Prayer: Father, I surrender...

Father God,

I come before You with a heart that feels exhausted, overwhelmed, and heavy. God, it feels like depression is swallowing me whole, like the darkness is getting louder than the hope I am trying so hard to hold onto. You see the battles I do not have the words to explain. You see the tears I wipe away, the moments I feel numb, the thoughts that tell me I am too tired to keep going. You see every part of me, even the parts I feel ashamed of, and You do not turn away.

God, remind me that my feelings are real, but they are not the final truth. Depression may feel like a wave crashing over me, but You are the One who holds me when I cannot hold myself. When my mind tells me I am alone, remind me that Your presence has never left me. When my heart feels broken beyond repair, remind me that You are close to the brokenhearted and that You are still working in places I cannot see.

Father, I am tired of fighting battles that nobody else knows I am fighting. I am tired of pretending I am okay when I feel like I am falling apart inside. Please meet me in this moment. Give me strength for today, not just for tomorrow. Give me the courage to take the next breath, the next step, the next small moment. Help me stop measuring my worth by how productive I am, how strong I appear, or how well I can hide my pain. Remind me that I am Your beloved child before I am anything else.

Spiritual Maturity

Following Jesus isn't just learning about Him - it’s becoming like Him. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to reshape the deepest parts of who you are, surrendering your pride, desires, fears, and ambitions to the authority of Christ.

When you first place your faith in Jesus, you're justified - declared righteous in His sight. But that's only the beginning. Next comes sanctification: the lifelong process of being transformed into His image. It touches every single corner of your life:

- How you respond when you're wronged.

- How you handle temptation when nobody's watching.

- How you view money, status, suffering, and even your enemies.

Jesus didn't come simply to improve your old nature - He came to recreate you entirely. The more you walk with Him, the more His character replaces your own: love displaces hatred, humility breaks pride, and forgiveness cures bitterness. What once controlled you loses its grip.

This process is slow and often painful, requiring deep conviction, repentance, and daily surrender. But take heart - transformation isn't a burden you carry alone, it's a supernatural work the Spirit performs within you.

The Christian life isn't about trying harder to "act like Jesus." It’s about abiding in Him so deeply that His life naturally begins to flow through yours. True spiritual maturity isn't measured by how much you know about Christ, but by how much you resemble Him.

"And we all... are being transformed into the same image

from one degree of glory to another."

2 Corinthians 3:18

- David Delfeld

Provided by "I Am With You Always"

Music: "Still Standing"

Prayer: Entirely Yours

The LORD is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
Psalm 103:8 (NKJV)

I was thinking today about how merciful you've been to me. How in spite of all I've done, you kissed my heart with forgiveness. You rescued me from hell and saved my life. When I lost sight of you and ran around in circles feeling alone and confused, you rushed to my side. I don't deserve your tenderhearted love and I don't understand your patience, but I'm thankful for both.

I dedicate myself to you. With all of my heart, I pray there will never be any part of me that is not entirely yours. I want to live a life of celebration, never forgetting your miracle of kindness. You have satisfied my deepest desires with the substance of your love. Sometimes this crown that you've placed on my head feels too big, but I accept the honor of representing you in the earth. I bow before you in wonder - my whole life surrendered to you.

Provided by "Prayers On Fire"

Authors: Brian Simmons and Gretchen Rodriguez

God Sees The Heart

The Pharisees knew Scripture. They prayed publicly. They followed traditions carefully. They appeared moral, disciplined, and holy in front of other people. But Jesus exposed the deeper issue: outward religion without inward surrender: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” - Matthew 15:8

It’s possible to say the right things about God while keeping your heart distant from Him. A person can attend church, quote verses, post Christian content, sing worship songs, and still secretly love pride, lust, approval, money, status, or sin more than God Himself. External performance can hide internal emptiness for a long time.

That’s what made Jesus’ words so piercing. He wasn’t attacking sincere obedience. He was confronting hypocrisy - the kind of religion that looks alive externally, while the heart is away from God internally.

