Devotions

[PippaJane]

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When Prayer Is the Best Way To Help
June 7, 2022
by Laura Bailey

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

My phone buzzed, and immediately knowing who the text was from, I read the message, which contained more heartbreaking news.  Over the last few weeks, a dear friend had experienced a series of trials that left her physically exhausted, emotionally drained and spiritually defeated.  What more could I do for her?

Why weren’t things turning around?

At first, I felt honored and humbled that she would trust me enough to share her struggles, and I was hopeful that, with my help, eventually things would get better. Sincerely working with her toward a solution, or at the very least hoping to alleviate some of her stress, I delivered meals, offered to babysit her children and sent cards with encouraging notes. I rearranged my schedule to be available whenever she called.  Nonetheless, as the weeks passed, her circumstances didn’t improve. In fact, they worsened, making me wonder if there was more I should do to help.  Did I exhaust all my resources?

Maybe you, too, have felt like this after relentlessly working to help someone depleted and discouraged when there's no evidence that the situation has improved.  God graciously allows us to be co-laborers in ministry, giving us the Holy Spirit to labor within and through us in Kingdom work. He encourages us to give to widows and orphans, (James 1:27) to mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15) and to carry each other’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)  However, sometimes we get caught up in relying on our own strength instead of calling on the power of Jesus. Upon reflection, perhaps I was guilty of spending hours on my feet “doing” for my friend without spending hours on my knees praying. I tended to use prayer as a last resort.  The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-17 warns Christians to be alert to the spiritual warfare raging all around us. Then he outlines the fundamental rule for engagement put on the armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.  Last but not least, he instructs, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).

Our key verse reveals three things about prayer:

*  First, we are to “pray in the Spirit,” allowing God’s desires to become our own.
*  Secondly, we are to pray continually, presenting our requests to our heavenly Father throughout the day. Prayer isn't a one-and-done act but a constant communication with the Lord.
*  Lastly, we are to pray for the needs of “all the Lord’s people.”

When we see others in need, prayer should be our first response. The Lord never intended for us to carry the weight of the world on our own shoulders, to single-handedly heal every hurt or solve every problem. How comforting to know that when we are weak, He is strong! (2 Corinthians 12:10)  God never tires of bearing the burdens of His children, for He is all-powerful. In fact, He wants us to go to Him for strength, guidance, comfort and rest, not just for ourselves but for others as well.  While in these mortal bodies, we continue to experience the effects of sin: hardship, struggle, disappointment and pain, to name only a few. Notwithstanding, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have hope, for we aren’t alone; the same almighty power that raised Jesus from the grave is alive and works in and through us for His glory. (Romans 8:11)  Let’s be encouraged and not defeated in our mission to help those in difficult situations. Starting with prayer, as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will be prepared to complete the good works Christ has prepared for us. (Ephesians 2:10)

[PippaJane]

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God Holds You on Your Hardest Days
June 8, 2022
by Katie Faris

"even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:10 (ESV)

Sunlight danced on the walls of my dining room as my heart sank and my head fell to the table. I was undone. Pent-up grief, built up inside over the previous month, overflowed as I tried to wrap my mind around what was unthinkable but true.  I’d just spoken on the phone with the pediatrician. After one son's diagnosis a few weeks earlier, I now knew that two more of my children had the same genetic condition, one that could seriously impact their livers or lungs.  Questions swirled in my head. Was this really happening?

What did this mean? Where was God in all of this?

Minutes later, with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, I greeted my husband on our front porch and repeated the doctor’s message. Then, as our children played inside the house, we held one another close and cried.  I don’t know how long we sat there, weeping and asking questions of one another and God. But in our grief, the Lord met us. When we didn’t even know how or what to pray, “the Spirit himself intercede[d] for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26b, ESV).

The Holy Spirit led us to open our hearts to God, commit our family to His care and ask Him to work for His glory in our family's suffering.  Even on one of our hardest days, God led my husband and me. As we clung to one another, His hand held us. And that’s just what our key verse promises: “Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:10).

This verse is found right in the middle of Psalm 139, in which you and I are repeatedly reassured that our heavenly Father knows all about us. God knew us before we were born (v. 16) and He knows what we're going to say even before we say it. (v. 4) And no matter where we go or what happens, He goes with us, leading us and holding us with His right hand. (v. 10)  Though it shocked me, my children’s genetic condition wasn’t a surprise to the One who knitted them together in my womb. (v. 13) And the diagnosis, which seemed like darkness covering me, wasn't dark to Him. (v. 12) He rescued me from despair and led me closer to Himself.  The following days were hard. There were specialists to see, medications to administer, grief and questions to navigate. But the Lord held me through it all. Looking back, I can answer one question with confidence. Where was God in all of this? He was right there with me.  That is God’s promise to His children: “Even there your hand shall …” (Psalm 139:10).

Even in places we don’t want to go to, He will lead us. Even in places that seem beyond His reach, He will hold us.  Whether our “there” is a diagnosis or job loss unwanted singleness or a struggling marriage the loss of a loved one or any number of other hardships the Lord knows and cares about His own children. Even on our hardest days, in our darkest moments, the Lord who knows us meets us. His hand grabs hold of us and doesn’t let go.

[PippaJane]

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The Hard and the Beautiful of Being Called Out
June 15, 2022
by Jennie Allen

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” Galatians 6:1a (ESV)

What is it about accountability that makes us squirm?

At its core, accountability calls us to who we are meant to be, through truth mixed with grace. Yet our generation’s declaration of personal independence has pushed this away. We resent being challenged on our behavior. But what if that missing element is exactly why we all feel like our relationships don’t run deep?

I first met my friend Jey through some mutual friends. He is young, smart and joyful. As he started filling in the blanks on his upbringing, I remember thinking, It absolutely doesn’t seem possible that this person and this story go together.  Jey’s childhood in the slums of Nairobi was rough. I mean, rough rough.  Rough, as in being imprisoned at age 9 for having stolen food that his single mom and siblings desperately needed to avoid utterly wasting away.  Here’s the funny thing about Jey: When you get him talking about his childhood, he smiles. He told me stories about the norm in Kenya of “holding each other’s hands”:  “Kids would show up at our little house because we didn’t have doors or locks on our little hut, and my grandmother, who lived with us, would have no idea when they’d last eaten.”

She was barely keeping her own kids alive, remember. But still, she’d usher those kids inside, sit them at the table and feed them like they were her own.  Though Nairobi is a city of millions, his grandmother and others within Jey’s neighborhood served as a village-sized community.  He said, “I would be running on the other side of the slum, goofing off with friends, and would hear my name because ‘the elders’ were everywhere! And those elders would grab me by the collar right then and there and punish me, and of course, my grandmother would hear about it.”

For the next decade, Jey worked hard in school and found work that eventually took him to the United States, where he lives now in Atlanta.  What Jey couldn’t have anticipated was that, while life back in Kenya had been rough all those years, he’d enjoyed a type of prosperity that he didn’t recognize until it was gone. When he spoke about what he missed about Nairobi and the slums, he said, “I miss everyone being in and out of our lives. I wish that were true here. It’s so different. I’m grateful for all we have here, but I wish my kids were growing up with tribal elders in their ears. I wish we could be part of a village here.”

When we don’t have a village of interconnected, consistent teammates in our lives, we feel invisible, and when we are left alone and unbothered, we become the worst version of ourselves. Whether it’s neighbors, mentors, grandparents or our closest friends, we need people who see us, who call us up and out. Our key verse, Galatians 6:1a, instructs us on how to do this: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”

Once you’ve identified a wise and trustworthy friend(s), here’s how you intentionally pursue accountability:

1.  Give permission to this person or people to tell you the truth.
2.  Ask them regularly: What area of my life do I need to grow in? What practices do I need to embrace in order to grow and mature? Will you hold me accountable to this change?
3.  Plan follow-up meetings. Schedule times when you can revisit this conversation.
4.  Ask your friend(s) if you can hold them accountable for anything.

God made us for community! And it’s when we’re in community with others who are committed to keeping us accountable that we become the very best version of ourselves.

[PippaJane]

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Created To Be Worthy
June 16, 2022
by Kelly Anne Burns

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

I am a slow, lingering sort of person. My children lovingly and laughingly refer to me as the tortoise (as in, “The Tortoise and the Hare”). And while I laugh along because I do dearly love to laugh, I have often thought to myself, Maybe I should be more like the hare.  My daughter, on the other hand, is a “hare.” She can get lots of stuff done (and done well) in a short amount of time. I find myself in awe of her in a “gee, I wish I could be more like that” sort of way.

And while admiring the gifts God gave her is lovely in itself, there is a fine line separating admiration and comparison. Admiration can see the beauty in someone’s differences while continuing to see the value in my own. Comparison says, That’s better than what I've got, so I would be better off in her shoes.  I have found myself in both camps.  One day, my daughter suggested I watch a TV show that had become a recent favorite of hers (meaning she had watched all the seasons at least twice). I almost always say “no thanks” to shows that will require me to watch so many seasons. But something in me said “yes” to this one.

A few nights later, I watched the first episode. And about halfway in, the world around me stopped as a phrase was spoken that would change my whole perspective on me.  A mother was comforting her daughter and said lovingly to her, “Be you. Live life at your own pace.”

Pause Rewind Repeat. I did this three times before the words sank in. I knew God was speaking directly to me.  Be you, Kelly. Live life at your own pace.  He was affirming me. Affirming that He had made me this way on purpose. And that His creation was beautiful.  “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

I am reminded of this verse when I think of many moments as a little girl with my own mom, who is a “hare.” I would take my mom’s face in both of my hands and turn it toward me. With that gesture, I was telling her something to be fully present with me in this moment.  She remembers this, too, and fondly. It reminded her to slow down once in a while and just be something that came naturally to me but not to her. God made my mom the way she is, and He made me the way I am. We complement each other and remind each other to enjoy the beauty of the way God made us.  The way I’m made is my gift and my strength. It is valuable and worth protecting.  How do I protect it?

I don’t apologize for it when it takes the form of slowness or simplicity.  I nurture it.
I value it out loud for everyone to hear and see: “This is how God made me. Isn't it lovely? I am so happy He made me this way.”

And in doing so, instead of comparing, we lean into one another by listening and learning and loving who we are.  Our key verse is simple, straightforward and true. He who is worthy of all praise has made each of us in His likeness, created to be worthy.  Maybe it’s time we believe it.

[heartbroken]

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Our Hope for Broken Things
July 5, 2022
by Alicia Bruxvoort

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

I read the text through a haze of tears. Then I let the groan in my throat spill through my lips. My friend’s struggle was spiraling from bad to worse, and I felt like a paralyzed spectator watching her world unravel.  I had listened and encouraged, consoled and comforted. But I couldn’t fix my friend’s shattered dreams or reverse her agonizing situation. I sank to the floor in a heap of sadness and expressed my frustration to the Lord.  It’s all so broken. What can I do?

God didn’t answer with a voice from heaven, but a single word crossed my mind: Pray.  I pushed the idea away. Of course I would pray. Later. But right now, I wanted to do something.  As if on cue, I spotted a teddy bear lying beneath the coffee table not far from where I was sitting. When I plucked the forgotten toy out of hiding, I noticed its head was dangling askew. Oh, great, something else that’s broken.  As I swatted a trickle of tears, my teenage son sauntered into the room and glanced at the toy in my hand. “You should put that on the counter for Dad,” he suggested with a wink.

My son’s advice stirred a memory from long-ago days when my life was a blur of diapers and demands. With five small children beneath my roof, I didn’t have the capacity to strategize how to fix all the things that got broken in our house. So, eventually, my kids developed a solution of their own.  Whatever fell short, fell apart or failed to work was deposited on the kitchen counter, next to the stack of daily mail, in hopes of attracting my husband’s attention when he came home from work.  “Just take it to Daddy,” they’d say when the punching bag went flat or the hula hoop cracked.

“Just take it to Daddy,” they’d propose when the jump ropes grew tangled or the doll’s arm dangled.

That pile may have looked like clutter, but it was a humble appeal for help. Each time my children added something to the countertop mound, they admitted the fix they needed was beyond the faculty they possessed.  When they couldn’t fix what was broken, my kids simply surrendered it to one who could. And as beloved children of God, we are invited to do the same.  We do not all have earthly fathers who are inclined to fix broken things, but each one of us has a heavenly Father who is willing to repair and restore what we cannot. In fact, Psalm 147:3 describes our good Father like this: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (NIV).

The term the psalmist uses to communicate “healing” is rapa, which means to mend by stitching. This word alone paints a poignant picture of our heavenly Father’s heart.  It reminds us God does not hold at arm’s length what is broken. Rather, He encourages us to draw close and place in His hands what has unraveled. Then He engages in the intimate work of fixing what is fractured.  My son plucked the teddy bear from my grasp and headed to the kitchen, and as he put the toy on the counter, my next move became clear.  I closed my eyes and carried my hurting friend to God in prayer. It wasn’t my last resort; it was a wise next step.  With a single word, God had reminded me that prayer isn’t succumbing to helplessness; it’s putting faith into action. Because even when we don’t know what to do, our Father’s hands hold hope for broken things.

[heartbroken]

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Story-Shaped Women
July 6, 2022
by Iva May

“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” Romans 15:4 (NLT)

When my daughter was 3 years old, her grandparents gave her a video player and a handful of Disney videos. Cinderella was her favorite. I didn’t realize the impact that Cinderella’s story had on Jennifer until the day a salesman knocked at our screen door.  Jennifer was sitting in timeout (due to bad behavior) near the screen door when the salesman approached.  He asked, “Little girl, is your mother at home?”

Jennifer replied with “No, but my mean, wicked stepmother is!”

We are designed for story. Stories leave fingerprints in our minds and upon our hearts.  Until I read through a chronological Bible, it had never dawned on me that the Bible tells one big story. No individual book or narrative stands alone; all are part of the bigger story.  As I read the Bible chronologically, I identified patterns and made connections that I would have otherwise missed. For example, stories about courageous women permeate the big story:

*  The promise God made regarding Eve’s seed (Genesis 3:15) animates the story of the entire Bible. It’s as if God refused to redeem humanity without going through a woman’s womb.
     
*    The book of Joshua begins with the story of the faith and redemption of Rahab, a notorious Canaanite harlot. (Joshua 2:1-21; Joshua 6:22-25) God’s promise to Abraham to bless the nations began with a woman with a sordid past.
     
*  God turned sorrow into redemption through Naomi and Ruth’s story, embedded in the Judges story. While Israel did what was right in their own eyes, God worked below the radar to give them a king after His own heart. He did this through two widows.
     
*  The story of Hannah’s infertility marked the transition from the time of the judges to the Kingdom Era. (1 Samuel 1:1-2:21) God opened Hannah’s womb to bear a son, who anointed the first two kings of Israel. She had no idea that God would catapult her son into His story in this way.
     
*  Huldah’s counsel regarding the recently discovered Book of the Law found among the idols and rubbish in the temple invigorated both King Josiah’s faith and Judah’s revival. (2 Kings 22:14-20; 2 Chronicles 34:22-28) Her role in national revival is preserved in Scripture.
     
*  God positioned Esther as a queen, and Mordecai as an influencer and intercessor, for the Jewish exiles. God used a woman to preserve His people in exile.
     
*  Mary the mother of Jesus, and the many women spread throughout the Gospels, Acts and the Letters, show God’s delight in women!
 
In our key verse, Paul refers to the value of understanding the Old Testament story and the many cherished stories within: “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled” (Romans 15:4).

The story of Scripture teaches us, offers us hope and encourages us all while we wait for the final chapter of Scripture to unfold in history.  Because God created us, He knows the impact a story can have on our hearts and lives. God wove His story throughout the Bible, knowing that we would see our reflection in it, and not only that but see His love for women just like you and me. How beautiful it is that we can be wholly shaped and transformed by the story of God’s Word.  And sister, the best news is: Who God was for the women of the Bible, He is for me and you!

[PippaJane]

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How To Find Significance (When You Feel Like You Have None)
July 12, 2022
by Amy Carroll

“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b (NIV)

It was work that suited my family’s needs, but it wasn’t going anywhere. Many days I felt like my position was unimportant, not truly making a difference in the world.  Maybe you’ve been there too. Changing diapers seems like a meaningless, never-ending chore. Caring for your aging parent feels insignificant compared to the accomplishments of your friends. Volunteering behind the scenes appears unappreciated and unnoticed.  I hat feeling of insignificance was one of the reasons I never felt a connection to Esther. Esther was a girl in the Bible who became a queen, who saved her nation from annihilation. After all, who can attain that position or live up to that kind of story?

In a crucial moment of decision, Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, said to her the words perhaps most quoted from the book of Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b).

 He was challenging Esther to do her job. To step into her assignment.  Mordecai’s words are favorites for decorating mugs and T-shirts but when we apply them to ourselves, we might feel as though we need to be queens like Esther to be called by God. Was I made for such a time as this?

How our straying hearts long for the tiara that came with Esther’s position. In our fame-driven world, our hearts may cry out for significance and acclaim when we read these words but to focus on how “regal” we do or don't feel is actually to misinterpret this verse.  Instead of pointing at the queen’s attributes, Esther 4:14 may be the clearest gesture toward God in the book of Esther, though His name is never mentioned there. Mordecai was not telling Esther that she was “the one.” That she was special. He was not telling her, “Now’s the time to unleash your hidden potential!” Instead, he was pointing Esther back to our sovereign God.  Even though Esther was queen, her place of usefulness in God’s Kingdom wasn't what she would have requested. It involved risking her very life. But the Creator who spoke the world into existence is the same One who created a queen from a humble girl. He alone positioned her in the palace where she could save her people. Neither she nor Mordecai could have foreseen this purpose, but God did.  The same God who created Esther, with her unique set of gifts, gave her a call to fulfill His redeeming plan. God gave Esther a unique usefulness, and He gives you the same thing.  Your unique usefulness may not be:

The job you’ve dreamed of …
The husband you’ve waited for …
The accomplishment with your name in the spotlight …
The baby you’ve longed to hold …

But it will be “immeasurably more than all [you] ask or imagine, according to his power” and for His glory (Ephesians 3:20, NIV). God's plan for you is not necessarily what you’ve pursued or desired, but like He did for Esther, God had good works in mind when He created you.  Occasionally, our unique usefulness involves a huge leap of faith like Esther’s, but often our unique usefulness, our “for such a time as this,” isn’t the big thing but rather the small, everyday task.

It’s taking a meal to a sick neighbor needing to feel God’s love.
It’s faithfully and thankfully doing an unseen job day after day.
It’s serving in the behind-the-scenes volunteer position in the community.
It’s advocating for the voiceless, talking one-on-one over coffee.

You and I, in all our God-given giftedness, are positioned for such a time as this. Our loving and sovereign God put us here. He bestows significance upon our unique usefulness, even when we don’t have the perk of sparkly tiaras on our heads.

[PippaJane]

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The Longing for Life To Be Good Again
July 13, 2022
by John Eldredge

“… where the river flows everything will live.” Ezekiel 47:9b (NIV)

Along with my wife, Stasi, I was among the 62 million homeowners who did home renovations during the COVID-19 pandemic that’s more than three-quarters of all homeowners in the U.S., the highest levels ever seen.  We painted the living room and got new carpet and chairs. We upgraded our garden as well. This was far more than boredom or the desire for change; it was a profound longing for a fresh start at life in the midst of so much loss and uncertainty. The renovation craze reflected something deeper a yearning for life to be good again, expressed in paint and carpet, gardens and landscaping.  But the whole time Stasi and I were renovating our home, I could feel something was off. The preoccupation of making our home nicer temporarily took my mind off the death counts in New York, London, Paris, Delhi and elsewhere, and off the battle over vaccines. But it didn’t feel like the answer. It was good; I enjoyed it. But it didn’t bring about the fix I was longing for.  Then life began to return to some semblance of normal we got restaurants back, movies, outdoor concerts. The world rushed out like the starving survivor of a shipwreck, brought back from isolation and set before a Sunday brunch. In the summer of 2021, you couldn’t get a rental car, Airbnb or campsite. Airports, beaches and national parks were jammed. The longing for things to be good again was (and still is) raging.  Personally, I couldn’t get enough. But all those comforts and activities weren’t delivering whatever my weary soul was desperately longing for.  It has to do with reserves.  We tap into our deep reserves to endure years of suffering and deprivation. Then one day, our heart simply says, I don’t care anymore; I’m done. We abandon the fight and go off to find relief. I fear this is what’s happening now on a global scale.  We’ve all run off to find life and joy following years of stress, trauma and deprivation. But it isn’t working; it won’t ever work. We return to our normal Monday through Friday, disappointed, and disappointment will become disillusionment. And disillusionment makes us extremely vulnerable to the enemy of our souls.  We must lovingly shepherd our famished thirst back to the Source of life.  Many of us think that what we need right now is three months at the coast. Walks on the beach, beverages on the deck and with all my heart, I hope you find that. But for most of us, a sabbatical in some gorgeous refuge is not available. What is available is the River of Life, God Himself, in ways we have not yet tapped into.  God wants to make His life available to you. Remember, He’s the Creator of those beautiful places you wish you could go to for a sabbatical. All that beauty and resilience, all that life, comes from God, and He wants to impart a greater measure of Himself to you! The life of God is described in Scripture as a river a powerful, gorgeous, unceasing, ever-renewing, ever-flowing river.  Ezekiel was given a number of beautiful visions, glimpses into the Kingdom of God that permeates this world. He saw the temple of God in Jerusalem, and out of the temple was flowing the River of Life. As it flowed forth across the countryside, it became so deep and wide it wasn’t possible to swim across it an image of abundance! I love how the passage ends:  “… where the river flows everything will live” (Ezekiel 47:9b).

