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Faith That Moves God

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For all the promises of God find their Yes in him [Christ]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20

This past year has been a challenging one for my family. I’m sure you can probably relate. Life is just hard sometimes, especially when you watch people you love suffer. And in those times, we need to lift our faces toward heaven and know.

Beloved, you and I need to know God is for us, and His promises are true. They’re not just something we hope for. They’re real. Concrete. Attainable.

We just struggle because we don’t often see those promises lived out. And you and I have a hard time being convinced of things we can’t see (Hebrews 11:1). It’s easier to doubt God’s Word than take an honest look in the mirror.

I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again. God’s promises manifest in our lives through faith. But most of us don’t live lives of radical faith. Instead, we carry our faith like a possession we like to talk about and we’re glad we have. But we don’t use it.

We like to think we do. But we have so little expectation of seeing God move in miraculous ways that we limit what we’ll believe God for.

We’re not alone, dear one. I’d like to share a story that recently stirred my own heart. Take a few minutes to ponder this August 17 entry from L. B. Cowman’s Streams in the Desert.

I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me (Acts 27:25).

I went to America some years ago with the captain of a steamer, who was a very devoted Christian. When off the coast of Newfoundland he said to me, “The last time I crossed here, five weeks ago, something happened that revolutionized the whole of my Christian life. We had George Mueller of Bristol on board. I had been on the bridge twenty-four hours and never left it. George Mueller came to me, and said, “Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec Saturday afternoon.” “It is impossible,” I said. “Very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement for fifty-seven years. Let us go down to the chartroom and pray.”

I looked at that man of God, and thought to myself, what lunatic asylum can that man have come from? I never heard of such a thing as this. “Mr. Mueller,” I said, “do you know how dense this fog is?” “No,” he replied, “my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.”

He knelt down and prayed one of the most simple prayers, and when he had finished I was going to pray: but he put his hand on my shoulder, and told me not to pray. “First, you do not believe He will answer; and second, I BELIEVE HE HAS, and there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.”

I looked at him, and he said, “Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years, and there has never been a single day that I have failed to get audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door, and you will find the fog gone.” I got up, and the fog was indeed gone. On Saturday afternoon George Mueller was in Quebec for his engagement.

I wonder, dear one. Which man of God do you more closely resemble? The “devoted” Christian Captain who limited his faith to what his circumstances declared? Or George Mueller, who had so much confidence in God’s answer, he told the Captain with certainty that he would find the fog dispersed?

I have to admit, I long to be George! I want to confidently know God will move. And I have moments when I do. Sometimes. But other times—far too frequently—doubt creeps in to steal away God’s promises.

George Mueller lived the promise of 1 John 5:14-15.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

George Mueller knew that God heard him. And because of that, he knew he would have what he asked for.

Let’s ask God to increase our faith.

Let’s live boldly believing.

Radical faith invites God to move.

Enter His Courts with Praise!

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Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4 ESV

Most of us long to experience God’s presence and power. We just don’t usually choose the path required to get there.

What is that path?

Psalm 100:4 reveals it plainly. We enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. If we want close proximity to God, we need gratitude. Sincere thanksgiving and praise for His provision must regularly erupt from our hearts and echo from our lips.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

Our lives are supposed to overflow with thanksgiving. Not once a year, but every day. Beloved, gratitude marks a life rooted in Christ. Built in Him. Strengthened in Him. Lived in Him.

What we choose to offer Him, however, usually resembles grumbling. Not gratitude.

Let’s face it. We aren’t naturally grateful people.

We have to teach our children to say, “Thank you.” They come out of the womb believing they have a right to everything. You’ll hear one word rising above a scuffle of angry toddlers. “Mine.”

If it isn’t theirs, they think it ought to be.

Yes, dear one. Appreciation must be taught. And some of us still struggle to learn it.

We’re self-centered, after all. And that inclination fixes our eyes firmly on blessings we desire instead of praising God for the ones He’s already provided.

Then we end up feeling like Job.

“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” Job 7:11

We give voice to our discontent. When we think on it continuously, our hearts become hard.

