1 Samuel 17:34-35 NLT “But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.” I am totally amazed at how fearless David was in the above scriptures. I can visualize David as he spent a normal day tending sheep and suddenly realizing that a lion is heading his way…
“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 I grew up believing in my teen years that to be doing something for the kingdom of God, required me to do something (and I’m being completely honest here) huge and something that got people’s attention. I needed to be impacting the thousands and no less. I needed to have a huge platform and to be ministering publicity consistently. Boy, was I wrong. I look at my life now and realize that I’m still making an impact on this world, and just because it doesn’t look the way I thought it would, doesn’t mean it isn’t as important. God blesses faithfulness, and if we can’t be faithful in the small things, we definitely won’t be faithful in the big things. So commit everything you do to the Lord, because it’s important. From wiping a snotty nose in nursery class to picking up kids on your church bus route. From raising your kids to taking a lost and struggling young person under your care and guidance. From worshiping every service with your whole heart to supporting your pastor. Whatever this season of your life requires of you, commit…
“The Lord is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” Psalms 27:1 It seems as though the world is getting darker and darker each day. Horrors that hid in the shadows for far too long are now being brought to light again, and it is devastating to see the brokenness of humanity. Sin is being celebrated, and it feels as though the darkness is gaining traction and taking ground. Humanity as a whole appeared to have been sleepwalking for so long and is only now becoming aware of the chaos that surrounds us. We are broken and lost. So when I (naturally) feel overwhelmed by all the devastation I must turn to the Word of God. His word is filled with promises, truth, peace, and strength and truly is my sustenance in terms of confusion and loss. God is my light – so I don’t have to fear the darkness closing in around me. He is my salvation. My Savior. He is my fortress, and I can find refuge, safety, and protection in Him. I don’t have to tremble with fear at what…
“Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.” Proverbs 24:27 Is anyone out there a little bit spontaneous? When the mood hits just right you will paint a room in your house, rearrange the future, decide you want another child, and rescue a dog from the local animal shelter. Yeah, that’s me too. My husband has come home from work numerous times only to witness the results of my compulsiveness (lucky for him, no animals were involved). This scripture reminds us to take the time to prepare and plan. We are often given direction from God and…
A valuable lesson I have learned—and continue to learn—is to trust God. When my life goes in an unplanned direction, my first instinct is to fix it by myself. How can I make things better? What did I do to get into this situation? How do I change it? While we do choose our own actions, and we should be intentional about those actions, there are things that we cannot do without God. There have been times where more God-reliance than self-reliance would have saved me a world of hurt. When I was twelve, I had to trust God in a different way than I had before. From kindergarten through grade six, I attended a private Christian school. Beginning with seventh grade, I was homeschooled. My three brothers and I, along with my mother, were inside our house from sunup to sundown some days. My mother had a lot on her plate (two teenagers and two small children), and I was not very compliant. “Rebellious” was my middle name, and I wore it as a badge of honor. Church wasn’t a desirable place for me, either. I believed there was a God, but I didn’t care to know Him. I…
Job 42:1-6 MSG Job answered God: “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.” After reading through the book of Job, I learned an important lesson – Job was still willing to humble himself, and admitted that he didn’t know as much as he thought he did. Many of us after experiencing difficult seasons tend to become frustrated with our circumstances, and perhaps even with God. As we read through the story of Job, we see that he had very real emotions and opinions during his tragedy. Job openly mourned and grieved the loss of basically…