Wait Expectantly

A lot of hearing from God is really just waiting. We wait for direction, and for clarity. We wait for Him to move in our lives. 

The key to this waiting is being expectant. We don't just wait, hoping God will someday answer our prayers. Instead, we wait expectantly, knowing that, no matter what, God will provide. He may not provide what we want or what we think we need, but He will provide.

God comes through for us when we trust him. We can count on Him. 

Are you waiting expectantly for God?

Today's Verse

Matthew 10: 31

Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 

Consider it Pure Joy

Adversity takes many forms, and sometimes it can seem like we are surrounded by it. It can feel like there is no escape for our problems and struggles. They can become like clouds, blocking out the light of the sun and making our lives dreary and dim.

Luckily, we are blessed with Paul as an example of how to deal with and think about adversity. Paul had prestige. His lineage and education were, according to the standards of the day, above reproach. Then the Lord appeared to him, blinding Paul until the Lord sent Ananais to restore his sight and ensure that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul was blind for three days before Ananias came to him. It was three days of not knowing if he would ever see again, three days of having to relearn how to do daily activities, three days of reevaluating his life.

Paul's adversity also didn't cease when he decided to follow the Lord's direction. He was no longer blind, but he was later beaten, imprisoned, and rejected by his own people for preaching the Gospel. In the midst of his adversity, he writes that everything he'd lost as a result of God's calling on his life he had lost for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. He encourages others to have joy, even in the midst of trials. He tells us to persevere, to be mature in our faith in the Lord's provision.

Do you consider your losses lost for the sake of Christ? Are you joyous, even as you struggle?

Today's Verses
James 1: 1-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

On His Terms

I'm learning another new lesson about surrender. I thought I had the whole surrender thing figured out, I thought it had all finally clicked. However, God is, once again, asking if I will lean in further.He is once again challenging me to trust Him more completely.

Today I am learning that, not only does surrender mean doing God's will, true surrender means doing it His way. One of the most insidious ways to avoid full compliance with the will of God is to recognize what He is asking of you and ignore how He is asking you to do it. By doing it our way, we maintain a semblance of control. We get to tell ourselves that we are surrendering even while we indulge the egotistical part of us that tells us we know better than the Lord. We get to be in the driver's seat and live our lives on our own terms.

However, listening to what God has to say while continuing to live life on our own terms does not follow the example Christ set for us. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night he was betrayed, Jesus cried out to the Lord. He vocalized His prayer that God's plan for his death would be different, but He submitted to the will of the Father. In that moment, Jesus prayed that God would change His plan for Him. He wanted to do it a different way, He dreaded doing it on God's terms. However, Christ submitted to the Father's will anyway saying, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

That is my mantra today: "Nevertheless, not as I will but as You will, Lord."

Are you attempting to accomplish God's work on your terms? Are you willing to live your life on His terms instead?

Today's Verses
Mathew 26: 39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

No Greater Love

On Memorial Day we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, for our freedoms. We thank them and their families for their service, and we recognize the gift they've given us. They stood in the line of fire so that we didn't have to. They put themselves in danger so that we could stay home and stay safe. They gave up their lives so we could keep living ours.

The gift of Christ's sacrifice is similar. He went to the cross so that we didn't have to. He took our sin upon His shoulders, accepting the punishment that was rightfully ours, so that we could stand blameless before the Father. He vanquished death so that we might have eternal life.

Take a moment today to be thankful for the sacrifices of others and of Christ.

Today's Verse
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends

Cultivating Peace

When life is chaotic, peace is often all we want, but it is also sometimes the most difficult thing to find. It's unsettling to find ourselves in the midst of circumstances that are out of our control. Stress and worry gnaw away at our confidence and our hope. We find ourselves doubting our own abilities and the providence of God. We find ourselves feeling alone.

Luckily, we are not alone in this journey because God is always with us. A wise friend told me recently that, when we have the Holy Spirit within us, we are the most powerful we will ever be. When we have the Spirit working for us, we need not be concerned, we need not worry. Even if change comes, even if the chaos continues or intensifies, God is in control. The Spirit of the Lord goes before us, preparing the way. We can put on the armor of God and know we are protected. We can cultivate peace by knowing that God is with us and will not forsake us.

