freedom Archives : Life with the King

January 8, 2026January 8, 2026

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).

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.

January 1, 2026January 1, 2026

Characteristics of God: More Grace

I am, on my own, very slow to give grace to others, and even slower to give grace to myself. I could very easily slip into a spiral of regret, and have a few times. But giving grace is something that becomes much easier when I started to understand how much grace God willingly gives me, constantly. Denying grace towards myself keeps me stuck, blocking me from living in freedom. In surrendering to God’s grace, I can acknowledge that I did the best I could for what I knew and was capable of at the time.

Surrendering to the work of Jesus on the cross for me, and being sure and confident of His love, allows me to be more forgiving, loving, grace-full, and more fully myself. It has been the best possible decision for my life with the King. That decision needs to happen in my heart not just every new year, but every single new day. The best part is, God freely gives His grace to everyone. Jesus is enough, more than enough, to make up for our imperfections. He lends us His righteousness, His holiness, and His blood so that we, jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7), can approach the Father as His adopted sons and daughters. He loves us more than we can think or imagine! In Jesus, we have no more reasons to regret or live in shame. He provides freedom from these burdens because of His amazing, all-encompassing grace.

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine

Isaiah prophesied about Jesus and what He would mean for us long before He was born. The grace of God nearly glimmers off the pages of Isaiah; today I’m focusing especially on chapters 41-43. God’s steadfast love is palpable in the prophet’s words, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). God’s promises are full of love and grace; in this verse He offers His presence, His strength, His help, and His righteousness—to us—to you and to me! To everyone that believes in Jesus, He not only claims us as His own, but He also calls Himself ours. We are beholden to Him, and He choses to make Himself beholden to us! Through faith in Jesus, we are adopted into the family of His chosen people, Israel (Isaiah 41:8; Ephesians 1:5).

How is this possible? Nothing is impossible with God, “...I [God] will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isaiah 41:18b). With God, everything can turn around, even when all seems lost or hopeless. I’ve seen it happen many times, with hearts being changed, with lives being saved, or with seemingly no way out of a bad situation, God can and does make a way, by His grace. The Bible is full of God’s promises to His people, evidences of His incredible grace.

God doesn’t give up on us.

His grace has no end. If you think you’re too far gone for God, you’re simply mistaken. God’s grace is always, always there for you. “Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ‘I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:5-7). As we read here, God gave us breath, and our spirits, and the light of the world in Jesus. He has invested His whole heart into loving us all and making a way for us to thrive; by His grace He will never, ever give up on you.

With a new year ahead, it’s a great time to remember God’s will is to make all things new (Revelation 21:5), not because we are somehow “old” or not good enough as we are, but because that was His design for us from the beginning. We are to be “being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16), from the inside. Isaiah prophesied, ” ‘. . . Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, . . .” (Isaiah 42:9-10a). God is interested in doing new things, and I’m excited to continue inviting God to renew, restore, and sanctify me, day by day. There is nothing you or I can do to earn that gift; the only response is to praise Him for it.

Even when we fail to love God, as Israel did, by failing to walk with Him and failing to obey Him (Isaiah 42:24), He is pleased to redeem us because of His possessive and caring love towards us. Isaiah continues, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 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: 1-2). Did you catch it too? We are already redeemed, already claimed as His own. We are promised His presence and protection, even when the circumstances are as dire and serious as flood or flames.

The grace of God is protective and unique

When we know that the character of God is gracious to such a great level beyond understanding, it inspires the awe and wonder that He deserves. His grace is so great that He made us, chooses us, loves us, and calls us His. “I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11). He stepped in when nothing and no one else could to save us from the destructiveness of sin in our world and in our hearts. God’s grace to deliver us is why we are able to have hope (2 Corinthians 1:10). “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). God doesn’t remember our sins. Do we?

We can let the shame and burdens go too; they aren’t for holding onto, they are for releasing and allowing God’s grace to cover. Let Him cover you in His love. Halleluiah for the opportunity God’s grace gives us! May 2026 be a year of praising and worshiping God, and may we be overflowing with gratitude and with the grace that God generously provides!

” . . .. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. . . .” (Isaiah 42:16c).

“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” . . .’ (Isaiah 43:10).

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

December 4, 2025December 11, 2025

Choosing Gratefulness

I’ve thought a lot about family in the last few weeks. In revisiting family history, I was reminded of the patterns we see in our family lines, for better or worse. I used to look at my family and only see brokenness. One way that I knew God was working in my life back when I first understood what following Jesus meant, was that I started to feel more grateful than sad about life. I started to learn that there was another way to see the human story.

