The Extraordinary Miracle of Encouragement

The Extraordinary Miracle of Encouragement

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It started with a simple email:

“I’m a pastor’s wife and along with the rest of the elder’s wives in our local church we are facilitating some of the women’s ministry. I realise this is a far stretch … but I’m taking a chance that you may be able to come and spend a week or so in South Africa and in particular address the women at our annual weekend away.”

That email arrived in my inbox at the end of December. Less than seven months and a handful of Zoom calls later, I traveled from Denver, Colorado to Johannesburg, South Africa, where I spent half the month of July connecting with these women along with several other churches and ministries throughout the country. By the time I boarded my plane to return home, I was both exhausted and elated. 

I have never felt so encouraged and excited about the global church. The headlines might be full of bad news, but the Good News is alive and thriving. And what God is doing in and through His Bride all over the globe is nothing short of spectacular. 

You should know, this was my third trip to South Africa. Nothing magical happened, no signs in the sky or dead bodies raised back to life. And yet, in the two weeks I spent sharing my story and listening to the stories of so many others, I experienced something miraculous just the same. For in the simple act of coming together, joined in our love of Jesus and desire to follow Him all the days of our lives, something divine and truly extraordinary happened:

We encouraged each other.

I know, I know. You were hoping for something more dramatic and eye-popping. “Encouragement” sounds so ordinary. But don’t be misinformed: Encouragement IS dramatic. Even better, it is holy.

“After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,
 where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.”
 Acts 16:40 NIV

At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Paul and Silas traveled to Philippi to share the Good News of Jesus with the people there. On the Sabbath, they went outside the city gate to a place they believed to be a gathering spot for prayer. They shared the Gospel with those they met, and many became followers of Jesus including a woman named Lydia. Some time after, Paul and Silas land in jail. After an earthquake, more Gospel-preaching, and many conversions (including the jailer!), Paul and Silas are released. And what do they do first? “They went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.” 

The Greek word Luke uses here for “encouraged” is parakaleo, which is the combination of two Greek words: para, which means to the side of, and kaleo, which is to call. Combined, they create this two-sided interaction in which one person calls another for help and the other person responds by coming to their side and offering what is needed most: comfort, exhortation, consolation, and encouragement. Parakaleo is a powerful and significant word. In fact, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our paraklete, a derivative of parakaleo.

(Go ahead and read that again.)

When you and I ask for help AND when you and I come to the side of each other in response to that call, we partner with the Holy Spirit, God’s presence in and with us. 

Encouragement is an expression of the trinity, a way for us mere mortals in the middle of challenging circumstances to bear witness with each other to the extraordinary activity of God. As a result? Hearts so weary they are near dead are brought back to life. Faith long crippled and weak discovers new strength to stand tall. Like Paul, Silas, and the believers at Lydia’s home. All because of this extraordinary exchange called parakaleo:

The Miracle of Encouragement.

Sometimes I think we make church far more complicated than it needs to be. We create big events and develop complex programs. We wear ourselves out trying to make all of our words loud and ministries shiny. I wonder if what our world truly needs might be far more simple: 

Encouragement. 

A willingness to drop everything else and come to the side of anyone needing a hand. Spending time in each other’s homes, sharing our stories, one day, one moment at a time, until our faith flies like a flag, waving hope to all the nations. 

Be encouraged, friends. I’m standing at your side today as a reminder that you are not alone. God sees you, loves you, and is not finished with you. Have courage. 

Now, find someone else who needs to hear that, too. 

 

Listen to Michele’s devotion below or on your fave podcast app!

Three Words from Jesus to Give You Hope Today

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Take heart, daughter.

These are the words Jesus says to a woman who has endured bleeding for twelve years. She has pressed through a crowd. She has sought Jesus. She has touched the edge of His cloak. She is unclean. She shouldn’t be here. She is breaking all the rules. But she can’t hold back. Because she also knows what it’s like to be isolated and anxious, hopeful then devastated, discouraged and desperate to keep believing that God has healing in store for her.

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you haven’t bled physically — but you’ve bled emotionally. Maybe the wound came from someone you love and should have been able to trust. Perhaps depression drained all the joy from your heart. Life circumstances might have cut you and you’re still trying to recover.

What I love about this biblical story is that Jesus doesn’t say, “Get well soon” or even “Be healed.” Everyone who knew the details of this woman’s story thought her biggest problem was losing blood. Jesus alone looked at her and saw that the biggest risk was that she could lose heart.

Losing heart means we stop believing things can get better.
Losing heart means we can’t seem to keep our grip on hope.
Losing heart means living tired and numb, going through the motions.
Losing heart means becoming disconnected from the truest parts of who we are.
Losing heart means we start saying, “This is just the way it is.”

We will all be tempted to lose heart at some point in our lives. It might come after years of something hard. It might happen suddenly because of an unexpected loss. It might not be one thing but many, a slow accumulation of hurts that steal our strength. Are you the woman pressing into Jesus today?

“Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed at that moment.” (Matthew 9:22 NIV)

Jesus is turning toward you today. He sees your pain. He is saying to you, “Take heart, daughter.” These are words of affection and protection. They are an affirmation and invitation. They are full of tenderness and belonging.

What’s causing you to lose heart today? Whatever you’re facing, it matters to Jesus. He has seen all you have endured. He knows how many nights you’ve stared at the ceiling, trying to sleep. He has heard every prayer that feels like it’s still unanswered.

Jesus knows how hard it is sometimes to just keep trusting, keep pressing forward, keep believing that change is possible. He looks at you not with criticism but compassion, not pressure to hurry up your healing but infinite patience, not disapproval but deep love.

The woman who approached Jesus did what she could until Jesus did what only He can. She showed up. She dared to try. She took steps. So if you are in a season of waiting for healing, it is okay for you to do what you can too.

In my life, that has looked like saying “I’m not okay” to trusted friends, going to counseling, moving my body in healthy ways, looking for resources to help me learn and grow. It means asking, “What is the next small step I can take toward Jesus today?” and then doing so even on the days I don’t feel like it.

Of course, there are also meltdowns and detours, slip-ups and setbacks, moments when I want to just give up. That’s part of being human for all of us. What matters is that we keep going until the moment when we finally experience the healing we’ve been seeking. It is coming. I type that with hopeful tears in my eyes. It is not meant as a cliché or spiritual band-aid. I know full well it doesn’t take the bleeding away. But I’m choosing to keep believing today, and I’m inviting you to do the same with me.

Take heart, daughter.

Jesus spoke those words to a woman in a crowd; He is still speaking them to your heart now.

If you’re losing heart because you’ve been hurt by someone in your life, Holley’s online course Heal After You’re Hurt can help you heal and move forward. Find out more here.

 

Listen to Holley’s devotion below or on your favorite podcast app.

