Tag: Bible

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Hope in Waiting

Christmas is almost here. I was reminded this week that while Christmas is traditionally a time to look back on Jesus’ birth, it can also be an opportune time to remember that He promised to come again. In the words of Jesus, “And . . . I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). What a beautiful promise! Unlike the first time, Jesus won’t come again as a helpless newborn in a stable. He said that He will come in glory; “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

We’ve been waiting a long time for Jesus’ return already. We are all called to wait with expectancy for Jesus, living in a way that honors His sacrifice. Peter said, “. . . what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:11-13). As we are waiting for Jesus’ return, and a new heaven and earth, it can be easy to forget His incredibly loving promises to us. What if you were to join with me in taking the opportunity to reflect, not only on His birth, but on your hope in His return?

At Christmas, we remember God with us, Jesus; also known, especially in this season, as Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14), and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). We remember that Jesus’ presence brought hope to the world. Is your heart hopeful this Christmas season? Has your hope been diminished by the waiting?

If so, the ancient Jewish people can relate; they waited centuries for the Messiah to come, and many became discouraged. Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) were two individuals mentioned in Scripture who had solid faith in the coming of God’s redemption for His people, even in the long period of waiting. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Here we see that there is hope to be had, perhaps especially in the waiting. We aren’t meant to go for the soaring part without waiting first.

If you’re feeling restless, or tempted to go ahead on your own strength, remember in this season the wisdom in waiting for the Lord. Hold on to hope. Jesus is worth the wait. David knew what it was like to wait years for relief. He wrote, “[Bless the Lord] who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:5). David was on the run from king Saul during the prime years of his youth. He waited while eluding Saul’s pursuit for years, trusting God to restore of his life what seemed to have been lost.

Waiting on the Lord is never in vain. Jesus is coming again, and is coming to conquer all that would keep us from Him. May we be found faithful in the waiting. “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). The commemoration of the “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) for all people, Jesus’ birth, is imminent, but Scripture reminds us that Jesus’ second coming is, too. Let’s remember the hope yet to come, this year and every year. Merry Christmas, friends.

“And they have conquered him [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11).

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:12-13).

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

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The December Goal

I am amazed when I look back on how much God has done in the last year. Today I was reminded that the focus of my attention is too often on the “things” that I think will make my life better. Things like peace and joy are things that I often pray to experience, as I imagine they themselves would improve my own life. But I was convicted today that actually, the goal isn’t to experience the peace or the joy, but God Himself.

What if God Himself was our goal? What if we yearned for His Presence more than we yearn for the fruits of the spirit? Friends, God is the goal. Knowing God, being with Him in worship and prayer, and experiencing life in relationship with Him is just starting to describe the level of intimacy with Him that He desires to have with each one of us. This relational experience of God goes far beyond improving life—it IS life.

2025 has been a year of a lot of change for me. I’ve changed my vision for the future, expectations, rhythm of life, and even church. It’s been very difficult to adapt and yet wonderfully positive and life-giving. It’s been a challenging year of learning how to truly come to Jesus for rest (Matthew 11:28). “Surrender” has been the key word of my year. I would be led back to it no matter what the situation was or the state of my heart. I had to surrender control to God in order to move forward, time and time again. It was new, it was difficult, it was harder than it seemed and not what I thought it meant when I was newer in my faith. And it’s something I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. Surrender is so important to having a relational experience of God; it made up a lot of our back-and-forth conversations in 2025. I had to stop grasping at surrender; instead I had to let go.

This year, I’ve developed the perspective that letting go is the most courageous thing someone can do in their life. It’s also a tangible, practical way of trusting God instead of relying on self. But letting go isn’t weak or lazy, not at all. It’s powerful. It’s the way of true power and abundant life. Paul wrote, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Paul was one who God chose to let go of his life of Jewish religious prestige and share the message of Jesus with many parts of the world that hadn’t heard it yet. Paul (then Saul) experienced Jesus in a way that caused him to repent, and he let go of the life he was living. He trusted the path that Jesus set him on instead (Acts 9:6 & 9:17-20). By God’s gracious love, we are able to do the same in our own lives today.

