Pain + Suffering

 It is human nature to not wanna feel the hard things... but hard the hard things will come.

Not due to lack of faith.

Not due to weak prayers.

Not due to a missed tithe.

Not due to poor declarations.

Not due to skipped Sunday School class.

Not due to frail belief.

But, rather, due to living in a sin-riddled world, where the effects of sin still reach us, where death breaks hearts, where diagnoses wreck plans, where accidents bring pain, where betrayal rips apart oneness, where abuse and trauma destroy.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Trouble and pain will come.

Heartbreak and sorrow will come.

Take heart; peace is found in Jesus Christ.

"Can I move from diligently seeking relief to diligently seeking to glorify Him as I treasure Him more than my own health or comfort?" Nancy Guthrie

If agony is the season you're in, take heart. We do not have a High Priest unable to sympathize with us. I pray this podcast is an encouragement to you.

Pain That Can't Be Prayed Away

Sneakiness of Error

This Tozer quote captures a recent path in my journey with the Lord. Learning that His Word is the ultimate authority sounds obvious until it's time to submit. Deception is a sneaky thing, undetected and unchosen. Nobody picks to believe inaccuracies. But, when the Word cuts, it's our humbling honor as Christians to yield to it.

Newsflash: 

Your flesh won't like it. 

You may have to move churches. 

You may be shunned by family members. 

You may be quite lonely. 

You may be embarrassed. 

You may have to repent.

My heart has been humbled and brought low. The illumination of error in my life has shaken me to my core in the best of ways. Learning to study the Word with proper hermeneutics changed everything for me.

I grieve for learning this later in life. I grieve for all the Bible Studies I've facilitated without teaching. I grieve for usurping the order of the Lord out of ignorance.

At the same time, I'm thankful, trusting in the Lord's sovereignty, steadfast love, and basking in His great mercy. He never left me, shepherding the shepherdless, leading me to discover who He really is, purifying everything I believed about Him. 

Where are you struggling to yield to the Word? 

What is the quality of your Bible Study time? 

How is the Word purifying what you believe about God?

My Favorite Place

Where secrets find light

Where sins are confessed

Where struggles find empathy

Where encouragement flows

Where feelings are validated

Where trauma is processed

Where breakthrough takes place

Where truth has its way

Where Jesus is magnified

Where salvation flows freely

Where holiness is presented

Where grief is shared

Where hope is multiplied

Where breath can be deep

Where listening is commonplace

Where repentance is welcome

Where trajectories get shifted

Where "normal" is challenged

Where perspectives are shared

Where purpose can be discovered

Where understanding happens

Where Holy Spirit leads

Where battles are fought

Where equipping happens

Where Scripture is always topic

However you wanna say it,

it's my favorite place to be.

Prayer + Obedience

An AW Tozer quote that's been ringing in my mind: "Prayer is never a substitute for obedience." 

Prayer itself will never fill the shoes or take the place of obedience in our lives.

It's one thing to ask of the Lord. 

It's another to obey what He's already spoken. 

It's one thing to cry out for His intervention. 

It's another to submit to His ways. 

It's one thing to want Him to bring revival. 

It's another to steward our lives in holiness. 

It's one thing to ask for miracles.

It's another to give up our wants.

What are we doing when our prayer eclipses our obedience or when our willingness to obey hinges on condition?

For a deeper dive: 1 Samuel 15:22; Luke 6:46; John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3.