When God Whispers

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Write it down.

The words that came to me upon waking on a May morning several years ago were so softly spoken, that I would’ve missed them if they had not reverberated in my whole being. I had just had the most incredible dream, one where I was walking through a house with a certain number of bedrooms, more than one kitchen, and the exterior painted forest green. 

When I woke up, I could still feel the embrace of that dream home wrapping me in warmth and peace. And in the silence of that early morning, I heard God whisper the words, Write it down. His voice was so intimate and deeply personal that tears rose as I grabbed a notebook and did my best to scribble down what I had seen and experienced in my dream. 

After doing so, I turned to my husband and told him about my dream. In response, he pulled out his phone and decided to search for a house located in the south of Iceland that fit that description, just for fun. We had been living in Akureyri, a town in the north, for two years and knew we were being led to move to the south. We really didn’t have an idea of what specific town we would move to, let alone the finances to purchase a house when we did move.

After scrolling through a few available houses in the capital and surrounding areas, my husband turned the phone around to show me one house in particular. “That’s the color of the house in my dream,” I breathed. As he listed out all the details, my mouth continued to drop. Not only did this house fit the description in my dream, but it was located in my husband’s hometown.

From the overflow of that moment, God continued to direct and provide and by August we had moved into that dream home.  

I often look back on that moment. The dream and all that unfolded was such a palpable and tangible experience of God’s provision. But what I recall the most fondly is how God spoke to me in that sacred moment between waking and sleeping, in the quiet sliver of time where distractions gave way to a divine interaction. 

That whisper changed so much in my life and my family. It led to decisions and steps towards home.

Yet I wonder how many times I’ve missed or ignored God’s personal and intimate nudge. What other worries and fears could I have alleviated by leaning in to His voice? What need may have been met, provision received if I had quieted myself enough to listen? What distractions are taking a more prominent role and dividing my attention from all the thoughts God has over me?

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.”
Psalm 139:17-18 NIV

God’s thoughts over us are numerous and beyond measure. So why do we sometimes settle for counterfeit words when even His whisper can reverberate through our present circumstances and into a multitude of centuries? I am grateful for the way God spoke to me in my dream, but His words are also available to us in every moment of every day.

The environments we live in definitely don’t make hearing His voice easy. The noise of opinion often shows up louder and stronger than the truth we really seek.

As my family now settles after a time of transition back to the States, I find myself tempted to get caught up in a whirlwind of noise. Lies seem louder when you’re tired. Hope feels more deferred when you’re discouraged. It’s often more convenient to cultivate patterns of striving and stress than rhythms of abiding and rest.

But God has never stopped speaking. And although He may come on the scene with thunderous roars, He can pierce through the hardest hearts with the gentlest whisper. God is faithful to step into our whirlwinds. Instead of matching the fury of a storm, He encloses us in His arms, tucks us to His chest, and speaks the words that we desperately need to hear.

If you would like to read more about letting go of lies and leaning in to what God says about you, check out this free download of Jenny’s book, Milk & Honey in the Land of Fire & Ice.

 

Listen to Jenny’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts. (Just search (in)courage!)

No Matter What Happens Next…

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“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NLT

I wonder if the disciples gave each other the side eye when Jesus told them that here on earth they would have many trials and sorrows. Did they think of the families and jobs they had left to follow Jesus? Did they think of their friend John the Baptist who had been beheaded for his faith? Did they remember the faces of every sick or bleeding or demon-possessed person who had come to Jesus over the last three years seeking healing?

Surely the disciples were as keenly aware of the trials and sorrows of this world as you and I are today. They may not have known words like cancer, coronavirus, terrorism, or depression, but they saw corruption in the temple courts, watched parents grieve the death of children, and knew that some people would rather murder the promised Messiah than surrender their grasp on power. And they probably sensed that things were going to get worse before they got better. Have you had that sinking feeling too?

On the last night before He was crucified, Jesus lingered around a table with His closest friends and poured out His heart. Though they had logged countless hours and miles doing life and ministry side by side, Jesus used this night, known as the Last Supper, to make sure they knew the most important things.

Jesus’s farewell teaching is recorded in John 13–16. His final instructions fall under three main themes:

• Love one another (13:34–35; 15:17).
• If you love God, obey Him and remain in Him to bear fruit (14:15; 15:5–10).
• God will send the Spirit to guide you (14:26; 16:7–14).

It’s at the end of this rich, mind-bending, life-changing, revolutionary teaching that Jesus says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT).

I’m not going to lie. I’d prefer it if Jesus would have said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace — because if you simply follow my instructions, life will be fun and easy and pain-free. Hooray!” Please tell me I’m not the only one. I would have liked to save my younger self (and my current self ) from the heartbreak and uncertainty and fear that come from living in a fallen and broken world.

But even as I write this, I know my thinking is flawed. If life was absent of trouble, or if peace and perfection were within our reach, we wouldn’t need a Savior. Jesus didn’t come to teach us how to control life and avoid pain. He came to overcome the world and give us His peace.

The peace of Jesus comes in His fierce with-ness. Do you know what I mean by that? No matter what happens, no matter what storm rages, or what circumstances rock your world, Jesus will be right there with you. Even as Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He assured them of His steadfast commitment. “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you” (John 14:18).

Take a moment and think of a challenging situation or trial. Maybe it’s an issue at work, a conflict with a close friend, or an inner struggle you have never even named. Hold it in your mind. Feel the tension it causes in your body. Let the mental and emotional weight you carry transfer to your physical body. Now add Jesus to your picture. Right in the middle of that family crisis or worrisome visit to the doctor, imagine Jesus is sitting beside you. No matter what happens next, He’s not leaving.

Take a deep breath. Inhale the gift of His presence.

This is the peace of Jesus. Not that your circumstances will instantly change or that the road ahead will be free of painful potholes and disheartening detours, but that God the Son in the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit whom He sent go with you.

By Becky Keife from our (in)courage Bible Study, Create in Me a Heart of Peace

 

If You’re Holding Pain From a Broken Covenant, Here’s the Truth That Will Heal You

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Months after he left, after he walked away from almost twenty years of marriage, I was still face down in the heartbreak of it all.

He’d chosen a different life—one that didn’t include me, my daughter, our friends, or our families. When the unthinkable crashes in and steals away all that’s familiar, it throws us into a deeply unwanted new normal.

And there I was, holding a broken covenant, consumed with confusion and fixated on the pain. Shame partnered with anxiety and, together, they spun a nasty narrative about my inadequacies, pointing a gnarled finger at all I could have — should have — done differently.

One morning, as I slid out of bed, anxiety greeted me with such force, it took my breath away. I couldn’t escape the words circling around in my head.

Rejectable.
Rejected.
Replaceable.