God isn't simply looking for religious activity. He desires truth in the inner person. Real repentance. Real surrender. Real love. Real intimacy with Him.

One of the most dangerous spiritual conditions is becoming skilled at appearing “close” to God, while quietly growing far from Him. That’s why this passage should humble every believer. Our question shouldn’t be: “How religious do I appear?” But: “Does my heart actually belong to Him?”

God sees beyond words, appearances, and reputation. He sees the heart.

- David Delfeld

Provided by "I Am With You Always"

Wisdom, Patience, and Boundaries

There are people in life whose needs press on you in ways that leave your heart heavy and your soul tired. Sometimes it feels relentless. Every phone call, every question, every expectation, every problem feels like a weight that you cannot set down. You love them, but it exhausts you. You want to help, but you are only human. You have limits. And in those moments, guilt can creep in: “Am I failing them? Am I too selfish to care?”

It is okay to acknowledge the weight. It is okay to admit that you are human, that you have boundaries, that you cannot fix everything. Feeling burdened does not make you unloving. Feeling tired does not make you unkind. God sees the tension in your heart. He knows the moments when love feels heavy and responsibility feels crushing.

He calls you to care, but He also calls you to trust Him with what you cannot bear alone. You are not meant to carry the weight of someone else’s life entirely on your own shoulders. You are called to love with wisdom, patience, and boundaries, and to remember that God is the ultimate guide and helper in every life, even the lives you feel responsible for.

You can still show love while letting God take the part of the burden that crushes your heart. You can still pray for them while taking care of yourself. You can still carry them spiritually while releasing the weight physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Prayer:

“Lord, I love this person, but sometimes it feels like they are too much for me. I feel tired, frustrated, and sometimes even resentful, and I worry that makes me a bad person. Please, remind me that I am not You. I cannot fix everything, but You can. Help me to carry what I am meant to carry, and let You carry the rest. Give me wisdom, patience, and boundaries that honor both You and my own soul. Teach me how to love without losing myself, how to care without collapsing, and how to surrender the burdens I was never meant to bear alone. Fill me with Your strength and Your peace. Amen.”

Reflection:

Loving someone does not mean losing yourself. Loving someone does not mean sacrificing your soul. Sometimes the greatest act of love is to let God hold the weight you cannot carry and to allow yourself rest and renewal. Boundaries and surrender are not selfish, they are holy. - Ellie Mont

Surrendering Control

Jesus calls you to follow Him with your whole life. Not halfway. Not casually. Not “when it’s convenient.”

We’ve made discipleship comfortable. Manageable. Something that fits into our schedules. But Jesus never said, “Add Me to your life.” He said, “Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Me.”

“Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves… For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the gospel will save it.”

That means surrendering control. It means letting Him redefine your ambitions, relationships, money, time, and reputation. It means saying: “You can have all of it.”

When you truly see who He is - the Holy One who was slain and now reigns - casual Christianity becomes impossible. The only reasonable response is to lay your whole life at His feet.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

- David Delfeld

Provided by "I Am With You Always"

Search Me God...

Lord, sometimes my heart feels crowded. Worries, ambitions, old wounds: even good things: can quietly turn into idols, taking space that belongs to You. I confess, I keep holding onto things, thinking they’ll satisfy, but they never really do.

Father, will You sit on the throne of my heart? Dethrone everything that rivals You. Show me where I’ve set up substitutes, and help me surrender them. I want You to be my desire: the first, the greatest, the only One who truly fills me.

Search me, God, and know my heart... See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV) Provided by "Word of Encouragement"

Quote: C.S. Lewis

Lord, I'm learning that relying on You has to begin all over again every day, that yesterday's faith doesn't automatically carry me through today.

Each morning I wake up with a choice, to depend on You or to fall back into the illusion that I can handle life on my own, and I confess how easily I forget.

