What Hinders You From Running Well?

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Have you ever started the day cheerfully, full of good intentions, and by mid-morning you’re in a puddle, pouring your heart out to the Lord in frustration over your sad turn of events? Have you ever said to yourself, “What happened? I started the day well; I spent time with the Lord; I even got up early to do so, but something went wrong. How did this happen?” Galatians 5:7 reads, “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Ahhh, what a question! Taking the time to answer that question will help us the next time we find ourselves wondering, "How did I end up here?"

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From Anxious Thoughts to Trusting the Lord

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God doesn’t want us to live in fear of bad news or to create trouble in our minds that hasn’t even transpired; that’s why He explains in the Bible how not to fear evil tidings. Psalm 112:7 gives us a picture of what this would look like in our lives, “He will not fear evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” There’s no escaping the connection between not giving in to fear and worry and trusting the Lord.

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Jesus’ Compassion for Your Sorrows

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Some days you just need to know that Jesus cares. Maybe today is that day for you. If so, I think you’ll be encouraged as we take a look at the compassion and sensitivity Jesus showed when Mary and Martha were grieving over the death of their brother Lazarus. I know this story has frequently bolstered my heart.

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The Means God Uses to Instill Hope

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The Means God Uses to Instill Hope

The end result of tribulations is hope—emphasis on end result. Often, when we’re gasping for air, trying to wrestle down hope to gain some relief, we create a short bridge in our minds from verse 3 “we exult in our tribulations” to verse 5 and the “hope that doesn’t disappoint.” I think it’s safe to say most in-the-midst-of-trials people are “hope challenged.” It’s why we so quickly make the jump in our minds from “tribulations” to “hope that doesn’t disappoint.” There’s just one problem. We miss the means God uses to grant us that non-disappointing hope.

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He Will Not Reject Forever

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He Will Not Reject Forever

O, tried and tempest-tossed one, hear these words, “The Lord will not reject forever.” Think upon the reality of those words. Your present circumstances will not last forever. Even if they last the rest of your days on this earth, they will not last forever. For each believer “forever” holds special import. Forever means life with Jesus. Forever means seeing His dear face. Forever means no more sin, no more sorrow, no more pain. Ah, let us think on forever.

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Keep Your Courage Up

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Keep Your Courage Up

I’ve read Acts many times over the years, yet in all the times I’ve read about Paul’s perilous voyage to Rome, which eventually ended in shipwreck on the island of Malta, I’d never really noticed the soul-calming wisdom of verse 25 until recently. What were Paul’s words? “Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.” Paul and all those aboard the Rome-bound ship grew weary and despairing when the storm failed to abate. There’s something about the relentlessness of a long-term storm that tests us in ways we never knew we needed. The winds have blown for so long that we abandon hope of ever being rescued (Acts 27:20). We find it’s difficult to get out of bed on some mornings. I know about storms like that, which is why Paul’s words in Acts 27:25 ministered to my heart so much. Keep up your courage. Believe God. Everything will turn out just as He intends.

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What Question Would Jesus Ask You Today?

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What Question Would Jesus Ask You Today?

Recently I was reading in Acts 22 where Paul powerfully recounts how he came to faith in Jesus Christ as he encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. There the Lord asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” That question stopped Paul in his tracks. And then I wondered, “What question would Jesus put to me today?” I could just imagine it, Lisa, Lisa, why are you ­­­­­­­­­­­(fill-in-the-blank)? That wasn't too hard for me to do. “Lisa, why are you being so faint-hearted? Lisa, why aren’t you trusting Me? Lisa, why are you looking to a change in your situation to bring you joy? Lisa, why are you discouraged?” And on it went.

It was a good exercise for my heart. There’s no hiding from the Lord; He always gets to the very core of the issue.

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Mulling Over Your Portion Leads to Hope

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Mulling Over Your Portion Leads to Hope

Jeremiah is writing during a time of deep trauma and fear. He has been in the fires of affliction for quite a while. He is weary from troubles and sorrow. He feels singled out by the Lord, not for joy and blessing, but for further suffering and discouragement. Yet…yet, hear it now…when Jeremiah focuses his thoughts upon his Portion, hope lifts its head. And it’s not a beleaguered hope, not a wimpy, beaten down hope, but a stout, full-grown hope able to withstand whatever storms may assail him.

For many of us living in survival mode like Jeremiah, when life is boiled down to the essentials only, these truths help us keep moving forward. We have no hunger for appetizers or dessert; we know we need the life-sustaining, soul-refreshing, heart-restoring meat contained here. We have hope from our Portion because of who He is.

