Red Letter

One of the echoes in the A Whole New World chorus:

"Every moment red letter"

I guess it's supposed to mean stand-out and extraordinary, but red letter makes me think of the Bibles that have the words of Jesus in red.

Growing up I didn't have one, but my latest Bible has the red letters and it really does draw my eyes toward the words spoken by Jesus. There's something about the red that demands attention. And the words of Jesus are something that should be getting all my attention, and not just when my Bible is open.

There are so many voices in this world telling me endless lies, pushing and pulling and looking to steal my attention. But I don't want to be ruled and dictated to by that noise. I want to be led instead by the life giving truth of my God (Hebrews 4:12).

I want to live every day, consistently with the words of Jesus as my foundation and guide (Joshua 1:8).

Every moment red letter.

Between The Before And After

Since living in America, I have discovered the joy of HGTV, a channel that is dedicated to the transformation and renovations of houses. I love watching them flip old, rotting, unattractive buildings into beautiful, welcoming, functional homes.

But the problem with HGTV is that it makes transformation seem so quick and easy. In the space of a half an hour show, a dilapidated house becomes a sought-after home. In what seems like 10 seconds, the whole kitchen is gutted and rebuilt. It all seems so speedy and seamless.

However, if you’ve ever tried a home improvement project, you’ll know that it takes an awful lot of time and effort. There are no shortcuts or fast forward buttons. There is a lot that happens between the before and the after.

And it’s the same with our lives. In Romans 12 we’re called to be transformed, to measure our lives at a higher standard than this world, and that sometimes that (incorrectly) puts the pressure on to be perfect right now. It can be so discouraging when we compare our work in progress lives against the final designs of what we’re called to be.

It’s so vital to differentiate between saved and transformation. “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Justification, ‘saving’ happens when we place our trust and faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. But transformation is something that keeps on rolling until the day we see Jesus face to face.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Are BEING transformed. Being is the present participle, the continuous form of the verb ‘be’. I.e. it’s still happening. The transformation is still in progress, the end point has not been reached. It isn’t something that happens suddenly overnight. Rather, transformation takes time.

First, you are saved when you first repent of your sins and put your belief in Jesus. Second, through the power of the Holy Spirit, transformation begins and continues for the duration of your life. There will be many steps backward, and some hidden rot that takes a while to deal with, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, you are continuously being transformed by the gospel.

Another thing that happens on HGTV is that the homeowner gets to drive the design decisions. They provide the direction as to what the end product should look like, they get to decide which rooms should change, and what is off limit. That makes sense, as they’re the ones paying for it all.

But when it comes to the transformation of the gospel, the cost was not borne by us. The broken-down house of my life was purchased by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and so he gets to call the shots (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Thankfully, he is more than qualified for that role. He is the creator of the universe and the author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2), so I can trust him with the plans and process of my transformation. His plans are so good (Jeremiah 29:11). But I have to open up every room, from the basement to the attic; every hidden thing needs to be open to change.

Because if I am to be transformed by Jesus, my whole life will be transformed, not just certain aspects. The gospel brings total transformation to every area of our lives.

It changes the way I interact with the people in my space. I become more patient and gracious and kind and humble as the love of God becomes the way I love others (1 Corinthians 13). I find myself seeking to serve rather than to be served, just as Christ chose to serve undeserving me (Philippians 2).

Total transformation changes how I handle my finances. It starts to bring in a whole new value system, where the iPhone 11 Pro and the latest BMW are not the pinnacle of success, and where it is truly more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35).

It changes how I approach my work. I find myself working harder and giving it my best shot, rather than letting laziness drag me down to the bare minimum, knowing it’s all for the glory of God.

Total transformation changes the whole concept of dating and marriage. It begins to change the game from self-gratification to having a much larger God-given purpose. People become more like beautiful individuals created in the image of God, that I am called to love and serve and team with, rather than a mere object to gratify my own selfish desires.

This list goes on: career choices, friendship, hobbies, where we choose to live. Everything is impacted, not just the areas that are convenient for us.

And in all this process of transformation, where we are living less for ourselves and our comfort and more for the glory and knowing of God, true freedom and joy is found. We’re free to love and serve both God and people. Which perhaps doesn’t sound exactly like the fun ‘freedom’ the world tries to promise us. In fact, the devil wants you to think that the only way to live a happy, fulfilling life, is by living for yourself. That’s a lie.

There is so much more joy to be had. The joy to be found in living selflessly is on an immeasurably larger scale than the joy you can ever find in living for yourself.

We were created to worship God, inherently designed to bring him glory. Of course, we can rebel and instead choose to worship ourselves, but that will never end well. We were created for the King who humbled himself to be a servant, who washed his disciples’ feet, who suffered for you and me. In following in his footsteps, and knowing him by obedience to him, I believe we will find the greatest fulfillment.

Let Jesus take the wheel and let Him completely transform you. There’s a joy that compares to no other kind of joy when we serve Christ, living wholeheartedly and all out for Him.

Hallmark Happy Ending

I love Hallmark movies. At the moment there are so many feel-good Christmas movies out there to watch, it feels like, well, Christmas! Because, although I do enjoy watching some angst, I’m a happy ending kind of person. My favorite stories are those that end with everyone living happily ever after with every piece of the plot tied up in a neat little happy bow.

Everything turns out perfectly, everyone (except the bad guy, of course) gets just what they wished for, and everybody is a little too happy. Evil is defeated, the twinkling lights sparkle, and the happy couple dreamingly gaze into each other's eyes. The end!

Sometimes, movies are even so bold as to have things go terribly wrong in the middle. But that all just serves to make the happy ending that much happier.

TV, books, movies pretty much all tell us we just need to follow those easy steps, believe these few facts, and say these magical words, and all our problems will disappear. And unfortunately we’d like to think life works that way too. After all, the media is meant to be a reflection of the world and reality we live in.

But buying into the idea that all problems will be so easily solved and hurts so quickly mended is a dangerous game. Life isn’t a Hallmark movie where all wounds are mended and relationships are forged in a quick ninety minutes. But wouldn't that be nice? If one heartfelt conversation could cure a lifetime of hurt. One prayer to fix all the wrongs. One right decision to make up for a lifetime of wild living. One act of kindness of to gloss over years of mean treatment. We want quick and easy and painless solutions to all our problems. But that’s not how hurt works. That’s not how relationships work.

Possibly an opposite to the Hallmark movies if the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s stories are filled with dark evil, with many unanswered and unfulfilled longings. Yes, it ends with the triumph of the Fellowship and the fall of Sauron; but people are changed for it and life does not go back to being quite the same as before.

They can’t quite go back to the good old days. There are losses and deep hurts that will never fully be healed. Questions are left unanswered, the Shire is not how they left it, the Elves sail west, Frodo leaves, and a heaviness lingers. Yes, they find victory and joy, but it’s not the same as before. Evil left its mark.

As much as I love my Hallmark movies, I know that the reality of the rollercoaster of life is a lot more like the LOTR. Things and people get broken. Healing takes time. Wrong choices are made. Friends leave. Lives are shattered by the actions of others. People hurt each other. Sickness lingers. Terrible, unthinkable things happen. Life is hard.

In all this darkness we wonder if it’s even worth it. Sadly, as the suicide rates show, too many people decide it's not. All this evil and hurt and weeping at midnight and brokenness.

And we can't just shrug it off or live in a state of ignorance is bliss. When we think that all problems can be fixed and tied off with a pretty bow, we’re cheapening hurt. We’re deceiving ourselves, putting our heads in the sand and blocking our ears to the reality of life.

In fact, if we think we can just ignore evil, we’re lessening the Gospel. We’re lowering the stakes. Because a small wrong doesn’t require much to defeat it, but an overwhelming hurt needs a powerful healer. When we don't acknowledge evil for what it truly is, we don’t fully see the full brokenness and depravity of sin and it's wretched outworking (Romans 7:24).

But Jesus came, fought, and in dying on the cross and through his resurrection overcame, so that the story does not end in darkness, so that evil does not have the last word (Hebrews 2:14).

It's important to see the darkness, because it is proof of how much the light is worth; how much we need it. Because as grave and as real as hurt may be, healing is realer still. As the wonderful Samwise said, there is still good in this world, and it is worth fighting for.

Things are broken, but they can be put back together. They aren’t and will never be the same, no. But they can still be good. Mended things are good. You tell a story of redemption, hope, and a powerful God. When we trivialize hurt as something easily fixed, we lose something vital. When we silence sorrow and gloss over grief, we miss a key part of the story.

Somehow, due to our redemptive God, things can be better for being broken. Not the same, and to pretend that they could be is a joke. But like a painting made richer by its darker colors, for they make the light stand out. Like returning home, not the same hobbit, but still able to say, “Well, I’m back” with rich memories and stories of the journey to share.

We will never avoid hurt. We will never be able to shrug away the problems of this world. Wrongs don’t just disappear, and brokenness can't mend in a hour and a half run time. We have to face the darkness head-on, seeing and acknowledging it–yet holding onto the unwavering hope we have in Jesus (Hebrews 6:19). Fighting the good fight for light (1 Timothy 6:12). Knowing and choosing to believe that God is still fully in control and that his goodness still prevails. Yes, it might never be the same, never be what we wanted and wished for, but it will still be good, because our God is good (Psalm 145:9).

And beyond this broken earth, there is eternal good. Where somehow everything will be better for having gone through the hurt. One day all tears will be wiped away, one day we’ll see it was all worth it (Revelation 21:4). One day we’ll see the Righteous One Jesus, who bears on His hands the scars of the greatest, darkest wrong, through which good triumphed.

And we will one day rejoice forever and truly live happily ever after in the presence of our Good, Good Father.

Quiet, Please

Last week I did a nine-day road trip with my brother. And as I explained to the friends we met along the way, my brother and I couldn’t be much more different personality-wise. He’s an outgoing, adventurous, risk-taking, people person, whereas I’m way more reserved and quiet and I like to have my own space.

But what’s key for me to remember is that different does not mean better or worse. Both our personalities were shaped and scripted by our Creator God. We weren’t created to be the same. In our own ways we reflect the image of God and can bring glory to Him.

That’s what I must remember when I feel the pressure to be louder, crazier, more up in people’s faces. I have to silence the voice of lies that tries to tell me I’m less valuable, less wanted, less needed than the extroverts around me.

Instead I must choose to listen the voice of the one who knit me together perfectly, who calls me fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). The voice of truth that tells me that my quietness, my introversion; they don’t define me. Yes, they are a part of natural me, but they are not who I am. They don’t get to dictate my worth.

Because my worth is not found in my abilities or my shortcomings or how many new friends I can make in a month. My worth, regardless of my personality and popularity, is rooted in the fact that I was created by the Creator of the Universe and that through the work of Jesus, I belong to Him.

God values equally the bubbly welcomer and the gently quiet, the extrovert and the introvert, the famous and the unknown. If this is the way God chose to make me, then he will most certainly use every aspect of my personality and every struggle I face according to his perfect plan.

We are all his masterpiece, created for good works which he has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). In no way is God restricted in his ability to use his creatures for his purpose, he can use both the bashful and the bold.

In fact, sometimes standing alone against the wall is where I have met the person who really needed a friend. Sometimes staying at a distance from the crowds is how I learn to seek the approval of Christ above the approval of man.

In Mark 12:41-44 the widow was acknowledged by Jesus for the smallest, yet most generous of gifts. He invited this overlooked woman into his family–not because of what she had to give, but because of her willingness to give what she had.

God doesn’t judge us by our follower counts but by our devotion to him. If we love him and choose daily to live for him, our faith and our actions will glorify him, whether in the grace of the few words we speak or in the kindness, compassion, and generosity of our actions.

That being said, being a quiet kid is no excuse to shy away from the things God has for us. Sometimes we are called to step up out of our comfort zones. That’s where we learn and grow and are shaped by God. And hiding behind the excuse of quietness robs us of opportunities to grow and glorify God.

In Jeremiah 1:7-8, God tells Jeremiah to lay aside his excuses and step out in faith, holding onto the truth that God would be with him. The same thing happens in Exodus 3 and 4, God answering Moses’s excuses with his power, provision and presence.

Not that we need to get personality changes, but sometimes it means speaking up, even when we’d rather stay quiet. It means by the power of the Spirit being courageous and confident in the Lord.

So whether you are quiet or loud, don’t ever believe that your differences detract from your worth. Diversity in unity is part of God’s glorious plan, not a disadvantage. Either we allow our personalities to divide us, or we bring them to God as a sacrifice, working together to use whatever he has given, wherever he calls, the quiet and the loud, to build up the body of Christ and glorify him together.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. And if the ear should say,’ Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
– 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 16-18

I'm Praying For You

Some friends of mine are writing a big exam tomorrow, so I messaged them with the classic “I’ll be praying for you.” But the reality is, tomorrow, like too many other days, will get crazy busy at work, and the good intention of praying for them throughout the day too easily will fall away.

I wonder how many times over the years I’ve said, “I’m praying for you” when the sad reality is: I’m really not. How easy it is to throw out comments like, “I’ll pray for you,” or “We should go out for coffee,” or even “I love you” and never actually mean it.

As harsh as it sounds, I think sometimes “I’m praying for you” can be synonymous with “I’m too busy to deal with you right now” or “I actually have better things to do” or, “Shame, sorry to hear that, but…” It’s tragic—such a powerful, beautiful thing—quickly and easily just becoming yet another Christian cliché.

It’s like the spiritual version of those Facebook comments “Sending hugs and good thoughts,” or “Wishing good vibes”. A nice thought, but empty and meaningless at the end of the day, unless that praying becomes reality.

I truly believe in the incredible power of prayer (John 15:7, Matthew 21:22), but that exists in more than the placating phrase. That power exists in actually uttering those prayers to our all-powerful God, in crying out to the omnipresent, omnipotent Holy Spirit within us.

What if we truly mean and actually live out all the good things we say? What if we all took the time to spend ourselves to invest in the lives of one another? Don’t you think the world could start to look very different?

So my challenge today is not to say “I’ll be praying for you” less, but instead to keep saying it more and more, but also to put those words into action. That I’d tell my friends that I’ll pray for them and that it would be more than fleeting words that I forget about as soon as I walk away or put my phone down.

We are called to pray for one another (James 5:16, 1 Timothy 2:1). We are called to love one another (John 15:12). Let’s actively choose to live that out well, starting by praying right now.

“Love is unselfishly choosing for another’s highest good.” - C.S. Lewis

YOLO

After the long intermission, let's get back to the lyrics of A Whole New World from the wonderful new Aladdin:

“There's time to spare.”

Uh nope. That is incorrect. The time is now.

We are so good at procrastinating. We are so good at waiting for the perfect conditions on the perfect day when we have the perfect experience and the perfect plan. We think things will be easier when we're older and wiser, so we tell God to just hang on until then. Or we hope that if we wait, it will leave room for someone older and wiser to tell us just what to do, or even better, to step in and do it themselves.

Yesterday, this jumped out at me from Jeremiah 47:7 “But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it...?” The next chapter also talks about it won't go so well for those who are lax in doing God's work.

How many opportunities for God's grace to go out, for His gospel and kingdom to advance have I missed because I've been too 'resting' or chilling or being lax, buying into the lie that there's time to spare?

Dear friends, let us not wait! God has called us now, to use us now. Yes, he says don't worry about tomorrow, but let us also not leave our living until tomorrow, for tomorrow is never certain. God wants to use you now in whatever stage you are in right now.

Don’t wait for tomorrow. If there is someone that is on your heart, message them straight away. If there is a prayer in your heart, pray it now. If you haven't read the Word today, open your Bible here and now. If you told someone you'd pray for them, do that right now. If there is a skill you want to learn, google how today. If there is a hard conversation you need to have, set it up now. Do what you need to do today.

"As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." - John 9:4

We don’t know what tomorrow holds, and all we can control is what we do right now in this very moment.

You really only do live once, so do it well and do it now. There is no time to spare. Live for Jesus now.

Thank You, Next

I've been travelling a lot lately, and I use a cool travel app, Polarsteps to track my trips and show my progress over the globe. After getting home from a fun time in Nashville, I was updating the journey in the app. As I logged in, it said to me, "You haven't travelled in 2 days! Plan your future trip now!"

Woah, easy tiger! Can I just recover from that trip first, please?!

Yes, I know that is automated to show, whether it is 2 or 200 days, but it struck me how we're also automated like that—we're always searching for more; moving onto the next, bigger, better thing. We finish one trip and we're already planning the next. We take our last bite at lunch and think about what's for dinner. We buy cool new shoes and already the ads for the next pair surround us.

We live in a culture of perpetual unfulfillment. Consumerism shapes us to always be dissatisfied with our current situation, so that we open our wallets to try and purchase that ever elusive satisfaction. Yet we're always left thirsting for something more.

In the well known story in John 4, there is a woman who felt this way. She was thirsty, unsatisfied, and longing for something more.

And in varying ways and degrees, we all are too. So often our souls are left to run dry, in need of re-filling, replenishing. And if you've ever been severely dehydrated, you know how awful that can be. Yet we do that to ourselves spiritually.

We're good at carrying around our water bottles to quench our physical thirst and try be healthy, but how often are we stopping to drink deep of the Spirit to give life to our souls?

In John 4, Jesus promises the woman and us that we never have to be thirsty again. But in order to obtain that living water that quenches everything, we have to actively and consistently be with him and absorb all he has to offer.

So my challenge for today is to identify the 'wells' that I am running to in an attempt to quench my thirst—travelling, highly liked photos on Instagram, success at work, people liking me, etc, etc—and to remind myself that these are so temporary and will always leave me thirsty again.

And then, instead, to run to the true Fount of Living Water (Jeremiah 17:13), to the one who calls the thirsty to him to drink of the life and fulfillment that only he can offer (John 7:37). To the one who not only knows everything I long for—even the hiddens things I'm not aware of—but also gives and satisfies the desires of my heart.

“You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” - Psalm 145:16
"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4

Perhaps in this broken life on this broken earth, we will never fully know that perfect satisfaction, but we hold onto this beautiful promise of the eternity that lies before us in Jesus:

"They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." - Revelation 7:17

In Jesus, our longing will be fulfilled, our satisfaction found, our thirst quenched.

Heart And Mind

Reason and emotion.

People often think of these two things as mutually exclusive opposites, that both cannot exist and work at the same time. Some people believe that reason is superior, while others lean toward emotion.

And this carries over into our faith as well. Some people have inspiring passion for the things of God, but they are a bit light on the truth of his Word. “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).

On the other extreme, there are those that view their faith as something to be learned, something mechanical and exact; emphasizing theology and doctrine, leaving no room for the heart and emotion.

But God is not shy to bring together things the world views as opposites:

• strength in weakness
• truth in grace
• wisdom to fools
• humble power

And this is true with reason and emotion too. In Mark 12:30, Jesus calls us to: "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Heart and soul (emotion); mind (reason). The greatest commandment is very clear in saying that we should use our minds as well. Besides, how can we love someone with all our hearts if we don't know them, if our minds don’t contain knowledge of them?

Burning passion for God is great; but if it's not based on the scriptures and truth about him, it's just mindless fluff that will quickly burn out and can often be misleading and dangerous. Strong theology is very important, but without some degree of emotion and affection, it is stiff, rigid and unattainable.

God gave us both, they cannot be separated and must both be pursued. The mind and the heart work together, with the mind shaping our hearts and how we feel about God.

I think that so much of our unhappiness and discontent is due to us listening to ourselves. We constantly tell ourselves all sorts of unhelpful things—depressing, disheartening, daunting things—that sprout from the devil’s lies and deception.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5).

But here we see that the psalmist counters his misery and his tumultuous emotions with hope firmly rooted in the truth of God’s Word. We need to do this more often. We need to ask ourselves: what dark roads are we letting our thoughts run down? what lies are we believing?

We need to speak truth to our emotions. We can't afford to just be passive and let ourselves be dragged down in misery. We need to “put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11)—the full armour that includes both the belt of truth and the shield of faith. We'll fall apart if not held together by the truth, but we also need the faith and heart that goes beyond understanding and reason when the arrows start flying. We fight back with scripture and the truth of Jesus and that strengthens our hearts and grows our love and faith in him.

God created us with minds as well as hearts in order to love Him and enjoy Him. Our minds process the truth of God and teach our hearts so that our hearts can burn with passion and love for Him. 

 John Piper said, “Right thinking about God exists for the sake of right feelings for God.” Reason and emotion are not two separate, extreme opposites. They go hand-in-hand with each other – working together to make us more like our God.

Changing The World

“Changing the world sounds grand, until you consider how poorly we do even at changing our own little lives. On a daily basis we break our promises, indulge our addictions and rehearse old fantasies and grudges that even we know we’d be better off without. We have changed less about ourselves than we would like to admit. Who are we to charge off to change the world? Our excitement about changing the world can quickly lead us into the grand illusion that we stand somehow outside the world, knowing what’s best for it.” - Andy Crouch

This quote made me pause and brought me down a humble peg or two. Sure, we do change the world and its culture in tiny ways through what we do and create everyday. We’re all culture makers. But scale-wise in the greater scheme of things, the culture we make often doesn’t reach beyond the walls of our inner circles, and unfortunately I think we often end up absorbing way more than we change.

Not at all that we shouldn't try and make every situation and place better for us having been there. Not to say that we aren't called to love deeply, give generously, serve sacrificially and show kindness to all. But I do think in the midst of all that good stuff, we need to be wary of subconsciously promoting ourselves from human being to world-changing God. Wary of when our pride leads us to think that our thoughts and ideas and ventures are God’s gift to the universe.

Actually, I thank God I can’t change the world alone. Because if I had the power to single-handedly change large sections of it, I guarantee that it wouldn’t be better than it is now. Why? One, because my knowledge of the universe and its working is non-existent when compared to the One who made it (Isaiah 55:8-9). I can't see the big picture, I don't know the full story, I can't see behind the scenes, I don't actually know what's best for anyone—myself or the world.

And two, because in my heart of hearts, I’m not a good person. Sure, because of the Holy Spirit in me, I’m capable of doing good things, but too often my motives are driven and corrupted by pride. So I don't know if I would change the world to be better, or just to be better for me, my comfort and my pride. And at the end of the day, that would probably do more harm than good.

So when I love people, when I show kindness, when I go out of my way to serve, when I write on this blog, it’s not so that I, Kelsey, can change the world–although I pray that in some way I do influence the culture and people around me, in whatever small way I can. But I want the overarching goal to be pointing to Jesus, the only One who can truly change the world to reflect what God created it for.

And that brings to mind a quote I read last week that has stuck with me since then:

"God is good at being God." - Lysa TerKeurst

All throughout Psalms, Isaiah, Job, Jeremiah, we see the incredible might and power of our God. God is fantastic at all things, including world changing.

I can’t change the world, but I can point to the One who can.

...In Christ

Life can be so overwhelming. It's busy and stressful and demanding and on the days when everything goes wrong, we can wonder how we are supposed to manage it all.

But this is such a well known feeling, such a common concern, that we really don’t have to look far to find encouragement. The message of “you are enough” is everywhere: over pretty pictures on Instagram, on coffee mugs, in cool quotes on Pinterest. It's spoken over us like a blessing, we are assured that we can do it. We can do all things. We are enough.

Very much like my post on self-care, I do appreciate the motive behind these words. The words are meant to affirm us, calm our fears and reduce the crippling anxiety of life. They're supposed to put cement in our bones so we can stand up, stop complaining and fight the good fight. But in and of themselves, those words will never be enough—because it's not true.