God Himself—seeking Him, living in His Presence, and being in His will out of reverence and trust in Him—that is what I’m calling the December goal. It’s the goal that can’t wait until January when everyone remembers to make life improvement lists. The December goal is the only goal we need to focus on, every day. It’s the only one we need, the life itself, yet it so easily can get overlooked, somehow. Seeking God, rather than His gifts, is the goal I want to have today and every day. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Gifts will follow, and can’t be the focus when we follow God wholeheartedly. Like the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:44), Jesus is worth all we have. In Him is the only place to find everything we yearn for. Jesus deserves it all, He gave it all for us.

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t surrendered to Jesus, don’t wait until January 1st. Don’t wait until tomorrow. It’s something that right here and now, in December, will be the only thing that truly, eternally, satisfies your soul. We were each made for a special, unique relationship with Him; let go of anything holding you back and give Him the control of your life. It’s hard, but don’t give up! Jesus is waiting, right now, to hear from you. Tell Him your struggles, your laments, your hopes, and expectations. He longs to hear your heart. He is worth your all.

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23).

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Loosening the Constraints of Time

Last weekend I visited a place near the water and stayed for a couple of days. This beloved place of retreat has a wonderful sense of peace, covering, and wonder that I’ve returned to over the years. While there, I often get a sense that I could be in many different time periods other than my own, with its creaky wooden staircase and its decorative historical references. All these elements combine so that being there often comes with an intangible sense that anything is possible.

However, the huge, imposing grandfather clock has rung its familiar chime every hour on the hour year after year. I never have really loved being so acutely aware of the time. It often falls into one of two extremes; either feeling like the time is slipping away too quickly, or it’s dragging on so slowly that the chime, which makes some form of a sound every 15 minutes, starts to loom irritatingly large. Even with the place’s magical quality, the clock’s chiming made time feel like something I couldn’t have the illusion of escaping from, even on a restful vacation.

That is, until this trip. The grandfather clock rang its familiar tune, but this time, something was off. First, the hour chime missed the hour by quite a lot. Then the chime indicating which hour it was was comically off by several hours. Suddenly, it became a magical land in a new way. The fantasy of not being constrained by time was much easier to inhabit when I knew the chimes could be laughed at, even ignored altogether. I could look at the actual time whenever I chose to, instead of having the time imposed upon my conscious mind. Time became irrelevant, and it felt like freedom.

God Himself is not confined by time. He operates in eternity, which can be difficult for us humans, trained on the limitations of time, to understand. “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4). Similarly, Peter reminds us that time is not so relevant in light of the eternal timeline of God, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). We have no control over time, how much we have, how fast or slow it comes and goes; we are completely dependent on God for the time that we have. Time can become so complicated the more we think about it, but there at the retreat this past weekend, I was reminded that all we are able to do is trust God with the time that He’s given us. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8). With that broken grandfather clock chime, God provided me with a glimmer of the feeling of living in His realm. There He loosened the constraints of time that I am bound by here on this earth, and gave me a taste of eternity.

Even with how much is made of time, and how much time has been overemphasized in some ways, time is in fact a good thing. God made it, and the original clock was the moon and the sun, “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting” (Psalm 104:19). It is good for us to have rhythms to our lives, to follow the rhythm set for the earth from the very Beginning.

But, it is also good for us to catch these glimpses of eternity, which is just as real as time. Jesus Himself tells us to focus on the things of heaven, set in eternity, where time no longer has an effect on us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Our real treasures are the ones that are in the eternal realm; they’re the ones that last. The ones built on the fruits of the Spirit. Our time here in time is short, but it is enough for us because of Jesus. It is not something to dread or avoid, but to bring before Jesus and ask Him for wisdom.

May we ever look for God’s Truth and wonder, and find His order and respite in the midst of chaos.


“Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!” (Psalm 89:47).

“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:9-12).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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The Body of Christ

This past week I have been dealing with a neck and back injury. It’s disrupted both sleep, and this week’s blog post. All that to say, this one will be brief.

