Tag: heart

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More Abundantly

For me, this is the verse that’s summed up this week: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20). At this time last year, I was just starting to feel like myself again after many months. At this time last year, I wasn’t writing at all. Around this time last year, God planted the seed of an idea which is now a business, Your Life with the King. God has done far more abundantly than all that I could ever ask or think!

Soul Crushing

In my journey prior to this, I would describe my soul as having been crushed, as much as I had tried to avoid it. I was living in a way that I felt trapped; my energy was never replenished, and I spent my time working on things I didn’t care about. I didn’t see a way out of it, and my inspiration to write or make art was gone. I had taken big hits spiritually and emotionally and became physically sick. Something had to change. It took time to become clear how, but God gave me a way to walk toward the life He had for me. He never leaves us trapped.

Transformation doesn’t often come without being crushed. We may call it different things, like being broken, being poured out, or being at rock bottom. But God is able to use it for our ultimate good because in our crushed state we are open enough to let Him into our hearts. Jesus Himself was “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5); yet it was for all of our ultimate good. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). In our brokenness, we are open to receive the love that Jesus poured out for us and our healing.

Yes, being crushed is painful. But God’s healing comes in the transformation and we are offered freedom in Jesus. Being crushed isn’t easy but it is worth it, I can now say from the other side. We can trust that no matter how painful this life gets, God has it all, sees us fully, and cares for each one of us more than we could imagine. God is a Good Father who is excited to do more in our lives by way of freedom, abundant blessing, and grace. The crushing is often a necessary part of the journey there.

Expect Good Things

When we are discouraged from being crushed in life, it can be hard to expect God’s goodness to follow. Knowing God’s character and pressing into relationship with Him and what He promises in Scripture is a lifeline in these times of brokenness. “It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; (Psalm 136:23). God’s love endures, even and especially into the “low estate” times in our lives.

I can struggle with expecting the worst outcome, even though God has shown me the opposite is True, over and over. God wants us to expect His goodness to show up in our lives, to “believe that [we] shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13)! I am encouraging myself as I encourage you to expect good things, and to expect that God will fulfill His promises to you. Even when I get in my own way of accepting God’s amazing abundance in life, He is bigger than that too; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God is Truly for us, more than we are for ourselves.

Paul wrote from prison, “. . . it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). Even when our present circumstances seem anything but good, we can expect God to reveal His goodness and fulfill His promises. We can expect God is trustworthy and True.

He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, and we can expect that He will. To God be all the glory! Amen.


“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

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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Led by the Spirit

Here in the middle of winter, there has been a shift in spiritual seasons, at least for me. I had been in a season of waiting, of resting, and of stillness. That season was humbling, and at times frustrating. In Isaiah, it says, “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). I’d been so conditioned to work and make things happen, that being out of action felt wrong. But it was exactly what God was calling me to. I learned obedience, and to submit to His will instead of mine. It became clear that I needed that season of rest and to wait for the strength of God to be behind what I did in and with my life. I learned in this last season to wait for leading from God before jumping into anything new.

To wait on God requires seeking God and His will, all the time. For me this was also a frustrating process to learn, as it seemed so incredibly mysterious and too “woo-woo” to be practical in everyday life. But I just needed to surrender to get out of my own way and believe the truth, that God really does communicate, all the time! God’s Word says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). That’s a promise!

We see an amazing example of this in Acts 13, when the church where Paul (Hebrew name Saul) was worshipping in Antioch was all fasting together. While they were seeking the Lord in worship, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and told them what they were to do next. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them‘” (Acts 13:2). After obeying this command, the next time the Holy Spirit is mentioned, He empowers Paul to speak boldly, leading to a miracle (Acts 13:11) that stopped evil influence (Acts 13:8) on a man of intelligence (Acts 13:7) in the region, and his subsequent belief in the gospel (Acts 13:12). Paul’s words and actions were led. They weren’t done on his own strength, or just because he in himself felt ready to go. He was sent by the Holy Spirit, given God’s strength to take the actions he was sent to take.

While God may not speak audibly all that often, He speaks, leads, and sends people today in many ways. He’ll also speak to us if and when we’ve taken a wrong turn. Wrong turns are okay, as long as we are listening to Him! God won’t stop letting you know what’s right and in His will for you. He always makes a way for us to come back to Him.

I’m entering a new season where God is sending me in a new direction, and I’m excited to be able to share the details with you very soon! For now, I want to share that God has graciously given me new work to do, and in this new season I’ll be doing my best to steward it well and according to His leading. Friends, I would appreciate your prayers as God is leading my life in a new direction, that I would lean on God’s strength, continue to wait on Him even in the middle of the work, and allow myself to be led by the Spirit through it all.

I encourage us all to surrender it all to God, today and every day. The Spirit is eager and longing to lead us in God’s unique and beautiful purpose for our lives. May we let Him lead us as the King of our hearts. Seek Him and you will see miracles! Let your faith in God’s leading shine, and may He will do His will through you. Amen.

“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” (John 14:26).

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. . .’ (Acts 2:38).

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).

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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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).

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

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God’s Plan

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

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

The plans we make to gain or get ahead may work for a while, but eventually if they’re not aligned with God’s plan, they fail. So, what is God’s plan for us? “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). These were God’s words to His people the Israelites before Jesus came to earth; today God offers us the Way of hope and peace through faith in Jesus. For me lately, God’s plans have looked a lot less like striving to set myself up for the future and a lot more like seeking Him, talking to Him, and trusting Him with the next step.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Getting What You Pray For

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

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

Praying for My Will

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

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

God’s Restoration

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

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

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

Praying for God’s Will

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Take Heart

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Endure Until the End

It is a heroic characteristic to endure. If we are able to have the blessing of sticking it out in this life, we endure its hardships and suffering. But movies send the misleading message that right after hardship, things immediately get better and stay that way. Reality, however, doesn’t pan out that way. Yet, because Jesus gives us hope beyond this world, we can endure, and if we have the faith, we can also trust that Jesus will make it all worth it in His Kingdom.

Jesus said of the end times, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-12). We aren’t promised better times; in fact, we are assured that the wickedness we must endure will get progressively worse.

Love must not grow cold in us, but must be kept warm in our hearts in order to endure, and we are warned that most people will fail at this. It is love that indicates our ability to stand firm to the very end.

Love is first on the list of fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. In my own experience, love is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit. I am keenly aware how much my flesh opposes love, a tension I’ve wrestled hard with; the world tells us we “love” each other just fine thank you very much, but the world’s love is not God’s unselfish, uninhibited, deeply caring, unconditional, eternity-enduring LOVE. The flesh, or the desire for self-preservation and avoidance of pain, gets annoyingly in the way of that kind of love.

To die to self is the only way to let the God-given, miraculous kind of love flow through us, and to choose to live by the Spirit instead of the flesh. As far as I’ve been able to learn in my journey, to deny the flesh and live by the Spirit is what we must do to be able to endure in love until the end of this age.

On days like today, my flesh wants to enter into the world’s system and way, and fight on my own strength from a place of fear disguised as anger and a sense of rightful injustice. Today I need to work extra hard to remember the Truth–that “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14). And that we are not of this world, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 3:20). We are to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), (because isn’t that hard enough for us?), and trust that God will provide, no matter how bad things look.

A necessary disclaimer I must add here is that of course I know that there are those whom God has given the strength to work for justice in this world, even among the increase of wickedness, and they are doing good and necessary work that I admire and applaud. But anyone who works against the tide of wickedness and endure in love must be given a God-given purpose in their work, not of fear. It’s the fear-driven anger I feel that tells me that work is not mine to do. And that is the perspective I’m coming from it all with today.

Things are getting harder. But God has not let us be blindsided by this fact; He warned us long ago. And He calls us to endure. Endure in faith. Endure in love. Endure in hope. “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:3). To endure, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Amen.

Remember that out of great tribulation comes a promise, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord‘” (Romans 12:17-19).

“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3: 12-14).

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

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3 Ways to Walk in Humility

This past weekend, I took a silent retreat on a beautiful little property where life was thriving. The bugs, beetles, flowers, and animals were all singing their songs happily in the summer sun. I had never been there before, and going in, I thought I would use the time in silence to reflect and grieve and process life with the Lord. However, my environment had such an effect on me, that I couldn’t help but pay attention to it. I got caught up in the dance between butterflies, the ripples in the pond, the scent of an old pine tree, the coo of a dove. I couldn’t help but find joy in the moment and in being where I was among so much beauty, designed by our Creator. I felt free to wonder and be in awe in the present moment.

But a few days later, that feeling has worn off. I woke up feeling the same dread that I’ve woken up with on many days; dread of the sadness I’ve endured and sadness I’ve yet to endure. Dread of the pain and process of living. And while that’s a legitimate emotion that should be fully acknowledged and felt and processed, I want to challenge myself and anyone who can relate, with the truth that that feeling is based on an assumption of going through life without God’s presence. Of doing life on our own. But the truth is that God is with me just as much today as He was during my retreat, thus, the feeling is simply unfounded. Not worthless, not shameful, but normal and human. And also, the feeling is robbing me of the full joy of being, here and now. I challenge you and myself to choose to believe the truth that God’s presence is here and provides every reason for joyfulness, even on days when we wake up and don’t feel it’s true. What is true is that He has provided all we could ever need.  

Humility is depending on the Lord to provide. 

We all encounter this dilemma of choosing between humility and pride, both in the big and small decisions in life. I have discussed an aspect of this before in my post, Dealing with Pride. We all want our way, sometimes overtly and sometimes subconsciously, but beneath it all is the same sinister thing that keeps us from humbly submitting to the Lord and trusting His goodness and provision. This makes us feel distant, can turn into that feeling of dread or worse. This is something that we all deal with and learning to deal with it in healthy and life-giving ways can make all the difference in the very trajectory of our lives. We all are born with pride, it’s the human condition, so we all must learn to handle it when it does wash over or take hold of our perspective. So how do we handle pride in a healthy way that won’t distance our hearts from God further?   

1. Remember how God dealt with you kindly even in your worst moments.

An amazing story in the Bible of not only God’s kindness, but the kindness of people for each other is found in the book of Ruth. Kindness is the thread that runs throughout the short four chapters and it goes around the characters like a chain reaction. Kindness and humility go hand in hand. Boaz’s character reflects that of the Lord, who sees our humble loyalty to Him and rewards it with blessing. 

Later in the story, Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz, an extremely bold and humble thing to do, as it vulnerably demonstrates her dependence on him. Boaz dealt with her boldness kindly. It is out of a keen awareness and gratitude for God’s kindness that true humility can rise up in our hearts and help us to act in the love that Jesus calls us to. Even when we don’t act in great love as Ruth did here for her mother-in-law Naomi, we can all think of ways the Lord has dealt kindly with us. As Romans 2:4 says, it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Fully owning our worst moments and repenting of our pride is the first step in humility.  

2. Decide, once and for all, to pursue genuine change of heart with Jesus.

At some point in our lives, we have to make the choice in faith that God’s way truly is best for us. We all have that decision to make for ourselves, whether His will for the long term is better than getting our way in the short term. There comes a point when we must stop excusing our pride away. At some point we need to acknowledge that anytime and every time that temptation arises, it is never justified to act upon it and follow it if we have committed our lives to following Jesus. We need to recognize it for what it really is, idolatry of the self. By letting our own will rule our perspective, we are placing ourselves in a place only God is righteous, just, and loving enough to fill.

When we are able to own up to our sinful nature, not just a single event or instance, but our heart condition of sin, only then can we fully allow Jesus through the door of our hearts to begin to heal what pride has twisted up in us. When we rely on Jesus with our entire self, we are no longer powerless against pride. We are instead empowered by the Spirit of the Living God to walk in love and humility, even becoming able to truly love our enemies because of God’s love for us while we were still His enemies. This ability is the beautiful and mysterious truth about authentic followers of Jesus. But it doesn’t come easily, and it doesn’t happen immediately. It takes a very close, intimate relationship with Jesus, spending time learning from Him and knowing His love ourselves, not through anyone else’s opinion or experience. It may be helpful to remember that even the demons “knew” Jesus, but they did not believe with a personal trust in Him, which is the kind of knowledge we’re talking about. Knowing Him and His character takes time, just as any relationship does, but it starts with faith that this long journey of learning and seeking to understand the love of Jesus is worth it. 

3. Remember Jesus is King and you are not. 

The more we learn about Jesus, the more beautiful, healing, and powerful we understand Jesus to be, it’s important to remain aware that we will come to identify ourselves with Him, because He identifies so closely and intimately with us. However, we must understand that there is potential in that process for pride to sneak in. Yes, we can identify with Jesus, we model our love and humility after Him. But we must remember who we are, under the authority and ownership of the King, Jesus Christ. Though He can and does work through us, we are not the judge, ever. At best, we may hope to be called His servants, a title of the highest honor for any mortal. As His, we are abundantly provided for, perfectly protected, and infinitely loved. In His care, there is no more need to look for satisfaction in the things that tempt us, because we know where true satisfaction is found, and we have found Him. 

Where is our heart’s condition and motives? This is what Jesus looks at; He fully knows the true condition of our hearts. Come into His presence today. Allowing ourselves to be driven by pride is damaging to us in the long term, but He knows what it’s done to our hearts, and He seeks to fully heal and restore each and every one to wholeness as His beloved ones.

It is only in His presence that our heart is fully at home.  

While only Jesus heals, there is responsibility on our part for our own heart’s condition. It is always God’s will to heal us of our pride and gently, patiently teach us the humility of Jesus, but He always takes our choices into account. Friends, I invite you to choose to know His presence with you in a fresh and deeply healing way. I invite you to the perspective that there is always reason to rejoice because of His presence and salvation. I invite you to stand in awe and wonder in the present Presence of the Lord, because there we are home.

Further Reading: The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

“…I rejoice in your salvation.” (1 Samuel 2:1, ESV). 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7, ESV).  

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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