Teach me that relying on You isn't a one-time decision but a daily surrender, a constant returning to the truth that I need You as much today as I did yesterday and will tomorrow.

Help me start each morning by acknowledging my need for You, by consciously choosing dependence over independence, by asking for Your strength before I try to manufacture my own.

Remind me that this isn't failure or weakness, it's the rhythm of faith, that even the most mature believers have to wake up and choose to lean on You all over again.

Give me grace for the days I forget and try to go it alone, patience with myself as I learn this daily practice of surrender, and wisdom to recognize when I've drifted back into self-reliance.

Let relying on You become as natural as breathing, a daily habit that shapes every hour, every decision, every moment, knowing that I will always need You and that's exactly how You designed it to be.

Amen.

Provided by "Faithful Grace"

Lord Help Me..

There are days when strength runs out… and all you can do is whisper, “Lord, help me.”

And that whisper is enough.

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

God isn’t asking for perfection,

He’s asking for surrender.

Let Him be strong where you can’t.

- Provided by "Word Of Encouragement"

You Don't Have To Hold It All Together

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

My mind was spinning with everything I had to do: overdue tasks, upcoming deadlines, and the pressure to be everything for everyone. I was exhausted but trying to power through, hoping I could catch up if I just pushed a little harder.

The next morning, I awoke to a whisper I couldn’t unhear: “My grace is sufficient.”

This simple truth comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9, which wasn’t a new Bible verse to me. I’ve heard it, quoted it, and even encouraged others with it. But that morning, it landed in my heart like a fresh revelation. I’ve learned that the Holy Spirit has a way of highlighting a truth right when you need it most, even before you know you need it. So I paused and leaned in.

When I looked up the full verse, I was struck by Paul’s words: “But [Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I don’t know about you, but weakness isn’t something I tend to boast about. Most of us are taught to push through, stay strong, and hold it all together. But Paul delighted in hardship. Not because he enjoyed suffering but because he had learned the secret: When we come to the end of ourselves, we come face-to-face with the sufficiency of God's grace.

As I reflected on this scripture, I realized how weak I was feeling. But God wasn’t asking me to push harder. He was calling me to surrender, to stop measuring my strength and start trusting His.

That’s what I call the upside-down beauty of grace. It doesn’t show up when we’re “crushing it” in life; it shows up when we’re crushed. When we’re out of options, energy, and motivation. When we’ve tried to hold everything together and finally admit we can’t. Grace isn’t God’s reward for the capable; it’s His gift to the weary.

If you’re in that place today - tired, stretched thin, unsure how to keep going - I want you to hear what I heard: You don’t have to keep going in your own strength. Not for one more minute. God is not disappointed by your weakness. He’s drawn to it because His power is made perfect right there.

Whatever burdens you may be facing, remember the pressure is off. God’s grace is sufficient, and Christ’s power is waiting to rest on you.

Father, thank You that Your grace is not a backup plan - it’s the main source of my strength. Thank You for meeting me right in my weakness and not expecting me to have it all together. Help me to stop striving and start surrendering. Teach me to see my limits not as failures but as invitations to experience Your power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Dr. Avril Occilien-Similien
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

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

The Church Is You!

When you hear the word “church,” what image comes to your mind? For many, it’s a steeple, stained glass windows, pews, or a Sunday morning service. We naturally think of a place we go to, a building we walk into. But when Jesus spoke of His church, He wasn’t talking about a building at all. He was speaking of people. Living, breathing, imperfect people who are made alive by His Spirit. The church isn’t brick or stone. The church is you. The church is me. The church is every follower of Christ, woven together into one body.

This truth changes everything. If church is just a building, then faith becomes something we step in and out of once or twice a week. It becomes a location instead of a life. But if we understand that we are the church, then it becomes clear that following Christ is not about where we go, but about who we are wherever we go. The church is alive in classrooms, in workplaces, in kitchens, in grocery store aisles, in quiet bedrooms where whispered prayers rise up to heaven. It is alive in hospital rooms, in prisons, in shelters, in coffee shops. Wherever God’s people are, the church is there too.