There is a need to each other to lift each other up in prayer, perhaps more than we realize. Ephesians 6 says, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:17-18). When someone I knew heard about my injury, they didn’t hesitate to pray, even though I hadn’t asked them to. Prayer for one another is just one powerful way we can follow Jesus’ commandment to love one another (John 13:34). The body of Christ, the church, is a powerful, connecting force in the spirit. When it operates in the love of Jesus, it is truly a beautiful, healing place.

None of us can do life alone. We need each other not just for prayer, but for care, encouragement, and covering. Having a hurt back has turned into a surprising blessing to me, because I witnessed the body of Christ address my acute need in prayer. It blessed me to receive that love and care. It blessed me to see obedience to the Word of God. It blessed me to realize how blessed I am to be part of the body of Christ.

Without the seemingly frustrating trial of my injury, I would likely have not appreciated where God has placed me quite as much. God can use anything to get our attention back on Him, on His work and His plan. Prayer matters. Prayer is a powerful form of care and love. It was a blessing to be reminded of the goodness to be found in the body of Christ. Today, I am thankful to be feeling much better, and that the pain has subsided considerably.

May we be attentive to the goodness of the body of Christ, even in a world that points out all the ways it has failed. And may we pursue love (1 Corinthians 14:1) as we journey with Jesus together, never failing to cover and intercede for each other in prayer. Amen.

“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. For the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Fear and Love

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If you’re anything like me, it’s easy for us to leap to conclusions. Something, could be anything, irritates, frustrates, or seems to cross a line, and before we know it, we’re either withdrawing or arguing about how wronged we feel. A calm, back-and-forth conversation with a lot of listening and wisdom feels impossible; we’re totally triggered. After about twenty minutes our brains start to calm down enough to better perceive the reality of the “threat.” Sound familiar? What is a threat to you?

For me, tone is a big one. If someone says something to me in a tone that I perceive is irritated with me, I tend to take it extremely personally. I get offended. I shut down. While I want to be like Christ and follow His example of patience and grace for both myself and the other person, in these moments I feel about the furthest from Christlikeness that I can get. I often leap to a conclusion that involves fear.

I’ve described this reaction as a “quick to jump to control,” and thankfully for us, the Bible is full of examples of people who also made this leap out of a place of fear, yet received God’s grace and love nonetheless.

A well-known example is Peter, and the account of him walking on water. In Matthew 14, Jesus walks on water toward the disciples’ boat, and the disciples “cried out in fear” (verse 16), thinking He was a ghost. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.‘ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:27-31). Peter let fear dampen his faith in Jesus’ trustworthiness.

Where are our hearts? God cares about our hearts, and like Peter’s story shows us, He cares about how much faith our hearts have in Him. The first and greatest commandment according to Jesus is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5, see also Mark 12:29-30). Do we have connection with our hearts and do they come from a place of love for people and for God? To love takes selflessness. God is faithful to work in us and to help us love Him so that we may obey this command.

I’ve been convicted and challenged by the verse, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). I’ve also been greatly comforted by it. God is in the business of perfecting His people in love. Even Peter, who walked with Jesus experienced fear. Jesus was faithful to teach Peter with patience how to trust and not doubt, how to love and not choose fear.

In my frustrations with falling into fear and struggling to love like Jesus, I’m reminded that Jesus paid the price on the cross already for this lack in me. My weakness is not a problem for Jesus. My fear holds nothing that He’s not already overcome. In Acts 7, Stephen, a man “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) as appointed by the twelve apostles, rebuked those who misunderstood Jesus’ teaching as a threat, and told them point blank, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

I want to be like Stephen, praying for wisdom and the filling of the Spirit, but I know there are many times I am sorely lacking. More often I’m like the people Stephen speaks to, the ones who are triggered, outraged, stuck in rigid control, and oblivious to the work of the Holy Spirit. In these moments again, while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8), Jesus invites us to surrender to Him, for we don’t have power to change our own hearts. All we can do is be willing (see post Nothing But Willingness) and open to let God work on our hearts and trust that He has and is and will perfect us in love.

