Author: Rebecca Darga

Why do we doubt

Why do we doubt God’s forgiveness? We say oh, he can’t forgive me, he can’t, you don’t know what I’ve done, I don’t belong.”

I used to think the same thing.

In my late teens till my early twenties I choose to walk away from God and pretty much did whatever I wanted. But when I finally decided to give my life back to God, I was terrified.

The first Sunday I was so scared that I clung to my best friends arm digging my fingernails into her arm as I walked back into the sanctuary of the church I had grown up in.

I truly believed everyone knew exactly what I had been doing during those years and I was convinced that everyone was going to turn, look at me and shoot fiery red darts out of their eyes.

But I was wrong. Everyone greeted me with smiles, hugs and open arms. No judgement, no questions, just people happy to see me.

That is how God sees us. When we choose to invite him into our lives, he greets us with open arms and a huge smile. 

God loves us.

He is always ready and waiting to welcome us into his family.

So what is holding you back? Fear? Worry? Anxiety?

Well good new those thing are not of God so won’t find them in him.

God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful and he has self control.

So what about that scares you?

The song Clean by Natalie Grant reminds me of how God sees us.

God sees us restored and new in him.

He wants to bless us and bless others through us.

He’s not up there waiting to strike us down. He’s right next to us waiting patiently for us to allow him into our lives. He’s constantly there wanting to spend time with us, talk to us and show us who he made us to be.

Trust me, who he made you to be is beyond anything you could ever imagine. When I began writing I knew that it was what I was meant to be doing. God had been telling me for years but it wasn’t until I took the leap of faith to really pursue it that I felt like this is it. This is what I was meant to do.

Ask God who he’s made you to be and trust that he knows what suits you best, he made you.

What has self preservation cost you?

I find so much inspiration through movies. Different scenes and certain lines remind me of what Jesus did for us.

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace is transformed into a dragon because of his greed, but it leaves him in a precarious situation where he can’t interact with others like he used. In the end Eustace tries to remove the scales to return to being human, but he can’t do it on his own. He needs Aslan to do it for him. To shed his tough outer shell created by the decisions that transformed him in the first place.

We all do this in life. We seek to take care of ourselves and in the process build up an armor to protect us from others. But does it really help us or hinder us from having relationships with others.

We may be protected but we are alone.

Even a dragon with his thick armor can fall prey to attack, but when we allow others in, to help us and protect us we aren’t alone anymore. Having a support system is so much better then doing it all on your own.

Jesus like Aslan wants to protect us, but we first have to be willing to let him in. To let him help us shed our old habits that got us where we are in the first place.


Photo by Troy Jarrell on Unsplash

Saul is a great example of this. He tried to achieve salvation through earning it. He followed ever rule but he was callus and hard, not allowing himself to see the truth of who Jesus was, the savior he had been waiting for his whole life. He was too wrapped up in trying to protect himself and others from who he thought was a false savior to see the truth. Until Jesus revealed himself to him. Paul was then humbled by his experience with Jesus as was Eustace, they both shed their old skin to find the truth in Jesus.

What façade have you put on to protect yourself? What has it cost you to keep your outer shell of protection? Are you willing to pay the cost or are you ready to let Jesus to pay the cost for you and be your protector? Are you ready to not be alone anymore?

Willing Vessel

Being a willing vessel is about God’s plan not ours, God’s power not ours, God’s words not ours.

So when he asks us to do something it’s his words, his plan and his power. So we don’t have to worry about our iniquities. Because it’s not about us it’s about him

Moses didn’t part the Red Sea with his own ability. Peter’s shadow didn’t heal people because of his ability. It was God’s work in and through them. That’s why he asks us to be a willing vessel, for him to work through us. Not for us to do the work on our own.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. -2 Corinthians 4:7

Faith is in God’s Ability

If your faith is dependent on your ability or lack of ability it’s not faith. Faith is in God and his ability not our ability.

What are Gods abilities:
He multiples food
He can part the Red Sea
He overflowed two boats with fish
He heals the sick
He raised the dead

What about his record makes you doubt his ability to work through you? Him working through us is about us surrendering and being a willing vessel. Spending time reading the Bible, worshiping God and praying is how we hear him. But we have to be surrendered. Willing to hear him and do as he says.

When I prepare to preach I ask God what scripture he wants me to share. Then I read it over and over for days asking him to reveal it to me. So his word and his message are ingrained in my heart. I pray asking him to speak his heart through me. And I worship surrendering my heart, mind, voice and body to him for him to speak through me.

It’s the same when God asks us to speak to someone in the grocery store or at work. But we often don’t have time to stop pray read and worship first. That’s why prayer, worship and reading the Bible should be part of our lives everyday. So we are prepared when he asks us to do something. Prepared to be a willing vessel.