It's like the whole, “God helps those who help themselves,”— it is nowhere to be found in the Bible and is possibly more damaging than we might think.

This is why I say that. When you say that I am enough, you're telling me that I am able to do this on my own. That I myself am sufficient for my life. Being enough means that I don’t need anyone’s help or input. I can conquer, I can fulfill, I can earn my way on my own. Why stop there? Believing I am enough lends me to believe I can overcome anything, even my sins on my own.

Possibly a little dramatic, and I get that this is not what the message is aiming for at all, but I do genuinely believe that too much 'self-belief' feeds my pride and leaves little room for the saving grace and sustaining power of Jesus in me. Because if I am enough, then I don’t need anyone else–including God.

And life where there is no room for God—life separate from God—is quite literally hell.

In fact, trying to live as a Christian without Christ is an oxymoron. He is the very essence and definition of who and what we are. And if we stop to think about it, we're definitely not enough to keep our hearts pumping, much less hold the atoms of the universe together. How then do we assume we can hold our own lives together?

This was the devil's game plan from day one in the Garden. Get them to believe that they have no need for God. I pray that we are not perpetuating that lie in our world today with our inspirational quotes and culture.

It is so vital that we always remember for everything in our lives: "...this is not your own doing (!!!); it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

So we are not enough. What do we do with that? How do we face our overwhelming lives and struggles with that truth in mind?

Well, when searching for 'enough' through the scriptures, Philemon 1:8 answered that. "I am bold enough in Christ." In Christ. Such a simple little phrase, but two of the most powerful words there could be. In fact, Paul uses it over 70 times in his letters.

And like a game that is played in restaurants to change the meaning of the quotes on the sugar sachets by adding on a few words at the end— adding "...in Christ" to the end of "I am enough" changes everything.

Because Jesus Christ is enough.

In Jesus is all the fullness of God, all power, all wisdom, all ability (Colossians 2:9). He is head and authority and sovereign over all things (Ephesians 1:22) This means that he can handle anything, understand everything, know every issue and every solution, and accomplish absolutely all that he wills. He is enough.

Jesus is aboundingly more than enough, for the chaos of this overwhelming life, enough for all the struggles and temptations and inundations.

And you and I, we are in Christ.

“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God”(Galatians 3:26), which gives us security and identities as kids of the Most High King. We are “created in Christ Jesus for good works”(Ephesians 2:10), which means we not only have a purpose given by God, but also that he will enable us to do what he created us for.

In Christ, we can stand firm and sure (Colossians 2:5), steadfast and anointed for his glory (2 Corinthians 1:21), we stand upright, redeemed and justified (Romans 3:24). In Christ, we are abundantly blessed and made holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:3-4), we are purified and called (1 Corinthians 1:2). In Christ we are complete and full (Colossians 2:10) and can have perfect peace (Philippians 4:7).

The list goes on, but I think you catch my drift.

In Christ. In him alone.

So does this give us a free pass from trying, from working, from doing our best? As Paul once said: “By no means!” We need to acknowledge that we can't do it on our own, but we must also acknowledge that we're not on our own anymore. We belong to God and because of that, he is always with us and we are always in him. God’s grace, which is essentially Christ’s enoughness now lives and works in us, enabling us to truly be enough and prompting us to faithfully and actively run the race he has called us to.

We can make those tricky decisions, because we are in Christ, the fount of all wisdom. We can be kind to rude clients, because we are in Christ, the One who was mocked and despised, yet still loved sacrificially and died on our behalf. We can finish the hard job, overcome temptation, see it through rough patches, because we are in Christ, the Saviour who has overcome the world. And importantly, we can give ourselves grace when we fail, when we aren’t enough—because we are in Christ who already did it all, who lived the perfect life on our behalf, who is not changed by my accomplishments or lack thereof.

We have been given all that we need to live our lives (2 Peter 1:3), but that "You are enough" encouragement too often leaves off the most important part: in Christ. When we lose that, we lose so much. (Sadly we do this with other scriptures too, as I've written about before.)

Focusing on the “you are enough,” gets us stuck on what we can and can't do which will inevitably result in us spiraling into the depths of hopelessness via the pit of pride. Not quite where I want to be.

But when we remember the “in Christ,” the spotlight is shifted. The emphasis changes and the focus is correctly back in place. It's about Jesus, what he has done, what he can do, and what he will do. And it is in this that courage, true, lasting encouragement, is found.

I, on my own, am not enough. Please don’t tell me that I am, for that lie will destroy me.

Instead, let's remind each other of our gracious Savior, mighty King, and empowering Jesus. That his grace is sufficient for us, that he is more than enough for anything we will ever need and that in Christ alone will we find our enough.

I am not enough. But Christ is.

Fail

It's a dumb pride thing, but boy do I hate looking like I don't know what's going on. This has come to light more clearly as I've been living in a new country in the last month. Everything is different: filling up with gas, public transport, banks, shopping, the processes at work. But I don't want people to know that I don't know. I research as much as possible before doing it, and even if I'm still unsure I just plough ahead with a confident look on my face, so that I can keep my uncertainty a secret. It's so silly, I know! I know that the people hardly even notice me, either way.

But I was thinking about this today, and asking myself, "why am I like this?!" I think the root causes are pride and the fear of failure. I say failure because doing something wrong, being lost, or having to ask for help is for me a 'failure' of being the perfect person. 

Failure is the worst. It can really, really hurt. Whether it's a driving test (failing this broke my spirit in the most needed way when I was 18) or math test (yip, got a solid 3% at university once) or failing to live up to my own impossible standards for myself—failure sucks. Its effects reach much further than the failed activity itself and too often can begin to erode self-worth and confidence and the desire to keep going and try again.  

I know it shouldn't be like this. I know that failure is par for the course of life; that absolutely everyone fails repeatedly their whole life long. And I know that this disappointment is simply a feeling that will fade in time. I know, but sometimes just knowing isn't quite enough to shake it. 

So how am I learning to deal with failure? 

1. Separating the failure from my worth and remembering where my worth is truly found

My worth is not found in passing tests, or impressing people, or having a 'perfect' day.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”- Luke 12:6-7

It doesn’t say, “you are of more value than many sparrows if you get 100%.” It doesn’t say “you are of more value than many sparrows if you are an impressive person.” There is no requirement or threshold or qualification to have worth. Because in the sight of God (i.e. the MOST important being in the universe), you’re immeasurably and immensely full of worth! And because my worth is rooted in him, nothing I do or don't do has the ability to alter that worth, for better or for worse. 

It’s not what I do, or even who I am, but whose I am. My belonging to Jesus is unshakable, therefore my worth in him is unshakable too. 

2. Trusting God's plan and his control

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11

My entire life is directed by God. The highs and the lows are within his control. He see the bigger picture, he knows the end of the story and every step along the way as well. He is not surprised, even when I fail, even when everything feels like it's spinning out of control. 

This brings such a sense of peace that I won't ever find by relying on myself. God's got me, through the successes, failures and everything in between.

3. Admitting it hurts, then moving on

Bottling up feelings is never the best idea. I tell myself to man up and harden up and say “I’m fine!” when really, I'm not. And I don't think that helps at all.

I have to remind myself that I'm allowed to feel. That emotions aren't inherently evil; it's how I act out of them that can be. So I'm allowed to be honest about my feelings. I'm allowed to feel disappointed. I'm allowed to mourn the loss of my success.

And the active processing of that allows me to move on. I can't stay in that rut of sadness and pity all the time, otherwise it will become too comfortable and too much like home. I think it's important to acknowledge the feelings, but never to let them dictate me. 

In order to move on, I have to remind myself that it's not over until the fat lady sings, and she ain't singing until the day I find myself face to face with Jesus. It's important to fully live through this chapter, feelings and all, so that I can freely turn the page to what is next. And there are still so many other chapters to be lived out. My failure is not the last sentence in my story.