Everything will live. This is what we want to live, to find life in its fullness again.  In order to tap into the River of Life, we begin by loving God in our longing for life to be good again. Nearly all of us have been chasing relief in a myriad of hopes, plans and dreams without first turning to God. So we need to enter the longing; feel it; become present to it; and in that place, start loving God. Choose Him.  Our first step toward resilience is to come back to Jesus from all other places we’ve been chasing life. We allow Him to be our Rescuer here, in the longing for life to be good again. We ask God to fill us with the river of His life.

[PippaJane]

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Exercising Different Strengths When We Feel Weak
July 21, 2022
by Elizabeth Laing Thompson

"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." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

I rush into a mirrored room filled with women, all prepping for the exercise class to begin. Which will be in approximately 40 seconds.  “Excuse me. Sorry, oops sorry.”

I stumble through a maze of yoga mats, searching for an open space. I feel a roomful of eyes on me, and for a heartbeat I consider slinking back out the door, sparing myself the humiliation of being That Annoying Late Girl. But the instructor is still fiddling with her headset, and I really need to exercise, so I decide to swallow my pride and stay.  I slouch up to two women, so embarrassed I barely manage to make eye contact. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, “but can I please squeeze in between you?”

Both women smile and spring into action. “Of course!” says one, bending over to make room between their mats.  “Take my weights,” says the other, already sprinting across the room to get another set.

Within seconds, I’m set up between them, and they’re tossing me conspiratorial, we-did-it grins. We exchange groans of misery throughout the class, and afterward we swap names. As I pack up, a happy warmth spreads through me, and it’s not just the exercise endorphins.  It’s the feeling of grace. Of being forgiven a blunder and welcomed with a smile. And, surprisingly, it’s a feeling of belonging.  On the drive home, I think about how God loves to turn worldly wisdom on its head. I recall the Apostle Paul’s words about a time when he begged God for relief from a weakness, but God told him to embrace it:  “But [God] 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” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

I don’t like feeling weak. It makes me feel … well, weak. Inferior. Incompetent. Needy. I vastly prefer feeling strong, self-sufficient, responsible. But God says weakness is a place where He can work, a place where He and His people can shine. When we are weak, then we are strong.  That day in my gym, I saw that Paul's revelation from God was right. (Of course it was right.) Owning my weakness allowed me to experience a moment of grace and more, a meaningful moment of connection. Admitting my weakness did not lead to rejection, as I had feared, but to relationship.  If you struggle to ask for help, I pray you’ll join me in embracing God’s upside-down wisdom. When we feel weak, we have an opportunity to exercise different kinds of strength: The courage to admit need and invite help. The humility to lean on others’ strengths.

Our vulnerability allows God to strengthen us, not just with support and encouragement from others but with relationship and growth in Him.  What do you need today?

Prayers?

Advice for a tricky situation?

Accountability for a persistent temptation?

Or do you need support in life’s daily burdens laundry, meals, grocery shopping?

When we allow others to support us in our weakness, we allow them to honor God with their gifts. They honor God as they pray for us, encourage us and serve us. In those moments, we see the body of Christ at its finest at its strongest.

[PippaJane]

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Prayer’s Path to Wonder
July 25, 2022
by Jodi Harris

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him … when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” Acts 12:5, 16 (NIV)

“Pray now,” I texted my friend group, somewhere between a desperate request and a command.

Halfway across the world, our missionary friends were fleeing their homeland to escape threats and dangers of war. When they arrived at the border city, it was locked down.  Now what?

Days of conflict, closed doors and desperate prayers for God to make a way out had led our friends to this moment at the border. Those of us stateside prayed for God to move on their behalf.  I thought about the Apostle Peter in prison in Acts 12. His situation seemed hopeless. The Apostle James had just been murdered, and Peter was next. As believers prayed in a nearby home, an angel came to Peter, opening locked doors and guiding him out into safety and freedom. (Acts 12:6-10)  I prayed that for my friends: Lord, please provide angels to guide them across the border, right past the armed guards. Together with my 13-year-old son, I asked God to do this miraculous thing.  Moments felt heavy and long.  Then the text came: We made it.  We cheered. We sobbed. Then we sat in awe, amazed at what just happened.  Have you ever prayed a prayer but then were surprised when God answered?