Worship Anyway

There have been many times I didn’t feel like worshipping because I was worried about something or didn’t understand why. Because I was too much in my head and in my abilities. Not focused on God and his abilities.


When we choose to ignore our feeling, insecurities ad worries and still surrender to God in worship. He gives us peace that surpasses understanding and tells us not to worry because he will provide. So I worship him anyway because by the time I’m done he’s changed my perspective and I have his peace.

Lead By Jesus

Surrendering all to Jesus is about laying down our plans and following his. God created everything. He perfectly placed earth in our solar system so that we would not be too hot or too cold. He designed the seasons to show us what death and resurrection look like. He shows us how seeds can be planted, grow and spread through creation. He provides for us in ways we take for granted every day. So why wouldn’t we trust him to plan our life. When he planned the universe.

It’s about God and his kingdom, not ours. That’s why we die to self. So that he can live through us.

The Secret Place

Our secret place time with God can be anywhere, anytime but it must be personal, intimate and a conversation. Not just meeting a reading requirement or time obligation, but an intimate time with God where we are excited to spend time with him. Where we are asking him questions and actually listening to receive answers.

Think about the person you are closest to. Is spending time with them something on a checklist or a requirement. No you want to spend time with them. It’s a joy and something you look forward to.

God can become our favorite person, if we let him. He’s the creator of the universe, a loving father and he can do anything. How can that be boring. Make time with him daily and I guarantee your day will be better for it.

Don’t despair the journey and it’s trials

There is a story about a servant carrying two pots from the river each day to bring water to his master. One pot is broken and only brings half the water from the river that the other pot carries. But along the path the servant planted wildflowers for the broken pot to water as he carried it.

Jesus does the same in our lives he uses our brokenness to pour out his life giving water. He fills us up so that we can water the seeds in others that he has planted along our path.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,  but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ~John 4:13-14

Photo by Kamil Szumotalski on Unsplash

True blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places–Ephesians 1:3

Jesus sacrifice gives us the opportunity to come into right relationship with God. This relationship makes us heirs with him so we can experience his blessings.

But God’s blessings are not all tangible, like we so often look for. Most of them are spiritual. Peace that surpasses understanding, freedom from guilt and shame, being loved more than we can imagine. These things can’t be taken from us.

The next time your looking for God to provide. Seek his kingdom and know that he provides and blesses us with the things that really matter. Love, hope, joy and forgiveness.

No one is beyond

No one is beyond redemption. No one is beyond forgiveness. No one is so lost that God doesn’t want them. None of us are beyond hope. God always want us. He loves us. He always seeks us.

He is constantly in pursuit of each and ever one of us. He pursues us on our best day and at our worst moment, seeking relationship with us in every moment.

God is always with us if we will just let Him in.

The Holy Spirit is a Game Changer

The Holy Spirit is an atmosphere changer.

When we yield ourselves to his leading things change. Our perspective, our attitude, our mood, all change to that of God.

Yielding to the Holy Spirit is a game changer!

That simple decision in each moment of each day. Can change our whole day if we stop for a second and listen. If we take that moment to make the Holy Spirit the most important thing in our lives. We can change how we speak and how we act towards our friends, our family, our co-workers and the world around us. Let the Holy Spirit be your game changer and see what he can do in and through you!

Love is Putting Others Before Yourself

When you think your life is worth more then others, you do not know love. ~Tauriel, The Battle of Five Armies

Jesus expressed his love for us not only by sacrificing his life on the cross but by the sacrifice he showed everyday. He could of come down as a grown man, taken up an earthly governmental throne and demanded praise. But he didn’t. He came humbly, lived humbly and put others before himself. He modeled love by putting others before himself.

Jesus didn’t think his life was too valuable to sacrifice, so how can we?

Sharing God’s love with others is when we put others first, show them honor and respect. Show them they are valuable. Next time you encounter someone and you don’t know what to do. Ask ‘What does love look like?’ Loving people isn’t always about our words. Many times it’s in our actions. Love looks like caring groceries for someone, bringing them a meal, giving a shoulder to cry on. Love can be expressed in many ways but true love always puts others before ourselves.

That’s what Jesus did. He put our lives before his own, because we are valuable to Him.

Jesus Gives Us a Clean Slate

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:20-24

How many times have you wished you could have a fresh start, a clean slate?

You can, when you accept Jesus sacrifice you get a clean slate. He wipes away all your past mistakes and starts you fresh and the best part is you an have a fresh start everyday.

From the moment you choose to follow Jesus, you can have a fresh start.

Jesus died so that we would not have to be bogged down by our past mistakes. So that we wouldn’t have to feel guilt, shame and condemnation.