Not that I'm an expert in this by any means, but by taking little baby steps, I am starting to find that failure and the fear thereof doesn't have to define me. I'm growing in my ability to shake off the failure and try again. To step out and do new things, even when I'll likely fail the first time, because I'm learning that it doesn't for a second impact my identity and worth. 

Jesus told his disciples that they would have trouble and tribulations in this world, but his solution to that wasn't to simply give up. He called them to be of good cheer and take heart, trusting in his overcoming power. The same is true for us. No matter how big or small, let's step out and do the things we need to do, trusting in Jesus for our worth and story, and knowing that failure is only one step toward those goals.

Today I saw a Facebook memory from 7 years ago where I had shared a quote from Jon Acuff:
"Though fear tries to tell me otherwise, the truth is that the size of my failures will never eclipse God's ability to redeem them."

So I just wanted to write all this to remind you (and me) that life is more than a list or a certificate or an achievement. That your failure will never trump Jesus. Because failure and its feelings are not forever. But Jesus and his love are. 

Shipwrecks And Storms

"When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved." - Acts 27:20

I've just finished reading through Acts. At the end of the book, Paul and Co experience the craziest series of unfortunate events. This scripture is describing a terrible storm they were in that led to them being shipwrecked and marooned on an island. But when I read this particular verse it caught my attention and brought to mind the crazy wave of depression and hopelessness and suicide that is currently sweeping the world.

The darkness: no sun or stars to light the way and give guidance and something to look forward to, no purpose to live for.

The raging storm: the inner turmoil of thoughts and the despair that screams louder and feels more powerful than any strength that can be mustered up in ourselves.

The giving up of hope: the succumbing to the hopelessness that says we are too far gone to be saved, that says we are not loved, that we are not worthy of love and that no one cares of our existence or non-existence on this earth.

Even just typing that all out feels a little terrifying, that someone would be in that place. And sadly, way too many people are stuck in this place of hopelessness; where it feels like the light will never break through and the storm will never end; where they are too far gone to be saved.

I don't say this lightly, but the reality is, there is no such place! No night is too dark for God's light to pierce in, no storm is too wild to be commanded by him to be still, no place is too far or too hidden or too wicked to be rescued by Jesus.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:5

The darkness has not and will not ever overcome the Light of the world, Jesus. Ask him to shine in your life. Even if there is just a little pilot light left in you, fan that thing into flame and let the Light burn in you and dissipate the darkness.

"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." - Mark 4:37-39

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, offers us peace in the midst of the storm. Even when the wind and waves are raging, we can find rest in him. He has complete dominion over everything, the natural elements of physical storms, as well as the hormones and crazy mental world that can be so tumultuous. And he does care. He hasn't brought you out in the boat with him to drown, but in the midst of the storm, he does want you to trust that nothing is out of his control and that he cares for you.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” - Romans 10:13

It seems too good to be true. But God cannot lie. So when he says that if you call on him you will be saved, then I totally believe with everything in me that absolutely anyone can be saved. There are no filters or preconditions to this saving, which means that no one can ever be too far, or too bad, or too unworthy. Because the 'goodness' and the 'worthiness' of the saving is all on Jesus, and not on us. Through him, anyone can be qualified and all can be saved.

I know that there are many other factors and things to consider when it comes to depression and hopelessness. But I do believe that these are three pillars of truth that are foundational in living a life of hope in Jesus.

I love what Paul says two verses after the hopelessness of their situation is so strongly stated: "I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed."

Yes, the ship will be destroyed—we will lose possessions, our plans will go awry, we will deal with devastating loss and heartbreak. But not one will be lost. You will not be lost. God holds you safely in the palm of his Almighty hand. I pray that today you would find such peace, light and hope in that.

Finally, perhaps, like me, this is not an area that you find yourself struggling with right now. If so, let's take after Paul's example of standing in the gap for the people around him:

v25 "So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me."

Would we have faith in God for the people that can't find the faith in their darkest moments, and would we stand alongside them in their rocking boat and raging storm and speak the truth to them, helping put courage in them to stand, to keep going and to fight once more.

The American Dream

Today I drove through a perfect, manicured, wealthy suburb of Texas. It was exactly what I imagine the American dream looking like. And though I didn't actively think to myself, "I am coveting that man's house," the reality is as I imagined myself living in those streets and driving their sweet cars, something of discontent rose up in me a little. Discontent rooted in envy for what someone else has and I don't.

And when I realised that, the obvious commandment came to mind:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbors.” - Exodus 20:17

Regardless of whether we even act on our selfish desire, this coveting is the craving for something that is not ours to have. It stems from good ole pride that says I deserve to have all the things. It's almost as though we are calling life unfair and God unjust for not providing us this thing we so yearn for.

Interestingly, in Ephesians 5:5 in the ESV, coveting is equated to idolatry. But when you stop and think about it, it makes sense. When we deeply yearn for something or someone that is not ours, it monopolizes our focus and we begin to idolize that thing which elevates it into a position of importance above God. If we let the root sink in too deep, eventually we lose all focus and begin to worship the creation rather than the Creator.

"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised." - Romans 1:25

In our culture these days, coveting is such a 'natural' part that most people hardly even notice its existence. Everything is about the biggest houses, coolest cars, best Insta feeds, finding the perfect bachelor and keeping up with the Kardashians.

But we were called to live differently. We are called to be content no matter the circumstance and to actively choose to not covet.

HOW??

I'm still learning, but these are some things that have helped me on this journey on laying down my coveting and idols.

Number one is to seek first Jesus and his kingdom. To above all, love him with all my heart, mind and strength. As I seek him more and more, I find myself more and more satisfied in his love and presence and I become more and more convinced that he truly is enough for me. As this happens, the things that used to draw my eyes and my heart have a little less of a shine and allure.

The more I seek him, the more I get to know him and so the more I trust that he is good and that he has given me everything I need and more. More than I could ask or imagine. So then when I look at something that I don't have, it's okay, because I believe that God, in all his infinite wisdom and unfailing love for me, deemed it unnecessary in my life at this time.

The second thing is to try and look at all things in life through the spectacles of eternity. And this is definitely not the easiest thing, because what I see is so tangible and real and physically within my grasp. But when I remember that the shiny things I so desire will eventually fade and fail, rot and rust, it is a little easier to put things in perspective.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corin 4:18

The things that scream for my attention in this world probably won't carry any weight in eternity. So why do I give them so much of my time and emotion and thoughts? Obviously I need many things in order to exist in my day to day life, and I do think it's okay to want things. But when that want breeds discontent in my heart, I need to take a step back and apply the filter of eternity.

And the final thing is asking God, in his transforming power, to realign my desires after his heart. Romans 12 talks about God renewing my mind in a way that transforms me, makes me more like him and stops me from conforming to the world—the world that loves to covet.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." And I believe this means he will provide me with the deep desires he's placed in my heart, but I also believe that as I seek after him and delight in him, my desires become more synchronised and moulded like his.

I'm broken and sinful and I will always find myself wanting more and desiring what is not mine, but I pray that as I continue to seek Jesus, keep eternity in mind and ask God to keep transforming me, I will learn to be content whatever the circumstances (Phil 4:11).

I pray this for you too. Let's kill the weeds of coveting that are strangling us and make room for the beautiful life that comes through being content in Jesus to grow.

ME! (AKA Self-love)

Self-love. Self-care.

Lately, it's popped up in so many podcasts I've listened to, YouTube videos I've watched, Instagram posts I've scrolled past, even a whole new big drive at my work. It's everywhere.

The basic premise is to encourage us to take care of ourselves in all aspects: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It charges you to take time to exercise, eat healthy, relax, take a deep breath, drink more water, cry it all out or whatever it may be that you feel your body or mind or heart needs in the moment.

I totally agree with taking care of ourselves. I think it’s very good for people to take care of their own body and emotional well-being and to actively work to be at least moderately healthy in all aspects. Jesus calls us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22:39) which inherently implies we should be loving ourselves. I actually think you can love and care for others better if you are taking the time to first properly care for yourself. So to most extents, I agree with the concept behind the movement.

But what does not sit well with me is the catch-phrase used to describe this movement: self-love.

It just sounds so extremely self-centered, putting all the focus on ME!—my wants, my needs, my feelings, taking care of me. It's all about me. And I can't buy into this, because I believe that as a Christian, my top focus is not me. It's God first, and others second.

Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"

Yes, in order to love God and love people with all my heart, mind and strength, I need to take care of my heart, mind and body. So I guess we could say that taking care of our bodies is Biblical. This body is not meant to last forever, so it is in no way the end goal, but it is a very useful tool in living and serving God. But the heart behind it is not quite like the 'self-care' movement. I believe we are commanded to care for ourselves because it enables us to glorify God and carry out the things he has for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Here are some more scriptures that tell us to both care for and use our bodies for God’s glory:

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Although God will with open arms accept any form of sacrifice we bring him, surely it would be better if we were able to bring more than a shell of an empty person to him? By spending time (but not obsessing! NB!!) on the things that keep us healthy, inside and out, we'll be able to love and give and serve and lay down rich lives before our King.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Even the smallest acts of eating and drinking can be used to glorify God. Something as simple as excessive gorging on junk food—probably not so glorifying to God as it shows us searching for comfort in something other than him. Or choosing not to drink alcohol excessively—this glorifies God as it is submitting to God's call to live sober and self-controlled lives. These are little choices of a healthy lifestyle that glorify our God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

This verse reminds us that the decisions we make impact our bodies—physically, emotionally, mentally. The context is aimed toward sexual sin, which definitely impacts all the aspects of our lives. But I think in all ways, our bodies, a temple of the Holy Spirit, are directly impacted by our lifestyles. So I believe that making healthy choices—the food I eat, the shows I watch, the people I allow to influence me, the thoughts I wallow in, etc etc— sets me up stronger to be able to glorify God with my body and life.

So if you follow Jesus but also want to buy into this self-love movement, can I challenge you to take a moment to consider the why? Is it for your glory or for God's? Let's look after and steward well the things God has entrusted to us, including our own bodies and minds. But at the same time, let's make sure our motives are rightly rooted in Biblical truth and gospel, sacrificial, 'for something bigger than me' living.

We are commanded to care for the body God gave us for his glory because our body is not our own and has been bought by his precious blood. Yes, in doing so I'm loving and caring for my own body, too, but ultimately it puts the focus rightly back on Jesus where it's always supposed to be and no longer on ME!.

Unsolicited Kindness

I didn't have the greatest day yesterday. Nothing major, but just a lot of little things that kept going wrong. Being on the other side of the world at the moment, I asked my friends back home to pray for me, which they graciously did.

That evening I got a lift back to my apartment with my colleague and his wife. As we arrived back, out of the blue, she invited me to join them for dinner that night. Now she didn't know that I had had a bad day, but for some reason (which I wholly believe to be God— despite the fact that she doesn't even believe in my God), some extra kindness and boldness bubbled up in her in the very moment I needed it and we had a great chilled evening eating curry and watching The Office and my bad day was made so much better.

So this all made me stop and think how many times I've ignored a prompting to be extra kind and/or bold in a moment, and how those were potentially moments created by the prayers of friends and family that I dropped the ball in. Maybe my kindness could answer prayers of people around me without me even knowing what those prayers are.

This isn't a fancy post or any wild revelation, but I just wanted to share these thoughts with you:

Number 1: who are you praying for today?

And number 2: are you being actively kind, even in the smallest of actions, in a way that God can use your kindness to answer prayers of the people you'll encounter?

Our God is extremely kind. Let's be wildly kind too.

The Good News In The Bad News

The news this week has been terrifyingly awful. The headlines pop up on my phone and lately it's felt like a constant barrage of bad news. Rape, murder, kidnapping, children found hanged, shootings, terror, corruption, racism, deceitfulness, hurricanes, droughts and all round hopelessness.

These are some truths that keep me in the midst of the storm:

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

• God is not surprised by the trouble of this world— not to say that he doesn't care, he does, deeply. But all this bad news is the product of living in a broken, sinful world. I don't say that to cheapen the pain and destruction and desperation that people are facing today. It so breaks my heart to witness— how much more the heart of God who knows and sees all, even in the darkest places.
• However, the brokenness and darkness is not too big for Jesus. He overcame it all.
• That doesn't take away the pain and consequences, but it does enable us to take heart and stand in the storm, with the hope of Jesus' victory anchoring our souls and keeping us firm and secure in him (Hebrews 6:19).

"When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm." - Psalm 75:3

• The world is currently being shaken to its core. I don't think there is a single person out there who can even pretend that all is peachy with our world right now.
• But in the midst of the quaking and shaking and breaking, our God holds firm. He is not shaken. He is still on the throne. He is still the foundation and cornerstone on which we stand. 
• And when we keep our eyes always on the Lord and believe that he is always with us, we too will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:5-7

• The Lord, the God of peace, is near. He is not far off, he is not disinterested, he is not unaffected by our pain and anger and broken hearts. He hears our cries and knows our suffering (Exodus 3:7).
• So let us cry out more and more to our God. Before we post the angry status or go off in a rage in response to the next inevitable heart-breaking headline, let us bring it to God. In every situation, without ceasing, with thankfulness, let us pray. 
• Not to say that we passively sit back and watch the world burn. No, let us pray AND let us rise up and show mercy, and love, and give, and instigate change in the spaces around us. 

"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." - Romans 8:28

• In the midst of the brokenness, we have to choose to believe that this true. That our God will bring beauty from pain. That he will take the mess and create a masterpiece. That he still has plans for each one of us that are full of hope, that he is still writing our stories, that he is still good.

Let us lift our eyes to our God, where our help comes from. Let us cling to his truth and cry out to him. 

May the God of peace be with us all.

An Unknown Future

In less than 9 days I will be getting on a plane and moving to the USA for 6 months. I will know only one other person in the whole big state of Texas; and as it stands today, I don't even know where I will be living, what I will be driving, what I will be working on. There is a lot of unknown happening right now—which if you know me, you know is not remotely my comfort zone. But as I think about all the unknowns, one of my favourite, foundational quotes comes to mind:

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." - Corrie Ten Boom

In this, even in the midst of the unknown, I find His peace.

Peace because He has a plan and a purpose for me:
> Jeremiah 29:11 — "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
> Psalm 139:16 — "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
> Isaiah 42:6 — "I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by Your hand."

I don’t need to make up a big plans and to-do lists for my life to have meaning, because God has already planned the whole thing out. I haven’t slipped through the cracks. God has me, He's written my story and knows my every day.

Peace because God is bigger than me:
> Proverbs 16:9 — “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.”
> Isaiah 55:8 — "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD."
> Isaiah 14:24 — "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen."

I can't mess up God's plan for my life; I can't take away His control or sovereignty by my silly choices. Yes, I may add in some detours or I can make things a little harder for myself and learn lessons the painful way. But when I realize that God is going to accomplish His purpose for my life whether I come along willingly or kicking and screaming, it becomes easier to act and decide and go. With the Lord determining my steps, when I step out in faith, I can’t go wrong.

Peace because God has always provided and always will:
> 2 Corinthians 9:8 — "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
> 2 Peter 1:3 — "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us."
> Luke 12:24 — "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!"

All the resources of the world ultimately are within God's hands. He is able and willing to provide us with all we could ever need— physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The provision may not be exactly what we want or think we need, but I know He will always provide everything we need to get through whatever struggle we find ourselves in.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” - Matthew 6:31-34

It all comes down to trust. Do I trust God to know what’s best for my life? Do I trust that He will continue to pave out the road beneath my feet while I just keep on putting one foot in front of the other, even when I can't see it for myself? Do I trust him for the big and small in my life? As I learn to trust Jesus more and more, I find I am experiencing more and more of His incredible, pervasive peace.