Have you prayed in faith, but you never expected Him to answer in the way He did?

There is something astonishing about how God answers prayer, causing us to be taken aback in wonder.  In Acts 12:13-15, the believers were praying all night when suddenly “Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’ ‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, ‘It must be his angel’” (NIV).

It was easier for them to believe it was an angel than Peter himself. Those devoted, first-century Christians in Jerusalem couldn’t believe God had answered their prayers this way. It’s so good to know I’m not the only one who prays passionate prayers and finds herself in awe and wonder when God actually answers.  Our key verses say, “The church was earnestly praying to God for him when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished” (Acts 12:5, 16).

Awe and wonder.  Wonder is “the rapt attention and deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary.”

Isn’t that exactly what it’s like when God answers prayer?

As little children, everything is a wonder. The wings of a butterfly, the tiny cheerio stuck to our finger, the box the refrigerator came in. Jesus says the Kingdom of heaven belongs to little children. (Matthew 19:14) Could it be they have eyes to see His wonders all around? That in their humility of spirit, children are free to delight in God?

Prayer is a path to wonder. Childlike wonder fuels our faith, stirring up our passion to pray and pay attention to what God is doing all around us. When we feel angsty and fidgety as our brains bounce with busyness, may we not miss moments of the miraculous because we don’t take time to notice God’s answers to prayer. Instead, may we chase His wonder in our every day.

[Lost Soul]

https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2022/07/26/the-risk-of-not-being-able-to-listen?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=220092688&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8REHRACKe0KJ5gDfiJrVDTKz-OjhNFf_tt5y5y14AM4lDTH1CZQEjzv20ZNj8t5ekcs_DMzUTh28zg27bu3eWfASNHtA&utm_content=220092688&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread

The Risk of Not Being Able To Listen
July 26, 2022
by Lynn Cowell

“When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” Esther 2:15 (ESV)

I was doing it again.  Though my eyes were looking at my friend and I was even nodding, my thoughts were far ahead. Crafting how I would respond to her messy situation, I prepared my “sage” advice in my head.  Do you sometimes do that, too? Think of what you’ll say instead of listening to what is being said?

I’m beginning to see that when I don’t listen I’m taking a huge risk: I could suffer the loss of gaining the wisdom I need.  In the past couple of years, I’ve begun to see how much I have to learn when it comes to listening. One person I’m learning from is none other than Esther from the Old Testament.  In the book of Esther, Chapter 2, Esther found herself in an uncertain situation. She was a woman up to her neck in precarious circumstances beyond her control, living in a culture that didn't worship the way she did.  The king had dethroned his queen; now he was ready to fill the empty spot. Perhaps with mixed motives of their own, advisers gave the king counsel to search throughout his kingdom for the best fit. Commissioners then went to every province to collect young, beautiful virgins to be tested by the king and ultimately to become part of his harem. Only one would be chosen as queen.  This is where we find Esther, taken into the palace. One night determined where she’d spend the rest of her life: on a queen’s throne or in a harem.  Before her night with the king, each woman “was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace” (Esther 2:13, ESV).

Since each woman took whatever she desired, the wisdom she needed fell to herself. Though Esther would have only lived in the palace for a year, in a foreign environment, she needed to take what she deemed best.  Esther realized she didn’t know what she needed to know. There was a huge risk here; her future was at stake.  Instead of thinking ahead to what she thought she should do or say next, Esther listened to Hegai, a servant employed directly by the king. While Hegai was not a Jew or God-follower like Esther, he was someone who did know what Esther needed to know.  “When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” (Esther 2:15)

We know Esther listened because she did what Hegai advised.  Listening requires humility. Esther’s actions said, “I don’t know what I need to know. You do. Teach me. Guide me.”

Humility is not something I typically run toward because humility and humiliation often feel like the same thing. If I humble myself and admit what I don’t know (but need to know), I’m afraid I’ll look weak or unqualified even overly vulnerable.  Instead, my old self, the part of me resistant to change and being made new by Jesus, wants to “fake it till I make it” instead of listening and learning. 

Listening gave Esther exactly what she needed: wisdom. Listening gave her tools to move from outsider to insider, the place of true influence. Listening to someone on the inside — humbling herself before she went to the king allowed Esther not to be humiliated when she met the king.  Listening will do the same for you and me. Instead of thinking only of ourselves and what we want to do or say next, we can listen to learn. Developing a listening and learning heart makes room for God to use us for His glory and to draw others to Himself a very worthy outcome.