He came to set us free.

Jesus makes us new in him. We die to our old ways, our old habits and our old mindset and take on his mind.

You don’t have to be what you used to be you don’t have to be restrained to your past you can be set free.

If you choose him!

What is dying to self?

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3;10-11

You may have heard some preachers or myself say to die to self. But what does that mean.

Dying to self, is just that dying to self. It’s putting to death your selfish desires, wants and even needs and putting others before yourself.

Sound crazy right, but that is what Jesus did in his life and death. He came to serve not be severed. He paid the price of his own life so that we could have his life in exchange for ours.

When we surrender our lives to Jesus and let him live through us. He provides for all our needs and fulfills many of our desires beyond our wildest dreams.

You may think, I still need to live, to eat, to breathe, to sleep. So don’t I have to be selfish at someone point. No, because when we following the leading of the Holy Spirit he takes care of those needs. I have never regretted putting someone before myself, but I have regretted not putting someone else first.

Marriage is a example of how our relationship with Jesus is supposed to be. We are supposed to put our spouses needs before ourselves. They are supposed to do the same, which brings balance. I can’t tell you how many times I have been doing something for my husband and he surprises me by taking care of the other things I needed to do after I took care of him.

It’s the same with Jesus. When he asks us to do something for someone else he already has something in the works to take care of us.

So dying to self is simple putting God first and trusting him to take care of all that he has promised us.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a?

 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25-34

Thy Will

Years ago I made a choice to drastically change my life and gave my life back to Jesus. The one thing that has been consistent since is my heart cry to God “Thy Will be Done.” 

I tried life without God and I screwed it up royally.

But when I made the choice to follow Jesus and made Him Lord of my life. I now ask Him what he wants, instead of what I want.

Every time I choose to trust God and follow His lead. He provides abundantly more than I could of imagined. The path to get there can sometimes feel uncertain, strange or even impossible, but God always provides.

Many times in the past years His way has proved better then what I would’ve chosen.

He has moved my husband and I all over the country, to multiple jobs, unemployment and through some rough financial patches. One constant reminder that God’s will is the better choice is my husband!

That’s right, I let God choose my husband!

My track record with picking boyfriends for myself was terrible, just ask my friends.

But when I choose to let God take the lead, I stopped dating and waited for God to bring me ‘the One’

I know it sounds crazy, but it worked.

My husband is the perfect partner for me and God has truly blessed me with little surprises in him that I didn’t even know I wanted or needed in a spouse.

It’ all because I said to God “Thy Will be done” 

What has God been asking you to take a step of faith in?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Psalms 3:5

No Magic Formula for Prayer

There’s no magic formula to prayer. Its just a conversation between you and God. Meaning you talk and he talks back. When we talk to God we should expect an answer. We are not just throwing our prayers into the air and saying well if he wants to he’ll do something. He wants to be with us, share with us and show us who he is and what he has planned for us. He wants our openness, our vulnerability, our mess, our fears and our worries. He wants to talk to us and let us know that he is all we need.

Why do we feel we have to fix ourselves or have just the right words to talk to him? He loves us and he wants to talk to us.

If we have to be all cleaned up just to talk to him. Then why did Jesus sacrifice himself? If we could achieve perfection, then Jesus sacrifice was in vain. So why do we keep thinking we have to achieve it before we can talk to him.

God is our Heavenly Father and like any good father, he wants to be there for us even when we are at our worst, in fact especially then. That’s when we should depend on him the most, when we are at our worst. Because he is the one that can make it better, he can heal the hurts and the pain, and he has already forgiven us.

We need to stop trying to be perfect first and let him perfect us instead. Next time your at your worst or you don’t know what to do. Talk to God about it and listen for the answer.

Seek Jesus, Even in the Simple Things

In the movie Prince Caspian, while Peter, Lucy, Edmond and Susan are making their way through the much changed land of Narnia they become lost. They tried to rely on what they knew, instead of calling on Aslan to help even to the point of ignoring Lucy when she sees him.

We can become like this too. When we’ve done something for a long time or feel we know what we are doing we forget about Jesus. We forget to ask His guidance, help or even just his companionship. But in taking him for granted we can veer off the path he intended us to take.

If we have faith like Lucy and look for his guidance he will show us new things and new ways to accomplish what we are doing even if we have done it time and time again. His guidance should always be where we look first. He may only have the smallest change but it could make the biggest difference. He designed us for dependence on him. Trust his guidance.

You don’t have to clean up first

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. –Colossians 1:12-14

I thank God for what he has done in my life. His sacrifice gave me the opportunity to start over, to build a new life, free from shame and guilt. Free from my past mistakes.

