God is actively working behind-the-scenes for you right now to meet your needs in ways that you don’t see. You don’t have the answers; God does. You don’t know the next move; God does. You can’t see how it will work out; God does. Everything you really need will really be supplied. Not maybe. Not probably. Definitely. God will provide for every need. Not some of them. Not most of them. All of them, without exception. Right when you need it, not a second too late. If you don’t have it now, it’s because you don’t need it now. God met our greatest need by sending Jesus to live, die and rise for us so we can be forgiven for and freed from our sin; surely, He will also meet our lesser ones! What rest and relief and rejoicing there is when you do the work that God has said is for you to do, and believe that He is doing the work that is not for you to do.
The Weight Of Worry Is Lifted By Jesus
You can downplay it, but you cannot ignore it. You can numb it, but you cannot heal it. You can run from it, but you cannot escape it. For those who carry it around inside, the weight of worry is a debilitating burden that grows larger, gains traction and grates on your thoughts and feelings. Oftentimes a low-level anxiety. Sometimes an explosive outburst. At all times a threat to your peace and joy. The cure is not to make-believe it isn’t there, white-knuckle your way through it or self-medicate for some temporary relief. These may pick you up for a moment, but they offer no real hope for real freedom from the worries that are weighing you down. The balm for a heart and mind that is reeling from the cares of the world is to cast your cares on Jesus. He is willing to take that weight from you and carry your anxieties for you if you are willing to let Him and let go of them. This means trusting that He is strong enough, wise enough and loving enough to sustain you through it all no matter what happens. As your confidence in Him grows, your anxiety shrinks; as your worries transfer to Him, your peace and joy return. Remember this today: you do not have to live with constant low-level anxiety and stress because you have the constant presence of Jesus living in you.
Jesus Walks With Us When We Suffer
The people in your life need to see you suffer well, handling hardships with hope because you have Jesus in your life. We shouldn’t try to make-believe our problems aren’t there as if Christians are immune to the brokenness around us, nor make-a-big-production of our problems as if Jesus isn’t there to sustain us. Griping over the trials of life isn’t the solution, but neither is glossing over them. When bad things happen, it is an opportunity to speak honestly about our struggles while showcasing the good things that are ours because of Jesus in spite of those struggles: hope, joy, peace, endurance, strength, courage, guidance, security. It’s only whining if we leave worshipping Jesus out of it. It’s only complaining if we leave celebrating His grace out of it. It’s only pouting if we leave pointing people to His sufficiency out of it. Others need to see and hear our joy-filled, hope-filled, peace-filled confidence in this: He will get us through every test, trial and tribulation until He gets us home. As we walk through seasons of suffering, let us testify to the faithfulness of Jesus in walking with us so others can know, that because grace is available in their own struggles, they never have to walk alone either.
Our Hope Is In Jesus
Our hope is not in who sits in the Oval Office, but in Who sits on the throne in heaven. Our hope is not in who governs us on earth, but in Who reigns and rules over the entire universe. Our hope is not in what laws are passed, but in the One Who has written His law of love on our hearts. While politics, parties, programs and policies do have an impact upon our lives and our country, and we should take these things seriously, the optimism we have for everyday and eternal well-being does not rise and fall on one of us, but on Jesus, Who is God with us. No candidate, no party, no administration, no vote, no election, no legislation, no ruling, – no, nothing can stop God from accomplishing whatever He intends. This is where we pin our hope. Let us prayerfully consider how to honor Christ in how we cast our vote and let us move past election day with positive confidence that God will work things out for good, and that things will turn out for the best in the end.
You Are Simply Outmatched By The Grace Of God
You are simply outmatched by the grace of God. Yes, there are days when the odds are stacked against you. There are moments when your sin gets the best of you. There are seasons when the challenges and choices of life confuse you. There are people who most certainly will disappoint and abuse you. There are shiny objects that will distract you. But if you are trusting in Jesus, none of these things will defeat you. God’s grace is sufficient for every situation, every location, every imperfection, and every opposition.
As one of God’s children, it is simply impossible for you to out-sin, out-run, out-last, out-need, or out-hope His grace … because God’s grace for you never runs out. You will never find yourself in a situation where God has not already plastered, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
Comparison Is A Game We Do Not Have To Play
An ongoing struggle that all of us experience is comparing ourselves and our lives to other people. It shows up as we measure our appearance, finances, intellect, popularity, achievements, opportunities and so forth to someone else’s. Regardless of whether we compare favorably or unfavorably, it usually leads to sin. Comparison is a game we cannot win for at least two reasons: it either makes us discontent with the kind of person we are or the kind of life we live compared to other people, OR it makes us prideful because we feel superior to others or look down on others in some comparison category. The solution for both of these problems is to be happy with the person God is making us and content with what He has given us with no care to compare at all. Our ultimate source of satisfaction is found in Jesus, Whom God is making us like and is His greatest gift to us. Comparison is a game we cannot win, but because of Jesus we do not have to play it.
