Sometimes action has to precede emotion. Sometimes we have to trust the power of obedience to shape us, instead of trying to get ourselves in shape to obey.
Category: life
When Good Things End
Trusting God’s purposes is hard enough when bad things invade our lives. But what about when good things leave? When instead of facing an enemy, we face simply...emptiness?
Finding God When Things Look Bleak
We may not always be sure what to make of what God sends us. But we can always trust and know the One who sends it.
Back to the Present
Our walk with God requires a similar presence of mind. In order to stick with Him through a world of temptations and uncertainty, we need to keep our focus on Him and where He is guiding us.
What It Takes to ‘Taste and See’
A life following Jesus isn't an easy life. But it's the best possible life we could ever live. And it takes us to the best place we could ever be: the heart of God, the very definition of goodness. You’d think we’d rush to taste that goodness. What kind of healthy human doesn’t want to experience inner peace, to be truly and faithfully loved, to live with a sense that they and their lives matter? Yet we hold back....afraid the sweetness holds poison. Convinced the fruit we’ve been told is scrumptious will turn out sour or bland. Suspicious that the goodness is all taste and no nourishment for our famished souls.
Why We Need Good Friends
It sounds obvious, yet sometimes we seem to forget. We get caught up in work, routines, and family duties and relegate friendship to luxury status. Or we get plunged into pain or struggle and try to soldier on alone. We think we have to do it, that our burdens are ours alone to carry, that no one can ever understand, that no one should ever have to share our struggle.
Be Offended, And Do Not Sin
We can’t always control the way we feel in contentious situations. But with God’s help, we can control how we respond.
Only Goodness and Mercy
Yes, trouble may chase us. Pain may nag us. Sorrow might ambush us again and again. Guilt and shame may nip at our heels. But the only things that can keep up with us, day in and day out, all the days of our lives, are the goodness and faithful love of God. And like the Good Shepherd He is, He will send them after us relentlessly. No, scratch that – He’ll come after us Himself, bringing them with Him. Because that’s who He is.
When Suffering Makes No Sense
Suffering when you can see the point is hard. Suffering when you can’t see the point is harder.
Living in the Face of Your Nemesis
Maybe you're facing a problem, old or new, that has you frozen in your tracks or pacing in your bunker. Maybe you've tried giving it (or yourself) time, but found yourself growing stagnant. Or maybe, as overwhelmed as you feel at the thought of moving forward, waiting it out simply isn't an option. But how do we get moving? How do we live – really live – in the face of our nemeses?
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