Yesterday I talked about having the faith in God to make the big sacrifices and that, that starts with conversation, with talking to God.
But there is so much more, it’s more then talking to him its about knowing him. I have trusted God when he has asked me to take big leaps of faith because I know him.
I know that he loves me and that he will not let harm come to me. I know that he has brought me through some crazy impossible situations and that he will continue to do so. Because I know him
I know that he is loving, kind and gentle, that he provides all my needs when I trust him and that he never leaves me.
Jesus made his sacrifice because he loves us and wants us to know him.
Take a chance and give him a chance to show you just how much he loves you.
It’s easy to get bogged down by the responsibilities of life and to feel sad, anxious, worried overwhelmed by the pressures of life or just by the state of the world.
You can look at the media and think what is there to be thankful for or to rejoice over.
But our joy doesn’t come from the world it comes from Jesus.
Joy because Jesus came to give us a better life that doesn’t always mean our circumstances change, sometime it just means he can be or joy in the storm.
It breaks my heart when I hear people say that God can’t use them, because they are too old, too young, too poor, too shy, too broken, too busy.
As long as there are people who don’t know Jesus, God can use you.
We all have something to share, God changed our lives some way some how and we can share that.
The old have years of experience to share, decades of how Jesus has impacted their lives, the young have faith that can move mountains, the broken can share how God healed them, the busy can invest in those that keep them busy and anyone can give.
I can go to him and ball my eyes out in frustration, scream, yell and be completely open, honest and transparent with him because he already knows everything I’m going through.
There’s comfort in being able to talk to him about anything and everything whether good or bad, whether I’m encouraged or discouraged when I come to him.
I know that after I have spent time with him that I will come out loved and comforted. Because he is always there for me know matter what. Anytime anywhere he is there for me.
So give God your stuff, all your junk, your frustrations and let him give you the peace that surpasses understanding.
Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a moment when they hit their rock bottom and cried out to God “I need you now.”
My moment was in 2008. I was in a six year relationship that was going nowhere, when I had a pregnancy scare. This woke me up almost out of a slumber. I realized I didn’t want this man to be the father of my kids, but I knew I wanted to raise my kids in church.
So I decided to go back to church.
I was terrified and convinced that I would be met with glaring stares and rejection but I wasn’t. Instead I was welcomed with open arms. My friends from the church I grew up in, never gave up on me, they were always there for me during the years I intentionally choose to ignore God. But when I choose to come back to church they welcomed me back with open arms and no judgement.
That is how God is, when we choose to say “I need you now.” He leaps for joy and runs to embrace us. He throws a party in heaven rejoicing over His child returning home.
Who or what do you turn to when you hit your rock bottom?
Why not, give God a chance to show you how much He loves you.
We all want to be loved without conditions or expectations. So why would we assume God would want anything else?
Yes, we love God because of what he’s done for us, but we should love him for who he is.
When you are with the one you love you don’t need anything else, but just to be with them. Our love for God should be the same, because his love is the same for us.
He wants nothing more than to spend all eternity with us or he wouldn’t have given everything to make it possible.
Seek him for him and appreciate the joy of just his presence.
God doesn’t see us the way we see ourselves, he sees us as beautiful messes. He see the beauty he created us to be, that is bogged down by the baggage we choose to carry with us. We are the ones that choose to walk around carrying all our hurts and pains, lugging around the baggage of our past.
Photo by Tommaso Pecchioli on Unsplash
But his burden is light.
God doesn’t want us to carry all that around with us. He wants us to lay it all at his feet.
Baggage can be many things worry, anxiety, past hurts and pain. It’s anything that holds us back from expressing the joy and love of Jesus.
One of the secrets of our marriage is that we don’t carry our baggage with us. My husband and I both go to God first before going to each other or anyone else, when we realize that something bothers us.
We ask God, why? Whether it is something someone said or did or even our own mood or attitude that we know is not from him. We go to God first and ask what the root cause of the pain is. Then after we’ve sorted it out with God we go to each other or the person that hurt us and talk it through, if necessary. Many times we’ve worked things out with God and don’t even need to talk to the other person.
We don’t have to walk around with all the hurt and pain of our past or even our present if we lay them at the foot of the cross. He is always with us, always accessible and always wants to help us.
Next time you feel someone poke an old wound or make a new one go to God first and find freedom.
When I was young, I was shy, insecure, lacking confidence, always looking for approval and to feel wanted.
But when I found my identity in Jesus I changed. As I got to know Him and his love. My confidence grew because I knew who was behind me, supporting me. Knowing God loved me no matter what, that he would always protect me, keep me safe and never leave. My confidence grew because it was in him and who he is, not me.
When we know God’s love for us, it bolsters us, gives us strength and confidence to be who he made us to be. That’s why spending time with Him and learning who he is, is so important. It gives us the confidence to do and be who he made us to be. His children. To know the one who’s standing behind us.
We are each so important to God. He wants to spend every moment of everyday with us and he will defend us even to death, because he already did.
That’s love and that’s where my confidence, joy and peace come from. They come from the one who gave up everything for me.
God wants to have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with every single member of humanity. He is our creator and he loves each and every one of us, that is who we find our confidence in, the one who loves us, all of us.
Why do we keep trying the same temporary fixes to fill the holes inside us and expect different results?
We all have times when we want to escape, from work, school, home, kids spouse. Everyone needs a break sometimes.
But is what we run to really helping? Or is it just a temporary fix, like putting tape on a busted pipe it may work for a moment but eventually the pipe is going to burst again, and if we keep using tape it’s never going to solve the issue.
The lyrics of the song Chain Breaker by Zach Williams describes the cycle we go through in life so often searching for the solution but never finding the answer in the same process.
But there is a better way, a better life.
God is a chain breaker he made a way for us to be free. To not feel tied down but to find joy and peace in our homes, in our work and in our families.
He is the way.
When we go to him, when we need rest, he lifts us up, he takes our fears our worries and our frustrations when we give them over to him.
If we grip onto the chains that our strangling us he can’t remove them. We have to surrender them over to him so he can remove them.
The love of God gets me through more then I thought I could ever handle.
I’ve always tried to be the person that says they can do anything, I don’t back away from challenges and I always try to find the solution to any problem.
But when I’m faced with things that I can’t fix or make work, it opens the door to be discouraged or even depressed.
A few years ago I struggled with depression over not being pregnant after several years of trying. I was discouraged and I knew that God loved me but I didn’t want to spend time with Him. Honestly I was mad at God. But in time I came to realize that just because I wanted a baby doesn’t mean I’m ready. Having a baby isn’t about me, it’s about the baby.
God was teaching me that having a baby wasn’t about fulfilling my desire to be a mother but it should be about wanting to do and be whats best for the child.
I needed to learn that.
Even though we are not expecting yet. I am trusting that God will bring a child into our lives when it is best for the baby.
I trust God because I know He loves me and I’m reminded of that each day as I write. Writing helps me keep focused on Him, it helps me to evaluate my life and see Him working in it.
His love sustains me, it feeds me, but I have to let Him love me.
What area of your life are holding back God’s love from?
It’s easy to define ourselves by our mistakes and failures. But that’s the beauty of finding our identity in Jesus. He gives us new life, a new beginning each and everyday. We don’t have to be who we were yesterday or even a moment ago. We can choose each moment to be who we used to be or be who God says we are.
We can’t earn God’s forgiveness, He gives it freely and it doesn’t matter how much we fail. He is always there to pick us back up and give us a fresh start.
But we have to make the choice to die to ourselves and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Finding our identity in Jesus is a daily choice. We can choose to be who we used to be or we can choose to let Jesus live through us.
This song always makes me feel calm and at peace. It’s like when you see a sleeping baby, they are so peaceful and calm, it brings joy to your face.
When I hear this song I think of Jesus as an infant. He wasn’t born in grandeur but in humble beginning, yet his birth was celebrated by angels, shepherds, wise men, the rich, the poor and the heavenly hosts. What a joyous celebration for such a humble beginning.
It goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you start from but how you live. Even if you were born in the poorest of circumstances that doesn’t mean you can’t do great things.
The Holy Spirit works in and through us just as he did in Jesus and anyone can have the Holy Spirt we just have to humble ourselves and allow him to work through us and he will do great things.
So adore him this Christmas and let his peace reign in you.
The trust that Mary had in God to say ‘let it be done to me as you have said’ speaks volumes in her faith in God. To agree to carry and raise the son of God. The faith that took, is inspiring. She had to know that there would be questions from her parents and Joseph that her community would most likely stone her. But she trusted God anyway.
So why don’t we trust God when he asks us to do something for him? Do we think that he’s going to hurt us or harm us? He won’t. But that doesn’t mean we won’t face doubt or hardship. But god will provide through it just as he did for Mary.
Trust God to guide your every step and take a leap of faith like Mary did. You never know what might happen.
There’s something about Christmas that brings a sense of joy to our hearts all you have to say is the word and people get a little smirk on their face remembering fond memories of there childhood or times with family. It’s a time of joy.
When we all gather together with friends or with family and celebrate. Some celebrate with gifts, some with song, some with big meals, but always with joy.
But what if you are having a hard time being joyful this season whether it be distance or change or loss.
Jesus is our joy even in the bleakest of circumstances.
He has always given me joy when I seek it from him no matter what. It could be the worst day of my life but when I turn to him I know that I can find peace and rest and joy.
Find JOY in Jesus this Christmas. He is the reason for the season.
When I think about Jesus birth I’m humbled. He could of been born in a palace or to the leader of the temple. But he choose based on people hearts, not their status or wealth.
Jesus could of had thousands of people worship him from the moment of his birth. Instead he choose to be born in humble surroundings with the very animals he created and honored by those who sought him.
Jesus doesn’t demand our worship. He accepts it freely when its given freely. So this season choose to worship him because he choose to save you.
No matter what we’re facing in our lives be it internal, external, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or relational.
Regardless of each of our struggles we can all cling to the same thing, that no matter what our God is good and he loves us and its because of that love that we know that we can depend on him to lift us up and bring us through any and everything.
So no matter how tired or frustrated we may be we can scream EVEN LOUDER that Jesus is our everything.
Leadership can be daunting, overwhelming and a lot of pressure depending on how you do it.
Jesus lead as a servant, counting himself above nothing. He looked to Father God for every step of His path. If even He was humble enough to let God lead, how can we do anything else?
God designed each and everyone of us. He knows what He created us for and how to achieve His plan.
We need to stop trying to figure our how we are going to do everything and let God lead.
Even when it feels like the world is crumbling down around us. God is still God and God is still good. He is the one thing that we can count on to always be there for us. To always be all we ever need.
So when you feel like your world is crumbling, retreat into his presence. Seek him and let him be your all and your everything. Let him bear all the burden and find rest and peace in him.
Because he will never disappoint us if we seek him and he will never let us fall when we put our trust in him.
The best part about Jesus is that he is what we are not. So when we say we don’t it feel like, that’s ok, we don’t have to, because he is what we are not. He is our strength, our peace, our joy he is all need.
We have to stop trying to be what we think God wants us to be and let him be in us what he is.
When we surrender our lives over to him we need to fill that up with something but we often make the mistake of filling up on the things that got us to where we were in the first place before Jesus.
We need to fill up on Jesus, to fix our eyes on what draws us closer to him, not further from him. We all have this problem of trying to imitate God instead of letting him be God in us.
We need to get out of the way.
If his intention was to have us fix ourselves, then why did he sacrifice his life for us.
