peace for everyday life
Befriending Jesus Amidst Our Wilderness Seasons
“You have been teaching me that it’s possible to feel secure even in the midst of the most difficult, painful circumstances— through staying aware of Your continual Presence with me.”– Jesus Listens, July 19th The Wilderness “Go to Jesus,” they say. “Clap your hands and shout,” they say. Somehow, when we are in pain, the quintessential church phrases do not move us like they typically do. The exuberant testimonies of how others were able to pray themselves into wholeness and victory can feel like a taunt more than an encouragement for those who do not even have the strength to open the bible. Sometimes, we may not want Him, but instead, we may just want to want Him. On top of that, we may hope to hope one day—just not today. How can we experience the Presence of God when ...
We’ve Never Walked This Road Alone
“These signs of Your Presence strengthen me and prepare me for whatever difficulties I’ll encounter on the road ahead. Help me to remember that nothing in all creation can separate me from Your Love!” – Jesus Listens, September 22nd “God is going to do big things with your life,” we often hear. No doubt well meaning, but is it true? Is it big when God allows a believer to wrestle with debilitating chronic illness? Is it big when a godly servant spends his or her life serving in a small one-room church in a rural town? Is it big when a mother turns down a corner-office promotion to teach her children full time from home? Can a small and hidden life be as glorious as one seen and heard across the globe? Earthly standards While not big by earthly standards, even small acts of obedience that g...
Live Without Secrets
“How thankful I am to be fully known by You! Everything about me is visible to You—including my most secret thoughts and feelings.” – Jesus Listens, April 19th I long for a church that lives without secrets. The Beauty of Honesty One of my favorite things about church is our new members’ meetings. All the new members pack in a room for a Saturday, and they share their testimonies. There are always lots of tissues, lots of hugs, and lots of honesty. Whenever I see new members join, I think, This is the church as it should be! A bunch of people in a room, telling each other why they are messed up, and celebrating that God loves us anyway. But most of church life is not like that. I see pastors fall from grace because of secrets they kept. I see people worry more about fitting in at church th...
Three Ways to Unthaw Your Frozen Calling
“I’m learning to yield to Your will and timing. Rather than striving to be in control, I need to spend more time seeking Your Face.” – Jesus Listens, February 23 Conflict stirred within as I attempted to blend into the audience. The secret struggles in my heart felt exposed as the conference speaker addressed the crowd. Frozen callings “There are frozen callings in this congregation,” she declared. The weight of that statement hit my spirit like a bag of bricks. No, Lord, I whispered. I can’t hope any longer for things that never come to pass. God spoke softly in return. I will be with you. It’s time to take your calling off the shelf. Two years before, I had packed away my ministry dreams. Ambitions of public speaking, teaching the Bible, and writing books drove me to push past God’s timi...
3 Ways to Clear Your “Soul Clutter”
“Your capacity to experience Me is increasing throughMy removal of debris and clutter from your heart.” – Jesus Calling, April 3 There is a living home within you. Whether stately and beautiful, expansive and serene, or dilapidated and in disrepair, cluttered and chaotic—it’s often hard to detect your own setting for lack of visibility. It’s actually quite rare that someone doesn’t have what I call soul clutter—that white noise of other’s opinions, stories we tell ourselves to cope, lies we’ve believed or agreed with, unregulated emotions, or pain that has become paralyzing. It’s also quite difficult to deal with the resulting chaos because we either cannot map a way beyond the clutter or we are too afraid to journey into the thick of it. Soul Clutter This internal clutter takes its toll o...
