Music: "Running Home"

Quote: Charles Spurgeon

When It Hurts to Trust

Father, my head aches with thoughts that won’t stop. It feels like nails pressing in. My heart feels so heavy that even breathing feels like work. My eyes are open, but I can’t see where I’m going. I know Your will is better than mine, but part of me still aches for success, for something to finally work. I keep thinking that if I stop moving, everything will fall apart. But You whisper, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Sometimes faith feels like standing still while everything inside me wants to run. It’s hard to rest when the world keeps shouting that progress equals worth. Yet You remind me that You’re not measuring me by my productivity, but by my heart. You see me not as lazy, but as tired, not as failing, but as fighting.

You are the God who works in silence. The One who plants seeds deep underground before they ever touch sunlight. Maybe that’s what You’re doing now, burying something in me that will bloom later. Maybe my stillness isn’t failure, but the soil You’re preparing for growth.

You promised that Your plans are for my good, to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). So even when it feels like I’m falling behind, remind me that I am exactly where You’ve placed me. Even when I can’t see what You’re building, help me believe You’re still working.

Let my heart unclench. Let my mind quiet down. Teach me that rest is holy, that waiting is sacred, and that success in Your eyes looks like surrender.

Because You are not done with me yet. And You never will be. - Ellie Mont

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"I draw you with gentle cords, with bands of Love. These Love-cords keep you connected to Me; they also help you discern the way you should go. Though My bands of Love are unbreakable, they do not curtail your freedom. These highly elastic bands allow you to go your own way for a while. However, even if they are stretched out for a long time - as you seek to live independently of Me - they retain their drawing power. Eventually, when you grow weary of worldly ways, the cords draw you gently back to Me. No matter how far you have roamed, I welcome you with unfailing Love." I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. - Hosea 11:4 NKJV - "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young

Combating The Unreliable Narrator Within

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

I’m a words girl. Always have been, always will be. Whether it’s reading or writing, stories have always been a part of my DNA. In recent years, I’ve found myself drawn to plotlines full of twists and turns I could never predict, an effect sometimes created through an unreliable narrator.

An unreliable narrator is a storyteller who is not completely trustworthy, either intentionally (because they’re lying) or unintentionally (because they don’t know what is true). While this makes for a creative literary device, it can be treacherous when applied to real life.

Here’s what I mean …

From the time we’re born, the world begins applying labels to us. Some are lovingly given - others not so much. And while true and well-intentioned words often tiptoe in with a gentle whisper, lies and mean-spirited labels seem to march in with trumpet fanfare and make themselves at home. If we’re not careful, we become the unreliable narrator of our own story, not knowing what is true. We may live from the faulty core belief that we are, in fact, ugly. Incompetent. Unworthy of love. (Insert your chosen lie here.)

With each lie we believe, we shrink down in our soul just a little bit more, certain God Himself must view us in the same way.

But let’s consider these words from God's prophet Zephaniah: “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

When I read this verse, I don’t see a God who looks on us with disgust. Instead, I see One who unashamedly loves His children despite our flaws. One who delights in us so deeply He can’t help but burst into song.

That God is our Creator, the Author of who we are. And as our Author, despite any lies we may believe about ourselves, only He gets to determine what’s true.

Throughout the pages of Scripture, He says we are:

• Created in His image (Genesis 1:27).

• Chosen (Ephesians 1:4).

• Wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

• Accepted (Romans 15:7).

• Loved (John 3:16).

• Worth dying for (Romans 5:8).

If He says all these things, among many others, about us, who are we to say otherwise?

Today, let’s stop the unreliable narration. Let’s hold our heads high and listen to the only voice that matters: the voice of God, our Author.

Father, in the sea of voices surrounding us, help us to focus on Your voice and the words You speak over us. Help us to live from the truth of who You say we are, created and loved by You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Stacy J. Lowe
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Music: "God Story"

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"Do not let fear of mistakes immobilize you or make you anxious. In this life you will err sometimes because you’re only human, with limited knowledge and understanding. When you’re facing a major decision, learn as much as you can about the matter. Seek My Face - and My help. I will guide you with My counsel as you think things out in My Presence. When the time is right, go ahead and make the decision, even though the outcome is uncertain. Pray for My will to be done in this matter, and release the results to Me."

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. - Psalm 27:8 - "Jesus Always" by Sarah Young

 Verse: 1 Peter 5:7
..casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Application:

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need, and to let others in God's family help you. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, he will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passivity. Don't submit to circumstances but to the Lord, who controls circumstances.

Casting our cares is a choice. It means consciously handing over our anxiety to Christ and allowing Him to carry the weight of our problems. God does not differentiate between problems we should handle on our own and God-sized needs. He asks us to turn them all over to Him. God sees you as His frail child, burdened with a load that surpasses your strength. He stands prepared to take your load and to carry it for you. Will you let Him?