Don’t say well that’s just the way I am. Because when you gave your life over to God you gave up that person, to be the person he created you to be.
That person is loving and peaceful and fearless and joyful.
So stop saying less of me and more of him and say none of me and all of him.
It is well with my soul, is all any of us want. We want to have peace in us to have freedom from guilt and shame, to stop fighting against everything and everyone and to truly find peace.
Jesus is that peace, because he is peace.
He came to give us his peace in our very souls.
That we would no longer walk in fear or worry, but in confidence and strength, that we would draw that from him. Because no matter how alone we feel when we have him in our lives we are never really alone, he is with us always.
When your having a rough day, ask yourself did I put God first , did I talk to him this morning, did I start my day out right? Is he part of what I’m doing right now.
And if he isn’t. STOP. put him first above everything else and let him be your peace, your guidance, all you need.
Restart your day the right way, by putting God first.
He is is my everything and it’s because of him that I write. He put the burden in my heart to write, he called me to it and encourages me in it, he is who I want to bring light to and draw our focus to.
I don’t write this blog for myself for my glorify or to be heard by others, I write it to draw people closer to Jesus, to help them see that he loves them and that he wants to be with us every moment of every day.
So if you get anything out of these devotionals I hope that it is that you see Jesus, grow closer to him and know him better each day.
So often we focus on the problem instead of the solution. Jesus is always the solution.
We all always just need more Jesus.
When were having ‘bad day’ and cant get out of our own funky mood, we need more Jesus.
When someone is getting on our nerves and we don’t know why, we need more Jesus.
When were in a circumstance and don’t know what to do we need more Jesus.
Jesus is the solution.
He can bring us joy and peace on the ‘bad days’, he can show us what is really bothering us and helps us find he root cause, and he can change circumstances.
We all always just need more Jesus.
He’s our attitude adjustment, our perspective changer and he can move mountains.
Its easy to give up and feel discouraged. To feel like no one is listening. No one is reading, no one cares. I haven’t written as much as I would like lately, some do to moving across the country and some due to discouragement, wondering if any one is actually reading, am I really making a difference.
Honestly I started this blog because I knew I needed a platform for the books I know God’s given me to write, not because God told me to start a blog. But God has used it to teach me so much and how to share His love, even if it reaches one person, that one person matters. His love for us is not performance based. We don’t have to do anything for God to love us.
So whatever God has asked you to do. Know that it’s never conditional on His love but if we love Him, what He’s asked of us will deepen our love for Him and help us know His love more.
What we build our life on matters. Any builder will tell you the foundation is crucial. If it’s not firm and level the building will not last.
Our foundation is Jesus. He’s rock solid but when we mix other things in with him as our foundation we degrade the quality of our foundation. Making it easier to falter in storms and sink or lean over time.
But if Jesus is our only foundation then we will stand through the storm and time will show just how unchanging He is. His love for us is the same for all eternity and for every moment of every day.
He doesn’t change, our dependence and trust in Him is what changes. When He is not our focus and we allow other things in instead of Him we will falter.
That’s the power of free will that He gave us. We choose just how much or how little of Him that we want in our lives. If we want to stand firm on Him as our foundation then He must be the start, middle and end of our day. Our focus must be on Him and He will guide us through our day.
You may think I don’t have all day to spend in prayer. But that’s the beautiful thing about the Holy Spirit He is with us everywhere, all day, wherever we go. So start your day with a quick devotion, listen to songs, sermons, or podcasts that fix your mind on Him while getting ready for your day. Talk with Jesus as your drive to work or ask your kids what Jesus is teaching them as you take them to school. Rest in God’s presence on your lunch break. When you’re stressed ask God’s advice on how to fix it. Ask Him what to make or pick up for dinner. Ask whoever you live with what God taught them today. Read a Bible story to your kids at night, pray over them and have them pray over you too. Make your life all about Jesus in and through your daily life.
We don’t have to stop life to spend time with Jesus, we just need to include Him in it.
