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Will You Pray With Me?

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He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Psalm 107:20

I write today from the deep places of my soul.

This world is sick, dear one, ravaged by the dominion of evil. Separation from our Creator has left us deeply wounded. Instead of life flourishing, it withers under sin’s curse.

And that curse has reached into the heart of my family as right now two dear family members fight to see life triumph over stage four cancer. Yes, two of them. Sisters. Two beautiful, God-fearing women who love Jesus, who did not even know they were sick until recent diagnoses revealed an enemy working in secret.

Yet hope stirs within me because I know my God. He is good; that truth never changes. And He has a way of revealing His greatest glory against a backdrop of suffering.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13

Our flesh rejects that command. Rejoice when you participate in suffering? Perhaps we find it so difficult to rejoice because we don’t really believe in the promise.

You may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

I believe, dear one. I believe with all my heart that glory is about to reveal itself in our midst.

I can’t say how, exactly. I just know that it is. God is stirring my heart with a hope, a vision that slowly takes shape but has not quite come into focus. It remains partially veiled.

Some people believe that leadership is all about showing strength. If that’s true, I’m no leader. I write confessing my need.

Will you join me at the mercy seat, beloved? Will you come with boldness to the throne of grace?

You see, amazing things happen when the people of God unite in prayer—especially in the midst of adversity. The saints uniting over Peter’s arrest made shackles fall from his hands and removed him from a locked prison. United prayer ignited the fires of Pentecost, unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit that birthed the church. And when Nebuchadnezzar ordered every prophet killed if no one could tell him what he had dreamed and interpret it, friends joined Daniel in prayer, releasing unknowable wisdom that saved them all.

So I invite you to pray with me, beloved. But the healing I seek isn’t just for my mother or her sister. Not just for the hearts of my sons who may fear an uncertain future. Not just for supernatural strength to serve those I love with grace.

I seek healing for the body of Christ. My heart longs to see Christ’s glory revealed in the lives of His people. This isn’t merely a desire. It is a deep longing birthed in the Word of God and gaining strength as the Spirit kindles its message within my heart.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 61:2

Jesus seeks to reveal the power of His name.

So I ask you to join me in prayer over my mother’s surgery on Friday. But I also ask you to pray for me over the next few weeks as I seek the face of my God to lift the veil on what remains hidden. A new Bible study bursts forth from my heart, one that I believe God will use to awaken His church to the hope of our calling, giving us understanding that will release the power of God in our midst.

Our enemy doesn’t want to see God’s people living in victory. But the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Will you join me in prayer to see God’s kingdom come?

Thank you, dear one.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Psalm 27:13

Awake to His Purpose

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So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 NIV

I have to be honest with you. I’m feeling a little lost.

You may already know from some of my recent posts that I’ve been away on vacation. I spent two glorious weeks at the beach with my husband and boys, and we enjoyed the added blessing of sharing portions of that time with extended family members from both sides. For the past two weeks, I have been caught up in the rich blessing of God, reveling in the beauty of His creation and enjoying the love and fellowship that only occurs when Christ rules the hearts of very different people.

I have to say, the food was pretty good too. Our bellies had no excuse to groan in hunger, although at times they ached from the sidesplitting laughter that erupted frequently during nightly games around the dining table.

Life is so much better when it’s shared.

But now I’m home, and my view has changed. I’m not just talking about my inability to watch the waves pound the shore or see the sunlight glistening on a seemingly endless sea. I’m talking about a subtle change, one that seems to have occurred within me. Apparently my heart so enjoyed that period of rest, it continues to long for more of it.

Have you ever noticed how easily our enjoyment of the blessings of God can take our eyes off the Giver of them?

Hang with me for a minute here. I’m not saying we forget God altogether. But sometimes we lose sight of the whole of who God is. We relish one aspect of His character and allow His other Truths to fade in significance. Not intentionally, mind you. It’s simply the nature of our fallen flesh.

I think that’s what started to happen to me. My lips uttered praise every day for His gifts. My Bible still opened with my morning coffee, the thin pages rustling in the ocean breeze. I remained extremely aware of His presence. I simply felt a strong longing to stay right where I was, basking in His love and resting in His embrace.

The trouble is, I started to lose sight of my purpose.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

You see, God is so good, His faithfulness so sure, His love so abundant that it’s easy to get caught up thinking that our salvation is all about us. We think, “For God so loved… that He gave…” and we make our lives about seeking and receiving the rich blessings He pours out through Jesus. It becomes easy to forget that where much is given, much is also expected.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

Dear one, God didn’t give to you and me simply so we could receive. He gave so that you and I could also give. He doesn’t merely want to bless us. He wants to bless the world through us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus beckons us to follow Him, beloved. By definition, that means we can’t simply remain at rest. Let’s not get distracted by our blessings and lose sight of our purpose.

Christ is coming again, but He will not return to a sleeping church, bobbing along in a sea of grace. He will return to a church in glory, to a bride who has made herself ready (Matthew 25:10, Revelation 19:7). Let’s awaken from our rest and usher in the glory of God.