Today's Verse
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Come to Serve

Leadership, according to most people, means going first, preparing the way and setting the bar high. However, the Bible paints a different picture of leadership in Christ. Christ did not come to lead armies or to build an empire. Instead, he came to serve.

When two of the disciples asked him if they could be at his right and left in the Kingdom, Jesus said that those positions were not His to grant. He said that the kings of the world lorded their power over their people, but that God's kingdom required something different of its leaders. He said that those who wished to become great must first be servants.

Being a good leader means figuring out how to best serve those around you. Sometimes this can be uncomfortable, and sometimes we find ourselves doing things that are contrary to our initial desires. However, service brings glory to God and not to ourselves. Even when we are uncomfortable, God is at work. When we put others first, God is at work. God is glorified in our servanthood.

How might you better serve those around you?

Today's Verse
Mark 10: 42-45
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over the,, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

One Thing Remains

When your to do list is overwhelming, when you're sick and you reject the idea of doing anything other than laying on the couch, when all you seem to do is fail, one thing remains.

The love of God.

God says that, no matter what your life looks like, you are loved. He says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. He says that your life can bring Him glory, regardless of your failings.

So when life overwhelms or disappoints, be assured that there is more. Your value does not rest on your accomplishments, your health, your success. God says you have value. Believe Him.

Are you confident in your God-given value?

Today's Verse
Matthew 10: 31
So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows

Happy Anticipation

I read today that hope is the happy anticipation of good things (Joyce Meyer). Hope is joyful, positive, and excited. Hope isn't being resigned to the belief that surely things must get better eventually. Instead, hope is the optimistic confidence that there is more to life than we currently possess or understand.

God's hope doesn't promise good things the way the world does. The world says that hope fulfilled looks like money, fame, popularity, and prestige. God's hope is rooted in the knowledge that He is bigger than we are, that He is bigger than our problems and our dreams. God's hope is assurance in things unseen.  It knows that, regardless of our circumstances, there is joy to be had and blessings to receive.

Hope is the root of all joy and optimism. Hope can get us through the darkest of days, the stormiest of seas. There is light at the end of every tunnel when we hope in the Lord.

Are you living in happy anticipation? Are you embracing God's hope?

Today's Verse
Hebrews 10: 23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

What You Can

Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of life? What do we do when we face moments where there are so many demands on our time, when our work and family and friends and commitments seem to want so much from us, and when our minds and bodies can't seem to keep up?

I know that my first instinct is to feel guilty. There is a little voice inside me that says that being a good Christian means being constantly available and not taking time for myself. It lies to me and says that God is more interested in whether I am keeping everyone else happy than whether I am being a good steward of my own life.

In reality, in order to be at our best for God, we need to be at our best for ourselves as well. Being a good steward of our time and skills means not only being available for God to use us, but also making sure that we keep ourselves in top condition so that when God does want to use us, we have the energy to let him. We should do what we can and rest assured that God honors those who are good stewards of what He gives them.

Are you being a good steward of your own health?

Today's Verse
Luke 16: 10a
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much

Recurring Forgetfulness

When we face challenges to our faith, when we find ourselves in situations that make us question God and ourselves, it can be difficult to remember what has carried us through. In the face of uncertainty, we forget all that God has done for us in the past and all that He promises to do for us in the future.

We forget the blessings that we have experienced in the past. We forget to look for the blessings God is providing in the present. We forget the hope of future blessings.

The worst part of this process, is that it happens over and over. We don't wake up one day, never to forget these things again. Instead, we continually find ourselves in moments where we are tempted to forget all that has come before and to give up hope.

However, we need to remember that God's mercies are new every morning. Every morning. Even if we forget His blessings every night, His mercies are new when we wake in the morning. He takes us back, even when we forget. He pursues us, even when we forget to look for Him. He meets us in our forgetfulness, and reminds us that He is good.

Today's Verse
Lamentations 3: 22-23
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Striving for Perfection

Success isn't about perfection. In fact, I think the most successful people would tell us that they don't owe their success to perfection, but to being willing to make mistakes.  It's easy to get caught up in our mistakes, to let them distract us from the goal, to let them convince us that we can't succeed if we can't do things perfectly. It's easy to be consumed by them, to stress about them, to let them keep us from continuing on.