It is out of His great love for us that Jesus has already paid the debt to allow us to let go of fear and walk in His love, trusting God and caring for people. We are covered by the blood of Jesus. Our lives are entirely in His hands, and we are safe there. We are alive in Jesus Christ forever and ever.

May we let go of fear and love God with all we are. Amen.

“and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;” (1 Kings 8:23).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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God’s Plan

There are a lot of unknowns right now, not just in the world but in my own life. I have been unlearning my old ways of thinking, operating, and planning for the future, and slowly, slowly learning God’s way. It’s very freeing, but a very, very big adjustment. I used to measure a decision based mostly on how it would benefit me. God’s plan, however, is all about what is best for everyone.

My plans failed a lot, but the amazing thing we see when reading Scripture is that God’s plans never fail. In Acts 5, one lone Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up for Peter and John who were being persecuted for their witness about Jesus, and said to the Jewish council, “…if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. . . .” (Acts 5:38b-39a). The wisdom of knowing that God’s plan never fails is a comfort in these moments of uncertainty we face. Our plans then must be looked at in light of God’s plan. When they align, we can find a great satisfaction our work, because it matters in eternity.

The plans we make to gain or get ahead may work for a while, but eventually if they’re not aligned with God’s plan, they fail. So, what is God’s plan for us? “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). These were God’s words to His people the Israelites before Jesus came to earth; today God offers us the Way of hope and peace through faith in Jesus. For me lately, God’s plans have looked a lot less like striving to set myself up for the future and a lot more like seeking Him, talking to Him, and trusting Him with the next step.

Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise when our plans don’t work out, as it has been for me many times in my own life, because they weren’t God’s plans to begin with. It’s often been much clearer to me what was or wasn’t God’s plan in hindsight, but knowing His plan for us is very connected to the closeness of relationship we have with Him. King David, known as a man after God’s own heart, said to his son, “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). When our hearts, plans, and thoughts are seeking after God and we live in a way that builds relationship with Him, His plans for our next step aren’t as mysterious. They will most likely be aligned with who He uniquely made us to be and for the eternal benefit of everyone involved. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21).

God’s plan for us is far greater than I can comprehend, but I know it involves close relationship with Him through Jesus, who bore the life sentence penalty for our sin. The world teaches that making decisions that only benefit ourselves and striving for security in the future is the smart thing to do, a way to get ahead of most other people. But I’ve learned that this is an empty and meaningless way to think about life, because it’s not God’s plan for us to be selfish in this world. His plans are eternal, not finite or reactionary or fear-based at all. The people who are rich in the Lord, who have their sins paid in full by the blood of Jesus, are the ones who have true security. “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'” (1 Corinthians 1:28-31).

May we see life in light of eternity, looking to the future hope that Jesus brings us, and may we seek God’s plans for us today in Christ Jesus. Amen.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him” (Ephesians 1:7-10).

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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In Flesh and Spirit

Applying the Bible to day-to-day life is an ongoing, daily decision. For a long time, I didn’t really understand how it applied to my job or sleep or inner monologue. I got very used to doing whatever felt right and seemed right to me at the time, which I’d describe as my default way of being. I later learned the Bible calls it the way of the flesh. 1 Corinthians 3:3 calls being in the flesh “behaving only in a human way.” Well, human is what I am, isn’t it? Why should I expect more?

But we all do, don’t we? We know what we want to do, but sometimes—or as was in my case, often—we just don’t. No great explanation, we just fail to show up, fail to follow through, or run out of time or energy. I think Paul captures this frustration best, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:18-20). This isn’t to be read as an excuse for doing things we ought not do. Instead, it highlights how much we need Jesus. Only through Him can we be given the ability to do God’s will, or using the language in the ESV Bible, the ability to walk by the Spirit. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

The way out of the frustrating cycle of doing what we don’t want to do depends entirely on how dependent we are on Jesus. To be in the spirit involves our minds, our thoughts: “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5b). It also involves leaving behind the selfishness that our flesh defaults to, “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13b). Easier said than done, eh? Our minds churn out thousands of thoughts every day, and our bodies creep toward seeking comfort at every turn. To go against all that seemingly makes us human to obey God is no small feat, and one that we simply cannot do alone.

No matter how difficult it can be to resist old patterns of thought and behavior, God does not set us up to fail. To depend on Jesus is to be set up by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to be able to transcend our human weaknesses to obey the will of God. In surrender to God, we can love Jesus and keep His commandments (John 14). This is something our flesh simply cannot do. When we trust in Jesus and obey Him, we are able to walk by the Spirit and do things that aren’t possible on our own strength.

When we don’t depend on Jesus daily, or take care to walk in relationship with Him, we can quickly default to a self-pleasing or people-pleasing way of being, or the way of flesh. Jesus warns of this happening even when our intentions are good, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

By trying to be like God we fell into the state of being in the flesh. But in His grace, God has made a way for us to walk in the spirit despite our human shortcomings. In fact, He turns our weakness into the very avenue that leads us to Him. It is when we admit to and surrender our weakness to God in trust that He empowers us to walk in the Spirit.

The flesh, while something we must all live with and are warned about in Scripture, can be used for good when we choose to surrender it to Jesus. It makes your relationship with Jesus so much closer! It is in admitting the weakness of the flesh that I found out how completely I had to surrender to Jesus, and it is so worth it. Paul acknowledges this too, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

In Jesus, we have the power to overcome the power that the flesh has over us, and the power to walk in a way of goodness and obedience far beyond our human capability. He is faithfully restoring all things that were lost through Jesus. May we choose to walk in the Spirit daily, just as God created us to do from the Beginning. Amen.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . .” (Romans 7:21-25).

“…if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. . . .” (Acts 5:38b-39a).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Getting What You Pray For

We expect to get what we pay for. But what about what we pray for? I’ve questioned if something I am praying for is really God’s will, but many times I actively tried not to think about it that way and just prayed for what I wanted or needed. Knowing what God wanted seemed far too mysterious, and was something I would ignore out of frustration. I had no idea how to tell or how to walk in step with God’s will when it came to my everyday life, and it seemed like an impossible ask, and task.

Lately, I’ve come to understand this differently, in a way that removed so much more of the mystery than I ever thought possible.

Praying for My Will

The needs and wants that come up hourly in my own life and in the lives of those close to me seem infinite in number. There are needs to be met at every turn for every person, and it doesn’t take long to realize that we ourselves aren’t equipped to fill them all. We need God every day, hour, and minute. It is natural to have a need or want and pray for it to happen. It’s what I was taught to do, and there’s a good place for it. As an example, for many years I prayed that I would be able to go to bed and actually fall asleep earlier.

But as much as I wouldn’t have believed it or wanted to hear it, I didn’t know what I actually needed or wanted. I didn’t understand how God designed us first for relationship with Him and how much in our lives is a result of this Truth. I knew the sleep trouble indicated a misalignment somewhere in my life, but I didn’t realize that staying up too late was actually a symptom of not prioritizing my relationship with Jesus, or how He was calling me to live. I had prayed for the symptom, but completely missed the root cause.

God’s Restoration

Once I saw the connection of everything to my relationship with Jesus, things didn’t feel so complicated. I simply had to run to Him. I’ve had to learn many things “the hard way,” by not getting what I pray for. Those prayers weren’t focused on what was best in the long run, but what I thought would be good in the present. But God has worked in my heart to restore what I thought at one time was broken trust. God began a needed work of restoration in me that I couldn’t accomplish on my own. I prayed for it, and this time, He answered. He showed me that His will truly is what is best in the long run. Scripture clearly shows time and time again that it is God’s will to restore connection with the hearts that humbly bring themselves to Him. It’s who He is, part of His loving and faithful character. He will restore connection with us whenever we earnestly ask for it, because that is His will.

