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When You Are Tired of Waiting
The word “wait” was appearing in scripture again when I honestly didn’t want to wait again. I was tired of waiting. I felt worn out, frustrated, and disappointed from all the waiting for unpleasant and uncomfortable things to change in my life. My life was totally off the rails of any plans I had wished for, and I couldn’t see any hope for change as far as my eyes could see. So, I allowed my tears to fall and boldly cried out to God in prayer, “What does it truly mean to wait on You? What will it mean for me if I do?” In a moment when I honestly…
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God Is Never Too Busy To Care
It wasn’t the news I wanted to hear. My first thoughts were of my family’s needs and how I could possibly manage something else penciled in on my already overloaded calendar. My schedule was packed full of days spent caring for others to have time to take care of something that involved me. When I finally had time to go to God in prayer and His word, I was amazed when the scripture I landed on seemed so relatable to how I felt. It comforted my heart, and a peace settled over me. Even though I hadn’t received the good news I longed for, God wasn’t short on good news…
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Trusting In The One Who Is Stronger Than The Storm
“We are stronger than the storm.” Words I saw on a Christian tee that landed on my heart after having just prayed for a deeper understanding of the story in Matthew 14:22-33. Jesus’ disciples had just witnessed a miracle. Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a multitude of over five thousand counting women and children and still had twelve baskets full of leftovers. The disciples were no doubt tired from all the excitement of the day and from actually serving that many people. But without any time to rest, Jesus sent them ahead to cross over to the other side of the lake, and He…
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Waiting For My Temporary to Change
“All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” Job 14:14 (KJV) Temporary. I can totally forget in a hot minute what that word means when challenges find me. The enemy just loves to mess with our heads until we are thoroughly convinced we are permanently stuck in our situations and circumstances instead of temporarily on our way to passing through. Temporary means for a time only, brief, passing, transitory, short-lived. Unlike its counterpart, permanent, which means never changing, set in stone, fixed. Stuck. What brings change to our circumstances is a God who is anything but stuck and never rendered unable to change any…
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Learning What is Most Important
Do you find the most spiritual growth often comes from your most painful seasons? Have you ever felt you have learned more from your mistakes than what you have gotten right? Let me be the first to raise my hand. I relate so much to Habakkuk. There is so much we can learn from this book tucked within the pages of the Old Testament, but some of the lessons God doesn’t sugarcoat are painfully hard. We learn that God doesn’t always remove the difficult things that come into our lives. Some will come simply because we live in a fallen world. Others will find us because we choose to follow…
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When God Doesn’t Give Us an Easier Life
Do you ever have mornings when you are tempted to stay in bed and hide from all the hard stuff going on in your life? Mornings when all you want to do is pull the covers over your head because, in all honesty, you don’t want to be an adult today? Maybe you are like me and just want life to be a little easier, but God keeps giving you all these seemingly hard things to tackle. If you answered yes to any of these questions, can we have an honest conversation? Sometimes, I am not a morning person. Just ask my husband about yesterday. Caregiving is hard, and some…
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Waiting on God is Never a Bad Idea
Do you ever question God when it seems all you do is wait for Him to move? Do you ever feel like just answering your prayer would be a much better idea than spending so much time waiting out the hard seasons in your life? Recently, my new puppy took advantage of my quick exit before I took the time to put my ink pen out of reach. When I returned, she had chewed a hole in the ink casing and spilled ink on my brand-new throw that was a gift from my daughter. In a heated rush to see if I could salvage the throw, I hastily decided I…
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Finding Strength for the Hard Things
I am generally a go-getter. I see something that needs to be done, and I push myself until the job is done, especially God things. That is until I could not do one more thing this week. A spirit of unwillingness had crept into my heart, and I was at a loss to get going again. I was done. No more hard things were stuck on repeat in my head, and I found myself sitting down and unable to move. The words “I don’t want to” were like a heavy cloak draped over my heart, and I could not throw them off. I wrestled and dared to ask God…
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Chosen for the Best
As a girl who often battles comparison, I have often felt drawn to the verses in Acts 1:22-26. In this passage, we read of two men who have both faithfully served God and walked with Jesus during his earthly ministry. These two men are each considered to take Judas’ place as the twelfth disciple. I am sure the suspense built as the eleven apostles gathered to cast lots to see who God would select for this special place of service. After each was carefully considered and prayed over, only one would be chosen. “And they put forward two; Joseph called Barsabbas, also called Justus and Mattias. And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord,…
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Getting Your Eyes Off Your Problems and Onto the Promises of God
Do you ever find it hard to take your eyes off your problems? Have you ever endured a tough season so long that you feel stuck? Have you ever started to feel like hard is all there will ever be? I know I have. I love planning a vacation to the beach. You book the reservations, you put together an itinerary, and as the scheduled date gets closer, you start packing. There is nothing like the excitement and anticipation about a week before you pull out of your driveway. Even though you are physically still dragging your feet through another work week, your heart has already arrived at your destination. You…