Beloved, grumbling and complaining emerge from a bitter soul. And bitterness occurs when we mistrust God’s love and believe He should do things differently.

Let’s be honest. We talk about forgiveness, but we love to indulge our bitterness. We believe we have a right to it, after all. But Hebrews 12:15 reveals a great danger in clinging to it.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

Bitterness defiles many. I’d hate to think that my own bitterness would defile my family. My husband. My children.

But that verse reveals another frightening effect. Bitterness keeps us from accessing God’s grace. Instead of experiencing His empowerment and favor, we end up limited to our own strength. Beloved, grace is what you and I are desperate for.

You see, grace merges the favor of God with life’s circumstances.

 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Beloved, we find power in Christ’s presence. Help for our needs. In His throne room, we find grace.

But we must approach His throne with the right heart.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4

A grateful heart opens the gate to the courts of the God of grace. It draws us into the presence of the Giver because it sees what He provides. And it’s grateful.

What do you need to thank God for, beloved? Do you bless Him continually for His provision? Or do you more often focus on your lack?

Bitterness robs you of grace, dear one. Don’t let the enemy steal one more blessing God longs to give. Let’s enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Let’s invite Him to fill our hearts with gratitude for all that He is and all that He gives.

When we choose gratitude, beloved, we choose grace.

Have you Discovered Your Promised Land?

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You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

What are you really after, beloved?

As Christians, most of us say that we seek God. But if we’re honest, I think many of us have been tricked into settling for something less. We encourage one another to fix our eyes on God’s promises. But what if by fixing our eyes on those promises we miss the blessing of God Himself?

Our enemy has convinced us to focus our desires on the blessings found in this world. Our hearts long for material things. For honor. Comfort. Wealth. Security.

And we’ve incorporated those things into our understanding of life in Christ. We know Christ has blessed us, so we interpret those blessings to come through material provision, expecting God’s generous overflow. Christ promises victory and authority, so we assume that means we’ll get everything our heart desires. Chasing that promise, we seek power we’re not yet ready to handle.

But many of us have missed what God taught Abraham when He called him away from the life he knew to a life of radical faith.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Genesis 15:1 NKJV

God Himself is the reward, beloved.

Moses discovered that promise to be true. He grew up in the palace of a king in the wealthiest nation in the land. He had everything a worldly heart could desire. Money. Prestige. Comfort. He lived the life that many of us long for. Yet Hebrews 11:24-26 tells us this about him.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Think this through with me a moment, dear one. What reward was Moses looking toward? He had everything the world would tell him to desire. Yet he was willing to suffer dishonor for the sake of Christ, because what he would gain surpassed the wealth and treasures of Egypt.

What was Moses after?

I doubt he knew, until 40 years later when God showed up in a burning bush and called him to Himself. And after encountering His glory, Moses made the same choice Abraham made. He’d follow wherever God led, even if it took him back to Egypt.

God sent Moses to deliver Israel from their slavery. But He wasn’t just taking them from Egypt. He was taking them to their Promised Land. After 400 years, God was fulfilling His promise to Abraham.

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” … “To your offspring I will give this land.” Genesis 12:2, 7

God had promised Israel the land of Canaan. And finally, after centuries of waiting, He sent Moses to deliver them and take them to their land of promise.

But it didn’t take long for the people to start grumbling. They complained about their lack of food in the desert, and God sent bread from heaven. He drew water from a rock when they complained of thirst. And after the people began to worship a golden calf, God offered Moses an opportunity to end the grumbling.

The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’  I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Exodus 33:1-3

I wonder how Moses felt in that moment. God offered to send them from the desert into the land the people had longed for. And He vowed to send an angel to drive out their enemies. God promised power and provision, and Moses would regain the people’s favor by giving  them what they wanted. They could finally exchange the lifeless desert for the land of promise.

You might be surprised at Moses’ response.

And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:15

You see, Moses realized the Promised Land wasn’t the true blessing. God Himself is. An angel wasn’t good enough. He wanted God. And he was willing to forsake God’s promised blessing to have His Presence.