In this restoration of connection, God transformed my heart. He helped me see how things I believe, say, or do, especially when related to myself, affect my relationship with Him. He showed me through His Word and Spirit that relationship with Him is the most precious and important thing, both to me and to Him. His will is always barrier-free relationship with each one of us. Instead of simply praying for temporal improvements, I began to ask, does this affect my relationship with God? That question has changed everything.

He doesn’t want anything to come between Himself and me or you; He is faithful to help us keep our connection strong when we ask. Through His transformative work in my heart, I came to know that prayers aligned with restoring and keeping and growing trusting, relational connection with us will be answered. It has led to even deeper prayer, with a profound sense of knowing that God has already supplied every real need (Philippians 4:19), before we even ask!

Praying for God’s Will

I mentioned earlier about praying for perceived needs according to what we want or will. But things can get more complicated than that. What if it’s God’s will that a need remains unmet right now? What if His greater plan involves that need going unmet?

Jesus gave us an amazing example of praying for God’s will in the garden of Gethsemane, “And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done‘” (Luke 22:41-42). He knew the Father’s will, but in this prayer He lets the Father know His own will, which is quite opposite. But then, Jesus says something really extraordinary. Jesus displays ultimate humility, knowing and acknowledging that God’s will is sovereign. No matter how much Jesus’ own will tried to resist against it, He had decided long before praying that prayer that God’s will would always be His choice because of His trusting relationship with Him. He had no doubt about the Father’s character of ultimate love and goodness toward Him.

I believe God is inviting us today to decide, like Jesus had done, that He is sovereign in our lives, to humble ourselves in trust, and to choose relationship with Him over our own will. God’s will is restored relationship with Him, and in that place of safety there is freedom and life to be found, sweeter than any life we could attempt to build from our own will.

When we pray for God’s will, we get what we pray for. It may not be immediate, or the way we expect, but restored and strengthened relationship with God is where all this, His plan, is heading. God is faithful and trustworthy to fulfill His will. May His will be done!

“For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).

“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (John 7:17).

“And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Sanctification and Fruitfulness

This year, I’ve visited more farms than I can remember visiting in any previous summer. I’ve picked strawberries, peaches, and flowers. I’ve smelled the Maryland tomatoes and cantaloupes piled high in farmer’s market bins. I’ve felt the sun more than I have since I was in middle school. It’s been healing.

Stale, work computer-charged air a distant memory, I’ve been appreciating the delight of abundance this harvest season. The earth’s harvest is very symbolic in Scripture; it has so much to teach us, especially if, like me, you’ve had to adapt to measuring time by email deadlines rather than by the seasons of Creation.

The harvest season comes with a lot of opportunity to connect with God and each other. As summer yields the crop for the year, seeing the abundance of God’s provision has given me a childlike wonder and delight. A single fruit tree bearing incredible quantities of fruit in just one season has been quite a sight to behold on the farm.

I’ve been longing for the ability to make my own life fruitful to live in the beautiful ways Scripture says is possible (eg: John 15:5, Galatians 5:16-25). But I often feel sorely lacking, and in a season not of abundance but of drought. I’ve been reading about and longing for sanctification and frustrated by its slow, and at times painful, progress that takes a long time to yield fruit and a lifetime to be completed. Sanctification is hard to define, but it involves seeing the Truth to the point of no longer being deceived by selfish desires or goals to find fulfillment, and dedication to serving God and doing His will, instead of my own. This is foolishness to the world of email deadlines, profit margins, and fiscal year spreadsheets that I was entangled with for years, and the process of detangling has been a wild one.

Like the wheat and weeds grow up together, people who love Jesus grow here in the world along with everyone else and everything else (Matthew 13:24-30). Followers of Jesus are not to be removed, but to remain in the world and be an influence for good. Jesus prayed for His followers in His high priestly prayer before His arrest, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:15-16) (NIV). The answer to sanctification is not shutting out all of the entanglements, temptations, and evil and hope that that makes us good enough people. We can’t escape the world, nor does God want us to. What makes us able to be fruitful among it all is utter devotion to and dependence on Jesus and His sanctifying work in our hearts.