[Lost Soul]

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Taking Risks, Trusting God
July 27, 2022
by Diane Ferraro

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the risks my biological mother took to keep me alive and then choose someone else to raise me.  Before I was born, she had decided to end her pregnancy. In fact, she was already on her way to the clinic when something inside her told her to stop. Instead of aborting me, she found a couple to adopt me. My mother chose life for me, and that’s why I’m here today.  My birth mother’s decisions required so much trust in God. It reminds me of the story of Moses.  In Exodus 2, we read about Jochebed, a Hebrew woman who gave birth to a son, Moses, during a time when Pharaoh ordered all male Hebrew babies be killed. She put her 3-month-old baby in the river in a basket; then Pharaoh's daughter saw it and, taking compassion on the baby, raised him as her own.  Imagine, though, what Moses’ biological mother felt the moment she put the basket in the river, risking it all to save her son. The fear and anxiety that were wracking her. She had no idea what might happen to her baby. He could have tipped over and drowned, easily fallen into the many dangers of the Nile or even been discovered by an Egyptian soldier.  It was the mother’s faith, her trust in God, that assured her that her child would be OK. The basket that took Moses to a place of safety and care became a vessel of divine deliverance, God’s own hand steering it toward protection. God’s own hand leading Moses into a life He would later use mightily.  Whether a mom who chooses life decides to raise her child on her own or selects other parents to raise her child, both avenues hold huge risks. Both paths require walking in faith and trusting that God is going to take care of both her and her child.  You can’t build trust without taking risks.  Many women in the Bible like Moses’ biological mother, Jochebed, or Esther, or Mary have one thing in common: They risked everything to follow God.  And God was faithful to them.  Maybe today you’re facing an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Or maybe you’re already a mom, but you’re fearful in raising your children. Sister, God sees and understands your fear, confusion, conflicting emotions and feelings of inadequacy. He knows the details of your circumstances and won’t leave you in the middle of them. In fact, He will meet you there in the middle of them, if you’re willing to turn to Him in faith.  When we take risks in faith, we allow God’s hand to steer us toward a life that He will eventually use mightily. He will always be faithful to us, protecting us along the way.  I have been a foster mom, an adoptive mom and now a stepmom. My children are all adults now, but every day I still choose to entrust them to God. Whether you’re a mom or have someone in your life you care about deeply, let’s rest assured that God loves them even more than we do. He is looking after us and our children.  Risk-taking helps build our trust with the Lord. Even as you face the unknown, even when you can’t see the outcome, take the risk because God is surely with you. He goes before you. And He is faithful in rewarding the risks you take to follow Him.

[PippaJane]

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What Do You Do When You’re in a Season of Dryness?
August 4, 2022
by Blair Linne

"I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites." Exodus 25:22 (CSB)

When I reflect on my almost 20 years as a believer, I know there are times when I seemed much more engaged with God than I have been lately.  Now, it feels like my attention span is the length of a succinct YouTube video. I've been far too easily distracted. Some days I don’t want to read the Bible, and I’ve gone periods without prayer that make me ashamed that I think I can be so independent. I've felt stuck in a season of spiritual dryness.  Have you ever felt like this?

It's like you’re in a spiritual desert, trudging through heavy sand. A wilderness where spiritual disciplines, which are meant to bring you closer to God, feel like warfare rather than joy. The discouraging thing is, the more we stay away from the constant nourishment of the Lord, the harder it is to hear His voice when He calls us out of our dry place.  But recently I came across a passage that felt like an oasis amid my desert. I heard God speak so clearly. This scripture reminded me of my only hope to meet with God and hear Him speak:  “I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites” (Exodus 25:22, emphasis my own).

In Exodus, Moses wrote about the Israelites' experience in the desert. The Israelites, like us, were living in the in-between. They had been delivered from slavery, but they had not yet reached the promised land. While they were traveling from Mount Sinai to Canaan, God told them to build a tabernacle, where the “ark of the testimony” was kept.nnThe Ark housed the two tablets that had the law of God written on them. The law we, the sons and daughters of Adam, cannot keep. This perfect law condemns humankind and points to the holiness of our Creator. These holy commands I have often transgressed.  What put me in a state of awe is one of the items God instructed His people to place over the Ark of the Covenant, which was behind the veil in the Most Holy Place. God told them to lay a mercy seat over the Ark. This wasn’t an actual seat but a “mercy place” for atonement purposes.  It is God’s mercy that covers the penalty of the law and has placed us forever in God’s presence. God met with the Israelites through the mediator, the high priest, “above the mercy seat” (Exodus 25:22) through the cherubim of glory. (Hebrews 9:5)  It amazes me that God didn’t place a judgment seat above the Ark, to cover the place where the law was kept. It was a mercy seat that covered the law.  This mercy extended to His covenant people so He could be with them. The mercy seat was also a shadow pointing to our great High Priest, Jesus, through whom permanent mercy has come and covered a multitude of sins but not before the judgment we deserved was placed upon our spotless Lamb.  Jesus took on a judgment seat so we can have access to His mercy seat. Jesus fulfilled the law for us through His unblemished life and extended mercy to us through His sacrificial death, and now we get to dwell with Him because of His resurrection and eternal reign.  Do you struggle to see your way out of this dry place?

Are you wondering if your sin will keep you from the presence of the most holy God?

There is mercy where God dwells. And today His dwelling is no longer in a tent made by hands by the Spirit, He dwells within us right now if we have faith in Him.

[Cocopops]

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Finished Seasons
August 5, 2022
by Nicki Koziarz

“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 (ESV)

There’s a valid question a lot of people find themselves asking: “When this season of my life ends, what am I supposed to do next?”