What would you choose, beloved? Is Jesus your means to an end, or the end you’ll pursue by whatever means?

Don’t fall into the trap of wanting God’s promises more than you want Him. Jesus is your promised land, dear one. In Him you will find fullness of joy.

And He’s worth whatever it may cost you.

This Mistake Will Cost You

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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

Why am I here? Every soul seeks an answer to this question. Every heart cries out for purpose. And yet most find the answer elusive. Many live their whole lives without discovering it.

But you don’t have to wait your whole life, beloved. I’m going to tell you today.

You exist to reveal God.

It’s true. God created you to reveal His glory—His very nature. You see, God created man and woman to reveal who He is.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” Genesis 1:27-28

Beloved, when God repeats Himself, He wants us to take notice. God blessed mankind to multiply and fill the earth with all that He is.

We were supposed to reveal His image, dear one. His love. His joy. His peace. His patience. His gentleness. His faithfulness. His kindness. His goodness. His self-control. His unity. His life.

God created humanity to embody His love and express His nature on earth. The same oneness shared by Father, Son and Holy Spirit joined man with God in beautiful fellowship. And life flowed unhindered on earth through our perfect union with our Creator.

Until the serpent slithered into Eden and convinced Adam and Eve to separate from God by disobeying His word. Man exchanged truth for deception, and our enemy planted a new seed—the seed of sin— in man’s heart. That new seed changed the fruit we produce. Now, instead of revealing God’s character, we look much more like His enemy.

Beloved, the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)—given by God to nourish, grow, and produce abundant life—has been replaced by sin’s fruit.

  • Fear overshadowed love, giving birth to hate.
  • Sorrow overtook our joy.
  • Instead of peace, we naturally worry.
  • Instead of patience, anger erupts.
  • In place of kindness, we hurt people.
  • Evil has overrun goodness.
  • Faithfulness withers from doubt.
  • Harshness crushes gentleness, and self-control is all but lost.

God’s image on earth has been overshadowed, beloved. Instead of mankind revealing God’s loving and giving nature, we bear our enemy’s self-centered one. And devastation increases as God’s blessing over man proves itself.

You see, when God speaks, nothing can render His Word void. And God blessed man to bear fruit, multiply, and fill the earth.

So, man continues to bear fruit. And that fruit multiplies and increases. But instead of giving and sustaining life in God’s image, the fruit man produces often wounds and destroys it.

We see the evidence of sin’s increasing nature as violence becomes commonplace in our world. Hatred divides and separates, and terror claims innocent lives with growing frequency.

Mankind reveals our enemy’s nature with increasing measure.

But here’s the good news. God didn’t leave us alone to reap the consequences of our sin. He sent Jesus to conquer sin through the cross and restore us to God’s image.

Beloved, Jesus enabled us,

…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

Christ has empowered us to fulfill our original purpose. We can once again reveal God’s image. Jesus restored our ability to produce godly fruit that expresses His character.

Beloved, only the church can counter evil’s rise on earth. Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). You and I need to yield to the love of God and submit to His Spirit within us. Then we can fulfill our original calling and fill the earth with His image. His nature displaying itself on earth produces life and peace. This is what our broken world is desperate for.

Only the church can counter evil's rise on earth. Let Jesus reveal His image in you. Share on X

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8

I have to ask, dear one. Whose image do you bear? Does the fruit your heart produces resemble God’s character? Or are you still overcome by selfishness, worry, anger, and sorrow?

Christ endured the cross to enable your heart to love again. He suffered so you could be healed. He gave you His own peace to ease your worry. Do you experience these gifts of grace?

Don’t live the rest of your life wallowing in the desert, dear one. Let God show you who you really are. As you step into your redeemed nature, the life of God will manifest though you. And you will show the world who He is.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:16-19

Know who you are, beloved, so you can show the world who God is.

Connections that Cure the Soul

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But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 2 Corinthians 7:6

Do you ever notice that when things aren’t going well we tend to withdraw from the people we love?

Maybe we find we’re too busy to answer the phone. We ignore texts. We’ll cancel the lunch we had looked forward to with a friend.

When we need people the most, we often run from them. Have you ever considered why?

I have a suggestion for you, a reason why our flesh does all it can to convince us to separate from the people who love us. You know who influences your flesh, right? The enemy of your soul. And Jesus plainly revealed the distinct differences between His desires for us and our enemy’s.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

The thief—who has manipulated our souls since the garden through his deceptions—wants to destroy us. And as he attempts to facilitate that destruction, he isolates us from the people who care about us. He convinces us to withdraw instead of connect.

Why would he do that?

Because God heals our souls through people. And the enemy doesn’t want us whole.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. James 5:16

Beloved, 1 John 1:9 assures us that confessing to God releases forgiveness and cleansing. But James offers another step on our journey to wholeness. God releases healing as we open and share our hearts with people.

It makes sense when you think about it. God dwells in perfect fellowship with Himself, and He created us in His image. Life flows unhindered through agreement and unity with the Godhead. Disagreement and division sever that flow.

The enemy seeks to separate us from God and one another to block the flow of God’s life and power through His people.

No wonder Jesus asked,

“…that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:22-23

When people unite in love and godly purpose, God manifests. Jesus said so in Matthew 18:20.

 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

God longs for people to unite in Him so that He can make Himself known. Which is why the enemy continually convinces us to separate.

But when we connect with other believers, we experience the grace that flows through divine unity.

Even the apostle Paul needed others to revive his heart.

In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 2 Corinthians 7:4b-6

I don’t generally think of Paul as a man who struggled with fear. But his own words testify to a season of affliction that left him afraid. Yet God faithfully comforted his downcast soul.

How did He do it? He sent a man. Titus. And Paul experienced this result. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

Dear one, I don’t pretend to understand all the workings of God and why He does what He does. But I have learned to trust His Word. And His Word tells me that He releases healing through people.

So we have a choice to make. Will we continue to let hardship separate us from the body? Or will we unite and experience Paul’s blessing of overflowing joy in the midst of affliction?

Let me leave you with God’s design for His church.

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

Beloved, when each of us grow up in every way in Christ, we carry divine power to grow others. When working properly, we build up and restore.

Love propels us. Love results. And life flows as God manifests.

Does Your Thought Life Defy God?

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They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

“You are insignificant … Nobody cares about you … You have nothing of any real value to offer … Things will never change … It’s hopeless.”

I wonder if any of those words seem a little too familiar.

I’ll confess I’ve heard them myself. Many times. But they weren’t spoken by another person. I heard them in my own mind.

Whether we openly admit it or not, we all have fears that rob us of the blessings God longs to pour out. Messages often rotate through our thoughts on auto play, keeping us captive to their deceptions.

Beloved, we sin every time we believe them.

We all easily recognize things like lying, stealing, cheating, and lust as sin. But God hates everything that separates us from Him. And much of the time, what separates us from Him are the thoughts and attitudes we maintain that defy His Word and His love for us.

When we believe we’re insignificant, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” Jeremiah 1:5

When we believe nobody cares, God says, “…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3

When we believe we have no value, God says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Beloved, every time we actively believe messages that contradict God’s truth, we sin. We’re not trying to be defiant. We may not even mean to think those thoughts. But according to our opening scripture, that ignorance within us  separates us from the life of God.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

It’s time we step from ignorance into faith, dear one. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His sacrificial love has freed us from the powers of darkness that rob us of abundant life. But we’ll only experience the life Jesus offers when we choose to believe Him.

Beloved, those messages repeatedly filling your head do have a source. The enemy of your soul planted them in your mind and heart. And every time we trust his words over what God speaks, we fall into the same sin Adam and Eve committed in the garden. We reject God in favor of his enemy. And we give the enemy power he isn’t meant to have.

You and I need to stop agreeing with the wrong spirit.

Isaiah 51:22-23 makes a bold promise.