If you and I were sitting down together over coffee, I’d tell you all the details of that particular morning. Because that morning . . . everything changed. It was as though our Heavenly Father reached into my new, little life — into my new little apartment — and stopped the spin.

Gently, I felt Him prompt me to start writing. In particular, and this still gives me goosebumps, I felt Him say, “Write down all the ‘R’ words you can think of.”

I know, it seems odd. But, God speaks to us in ways that are uniquely meaningful to us. I love words. In particular, for as long as I can remember, I have loved “R” words. That morning, deep in the valley of rejection, I started writing down all the “R” words I could think of. I started with the obvious.

Rejected. Rejectable. Replaceable.

I circled them several times in my journal, just to remind Him of what I’d been through . . . as if He didn’t know. It’s hard for me to tell this story without emotion. Because as I wrote, focusing on what He asked me to focus on, the words began to change. After several seemingly meaningless words, I watched my pen write out the word Relish.

It was like the whole room disappeared, and I just sat staring at this strange word on my page.

“Relish?” I asked. “Like the condiment?”

“Look it up,” I sensed the Lord say.

Relish. To adore. To enjoy greatly. To add zest.

Leaping from my chair, I danced around my living room, tears of joy and gratitude free-flowing. In an instant, I understood. The King of Heaven adores me — He thinks I add zest. He enjoys me greatly!

No human rejection trumps this truth. No decision against me holds any weight when compared to His decision for me. He declares me irreplaceable. Wanted. Loved. Enjoyed. Worthy of the greatest pursuit of all time (John 3:16).

For many months, I had been seeing myself through the eyes of the man who had walked away instead of through the eyes of the One Who never would. The eyes and heart of the One Who is fully for us — Who chooses us again and again.

Oh, how my heart needed this message — and maybe yours does, too.

Maybe you’ve felt the heartache of rejection or betrayal. Maybe the trauma of your past spins a shame narrative in your soul. Or maybe, like so many of the women who come through the door of my counseling office, you battle the taunting of anxiety and wonder if you’ll ever feel good enough . . . if you’ll ever measure up.

Friend, please let your heart hear this: God wants you. The King of Heaven’s Armies is running to you. Defending you. Declaring you. Pursuing you. Choosing you — as though it was just you and Him.

If I could show you my journal from that morning, you’d see several passages written out in big, bold letters and circled with obvious enthusiasm. But I keep coming back to Isaiah 43:1, “‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’”

Called by name by God Himself — we are His.

I wish I could tell you that the pain of betrayal and rejection ended that day. It didn’t. I still battled anxiety from time to time. And the ripple effect of a life undone still created waves of grief.

But what did change was how hard it landed. When I fully grasped Who chose me, it stopped mattering who didn’t. When I stayed focused on His truth and all He says about me, I found considerable relief from the lies handed down through the trauma.

So, in case you need to be reminded today, my friend, your Heavenly Father adores you. He thinks you add zest. No matter what has happened, He declares you chosen, irreplaceable, and wonderfully made.

May that truth linger long for you as you journey through all you might be facing today.

Everyday Superpowers, Supernatural Power, and Why We Absolutely Need Both

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All of us have something special within ourselves that impacts others and can alter the atmosphere around us: Everyday superpowers. Not exactly the blockbuster movie variety, but superpowers nonetheless. Attitudes and influence that shape opinion, encourage or inspire, and change the course of someone’s day, even if only our own. This is not nothing. In fact, it’s quite a lot.

The person who can always soothe a crying baby in your church nursery. The friend who has a knack for fixing virtually anything. The stranger who sing-songs across the Kroger parking lot, “I LOVE your dress!” turning your frown upside down, then, “Girl, your SHOES (hand gesturing in a dramatic swirl from your head toward your feet), you got it GOING ON today!” Okay…that was personal. Someone I had never met until last Tuesday, and won’t likely ever see again, had the ability to transform my lousy day into something lovely. If that isn’t power, I don’t know what is.

Everyday superpowers are not something we conjure or force, but they can be cultivated. 

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) tells us, “… we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” We are created in His image with a planned purpose, and regardless of our age or stage, there are always good things for us to do. 

What you offer matters because no one else has exactly what you have to give. God has fashioned each one of us uniquely in a way to impact the people and circumstances around us, whether in word or deed, in large ways or small. Do you understand what that means? Darling, the world hasn’t been the same since you were born.

Satan knows this, too. I suspect he understands God’s plans for us better than we do. It would explain the discouragement, defeat, and despair that continually creep into our hearts and minds. Satan hates us – he hates God! – and he effectively undermines us (and God) any way he can.  

Usually, I think of our everyday superpowers as an outward influence, but recently I’ve considered what a superpower can mean personally. For most of my life, one of my superpowers has been “irrepressible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything” — textbook Pollyanna. In the absence of light, I’d pinpoint the bright side. When all seemed lost, I could find the thinnest silver lining. But, as the past two years have brought some of the darkest days of my life, there have been moments when I’ve been crushed by the pain of circumstance. I could barely hold it together.

It’s easy to think (tapping into faith), “This is right where God wants you. In your weakness, He is strong,” and while that might be true, I would’ve wanted to smack anyone who said that to me. I was in a pit where bright sides and silver linings couldn’t penetrate the darkness. Any superpower I had, or thought I had, was effectively neutralized. I scoffed at every Christian cliché I heard or ever uttered. I couldn’t reconcile a “good God” with the anguish and heartache our family was facing. I was going through the motions the best I could, but underneath a thin veneer, I was fragile, often on the edge of breaking.

I was sad and angry all the time. Have you ever been in a place like that?

Thankfully, another of my everyday superpowers is the ability to think rationally when my mind and emotions are whack-a-doodle. I understood I needed help, and the solution wasn’t Pollyanna. I reached out to my doctor. I confided in people who loved me and who my rational mind knew I could trust. People with whom I could be honest about the ugliness and unbelief I was feeling. People who would listen and pray, not try to fix me. People who would know the right time to point me to Jesus, not shove Him in my face. People with everyday superpowers I desperately needed.  

And, then there was my sister — who was suffering the most — yet intuitively understood how I felt. “Be positive!” she’d chirp when we’d video chat, making a checkmark in front of her heart with her thumb and index finger while simultaneously clicking her tongue, parroting how her husband uses the same words and gestures to encourage her.  

Initially, I wanted to smack her, too. I’d smile politely, irritated at and disappointed in myself that she was the one with a terminal brain tumor, and I wasn’t rallying her. 

But God was at work. He heard the prayers of those interceding, and the Holy Spirit tended my heart. “Be positive” became a battle cry. This wasn’t my Pollyanna disposition resurfacing. Being positive became a powerful act of resistance against the darkness around and within me. This wasn’t any superpower. This was God’s supernatural power at work. 