Jesus continues His prayer, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (John 17:17-19) (NIV). Jesus prayed for our sanctification. Sanctification involves abiding in Jesus. Abiding, like sanctification, is ongoing, not bound by time at all. We all live in the tension of waiting for the fullness of God’s provision and work in us. It isn’t something I can achieve or be rewarded with. It’s something I simply need to allow. Simple, yet, at least for me, incredibly difficult.

It’s worth it though, because sanctification leads to our lives bearing good fruit. As we allow God by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16, 1 Corinthians 6:11) to work in and sanctify us, we grow and mature. We are transformed by Him in holiness, or moral purity in our attitudes, thoughts, and actions. I’ve witnessed this change in people, and it’s simply miraculous.

The fruit that comes as a result of sanctification is loving people as God loves us, living with joy, walking in peace, caring with patience, bearing with others in kindness, and so on (Galatians 5:22-23). Sanctification involves our hearts, minds, and spirits coming to a place that no longer gives in to anything that blocks us from abiding in Him. And again, we’re on a lifelong journey to be sanctified. God is faithful to sanctify His people, even though it may feel slow and painful and impossible at times. This season of abundant, fruitful harvest reminds me of this hope for my own life.

There’s nothing we can do to earn sanctification or speed it up or work toward it. The work is allowing and completely depending on God to do the work that is needed in us, and having faith that He is, has been, and will be working. May God help us on the days we resist His work, and may our lives bear fruit as we allow Him to work through us. Amen.

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

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Take Heart

I hadn’t watched the news in a long time until yesterday. I don’t have regular TV and haven’t missed it. Horrors in the region, the state, the country, and the world all neatly packed into 2-minute segments, just long enough to instill a sense of fear or dread or can’t-miss-the-update-we’ll-oh-so-conveniently-bring-you-at-5. The world is full of stories, and now we know them whether we want to or not. Having peace in our hearts and minds is what we need to thrive, create, and learn new things. In such an environment, how do we have peace?

Thankfully, Jesus shows us how to break bad news to people we care about, without compromising their peace. In John 16, before His arrest, Jesus tells His disciples He’s going away, and that some scary things will happen, things they never imagined were possible. Then, in one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The world and peace don’t ever seem to coincide, even 2000 years ago. Jesus isn’t telling his friends horrible things to scare them, He’s saying that no matter what comes, peace is found in Him.

Circumstances we face may be terrible, but Jesus isn’t ignorant to them. He knows about them, He is not scared by them, and He is a steady place to go when things in the world try to knock us off balance. Jesus is where we can find peace.

About 60 years after Jesus’ time, the apostle Paul wrote to the early Christian church from prison, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11). Speaking of his imprisonment, Paul wrote to his friends with not only hopefulness but profound encouragement, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13). Paul knew that God was bigger than his predicament of being imprisoned, and that God hadn’t left him, evidenced clearly by the fruitfulness that came of it. You can almost hear the joy and peace in Paul’s tone when he writes, “…most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14).

Paul’s chains do not keep God from working through him, and in fact, his imprisonment may have helped the Gospel spread all the faster and more powerfully. So friends, there is no circumstance too dark or scary for God to walk with you in and work through you in. There is nothing that can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

The circumstances in the world will be difficult, yes. Oppressive, yes. Inducing of suffering, yes. But we are not left defenseless. Jesus gave us reason not to let the fear that the world can incite take over our hearts. Jesus gave us the Truth, that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). The Truth is compared in Scripture to the belt (Ephesians 6:14) in the description of the armor of God we are commanded to take up. Peace is compared to the shoes (Ephesians 6:15), needed for our sense of readiness. It is from a place of peace in Jesus that we can be ready to endure, solid as a pillar in the Truth, fully surrendered in trust that the Lord will provide all we need out of His deep and abiding love for us.

Though we will be challenged by the world daily to retreat in fear, Jesus tells us to “take heart” in the face of it all. He has overcome the world that scares, threatens, questions our identity, and challenges our faith. May we therefore take heart!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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