The Bible uses rich imagery to remind us of this. We are called the “body of Christ,” with each person playing a vital role. Some are hands that serve, some are feet that carry the good news, some are voices that encourage, some are hearts that intercede. Not one part is insignificant. Together we form something beautiful, something the world can’t explain without pointing to God Himself. Paul also calls us “living stones” being built into a spiritual house. Notice, not cold, lifeless stones stacked neatly, but living stones, active, vibrant, and united by God’s Spirit. The true temple is not made by human hands. It is made by hearts surrendered to Christ.

This is both humbling and empowering. It means that when you feel unseen or unimportant, God looks at you and says, “You are part of My church. You are necessary.” It also means that church doesn’t end when the closing song fades. It continues when you show compassion to a stranger, when you forgive someone who hurt you, when you choose to speak life instead of gossip. These ordinary moments become sacred because they reflect the One who lives in you.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking church is only about what happens during a service. Singing together, listening to a sermon, taking communion, all of these are precious gifts. But they are not the fullness of church. They are the gathering of the church. The real test comes when we scatter. Do we carry the love of Christ with us into the week? Do people see His kindness in our words and His mercy in our actions? When we live with this awareness, every day becomes an opportunity to “be the church” in the world.

The beauty of this truth is that it also unites us. If the church is people, then the person sitting across the aisle from you is not just a fellow attendee, they are your brother or sister in Christ. If the church is people, then the believer across the world who worships in a hut or a hidden room is part of your same family. We are not divided by location or culture. We are bound together by one Spirit and one Savior.

So let this sink in: you don’t just go to church, you are the church. And that means everywhere you step becomes a place where God’s presence can shine through you. The church is not limited by walls or steeples. It is alive in every heart that belongs to Jesus. And when we live out that calling, the world begins to see not just who we are, but who Christ is through us.

- Ellie Mont

When God Comes To Heal What Hurts

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

It was such a small moment - insignificant to most. A little girl was spinning and dancing while her dad smiled and clapped. But as I watched her, a sob caught in my throat.

She was unapologetically herself and so free in her father’s delight. And something about it broke me.

In that moment, I realized I had once been that little girl. But somewhere along the way, I replaced freedom with striving and took on shame in the areas that once brought me joy.

I was surprised by the sadness that hit me, but I knew deep down this wasn’t just a tearful moment. It was an invitation to heal something that had long been hurting.

Maybe you’ve been carrying your own quiet grief.

You’ve learned to ignore it - all those times you believed something was wrong with you when you were left out. Or the pain of carrying a shattered heart that has left you broken. Or perhaps you’re weary of trying to be so faithful yet still feeling so invisible.

Then comes a moment - or a whole season - when you can no longer ignore what you’ve been tolerating. The pain surfaces in a new way. And suddenly, you sense God inviting you to look at it. But how do you even begin?

Oh, friend. You’re not alone. What I’m learning is that when the Lord asks us to step into a season of healing, it’s never to shame us but to restore us.

Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” It’s His job to heal. Ours is simply to come. God is committed to restoring every part of us, even the quiet, hurting places in our souls. He is asking us to trust Him with our broken hearts and our wounds.

Healing isn’t always a one-time prayer or a single moment. It’s a continual walk with God, a process of bringing Him what hurts, letting Him replace lies with truth, and surrendering to His timeline, not ours.

Watching that little girl delight in who she was, fully at home in her father’s love, opened a window to the healing God was inviting me to experience. It moved me deeply because in that moment, I remembered that’s still how He sees me. And I realized just how much I missed that version of myself.

Friend, you and I are like that little girl. And our heavenly Father wants us to live in that same freedom.

God is not asking for us to give a better performance but for us to come into His presence. He invites us to walk bravely with Him and let Him do the healing, one step at a time.