I recently realized that my parents have given me a very special legacy to walk in, which is to define people not by the state they are in, but by what God wants for them. My parents never give up on people, or on me, and I am very, very, grateful. I pray I can be as patient to trust God’s vision and see it unfold as they have been.

Where I used to see brokenness in my family, I now can see many ways that God has redeemed. I see how there is no condemnation in Christ. I see that God has been with us, cared about us, and given us purpose and identity despite all the patterns of sin we inherited. I see how He didn’t give up on any of us, first. From God, we all inherit His image and His purpose first, before any of the patterns of the world reach us. God came first, for each one of us. He is the ultimate legacy-provider. It is only by leaning on and trusting in Him that we can discover the abundant life He intends for us.

We can’t often do the right things, however, if we aren’t first in relationship with God. He and He alone knows what is right in every situation. We can listen to Him and lean on our understanding of who He is and how He made us to be, trusting that He made us exactly how we need to be to grow closer to Him and live our lives rightly. We can’t be like Jesus unless we live life with Him. In reading about Jesus’ life in the Gospels, we can see that He was very grateful to God, His Father. Gratefulness was part of His character.

Choosing to be grateful no matter the circumstances has made a profound impact in my life, and has helped me lean into God when it’s hardest. When God gives us the ability to appreciate the grace we already have but have just overlooked, it opens our hearts. Suddenly then, it becomes easier to believe that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Because of Jesus, we don’t have to carry the burdens of the past, the patterns of sin of our ancestors, the brokenness and grief that scarred them, their decisions, and their children and children’s children. Jesus died to set us free. He alone allows us the Way to have peace even in the midst of chaos. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). We have so much to be grateful for in Jesus.

Jesus is enough. He died for everything we ever did to separate ourselves from God long before you or I were born. He took care of the burdens of all generations so that we could live free. All we need to do is to trust Him at His Word, to believe that we really are redeemed. That we are rich in the Lord. We’re rich in His mercy, His provision of enough for us, His great love and generous grace, His gift of salvation, and His eternal Presence–nothing is more precious or valuable than that! That is our inheritance, as co-heirs with Christ!

I pray that we remember what has come before, and the story God is writing in your own family. That we are all able to experience a grateful heart no matter what we are facing. May we experience breakthrough in our thought patterns and ways of being that allows us to act like we’ve been set free–because that’s exactly what Jesus has done for us as part of His family (Ephesians 1:5), the family of God. Amen.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

June 5, 2025June 5, 2025

Jesus’ Kingdom vs. my kingdom

Tomorrow I am about to do something that one year ago I wasn’t sure I would again…drive on a highway.

I quit my corporate job almost one year ago. I was miserable, burned out, and wasn’t able to drive a car because it would trigger a horrible panic attack. My body was tired from constant anxiety and a high heart rate. I thought that by staying at a “good” job I was being responsible, taking care of my own life. But oh, how much I was missing! I can only see now in hindsight that my soul was dying. No matter what I did I couldn’t shake that feeling. I was living in the cage I’d unknowingly built for myself, filled with fear and devoid of true surrender. (Creed’s “My Own Prison,” anyone?)

I got to a point last year when the only thing I hadn’t tried was letting go of the idea of controlling my own life. Control was something that I had believed I had to have so fiercely that I couldn’t discern that there was any other way to think. I’d nod at sermons saying to let God be in control, but I had no idea what that really meant for me in my own life. Well, this is the year I found out!

At my wit’s end in a constant state of anxiety, I was forced to take the chance, and tried my very best (pretty badly) to force myself to trust that God would make a way for me as I actively let go of my job. I took a step not knowing what I was going to do next, but at least trusting that I couldn’t stay where I was while also living the life of thriving and wholeness in Christ that I have believed in and have been inching toward since 2015 when I gave my life to Jesus. I just knew He didn’t want me to feel like I was dying every day. He doesn’t want anyone to feel that way.

If you do feel that way today, know that you aren’t alone. Know that that isn’t how life is supposed to feel. Know that God has better for you and always, ALWAYS gives us a way out of our ways of death and into His abundant life. But it will be painful at first to first realize what has been allowed in your life and then to let go of what feels normal. It sure has been for me.

