and status. We may even have times where we do a tad bit of boasting. So God allows us to experience these harder seasons to keep us humble. To remind us that we can do nothing without Him. These seasons draw us closer to Him and His good and perfect will and in turn it brings Him the glory for others to see. This is what He designed us for!!!

In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of being caught up to a paradise and receiving wonderful revelations from God. He then goes on to speak of God allowing a thorn in his flesh. 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul says, “even though I have received such a wonderful revelation from God, so to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

In verses 8 and 9 Paul says, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He (The Lord) said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Paul is then glad to boast instead about his weaknesses, to allow the power of Christ to work through him.

We need to remember that these thorns in our flesh that can cause us suffering are intended to remind us that God is our strength. We can take pleasure when we suffer for Christ knowing that in each weakness He makes us strong. It is never from our own abilities but God’s. When we are delivered from the hard times and we live out our faith by trusting in the Father, others see this. We become examples of our faith and bring glory to the Father above. Then we can boast about our good God who meets us right where we are with His strength and power.

Good enough

I have this bad habit. I convince myself that I have to be good enough for God. I tell myself I need to “fix” myself before I come to God. As if I can wipe my own sins away! God didn’t say fix yourself and then I’ll send my son to die for you. He said come as you are and I’ll cover your debt.

Ephesians 2:8-10 expertly explains it.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 2:8–10

In these few verses Paul sums up the Christian mission statement. We are to serve God and people not for our salvation but because of it and because we were created to love. We didn’t save ourselves and any notion that we did is pride. We were saved by God’s grace through our faith so that no one can boast in their own doings.

All throughout the Bible there are sinful messed up people doing great things. He didn’t ignore their sin but instead used it to show his power and grace.

So when you feel like you aren’t enough for God know that he doesn’t require you to be because grace is like none other.And before you try to fix yourself go to God.

Lean into Him

“I’m wide awake

drawing close, stirred by grace

and all my heart is Yours.

all fear removed, I breathe You in

I lean into Your love.”

⁃ Sinking Deep, Hillsong Young & Free

Just think about those lyrics – let them sit.

Later in the song it’s says, “love so deep is washing over me.”

Psalms 36:5

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the Heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.”

Oh how vast is the love God extends to us. How good is He.

Take a moment to sit still and lean into God’s love.

In the hurt, the happy, the tears – sink deep into His mercy.

Whatever you’re dealing with today, lean into God. let His love wash over you.

I encourage you to encourage someone else in this, too.

You’re not alone, let someone know that today.

Dear God, how good is your love that is extending to us. We thank you Jesus.

I lift up the lonely, and ask for comfort.

Amen.

In the cave

Praise Him in the cave, and He can change things.

Psalm 57:7 “My heart is steadfast, O God my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes I will sing praises”

Disclaimer: I know y’all think I’m the verse map bully 😳😂, but I know it’s not for everyone. It’s just my Bible study fav 🤷🏼‍♀️

So I have been studying the word steadfast. It’s not exactly a touchy-feely subject, but the Lord worked through my starting point and by the time I finished my whole mood had changed. I did not sit down with that intention.

Won’t God do it!!

In doing the word study it lead me to Psalm 57:7. It spoke to me so much I verse mapped it. In the midst of the verse map I could feel God stepping on my toes. Questions came to mind about the devotions I had been doing. Aren’t they just a series of self help books? How long am I going to dwell on me and my insecurities 😳. Then Pastor came in hot the next week with “insecurities make us selfish”. Geez Louise.

Don’t get me wrong, we need to do studies, see the planks in our eyes and work on our shortcomings. We just can’t live there. At some point we have to get out of our head and get moving.

David was in a cave scared for his life. Sometimes we have those same situations. Right in the middle of his pity party he caught himself. He stopped and said

           “My heart is steadfast”

Mike drop 🎤!  That’s what I need to do when facing any giant or insecurity. Before letting my pity party run away with my brain I need to whoa up and declare to my heart that it Will. Be. Steadfast.