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors…”

Jesus has turned the tables on our tormentors—the ones filling our heads and hearts with darkness. Who are those tormentors? Ephesians 6:12 describes them.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We fight a very real battle against spiritual influences. They pursue us relentlessly, trying to get our hearts to agree with their dark, oppressive messages. The rest of Isaiah 51:23 reveals where they get their power.

“…who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

I wonder if that scripture brings out the same repulsion in you that it does in me. Nobody likes the feeling of being walked on. But that’s exactly how the Word of God describes humanity’s posture with the enemy.

The cross of Christ released us from our position under the enemy’s feet, beloved. But we have a nasty habit of placing ourselves right back under them. Notice how they get their power. “Who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over.’” All our spiritual enemies can do is suggest behavior to us. We position ourselves under their feet every time we believe them.

Beloved, the enemy and his forces have been using our bent backs as their streets and bridges.

But you and I hold the power to stop them, dear one. Jesus set us free from Satan’s authority and placed him firmly under our feet. To manifest that victory, we simply need to start believing what God says.

The next time one of those thoughts comes knocking, don’t entertain it. Your story has been rewritten with Jesus’ blood. The enemy can’t tell you who you are. He doesn’t own you anymore. Only God has that right. Open your heart to His love and choose to believe what God says. His Spirit will empower you to stand.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Why Does God Allow Pain?

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For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:6

In October 2016, I found myself in another hospital waiting room. My husband had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. It was his second surgery in as many years, and he couldn’t walk or drive for six weeks. You don’t plan for these things. They just happen.

Sometimes they happen more frequently than others.

That year had been a challenging one, with many precious family members and other loved ones spending hours and days in hospital rooms. I had been fortunate enough to just take up space in the waiting areas. But while my heart ached with and for them, these people I love felt it physically.

Pain. Nausea. Discomfort. Weakness. Weariness. Fear.

In those moments of heartache and pain, we naturally grasp for an answer to a tiny yet profound question. Why?

And in this world where Christianity is often touted as a direct link to blessing and prosperity, believers can be tempted to doubt God’s promises.

I get it. I’ve been there myself, wondering if God’s Word could really be true—wondering how a loving God could allow hard things like pain, suffering, and loss. The events of recent days could keep our hearts questioning God’s intentions for us if we don’t truly know His heart.

But I’d like to take a few moments to look at difficulty from God’s perspective. Jesus said in John 16:33,

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Beloved, scripture confirms something you and I already know. This world is hard. We’re going to face pain, and there’s no way around it. We live in a world that rejects the love we were made for and lives from fear instead. But Jesus came and conquered through the cross so that you and I could experience His victory. In Him, we can also overcome. Romans 8:16-17 says it this way:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Dear one, with or without Christ, this world produces suffering. But in Christ our suffering has purpose. Suffering with Him provides the means to establish us in our inheritance—to take hold of the promises available to us in Christ as co-heirs of all that God has given us.

You see, our promises aren’t just meant for heaven. We’re supposed to experience them here. And adversity provides the opportunity for us to do that.

Stick with me here. Ephesians 1:3 promises that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” But God wants those blessings lived out “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). He wants our heavenly position to be evident on earth as He reveals His glory through us.

God’s glory becomes evident when we do what Jesus did: We face the darkness on this earth and overcome.

Beloved, every spiritual blessing available to us in Christ remains a theory if we don’t grab hold of it and use it. Our trials provide an opportunity to reveal our heavenly position and manifest our blessings on earth.  We conquer fear when we face it and choose faith in spite of it. We’ll only experience the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) when we face circumstances that rob our peace.

Our suffering allows us opportunity to encounter and know God in ways our hearts never would without it.

Everyone will hurt and suffer in this life. But in Christ, God has granted us a glorious opportunity! In our struggles, we can experience God and overcome, establishing victories we didn’t know we had in us and putting our enemy firmly under our feet.

David offers a good example of this in scripture. The Philistine army had the Israelites trembling in fear because of Goliath. The giant defied their God and challenged a man to fight him. If he won, Israel would serve the Philistines.