This last year, my life has been testimony story after testimony story of how God restored me inside and out. He provided a real rest, which I so desperately needed after forcing myself to work on something that was not good for my spirit for so long. He used my family to help me enjoy living again, walking again, cooking again, doing things that I actually enjoy again. He healed me from the constant state of panic that I had been suffering with for months. He inspired me to be creative and use my creativity again–but for His Kingdom, not my own. He restored my soul (Psalm 23:3) by teaching me how to wait for and hear His voice. He gave me opportunity to serve others. He is faithful to complete the good work He started in us (Philippians 1:6). Please don’t forget, because it’s so easy to, but remember that He will never leave you, and He will make a way for life in your soul with Him.

So what about tomorrow? I’m driving a long distance, because God healed me of the fear that kept me stuck not driving for months, to go to a place where God called me to go, and be in a place where He called me to be. I can be free, and it’s only because of Him and His work in me. He freed me not only of the mental cage of having to be in control, but the physical restriction of being unable to get myself anywhere in a car. He is truly the Healer. In whatever way you may need healing in your life today, friends, go to Jesus. His Kingdom is the only one that will last, and the only one that brings life.

“as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

“‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'” (Revelation 5: 13b)

February 5, 2021February 5, 2021

Freedom to Love

In my previous post, I wrote in depth about the pervasive force of fear, but ended on the idea that truth brings freedom, “… the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). My post 5 Ways to Step into Freedom in Christ goes into some of the practical details. Now I want to go into more depth about the idea of freedom, and why it’s so important.

Freedom is all about Love.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Freedom in Christ points to freedom from the power of sin and death over us. But that’s not all; freedom was intended to give way to a culture of love.

Somehow, the longer we are in the world, the more we seem to fall asleep to the fact that we are free. It becomes all too easy to only love those who love us back, and only love that which benefits us personally. As Jesus said, “what reward is there for that?” (Matthew 5:46 (NLT)). When we feel obligated to love, it is not love of our own free will. It is not love freely given, the kind of love God longs for us to have towards Him and toward others. Once we understand that in His great love Jesus has already set us free, everything can change.

Freedom is why I gave up everything to choose faith in Him—it’s the best thing I ever did.

I used to constantly chase love, happiness, success, and contentment. The longer I was striving for my desires, the more I felt that somehow, I was under their power—and I was! In a way, we are enslaved to whatever it is that our heart desires. That’s why it is so important to guard your heart.

God understood this fully when He created us. As humans, we were designed to be subservient to something beyond ourselves. God made us this way with the intention to only be subservient to Him, who never exploits this delicate feature of who we are. This is my opinion friends, but I believe this is the reason the first commandment prohibits idolatry (Exodus 20:3). God knew how He designed us better than anyone or anything, and wanted to protect us from the harm that serving anything other than Him would do to us.

From the Beginning, God wanted us to dwell in His presence and have intimate relationship with Him—and He designed us accordingly!

How beautiful is the vision of a life where we could withstand the holiness of God and experience the unimaginable glory of His full physical presence! This is what Jesus’ restoration of all things looks like—God, restored to His rightful, original place as our ruler and friend, the literal and only “owner” of us and everything in the universe. No more being “owned” by the world’s consumerism, alcoholism, pornography, money, drugs, alcohol, relationships, fame, influence, status, lies, most types of societal expectations, the list goes on, for the exploitation of our thoughts and feelings. Until He comes again, we are susceptible to these traps; “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for ‘people are slaves to whatever has mastered them’” (2 Peter 2:19).

So many of us settle for being “free” to pick our own poison, fooling ourselves with this “good enough” freedom, convincing ourselves, “This isn’t so bad.” Friends, this is false freedom, and is not what we were made for. We can only deny our bondage for so long before our souls cry out. Being truly free comes when we yield our hearts, minds, and souls to God, the only One trustworthy enough to be our owner. The One whose judgment is impartial, who never exploits us by His power, and will never overstep our free will. He patiently gives us space to respond to Him in our own way in our own time. In Him, and Him alone, we are free—free indeed.

Trust God to set you free from your idols today.

He is able. He is bigger than even that thing that scares you more than anything else in the world. Ask Him to end your bondage today and for help to stop luring others into bondage with you. God expresses His love to us by giving us freedom from sin and death, and free will to make our own decisions in life. He will help you if you ask Him with a sincere heart. It’s no wonder we struggle at times to feel His love, His gift of freedom is constantly being threatened by the world we live in! This is by no means new.

God first promises freedom to the Israelites via Moses in Exodus 6:6, “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” God wants to free and redeem us just as much as He wanted to free and redeem the Israelites in bondage. He is faithful, and will show mercy. The question for them, and for us, then becomes,

“Okay, so you’ve been liberated from your Egypt, but are you going to continue living in a mentality of bondage?”