David’s pity party turned in to a praise fest after that declaration. (And so did mine)

           Moral of the story:

“Set your heart on Jesus, He is our help!”

Why is hope?

“Well, you know we have the hope that we will see him again” said the 1 millionth person after Connor died.

I have heard this phrase most of my life. I’ve even said it to a lot of people myself. I can tell you from experience that you never realize what hope really is until it’s all you have.

But what exactly is this “hope” we speak of? In today’s world, the word hope is often used to represent wishful thinking. Hoping for the best. Sort of like a child with their eyes closed, blowing out birthday candles, wishing they get that present they’ve been wanting. It is often hinted at with uncertainty.

But you see hope is not vain nor wishful thinking. Hope is not a feeling. Hope is not an emotion. It is not “fingers crossed” way of thinking.

When I lost Connor last year, all hope was lost. I knew he was in heaven, no doubt about it. But what was the point in going on? It made no sense to continue without my son. Life wasn’t worth it to me. But it was in those moments of grief and despair when the sweet, sweet presence of the Lord made true hope known to me.

Hope is a state of mind. It is a confident expectation that God will meet all our needs, both present and future. Our hope is based on who God is alone. Not on the circumstances, not what the world says, not what science says, it is based on God alone.

“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19

Hope sustains through the challenges of life. I know because I’ve been there. And more than likely, so have you. My hope is based upon the promises of God. I trust that God alone will sustain me.

Back to the child blowing out their birthday candles. Their tiny little hearts have their hope set on the “perfect” gift. So, what happens when it’s not what they hoped for. Disappointment. There is no disappointment with God. When our hope is in Him, it doesn’t matter about the outcome. It is the confident, expectant trust that God will fulfill His promises to us, whatever it looks like.

Hope has taught me to take a different approach to suffering. When grief strikes, I have that sweet reminder that heaven awaits with my sweet Connor first in line! And oh, what a glorious day that will be!

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Hope has taught me to live with intention. The bible tells me that I was created for good works.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

God created each of us to complete specific assignments based on our individual gifts and talents. He uses our challenges; the good, the bad and the ugly, to do great works.

My prayer is that my journey of finding hope in despair will help you to find true hope in the Lord.

It’s more.

The Gospel is beautiful. It’s not complicated. It’s simple, and ultimately life changing.

I can tell when my prayer life isn’t where it needs to be. I can tell when I haven’t been setting aside time like I should to truly be in the presence of Christ.

It’s more than the prayer before dinner.

It’s more than attending every church service.

It’s more than giving and serving others.

It’s taking up your own cross and following Him.

Every time I want control over a situation, every time I find myself putting my plans before Jesus, He isn’t honored in the outcome. Every time I spend intimate time in the word and prayer, trusting in His plan and knowing he’s in control, life just feels more at peace. Notice how I didn’t say “life just goes smoother” or “life is just better”. I purposely said life just feels more at peace. There is a beauty in coming to know Christ. There is a beauty in trusting in his plans before our own. There is a peace that surpasses all understanding when we take up our cross and follow him. We don’t have all the answers but you find yourself not wanting to because you’re too busy following the one who does.

I feel like I talk about that a lot. Trusting His ways and not my own. Maybe that’s where I fall short most. I want the plan I had on my calendar to go the way I envisioned it. Or maybe that’s just what someone needs to hear. To surrender your own personal agenda. Take up your cross and follow Him.

I love these words in Colossians –

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

Colossians 3:1-4 NLT

I don’t have control. I don’t have control of this afternoon, tomorrow, next week, or anything. But I do trust the one who does. Today I’m choosing to follow Him. Take up my own ways and listen to scripture. To set my sights on the realities of heaven. When I chose to follow Christ 17 years ago I had to remember I died to this worldly life. I was raised to follow him and to share all of His Glory. I want to be obedient. I fell short today. I’ll probably fall short again tomorrow. But He will strengthen me in those areas when I spend that intimate time with Him.

I challenge you to set your minds today not on things of this world but on things that are above. I pray today you join me in taking up your cross and following Him.