But David knew the Word of the Lord. Intimately. He knew God’s character and the inheritance available to him as His child. So, he didn’t let the appearance of his circumstances overpower him. He drew on God’s promises, faced Goliath head on, and established his spiritual promise of victory as his earthly reality. (See 1 Samuel 17)

Our opening scripture reveals an important truth: living water bursts forth in desert places. If God has allowed suffering in your life, dear one, it isn’t because He has abandoned you or doesn’t love you. He’s closer than ever. And He has provided an opportunity for you to take hold of Him and bring some good out of  the enemy’s evil.

Suffering provides an opportunity to release our spiritual blessings in the earthly realm. Share on X

Without the suffering of recent years, I would never have experienced the miracle of His peace. I would not have discovered deceptions hidden deep within my own heart, and I wouldn’t have learned how to pray from my position in Christ and see heaven move. I wouldn’t have known the joy of my Comforter, or watched spiritual chains fall from my loved ones.

God is for you, beloved. He offers you Himself, and your suffering provides an opportunity to experience His presence and be held in His love. And when glory reveals itself, suffering fades. And you experience the wonder of resurrection life.

When Fear Costs a Blessing

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The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. Proverbs 5:22

I don’t like drawing attention to myself.

I know that might sound strange coming from a woman who regularly speaks from a stage, but here’s the truth. I would never have chosen this path for myself. I prefer obscurity.

I’d rather live life far from any public eye, enjoying my family and loving people. But God had other designs for me when I said yes to Jesus’ invitation to “Follow Me.” It’s like one of our pastors proclaimed years ago. “Following Jesus will inevitably lead you to places you’d never choose to go on your own.”

I’m living proof of that. Once I fell in love with Jesus, my desire to follow Him pushed me past some overwhelming fear. I determined that I would trust Him no matter what. So when He began to open doors for me to publicly teach His Word, I stepped through them—fighting through the nausea that told me to run the other way.

And I began to see Jesus work miracles every time I stepped up to a podium. Each time I taught His Word, God responded to my faith by showing up. His presence would push back the feelings fear had brought and overtake me with His peace. Not only that, but the people hearing the Word encountered Him too as He gave them new understanding of His truth. The grace He poured out on me also marked them.

Now Jesus has conquered my fear in that area of ministry. I no longer fear public speaking. His love set me free! But even when we’ve come so far with Him, His mercy will reveal places we have yet to go. And one Sunday morning in the middle of worship, He showed me one of those places.

While we were singing, I felt the Spirit well up inside of me, urging me to walk to the front of the church.

But I didn’t go.

I hesitate even now to share the story. I’ve spent the last 20 years telling God that I’ll go wherever He sends me. And I believed I would. I’ve followed Him to churches, meeting rooms, and retreat centers all over the place. Yet when He sent me that Sunday to the altar in my home church to lift my hands and worship Him in front of the congregation, my feet would not move.

…she is held fast in the cords of her sin. Proverbs 5:22

You see people didn’t typically flood to the altar in my old church. They stayed in their seats. They worshiped in the safety of anonymity. But that day, Jesus asked me to step from the crowd, walk boldly to the front alone, and raise my hands to worship Him.

And I didn’t go.

This prompting had come in answer to my own prayers. Longing to experience more of Him, I’d been asking for bold faith—faith that moves me from my comfort to love the lost. And the podium—which had once been my greatest fear—had become my safe place.

But what of the man sitting next to me on a plane? Or the waitress whose pained look reveals a burden? I find that I struggle to “impose myself” on someone who hasn’t invited me to help them.

But that’s not who Jesus is. He pursues the lost without shame. He extends Himself without invitation. He gives of Himself freely without fear of rejection—a fear I admit I’ve wrestled with most of my life.

And during  morning worship that Sunday, God provided an opportunity to follow Him. The lyrics we sang invited me to proclaim my deliverance. I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God. As I sang the words, I wanted to run to the front of the church and step into that freedom. But I couldn’t.

Apparently, sometimes I still live like a slave.