We can become so accustomed to being manipulated by a partner, family member, or friend, being loyal to a particular party or denomination, being unwilling to learn the Bible for ourselves, listening only to other people talk about what Jesus is like instead of talking to Him directly, that our minds struggle to break free of those old patterns. Our minds can come to expect bondage and subservience and reinforce it, even when we are actively trying not to.

But, there is good news, friends! Jesus’s truth makes it possible to transform any bondage mentality; Scripture commands it: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We now know that even the physical fissures formed in our brains that reinforce routine patterns can be changed. Thankfully, God made our brains with neuroplasticity so those pathways can be transformed! For many, freedom comes slowly through hard work, not all at once. It takes time and intention to change our thinking to align with the truth of God’s love and freedom, but it is possible. Take heart and do not give up hope, friends! Through Christ we no longer have to feel stuck in our minds believing we’re free when our hearts and spirits know we’re not. He frees us fully and completely.

“***What does Jesus have to do with freedom? Everything! because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death*” (Romans 8:2).**

If you don’t know who Jesus is, I encourage you to seek Him. God promises that when you “seek the Lord your God … you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). Luke 4:18 describes Jesus as proclaimer of good news to the poor, sight for the blind, and freedom for prisoners and those who are oppressed. Revelation 1:5 describes Jesus as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler. But even as powerful and glorious as He is, He makes it clear in Scripture that He is a personal God who wants you and me to know Him on a deep and intimate level so we can experience the depth of His love and the gift of the true freedom that only He can give.

When we devote our lives to seeking and following Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit. He awakens us and empowers us to be our authentic selves, truly free of anything that might hold us back in our lives. In the freedom that Christ has generously given, we are free to be the people that we already are fully and as God designed us to be, without being subject to the rule of anything but God, as He intended.

The vision of freedom looks like each one of us being all of our true selves.

Maybe you’re thinking, that sounds great and all, but it sounds too good to be true, or, I don’t feel victorious or free, even though I believe in Jesus already! Friends, as Jesus Himself said, “all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). Our faith is what counts as righteousness. God did not promise a life of feeling good, He promised His presence and faithful love for us. He is with us, even when we don’t feel it. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12).

Jesus allows us to live a life even now of continual restoration and blessing! In Him, we are no longer subject to spiritual death (Hebrews 2:14). All we must do is have faith in Him, and the full gifts of righteousness Jesus bought by His blood shed on the cross become ours, not that we deserve it, but thanks to His grace and love.

God’s plan will come about.

His plan involves full freedom, from a physical body prone to decay, heartbreak, and anything contrary to love; a plan with nothing more to separate us from Him. God wants all barriers between us and Him to be broken, as He has desired from the very beginning, and is working even now to complete this work. Nothing we’ve done, or the enemy has done, can stop God’s plan from unfolding, or His promises from being fulfilled.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:3-5a).

God carries you, as a Father carries His child, into a future of His glory.

I love to imagine what the fullness of God’s glory will look like, but nothing we imagine could ever come close! His glory is total and complete love and acceptance, boundless freedom and creativity, incomprehensible grace, and profound truth. His glory is endless worship and praise of His real and true name, intimacy and closeness to His amazing presence, and wonderful loyalty and faithfulness. He wants nothing more than to tuck you into His arms and carry you in His love and provision until the day when you take your place in the room He has prepared for you. To be fully loved gives us the freedom to love in the same way, and create the culture of love that exists today between Father, Son, and Spirit. God’s will and all of time are pushing toward this reality, no matter how distant it may seem.

The freedom to be in the presence of God is the most wonderful freedom there is. It costs everything the world offers, but it is worth everything and more. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:22). We must not forget that there is freedom here and now in God’s gifts, not just in eternal life. Here and now, Jesus allows us to experience a healthy and truth-honoring transformation of our minds, to choose to walk with the Holy Spirit moment by moment, to love with a selfless and free love, and to have hope of the glory to come in life eternal.

May we be people who choose the freedom to love without limits.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (1 Peter 2:16).

“For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory“ (Psalm 149:4).

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Further reading: Garden City by John Mark Comer

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

August 8, 2020August 8, 2020

The Fear of Death

Death is the last topic I thought I’d be writing about to kick off my blog’s second year. Yet, here we are; the highest highs always seem to bring to my mind the lowest lows right along with them. And perhaps that’s just as it should be.