I’m A Believer
I’m a believer. I believe that Jesus is Who the Bible says He is and did what the Bible says He did. I believe He can be trusted without hesitation or reservation. I believe He reigns over my life for good. I believe His kingdom will last forever. I believe fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore await me. I believe in His agenda of love. I believe He chose me to be in His family and called me to invite others into His family. I believe I have given up nothing of value to follow Him and have gained immeasurable riches in knowing Him. I believe grace is available to those who receive His love, and wrath is coming for those who reject it. I believe He has forgiven the penalty of my sin, freed me from the power of sin, and will forever remove the presence of sin from me. I believe He will finish what He started in me, loving me just as I am, but always working to transform me into who I have not yet become. I believe that to believe is to turn from sin and turn to Jesus. I believe He is coming soon, perhaps today, to fulfill all that He has promised. I believe until I meet Him face to face in glory, I should bring Him glory on earth. I believe that because of Jesus the best is always yet to come for those who believe. Do you believe?
God Took Our Sin Seriously; We Should Too
Since God took your sin seriously enough to send Jesus to be crushed on the cross in your place, you should take it seriously enough to make war against it instead of making excuses for it. Start your day confessing your sin to God and confessing your need for God to help you fight against your sin. Pieces of God’s armor. Promises of God. Places of escape. Preventative steps. People to hold you accountable. These are your weapons of war to be put on, put into place and put into action before the battle even begins. Then, when temptation comes, stand firm in your faith, steady on your feet, strong in the Lord and do not give in or give up. Make war! And if you go down, go down swinging, knowing that there is grace for every lost fight because you are trusting in Jesus and Jesus has dealt a knockout punch to sin, Satan and death for you. You will rise again to fight again and win in the end. Because His pardon is given to you and His power is with you and His presence is in you, you can be honest about your sin, and you can be victorious over it.
Time Well Spent
Every single grain of sand that falls in the hourglass of your life is a gift from God to be used for good. You can’t regain or recycle what has been used. You can’t get more than what remains. You can’t be sure when the last grain will fall. The days are long, but the years are short; the days drag on, but the years fly by. While there is still time, spend it on the things that matter most, the things that matter for eternity, the things that matter to God. You will never regret the unwasted life of prioritizing, pursuing and proclaiming Jesus to a darkened world that desperately needs the light you can hold out to it. What immeasurable bliss awaits when the last grain drops, and you hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” Until that day arrives, don’t put off until another day what God has given you to do with this day. Live every day as if it were your last one on earth; someday if will be.
He Will Finish What He Started
In a world of seemingly endless uncertainties, there is something that we can be absolutely sure of: God will finish what He started in us. There is zero chance He will fail. God has begun a good work in us, and He will work all things together for good to ensure its completion. We will keep going. We will endure. We will make it to the finish line where our faith will become sight in the presence of God. Not because of anything we can do apart from God, but because Jesus is a part of us, enabling us by His grace to persevere to the end. He is both the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and He is faithful even when we are not. We are on our way and until we get there, even when our days include struggles and our walk include stumbles, let us press on in joyful confidence that getting to our heavenly home does not depend upon us but on God at work in us and for us. Yes, we work hard by His grace to follow Him closely in loving obedience, but He alone will ensure that we are able to do so every step of the way. Rejoice as you hold on until the end-before-the-beginning, knowing that God is holding on to you. On this, eternal security firmly rests for those who are trusting in Jesus: He will finish what He started.
This Life Is Not All There Is
One of the enemy’s biggest deceptions is convincing us to live as if this life is all there is. It’s the cause for the fear of missing out, the fear of sacrificial service and the fear of death. It’s the reason so many strive to build their own kingdoms instead of building the kingdom of God. It’s the basis for the never-ending search for happiness by looking to the world instead of looking to Jesus to find happiness that is never-ending. The lie that we should live as if this life is all there is to live for is the fountainhead of ten thousand troubles. And you can find out exactly what you’re living for by honestly answering one simple question: why do you think, feel, speak, and act as you do? Is it because of some earthly aim or ambition, or because you’ve got your sights set on eternity? Everything looks different when you look past the temporary to forever. This place isn’t our home; we’re heading home. This life won’t last forever; the next life will. This treasure trove will fade away; the ones laid up in heaven have an everlasting shine. The joys and pleasures of today that never satisfy enough and never last enough will give way to fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore when we enter the presence of God.
There Is An Order To Love
Love both sums up all of God’s commandments and gives us the motivation to obey those commandments. But only when we love rightly. All the sins of all the people in all the world are the result of loving wrongly. Augustine described sin as “disordered love”. Or said another way, we sin, we break God’s commandments, when our loves are out of order. He noted that for our loves to be in proper order we should not… Love what it is wrong to love. Fail to love what should be loved. Love too much what should be loved less. Love too little what should be loved more. You see, there is an order to love. We are to love God above people. Love people above things. And love things in such a way that they help us to better love God and love people.
