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Articles from August 2015

Take Time to Remember: “You are deeply loved.”

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I co-parent teenagers. The daily dilemmas, disputes and doldrums can leave any parent feeling pretty defeated by day’s end. If I don’t carve out time to remember who He is and who I am in the midst of my week, the frequent storms will wear me down.

Together, let’s take time this week to recount a few basic yet extraordinary truths to help us stay emotionally and spiritually afloat as we cling to Him in the midst of the mundane and marvelous tasks of the day before us.

 

“You are deeply loved.”

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

You_are_His_belovedI love my kids and know they love me in return. But, teenagers don’t always share their love out loud. Gone are the days when “mommy’s home” are words gleefully sung as I walk in the door. Rarely do I receive homemade cards with adorable drawings and sweet sentiments all over them. And, bed times. Well, I can’t remember if my teenagers ever begged me to stay in their room to tell me one more time that they love me to the moon and back.

I do appreciate how my teenagers can beautifully express themselves with great affection or gratitude at just the right time. But, I know that their increased freedom and focus on other things can make the frequency and intensity of their loving gestures appropriately decrease over time. While this is completely normal, sometimes a mom sure can miss being loved on by little kids. Before you know it, you can easily find yourself wallowing in the memories of yesteryear and truly wondering if anyone loves you.

For this reason, it is so important for us to take time to immerse ourselves in God’s love by reading passages that remind us of His affection toward us. While it may sound silly and even indulgent, we can only love because He first loved us (I Jn. 4:19). We must take time to experience His quieting love. He loves you more than any person on earth. He actually calls you His beloved. This word means dearly loved, adored, cherished, favorite, darling, and treasured. Nothing on earth compares to being called beloved by the Creator of the universe, the one that knows every single thing about you. We can do nothing to earn or deserve this designation. Christ did it all. And, since He is God’s Beloved, when we were placed in Christ, we became His beloved as well.

Despite the whisperings of the enemy or the doubts and dread that arise on difficult days with our families, remember today that you are deeply loved by the God who created you. Though he may be quiet in His love, His affection for His beloved far surpasses the distance to the moon and back.

Tuesday: “God is enough.”

Jackie

Trusting God in Tough Times: Trusting God No Matter What

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

Trusting God No Matter What

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” 

Psalm 56:3-4, NIV

Skydiving_FRIDAYThis week, we have talked about times when it’s difficult to trust God—when bad things happen, when He seems silent, and when we don’t understand God’s plan. Ultimately, the goal is learning to trust God no matter what happens.

Sometimes, we must choose to trust even when we don’t feel like it, even when we’re afraid. In the face of difficult circumstances, we can choose to believe in God’s faithfulness and trust the outcome to Him. It won’t always be easy. Trusting in God may not be our human nature’s first inclination. But when we shift our focus to an eternal perspective, the troubles of this world can begin to fade away.

I want to come back to a verse I originally shared on Monday. This verse in 2 Corinthians gives us clear guidance regarding the struggle to maintain an eternal perspective:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV

Remember that the struggles we experience in this world won’t be present in eternity. God doesn’t promise us a life in this world without trouble or trials. However, God does promise to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to walk through it all with us—and to be with us always (Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10).

As we learn to rest in the peace of His presence, we can praise God even in the midst of the trials and struggles we will inevitably face in this life. Trusting the Lord requires courage and faith. I believe it’s a lifelong journey of learning to lean on His promises and faithfulness.

When storms come your way, I pray you won’t lose heart. Instead, remember that you are safe in the arms of a sovereign and loving God. Your circumstances do not take Him by surprise, and He is fully able to do what He has promised.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21, NIV

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison

Trusting God in Tough Times: When We Don’t Understand God’s Plan

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

When We Don’t Understand God’s Plan

“Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.” 

2 Samuel 7:28, NIV

Maze_THURSDAYYou’ve just lost your job. You want to have a baby, but it’s not happening and you can’t understand why. A loved one has been diagnosed with cancer. Your marriage is falling apart in spite of your best efforts. Whatever your particular situation, your dreams are crushed and it hurts.

How can this be God’s plan for your life? Sometimes our dreams don’t come to fruition and our best laid plans fall apart.

When things don’t go according to my plans, I’m tempted to assume God has forgotten about me. Maybe the details of my life just aren’t important to the God of the universe. Can I trust Him? In the midst of my pain, I tend to blame God instead of trusting Him.

Even though we sometimes feel forgotten, God is present. He doesn’t overlook His promises to us. He delights in us and wants the best for us.

I love how Corrie ten Boom explained God’s plan. She said, “Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” (The Hiding Place). This is an especially powerful testimony since Corrie ten Boom spent almost a year suffering in three different prisons, including a concentration camp in Germany, after she and her family helped Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. Ultimately, Corrie ten Boom was released (due to a technical error) and spent the next 40 years speaking and writing about God’s love and the power of forgiveness.

God is faithful, and He is able to use every circumstance to draw us closer to Him. Even if we can’t see how the pieces will fit together, God is weaving a beautiful story in our lives. He loves us more than we can imagine. In that infinite love, he created a plan for each of us. We can trust that God will show up. Believe anything is possible with God. He is trustworthy.

Dear Lord, we put ourselves and our futures in your hands. We believe you will do a powerful work with and through our lives. We submit our plans to you. Line up our plans with Your plans. God, Your plans are greater and Your ways higher.

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison