She bowed before her Lord in desperate need. “Lord, all I can see is suffering, pain, turmoil, unrest, evil. My anxiety is ramping up and my situation isn’t improving. Please help me find rest in this un-rest. Help me to praise You, God. Maybe today, help me praise You for what’s Read more…
My husband has become a gardening hobbyist. With the help of YouTube videos, he’s created a vegetable garden to continually nurture. Now that new plants are in the ground, they’re constantly on his mind as he’s begun a routine of watering, composting, and watching each little plant. He’s done much Read more…
When suffering seems endless and despair kicks in, thoughts of “why” and “how long, oh Lord?” can permeate our thoughts. We fixate on circumstances, trying to understand them, and then stress multiplies even more. Our songs of praise feel out of tune, inauthentic, cacophonous, ugly, filled with discord underneath. Sometimes Read more…
Is today filled with sorrow, beloved? It is for many of us, dear readers. Our Man of Sorrows, our suffering Servant, our Savior Jesus Christ understands our suffering, sadness, and loss. This week, let’s remember Jesus who is so near to us in our sadness because He is our Man Read more…
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength (Is. 30:15b ESV). “But Lord,” she cried. “Nothing in my life feels quiet or calm. My life is filled with chaos, this fallen world is filled with chaos and noise. I’m honestly battling the ever-present anxiety that underlies my life circumstances Read more…
In suffering, I’m instantly tempted to focus on myself. The pain overtakes my every thought and everything becomes so inward, fixated on my hurting. When it becomes days and years, with no end in sight, it’s easy for me to become self-absorbed. Me, me, me. But Jesus beckons us: “If Read more…
Do you ever talk to your soul? The Psalmists did this a lot, reminding themselves of truth in God’s Word, truths about who God is and what He is doing…even when we can’t see it. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within Read more…
It’s a week of love. Valentine’s Day celebrated it and the beginning of Lent points us to Love crucified. “But how could I be suffering so much if God loves me?” Sometimes our enemy forces this secret question into our pain. In that same experience of anguish, the blind hymnwriter Read more…
Are you waiting for things to improve, hoping for things to become easier? Sometimes, it’s years of waiting. Sometimes, things don’t get better or easier, but worse and harder. What do we do then? What if…our waiting lasts a lifetime? Psalm 69 gives us the words to pray in the Read more…
I found myself writing in pencil as I began filling out my 2021 calendar. 2020 taught me, “Don’t use pen!” Why? “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?…You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (Jas. 4:14-15 Read more…
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