Category: Encouragement

enter His rest.

9 ” There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 
10  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. “
– Hebrews 4:9-10

In Christ, we can echo the words He cried on the cross — “it is finished.” (John 19:30)

That phrase tells me that HE DID IT, so I don’t have to: He bought salvation for me. I could never earn it and now I can rest in His completed work.

I. Can. Rest.

We. Can. Rest.

Every world religion preaches: “Do!” “Earn!” “Work!” “Not enough!”
While God says: “Done.” “Finished.” “Paid.” “Forgiven.”

While I was destined to be lost in my sin, separated from Him forever, He paid the debt I owed, made a way, and rescued me when I was helpless to save myself.

I stood condemned and guilty, but Jesus took my place and died the death I deserved. There’s no better news than the gospel. It never gets old.

So, whatever we may suffer on this side of eternity; it pales in comparison with the glory of spending eternity with our Savior.

If God allowed His only beloved Son to suffer, how can we expect to live a life free of sorrow or pain?? While many celebrity “pastors” preach a message of “wealth, prosperity, health, & comfort” — one look at our precious Savior dying on a tree tells me that you can be in the center of God’s perfect will, walking in complete obedience and submission to Him…and suffer greatly. Hebrews 5:8-9 points out how Jesus obeyed His Father by going to the cross:

8 “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.” (NLT)

Christ’s death tells me that God is still working and writing a story of redemption in the most hopeless and darkest night. He is fully in control of the outcome, even when it’s different than we had imagined and we can trust that it’s always better than what we had in mind.

We have the promise that He will never leave or forsake us in our pain. (Hebrews 13:15)
You may feel lonely but you are never alone.
Rest in the finished work of the cross.
You no longer have to work for acceptance or approval.
Stop striving & comparing. Fighting for what He already died to give you.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled & do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

As we start a new week, enter it resting & rejoicing in Jesus: knowing that He rose again & is alive in you. 

The work is finished.
And we are simply called to rest and walk in light of that glorious truth.

“There’s never season,
Never a place,
Where I am alone,
Where You don’t show Your face
Right here I remember
How could I forget?
Your faithfulness has never left me.

Where would I be without You?
Where would I be without Your love?
I’m amazing by all You have done.

Where would I be without You?
Where would I be without Your love?
I can’t say ‘Thank You!’ enough.”

– Where Would I Be (The Belonging Co.)

expectations



There’s a line I’ve heard in many contemporary worship songs that, in one way or another, repeats a phrase like:

“You’ve never failed me yet”
“You’ll never let me down”
“He’ll never fail me”
“You hold nothing back from me”

Are you familiar with that line??

And, while I believe wholeheartedly that those words are true, there have been times when I have questioned God’s purpose amidst suffering, have felt like He is withholding something, or have struggled to trust His timing. Times when I have asked: “God, where are You? What could You possibly be accomplishing through this?! You can change this, but why is nothing changing?!”

And in those times, when I hear a line like: “You’ve never failed me!” I feel myself cringe because in the moment my mind is telling me that God has failed because He’s not doing what I expected or asked Him to.

In those times I face the realization that God does not move or work according to my expectations. How could I expect Him to act to fulfill my expectations when His knowledge and understanding is so far above mine and His ways and His thoughts surpass mine? (Isaiah 55:8-9) My expectations are short-sighted but my God sees eternally: from the beginning to the end – so I can either allow my circumstance to create doubt, anxiety, and fear or I can view it as an opportunity to trust God’s plan to a greater degree, even when it doesn’t look how I had anticipated.

Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to my mind: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and HE WILL direct your path.”

When God isn’t answering the prayer like you had asked, when your circumstance grows worse, when the timeline of your life is not playing out like you’d hoped, when you lose someone close to you when you wanted them to stay, or when you find yourself wrestling with God’s purpose; we are faced with a choice: to walk in doubt or glorify Him amidst the uncertainty: knowing that HE is still on His throne and is in control. What comes as a surprise to me is not a surprise to Him. He already knew what was ahead, He is walking with me, and He was preparing me for this even before I knew I would be here.

When I think of unmet expectations I think of the story of Lazarus:
Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, ask Jesus to come because their brother is very sick, near death. Instead of leaving immediately, Jesus stays where He is for 2 more days. By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb for 4 days and Mary and Martha both make this statement: “Lord, if You had been here, our brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)

Oh I can relate to that — the feeling of abandonment and questioning Jesus’ presence because He didn’t come like I’d asked and didn’t prevent what I knew He could. “Lord, how could You allow this loss? If only…..” Our hearts are prone to ask these questions. But verse 5 of chapter 11 gives me great hope, it says: “now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” I love that the Holy Spirit wrote that in the beginning of the chapter because we could look at Jesus’ actions and label them as negligent or unloving — but Jesus wanted to erase any doubt in our minds that His delay was due to a lack of compassion. Because HE LOVED LAZARUS AND HIS SISTERS. The purpose of His delay was so He could increase their faith and work a greater miracle.