Luckily, the message of the Gospel recognizes our mistakes and replaces them with Christ's perfection. To successfully submit to the Lord and embrace salvation, we have to admit that we aren't perfect and that we will never be perfect. But that's alright, because Christ is perfect and He stands in our place. In God's eyes, our success isn't based on our perfect lives. Instead, we are successful because He covers our mistakes with Christ's perfect life, and sees Christ instead of us.

We can stop striving for perfection when we accept the gift of grace. We can stop worrying about whether we are doing each little thing correctly, and instead recognize when we make mistakes, move forward, and attempt to keep from making the same mistake again. Striving for perfection keeps us stuck in a loop of disappointment and failure, but acknowledging that God covers our imperfection with grace frees us to keep going, to keep pursuing His calling on our lives.

Are you focusing too much on your mistakes and forgetting the gift of grace?

Today's Verse
Romans 8: 1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Room for God

Last night I was listening to a story about all kinds of pain - spiritual, emotional, and physical. In the course of the story, the person speaking made the statement, "Our pain makes room for God."

Wow. In all my experiences, with all kinds of pain, I have always thought of pain as limiting. What does my pain keep from happening? What do I have to learn to say no to because of pain? How have my painful experiences prevented me from being in situations that would be even more painful? For me, pain has always been about limits. My physical pain has been protective and instructive, teaching me how to say no, preventing me from overextending myself. My emotional pain has been a leash, holding me back from unhealthy relationships but also holding me back from vulnerability.

Last night I realized that pain is often about creating, not about limiting. Pain creates voids in our lives. It pokes holes in our well-being that need filling. Each of those painful holes is room where we need God to work in our lives. We can't fill those holes on our own. Money, popularity, romance, and achievement will never adequately fill those holes. They can't be filled with anything but God.

Do we learn limits as God works to fill our holes? Yes. Does God use painful things to protect us? Yes. But, the pain isn't about the limit or the protection. It's about the space, its about making room.  Room for God.

Where has pain been making room for God in your life?

Today's Verse
Romans 8: 18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Strong and Courageous

Fear is insidious. Fear exploits our most vulnerable places. It tempts us to indulge in anger, in disappointment, in stress, and in negativity. It tells us that our current circumstances are too big for God to overcome. It tells us we are stuck and never moving forward, no matter how hard we try, no matter what God might want for us or from us.

The best response to fear is to have courage. When life throws things at us that make us hesitate, that make our steps falter, that tempt us to hold back, we need to respond with courage. We need to look fear in the face, and say, "No."

When fear lurks, lying to us and trying to get us to give up hope, we need to fix our eyes, ears, and hearts on God. God's assurances remain, even in the face of our fear. God is bigger than our fears, more than powerful enough to overcome whatever we find ourselves facing. He is with us always. He goes before us as a guide and to prepare the way. He walks along side us to provide comfort and support. He carries us when we don't have the capability to move anymore. He follows us, watching our backs.

We can assuage our fears with the presence of God in our lives. We can stand strong against fear, and step out in faith despite it, if we draw our courage from God. God does not give us a spirit that was made to live in fear. Instead, He has given us power through His son to vanquish fear and to live fully and totally for Him. We have nothing to fear, so long as we follow Him.

Are you saying no to fear? Are you embracing spiritual strength and courage?

Today's Verse
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Strength in Weakness

Illness is not fun or relaxing. It's not uplifting or encouraging. It doesn't inspire me to do much of anything. Instead, it undermines my joy. It eats away at my optimism and positivity. It makes me feel weak.

However, today I am reminded that I don't need to be strong. I don't need to be afraid of weakness. Not only are there people in my life ready and willing to help me out, offering to bring me whatever I need, to simply spend time with me, but God is also there.

God is strong when I am weak. I don't need to be strong on my own, because God is strong enough for me. God is powerful enough to handle my weakness, to carry my burdens.

What do you need God to carry for you?

Today's Verses
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Blessings and Wilderness

When the Lord blesses, and then says 'wait', it can be confusing and frustrating. We question whether the blessings were real, whether what we heard from God was true. However, "God often gives his people a dream, a desire, a calling and then puts them through a period of waiting" (Daniel Darling).