That’s what Jesus did when he came to earth. He lived life as a servant and sacrificed his life for us. He never gave in to temptation but gave his life over willingly to take our place. We are that valuable to him that he gave everything for us, every moment of everyday of his life, even unto a death he didn’t deserve so that he could deliver us from darkness.

See it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, because Jesus forgives you. Don’t worry about thinking you have to clean up your act or change before you come to God. You come to him just as you are so that his sacrifice and his forgiveness can free you from guilt and shame and give you new life.

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

Worship is more then singing

 “There is no one holy like the Lord;

    there is no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2

Worship is about our hearts, our minds and our focus. Worship is so much more then singing songs. Worship is constant. It’s a choice in every moment to choose to glorify God in our words, our actions and in the attitudes of our hearts.

When you worship through song don’t just repeat the words, read them, mean them, sing them out as a benediction and put your all in it.

When I was in Uganda worship was hard at first, because it was in Swahili or Llungahndan which I don’t speak and they danced (controversial, I know) but they taught me about worship.

We worshiped for hours and I didn’t understand the words and I didn’t know the dances. But that didn’t matter.

Worship is about your heart. So I sang, I sang in English if I recognized the tune of the song or I sang in tongues and I danced, I didn’t know the steps or the movements but I danced. I worshiped with all that was in me. I worshiped with my mouth, with my body and with my heart.

Worship is about appreciation. When you worship God remember it’s about him not you. So if God has done anything for you then jump, dance and shout from the rooftops .

Photo by David Calderón on Unsplash

Sweet life-changing forgiveness

God’s forgiveness makes us feel fresh and new and clean. It’s a new start, a new beginning, no need to dwell on the past, we just focus on who God made us to be.

When God paid for our mistakes he gave us the chance to be born again spiritual, to be made new and clean, to start fresh.

So why do we dell on our past mistakes? All it does is brings us down. Trust me I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life. But dwelling on them does nothing except distract me from what God is doing in me now.

His forgiveness lifts our burdens, guilt and shame. He never meant for us to walk around like that, but to walk free in his presence.

Don’t dwell on who you were even a moment ago. Instead focus on who God made you to be and walk in his freeing forgiveness.

Trusting when you can’t see

Trusting God when you can’t see the end can be scary. But when you trust His leading you never know what you can accomplish.

In the movie Facing the Giants, the coach challenges a player to do a death crawl to the fifty yard line blindfolded. The player couldn’t see where he was but he trusted his coach’s direction and as he made his way across the field as his coach encouraged him to keep going even though he was tired and couldn’t see and wanted to quit. In the end he ended up going double the distance he was supposed to and ended up in the end zone.

When we trust God even though we may not understand. We can do more than we ever thought we could on on our own and can end up further then we ever thought we could go.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

Expressing Jesus

There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ.   We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink.  So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

Something a friend of mine taught me is that we are all different parts of the body of Jesus.

You may have heard this many times.

But he explained it that since we are all different parts, different aspects of God expressed though all of us. God is so vast that it takes all of humanity to express Him. We each reveal Him in different ways.

Some show God’s relentless love and compassion for humanity. Some show His willingness to stop everything, to show love to the poorest soul on the planet, and some show unrelenting faith by forgiving endlessly.

All you need to do is look at the many varieties of flowers or trees to see just a small glimpse of how complex God is.

All of creation cries out to glorify God and we are part of that creation meant to express Him.

We as Christians are all the body of Jesus and we have all of Him but some characteristics of Him are stronger in you then they are in me. That’s why we need each other. To be the hands and feet of Jesus together!

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash

Peace beyond comprehension

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. –Colossians 3:15

Peace in our hearts is something we all desire. But how do you get it, when there is always something, to worry about.

Simple. God’s peace surpasses our worldly concerns. It may sound crazy, but he created us and he created this world, so his peace can supersede our worries and concerns.

So how do we get his peace?

We trust him and give our worries and concerns over to him by asking him for his perspective or solution. When we look to him for the answer that’s when he can give us his peace.

His peace, is like shifting the responsibility over to him. You know that feeling when you feel overwhelmed with a task, like it will never end and you have no idea how to accomplish it. Then your boss comes to you and says you were never meant to worry or deal with that task in the first place.

That’s how God’s peace feels, that immediate relief, that lift of tension and stress.

God never meant for us to bear our own burdens, he came so that he could relieve that stress and give us his peace.

Stop living as if you have to do it all on your own, because you were never meant to, we are meant to life live in peace, because we are meant to live life with Jesus 24/7.

Letting Jesus Spill Out

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:14-15, 24

Worship is a choice, to choose to focus our attention on the Holy Spirit and let him spill out from us or to ignore him and let our own thoughts and desires lead us.