This story shows me that when Jesus isn’t showing up how we’d asked or anticipated His love for us has not changed and He is still in control. I can trust Him because He. never. fails.

I don’t know why the unthinkable happens when we’ve prayed over and over to be spared. But in the middle of the “not knowing” there is a lot of truth that God’s Word assures us of — Jesus does not forsake us for one moment in the middle of our suffering. If God allowed His very own Son to endure the most brutal and gruesome death (and that was His perfect plan for redemption and salvation!) then I cannot expect to avoid suffering. Jesus’ suffering reminds me that death is not the end and in God’s kingdom sometimes the most miraculous moments are coming to pass when it seems most dark and hopeless. Our pain is never wasted, He is accomplishing His perfect will in and thru us even when it comes about in a way we didn’t anticipate. My God has NEVER failed and He accomplishes everything He intends and purposes — 


It is my prayer that I would more quickly move from the place of confusion and doubt, to a place of praise and worship, able to sing: “HE WILL NEVER FAIL!” even when I cannot make sense of my surroundings. I can trust that His purposes are better than anything I could ask, think, or imagine – and I can sing before I know the outcome, because I know that He will be there walking with me through whatever the future holds.

“Oh, call — call upon the Name
Jesus Christ — the only Name that saves

For there is no one like our God
There’s no one like our God
There’s nothing that can stand against You
There’s no stronghold You can’t break
No life that You can’t save

Our God You never fail
Strong through every trial
Faithful through the night
Our God will never fail

Anchor through the flood
You keep holding on
I know You’ll never fail
Jesus You’ll never fail”




“Let those who suffer
according to God’s will
entrust their souls to a faithful Creator
while doing good”
– 1 Peter 4:19

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of His heart to all generations”
– Psalm 33:11

the light of the world

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”
– John 8:12

Did you dread the dark as a child?? I did. I hated the dark . . . .

What is it about the dark that we find fearful?? There are layers of answers, but some of them, I believe, is that we often fear what we cannot see and we are scared of what the dark can hide. As a child, the imagination of what COULD be hiding in the dark is what I feared most (no matter how unreasonable it sounded, there could be a monster under the bed, a robber downstairs, or a ghost in the closet. . . you know how it goes)

While I am no longer a little girl afraid of the dark, I still find myself fearful of what I cannot see, what could be hiding, and what could be.

In the light we are able to see what IS, what is NOT, and things can be easily identified. But at night?? We are no longer able to distinguish or discern because the darkness blinds our eyes and distorts our ability to judge.

It is the same spiritually — in the Bible, God speaks to us over and over about the effects of sin, living in this dark world, and the contrast between light and darkness.

Before sin, there was nothing to fear in the darkness, but when sin entered so did spiritual death and blindness. We are born into sin and enter a world that is dark and broken because of sin.

What happens as we grow in this sinful world? We discover that the darkness that we once feared can be used as a cover to hide what we do not want to be known. We become comfortable in the darkness. God says that what is done in darkness is fruitless and that people love the darkness over the light:

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,
but rather expose them.”
– Ephesians 5:11

“And this is the condemnation,
that the Light has come into the world,
& men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.”
– John 3:19

When we recognize our spiritual darkness, acknowledge and confess our sin, and accept Jesus’ death as the sacrifice for our sin we are moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again so we could be saved from the darkness of sin and death. That good news will never grow old!!!

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness
& conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”
– Colossians 1:13

“for at one time you were darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light“
– Ephesians 5:11

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand. 
Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness,
and let us put on the armor of light.”
– Romans 13:12

To me, one of the most beautiful and comforting names that Jesus calls Himself is: “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” (John 9:5 & 18:12)

That means there is nothing to fear in Jesus.

“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear…” Hebrews 13:6

He has nothing to hide.

“He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God” Colossians 1:15
“Anyone who has seen Me [Jesus] has seen the Father.” John 14:9

He can be fully trusted.

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5

While there are things that I may never understand because His ways and thoughts are higher (Isaiah 55:8-9), I know that I can trust Him because He sees what I cannot and He knows what I do not know.

The Bible says that we walk by FAITH and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) — so we cannot be dependent on our eyes or reasoning to determine where the Lord is guiding and leading. We must depend on Him, follow Him, and trust Him by faith.

Even while all around us is darkness, and we may not be able see where the next step will lead, we do not have to stumble in the darkness, full of fear, because He is the light.

I do not have to know the way,
because I’m following THE ONE who DOES.

When a child is fearful, the one thing that can immediately dispel any worry is the presence of a parent, grandparent, or someone trusted. The security of having someone by their side, protecting them, and comforting them far outweighs what was previously causing fear, even if the darkness doesn’t change. Jesus is with you and He has promised to never leave or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

He is our light in this dark world.
He is the One we can trust when we can’t see the way.
He is the One we can follow because He knows the way.
He is the One who will walk with you through the dark.