I’ve been taking morning walks lately, and one morning this week I walked to a park I haven’t been to for years, just outside of a well-manicured neighborhood. The park is all woodland, with a creek running through it. Once inside under the completely shaded canopy, I saw that the park itself seemed a completely different world from the sunny neighborhood just beyond. Instead of neatly trimmed grass, there was a mess of moss and fungi blanketing rotting logs. Instead of bushes full of blooms, there were downed trees with their roots exposed, brutally ripped up from the earth beneath. Instead of small blue jays or cardinals hopping about, there were two large, hulking black vultures, still and silent, perched in a pile of fallen leaves above the creek.

These starkly different scenes just yards from each other perfectly illustrate how death and reminders of it are consciously kept out of sight and ignored as much as possible.

Death is uncomfortable to think about.

Given how prevalent and obvious death is in this world, I’m interested in why this remains so. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do know that we all have an innate sense of the fragility of our lives and our loved ones’ lives.

Even so, we have to keep surviving, right? No time to think about death when we’re trying to survive. However, there comes a point at which facing death becomes absolutely key to fully embracing our humanity.

According to the Bible, humans gave up the option to ignore the knowledge of good and evil long ago (Genesis 3:6); we simply don’t have the luxury anymore of being unconscious of it. In a podcast interview, psychologist Jordan Peterson posed the idea that perhaps the remedy now is to be fully or “all the way” conscious of good and evil, since we can’t go back to being “unconscious.” I like this idea, but whether it’s correct or not I think it holds true with the Good News of Christ.

Along with the knowledge of good and evil comes a responsibility to face the good and evil in us.

To face the evil in us could also be described as becoming conscious of our own sin. This is exactly what we must understand before we can sincerely repent; C.S. Lewis talks about this in Mere Christianity. We realize the extent of our sin (evil) and the extent to which we need God’s grace (good) to free us from death’s grip.

For repentance to come, we need to do something God didn’t design us to do–to stare death in the face. It is when we really see that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)–and that death forces us into something we were not created for–that we can understand all that we’ve been saved from by Jesus and how truly amazing His grace really is.

Turning from our willful ignorance of death to follow Jesus, the Master of death, means we will stop avoiding it and trust that He’s bigger than death itself, as well as every one of our fears.

If we knew the Master of death better, we wouldn’t be so afraid of our own death.

Jesus came to master death and set us free. To use the woodland analogy, Jesus came to lay His life down, like a fallen tree in the forest, that we might live like a newly sprouted seed from the soil He provided by His act of love.

Yet, death is still worthy of being sad about, something to deeply mourn and to grieve. Separation from loved ones, though temporary for believers in Jesus, is still deeply painful and still very much a loss. I want to be very clear that it is okay to grieve, mourn, and be sad when it comes to death, no matter who it is, whether or not they were believers. Grief is not something to be brushed aside or ignored.

When my Jewish grandfather passed away years ago, I was able to experience a community that faced death together in a beautiful way. The love and support of my grandmother’s friends and family was hugely beneficial, even for me in my own grieving process, as they came to simply be present and literally “sit” with her. Shiva following a Jewish burial typically lasts for seven days, providing not only community support but food for the grieving first-degree relatives.

There is great value in appreciating the seriousness and weight of death and taking time to acknowledge what our hearts are feeling.

While our culture has lost the skill of being open about death and understanding of grief, we don’t have to when we stay close to Jesus and understand the truth He brings–that death is not the end. Jesus Himself spoke openly about death. He was not afraid to do so, predicting his own death several times. People who had experienced death also came to him in a state of grief. He didn’t turn them away but even grieved with them (John 11:35). He even chose to raise the sick girl (Matthew 9:25), and His friend Lazarus (John 11:44) back to life.

While I don’t think it is healthy for death to be excessively avoided as a topic of conversation, I also want to make a point to say that an excessive focus on death is not the answer to any problems either. It is only by understanding how God intended life that we can understand death and see it for what it is, no more, and no less. Romanticization of death glorifies the wrong god.

Life is a gift from God.

Examining our feelings about death along with the truth of the Bible can give us a deeper appreciation of life and its meaning. Reading Genesis, we find that death as we know it was never meant to be. We were not built for it! We were created to walk with God and eat from the Tree of Life. Death was not in the original plan.

It is no wonder that it can be so devastating to us psychologically, physically, and spiritually! Knowing this, it is completely natural to avoid death, and it makes perfect sense that we would brush traces of death aside because innately we know what we were intended for.

Facing death is so hard because God never intended for us to experience it in the first place.

Death may never stop being hard to face, but it need not take us by surprise, as it so often does. With Jesus’ wisdom and grace, we can explore our knowledge of good and evil.

We can let Him help us through to the other side of fear as we examine what He says about life and death. We can begin to safely open ourselves up to facing the realities of death when we trust Jesus and His love for us, for there is no fear in love (1 John 4:18).

Christ and His love sets us free.

The bigger the debt of sin we have been forgiven from, the more we will love Jesus for canceling it. The story in Luke 7 gets me every time, when Jesus forgave the sinful woman with the alabaster jar of perfume.

Her display of gratitude for forgiveness led Jesus to tell those in His company, “...Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). When we are conscious and aware of our sins, fully acknowledging our need like this woman, gratitude for our canceled debt leads us to a life full of love and peace.

As I was headed back from that morning walk in the decaying woodland park, walking once again past neatly spaced out trees and colorful blossoms, these words came to my heart, “All that was lost will be restored to you.”

That is what God does; He restores what is lost, damaged, sick, even dead, in and for us.

The very first book of the Bible that was written was Job, which speaks to and confirms this simply, “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored . . .” (Job 22:23).

The last book of the Bible speaks of the restored life that God will bring to His people: “[His servants] will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). How amazing that the story (which is not ours but God’s) that is unfolding will end in God calling us, servants created to glorify and enjoy Him, by His own name.

Think of the intimacy of giving someone else your name, or of taking someone else’s. That is the intimacy God intends for us to have with Him. What vulnerability and trust to be called by His name! Death is not the end, but rather this beautiful picture of restored, everlasting life in the family of God.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5).

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

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

5 Ways to Step into Freedom in Christ

I recently found out that an acquaintance I met in my travels during my early 20s was killed three years ago. He was doing conflict resolution work in a violence-ridden country. I met him only a few times over the course of a day or two, but he made an impression. Reading his obituary confirmed these initial perceptions; humble, intelligent, and kind. Most of all, though, I noticed his confidence. He was not arrogant in the least, but he was extremely confident in who he was.

He was the most Christlike I had seen a person my own age act, patiently listening, empathizing, and being present. His confidence was firm in Christ. Perhaps that’s why I remember him so vividly for a person I met just once ten years ago. He used his gifts in the most dire circumstances to work for good. What more could any of us ask for in our short lives? But doing God’s work with confidence doesn’t come so easily for me as it did for my brave friend. I aspire to live as he did naturally–unafraid.

Some personalities can be more cautious than others. Perhaps your environment was or is unstable and you developed some level of fear because of it. Maybe the relationships in your life weren’t secure or loving and you developed distrust. Whatever the case may be, we can take confidence in knowing that Jesus has overcome it. We can have freedom from all of it in Him. But it takes intention on our part too; we still have neural pathways stuck in ruts, we still have walls built up to protect us.

So, how can we step into the freedom of Christ that He offers us with boldness and confidence?

It starts with FAITH.

As followers of Jesus, our confidence comes from faith in Him. There is no stronger place in which to establish our identity than believing the cross was, is, and will be enough to set us free. When our faith is in Jesus, confidence can blossom and thrive because our identity is secure in Him. It isn’t dependent on any naturally-born characteristics we ourselves happen to possess. Instead, our identity is hidden in the character of Christ, in His integrity, humility, compassion, and love. When we depend on Him and His character instead of our own abilities, we can be truly confident. We can rely on His strength instead of our own. This all starts with faith.

If your faith is shaky today, pray. Cry out to God. As the father who implored Jesus to heal his sick son, ask for help in overcoming your unbelief (Mark 9:24). Faith comes from God. You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with your whole heart (Deuteronomy 4:29). Have faith that the cross was enough.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Don’t give up on new life.

If you struggle with falling into old habits and patterns you are not alone; take heart! That doesn’t change the fact that you are a new creation. Give yourself grace in this. It takes time to shirk old habits. Remember to see them as just that, habits. Do not confuse them to be part of you or your identity, because it’s simply not true. All of your identity and freedom was bought by and is held today in Jesus.

All humans have brains with strongly ingrained patterns of thought. However, God’s Word says that we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Read and speak out loud the promises in Scripture that speak of new life, restoration, and healing. Replace negative patterns with these promises. Never give up on a life lived in the freedom Christ paid for; we have good reason to hope!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Let go of the fear of man.

It is so easy to look at other people’s impressions of how funny, nice, interesting, cool, or desirable we are to inform our sense of self. But when we do that, we are actually valuing people’s opinions of us more than God’s opinion. This means we are making the fear of man an idol. In this, we actually make ourselves slaves to the opinions of other people.

We must hold our identity as children of God in higher regard than the perceptions of others. If you are struggling with this today, look to the example Jesus set. He modeled awe-inspiring confidence in His identity. He knew who He was, and that confidence was evident to everyone he encountered. Never arrogant, but maintaining integrity and obedience to God the Father, Jesus stepped into his God-given responsibility. Despite being laughed at (Mark 5:40), He did not compromise His identity and was not shaken by a fear of men’s opinions. He feared God. As Jesus demonstrated, we too can stand firm in who we are, stop treating what people think of us as an idol, and put God in the rightful place of worship in our hearts.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Take full personal responsibility for yourself, your past, and your actions.

As mentioned, a striking aspect of Jesus’ character is that He took full responsibility for himself. In Genesis, the story of Judah demonstrates this so well. When he was young, Judah sold his brother Joseph into slavery, and lied about it. Joseph’s supposed death caused their father Jacob great sorrow and grief, thinking he was dead. And Judah did not own up to his actions. But even though all seemed lost, Judah’s heart was transformed and his integrity grew. The guilt over what he’d done to Joseph changed his actions, and he owned up to his failures and sins.

“Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Judah received a great blessing from Jacob before his death, and Judah’s family line became royalty, the line through which Jesus Himself later came! God rewards those who take responsibility for their actions. We too must confess where we went wrong. We too must do what is right no matter the cost, because we have a responsibility to act righteously.

Remember that we know the end of the story.

Spoiler alert: in the end, Jesus brings restoration and blessing! Through Him, and only by Him, we are victorious over sin and death. If there is any license to freedom, this truth is it! No matter how dire the situation may look, no matter how foreboding the future may seem, Jesus wins. The power of death was already broken through Jesus. It’s already happened! Through Him, even now, we are no longer subject to it (Hebrews 2:14).

“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5).

From the start of God’s covenant with humanity, God always wanted to bless all those who loved, respected, knew, and walked with Him. From the royal line of Judah that He blessed through Jacob, Jesus was born and established a new covenant for us, a blessing that we live under today. Today, our blessing comes through Jesus Christ.

Through freedom in Christ, we can empathize with the ignored and oppressed. Through freedom in Christ, we can love our enemies. Through freedom in Christ, we can share hope with the hopeless.

May we press in to the blessing of God and the freedom God offers us through Jesus, the King of all kings!

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12).

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).

April 11, 2020April 21, 2020

The Truth about Philosophy and Mental Health

Just for a moment, imagine you are in the process of figuring out your beliefs. You know you will use them and navigate decisions with them, for the rest of your life. Imagine that you look at the world’s beliefs with all their opinions, ideologies, and religions. How do you decide what beliefs are true?

Any belief that we take on can have serious consequences for our spirit, and in turn, our mental health.

Beliefs impact our well-being, mentally and emotionally. What we believe internally, meaning our expectations and hopes, carry serious weight and are just as important as our external, circumstantial experience of being. If we treat our beliefs with too little importance, eventually they will catch up with us. According to psychologist Jordan Peterson, when our internal and external worlds don’t align enough or are misaligned for too long, serious psychological pathology can result.

The passage below from Colossians triggered a turning point in my thinking about what I believe:

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness” (Colossians 2:6-9).

When I read it, this passage shockingly spoke directly to my past, in which philosophy was my bible for navigating life. The human ways of knowing that philosophy offered completely charmed me. It seemed comfortingly detached, logical, and rational, something I could stand on as a marker when the tide of my personal feelings made me drift away from reality. In philosophy, everything must be explained, justified, and correct. If an idea stood the test of philosophical debate, I thought it must be right, at least right enough for me to believe in.

I failed to realize in time that philosophy must be used as a tool and not be made a god.

People use philosophy as a way to get to the truth of something. That’s why it appealed so much to me; I wanted to get to the truth. The truth about philosophy, however, is that it is only a tool, which has a place. We must not confuse it, however, with the truth itself.

Many Christians fear learning philosophy, likely with the assumption that it will make them pick apart every belief they have about God with human logic. People do not like their beliefs to be challenged. Of course, enjoying the ego thrill, I dove right into philosophy when I started having questions and doubts about God. What could be so scary about philosophy if the stories about Jesus were true, right?

However, I soon realized that philosophy wasn’t concerned with the truth about Jesus. Instead, it pulled me into a whole other set of concerns altogether, and slowly, I was trained in its way of thought. Much like an ideology or religion.

Soon I was thinking philosophically about everything, and putting it in that highest place for truth that it simply wasn’t meant for. Philosophy made me feel powerful. It made me feel like I could argue my way past any belief. It made me feel like I was too good for beliefs.

Sin causes our thoughts and feelings to deceive us about who we are.

Philosophy is one of the fastest ways to an unhealthy pride in oneself that I know of. It made me feel like I didn’t need God. My identity became wrapped up in my philosophical ability.

Of course, I was naive about approaching philosophy, which is perhaps why it became so dangerous. I am certain many others approach philosophy in a very healthy way and thus have no qualms about using it. Today, I can say that there is no reason to be afraid of philosophy if one can see it as the tool it is. But, if we use it as the standard by which we make decisions and judgments, that is where it can cause damage to mental health.

Human knowledge does not equal divine wisdom.

Fast forward a couple of years and my mental health was declining. Jordan Peterson describes it as a sort of “sickness of the spirit.” I suspect there were other factors involved too, but I am sure that at least part of the reason was that my expectations about life did not match up with my hopes.

Why wasn’t philosophy “working” for me? Why weren’t those feelings of superior knowledge manifesting in a better life?

In fact, they’d only led me to a place where I was no longer searching for meaning and thus was simply unhappy. Philosophical thinking hadn’t improved my life, instead it seemed to weaken it. At the time, I could not understand why.

Thankfully, God didn’t let me forget Him. I looked for the people who were happy, desperate for something to help ease my mental suffering. I tried to learn from them. In talking to Jesus-following believers, God challenged me to seek the whole truth found in Him, not just parts of the truth that philosophy grasps for. That’s when I discovered the truest thing I could find in this world; a deep, meaningful relationship that He wants to have with each one of us.

It wasn’t logic-centered, it wasn’t calculated. It was messy and beautiful and scary and wonderful. The truth was more like relationship and art and less like philosophy and logic than I ever imagined.

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20).

All my philosophical beliefs crumbled under the authority of God in this one brutal, beautiful verse.

Indeed, God made all the most advanced, complex brilliance of human knowledge foolish when it comes to understanding His Kingdom. Whereas philosophy locks us into something rigidly, relationship with God frees us. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

No one can be happy if they aren’t free. We were created to have free will, and to make our own choices about what we believe. We must take special care when considering any religion, ideology, or theory–it will affect our very souls and our psychological well being.

The wisdom of the world is opposite to the wisdom of God.

Jesus Himself delighted in the simplicity of the Gospel in Luke 10: “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do . . .’” (Luke 10:21).

He makes it possible to understand who He really is whether you can wield human logic or not. He desires relationship with each precious soul in a profoundly personal way. Who or what others tell you He is shouldn’t matter more than who He has revealed Himself to you to be. God can reach us through any means, including human understanding and logic, but that is certainly not the only way. If that was the case only the smartest people in the world would be able to find Him and know Him. He ensured that little children can know Him too. The pursuit of intellect for its own sake will not bring us closer to Him. The pursuit of Him will always lead us to Him.

How beautiful and fair and just God is! He gives us all an equal chance to have a relationship with Him. In Him, there is no class or status or ranks. Only love and our choice to love Him as He already first loved and loves and will love us.

God wants us to know Him.

Whereas a reliance on philosophy to tell us what’s true will leave our souls wanting, God restores our souls. He gives us life breath. He calls us into our true identity in Jesus Christ. He sends the comforter and friend, the Holy Spirit, to be with us and to fill us so we can stand firm in faith in the face of trials.

If you’re wrestling with existential questions right now, you are not alone. But take heart that your wrestle shows that you are well on your way to finding the peace of God that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

I would invite you to take a moment to reflect on what God might be communicating to you through the question you are asking. What is He is up to in our souls when we have these questions? How can we bring our felt experience into better alignment with the greatest hopes you have, in the fullness of God, in abundant life?

During this Holy Week, behold His vast complexity, love and beauty. He has given us the capacity to sense deeply when our experience doesn’t match with our hopes or expectations for a reason. It is an invitation to seek God, and He promises that when we do seek Him, we will find Him: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

This Easter weekend, as we remember together that Jesus came, was crucified, and defeated death itself to give us life, let’s remember that He designed our souls to be fulfilled and our minds to be at peace by knowing Him deeply. Yes, even us, the prideful, rebellious, power-seekers that we are. He loves us anyway, just the same. He calls us worth dying for, He calls us His, He calls us family. Nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ (Romans 8:39). Rely on the love and sacrifice Jesus made for you today. Seek to know Him more every day; it’s worth it. He is life itself, He is beyond every belief, He is everything.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).