In the present, as my three daughters continue to grow up, my role as parent has shifted, and I find myself tossing that question around in my mind.  In the past, when a job I held for five years was coming to an end, I felt like I asked that question every day.  And when I look into the future and see other various roles that could be ending soon, the question lingers over my calendar.  Seasons come and go. But sometimes we struggle to know just how long we should hold on to a season because we can’t see what’s ahead.  Letting go of a season is challenging, especially if it’s something we really love doing or being a part of. It’s even harder if our identity has become attached to that season, and we wonder if we bring value anywhere else.  Here’s something I’ve come to understand about seasons in our lives as hard as it can be, there’s always a way to finish a season well.  Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes /7:8, knew that the human heart tends to romanticize the past. Often, as things in our current season of life begin to change when we don’t want them to, we will hold on to all of the best things about that season. Which isn’t always bad but sometimes it can keep us from seeing the potential of the future.  “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

Solomon gives us wisdom about patience and surrendering to God’s pace and plan for seasons in our lives. Every beginning starts with the ending of something else, and finishing seasons well is something we should take time to consider.  Just like when seasons on earth transition from one to the next like summer to fall there is evidence of change. In some parts of the world, the leaves change colors, or the temperature fluctuates, and even the amount of daylight goes from more to less.  There will be signs your season is changing too.  You may feel like you are out of ideas, like you’ve done all you can do. Or you may get a sense from the Lord that it’s time to move on to what is next. Sometimes when people hold on to seasons for too long, those people can become easily frustrated or even angry.  Once we realize a season is changing, how do we finish that season well? The second half of today’s key verse has some insight for us:  “... and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).

Often pride holds us back from an honest conversation with God about the direction of our life. Pride can also convince us that who and where we’ve been could never match what God has planned ahead for us.  When we have a patient and humble heart, we can ask God for His help in learning to let go of what needs to be let go. To get our hopes up about what is still to come. And we can confidently ask Him, “What’s next?” trusting He hears that question and will answer it in His timing.

These are some signs of finishing a season well.  We don’t live in yesterday; we live in today. God was there, and God is here. Life is a constant ebb and flow of learning to let go of what’s done and seek what is still yet to be.  I don’t have all the answers to what’s ahead in my life, and there are things I am struggling to let go of like the good things each of my seasons has held. And you may feel this tension in your soul too.  But I know that, with God, we can finish these seasons well and hold on to hope for what God has planned for us next.

[Cocopops]

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Who, Me? How God Can Use You To Save the World
August 8, 2022
by Alice Matagora

“They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’” John 4:42 (NIV)

If there is anyone who can put to rest any doubts we may have that God could use our lives for His Kingdom, it’s the Samaritan woman. (John 4)  A woman in a patriarchal society, who had a shameful past and was living in sin.  Samaritan, whose worship differed from that of the Jews.  An individual with very little theological exposure and nonexistent ministry experience.  In everyday, ordinary person.  Yet after a single encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman was faithful to share with those who lived around her what little she knew about Him. This all resulted in a radical movement of the gospel throughout Samaria to save the souls of people who other disciples would not reach until after Jesus’ return to heaven.  I can relate with the Samaritan woman. I didn't become a Christian until I was in high school, and even after becoming a Christian, I made poor decisions when it came to men.  When I really started walking with Jesus, I was also in the midst of a deep fog of depression and anxiety and was recovering from my eating disorders. And while those things aren’t sins, they were struggles that, for me, were tied to the life I had been living apart from Jesus.  Yet as a dear friend began to faithfully disciple me and share what they knew about walking with Jesus, I began to experience freedom from my sin, shame and struggles.  Jesus gave me strength to walk away from temptations that had previously ensnared me. I learned to let go of shame and embrace God’s grace. My depression and anxiety began to lift. I experienced eating-disorder recovery that I hadn’t experienced through all of the many treatments I had received up until that point. (Though please note that, as a licensed therapist, I am in full support of seeking out mental health services from a licensed professional. Jesus did an incredible work of healing in my life during this season, and He also used later therapy to help me dive deeper into recovery.)   But the craziest thing my discipler shared?

That God could use my life to advance His Kingdom right now.  Who, me?

I thought. How could God ever use someone like me for His Kingdom?

At the same time, like with the Samaritan woman, God ignited an overwhelming excitement in me to share with others what little I knew about having a relationship with God. I mean, did you know you can really have a relationship with God and He can transform your life?

This is what the Samaritans experienced after the woman shared about her encounter with Jesus and they heard His words:  “They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world’” (John 4:42).

That was just the beginning. Since I first asked Who, me?,

God has used that ordinary college student a baby Christian, a woman with shame in her past and sin in her present to help her family come to Christ. And not only that He’s used me to help women all over the world learn how to have a relationship with Jesus and make Him known to those around them in their everyday lives, in their families, in their workplaces, in their classes, in their labs, in their mom groups, in their friendships, in their gaming communities. Next door to everywhere.  God can use you to advance His Kingdom to the ends of the earth.  Who, me? I didn’t grow up in the church.  Who, me?

I haven’t even been a Christian for that long.  Who, me?

God could never use someone with my past.  Who, me?

I haven’t been to Bible college and have no formal ministry training or experience.  ho, me?

I’m just a [wife, mother, daughter, sister, kid, grandmother, new Christian, barista, corporate executive, artist, student the list goes on and on].  What could I do?

Sister, what could God do through you?

In the same way God could use me, in the same way God could use the Samaritan woman, God can use you to save the world, right where you live, right now. He has what it takes, and what you have is enough for Him to use.  The question is: Are we willing to step out in faith to do so?

May it be so.