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.“
Psalm 40:1-3 NLT

In my dark pit, I needed the supernatural power of Jesus. He met me there and lifted me out of my despair. And He keeps meeting me through His Word and prayer. Through vulnerability and medical support. Through the everyday superpowers of friends and family. Through those whose faith is strong and those, like my sister, whose body is weak. Superpowers birthed from supernatural power are remarkable. How so?

God’s supernatural power empowers you and me to resist the fiery darts of the enemy. His promises are no trite cliché but our precious lived grace.

Might we dare to ask God to use the everyday superpowers He’s knit into our DNA for someone who’s hurting? We never know whose day, whose life, it could change.

 

Listen to Robin’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.

God’s Love Is the Ocean and All You Need to Do Is Float

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I learned to swim in Muskoka Lake, nestled in the cottage country of Ontario, Canada. My cousin set up a fishing line with foam duckies attached and looped it across two docks, the lake water in the middle. It was the boundary I couldn’t pass until he deemed me ready. 

One of the first things my cousin ever taught me was how to float. He forced me to lean my entire body back, head tipped into the water, eyes gazing upwards. I had to trust he wouldn’t let me drown. I had to trust the water would hold me. 

It’s one thing to learn to float as a child, when your body weight is light and easy. It’s another thing as an adult. 

Floating is apparently supposed to come naturally, but it doesn’t feel that way for me. Hand me a raft, a pool float, or a tube and I’ll happily relax in a body of water all day. But to lean my body back in the water and trust I’ll stay on the surface? I don’t like it. I don’t like how my eyes have to remain on the sky, not on my surroundings. I don’t like how my mind starts imagining how I might sink. When I stop trusting that I can remain buoyant, I start thrashing in the water. 

The key to floating is surrender. And the key to surrender is to relax. 

I have surrendered a hundred different aspects of my life to Jesus. Or at least, I think I have. My “surrender” has often felt more like gritting my teeth and holding on tight with white knuckles, trying to hand it over to God, while I remain tense and grumpy. But what if true surrender has nothing to do with white knuckles and gritted teeth?

What if surrender looks a lot more like relaxing into an ocean of love? Like leaning your body back and simply floating…

The idea behind the word surrender implies putting your whole weight on someone or something. It requires letting go. It requires trust. We cannot let go of something without having someone we trust to hand it to.

In John 4, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as Living Water, as a stream or a spring welling up within us. And then we see the same image in Revelation 22, a river of life flowing from the throne of God. 

God’s love is like a river, ever flowing; or like an ocean, stretching as far as the eye can see. You are in the water. You are surrounded by the love of God. His love is on every side of you. His Spirit dwells within you. You don’t have to earn it or prove it or pursue it.

When Peter walked on water in Matthew 14, he was practicing this concept of surrender. He saw Jesus in front of him and he trusted Him. But as soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus, as soon as he put in his own effort to remain afloat, he began to sink.

Psychologist David Benner says, “Our efforts to stay afloat — that is, our efforts to earn God’s love — are always counterproductive. We must simply open our spiritual eyes and see that we are in the river of God’s love and that our staying afloat and moving along are God’s responsibility. All we have to do is surrender.” 

It turns out that you don’t have to do anything to float. You trust that the water will hold you. You lean back… and simply relax. 

You and I are in the ocean of God’s love. There is nothing that can separate you from Him or His love for you. You are loved by God, and that is — and always will be — the truest thing about you. Whether you see it or not, His love is as close to you as the air you breathe and the skin on your body. His love is a river, and you are in the water.

I’m learning what surrender looks like. I’m learning how to trust. I’m learning that I don’t have to swim or tread water or do laps. The ocean of God’s love surrounds me. 

Feel the warmth on your face and the water on your skin.

Tip your head, lean back… and float.

 

Listen to Aliza’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.

 

The Old Made New

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If you ask my husband, he would tell you that perhaps my worst quality is the inability to throw things away. I am not a hoarder but I have a tendency not to throw out my old clothes even after I get new ones. I had a pair of pajamas that I bought when I was in college for my undergraduate degree. I continued to wear them all through grad school and brought them with me to Oklahoma when I got married. I wore them as I rocked my newborn little girl to sleep, even though by now they had holes and the fabric was getting thin. They weren’t particularly special at all, but they were comfortable.

My husband loves buying me pajama sets. Every Mother’s Day and Christmas I am gifted pajamas, even on random shopping days he points out pajamas for me to purchase. I have all of these new pajamas tucked away in my closet, most only worn once or twice because I still reach for my old pair from my college days.

One day my husband sat me down for an intervention. His tone was firm but one of love. “ I was hoping you would get the hint… these pajamas are literally falling apart. You bought them over 10 years ago when you were a broke college student. Now you are an adult. You can buy real pajamas and wear them.” We laughed and agreed that it was time to get rid of my old pajama pants.

I think often this is how we live as Christians. We invite Jesus into our lives and keep Him in the corner of our hearts, but we still live like we used to because it’s hard for us to fully throw that life out. The old life may have been toxic and broken but it is familiar and therefore comfortable.

But Jesus has paid the price and offers us a brand new life. A renewal of our heart and soul where everything changes.

Christianity is not just an addition of Christ to your life where we think differently about some things, add church attendance to your week, and find a way to not sin as much or be a nicer person.

No, it is a full-on transformation. Everything changes.

“I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 MSG

Like any good transformation, there has to be a removal and replacement that takes place. A true renovation process begins with gutting a house of the outdated and broken, not simply painting everything white to cover it up. We can’t simply change our external behavior to look more like Jesus; we have to let Him renew our hearts from corruption and self-centeredness. This new heart that Jesus offers is what allows us to be sensitive to God’s voice, convicted of sin, and desire to live a life pleasing to God.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

This is a daily choice, not a one-time decision. As my husband with a firm and loving tone reminded me, I pray that you would hear the voice of Christ, reminding you of who you are today and that He would lead you to take the steps of getting rid of the unhealthy and ill-fitting things of your past so you can put on Christ.

 

Listen to Simi’s devotion below or on the (in)courage podcast wherever you like to stream.

Using the Tent Pegs God Has Given Us

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When I was growing up, our family vacations were often camping at national and state parks. There’s something glorious and gritty about setting up a tent and sleeping beneath a star-studded sky. The intoxicating perfume of the forest calms my spirit like a weighted blanket and helps me rest.

A few weeks ago, my oldest and I went camping, just the two of us. I anticipated this special trip with my young adult daughter, who will be heading off to college this fall. We planned to hike a waterfall in the national park, read books in hammocks, cook dinner and roast s’mores over the fire, and enjoy some quality time relaxing together.

However, when we arrived at our campsite, we were met with an unexpected challenge. 

We pulled our bin of camping gear out of our pickup truck. My girl doesn’t waste time. She got right to work laying out the tent and setting up the poles. All of a sudden she looked at me with wild eyes.

“Mom, we are missing a pole!”

“There’s no way!” I replied quizzically.

This was a new tent, and we had just used it the weekend before. But sure enough, I walked over and saw three corners of the tent standing tall while the fourth corner flopped down on the ground. We searched the bags and the car, but there was no pole.

Then we both went into problem-solving mode. My girl suggested we tie the tent to a tree or sleep in our trusty truck. 

I started to imagine our tent collapsing on us midway through the night. Then I started calculating how long it might take us to drive home to retrieve the pole. Of course, we weren’t even sure the pole was at home and didn’t have cell service to call my husband. 

Then I got a lightbulb idea. What if we used one of the skinnier poles designed to hold up the rain fly at the entrance and jerry-rigged it to work as one of the large poles? My daughter was skeptical, but I asked her to let me try it.

I folded the skinnier pole in half at the joint and doubled it up to strengthen it. Much to our delight, the pole fit in with the other poles and was able to bear the weight of the fourth corner of our tent.

As I watched my daughter get to work pounding the pegs into the loops of the tent to secure it to the ground, I started thinking about the story of Deborah and Jael in the book of Judges. 

The time of the judges was like a spin cycle in your washing machine with dirty laundry whirling round and round on repeat. God’s people, and particularly the leaders, continued to turn away from Him. When they rebelled, He allowed them to be taken by the enemy. They cried out in repentance. In response, He often sent a surprising and merciful rescue. And then somehow they found themselves right back in the cycle again, turning toward the idols that lured them away from God in the first place. 

During this time, there was a standout judge named Deborah who was a prophetess and revered leader. Deborah, whose name comes from the word “bee” in Hebrew, was like a queen bee who served God faithfully when many of the male leaders did not step up.

One day God calls on Deborah to challenge and support the Israelite leader Barak in a battle against Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army. Jabin is the wicked king of Canaan. Both he and his sidekick Sisera seem to have Barak shaking in his boots. 

Barak said to Deborah, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” 

“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”
Judges 4:8-9 NIV

Deborah and Barak set out for battle at Mount Tabor with ten thousand men. Their army overtakes all of Sisera’s army and chariots. Then Sisera panics and flees the scene on foot.

He goes to hide in the tent of a woman named Jael, whose family were known allies to King Jabin. Jael invites Sisera into her tent to hide, and strategically gives him milk to drink and a place to rest. While he’s sleeping, she courageously drives a tent peg through his temple into the ground, and he dies.

This mama knew her true alliance was to Israel. Just as Deborah prophesied, Sisera “falls into the hands of a woman.” Jael is praised for her valiant act in Deborah’s song as “most blessed of women” (Judges 5:24) — a phrase used in the New Testament to describe Mary, Jesus’s mother. 

The violence in this story always makes me wince, but when I think about Jael’s bravery I’m inspired.

She used her resources and everyday skills to defeat the enemy. 

Both Deborah and Jael were wise, strategic, and courageous women who God used in extraordinary ways to lead and rescue His people. 

Friend, it’s unlikely that God will call you and me to take out a warrior with a tent peg, but He can use our strategic minds, our creative hands, and our discerning hearts for His glory.

Dorina helps people discover God’s glory in unexpected places. Subscribe to Dorina’s Glorygram here for details about her coming Bible study, Redeemer: God’s Lovingkindness in the Book of Ruth.

 

Listen to Dorina’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts!

Praise Him Anyway

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I sat on the edge of my dad’s bed. I was eager to tell him a story – just like I’d done since I was a little girl. Dad always loved a good story, a deep conversation, or an interesting discussion about anything at all, really. (There’s a reason we called him Philosophical Phil.) 

As I talked to Dad, I could see his trademark smile beneath his oxygen mask, and the way his smile crinkled his eyes at the edges. 

There’s my Dad, I thought to myself. He’s still in there.

His grip on my hand wasn’t as firm as it once was, but he held my hand all the same – just like he’d done since I was a child on our Sunday morning walks to church. His eyes were open, and I could tell he was trying to fully comprehend what I had to say. 

But when it came time for Dad to respond, his words weren’t stringing together like they once did – and it was clear that they probably never would again, until heaven. That broke my heart into a million pieces, because I realized that I’d likely had my last meaningful conversation with Dad here on earth.

Later that day, I went on a walk, crying with each step. Then, I remembered how Dad had lived his whole life with optimism and gratitude, even on the hardest days. He truly was the kind of man who could manage a legit smile underneath an oxygen mask. 

Don’t get me wrong: Dad knew the power of lament. He was not afraid of tears or grief. But thankfulness was a consistent part of his character, and he wanted his kids to live that way too — even on our hardest days, especially on our hardest days. 

 I confess to you that on hard days, my first reaction isn’t to feel thankful.

On hard days, you’d more likely find me trying to pray my way out of the struggle. 

But the truth of the matter is, hard days can turn into hard seasons, no matter how much we pray. So the question becomes, “Will I praise Him anyway?” 

I want to be the kind of person who, even at my lowest:

– Refuses to allow circumstances to dictate my life or my praise.

– Understands that God’s love is above anything that can happen to me or the people I love.

– Knows that God is worthy of praise, always. 

I’m thankful that the Bible shows us how.

Remember King Jehoshaphat? He had a vast army coming against him. Instead of freaking out, he sought the Lord through prayer and fasting. That’s a pretty wise first move when faced with a trial of such magnitude. 

And then he waited. He listened. And he heard from the Lord.

God told him to appoint singers to go ahead of the army, praising God. Take that in for a minute. God didn’t say to send chariots, warriors, or marksmen. The order: Send SINGERS.

“Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

‘Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.’”
2 Chronicles 20:21 NIV

I love how their song of praise didn’t start after the victory, but before it.

When we sense a battle ahead of us, we can do the same. We can pray, fast, seek God’s guidance, and yes, even sing in the face of our enemies. 

What does your enemy look like today? Maybe, it’s a conflict at work, a broken relationship, some disappointing news, or the death of someone you love. Maybe you’re under a full-scale spiritual attack right now. If so, sing. Praise God with all of your might. The devil cannot stand to be in the same room as your praise. 

That day, during my walk, I recommitted myself to praise God, no matter what. That’s the way my dad taught me to live. More importantly, that’s the way our Heavenly Father teaches all of us to live. When we are met with misery, we can outmatch it with a melody.  

My dad traded his earthly residence for a heavenly one a few weeks after that moment at his bedside, leaving a legacy of praise. And for as long as I live, I want to be the kind of daughter who lifts her face to the heavens to say, “No matter what I’m going through, God, I will praise You anyway.”

Check out Jennifer’s journal, Stuff I’d Only Tell God, to put gratitude into practice.

 

Listen to Jennifer’s devotion below or on your favorite podcast app!

This Is Jesus

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18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 NLT

Immanuel. God is with us! What greater peace can we find than knowing God’s presence is with us? Let your mind wander through that unfathomable wonder and miracle.

The God who knows the grains of sand that stretch across every desert and shore. The God who counts the wispy hairs on each baby’s head. The God who formed earth, sky, and sea with the power of His words. The God who breathed life into humanity. That God. The Almighty. Who was and is and is to come. He was sent to earth through the womb of a young woman to be with us.

If you’re looking for peace in your bank account balance or the embrace of a significant other, if you’re relying on political policies, landing your dream job, or your mother-in-law finally accepting you in order to have peace — oh, friend. You will be disappointed and tangled in fear and worry again and again. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a meaningful job, a sound government, and healthy relationships. But we cannot allow those things to rule us and dictate our peace.

Centuries before Jesus was born of a virgin, He was called Sar-Shalom, the Prince of Peace. Sar is the Hebrew word translated as “prince,” and it refers to a ruler, a person in authority, a commander, the head, someone of noble birth. Yes, this is Jesus.

Shalom is the Hebrew word translated as “peace” and means “completeness, soundness, welfare.” Yes, this is Jesus.

 

By Becky Keife from Create in Me a Heart of Peace, an (in)courage Bible Study.

 

When We’re Overwhelmed by the Tide of Grief, God’s Love Will Quiet Our Hearts

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Recently, I cleaned up the aftermath left behind after last year’s king tide. 

A king tide is an extremely high tide caused by events that amplify the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon. These rare tides occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned, compounding the strength of the forces that shape the tide. 

One overcast day, we observed the slow rise of the ocean creep over the bulkhead and flood the sidewalk, surging — inch by inch — into a fifteen-foot swell. At the point when panic began to ensue, as the level reached the bottom of the front step, the water began its retreat back out to sea. Thankfully, the tide left no structural damage. Only a muddy, mucky mess. 

The mess left behind is the mess I rallied strength to face after months of procrastinating. I had to dig deep to find the mental and physical strength to dredge through the muck, overturn rocks, and wash away layers of algae. 

This hesitation to clean up the mess reflected my own hesitation to face what the tide of life brought in last year.

Like a king tide, a great shift in life’s course set off a wave of grief — a grief that slowly rose and rose, overturning layers of sludge and sadness. Unresolved grief over losing my mom, the heartbreak of changing relationships, and health issues surfaced at the sudden and unexpected loss of a beloved pet. Overwhelmed by this tide of grief, I questioned my resolve. Did I need to just “get over” my ache? Even though I mask the depth of this sadness from others as I move forward in daily life, does God know how my heart lingers in an undercurrent of sorrow? 

As I dug through the dirt, overturning rocks and pulling out plants deadened by the tide, I turned over the muck of my own mourning that had been buried for a very long time. As I gave space to acknowledge sorrow, God’s word rose from somewhere in my memory, reminding me of His promise during painful seasons of the past.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:19

Our world can be overturned by a king tide, knocking us over and unexpectedly leaving us unprepared for the flood of emotions that will overwhelm us. Yet, as the tide recedes, we will get glimpses of God’s grace in the new life that emerges. 

I grieve the loss of my mother and many other relationships that have shifted from the gravitational pull of this world. But, after a season of loss, the birth of my first grandson brings new life and joy to my heart. I delight in the wonder of his gaze and the sweet way he pats my cheeks with his tender, little hand. 

In the gaze of my beloved grandson, I sense an unconditional love I have not known before. And, through my grandson’s gaze, God reveals a new dimension of His love — a love that delights in me.  That squeals in my presence. That chatters in my ear with words only He understands. 

And when my sweet grandson rests his head on my shoulder to sleep, I sense with new perspective how God longs for me to surrender and rest my head in His presence with the same kind of abandon. 

God does a new thing when we are able to clear out the muck of grief buried in our hearts. He overturns sadness with a tender love — the kind of love that heals with grace. This love is a love that delights in the return and recognition of a beloved face, over and over and over again. This love is a love that comforts, a love that soothes like a pat on the back and the soft Shhhhh I utter to my grandson as I rock him to sleep. 

This love is a love that anticipates being face-to-face with a loved one, trembling with awe and wonder. It is a love called, in Hebrew, racham — the deep, from the deepest bowels, innermost love of a mother. It is the love of a mother I grieve. Even still, it is the love I experience for the first time as a grandmother, healing me and teaching me that, This is how God loves me, too. Deeply, from the deepest bowels, with an innermost love.

Indeed, in the aftermath of overwhelming tides, God quiets all of our aching hearts with His tender love.

What It Can Look Like to Praise in the Middle of a Struggle

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Has the Lord ever reminded you of something so simple, yet so fundamental? This is that. A few weeks ago I had the joy of sharing this reminder with an amazing group of women. I wrote an entry for (in)courage’s newest devotional, 100 Days of Strength in Any Struggle entitled “A New Song of Praise.” The Lord led me to build on what I wrote about with them. I believe He’s wanting more of His daughters to get this reminder.

The season when I wrote that devotion was hard and difficult. Honestly, the current season I’m in is not so far off. God is doing many amazing things in my life. I’m growing in many ways. He’s doing a profound work in me and through me. I’m discovering new facets of His character and ways. I’m making tons of new friends and going deeper with old ones. He is also opening doors for new ministry opportunities. It all sounds great, right? It is.

And yet, there are a few areas in my life that are a struggle. They are the areas where it’s been a consistent battle, where the enemy has been persistent in attacking me. They are the areas where I have to fight to not be discouraged by or lose hope.

That’s much of life, isn’t it? There are mountaintops and valleys, green pastures and harsh deserts.

As I was reflecting on the areas of ongoing struggle in my life, the Lord reminded me of a couple of truths. They are not new truths. But, if you are anything like me, I can so easily forget them.

Hold fast to and remind ourselves of what we know to be true. What is it that we know to be true? God is GOOD! And He can be TRUSTED! How do we know this? We know this by reading His Word and reflecting on His past faithfulness in our lives. Whenever we are in the midst of a trial, we need only to look to the Word of God to be reminded of God’s heart for us and His purpose for our lives.

One of the most impactful ways I get into the Word is to read it out loud. I declare it over myself and my situation. I love Psalm 43:5 (NIV), “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” It couldn’t be any clearer. He is our hope! He is our source! He is our provision! He is everything we need and everything we didn’t know we needed. When I do this, I can feel the faith rising within me.

We are to let others carry our burdens. I don’t much like the word burden. Burdens are just that. Burdensome. They’re heavy. Whenever I am in the midst of something hard, I tend to power my way through and try to figure a way out all on my own. Growing up, that was my only choice. So, when I became a Christian, the Lord had to do a big work in me about this. He has had to tear down my independent nature and mistrusting mindset. He’s had to teach me how to depend on Him as my source and how to trust others for help and support. He’s also had to teach me humility along the way.

Often the enemy will lie to me and try to convince me that I am a burden for needing help. He tries to convince me that I should be able to fix everything by myself, that I don’t need anyone. He tells me that no one cares about me and that no one is trustworthy.

There has also been some shame and embarrassment when I’ve needed to ask for help or accept help when it was offered. God has gently reminded me of the first 10 verses of Galatians 6. My Bible titles the chapter, “Doing Good To All.” Verse 2 specifically says to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The burdens of this life are not just the sins we are tempted by. It can be everything from our thoughts to our behaviors, the effects of other people’s decisions to health struggles. If you were to name something that is a result of living in a fallen and broken world, that can be a burden.

The Lord knew those things would come. That is why He designed the Church, His Body, His Bride. His heart is for us to be a benefit and a blessing to each other, to be a source of strength and encouragement for one another.

Let’s be vulnerable. Let’s ask for help. Let’s ask for prayer. Let’s accept help and prayer when offered.

God expresses to Paul in his affliction in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient for us. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Paul exclaimed that he would boast all the more in his weaknesses so that Christ’s power would rest on him. Oh, that Christ’s power would rest on us.

His grace is indeed sufficient for any struggle that comes our way. Thank God that it is a sustaining grace. We can trust Him. And we can trust those who He places in our lives. This is how we can we can praise Him. We thank God for His truth in our lives and how He sets us in His family.

God is our faithful Father.

Jesus is our trusted Friend.

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter.

If you are in the middle of a struggle, I would love to pray for you!

Listen to Karina’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.

Hope for New Life from the Aftermath of Destruction

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My mom was a DIYer and pro upcycler long before there was ever a corresponding television show or hashtag. In the 80s, our cooking utensils sat by the stove in a coffee can my mom spray painted cobalt blue. She also took an old windowpane door and added a fresh coat of white paint, four spindle legs, and a custom piece of glass to make a new kitchen table.

In fifth grade when I volunteered to be The Lonely Goatherd, Mom took a deep breath then went to work making a papier-mâché goat head from a mold of taped-together balloons — with zero Pinterest boards to guide her. (Best goat ever.)

But perhaps my favorite upcycling project my mom ever came up with was after we endured a massive house fire. After the flames were extinguished, the blackened backyard was a clean slate for fresh landscaping. However, a lean budget meant most of my mom’s suburban garden dreams had to be modified. Thankfully, where finances lacked, her endless creativity and ability to envision what no one else could, stepped in.

The back of the house was burned off, leaving a full-scale version of an open-air dollhouse. Given that the whole exterior had to be redone, it made sense to ditch the simple concrete stoop that led to the back door in favor of a larger wood deck. But concrete is expensive to demo and expensive to remove. Enter upcycler superhero. My mom came up with a plan to repurpose that cumbersome and unattractive concrete into a funky and functional stacked retaining wall that would serve as the structural frame of the yard.

For days the neighborhood buzzed with the piercing grind of a jackhammer. Once the stoop was reduced to makeshift stones, the noise stopped and the magic started. Mom sorted through the debris, painstakingly matching jagged paver to jagged paver.

From a pile of rubble, a retaining wall was formed that snaked its way around the perimeter of the yard. On the lower level, grass was planted — a beautiful yard for Easter egg hunts and summer cartwheels. Above the retaining wall was now dedicated space for fruit trees, plants, and flowers.  

Fast forward several years and the devastating smell of smoke and glow of dancing flames had vanished from memory. The charred earth and rubble had long been replaced by a flourishing lawn and established fruit trees. As a little girl, I ran barefoot across the concrete retaining wall, arms out like a tightrope walker. I imagined I was a world-class gymnast, leaping across a balance beam. I paused to bend down and pluck a red strawberry from its little patch. Juice still dripping down my chin, I then reached up and grabbed a ripe plum from its weighty branch. I rubbed the plum on my cutoff jeans, letting soft denim turn the purple fruit into a shiny orb of delight. I sat down on the jagged wall, sunbaked concrete warming my legs, toes resting in the cool grass, and I let the flavor of that perfect plum burst in my mouth.

Now, more than thirty years later, recalling a hundred moments just like that makes my heart burst with gratitude. Gratitude for the carefree wonder of childhood. But also gratitude for the backdrop birthed in my mom’s creativity, and the picture it gave me of God.

The Bible says we are created in God’s image. This means that as image bearers, we reflect what He is like. Whatever is good and trustworthy and redemptive about humanity is a reflection of God’s goodness. So as I celebrate my mom as a phenomenal upcycler, I find an invitation to ponder God’s nature and celebrate Him.

Consider this: a pile of broken concrete is not beautiful; it’s a burden. But, reimagined, that rubble becomes purposeful.

And new purpose births new beauty.

What was left over from a scorching fire that destroyed much of our beloved home, along with our joy and security, what was torn apart by the relentless blade of a jackhammer, what was ordinarily destined for a dumpster — my mom gave new life. And in doing so, she helped usher in a new season of life and joy for our family.

 My mom was a salvager, a creator, a broken-pieces redeemer. A new-story writer. And that is exactly who God is. God takes what is burned and busted up and makes it beautifully purposeful.

Romans 8:28 (CSB) says, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Whether we are suffering through the blackened aftermath of our sin or wounds from the sins of others, whether we’re walking through chronic illness or anxiety, or enduring a season of depression or broken relationships, we can trust that God is not done writing our story.

We can trust that, in God’s loving, creative hands, any source of destruction can eventually be used to resurrect new life.

 

Listen to Becky’s devotion below or on your favorite podcast app.

 

 

There’s No Way Back to Normal But There Is a Way Forward

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Recently I spent an entire day in the emergency room with one of my kids. Many x-rays and a small surgery later, the doctor said her bones should heal nicely and predicted she’d be “back to normal” in four to six weeks.

In that moment, my daughter and I didn’t dare make eye contact. Because if we’d done so, we could not have contained our disbelief and likely inappropriate laughter at that statement.

“Back to normal?” What does that even mean?

The reality is that our lives haven’t been normal for a seriously long season. Things have changed. We have changed. And even though I’m still trusting God to walk us through this time, I’ve long since given up on ever finding “normal” again.

Perhaps you feel this too?

Now please know, that I have not arrived at this place of acceptance easily or quickly. At times I also still rail against the injustice that is my specific hardship. Every person in my inner circle has heard me shout, “It’s always something!” and most have heard me, more quietly, confess how very tired I am.

But nobody sees when I cry after reading social media posts from friends or acquaintances sharing about an incredibly “normal” thing their family has just done or experienced. “Normal” is such a painfully deep longing when it feels so far from your own reality.