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When Chocolate Chip Cookies Aren't Enough

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When Chocolate Chip Cookies Aren't Enough

We can rationalize about our choices—“Oh but chocolate chip cookies really are satisfying!” yet at the end of a day feasting on chocolate chip cookies alone we feel empty and sick inside. God wants us to understand that settling for "chocolate chip cookies" to nourish our hungry souls is a poor food choice at best and folly at its worst. Jesus was getting to the same core issue with the woman at the well in John 4 when He asked her to get Him some water to drink and then turned to conversation to the living water that would satisfy her thirsty soul. He explained, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:13-14).”

What well are you drinking from to replenish your thirsty soul? Why are you willing to settle for something that won’t truly satisfy you, even when you know better?

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From Lisa to Elisabeth--Another Year of Grace

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From Lisa to Elisabeth--Another Year of Grace

I was…am a dictionary reader. Dictionaries are splendid things and we had a marvelously fat one when I was little. It was huge, probably 5 or 6 inches thick, and contained all sorts of extra tidbits of knowledge, but the part I liked best was the section on names and their meanings. Eagerly I looked up “Lisa” and discovered my name was taken from “Elisabeth,” meaning “consecrated to God.” Well, I had to look that word up and discovered “consecrated” meant “dedicated or set aside for God.” I hoped that one day my life would belong to God and I would truly become “Elisabeth.”

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The Lord Has Not Forsaken You

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The Lord Has Not Forsaken You

It’s the way of things—to trust God because He is so very faithful and loving and kind. Such an obvious truth, and yet there’s a reason that verse has been underlined and highlighted and prayed through and cried over in my Bible. Sometimes it’s just plain hard to trust the Lord—even when we know Him, really know Him; even when we have trusted Him in the past; even when we believe His Word and His promises. Even then, there are times when every believer comes face to face with these truths and cries out like the desperate father in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

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When a New Year Means More of the Same

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When a New Year Means More of the Same

Trials have a purpose. They produce a perfected faith and a completed character. You know this; I know this. The difficulty comes in staying still while God does His work in us with that trial. So, the first thing we need to consider is just how do we persevere under trial? Keep reading for some ways to apply these words to “persevere under trial.”

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Advent Meditations: The Wonders of His Love

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Advent Meditations: The Wonders of His Love

The final advent candle of Christmas represents love. How fitting to spend the last few days before Christmas thinking on “the wonders of His love” as the hymn, “Joy to the World” puts it. I think most people get the fact that Jesus’ birth is a huge proclamation of God’s love. We’re told this in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God loved the world, and specifically the people that He created, so He gave His Son, His only Son, as a sacrifice offered up in substitution for our sins.

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Advent Meditations: Tidings of Great Joy for You

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Advent Meditations: Tidings of Great Joy for You

You might be struggling for joy because of trying circumstances and great sorrows, yet joy is possible. Good news leads to great joy when we remember the hope and exhilaration that forgiveness of all our sins, fellowship with the Eternal God, and the hope of heaven can bring. Joy isn’t out of reach. Joy just needs to be uncovered so it can be recovered. 

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Advent Meditations: Preparing for Jesus

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Advent Meditations: Preparing for Jesus

Having our hearts prepare Him room means doing special things to honor Jesus. Your special offering might be setting aside an evening for quiet worship, even when you have a pile of laundry waiting for you. We do things differently when we have special guests with us, so why shouldn’t we try doing things differently for the Christmas season and prepare Him room?

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Advent Meditations: Hope for Hopeless Hearts

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Advent Meditations: Hope for Hopeless Hearts

The hope given to us because of that little baby born in Bethlehem draws our eyes away from the tinsel and turkey, gifts and gatherings to the fulfilled promise of a Savior who rescues us from despair, isolation, and the hopelessness of sin.

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Choosing to Trust the Lord in Spite of Our Circumstances

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Choosing to Trust the Lord in Spite of Our Circumstances

Waiting is hard. Waiting in faith is even harder. Waiting in faith like Abraham does in Romans 4:18-21 is miraculous! And yet, if Abraham trusted the Lord in such a stellar manner, then there’s hope for you and me.

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Our Great Physician Will Never Harm Us

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Our Great Physician Will Never Harm Us

You might be feeling that your circumstances are harming you in some way, that they are so hurtful you feel you will never recover, yet no matter what your circumstances, the promises of God’s Word still hold true. He will not allow your situation to harm you. Your circumstances may hurt; they may be painfully difficult to endure, but they are intended for your good.

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