Tag: Fear

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Truth and Spiritual Warfare

Do you think it’s a coincidence that as we gear up to take things to a new level, suddenly things start going wrong? Maybe things start getting under our skin, distracting us, or even making us doubt that taking that next step forward is the right thing. This is nothing new. It is a predictable attack, and yet, I for one can still easily fall into thinking the worst about it, that this time might be different and maybe I really do need to be afraid. This is just one common tactic the enemy uses in spiritual warfare against us.

Feeling the effects of these tactics, I’ve questioned both myself and God so many times, “Did I really hear You right, God?” “Am I actually ready for this?” “Why would I be feeling so uncertain if I’m supposed to take this step?” I somehow find it hard to remember the fact that the enemy really, really badly wants anything and everything good in our lives to fail. He wants us discouraged and hopeless, working to kill, steal, and destroy our souls (John 10:10). The enemy is not creative, however. He doesn’t attack in any new ways, he uses the same exact ones (called “schemes” in Ephesians 6:11) relentlessly, over and over again, hoping to separate us mentally and in our hearts from the Truth, and our God-given identity and work. The schemes started with a tactical question he asked Eve that led her to sin in the Garden, “Did God really say [that]?” (paraphrase, Genesis 3:1). I talk about this question in depth in my post called The Serpent’s Question. The devil still asks us the same old question today, just personalized to fit our unique circumstances.

That question has driven people to believe outright lies about God, other people, and themselves, stealing their time, energy, and perhaps much more. But God has made the Truth about Himself known to us very clearly through His Word, and to all people: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). We may know God is with us, and trust that He has authority and power over every scheme of the enemy, and yet, we still experience the enemy’s attacks in this fallen world. But, God’s Word warns us of them and prepares us for them. Spiritual warfare is clearly acknowledged in the Bible. God does not leave us defenseless. Ephesians 6 is a well-known chapter on the importance of the armor of God to prepare for such warfare: “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” (Ephesians 6:11-12). No authority is above Jesus, our Authority, and in Him, we are completely and fully protected.

Not only does God care for us by giving us access to the armor of God, but we have Truth to stand on when lies come: the Word of God, Jesus, who IS the Truth itself (John 14:6), and our relationship with Jesus. Whenever lies threaten to kill our spirit, steal our joy, or destroy our hope, because of these gifts of Truth we have the ability to move forward with the purposes of God in the world despite any spiritual attacks that come against us.

That doesn’t mean spiritual warfare is easy, but it does mean that we have hope, despite every effort of the enemy to break us down into hopelessness. Those of us who love Jesus and seek Him out know what God says to us in His Word. We’re listening and attentive in prayer. We know when He speaks to our hearts. We write down and do our best to remember what He has spoken. But sometimes, the warfare of the enemy of our souls finds a weakness, a place where we aren’t believing the Truth about God or ourselves. He can use “cracks” in our armor, like insecurities or fears, to influence the inner dialog we have with ourselves in our hearts. As the father of lies (John 8:44), the enemy is well beyond an expert at attempting to get us to believe lies, and confuse them with the Truth.

So, take heart, friends. While spiritual warfare is nothing new, there are times when the attacks become more intense. It feels to me like now is one of those times. Thankfully Jesus gave us even more to help defend and remind us of Truth, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:26-27). We are never left alone friends, in Jesus we have reason to have unshakable peace and hope, even while the spiritual attacks come.

May we all stand firm on the Truth, trusting Jesus, and never giving up the hope found in Him. Amen.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:4-5).

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

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Ordained Peace

The phrase “rest in peace” is commonly used when someone dies, but what does it look like to live every day in God’s peace? His Word says that God offers us His peace even now, while we are very much alive.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). For me, it is often fear that gets in the way of feeling peace. But as we have talked about in this blog before, feelings can be deceiving. In believing and following Jesus, we are given peace, whether we feel it or not. What a comforting truth! I am still learning how, but the key to living in peace is keeping our minds and hearts on the Truth.

It’s when we allow our thoughts to focus on whatever is scary to us that we can become afraid. Fear can (but not always) imply that we’re not trusting God to take care of it, that we’re not believing that God is bigger than our fear and whatever we’re afraid of. Isaiah wrote, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4). It is our trust in God that anchors us in God’s peace. God promises that when we keep our minds on Him, we are kept in His peace.

So, now that we know that, everything should be just fine to live with a sense of God’s peace all the time, right? Well, I certainly hope that for you, friends, but it hasn’t been quite so easy for me. Life can bring things that are scary to the forefront of my mind. It can be hard to keep my mind “stayed on” God when life gets difficult. But His Word provides Truth and hope in every season, even and perhaps especially in times of lament. When I struggle to keep focused on God, reading Scripture, especially Psalms of lament, can often help to bring my heart to a place of greater peace—reading His Words help me to look at God instead of my fears. When I struggle to focus on God as He tells us to, I try to also remember to simply ask Him to help me. He is faithful to help us obey Him. He is always listening, always for us, and always gracious to give us what we need. That’s who He is (check out the Characteristics of God series for more on that).

God has done everything that we need—Jesus did all the work that was ever and will ever be needed to save us from our sin and death. That includes all the times we don’t obey His will, when we fear instead of trust, when we doubt instead of believe. He has more grace for us. He has provided peace; it is set up for us to have in our lives and our hearts now and always. “O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works” (Isaiah 26:12). This is True, despite whatever life circumstances may come.

May we hold onto the Truth of God-ordained peace, which is divinely appointed for us, forever. Halleluiah!

“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8).

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

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Water, Waves, and Sea

There is just something special about the sea. Being by the seaside, or as we Marylanders call it, being “down the ocean,” can be a spiritual experience. The ocean I’m dreaming of stretches past the horizon line. It’s vast and holds both danger and beauty. It’s both wild and peaceful. Water has been associated with the Spirit of God since before the beginning, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The sea, or the ocean, is water which God Himself gathered together, “God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10). I’ve been blessed to experience many contemplative and prayerful moments of wonder by the ocean. It has the ability to make a person feel very small and powerless, and yet very alive, and at the same time still, very connected to God. Being near something God has created, whether people or lakes or oceans has the capacity to help us understand or witness the Creator a little better.

We are in many ways powerless to fight or overpower the ocean. It is simply too powerful for us. There are many levels to the ocean, but today I’ll just reference the waves on the surface. Waves have been used as an analogy for the volatility of our own human emotions, even in the Bible. Jesus was the only one able to calm the waves of the sea: “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?‘” (Mark 4:37-41).

Jesus stayed calm despite the seeming danger of the boat filling with water and the waves crashing in on them. With a simple command, Jesus had authority over the sea. In this example, I would argue that He also had authority over the fear that the others felt. Their emotions became heightened to a level matching the height of the crashing waves in fear of perishing. Yet Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid?”

Jesus asks us for faith in Him and His authority in the midst of the “waves” of emotions in our lives. He promises to be with us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2). No wave can overwhelm us when we have faith in Jesus.

Waves are also an analogy in Scripture for that which diverts us away from Truth. Paul wrote that it takes a mature faith in Christ to avoid being subject to these kinds of waves, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14). If the well of our faith isn’t deep and grounded on solid foundation (perhaps, if you will, like that of the ocean floor), waves can knock us off course and readily expose our hearts to lies that try to kill, steal, and destroy us (John 10:10).

There is not much better to me than being by the ocean and feeling connected to the depth of meaning, the beauty of Creation, and the wonder of experiencing something so ancient yet so dynamic. God has revealed His character to us through so many ways, but one of my favorites is the ocean. Whether we have the opportunity to experience the ocean in this way or not, may we all find the refreshment, rest, and peace of God’s unfathomable love. May God strengthen our faith in Him as we discover the unique and personal ways He speaks directly to our hearts. Amen.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).

“Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?” (Isaiah 51:10).

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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A Grateful Heart

Gratefulness is not my default setting. I need to make a conscious decision, and ask for God’s grace to be grateful. But having a grateful heart is one of the best things in life. It opens you up to possibility, it makes God’s work easier to notice in your life, it helps focus you on the Truth, that we have endless reasons to be grateful to God, starting with life itself.

Last week I did something out of obedience to God that required sacrifice. Afterwards, I felt tired and had gotten discouraged. I had obeyed God, but I forgot to be grateful for the opportunity to obey in the first place. Instead, I was focused on all the things that had been uncomfortable about the experience, and had pushed and challenged me. But the Truth is, I can focus on being grateful that I chose to obey the Lord. The tolls of living in the fallen world pale in comparison, and thinking about it in these terms, suddenly makes it easy to realize I would choose it again every time.

Obedience is a direct result of fearing God. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), essential for a life lived in Christ. Hebrews 12 says, “See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:25-29).

This passage warns us to fear God, to obey Him, and implies that the only right response to the kingdom that we live in, that which is eternal and in Christ, is being grateful. From our grateful hearts with the wisdom of His kingdom, our only response is to worship God with a holy fear.

God is bigger than every inconvenience, discomfort, or challenge. He is faithful to us, and His will is for us to obey Him. He helps us to do that whenever we choose it. It’s okay to ask for God’s help to have a grateful heart. Obeying God doesn’t mean life will suddenly be easy. Life is difficult for everyone. But with God’s help, we can be grateful, seeing through new eyes by His grace just how much He has done, is doing, and will continue to do for us. I’ve had to ask for His help doing that this week. It’s been a needed lesson, and maybe you can relate, if not today, then someday. Let’s remember He will help us when we ask! He alone can change our hearts, giving us hearts of gratefulness that please Him; He is faithful.

Thanks be to God!

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).

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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A Heart to Serve

I have new toothbrush that I’ve been meaning to open up and use. It’s a nice one with flossing bristles and a grippy handle. But, it’s still in the packaging; I’ve never opened it. I have it, I could use it, but for whatever reason, I’m choosing not to. I’m settling for just using the toothbrush I already have, even though I know the new one would probably do the job better. We don’t often talk about what it takes to make more of an effort, but sometimes it feels like taking on a whole new set of responsibilities when we level up—even with something small like a new toothbrush. For me, with a new toothbrush I need to make sure I’m careful not to fray it. I need to make sure to be more gentle. I need to adjust the way I use a toothbrush when I open a new one. And honestly, I just don’t want to take the extra care to bother with any of it; most of the time, I’d rather settle for the way things are. Anyone else relate?

Maintaining a low-effort attitude catches up with us eventually (she says from personal experience). A life with Jesus requires constant growth of us, every day. We are compelled to give of ourselves more, steward more, surrender more of our will to serve His will. There is real sacrifice required in following Jesus. Resisting that calling can only last so long before it leads to some real soul searching. The call to follow Jesus is a call to represent Him in the world; it’s no small act of service, He gave his life. But for us, often it’s lived out in the “small” moments of life. Opening up a new toothbrush in our walk with Jesus could look like walking away before we say something we regret, or choosing to show love when we aren’t comfortable doing so. It could be slowing down to see what others are doing to serve without acknowledgment and asking God if He’s calling us to serve too. We’re all different and we’re all called to serve in different ways, but all of them have one thing in common—loving others.

I have been guilty of refraining from responsibility to others and to service. But I’m realizing if I am called to serve in a certain way, that I must surrender and trust that God will provide what I need. I’ve been afraid of letting people down. But I’m reminding myself that everyone lets someone down eventually; that doesn’t mean I don’t serve others. The point of living isn’t to avoid letting anyone down, it’s to do the best we can as Jesus calls us and helps us along the way. We don’t have to put pressure on ourselves to be perfect or to serve God or others perfectly. The point is simply following and trusting Jesus, with every step we take.

The example of Ananias comes to mind. Ananias faced his fear and showed love to Saul of Tarsus out of love for and service to God, even though he wasn’t so excited about it at first. Acts chapter 9 says that he was a disciple in Damascus who God spoke to in a vision (verse 10). God told him to rise and go to Saul so that he might regain his sight (verses 11-12), “But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. . . .'” (Acts 9:13-15). Ananias was cautious, even though God plainly told him exactly what he wanted him to do.

Ananias expressed his reticence, but when the Lord again told him to go to Saul, he did: “So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit‘” (Acts 9:17). Ananias called this man, who he knew had done evil, “brother,” and did an act of service for him, obeying God’s call to serve despite his fear of what might happen to him. God used Ananias’ faith to minister to Saul, a murderer, who later became Paul, an apostle of Jesus who spread the gospel fearlessly and wrote 13 books of the New Testament.

Friends, may we likewise serve and love without fear. May we all follow Jesus in loving others and serving God with grateful hearts. Amen!

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve“‘” (Matthew 4:10).

“even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many‘” (Matthew 20:28).

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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Abide in His Love

Have you ever had a hard time letting something you did go that bothered you? It’s been a week like that for me. I have, over and over, let myself down. I’ve come from a poor attitude. I’ve had a lack mindset. I’ve felt an entitled spirit, on edge about everything, like I just can’t take another disappointment.

It’s cut off many connections, closing off opportunity for relationships to grow, all because I didn’t give the fear over to God before it took root in my spirit. The worst part of it was, I struggled to see it was happening in the moment. Once I did see it, I struggled to let it go. As I’ve felt this way many times in my life, I’ll guess that I’m not the only one who’s experienced this.

The whole be-transformed-by-the-renewal-of-your-mind thing (Romans 12:2) is really hitting home for me right now. I need to be renewed, and I know it. But, I can’t do it on my own; I need God to transform me. We cannot change our hearts by ourselves, we have to lay it all down before God and ask Him to change us by His grace.

I need to be reminded that I am completely reliant on God’s help to have a perspective of love and security in the Father’s love, not fear. In 2020, I wrote a blog called Compassion and Resting in Jesus. In times like this when I struggle, I’m reminded and take comfort in the fact that Jesus’ compassion and forgiveness is far bigger than the struggle. He offers us all a place of peace and compassion. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). We are called—even commanded—in this passage to abide in Jesus. Abiding involves letting go of control and trusting Him and His love for us. “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). We read here that love and fear simply don’t cooperate. Jesus is the only way beyond the grip of the spirit of fear.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus also refers to Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Abiding in Him involves staying close to Him, understanding and trusting His heart, will, and character, and relying on Him to lead us in all truth and life.

Despite how much fear or shame may sway us, we have no reason to doubt our identity in Christ, or that we are loved by Him. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9). Once we abide in Jesus, His love becomes ours. As we abide in Jesus, we can show and share His love, which is the most healing, restorative, and pure love there is. Abiding in Him is the best thing for us—that’s why He commanded it! It allows us to bear fruit; perhaps the most foundational fruit of life is that of love. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

My hope for myself, and for you, my friends, is to abide in Jesus and His love anew today. May we see His incredible love with fresh eyes, and see a little further just how deep and wide it truly goes! His love is far more powerful than even the most deadly spirit that would grind our lives and our love to a halt. His love is the only place of safety, and is the foundation of a fruitful life. May we let the Truth, that we are loved by Jesus and bought by His precious blood, reign in our hearts, minds, and spirits today. Amen.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:15-16).

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1 John 3:24).

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

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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All About Trust

Especially in this new season of big changes for the better, I’m running into a continued, daily confrontation: trusting God. I’ve touched on trust in Connection to Jesus and Do You Still Trust Me?, but I want to dive even deeper today. The side effects of not fully trusting God for safety, acceptance, or power to fend for myself if/when needed got me into the biggest rut yet in my life. It got to the point where I wasn’t able to be present or enjoy anything because I was constantly on alert for the next threatening thing. Without actively trusting God, I chronically expected to have to defend myself at all times. It left me paralyzed, sometimes literally.

Being in this state of mind is not healthy for any human being. I wouldn’t want anyone to experience such an underlying sense of fear. I can say from experience that the only thing that Truly, with a capital “T,” counteracts that fear is trusting Jesus. Not just saying we trust, but actively turning from the direction we’re heading, and trusting Jesus.

We are commanded, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God doesn’t demand this because He wants dominance, but because it is actually the best thing for our well-being. While He is Sovereign and does have power over us, He wants real, loving relationship with us. Only God can strike that balance well with us because He will never use His power to our detriment. God is worthy of our trust.

The topic of trust is timely for me once again because I’m about to embark on a new adventure in my life, which I’ll be announcing here at midnight next Thursday. (Don’t miss it!) God is doing big things! But in being given and entrusted with new things to steward, God is now requiring a new level of trust in Him from me. There’s no way I can do what I’ve been given if I can’t trust Him well.

Trusting God well is something I simply couldn’t do until very recently. In these last 2.5 years, God has used difficulties to transform my heart. I now see that I needed to be broken in new ways in order to give the Lord room to make way for deeper trust in Him. I needed to be transformed before I could be entrusted with what the Lord wanted to give me; what He’s now given me. He didn’t force the change, He patiently waited until the right time and gave me an ability to trust Him in ways I hadn’t before. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). His timing is always perfect!

Part of my battle with control was wanting things to happen NOW, to be done now, to be realized now. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to make things happen that I now can see I wasn’t ready for. I couldn’t handle the things I wanted if I couldn’t trust God well.

God is a Good Father, and He doesn’t lay unfit burdens on us (Matthew 11:29). He knows us fully and intimately, He knows what He’s made us for and what we are ready for. Rest assured friends, He is working in you and that whatever He has for you to do next, He will bring it about at the right time.

When we trust Him with our lives, He’ll make sure we’re ready for whatever may come. May we trust the Lord, today and every day. Amen.

“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).

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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Do You Still Trust Me?

I didn’t know what it meant to trust God until I had to trust God. I could talk all day calmly and logically about trusting God from a young age, but until I was faced with multiple medical emergencies, accidents, tragedies, and crossroads in life, I had no idea what “trusting God” meant. At first, I took these difficult circumstances as God’s indifference, and the chaos and cruelty of life. Now after more experience, I can say that I’m grateful for them. They have been opportunities, however difficult, to trust God more completely, wholeheartedly, and desperately. They’ve been a very quick and accurate test that shows me just how much I’m relying on God, or not.

We go to school to provide for ourselves in some way, intellectually or for new skills. We work to provide an income to pay for living expenses. Many of us do this all our lives. But we must never forget that it is God who provides for us, not ourselves. God, “who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” (Deuteronomy 8:16-17). The pride of self-reliance is a trap I’ve fallen into many times. But we see in this passage, God tests us in this, and it’s for our good. It’s been the difficulties, such as those I faced when I could no longer rely on myself the way I was used to, that have helped me most to live life every day with the King.

In the Characteristics of God series, we have delved into the details of who God is, what He’s really like according to Scripture, and why we can trust Him in the first place. Knowing God’s character is necessary to begin to live in step with Him, His will for us, and the people in our lives. We cannot trust someone we don’t know.

God trusts you with the struggles in your life. He trusts that you will walk through them and discover how He is walking with you, and know Him better for it. He trusts that you will respond to His love once you recognize it. He trusts that eventually you will recognize how He provides for you in the struggle. God is patient to let you take your time in grasping the incomprehensibility of His sacrificial, unconditional love for you, and the amazing freedom you actually have in that great love.

Jesus never exploits us or forces us into loving Him. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He died for us while we were still sinning against Him. While we disobeyed Him and separated ourselves from Him, He still chose to sacrifice His life for ours. We only need to believe that He really is that merciful, faithful, good, and gracious. Jesus gave us reason to rejoice, and provided all we need, besides. We are truly safe and free in His love!

With every new challenge this past year, it was as if God was asking me the question, “Do you still trust me?” Physiologically this past year, I felt anything but safe or free. The time of establishing my faith was long over, and in this season, I was tested on whether that faith could be shaken. Not only that, but tested in learning to trust God in real time, while experiencing the panic and grief that came with burnout. Did I know what to trust God for? Did I know who He was and what He promises to His people? Did I believe they applied to me even while I was afraid? I needed God to walk with me through that test; I couldn’t endure on my own. He has been faithful to see me through to this new season, where there will surely be new challenges to face. But now on the other side of that particular test, I’ve learned by experience how much God can be trusted.

We all face challenges in our lives that are more than we can bear; each are invitations from God to lean on Him. He will get us to the other side of the challenges we face. We can’t handle them on our own, we need God to provide. The more we recognize that reality, the more God can work in our humbled hearts, ready and expectant for Him to work on our behalf, for our good. We need Him to free us from pride that keeps us bound in self defensiveness, fear, and selfishness. In the Book of James, James writes, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). The more I agree with the reality that God is in charge, not me, the more freedom I experience.

May God break every chain in us to live free in His love. Amen.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4).

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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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The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

My first blog of 2025 was back in early June, when I wrote about driving. In Jesus’ Kingdom vs my kingdom, right at the beginning of this beautiful Maryland summer, I rejoiced in the ability to drive again, in being healed. And while that is still true, I want to confess to you that my anxiety symptoms still do flare up from time to time. In the last month I’ve struggled with them. I wanted to be honest with you to say that if you also struggle sometimes, that doesn’t mean God hasn’t healed you.

I have been starting to see the gift in the struggle. Instead of seeing flare ups as set backs, I’ve started to see them as opportunities for simply surrendering the struggle to God once again, whether it be for the 5th or 500th time of the day. Yesterday, while driving one of the most challenging routes I’ve attempted, I experienced something different in the struggle–joy.

When I felt that difference, the verse “…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) popped into my mind. I experienced, for the first time in my memory, the pure joy and strength that comes from leaning into relationship with God in the midst of a moment of fear. I saw in that moment that leaning on His strength made my connection with Him stronger too in that moment, and I could experience His presence. Feeling anxiety wasn’t making me less worthy of Him or proving that I wasn’t healed, but instead it was teaching me how to connect to Him and trust Him more deeply.

God is calling us all into deeper relationship with Him. He can use anything to call us, perhaps especially the things we struggle with the most. For me, I just needed to see the fear as another way I could experience an expression of His love, instead of seeing it as some form of punishment.

In the context of Nehemiah 8, and in Psalm 20, God shows Himself to be strong for those of His people who find joy in Him. Psalm 20:5-6 says, “May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.” I think a big mistake we tend to make is to think we are strong enough. If we just try hard enough, we think we can save ourselves. But we can’t, and we’re not supposed to.

We’re designed to lean on and trust God as we encounter struggle. We’re not supposed to chalk it up as shameful until we feel better about ourselves and try to face a challenge again. I pray this cycle that I was in doesn’t continue, and that you, friends, steer clear of it. Seeing it as the trap it is, and experiencing joy and strength from Him was all I needed to get through the anxiety I felt.

In that moment of experiencing joy, suddenly, the anxiety dissipated, and driving was no big deal again. Seeing the truth of God’s design for close relationship with Him makes the discomfort less mysterious. Our struggles are not the end, even though they may feel that way in the moment. We can taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), and He won’t leave us to struggle alone. His desire is to heal us, and we are healed in His Presence. He’ll never stop wanting that for us, or inviting us to relate to Him more. May He use both the struggle and the joy in our lives for His glory. Amen.


“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).

“Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!” (Psalm 81:1)

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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