It’s hard, but I hope, like me, you are learning that Jesus is worthy of all of our trust, always.

Want To Worship

Today when I asked my mom if she was going to take our dog for a walk, she replied, "I don't really want to." My auto-response to this was: "It's not about what you want, but about what you need to do." Because #FitLife is good.

But then the conviction hit me— how often have I not prayed, or read my bible or worshipped because the feeling and the want just weren't there?

And I know that I was made to worship him, through the good, the bad and the ugly of life. I know that I need to praise Him in the storm, in the valley, and in the hurt. I may not want to or feel like it, but I believe it is so crucial that I do.

The bible speaks of this often:
2 Corinthians 6:10 “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…”
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, I will say it again: Rejoice!”

God even commands us to rejoice in our trials (James 1:2-3), not because of them, but because the trials are crafting us into the people that God wants us to be.

As much as it is in our broken human nature to sulk and complain, instead we need to lay our worries at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him to give us a heart change and to show us His hand in the midst of the struggle. It's not at all easy, but I do believe that when we focus on God and all His splendour, grace and glory, it is kind of hard to stay in that dark place of negativity, sadness and/or frustration.

"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." Psalm 42:11

I love a good little list, so I came up with 3 notes to self to remind myself in the moments when the want to worship or wait on Jesus isn't there. Nothing ground-shaking, but sometimes it's just the simple truth that we need most.

1. Honesty is the best policy
God already knows. Don't waste time trying to fool Him. Don't try and fake it til you make it with God. He sees your tiredness and apathy and lack of desire. And even still, He loves you dearly and longs for you to be with him.

Come open and honest. Tell Him about about the dullness and coldness of your heart. Get real with Jesus and ask Him to help you worship. Ask the Holy Spirit to breathe life and work in your heart and enable you to feel joy, awestruck wonder, and longing for His presence.

2. Trust that God is at work
Don’t focus on all the problems and frustrations of today and on the shortcomings of your own hear, but instead turn to God with faith and trust that He will meet you, and change you into the person that He wants you to be. Phil 1:6 tells us that we should be"confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." God is still at work. We are not a finished product. But open your life up before Him, soften your heart and let the Potter shape you and make you more like Jesus. Let Him renew your heart and mind and re-align your desires, including the want to worship God, to His heart.

3. Cling to the truth
Just because I'm feeling something, doesn't make it true. We need to learn to differentiate our feelings from the truth. Come back, again and again, to the Word and promises of God. This is one of the reasons why I believe learning the Word off by heart is so important— when I don't feel xyz, I can remind myself of what is real and true in the scripture of God. Here are just a few of the promises to hold onto when the feeling is gone:

1 Chronicles 29:11 — Our God deserves the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is His. He is exalted as head over all.
Jeremiah 29:13 — When we seek Him with all our hearts we will find Him.
John 6:35 — When we come to Jesus our thirst will be satisfied.
Psalm 63:3-4 — His love for us is better than life and draws us to glorify and praise Him.
Psalm 34:15,17 — When we pray He will answer us.
Matthew 28:20 — He is always with us until the end of time.

When you praise God and lose yourself in His presence (even when you don’t feel like it) you will find that your worries, fears, and whatever might be holding you back will slowly fade away like fog in the early morning.

Let's praise God for all that He is, and rather than focusing on the struggles of life, let's focus on His awesome glory, grace, and His unparalleled, unwavering love for us. In that, maybe we'll find the want to worship Him always.

I am Israel

It's so easy to read the adventures of the Bible and think that those people were so lame or silly or "I would never...". But they were human and so are we. Because of that, we are bound at some stage of our lives, in one way or another, to make the same mistakes as other human beings, including good old Israel. So much so, that the chapter title of 1 Corinthians 10 is "Warnings From Israel’s History" and verse 6 says "Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did."
In light of that, I think it's good to take my judgemental lenses off and instead turn that spotlight and microscope inward, put myself in their shoes and learn from their mistakes as I try to not make them myself.

A psalm that goes through multiple mistakes of the Israelites is Psalm 78. As I read through, I found that, in some way, shape or form, each and every failure and short-coming could be applied to me. I am just like Israel.

Here are a few of the highlights (well perhaps we should call them lowlights) from the Psalm:

v8 “A stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.”

v10-11 “They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.”

v22 “They did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.”

v32 “In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.”

v34-37 “Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.”

Sadly, these verses have shown to be true too many times in my own life. I have been and often am stubborn and rebellious and forgetful of God's hand and goodness. Despite God endlessly proving himself to be sovereign, powerful, all-knowing, so good, and more than enough, I have forgotten and tried to go at it alone. In spite of his works and redemption and hand in my life, I have still sinned.

But thanks be to God, who is gracious, merciful, compassionate, kind and slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). Thankfully, the psalm doesn't just stop there. It says in verse 38: "Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath."

Like with Israel, time and time again, God has rescued me, forgiven me, and chased me down to bring me back home.

When I look at this psalm I thank God, remembering all that He has done for me. I am not perfect and never will be even close, but I am learning more and more each day that even though I am just like Israel, God is still God and that will always be enough for my failures.

I am Israel. It means that I am broken. I have messed up in so many ways, but God is always there to receive me again. Even after all I have done, after all the places I have been, after what I have said, what I have thought, and the things I should have done but didn’t.

Like the father embracing the prodigal son, he takes me into his loving arms (Luke 15:20) and through what Jesus did on the cross, God looks at me and tells me that He loves me, is pleased with me, and that I am his (Matt 3:17). Like Boaz, when I am hopeless and alone, he provides for and redeems me (Ruth 4:4). Like Hosea, He chases after me when I leave and brings me back into his home and reminds me of who I am in him (Hosea 3:1).

Good Enough

I recently saw this quote by a band I am a fan of, Rend Collective:

“…Maybe you’re wrestling with the phrase ‘good enough’— we all do sometimes. The thing is, we don’t claim our victories for ourselves and toss our failure into the arms of Jesus. He claims them all. He claims us entirely. Which means we’re no longer slaves to our failure or our successes. There’s no longer ‘good enough’, there’s just ‘His’.”

To be totally honest, perfection is something of an idol in my life. Too many moments I find myself striving to be ‘good enough’ instead of truly relying on Jesus to be my enough. I know that God has already defined and redeemed and made me righteous in and through Jesus, yet I still find myself scrambling, trying to be in control of everything and climb the never-ending, totally unforgiving ladder of perfectionism.

In these moments, I am missing out on living life to the full, the life that Jesus said he came to give me (John 10:10). Instead of trusting in the Lord with all my heart and not leaning on myself (Prov 3:5), I am trying to jump through the endless hoops that the world and I lay out, hoping that just one more hoop will bring the promised satisfaction. I find myself trying to prove myself perfect in my own eyes, instead of seeing myself through the eyes of Him who loves and redeems me (Song of Songs 4:7).

God calls us to be like Him. If He is calling us to this, that means we're not there yet. To be like Christ doesn’t mean we have to be perfect. Rather, we are trying to be like Him because we aren’t perfect and He is. We can never be ‘enough’ but, as Christians, we are His and He is more than enough. This is the truth I have to remind myself of daily; this is what we must rest in.

I don't like for people to see me in my less than perfection. I don’t want people to see me struggling, see me with a bad attitude, see my falling short in any way. My pride wants to appear perfect. But pretending to be perfect helps no one. It sets up unfair standards for others who look up to me and it takes away from my testimony. I mean, it was through Jesus’ scars that good ole doubting Thomas believed. Through the sharing of our stories, struggles, messiness, and all round imperfection, maybe— just maybe— we’ll put a little courage and hope in those around us.

Struggles, the big, the small and the ugly, are what make us human. Friends, family, colleagues and even those we randomly interact with in the shops, in airports, etc— we all crave transparency. As humans we desire honesty. And sometimes, all it takes is admitting, “I am not perfect, but God is.” May that be enough.