We’re probably never going back to “normal” at my house (and it has nothing to do with the ER visit). I know this. But I also grieve it. I have to fight the urge to put my head in the sand and pretend like this is just a temporary detour, plus the urge to let bitterness bubble up and lash out at anyone unlucky enough to stand too close.

All of that is why I recently rewatched the entire season of Ms. Marvel to get to one scene in the final episode. (Well, that and the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time around!)

I’ll try to tell you about this without giving away too much, just in case you haven’t watched yet but want to. Our main character is a teenage girl, and in episode six, she tries to help another teen who’s engulfed by grief and rage. He expresses that he just wants things to go back to normal, and the young Ms. Marvel says: “There is no normal. There’s just us and what we do with what we’ve been given.”

The whole scene is powerful (and not just because these kids have superpowers). In just a few seconds, we see a character express something so desperately and vulnerably that most of us have experienced – that deep desire to go back to the time before the thing that hurt us. But in Ms. Marvel’s voice, we also hear the gentle encouragement that while we cannot go back, we have been given a way forward.

Spoiler alert: It’s Jesus. Jesus is the way.

The disciples were so often confused about what Jesus was doing and why, about who He was, and what His rescue plan was for the people. When Thomas questioned where Jesus was about to go and how could he know the way, Jesus said:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:5-7 NIV

But Jesus made it clear: He is the way. Our path forward is to follow Him – not our nostalgia, not our fantasies of normalcy, not what we see others doing. 

So how do we do that? How do we follow the Lord instead of our longings for a different reality?

His words in the book of John give us a clue. He says, “If you really know me…” and I think that’s key. When times are difficult and we’re tempted to look back at the old days and wish for a different life, that’s when we most need to lean into Jesus. That’s when we remember who He has already revealed Himself to be and ask Him to be present in the storm we’re in. 

So we read God’s Word. 

Or we pour our hearts out in prayer until we’ve made space to be filled up by Him. 

We stand in His creation and listen to the story it tells. 

We crank up the music or lift up our hands. We sway to the beat or tap our feet or sit perfectly still and soak up every lyric and note.

However you hear from God, wherever you encounter Jesus — do that, go there. He promises to meet you. And He will show you a way forward that’s better than “normal.”

Now receive these words from God’s heart to yours:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:1-2, 18-19 NIV

Listen to Mary’s devotion below or find the (in)courage podcast on your favorite app!

The Gift of My Faults

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“Meg, I give you your faults.”

“My faults!” Meg cried.

“Your faults.”

“But I’m always trying to get rid of my faults!”

“Yes,” Mrs. Whatsit said. “However, I think you’ll find they’ll come in very handy…”
― Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

Years ago, my husband and I both took a personality test. It ranks 34 core strengths in order of your answers, and from there can guide you into one of four overall domains. My top five strengths (which were empathy, intellection, developer, consistency, and input) truly described who I am, and didn’t overlap at all with my husband’s strengths. The funniest part was that his very top-assessed strength was dead last on my list. We laughed as we realized how that immediately explained so much about our marriage, who we are apart and together, and how it applied to so many aspects of our lives.

That strength? Adaptability.

I love not changing. I cling to tradition. Nostalgia owns my heart. My aversion to adaptability could be described and viewed as a fault. The unknown keeps me up at night, and big changes and shifts in life cause me deep distress that I try to manage with prayer, deep breaths, and M&Ms.

The fact that one of my faults was my husband’s top strength made us laugh and learn. We still refer to it today, years later, continuing to use that tidbit to explain misunderstandings and reactions as it holds true, even now with more miles on our marriage and minivan.

Those miles include depths of change and massive shifts in our lives, adjustments we asked for, and most that we didn’t. I wonder if I took that personality assessment now if adaptability would still score very last in my lineup. And even if it did, I would disagree confidently because I’ve grown tenfold in my ability to adapt.

Some of the growth has come from adapting to changes we asked for, hoped for, and worked for. Things like having kids. Buying a home. Letting our kids choose activities and hobbies that changed our calendar. Even changing up how we dress, eat, exercise, and make decisions. These are all changes that we grow from and mostly come from a pleasant place, which makes adapting less difficult.

Much of our growth, however, is the fruit of changes and choices I didn’t make. Job elimination. Being forced to leave a church. The consequences of others’ choices. The grocery bill from feeding growing children these days. Household appliances that break. Costs that skyrocket. Paychecks that diminish.

These are the changes that take the most work to adapt to, and yet these are the changes that produce the most fruit in our souls and lives. . . if we let them.

Change can indeed terrify me, but if I choose to mire myself to only what’s known and stay stuck and unchanging, boy, would I miss out on many silly and sacred parts of life.

For instance, sports. I am not a sports girl. I am a theater, music, speech team, library, and marching band kind of girl. But my husband is a stellar volleyball player and former coach, loves his Sunday night softball league, and lives to coach our kids’ baseball, football, and t-ball teams (yep, even the toddler is sporty). This was a massive shift for me, filling the calendar with sports practices, weekend tournaments, evening scrimmages, and early morning games. Not to mention driving to it all, shopping for it all, and planning for it all. If I’m honest, it’s not how I pictured myself as a parent. But baseball, track, football, gymnastics, and cheerleading have been part of my parenting life for over a decade, and though I still pout over the schedule and laundry (because good grief, the laundry – and WHO thought white baseball pants were a good idea??) from time to time, I’ve grown to love it.

I hate to think about the joy, silliness, pride, blessings, and growth I could’ve missed out on by stubbornly refusing to adapt to sports being part of our life. Sports gave me the gift of my faults.

There are other things too, other places and cracks where the sacred enters in and flourishes where I thought only dead soil resided.

After my husband lost his job on staff at the church we’d belonged to for twenty years, I thought our church life was over. We weren’t about to darken the door of a sanctuary again, at least not for a good long time. But our kids asked where they were going to attend Sunday school. And when your kids look at you through tears and ask where they’ll worship… you make it happen. So, we tiptoed into a new church building and community, with much trepidation and fear because we knew the cost. We knew what we’d lost. We knew what it would take to adapt to somewhere new, and it was more than we could offer.

With joy, I tell you that this new church has been a balm, and our whole family is thriving there. Again, I hate to think about what we could have missed out on if we’d refused to adapt to a change we didn’t ask for. The leaving of a worship community and the entering into another gave me the gift of my faults.

While adapting to the changes we don’t ask for can drag us right through the mud and into the valley, God the author remains unchanged. Malachi 3:6 (NIV) says straight up, “I the Lord do not change.” And His faithfulness, His consistency, His unchanging nature can soothe our fear of the unknown.

God stays the same so we don’t have to.

He takes our faults and turns them into gifts, offering them in love and creating beauty from ash. Where do you see Him doing this in your life?

 

Listen to Anna’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts.