Tag: Jesus

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The Spiritual Disciplines: Silence

One of my favorite things to do is take a silent retreat. It is impossible to predict how it will go; they can be both terrifying and peacefully beautiful. The presence of the Lord is both and for me that’s what a silent retreat is all about: seeking God’s Presence.

I’ve tried to take at least one such retreat each year for the last few years. The retreats don’t have to be very long, but they have become welcome times when I can find a place in the year from which to move forward. (I’ve never really been a big fan of January 1st as a fresh start.) Scripture describes time with God to be refreshing: “Repent . . . that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19-20). I’ve certainly found this to be True.

It seems odd at times to talk about being in God’s Presence as a discipline or spiritual practice; God is after all omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is always with us (John 14:12-13). However, hearing His still, small Voice sometimes does require intentionality. It takes effort to be silent, take the time to listen, and simply marvel at the fact that through Jesus, we can enjoy being with our holy Father. Sometimes it takes silence on our part to appreciate this profound gift.

I wrote about the practice of solitude years ago in a previous blog, TSD: Solitude. Solitude and silence often go together very closely, and often have the same broad goal of connecting with God. However, some of my most profound times of silence have not been in solitude, but in the company of other seekers of God’s Presence. Practicing silence in community is something very sacred, and I don’t have proper words for it, except to encourage you to experience it on a silent retreat for yourself.

Silence as a spiritual discipline implies visiting a place of inner quietness along with and often helped by getting in a quiet outer environment. As I’ve worked for the past year to disconnect from the things which tend to rev up my inner noise, I’ve noticed it’s become a little bit easier to rest. Resting in God’s Presence is something I have struggled with, but it is indeed what God asks of us. Like sheep, we are invited to rest in the care of God our Shepherd in trust that He has our lives in His hands, and that we don’t need to fear (Psalm 23).

Yet, being in God’s Presence, as I mentioned, can be terrifying, or at least something to prefer to avoid. Psalm 90 describes this, “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Psalm 90:8). Nothing is hidden when we come before God and enter His Presence intentionally. Suddenly, we may become acutely aware of our utter failure to hold up our end of the relationship with God, to be perfect as Jesus was. Thankfully, Jesus’ perfection covers us, having allowed us to be in God’s Presence in the first place. We are utterly dependent on Jesus, and in the practice of silence we can become more aware of this fact. “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). We cannot give defense of our sins before God, as we so easily can try to do before people. In God’s Presence, we are completely undone. “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,” (Psalm 114:7). That’s the terrifying bit. The fear of God is a necessary part of relationship with Him.

But the beauty of it is worth that momentary discomfort. (No one said silence was easy!) After experiencing the humility that comes from being in His Presence, comes the incredible love and grace God gives freely and abundantly. His Presence is an expression of love for us; it is where we are transformed and healed. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). If you want to be changed, drawing near to God, being in His Presence, is the only way I’ve found leads to real transformation.

Silence is not easy and it takes some intention. But it is a practice, and it is one that can help our relationship with God if we are willing to take the risk. Practice silence in solitude and practice silence with others, but most of all, don’t hold back from all that is awaiting you in God’s Presence.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest‘” (Exodus 33:14).

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

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

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The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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I Have To . . . Pray

I spent most of my life doing what I was asked to do, for the most part. Without giving it too much thought, I’d hear there was a need, and try to deliver. I’d show up at places I didn’t necessarily want to be out of obligation or appearance, or I’d be quick to say yes when there was a hint of disappointment if I’d first said no. I’d talk about things I didn’t really want to talk about because that’s where the conversation went and I didn’t want to upset anyone by shutting them down.

But the Lord has been challenging this default setting in my brain, which was deeply rooted in a fear of man. Is my giving in to do something I don’t feel right about a good challenge or something I’m simply not called to do? It’s becoming clearer to me lately that the best way to handle these points of decision is to pause and pray–about every single thing, every single time. This has been an exercise both of re-wiring my own mindless default to be intentional, and of trust that I will hear from the Lord when I ask for this guidance. While it is a needed work, it’s still a work in progress.

In the book of Nehemiah, we read that this exile felt passionately when hearing about the destruction in Jerusalem, his former home. There is this staggering verse, “Then the king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 2:4). I don’t know about you, but that verse hit me between the eyes. It casually documents how Nehemiah dialoged with God in the middle of a conversation!

Nehemiah, even though he feels strongly about the situation, doesn’t act out of impulse. Even in the moment of speaking to a foreign king who could easily accuse him of treason and punish or kill him, Nehemiah prays to God for how to answer the king’s question in that very moment. He had spent days in prayer and fasting before having that conversation with the king. But in the moment, he again seeks the Lord’s input on how to gain the king’s favor. He keeps the dialog with God that he’d started days before going and speaks to the king, even though he admits that he was “very much afraid” (Nehemiah 2:2).

God was with Nehemiah, and blessed his mission. In preserving this story for us in His Word, I hear God inviting us all to pray, listening to Him, seeking His will. He invites us to follow His prompting, as Nehemiah did, instead of going with what we may “feel” is right. To ask ourselves how something will affect our relationship with God can be helpful in knowing what is right for us. In praying and receiving wisdom and strength from the Holy Spirit we can know what is ours to do, or what God has ordained for us to accomplish according to His will. We don’t have to say yes to things that aren’t from God. In fact, those things can and will distract from His will for us if we let them. We all have a unique calling and purpose in Jesus, but it’s in the everyday moments, and in-the-moment conversations, that hold the opportunities for living it out.

Nehemiah teaches us that both prayer in earnest and preparation, and prayer in the moment are important. Before I do anything, I have to pray. While I am in the middle of my mission, I have to pray. Without God’s guidance, I can’t do a single thing that’s right. Believe me, I’ve tried. These are dark days, and the light of Jesus is desperately needed. Prayer puts us in the presence of God. The more we are in His presence, the more we are able to reflect His light in this world. Let us remember with intention and purpose to pray, both in the long, extended quiet, and in the moment of action. Let us remember that deep relationship with God invites us to both. May God help us all to deepen our walk and relationship with Him!

I invite you to pray the Lord’s Prayer with me today:

“…’Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation‘” (Luke 11:1b-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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From Death to Life

Self acceptance was never my strong suit. I focused much of my attention all my life on being “better;” self improvement was my favorite genre. Perfectionism ruled and ruined me. I knew I could never be perfect, but my actions told a different story. While I achieved, I was never content. I wanted to be better than I am at everything I cared about, like dance, academics, and yes, following Jesus.

When the initial passion wore off and these things inevitably became a box to check off my list, I’d get down on myself all the more. Sometimes I’d double down, sometimes I’d quit for months. The concept of following Jesus, living in close, trusting relationship with God, sounded great. I wanted to love God more than anything, and failed over and over. But perfectionism, or even self improvement, is fruitless when God isn’t asking it of us. It took time for me to learn that God really doesn’t expect us to be perfect.

I heard a line in a sermon recently that has been ringing True ever since: “Jesus didn’t come to make good people better, He came to make dead people alive.” All this pressure I tend to put on myself to be “better,” it is not the business of Jesus. He makes our souls, once dead to the bondage of sin, alive. There is so much to rejoice in with that! The Psalmist wrote, “For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life” (Psalm 56:13). That Jesus delivers us from death is worth meditating on, rather than our faults and shortcomings. Rather than my worrying about being “better,” I realized it was far better to focus on what Jesus has already done.

Jesus brought several people from literal death to life, including Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-56), and Lazarus (John 11:14-44). But His legitimacy as the Son of God and the legitimacy of everything He said during His three years of ministry was confirmed when He Himself died and came back to life. “He [Jesus] presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Those who saw Jesus alive after He had died on the cross then later risked their lives to tell others what they had witnessed.

Today, Jesus is in the business of bringing people dead in sin (and soul) to life. He brings people like me and you back from this death every day. I was dead in bondage to sin, which kept me tied to striving, perfectionism, and self criticism. But Jesus made a way for me off of that road of self destruction and on a path with Him and for Him in the “light of life.” We still need to take up our cross daily (Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23) to follow Jesus, but He set us free from death when He rose from the dead. That’s the good news. And we’re not just free, either, but victorious over death with Jesus. He shares His victorious life with us.

Halleluiah, Jesus is alive, and because of Him and His love for us, so are we!

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you” (Matthew 28:6-7).

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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Nothing but Willingness

Today I have no prepared insights to write about, no theme on my mind, no Scripture to anchor my anecdotes. As usual, my demons haunt me with thoughts about not being worthy to write at all, not being a voice worth sharing, and all the other such lies I used as excuses to stop trying. But today I’m choosing to write anyway, stare my demons in the face and defy them. Resist!

So, how are we doing? I like to take a look back at the end of summer as the new year is soon to come; I’ve begun to measure years starting with the beginning of autumn, in keeping with the Jewish calendar. What I see now is that I took some steps forward at the start of the summer, and have since taken a step back. Thankfully, Jesus is still King.

Today, in light of feeling set back, I feel like all I have to offer to God is willingness. I’m willing to obey Him and willing to do what He asks, but as Scripture says, the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). I don’t feel the same confidence I had at the start of this summer to take action, to enact change, or to get things done. But I can look back now and see that God has been and still is using it all. He uses our ups and downs, the days when we fall apart and the days when we are steady, the emotions we feel and the people around us, all to draw us closer to Himself. Today the Holy Spirit encourages us to turn to Him and to teach us to follow Him, just like Jesus, when He walked the earth, taught His disciples to follow Him.

For me, this year has been another season of learning more deeply that emotions don’t equal Truth, and that how I feel isn’t often aligned with Truth. This is one of the things that made me decide to start this blog in the first place, to better discern what is actually True versus what felt True at the time. As a person who is naturally wired to use emotions as intel, this is a hard lesson I’ve been tempted to forget over and over. But God has been mercifully patient with me and simply has taught it to me again this year.

These lessons we keep learning, these are clues for us. We can recognize them and bring them to God in earnest. All I can bring today to the foot of God is willingness to walk in the lesson learned; but walking in the completed transformation is something different. Some days, like today, all I can do is to be willing. God can always do something with our willingness, when we give Him room in our hearts to work. There are things I cannot overcome without God’s help–everything, in fact! That is something I’ve learned the hard way.