Trusting That God Knows What He’s Doing
Why are some things hard? Why are some things easy? Why are some things ongoing? Why are some things abrupt? Why are some things present? Why are some things absent? Because God knows best what to allow into our lives, how intensely they should be experienced, and how long they should remain. It’s not always easy to see the “why” behind the “what” that God allows into our lives. But the longer we walk with Jesus, the more we recognize that our Heavenly Father uses all the things He allows into our lives to build us up in our faith and bless us in ways we never would experience if we followed our own plan. Looking back, we see that in those moments we didn’t think God was working, His fingerprints were on every irregularly shaped piece of the puzzle, fitting them together to form us into the image of His Son. God doesn’t expect us to know what He’s doing; He just expects us to trust that He does.
The Secret Of Contentment
When we become convinced that we cannot be joyful without something desirable that is absent from our lives, or we cannot be joyful with something undesirable that is present in our lives, our gaze has drifted away from Jesus onto our circumstances. The secret to contentment, regardless of what we have and don’t have, what we get to do and don’t get to do, who we are and who we are not, is to expect Jesus to fulfil the longings of our hearts. When we look to Him for hope, peace, rest, comfort, courage, security, companionship, strength, and provision, and trust that He will sustain us and satisfy us in all circumstances, God is honored in us, and we are happy in Him. We can be joyfully content whether we have little or much because we have it all in Jesus.
God Will Get You Through The Day
The more confident we are in God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness, the more we will turn to Him for help instead of looking elsewhere for it. And we will find that help, for His mercies are always lovingly and faithfully delivered anew each morning. New because each day has new needs. New because today’s needs are different than those from yesterday. New because we are never to enter any day thinking we don’t need God. New because they testify of God’s steadfast love and great faithfulness day after day. New because our daily walk is to be one of faith. New because their day-by-day presence re-centers and re-stirs our hearts to grateful worship. Whatever happens today, we can be assured that God’s custom-tailored, need-meeting, heart-stirring, joy-producing, Jesus-glorifying mercies will be there to save the day. That doesn’t mean it will always be without problems, pain and pandemonium. Sometimes you’ll arrive at the end of the day a little broken and beaten up. But what will help get you through the day is remembering that God will get you through the day!
Jesus Forgives Our Sin And Frees Us From It
Jesus died not just to forgive our sin, but also to free us from it. The amazing grace He lavishes upon is both pardon from sin and power not to sin. We can let go of the old life and latch hold of the new. New identity, new purpose, new beliefs, new hopes, new dreams, new motives, new joy, new freedom, new eternity, new life and new power to live it is ours because of Jesus. When we settle in our hearts and minds that everything is better with Him, because of Him, for Him, and in Him, we will no longer settle for the things that are not from Him. How do you resist the pull of the old life? Remember all that is yours in the new life.
There Is A Good Reason For Your Suffering
We are tempted to wonder why “bad things happen to good people” and why “good things happen to bad people,” but the gospel does not operate on the basis of merits and demerits for producing “deserved” circumstances in the lives of God’s people. Oftentimes evil and agony are permitted, such as in the crucifixion of Jesus, because God’s gracious and glorious and good purposes are served. He does not always give us a reason for the long and difficult road of suffering, but He will always give us His loving care and go with us so we do not travel it alone. God has a good reason for and a good result from the suffering in our lives. In the end, the suffering of this world is not worth comparing to the glory of the one to come.
What I Pray About When I Pray
What do you typically pray about? Be honest: Is your prayer life more about getting God to do your will or you to do His? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s much easier for me to pray “let this cup of suffering pass from me” than it is to say to my Heavenly Father, “nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” Yet, there is nothing so freeing and fulfilling than to be right where God means for me to be doing right what God means for me to do. He’s the God of both the hills and valleys, and I have His promise that Jesus will be with me to guide, strengthen and encourage in the ups and downs of life. So, I talk to Him. Not in order to secure what I need to build my own kingdom, but to request what I need to live for His. Prayer involves seeking what we need to do what God wants. Pray for God’s grace to do God’s will. There will be a thousand times more joy for you in doing things His way instead of demanding your own.
With Faith All Things Are Made Possible
There is often a tension between belief and doubt when things become difficult. The mountain seems too high. The path seems too rough. The situation seems too overwhelming. The outlook seems too bleak. The task seems too great. What we need to remember is this: if we believe in a small God, our problems will always seem big. If we believe in a big God, our problems will always seem small. It would be plausible to lose hope and lose heart when facing things that are too much for us to handle if we were forced to handle them alone. But Jesus has promised to never leave us alone, always supplying the grace we need for the needs we face. The more we trust in Him, the more we will rely on Him to take the next steps into the unexpected, uncertain and unpleasant difficulties of this broken world. He will work it out for good as we work out His purposes for us. With faith all things are not made easy. With faith all things are made possible.
Making War Instead Of Making Excuses
Every person alive disobeys God, but the ways in which we respond to our sin is often in stark contrast with each other. Some people rationalize. Some people repent. As Christians, we have a faith in Jesus that is demonstrated by loving obedience, though imperfectly executed. That means we too will disobey God at times, but because of the love we receive from Him and have for Him, we will admit our sin by seeking His pardon for it and His power to be free from it. People who love Jesus repent by making war against their sin instead of making excuses for it. Therefore, let us strive for holy living while resting in the grace of God, remembering and rejoicing over this truth: what Jesus has done for us on the cross is sufficient to both cleanse and correct our transgressions.
