God’s Favor
May you walk in faithfulness,
May God’s favor rest upon you,
May you know that God sees you, hears you, and loves you.
When You Need Strength to Let Go
The Blessing
May God give you strength to let go,
May He blow across your dreams, bringing them to life in His way and time,
And may He fill your heart with the depths of how much He loves you.
Hard Seasons of Life and How to Navigate Them
Hard Seasons
In hard seasons, do you ever feel like negative thoughts spiral downward and it feels impossible to make your way back up again? Sometimes it seems like things are going great and then they take a hundred-eighty degree turn sideways and you’re left with whiplash. I understand. There are days where I’ve battle thoughts that left me feeling sad and irritated, which made me not so fun to be around.
There are three things you can do in hard seasons.
Remember God’s goodness
Remind yourself that God is good. He has good in mind for you and good thoughts toward you and about you. The Lord calls the stars by name and knows every hair on your head. You are important to him.
“How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence, you hide them from the instrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues” (Psalm 31:19-20).
Reach out to Others in Hard Seasons
Reach out to others. Not for them to fill you up, but so that you get out of your heard. Ask them what you can pray for and then pray for them. It’s amazing how when we focus on someone else’s life, our thoughts get reoriented.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
Hold onto Faith
Be faithful. It’s in those moments when it feels like God is unfaithful that we need to remind ourselves to hold steady and stand firm on the truth we know, not on what we feel. God does not leave or forsake us.
“I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not cancel your love and your truth from the great assembly. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me” (Psalms 40:10-11).
Navigate the Hard Seasons with Faith
Summer is in full swing and you might be busy with running kids to activities or preparing for your high school graduate to leave the nest. Maybe loneliness is loud in your heart or maybe there’s too much togetherness making you crazy. It’s okay to flip-flop between all the emotions. God is steady and true. He holds onto us when life whips us around and around.
A Prayer
Holy God,
You are steady and true, a steadfast and faithful God who holds us up when we want to fall, who strengthens our steps when we want to quit our hard seasons, who provides rest when we need to rest. We can trust you with the crazy thoughts that fill our minds. Because of your power within us, we remember your everlasting faithfulness that holds us steady. Move in our hard seasons today. Let your presence be known in our realities, and let us fix our eyes on you–the keeper of the stars, the counter of our hairs, and the savior of the world.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Final Thought
This blog post is a sample of what I send out to the readers of Grace Notes–a twice a month shot of encouragement from my heart to yours. If you’re interested in signing up to receive these notes, you’ll also receive a free ebook called Kicking Perfect. Sign up here. Thank you for reading and I pray that you God touches your life in a powerful way.
Do Scars Have Purpose
Scars have purpose. . .
They really do.
Scars remind us of where we’ve been and of God’s faithfulness.
They are gifts of proof that God redeems our struggles, despair, and pain.
We are in the week after the greatest miracle that ever happened–Jesus’ resurrection. He conquered death, defeated the grave, and triumphed over the Enemy. It is finished. And yet, there’s more to come. Isn’t that a lovely thought?
The Hope for our Scars
After dawn on Easter, Jesus walked, talked, and broke bread with his disciples. He was whole–no longer the beaten and crucified Savior covered in blood and anguish. Radiant. Splendid. His disciples didn’t recognize him. He spoke to Mary and she knew. He broke bread with the two disciples and they knew. And then, he appeared to a group of disciples and they thought he was a ghost, until he showed them his scars. And then, they knew.
His scars. He still had his scars on his hands and feet. Isn’t it remarkable that Jesus, who rose from the dead with a body broken and beaten, kept his scars. These (along with eating fish) proved to the disciples that he was in fact standing before them, real and true. He kept his scars.
The Word of God
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. If is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have'” (Luke 24:36-39).
Sometimes I don’t want the ragged scars that criss-crosse my life. I don’t want the reminders of the pain, sorrow, agony, and doubt. But if Jesus left his scars for a purpose, then my scars have purpose too. And so do yours.
Your scars are a map of how faithful God has been to redeem your circumstances. They can remind you that you found refuge in God. He was your rock when the ground gave way. He fought your battles when you couldn’t fight another day. He enabled you to stand firm when you didn’t think you could.
You grew and matured. You learned things about yourself and God. These are some of the purposes of your scars. But there’s another reason too. They serve as a testimony to others for encouragement and comfort and as a reminder that if God can bring you through, then he can bring them through too.
The Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank you for my journey. These scars tell a story of your work in my life. And I am grateful. I am grateful I didn’t walk alone. I am grateful that these scars prove that you were near and guided me through. I give you glory for all that you have done. You redeemed my life from the pit. You turned my mourning into dancing. You gave me new mercies every morning. And when the night lasted a long time, you were there, in the dark, comforting me. I praise you Jesus!
In your name,
Amen
A Blessing
May the Lord show you his purpose in your pain.