Seven Out Of Seven

A friend messaged me about this idea, saying "Does no one genuinely enjoy their work anymore and what is so great about weekends that we have to spend 5 days anticipating them?" And I wholeheartedly agree. But seeing as he had the passion for this, I challenged him to write about it, which he boldly accepted. Good on ya and thank you, Joel!

Without further ado, here is the first ever guest post on FindingTheLord (v. open to many more!).

Music, we all love it. For some of us it's the top 40 pop hits and for others it's the adventure of discovering up and coming subpop bands. Radio plays is a fantastic medium to get a daily fix of the latest hits. But here's the thing...

In modern society we have heaps of influence upon our lives from all spheres. Each seeking to impose their ministry on us and more often than not, detract our gaze from God. Radio has got to be one of the biggest social influencers, especially in the workplace. A concerning message, from a number of these stations, seems to be working its way into our minds.

Radio show hosts appear to have developed a culture of living life 2/7. Complaints of the start of the new week become the subject matter of a Monday. Tuesday through Thursday are just days closer to Friday, which means the weekend is finally here. They all celebrate and vocalize the exciting plans they have. Often the public are invited to share their various liberations from work on social platforms, or on air. The gist of these rants is the relief the weekend will bring from a work week.

This got me thinking, for 5/7 days we live in anticipation for two. Literally counting the hours before we are free from the grind. Surely there's more to life than living for the 2/7. What about the other five work days we so longingly wish away?

It's evident in scripture that God created humans to work. In Genesis it speaks of Adam tending to the fields before the fall. After the fall it was made clear that his labour would be made tough and that he would toil as a result of sin. Got that right! Nonetheless, we have inherited Adam's mandate to work and bring glory to God. (Gen 2:15)

Let's take it one step back and look at God in his being. If we are a race created in His image, surely we should carry his attributes? The answer to work then, lies blatantly in the previous sentence. God created. I can't really make this point more clear. In six days he spoke the world into creation, displaying his omnipotent power. Content at the end of his work, he exclaimed that it was good! God found joy in his labour, pleased with all he had made. (Gen 1)

"On the seventh day he rested", yes there's a place for rest. Let's dissect this a little.

God hasn't ever, didn't need and never will require rest. He doesn't just take the day off and park cheese, regaining his strength whilst the world carries on. Isaiah speaks of our God who does not faint and won't grow weary, heck we even sing of this in the song Everlasting God. (Ish 40:28) So what is this rest then? Quite simply, he ceased to create. In his omniscience he came the point where he knew he had created all lifeforms he saw fit to roam the earth and bring glory to his name.

What about the fourth commandment? This is a special one, "Remember the sabbath and keep it holy". A clear demarcation of a day we are to set aside to worship God. It's as if God knew we were going to lose our mandate to live for him along the way, so he helped us by electing a day. As years have past, society has perverted this and quite frankly it's just another day. As a kid I clearly remember ALL the stores being closed with the exception of kwikspar. One or two stores change trading days and the rest followed suit. For a number of years here after, we as a family would not shop on a Sunday out of principle, but this too faded. It's clear we've failed to honour God in setting aside this rest day where we cease to work and focus on him.

As humans in our fleshly body we grow tired and weary, just as Jesus did. Fully God yet fully man he too sacame to fatigue, even sleeping through a wild storm. The Bible does not negate the necessity of rest, but throughout Proverbs the lazy are harshly rebuked for their foolishness.

I started the self employed journey close on two years ago now. It's been one of the most rewarding yet draining tasks I've undertaken to date, but I love it. Dare I say, "I love my job". Yes there are those crazy tough days and sometimes weeks, where I cannot believe I'm still trying to run a a start up. Then the corner turns and there's a whole different view from the mountain that was just climbed and it is epic! It's unmistakably evident how God had had his hand of favour in my efforts to use the talents he has given me.

It reminds me somewhat of the parable of the servants and their talents. The one who buried his share was rebuked. He did this both our of fear to lose what he had been given and out of laziness in surity of the value of his return. Yet the one who carefully nurtured his, worked them and built a profit, was welcomed and rewarded by his master. It's unquestionable that God desires for us to be fruitful in our work, as long as we are doing it for his glory. Colossians speaks of the attitude we are to have towards our work. (Col 3:23)

I once read a quote, "One day when I meet God at the pearly gates I want to be able to say", "I used everything you gave me". It takes some thought to grasp the magnitude of this statement, our abilities as humans in our mere mortal eyes are pretty remarkable. We've reached the moon, the depths of the oceans, developed AI and advanced hugely in the medicine world. This is all a result of folks stepping up to the plate and pursuing their God given abilities, whether under common grace or as his children.

I challenge you to search out the God given talents you have. Seek to nurture and grow these to their full potential. Find joy in your work and give reason to those around you to question your passion to live out a purpose driven life. When we begin to align ourselves with God and his heart, our lives start to change and his perfect plan will be revealed. God created YOU, he knows your inmost being, he knit you together in your mother's womb. How could you possibly dream of not living out the life, the author life has given?

Go live life 7/7. (Col 3:17)

Isaiah 26

I've been reading through Isaiah, a chapter each day. Normally I write down a few points from each chapter. But in Isaiah 26, there was just so much goodness, that it ended up way too long to whatsapp to my accountability group. So instead, here it is :) 

v1 "We have a strong city;"

- I like this. Such a simple statement, but it's powerful. We have security. We have protection. We have a refuge to hide in. We have a safe home that we should be inviting other people into. Are we living in the strong city or are we doing our own thing in the wilderness?

v2 "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter,"

- The gates were not made to be closed and to keep people out. As Elsa did in Frozen, let's declare that the gates are open forever for all to be welcomed in. Let's be inviting people into our world that they may find Jesus and his righteousness and grace and salvation. 

v3 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

- Perfect peace. Nothing missing, nothing broken. Peace beyond our understanding and control and logic and circumstances. This peace comes only because we trust in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. I know that sometimes having a mind that is steadfast seems impossible in this world we face. But our minds can be steadfast, not because of ourselves, but because of where our trust is placed, because we know the One in whom we trust (2 Tim 1:12)

v4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."

- As Isaiah often says, it's the Lord himself. The Lord himself is our refuge, our salvation, our Rock eternal. Not a religion, not some ideas, not some tick boxes that we build our lives on. It's the Lord himself. 

v7 "The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth."

- To be honest though, sometimes it feels more like a rollercoaster. But the life we live is a life of faith, and we have to trust that even in the storms and rocky paths, God is still in control and he is making a way. 

v9 "My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you."

- More honesty: I often don't feel this. Often my yearning and longings are for other things—for comfort, for riches, for recognition, for achieving, for being liked. I want to get better at this; aligning myself more and more to Jesus. Like Jack Sparrow's compass that always points to the thing he desires the most, I want my heart to always point to Jesus. 

v12 "Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us."

- So important to remember that ALL is from God—peace, accomplishments, gifts, success, hope, meaning, purpose, everything. Helps to keep us humble. 

v13 "Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor."

- So many things try to lord over us: culture, our feelings, our insecurities, fear of man, our bosses, our busyness. But there is only One that is worthy and able to rule over us in righteousness and justice.

v16 "Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer."

- I don't think I have ever been in a situation where I have felt this desperate—but I know that way too many people have been. And I love that we can still come to Jesus in our distress. Even when we can barely whisper a prayer, He hears us and is moved with compassion. His heart is for us. And as it says in Isaiah 42: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

v18 "We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life."

- We can't save people. It's all Jesus and it's him alone. We are called to love people and show them the salvation that is on offer for them; but we can't bring the dead back to life. I find that freeing, it takes the pressure off of me and puts it rightfully on the infinitely large and capable shoulders of Jesus. As one of my favourite Narnia quotes says: "It is Aslan, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus." It's Jesus, not me, that will save my friends and family and colleagues and even enemies. It's all him. As the next verse says:

v19 "But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise"
- In the Lord, the dead will live again. In Christ alone.