It’s letting Him live through us each and every day, all day. It’s choosing to sacrifice our selfish desires the same way Jesus did when he lived on earth and let the Holy Spirit work through him. 

We can easily get wrapped up in who we were before Jesus and let that dictate how we act, think and speak. But that’s not who we are anymore. Jesus makes us new and gives us a new life and that is how we worship. By foregoing our own selfishness and letting him spill out through us.

I’m proud to be a “Jesus Freak”

Jesus Freak by DC Talk was one of my favorite songs when I was in junior high, when I started to make my faith my own.

I was proud then and I’m proud now to be a “Jesus Freak.” Because that means that others see him in me and through me.

We are supposed to be different, we are supposed to stand out for Jesus. People are supposed to see us differently and it’s supposed to be desirable.

That doesn’t mean that we wash down the gospel so that it’s palatable to people in there current point of view, it means that we show them that they can have peace and joy and hope and love through having their own relationship with Jesus.

Being a Jesus Freak should be something we are proud of, not something we are ashamed of.

Depths of despair

One single moment can pull us from the depths of despair.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I love Anne of Green Gables. One of the expressions Anne uses often is that she’s “in the depths of despair.”

I have to be honest, I’ve always thought she was being over dramatic, until one summer when I struggled with depression. I’m generally an optimistic, joyful, happy person, but I could not shake this funk. I tried talking to God but to be honest I was kind of mad at Him. Until one day when when I choose to forgive Him.

Yes forgive God.

It was not that God had done anything wrong, it was that I didn’t like the answer He had given regarding something I was asking for.

That single act pulled me from my depression, when I choose to let go of my expectations and trust God’s timing.

For many people, myself included. We can be angry or dis-enthralled with God because He doesn’t give us what we want, in the timing we expect it to happen. We do this more than I think any of us would like to admit. But the key to freedom is to let go of the things He asks us to let go of. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t want to bless us with the desires He’s placed in our heart. It means He has something better or maybe we aren’t ready for what that blessing entails.

Not giving our dreams over to Jesus is like staying in an old dilapidated house beyond repair because it has memories and nostalgia. When God is saying I have this perfect house over here, and we can build better, happier memories.

That’s the power of forgiveness, it can pull us from the depths of despair in one moment.

What are you holding on to that’s keeping you in the depths of despair?

Trust that God has something better for you, and let go.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

We have to be prepared to reach the top

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. 

Habakkuk 3:19

In order to reach the mountain tops in life we need to be equipped to handle them. Experienced mountain climbers train for month to reach the peak of mountain tops and some make sacrifices to achieve their goals.

God is the same with us. He will led us up the mountain, but he must equip us to handle the conditions at the top first.

Ask him each day what he wants to teach you? And know that even if you don’t always understand it, trust that he’s preparing you for your next mountain top moment.

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Calm in chaos

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ~Philippians 4:10-13

To know how to be content in any and all circumstances is what Jesus gives us.

He gives us peace that surpasses understanding and joy that abound beyond reason. He gives us strength when we are weak.

He teaches us how to be who he made us to be no matter what.

So that our circumstances don’t change us, we change our circumstances.


Photo by Kyson Dana on Unsplash



Comfort in the arms of Jesus

Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.

 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

 I long to dwell in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:1-4

I always know that I can take comfort in the arms of Father God.

That no matter where I am, whether I feel strong or weak that he is always there to protect, love and care for me. I never have to worry because I know that as long as I trust God and give everything over to to him that he will take care of it.

No matter what your facing today. Know that God is always there for you. Give him your worries, your concerns and your cares and let him bear your burdens.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

The Big Picture

Its easy to get wrapped up in ourselves, in our own world and to neglect or take for granted our relationship with God. We know He will always be there for us but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss us. With all the responsibilities of life its easy to push Him off till later to say, let me just take care of this first or do that and then I’ll spend time with God.

But its when we put God first that He helps us to accomplish all we have to do and somehow when we follow His plan there is always extra time left. When we follow His lead and His way He does things faster and better then we ever could have and shows us little surprises along the way.

God sees the big picture. He sees how everything works together and when we trust His leadership He guides us to bigger and grander things then we could of done if we’d done it on our own. When we are wrapped up in what is right in front of us, we miss what’s a few steps ahead.

My husband and I have moved a lot and in one of our searches for a rental home. All I could see was the things that I was looking for instead of what I was looking at. After viewing a few homes I picked one and my husband picked the other. When we returned to view his choice he showed me what I had missed. The beautiful woods that the house backed up to. He saw the big picture while I just focused on what I wasn’t seeing he saw what really mattered.

Trust Jesus leadership. He sees the big picture.