There are so many examples of this in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah waited for years for God to give them the son He'd promised them. After Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God came down, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted for more than 40 days. Why are we surprised when we experience similar things? Why do we let it make us uncomfortable?

Don't be afraid of the waiting, of the wilderness. Embrace them. Learn from them. Let God use them to develop your character and better prepare you for the plans he has in store for you.

Are you embracing the waiting?

Today's Verse
Psalm 130: 5
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Days Like Today

Days when I can barely get up off the couch are my least favorite days. I don't want to go anywhere or eat anything; I just want to sleep. Exhausted physically, emotionally, mentally, I struggle to find the blessings that surround me, but they are there.

Staying home today means:

Chatting with my best college friend without distraction
Spending time reading a new devotional
Cooking delicious food so that I can be excited about eating something and serve a friend
Enjoying the rainy breeze as it wafts through my house

Days like today mean I find pleasure in smaller things. Days like today mean I have to look a little harder to find God in my circumstances, but I am thankful that He's always there.

Are you looking for God in smaller things?

Today's Verse
Ephesians 1: 18-19
Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

Love Poured Out

We are God's creation, and He loves us. He created us so that He could love us. He doesn't need our praise and worship: the Bible is clear that if we didn't praise the Lord, the rocks and stones would do it for us. We were created to be loved, and to love.

It can be easy to forget what exactly the 'love others' command encompasses. It's not just about whether we love others. It's also about whether we let others love us. It's easy to remember that God loves us, and fail to remember that other people love us as well. Jesus told the disciples to love one another as He had loved them. He set up love as something that we receive from Him but that we also share with and receive from one another. God created you so that He could love you, and so that other people would love you as well.

As an individual, it's easy to love others while forgetting that even as we love other people, there are other people who love us. If we've been hurt before, it feels safer to shut ourselves off from the love others have for us to protect ourselves. However, God has placed us in community where He not only pours out His love, but he also provides others to love us. We weren't created to be loved only by Him. He has provided people in our lives who are ready, waiting, and willing to love us.

Are you letting the people around you love you?

Today's Verses
John 15: 9-12
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Which Do You Choose?

Balancing our wants and hopes with God's plan can be difficult. A lot of frustration, struggle, and disappointment comes from putting our wants and hopes before the plans God has for us.

The most deceptive thing is when we are praying about things, hearing about them from God, and still frustrated. It's easy to feel like maybe we've been making things up, or maybe God isn't even listening. However, it's more likely that God is speaking, and we aren't actively listening. It's easy to hear from God and not incorporate what he's telling us in how we see our lives. It's easy to take what we hear from Him and apply it to our own timetable, our own plans. It's easy to accept God's provision only to then turn around and tell Him, "I'll take it from here!"

We have two choices. Either we can attempt to fit God into our plans, or we can submit and allow Him to fit us into His plan.  We often give up control until we hear from God, and then take back control and rely on our own strength to make things happen. Instead, when we give up control we can rest in the fact that God already knows where we are going, and is actively pursuing us to participate in His plan for us. God is ready and waiting to guide and lead us, to fit us into His plans for the world, to give us a plan for our own lives.

So which do you choose? To struggle to fit what God says into your plan and timeline, or to open up and let God lead you through the timeline He has established for you?

Today's Verse
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Garment of Praise

I often think of my attitude as something that just happens, something that cannot be controlled or anticipated. I see, hear, or think something and then my attitude responds. This is an easy way of thinking about attitude. It excuses whatever I feel and says that my attitude is an accurate and justifiable reflection of my circumstances. It allows me to avoid examining whether I have a heart that is in line with God's perspective.

In reality, I think that long-term attitude is largely a choice. My instinctual response does not have to be my permanent response. I can cast off my spirit of despair, criticism, and negativity and put on a garment of praise. Instead of focusing on problems and flaws, I can focus on God's grace and faithfulness.

The best part of putting on a garment of praise is that it doesn't mean that I keep from taking action to fix problems that I encounter. It doesn't make me a doormat. What it does mean is that my attitude when I encounter problems is vastly different. I can encourage rather than critique. I can be positive and optimistic about change rather than expecting disappointment.