Lord, I bring You the pain I’ve learned to tolerate, and I ask You to heal me. I have been hurting for a long time, but I know Your heart for me is always good. Help me take the next step toward You. You are my good Father, and I will keep running into Your safe arms. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Ashley Morgan Jackson
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

God Is Not Finished Writing

God rewrites our broken chapters with hands that know how to mend hearts. The parts of our stories that feel too heavy to revisit. The moments we thought would be our undoing. He enters into those places not with judgment, but with mercy. Not with condemnation, but with comfort. God does not shy away from our mess. He steps into it with love and begins the work of making all things new.

Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” He does not simply patch us up. He binds us. He sits with us in the pain. He doesn’t ignore the sorrow or rush us past the ache. He honors it. He acknowledges it. And then He begins to gently restore what was lost.

Some chapters are too painful for us to even speak of. The betrayal. The silence. The prayers that felt unanswered. The hope that slowly faded. But even in that silence, God was writing. Even when you could not see it, His pen never stopped moving. Isaiah 43:19 says, “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.” The wilderness is not the end. The wasteland is not the last word. God makes a way even there.

When we look back at what we have walked through, it can feel like a different life. A version of ourselves we no longer recognize. But that version of us matters deeply to God. He remembers every cry. Every unanswered text. Every night we laid awake wondering if we were alone. Psalm 56:8 tells us, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” None of it is forgotten.

We serve a God who does not discard our pain. He redeems it. The very places where we feel the most fragile are often the places He chooses to reveal His strength. Second Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness.” Your weakness is not a disqualification. It is an invitation for His power to be made visible.

There are moments when we feel like the story is over. When doors close. When people leave. When dreams die. But endings in God’s hands are often just disguised beginnings. He has a way of turning graves into gardens. John 11 shows us this when Jesus raises Lazarus. What looked like the end was only the setup for resurrection. What looks final to us is never final to Him.

You may not see the full picture yet. You may still be in the middle of the sentence. But God is not finished writing. He is not just the God of beginnings. He is the God of redemption. He takes what we thought was beyond repair and brings new life. He takes the chapters we tried to skip and uses them to minister to others.

Romans 8:28 promises us this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” All things. Not just the pretty parts. Not just the victories. But the losses. The confusion. The heartbreak. All of it can be worked into something good.

This does not mean everything will feel good. It does not mean we will always understand. But it does mean we are never abandoned. God is not afraid of our brokenness. He came for it. Jesus came for the sick. For the sinners. For the ones who knew they could not fix themselves. That is the beauty of grace. It meets us where we are, but it never leaves us there.

When we surrender our stories to God, He begins to do what only He can. He rewrites not by ignoring the pain, but by healing it. He doesn’t erase the past. He transforms it. He turns scars into signs of survival. Wounds into places where His love shines through. What the enemy meant for harm, God uses for good.

Genesis 50:20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Your story is not just about you. It is a vessel for others to see the power of God at work. There is purpose in your pain. There is hope rising from your hurt.

Let Him have the pen. Let Him write the next chapter. Even if you do not know how the story will unfold. Even if all you have right now is the next small step. Trust the Author. Trust the One who knows the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10 says, “I make known the end from the beginning. From ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”

You are not too far gone. Your story is not too messy. Your heart is not too shattered. He is not overwhelmed by what you carry. He is not disappointed by your doubts. He is not distant from your grief. He is Emmanuel. God with us. Right here. Right now.

So breathe. Let go of the lie that says it is too late. Let go of the shame that says you should be further along by now. Rest in the truth that God is patient. He is not rushing your healing. He is walking with you in it. Every tear. Every prayer. Every step.

Your story may look different than you imagined. The road may be harder. But the beauty that comes from surrender is unmatched. When He rewrites, He restores. When He restores, He renews. And when He renews, you will stand not just as someone who survived, but as someone who reflects His glory.