Do you know God?

“Don’t you know me by now?” ~23 Blast

Sometimes God doesn’t answer our question because he already has, we just don’t realize it. Sometimes his answer is in what has done for us, more than in words. Knowing the character of God is crucial to our communication with him.

As I’ve mentioned before we have struggled in our finances before. But every time I bring it up to God he reminds me of his character. That he is our provider and that he doesn’t worry about it so why should we. Logically we should not have made it through those times. But God provided over and over again each month. I’m astonished at how he provides. But he does. Because that is who he is. He is all our providers and we have no reason to doubt him because he always provides when we put our trust in him.

What have you been asking God about? Ask him to show you if he’s already provided the answer in just being who he is.

If you’re not sure you know his character read Galatians 5:22-23 and look for his answer in his character.

Not Above Anyone

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. –Romans 12:3

One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned was that I’m not above anything or anyone.

Years ago I worked at the church I grew up in, as an administrative assistant. The senior pastor helped me learn this lesson by the way he led.

He always said that he was not above anything, even down to picking up a gum wrapper off of the ground. Yes there were janitorial staff, but he was there so why wouldn’t he.

Photo by Forest Simon on Unsplash

He modeled this everyday. He was always willing to stop whatever he was doing to help someone and he never shied away from helping set-up or tear down, he was always the last to leave and the last to eat.

I’ve applied this lesson everywhere in my life, by seeing myself as there to serve, in the workplace, in my home and in life. When I see an opportunity to help, I help.  This has helped me to not become bitter or resentful more times then I can count.

Jesus considered himself a servant. So how can we consider ourselves above Jesus.

When you see opportunities to serve or help, look at them as opportunities to shine Jesus.

What’s your attitude towards prayer?

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Photo by Caique Silva on Unsplash

Prayer is simply a conversation with God. Talking with him, listening to him, enjoying his presence. But our approach to the conversation determines the outcome.

If we come to him with demand after demand without giving him even a moment to respond. How do you think that would go? How would you react, if that was how someone approached you?

Go to God with thankfulness for him, humility and appreciation of who he is. Speak to him as you would to the person you respect and love the most and listen for his answers.

Spirit Lead US

Following the leading of the Holy Spirit can sounds scary and intimidating. But all it really is, is simple small choices that lead to the big ones. Even small choices can have a big impact.

For years I asked the Holy Spirit which way to drive to work as I had a few routes that would get me there. Every time I followed His leading I arrived on time. But when I didn’t I arrived late. Little decisions can make a big difference that we may not see in the moment.

A larger scale example is from a friend of mine that was driving to an event across the state, it was something he attended yearly and never usually needed a restroom break in the two hour drive. But this one time he needed it; completely out of the norm for him. Later he found out that had he not stopped he would have mostly likely been on the highway at the spot where a massive car pileup happened.

The Holy Spirit gives us little prompting, even something as simple as bathroom break. We may never know the impact, but we need to trust that he has a reason and a purpose for everything, even the small stuff.

What has the Holy Spirit been leading you to do? Take that small step of faith and follow His leading.

God Given Dreams

The song I can only imagine by Mercy Me speaks to me every time I hear it.

One of the most pivotal times was when my husband and I went to a Astros game in Houston. We were living in Louisiana at the time and decided to go to Houston for our anniversary. We found tickets the morning of the game and had no idea that it was the Faith and Family day for the Astros. (If you’ve never been to one you should go most MLB teams have one)

After the game one of the players and his wife shared there testimonies. Following that was a Mercy Me concert. I have always loved them but had never heard them in concert. It was amazing, I think I cried through the whole time just praying and worshiping God as He broke my heart, reminding me that He had a calling on my life to be a writer and that I had been ignoring it at that time.

At the end of the concert the lead singer Bart Millard shared how Mercy Me was his dream and how God had pushed him to it and used the song I Can Only Imagine to do it. A song that had been strung throughout my life and has always driven me to the feet of Jesus.

This experience with God was the catalyst that pushed me to write to start this devotional blog in 2018. It was the push that I needed to follow the dream that God had placed in my heart.

What dream has God placed in your heart? Seek God, ask him what he’s called you to and his plan to accomplish it.

True Perspective

Kindness and seeing people for who they can be. Not for who we judge them to be in a moment. Can change both peoples perspectives for the better.

In the movie the Blind Side the people around Michael see him for who he could be. We all have gifts and talents and many times it just takes that one person to believe in them to help us succeed.

That’s how God looks at us. He sees our full potential to do great things, he created each of us and he knows what we can do and its even more then we can image.

Its his kindness that he sent Jesus and its his kindness that he waits for us to be ready to receive all that he has for us.