Don't settle for old victories. Jesus has new ones for today. #livingfaithdoesn'tstaycomfortable Share on X

I felt my heart beating faster as I hesitated, trying to discern if it was really Him prompting me to go. Then He whispered, “Walk with Me, child.” I knew He wanted me to put one foot in front of the other and walk out my faith to the front of that sanctuary. And I discovered the stronghold keeping me from living my full inheritance.

I still feared how people would judge me. I worried what they might think. How can I follow Him to the lost if I can’t follow Him to the front of the church?

I’m like the woman with the issue of blood who sought Jesus for her healing. She slipped quietly through the crowd to touch the hem of His garment. Immediately, she felt her body heal and retreated into the crowd.

She wanted miracles, but she preferred anonymity. Still, Jesus challenged her to reveal herself.

And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” Luke 8:45-46

Jesus’ question intrigues me. He knew exactly who touched Him. Scripture reveals that Jesus knows the thoughts of men. He certainly knew hers. And still, He asked the question.

 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Luke 8:47-48

Beloved, sometimes we can experience miracles but still carry our shame. We prefer not to expose ourselves to people, because the enemy of our souls has convinced us it’s safer in the darkness.

But Jesus dwells in the light, dear one. If we want to shine as light in the world, we’re going to have to trust Him and leave the shadows. Darkness might be comfortable, but it’s bondage.

And Jesus loves us too much to leave us there.

Here’s the truth, dear one. Any place where fear still reigns is a place untouched by the love of God. And here’s what’s even more beautiful. Jesus didn’t condemn me for not walking to the front of the church that day. His prompting simply highlighted a fear in my heart He wanted to heal with His love. He didn’t push me away. He drew me closer.

And His love cannot fail.

Are We Helping People into Hell?

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Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. Isaiah 59:14-15

It’s getting harder and harder to stand in agreement with God’s Word without being attacked. Isaiah 59:14 reveals why. Truth has stumbled in the public squares. The deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9) has established his agenda, convincing the public that wrong is right. Even self-proclaimed Christians have bought the lies and wandered from God’s truth, allowing society’s convictions to dictate theirs. Now,

Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Recently, my husband’s defense of biblical marriage between a man and a woman earned him the accusation of being homophobic. Today people rush to judgment without understanding. I’d like to set the record straight.

While I’m aware that homophobia is all too real and even dangerous, many people who don’t support the LGBT lifestyle for biblical reasons aren’t projecting fear or hatred toward those involved in it. We fear for them.

Beloved, we believe in Jesus, and Jesus came to deliver mankind from our destructive bondage to sin. He came to sever our attachment to anything the enemy of our souls planted in our hearts that pulls us away from God and the life He planned for us. Those things are the natural desires of the flesh that find their root in darkness.

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our fallen, natural condition.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Beloved, without Jesus, our very nature condemns us. Ephesians 2 explains the reason we have need of the cross! The natural passions of our flesh come from the evil one instead of the God who created us. Our sin nature that sets us following the course of this world instead of God’s desires positions us for wrath.

But God loved us too much to leave us in that state! So He sent Jesus.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

John 3:17-19 confirms God’s intentions for mankind through Jesus.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Beloved, I fear for those who choose to remain in darkness. Because I know where that choice will end. And my heart aches for the influence the darkness wields over their minds and hearts.

Do you know what lies at the heart of the transgender movement, dear one? The prince of this world has convinced people to hate who God created them to be. The inner voice telling them something is wrong with them has become so powerful they’re willing to mutilate their bodies to try to feel better and escape the pain. Pain that only exists because the deceiver has blinded them to the beauty of who they are. God did not give them that misery, dear one. The thief robbed their identity. Jesus said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

What these people are searching for can’t be found by different clothes or a surgeon’s knife. Bruce Jenner proved that. People applauded his bold step to come out and reveal his life long struggle with his identity. But my heart broke as I saw the pain in his eyes during his interview. He fought tears much of the time.

You see, taking that step didn’t make him feel any better. Becoming Caitlyn didn’t end the pain.