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory… Luke 9:32

The Way of Death

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“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Logic. It’s one of our worst enemies—at least it’s one of mine. I’ve always been a person who needs to understand things. It helped me in school and produced straight A’s on my report cards, but it often works against me when I need to trust. My analytical mind sets to work and robs me of peace.

Can you relate? Have you ever tossed and turned in the night working through all angles of a scenario, looking for that light bulb moment when it all becomes clear? Perhaps you think, “If I can just figure it out I can fix it, or at least I’ll be able to rest.”

That might be true in the world, but that doesn’t apply to God’s agenda. Isaiah 55:9 explains why.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God’s thoughts and ways are beyond our ability to understand. If we spend our time trying to, we’ll end up frustrated. There’s only so high our thoughts can ascend. Once we reach that plateau, we’re left with trusting the unseen as our only recourse, and most of us aren’t very comfortable there. We don’t like that dark area where we can’t understand or make sense of our circumstances. Logic tells us things shouldn’t be happening this way, so we find ourselves robbed of peace.

Curiously, we pursue logic in search of that elusive peace, but we won’t find it there. Consider our opening Scripture,

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Death, not peace, lies at the end of the road traveled by logic. In God’s economy, it’s our enemy, not our friend.

So what do we do? We allow God to renew our minds. Praise Jesus that through salvation, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Dear one, peace comes when we learn to release what we don’t understand, and trust what we know of God. What do we know of Him?

  •   He’s good. “may your saints rejoice in your goodness.” 2 Chronicles 6:41
  •   He’s loving. “He is my loving God and my fortress.”  Psalm 144:2
  •   He’s for us. “I know the plans I have for you . . . to prosper you.” Jeremiah 29:11

Here’s the best part.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — 1 Corinthians 2:9

If you can think it, you’re limiting what God wants to do for you.

Ask God to let that settle on you . . . Give it a moment to sink in. The best plan that you could come up with for yourself—your best case scenario— is less than what God desires to do for you.

Beloved, if God gave you the desire of your heart in the way you think He should do it, He would be robbing you of a blessing.

Your God loves you too much to allow you to settle for less than. He wants to give you everything He’s planned for you.

So the next time you find yourself stumbling in the darkness, try practicing gratitude. Know that the blackness you see is merely the result of your limited ability to understand, but there is something waiting for you just beyond the horizon. Something you can’t yet see. Something wonderful. Something perfect for you.

Don’t let logic rob you of your blessing, dear one. Choose to trust God for His very best. When He finally leads you to it, you will likely surrender to worship, because it has blown your mind.

But of course it has. It was designed for you by the One who made you. He alone knows what you really need.

The Way of Death

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“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Logic. It’s one of our worst enemies—at least it’s one of mine. I’ve always been a person who needs to understand things. It helped me in school and produced straight A’s on my report cards, but it often works against me when I need to trust. My analytical mind sets to work and robs me of peace.

Can you relate? Have you ever tossed and turned in the night working through all angles of a scenario, looking for that light bulb moment when it all becomes clear? If we can just figure it out, we can fix it, or at least we’ll be able to rest.

That might be true in the world, but that doesn’t apply to God’s agenda. Isaiah 55:9 explains why.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God’s thoughts and ways are beyond our ability to understand. If we spend our time trying to, we’ll end up frustrated. There’s only so high our thoughts can ascend. Once we reach that plateau, we’re left with trusting the unseen as our only recourse, and most of us aren’t very comfortable there. We don’t like that dark area where we can’t understand or make sense of our circumstances. Logic tells us things shouldn’t be happening this way, so we find ourselves robbed of peace.

Oddly, we pursue logic in search of that elusive peace, but we won’t find it there. Consider our opening Scripture,

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Death, not peace, lies at the end of the road traveled by logic. In God’s economy, logic is our enemy, not our friend. The way that seems right to us is often the path that leads to destruction. How do we escape it? We need to allow God to renew our minds. Praise Jesus that through salvation, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Dear one, peace comes when we learn to release what we don’t understand and trust what we know of God. What do we know of Him?

  • He’s good. “may your saints rejoice in your goodness.” 2 Chronicles 6:41
  • He’s loving. “He is my loving God and my fortress.”  Psalm 144:2
  • He’s for us. “I know the plans I have for you . . . to prosper you.” Jeremiah 29:11

Here’s the best part.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — 1 Corinthians 2:9

If you can think it, you’re limiting what God wants to do for you.

Ask God to let that settle on you . . . Give it a moment to really sink in. The best plan that you could come up with for yourself—your best case scenario— is less than what God desires to do for you.

Beloved, if God gave you the desire of your heart in the way you think He should do it, He would be robbing you of a blessing.

Your God loves you too much to allow you to settle for less than. He wants to give you it all.

So the next time you find yourself stumbling in the darkness, try practicing gratitude. Know that the blackness you see is merely the result of your limited ability to understand, but there is something waiting for you just beyond the horizon. Something you can’t yet see. Something wonderful. Something perfect for you.

Don’t let logic rob you of your blessing. When His blessing for you finally does come, it will likely bring you to your knees, overcome with gratitude, because it has blown your mind. But of course it has. It was designed for you by the One who made you. He alone knows what you really need.