Let Him finish what He started. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He is not done. The pen is still moving. - Ellie Mont

Quote: Pastor Steven Furtick

Begin Again, In Me

Father, my mind cannot grasp your greatness. I read your Word, your many feats - how you advocate for us, and my mind, my self-absorption, my pride, makes me focus on myself - my small problems, my small worries and cares. Your ways are good. You see beyond what I can see. You pursue justice. You ask us what we will do - if we will stand with you or against you, if we will both appreciate the lives you've given us, the opportunities to love and do what is good, in your name, or if we will, instead, fight our own fight, for our own glory.

Lord, forgive me for how I forget you. It is horrible, and it is true. I am your daughter, the one you love. Yet, my ways are not your ways. And I surrender my ways now. I give you my heart again, with all of its stubbornness, feelings of entitlement, self-hatred, judgmental attitudes.

Here I am, confident that, if you want me to, I can hear your voice, and yet how often do I ignore it? How often do you speak, and I close my ears? How often do you open your arms and I run to comfort in other things? Productivity, achievement, food, things? How often do you weep at the injustice of this world, and I close my eyes and heart to what is right in front of me? How often do you feel frustration and anger and yet love and love and love?

You love me despite me. Your love has nothing to do with what I do, what I think. But it is your love that breaks open my heart. And my old self, the one who rails against you, dies at the foot of the cross. She cannot stand - this old self - at your feet, Jesus. In your presence, the false parts of her wither; all of the sin in her completely destroyed. Take her again, will you?

Take this old self of mine. Take her and destroy her. Throw her into the fire and make her new. It is in death that new life comes. She needs your new life now. Jesus, you are tireless in your love. You are kind and good. I pick up your cross, my new self - strong and confident in you, and the cross does its work. Again and again, I am made brand new. In all good things, Jesus, you are present.

Lord, be present in me now. I stand here, your beauty, your delight. I stand here, filled with love, capable of anything you have for me to do. You defeat all of my enemies. You crush my every foe. You pursue my heart, pointing out what gets in the way of me completely following you. You ask me - do you want all of me now? For this, right now, needs to go.

And I say yes. Right here, right now. I say yes. I want all of you. Whatever it takes. Remove from me what is not of you and destroy it now. Right here. I am filled with your love. I am filled with your truth. You, Jesus, are the Word come down. You, Jesus, are the Beginning before the beginning.

Begin again, in me. I begin again, with you.

Amen.

I Don’t Like Being Caught off Guard

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.”

Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)

You know how some people love the thrill of being surprised?

They love surprise parties. They would love to show up at work today and learn they are being whisked away from their desk for a vacation in just a few hours. They would even love to have one of those makeover shows show up at their house with a film crew and a whole new wardrobe.

Surprises feel exciting to them. Like how some people feel when a roller-coaster ride they thought was over suddenly takes off again and starts doing upside-down loops. They throw their hands in the air and embrace the thrill of the unknown.

They call that fun. I don’t.

I can usually manage my dislike of surprises in all the situations I just mentioned. My friends know not to throw me a surprise party. After the initial shock, a surprise vacation or a new wardrobe could be nice. I might even be able to stomach a roller coaster, if I can thoroughly check it out and know its patterned route before I agree to ride it.

But life is different. Life twists and turns and throws loops into places we think will be flat and smooth. Sometimes it catches us off guard.

At the end of the day, I guess that’s why I don’t like to be surprised. Getting caught off guard makes me feel exposed, afraid, and put on the spot before I’ve had any time to think through my response.

But slowly … I’m learning it’s not all bad to be surprised.

That vulnerable place reminds us we have needs beyond what we can manage. Feeling a little exposed and afraid reminds us we need God. Desperately. Completely.

And in that gap between what we think we can manage on our own and what we can’t manage, faith has the opportunity to grow deep roots. Roots that dig down into the hope and joy and peace only God can offer.

I’m challenging myself to remember my faith doesn’t just need to grow big - it needs to grow deep, like the Bible describes in Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV):

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit”.