Comfort

We sleep in the shade to hide from the scorching sun. But shade can be nothing more than a shifting shadow. So we pick up and move in hopes of finding the comfort we crave. Until we realize that true comfort, apart from the Comforter, is simply a mirage.


"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
- 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

Listening

Sometimes I feel as though God leaves me completely in the dark, unable to navigate my way through this life. But isn't that just like God to strip us of those things that keep us from trusting him?

And once my hands stop reaching for what might be in front of me, I become still. So that all I can do is listen.

It's in that moment that God reaches down from heaven to turn the lights back on as if to say, "Now do I have your attention?"

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." -Jesus (John 10:27)

He Cares

With his hands, he hung the stars on a black velvet wall and then he spoke the word "night". And the same two hands are holding my heart on this very night. Thank you, Lord, for being big enough to create, and intimate enough to care.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."
-1 Peter 5:7

Miracles

If we raise our cups to toast to our own greatness, then how much more should our lips offer up songs of praise to our God? We work with our hands to create what seems good, but when God works with his hands, He performs miracles. And He does not limit those miracles to a time dated 2,000 years ago. The God I serve still works miracles today.

"Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people..." -Psalm 77:13-15

Salvation

I grew up in what felt like the back side of a small town where the only thing to do on a Friday night was to count the stars in the country.

Until one day my restless heart traded in a sky full of stars for a pocket full of ambition. But I soon came to realize that selfish ambition can't light up the night sky.

So I sat in the dark waiting for someone to give me a light . . . only you did not show up like the rest-all tall, dark and handsome. You should up with sweet salvation.

"Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts,
'Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.'

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert."
-Isaiah 35:3-6

God-Sized Dreams

God created us with the ability to create. Just as he placed each star in the sky, he also placed each dream in our hearts. Each one counted and ready to wake like a collection of starry nights awaiting the dawn. But while it is still night, God holds our dreams the same way he holds our hearts, like a small galaxy spinning in the palm of his hand.

What is your God-sized dream?

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
-Ephesians 2:10

Sacrificial Love

Sacrificial love comes from a deep place. Very deep. So deep that I have to dig to discover it. But if I am in fact going to dig, where do I begin? At first I thought there must be some sacrificial love hidden in the soil of my own heart, but it did not take long for me to realize I could find none.

So I acknowledged my need for God himself to supernaturally place his sacrificial love in my heart. And then I kept on digging...only to find the cross.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -Jesus (John 15:12,13)

Near-Sighted

I tend to be near-sighted when I work with the strength of my own hands, making my own plans. But God is far-sighted, seeing the big picture. So I fold my hands and look at the cross instead of myself, knowing that God's plan is so much bigger than mine.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:12-14

The Artist

Do you ever think of God as The Artist? I do. And I believe he vividly paints a picture of love throughout the Bible. So if loving people is God's art, the let's pick up a paintbrush!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
-John 3:16

A Ransom

Jesus is not my homeboy. He's not a mascot I salute. He's not a lucky charm I carry in my pocket. He's not a genie in a bottle.

So why do I sometimes view him this way when I know He is so much more?

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-"
(1 Timothy 2:5,6).

A Clean Slate

A fresh start. A clean slate. A blank page . . . that's what I need.

A fresh start. A clean slate. A blank page . . . that's what You offer.

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

-Psalm 103:8-12

Seeking

I thought all I wanted was a seat in the shade until you offered solace in your shadow.

So in my weariness, I sat down, knowing that you can be trusted.

And I realized that while I merely sought after shelter, you sought after me.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.'" -Psalm 91:1

Passports

Sometimes I feel brave enough to rub shoulders with the unfamiliar.
So I take a step of faith, and find myself wide-eyed, realizing that God so freely hands us passports to new territories if we will only open our hands to receive them.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

A Million Different Pieces

When we come to God, He finds us broken in a million different pieces.

Left alone, those pieces stay fragmented.

But if we let Him, God takes each piece in His hands and puts them back together so that little by little, we begin to look the way He originally intended for us to appear: like Him.

Are you putting the pieces of your life in God's hands? Or do they remain shattered and untouched?

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27

Love at First Sight

When I met Jesus for the first time, face to face, I was surprised that my previous ideas of him were so far from the truth. I had always pictured him to be powerless, glazed over in a stained glass window. But it was not He who stood powerless and void of life. It was me.

I thought of God in his holiest of holies, as one who could not be approached by me because my place of worship did not land me in a Sunday morning pew, but in a Friday night bar stool. But God was not unapproachable. I was.

So it came as a complete shock when He approached me, penetrating my heart in such a powerful way.

It was love at first sight.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." -Deuteronomy 6:5

The Hands of God

Sometimes I feel myself slipping through the cracks like part of me is not solid, but liquid, ever conforming to that which holds me. So if I am held by the hands of God, then I can remain still, for his hands are unchanging.

I however am changing.

Sometimes I let myself fall into the hands of a stranger, whether it be a difficult circumstance or a funky state of mind. Yet I always manage to slip through those fingers.

And still fall right back into the unchanging hands.

Thank you God for staying the same, even when I do not. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
-Hebrews 13:8

Who or what is holding you today?

A Cinderella Story

The body of Christ, as broken individuals, ought to come together like puzzle pieces to make up the greater picture: Christ's bride. We are made spotless and pure knowing that one day the Bridegroom will return.

I realized my identity as His bride about a year after my own wedding. I stood in a church service, engaged in worship when an image suddenly flashed before my mind. It was an image of myself standing in a dirty, tattered and torn wedding dress. Then immediately afterward flashed another image of myself in a sparkling white dress, followed by the words, "This is how I see you. Now remain in my love."

You see, I bounced back and forth like a double minded person realizing that in one moment I felt loved and accepted by Christ, while in the next moment I felt unworthy to even stand in His presence.

But the truth tells me that "as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5).

No Coincidences

There are no coincidences with God.

Whether divine appointments that delight us, or terrifying moments that frighten us, God is not surprised.

But while He is not surprised, we may still feel alarmed, whether in fragile moment or in brave moments.

How do you find rest in God's all-knowing presence? Or have you yet to find rest?

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28

Your Umbrella

I stood in the rain with no clear sense of direction. The clouds hovered low in the sky. Rain poured down.

Until you came along and shared your umbrella with me.

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. . . . You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. . . . " -Isaiah 25:1, 4

Healing

Sometimes in our circumstances God uses the physical to meet us in the spiritual.

This summer will be the two year mark of having broken my foot in two places after tripping and falling. The doctor ordered complete bed rest in order for my body to heal.

For most of that summer I physically sat in a comfy sofa with a bandaged foot, but spiritually I sat at the feet of Jesus. God, in His sovereignty allowed for that time to not only heal my body, but to heal my soul as well.

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" -Isaiah 30:18