Let Him dispel your fear with His marvelous light.


“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts
of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”
– 1 Peter 2:9

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
– 1 John 1:5

“For you are all children of light, children of the day.
We are not of the night or of the darkness.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:5

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
– James 1:7


“I have come as a light into the world,
that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”
John 12:46

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good,
– Genesis 1:3

where is my mind?

“If then you were raised with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God.
SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE,
not on things on the earth.”
– Colossians 3:1-2

God’s Word guides and instructs us to SET our minds on things above — but, honestly, it is so easy for my mind to be focused on the things of this earth . . . things that are temporary, ever-changing, and chaotic. Things we chase like success, independence, status, social media, relationships, collecting stamps in a passport or tacks on a map . . . they are things that are not bad in themselves, but when they are idolized or become the goal of our pursuits, they cause our eyes to turn from Christ and onto focus on earthly things.

Seeking and setting our minds on things above it is not a “one-and-done” thing — it’s a daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment thing.

When I am focused on the things of earth, things going on around me *or emotions going on inside of me,* I will be tossed to and fro (Eph 4:14), consumed with myself, and unstable in all my ways (James 1:7-8). But when I SET my mind on the things above – where Christ is – then I have a steady, faithful, and stable foundation for all my thoughts and emotions to land. Everything gets filtered through a heavenly and eternal perspective.

Sometimes God allows our external circumstances to remain the same so He can change us internally. HE can transform everything inside of us, while nothing around us is different.

But is it enough to just “discipline ourselves into” setting our minds on things above? Or is it something that we are left to do on our own? In our own strength?
Thankfully, and by God’s grace, no! God’s Word tells us that He TRANSFORMS and RENEWS our hearts and minds through the power of His Holy Spirit and by His Word.

“And do not be conformed to this world, 
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:2

“I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you
your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 

Apart from Jesus, I am helpless to love Him with all my mind. He must give me the love because I am incapable of producing His agape love on my own — it only comes from Him.

“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind.”
– Deuteronomy 6:5

There are also some very practical & deliberate choices we can make to fix our minds on things above…

As an example — when I find myself struggling with comparison, wrestling with being content, focusing on myself, dwelling on insecurities, replaying a past hurt or memory, complaining, feeling anxious, worried, frustrated, or spiritually empty or drained *the list can go on and on!* I go before the Lord, examine my heart, and ask myself the questions below:

– What have I been listening to?
– What have I been watching?
– What have I been reading?
– What have I found my mind dwelling on in moments of stillness?

As I answer those questions, He usually reveals what has lead me to that place and reminds me to fix my mind back on Him.

You know what one of the hardest things about our minds & thoughts is? They’re hidden.

Growing up (and even now!), my dad always asked us: “what are you thinking?” instead of “how are you feeling?” because he knew that our emotions change frequently but our thoughts determine what our actions will be. You know what though? When he would ask that question we had the choice to be HONEST about what we were thinking, or to conceal what we were thinking . . . and the same is true today when God asks us, “What are you thinking?” or “What are you fixing your thoughts and setting your mind on?” — we can either hide in shame OR be completely honest.

It’s easy to hide our thoughts and even to deceive ourselves by not acknowledging our own harmful, disobedient, and ungodly thoughts. But we must humbly come before God in and lay our hearts bare. When we do that, we allow His light to shine in the dark, hidden crevices of our minds and His light brings hope and healing.

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light.” – Romans 13:12

We will never be able to fix our minds on things above until we recognize and remove the things that are distracting us from Him and hindering us from seeing Him. As long as we fail to confront and expose the things we’ve allowed to stay hidden, we will remain stuck. Many choose to remain in the darkness and continue to carry shame because they fear being exposed. But the very thing that you’re afraid of is the very thing that can lead to your healing, and as we seek to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” our thoughts will begin to reflect His.

“Time itself does not heal, but it does give us opportunity to heal.” –Briana Swann

Did you know that the Bible says that our minds can put us on a path leading to death or on a path leading to LIFE & PEACE?!?! Romans 8:5-6 says: “…those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life & peace.“

What if, at the end of every day, we were able to see a visual (haha – like a pie graph or something) of our thoughts? What percentage would be consumed with things of earth and what percentage on things ABOVE? What we think about ultimately determines our future, and while our thoughts are hidden, WE DO SEE THE ACTIONS & EFFECTS of our thoughts: every word we speak and action we make begins as a thought in our mind. That’s why God cares so deeply and speaks so frequently about our mind and our thoughts in His word.

He cares, and places great importance on our thoughts, and so should we.


“Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you
& it ought to be devoted entirely to Him.”
-OSWALD CHAMBERS


“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

“Let the words of my mouth
& the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength & my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 
“You will keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”
Isaiah 26:3-4