Seeing people the way that God sees them changes our perspective of ourselves and of others. Next time you doubt God’s plan for you ask him how he sees you. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

Don’t despair

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. 

Psalm 42:5a NASB

God’s presence changes everything.

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We can be in the worst mood with the worst outlook but if we shift our focus to him. He changes the atmosphere. We don’t have to try to change or try to be different, we simply have to let him live through us.

When we surrender everything to him, he show us his plan and his way. Which is always so much better then ours.

Let’s stop striving in life and let the one who created the entire universe direct our steps, our mood and our life.

Through heavens eyes

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.-Colossians 3:1-4

We are meant to think like Jesus, act like Jesus and be Jesus. But we are not meant to play act, we are supposed to let him shine instead of us.

Think of Jesus as your boss in a way, but imagine he is the best boss ever, who only ever wants the very best for you and others. You wouldn’t make decisions without your bosses approval so why would we make decisions without first going to Jesus.

He knows everything and therefore knows the best way, the most efficient way and the funniest way to do things. So why wouldn’t we look to him for guidance.

We are meant to set our mind in heaven where Jesus is and bring heaven to earth to those around us.

Jesus is with us all the time. He is our constant companion. We can talk to him anytime anywhere, in a traffic jam, at work, with our family, anytime he’s like your best friend that you can text anytime but you don’t need a phone to communicate with him.

We have the creator of the universe with us at all times, why wouldn’t we use that to our advantage?

We are meant to see the world through his eyes not him through the worlds eyes.

Let God Love YOU

Love is powerful, it drives us. We seek it out wherever we can, but even when we find it through others it’s not perfect.

I love my husband more then anyone else and he loves me. But our love for each other pales in comparison to the love of God.

Gods love is what drives me, it’s what fills me up, his love is the one thing in life I cannot live without and that I know I can count on one hundred percent. God loved us before we were even born and he sacrificed everything to share his love with us.

His love is unconditional, we can’t earn it, and he will never take it from us.

We are the ones who choose to abandon his love, because we think we don’t need it or we don’t understand it.

His love is untarnished, overflowing and unending. Letting God love you where you are at will be the greatest decision of your life.

When you’re tired

The days when you’re weak and tired are the days we need Jesus more then ever.

When we are at our weakest. He is our strength, our energy, our wisdom, our everything. He provides all we need because He is all we need.

So no matter how tired or exhausted you are, know that He is all you need.

Seek Him and let Him be your everything.

God provides what we need

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we can accomplish things we never would think ourselves capable of. Holy Spirit gives us the confidence, the words and all we need to do what he calls us to.

Esther is a great example of this. She did what God asked of her and saved an entire people through a few dinners.

God calls us to do and be more then we could of ever think possible. In my life God has provided over and over again in ways I never expected. In the few years my husband I have faced the most financial instability we have ever faced since we got married ten years ago. But God has provided over and over again from people and places we never expected. Although we are still facing some challenges. We know that God will continue to provide because he always does.

We all need to trust him to provide what we need to accomplish what he ask of us.

God loves us

How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. –Psalm 36:7–9


Photo by Leighann Renee on Unsplash

God’s love is for everyone, rich, poor, sad, happy, angry or calm. You don’t have to fit a certain mold or criteria to be loved by Him. He made us each unique on purpose. He is the creator. You need only to look at the variety of plants or animals to see His love for diversity. What He asks of us is that we love Him back and love others.

That encompasses everything, if we accept His love, He shows us and gives us love overflowing to love ourselves and to love others.

Trust God

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:5-7

Trusting God can seem hard if you have no faith in him, but if you know him and his character. Then you know he more then earns our trust.

When we ask God for things, it’s easy to become discouraged if we don’t get the answer we wanted or in the time we think we should get it. But when he asks us to wait for something or doesn’t answer us the way we wanted he gives us peace beyond our understanding.

Our uneasiness, fear or anxiety about his answer comes from us not trusting him. Not his answer. He knows what’s best for us and when.

Many times when he says “no” or “not yet” it is because he has something better for us, beyond what we could image or what we want in the time we want it, would harm us more then help us.


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I’ve used this example many times, but my husband and I both went through a time period where we were lonely and looking for our future spouse and both of us chose people who were not good for us and took advantage of us. They were not the right people for us but we tried to get what we wanted, when we wanted it instead of waiting for God to bring us into each others lives.

Because of our selfish decisions we both had to learn how to be in a healthy relationship and heal from the wounds of those past relationships. In the same respect it took time for those wounds to heal and we were both glad that we had not met sooner as God was working on both of us to be ready to have a healthy relationship, so that we would not bring past hurts into our relationship.

Trust God’s timing and his answer. Know that he has good plans for you.