Further Reading
When Resolve Feels Weak
New Beginnings and Falling Resolve
It’s hard to think about new beginnings when winter grips my world. It is cold. The trees, bushes, and flowers lie dormant. It doesn’t look “new”. Things look old, drab, brown. The weather is not friendly. The sun hides. I hide from the air that freezes nose hairs and eye lashes. January 1 may come with a flip of the calendar and the rising of the sun, but things don’t feel new when I’m in the middle of enduring winter. Winter is an actual season, but sometimes our lives feel like perpetual winters no matter what season we’re in. Enduring and newness seem like they can’t coexist together, but what if they can?
I’m not a fan of resolutions. Probably because I can’t keep one longer than two or three days and my failure to make it to day four makes me feel ashamed. But enduring…that’s something I can do. It’s something we all can do. We can last, stay steadfast, and exercise faithfulness.
Regrets follow us. Shame mocks us. Those baby resolutions that didn’t grow past day 3 scream at us from the back of the room. We shut the door. Give up. Quit. I’ve done it. But think about it this way—rather than waiting for January 1 to start “new”, what if we treated each day like a “new” start?
Scripture
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV).
Each day that lies before us is a new day. Yesterday holds regrets over promises not kept, tasks unfinished, and habits unbroken. Will we let those regrets prevent us from seeing the new thing God wants to do in our lives?
Remember not is a lovely way to phrase: “Forget it.” But what it’s really telling us to do is not to reminisce on what was before. We don’t have to chew on our regrets like a cow chewing its cud. Those regrets don’t have to speak negatively into our present day and bully us into giving up the new that God is doing in our lives.
God Brings New
God wants to do “new” in your life. He wants to bring you to new pastures, new spaces, and new moments with him. He wants to transform you into his likeness. This newness happens bit by bit with each yes you say to God. Did he help you pay attention to your words, and you chose kind ones over harsh? Celebrate. But maybe you chose the harsh ones and didn’t want to. Admit it and receive forgiveness. Then move on. Regrets bully, but God restores.
God is making a way in the wilderness. He is making springs in the desert. He is helping you every step of the way with every new day. Look for him. Focus on him and his miraculous redemption and watch him make a way when the new year is hard.
Prayer for Your Heart
Lord God,
You are holy, righteous, and almighty. Your mercies are new every morning and I praise you for your faithfulness. Will you reveal what newness you’re working out in my heart and life? I don’t want to be caught up with my regrets and mistakes. I want to let them go and focus on you. You restore broken people. The power of regrets in my life interferes with focusing on the new that you’re doing. Restore me. May a way. Let streams flow even in my desert places. I love you and look to you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
I am grateful for you and your desire to grow in Christ, whether its baby steps or by leaps and bounds. Remember to take each day as a new day and trust the Lord to enable you to see the new growth he’s bringing about in your life.
When You Feel Defeated
Do you ever feel like you’ve lost before you’ve even begun?
Sometimes we feel defeated before the battle has even begun because the challenge is too great; the heartache is too unbearable; and the personal cost is too much. Courage feels thin. Hearts quake and knees shake. And yet, there’s one way forward and that’s through the fire. The three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego faced a literal fire when they refused to worship a manmade image. How could they survive? Fire consumes everything in its wake–oxygen, land, and people. Defeat looked probable. But look at their faith:
They replied…“we do not need to defend ourselves in this matter. If we are thrown into this blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it….but even if he does not, we want you to know King Nebuchadnezzar, we will not serve your gods or the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18 ESV).
They remind us of two things: One, God is able. Two, their faith is not dependent on whether or not God acts on his ability.
God is able.
In our own lives we can remember that God is able and capable of anything. He can change our circumstances or he can make a way through. He can heal this side of heaven or the other side. He can protect us from the flames or carry us through the pain of the flames. God is able.
It’s one thing to know this about God and another thing entirely to keep our faith intact whether God wills to do a miracle the way we think it should be. The three Hebrew boys had no idea what the outcome of this battle would be. They only knew that they could not bow down to that image of gold. We have the benefit of knowing how the story ends, but they did not. We whoop and holler over their victory, but when they faced the fire, they had to know that it looked like an impossible victory.
We’ve been in situations like that before. We’ve wished we knew the end of the story and could just flip through those pages in our lives. But life doesn’t work that way. We need to live through our joys and sorrows; our knowns and unknowns with a faith that reminds us that God is able and even if he does not save us from the fire, we can still choose to worship and serve him. He gets the glory because he is able and through our steady faith shining as an example to a faithless world.
A Prayer for Victory
Holy God,
We need you to intervene in our circumstance. It seems as though defeat is the probable outcome, but even if not, we will serve you with our whole hearts. We will take up courage like a mantle and trust that you will make a way when there is no way. We won’t let the outcome of our circumstances dictate our faith in you, but we will stand firm in the promised victory–whether it’s in our actual situation or in our heart. You are mighty to save and we choose to stand firm in you so that others around us may see your glory in us. Thank you for leading, guiding, and directing us through the ups and downs of life. We rejoice in your victory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For the Kingdom
As you go about your lives, remember that God is able and that he wants your faith to be dependent on him. He is “I Am” and is with you always. Take up your courage and stand firm in your faith. I’ll be joining you with the battle cry, “For the Kingdom!” Let’s raise our voices together so that the world might see.
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