A garment of praise takes me from despair to joy. My actual circumstances may not change at all, but I change, and my perspective changes. My focus shifts from the details to the King, from the tiny, fleeting things to the most significant, most enduring thing. Nothing changes, except everything.

Are you putting on a garment of praise?

Today's Verse
Isaiah 61: 1a, 3
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to...provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of splendor.

Pressed but Not Crushed

In my struggle to surrender, my emotions are my biggest hindrance. When I get uncomfortable or impatient my first instinct is not to trust, but instead to worry. Worrying may not be practical or logical, but it feels productive. As someone who likes to be in control, worrying is a way for me to feel like I am doing something, like I am taking action.

Surrender is something we do in direct opposition to how we feel. When things don't go our way or when God moves slower than we'd like, we shouldn't stop surrendering. We shouldn't give into the temptation to worry, to panic, to stress about things that are out of our control. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be convinced that taking back control from God is the right thing.

Temptation says that if we stop surrendering, things will go our way. Temptation says that if we take control back from God, we can make things happen the way we'd like. However, God's will for our lives far exceeds our circumstances. He can see so much farther down the road than we can. Living under His power means that we are living under someone who knows all and can do all, and who wants to do those things for us.

Are you willing to give up control in favor of the power of God?

Today's Verses
2 Corinthians 4: 7-9
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

By This They Will Know

When I think about sharing the Gospel with people I always come back to the same thing: I want them to know how much God loves them. For me the Gospel has never been about what I can and cannot do, instead, it has always been about the fact that God loves me and He wants everyone else to know that He loves them too.

Part of that means living in a way that reflects God's love. It means letting His love speak louder than anything else in my life. Luckily, Jesus gave us some direction on how to do this. One of His final commands to His disciples was that they love one another. He said that the world would know them by their love, that their love would make it clear that they were His disciples.

I wonder if I am reflecting the love of Christ in my life. I don't want my efforts for the Gospel to be hindered by the myriad of messages out there that place qualifiers on God's love. I just want to be open, welcoming, loving. I want the world to know that I am His disciple, because I love those around me.

Is your life characterized by the love of God?

Today's Verses 
John 13: 34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Streams of Abundance Flow

Have you heard the phrase "Just let go, and let God"? I like it, though I realize it's a little cheesy, maybe even a little cliche. It is definitely easy to turn that phrase into one of our neat, tidy Christian 'lines'. It's easy to recite it, to tell it to people, and forget both how hard it is to let God, and also how rewarding.

I've realized recently that letting go is the key to God's abundance. Letting go leads to more blessings than we could ever imagine or hope for. Actually letting go means so many things. It means trying to have a positive, optimistic outlook and seeing the best in people. It means being interruptible and willing to adjust your schedule and plans in response to the opportunities God opens up. It means diligently and consistently engaging with God through the Word and prayer. It means accepting His plans for your life in place of your own. 

Letting God is life changing. Letting God shifts perspectives upward and outward rather than inward. Letting God opens our lives to His abundant provision and invites Him to do incredible things for and through us.

Life is never so abundant than it is when we truly let go and let God. Life overflows with blessings. The hard things don't go away, but God also does good and wonderful things for us and opens doors to do good and wonderful things for others through us.

Are you letting go and letting God do what He wants in your life?

Today's Verses
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Still Searching?

I read a devotional recently about searching for the right things. God entreats us to seek His kingdom first, before everything else. He invites us to pursue righteousness, to pursue His calling on our lives, to pursue Him.

The other day I discussed that part of surrendering is putting God's kingdom first. As I continue to attempt complete surrender, I wonder what I might be seeking in place of God's kingdom. My field tells me to seek after publication and prestige. Entertainment and media tell me to seek after bodily perfection and relationships. Advertising tells me to seek after money.

There are so many things we can put first, in front of God. But doing so sends God a message. It tells Him that we don't think He is enough. It tells Him that we don't trust Him to provide for our needs. It tells Him we would rather go it alone than depend on Him.

I don't have to keep searching, as if God is not enough. I want to embrace the fact that He is enough for me. I want to trust Him to provide for me. I want to depend on Him, knowing that He is faithful.

Are there things that you are placing before God in your life?

Today's Verses
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.