Trust God in Advance

God doesn’t ask us to go without having planned and provided for us in advance. Walking in faith isn’t about knowing what he has planned for us but trusting that he has already provided for what he asks of us even if we can’t see it.

God goes before us and lays the ground work. We each build on the work of each other and provide for each other. He uses each of us to support the other. Going forward to who and what he calls us to, makes us who he made us to be.

He’s called me to write so I write. He’s called me to preach so I take any opportunity given. He’s called me to encourage and uplift others and I pray I do that for with each of these devotionals. I hope I encourage you to see God working in your life. That you grow closer to him and learn to love and trust him more each day.

Trusting God isn’t about knowing where or what your going to but about who your going with. The God who created the universe. If he has called you to something or someone. Know that he is with you and he will give you the words, the means, the knowledge and the wisdom in what and where he has called you to.

Fear

Fear you’re not welcome here.

The breakup song by Francesca Battistelli is a great anthem for those moments of fear that sneak up on us.

The reminder that we have the power to tell fear to leave.

We don’t have to let it over take us every moment of every day. We have the choice to let ourselves be ruled by fear or to choose our feeling and refuse to let fear control  us.

Listen to the song. Sing along a tell fear to leave.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. -2 Timothy 1:7

You have to plant to see a harvest

Planting seeds takes a lot of faith. You never know what you’ll get, when they’ll grow or how much the plant will produce, or if it will grow at all. But we still plant seeds.

In the movie Faith Like Potatoes, Angus a farmer finds faith in God and follows the leading of the Holy Spirit to plant potatoes. Planting potatoes takes faith because you cant see what crop you’ve yielded until you’re ready to harvest.

Planting seeds of faith can be like this. We don’t know what will stick and what will not grow but we if we want to see a harvest. We still have to plant.

Sow seeds everywhere in everyone, you never know what will produce a harvest.

 “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” –Matthew 13:3b-9

God can use the mess

Jesus had a habit of taking peoples biggest mistakes and using them to help others. Zacchaeus stole money and when he chose to change for Jesus he gave money away.

He took my mistakes and bad choices and gave me a heart for people who have done the same. He gave me a passion to see people find their worth and value in Jesus. Something I struggled with my whole life until I came to know Jesus personally.

Jesus is in the redemption business. He’s not looking for perfect people. He’s looking to love people right where they are, to pull them up out of their mess so they can help others find that same redemption.

He looks at us and sees our potential and we need to do the same with others and see their potential in him.

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People are Priceless

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. –Philippians 4:1

Jesus saw people as valuable. We all are the joy set before him that he endured the cross. He gave everything to bring us into relationship with Him, Father God and Holy Spirit.

We should be encouraging others to find Jesus so that He can show them their true potential through relationship with Him.

He changed our lives. Why wouldn’t we want Jesus to do the same for others.

Bringing others into the family should be our joy and be the crown that we lay at Jesus feet.

We can’t take money or possessions to heaven with us, but we can take people.

See people as the true value that they are. The value that Jesus placed on humanity is priceless. You are priceless. All of us are priceless in God’s sight. Treat people the way Jesus did; as valuable beyond measure.


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God will never stop pursuing you

God will never stop running after us. He will always be there for us when we need him or when we want him. God will always be there with us through everything, if we let him.

God’s will and his plan for us is always for our good. That doesn’t mean we won’t face hard things but that he will be there with us through it. He will be with us through the trials and he will use them to draw us closer to him.

As long as we keep our focus on him in the storm. Like Peter walking on water. Peter only sank when he turned his focus turned off of Jesus and he let the storm surrounding him influence his faith instead of his faith in Jesus influencing his surroundings. It’s when we fix our eyes back on Jesus that he is our strength when we are weak, our joy when we are sad and our peace when we have none.

He is everything we need and more if we let him.

At our weakest

Even when we feel at our weakest and most vulnerable we can look to God. Because he is our strength. Whether we are having the best day of our lives or the worst day ever. He is the same.

His grace for us never changes. We could be at our worst and he will still extend his hand to us and say “Come here child.” Because we can’t earn his grace, because he gives it freely.

It’s easy to get caught up in our troubles, self-pity, anxiety and worry. But only one thing can bring us the peace that surpasses understanding. Jesus!

It’s his sacrifice that brings us into a deep, intimate relationship with him, Father God and the Holy Spirit. And its only that relationship that will sustain us and uplifts us when we need it most.

When I have those moments of feeling like “I’m in the depths of despair” to quote Anne of Green Gables. Instead of indulging those feelings and letting them lead me. I turn to God and simple say “help.” He always does.

When we turn our attention back to Jesus he changes our perspective. Comforting us with his plan and showing us how he see things.