Choosing a new gender identity didn’t fix the problem, beloved. Happiness still eluded him. And it will until he discovers that true joy only comes when we find our identity in Christ.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.

We think the way to help people who suffer this way is to support their decision and make them feel safe. It isn’t. The problem isn’t that God made a mistake and gave them the wrong parts. He doesn’t make mistakes.

They suffer from a heart condition. The deceiver has darkened their thinking and stolen their joy.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

Beloved, only Christ can deliver them from the darkness. I’m not against establishing LGBT rights because I hate them. I believe Jesus wants to save and restore them.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NIV

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided a miraculous gift. He saved us from our condemned condition. He died to redeem our flesh, taking our sin so He could give us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus has literally provided us with divine power to change our natural, self-destructive desires (2 Peter 1:3-4)—the desires that keep us bound to the prince of darkness and will also bind us to his eternal fate. But we must, “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

If we keep pushing an agenda that supports the LGBT lifestyle—establishing what God has declared wrong to be right (Romans 1:18-32)—we only help send people to their eternal destruction. And we keep them from discovering the answer to the pain that their heart really longs for. Jesus.

Love doesn’t establish law that makes sin easier and helps people self-destruct. It speaks the truth and extends a hand to pull them out.

“Love is unselfishly choosing for another's highest good.” -C.S. Lewis #thecrossdelivers Share on X

Their highest good is their deliverance!

Jesus said, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He was either a lunatic, a liar, or exactly who He claimed to be: The Son of God who came to save the world.

I happen to believe Him.

Go From Poverty to Provision

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… in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 2 Corinthians 8:2

I wonder if you feel like your circumstances have left you with nothing to give. Maybe you feel depleted, barely able to hang on. Your scarcity may be financial, relational, or even emotional, but it really doesn’t matter. Your stores are empty. You don’t have what you need, never mind the ability to give to anyone else.

Can you relate, dear one? If so, perhaps that empty place is the perfect place for you to be.

Let’s see if you really pay attention to what you read. In our opening scripture, what did the Macedonian churches’ wealth of generosity flow from?

Yes. You read it right. Extreme poverty.

In the natural world, that sentence doesn’t even make sense. By definition, poverty represents lack. It means want or extreme need. Scarcity, shortage, deficit, and debt are all synonyms.

Beloved, extreme poverty means not having enough for yourself. So how can what you don’t have provide what somewhat else needs?

Yet that’s precisely how scripture describes these churches. Extreme poverty overflowed into wealth. Their own lack became generous provision for others. How?

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Our God of the impossible makes lack overflow into provision. It doesn’t make sense to the natural mind. It seems unbelievable. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

Take a moment to ponder Jesus’ words from Luke 6:38.

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

You and I need to understand this biblical truth, beloved. If we want to receive from God, He requires us to give.

If you need money, give to someone in need. If you need comfort, comfort someone else. If you need forgiveness, forgive. If you desperately need to feel love, be the one who gives it. And God promises that He will return what you give back to you. With good measure, pressed down and running over, He will put into your own lap the very thing you have given.

Because giving—particularly from lack—requires a little something from us. It requires faith. And faith moves God to pour out grace.

That, dear one, is how lack overflows into wealth. When we trust God by giving what we don’t have, the God of overflow fills the void to provide it.

Let’s look at a few scriptures relating God to overflow.

He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people? Psalm 78:20

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5

Beloved, God alone can make your cup overflow, even when enemies threaten to take everything. His presence made water flow from solid rock to provide for His thirsty people in the desert. He longs to show His overflow in your desert places. But He waits for you to exercise a little faith.

Jesus released God’s overflow when He fed five thousand men—plus women and children—with only five loaves and two fish. But do you know when that food multiplied, dear one? When the disciples trusted Jesus by giving the little they had in their hands away.

Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Matthew 14:19-20

Twelve disciples gave from their lack. They each went home with a basket of left overs—pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Oh beloved. Let’s not wait to give from our abundance. Giving from poverty releases God to reveal Himself.

 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

And she alone experienced God when He gave her more.