As this year winds down, may we all be willing to bring our shortcomings before God and earnestly ask Him to overcome where we cannot. Amen.

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3).

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Characteristics of God: The Goodness of God

Like the worship song implies, God can and should be praised all day long for His goodness. But do we? I fall short time after time to give God the praise and worship I know He is worthy to receive. I ignore Him, go my own way, and simply disobey far more often than I’d like to admit. My own lack of surrender is heavy on my heart today. I have touched on the topic of goodness in previous posts such as Human Goodness, and The Profound Sufficiency of Christ, but today, God’s goodness is front and center.

Life with God does not mean we will feel happy all the time. It involves feeling the pain of life when God feels far away, when prayers feel blocked, or when the weight of conviction feels suffocating. It’s all part of it. Life with God is not easy. Because of God’s goodness, however, we can still take heart! “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14).

In Psalm 23, David pours out a song to God that ends with the promise of God’s goodness: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). Goodness is what comes of walking with God like a sheep with their shepherd. If we’re the sheep, we just don’t do so well when separated from our shepherd. We need God, and when we walk with Him through our lives, we experience His goodness.

Goodness is a characteristic of God. God is the embodiment of goodness; Scripture reveals that throughout history, He seeks and works things out for the best for everyone. He is kind to us when we have been unkind, merciful to us when we haven’t shown mercy, and faithful to us when we haven’t been faithful in our devotion to Him, all because He is so incredibly, miraculously, unfathomably good! He gives us His abundant goodness because that is who He is–loving and generous and faithful to give us many chances to turn to Him and come into agreement with the way He made us and the purpose for His creation. His best for us is realized when we choose Him as our Shepherd. In His great goodness, He wants the best for us. He wants us to be His because being under His care is where we thrive best.

On the days we feel heavy with the weight of our human limitations, it’s often because we’re paying too much attention to ourselves, instead of God. What would happen if we focused on Jesus instead? What good would it do our hearts to imagine Jesus sitting next to us, no words needed, just His eyes looking into ours with His loving goodness, without any condemnation (Romans 8:1)?

He does not want us to sit long in the heaviness of our own shortcomings. He invites us to simply and humbly accept that He paid for it on the cross. What profound goodness is found in this! His blood is sufficient, and our debt is paid. In these days when I glimpse the depths I’ve been saved from, I appreciate His goodness all the more fully and deeply. He is the only place we find refuge from our sin. “But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!” (Psalm 141:8) What a good Father God is, that He is a place of refuge from all the heaviness, shame, and sin that would seek to destroy us.

May we fix our eyes on His goodness, and may we be open to receive the great goodness of God in our lives and hearts today. Amen.


“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).

“For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all“(Romans 11:32).

“What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12).

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

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Getting What You Pray For

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

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

Praying for My Will

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

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

God’s Restoration

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

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

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

Praying for God’s Will

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sanctification and Fruitfulness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Take Heart

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Praise before Victory

I hold onto the promise of Jesus’ ultimate victory over all the pain and tears in this world. The battles of anxiety and fear often feel futile to me in the moment. I easily lose my perspective of God’s sovereignty in the moment of overwhelm, worry, or feeling powerless. A grateful heart full of praise, even when the feeling or circumstance is anything but hopeful, is how God invites us to respond in the face of every battle. The Kingdom of God goes completely against logic, and worship is a powerful way God invites us to rebel against the ways of this world.

I love that the Bible preserves a story of Judah sending not the strongest of soldiers, but the loudest and most fervent of worshippers, onto the front lines of an actual battle against a “great multitude” (2 Chronicles 20:2). At first, King Jehoshaphat “…was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2 Chronicles 20:3). Like last week’s blog talked about with King Asa, the battle odds didn’t look good for God’s people. Jehoshaphat led the people to seek God before acting out of fear, and a resounding victory came from God to His people as a result.

Worth the note that Jehoshaphat’s initial fear was not the problem. Human fear is a legitimate and real emotion that shouldn’t be suppressed, but it’s what we do in the face of it that can lead to problems. Jehoshaphat used fear as a drive to seek the Lord with everything he could, fasting, praying, and declaring God’s character back to Him (2 Chronicles 20:6-12). When we seek the Lord as Jehoshaphat did here, fear doesn’t have to lead to the sin of going our own way to make it go away. Its resolution will instead be the result of relationship with God, knowing His character, and praying for His will to be done. Fear the emotion is a tool, while the spirit of fear, or living in fear, is something very different, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

By the Holy Spirit, a Levite named Jahaziel spoke to Judah on the Lord’s behalf, saying that “…the battle is not yours but God’s… . You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf…” (2 Chronicles 20:15c & 17a). What a beautiful picture, to stand firm and hold your position. Not crumbling under fear, but choosing to trust the promises of God. When we praise and worship God, that is what we are doing. Our worship is the act of standing firm in our position of reliance on God. When we worship, we participate in His victory over the world.

Do you need victory in your life over addiction, fear, depression, hardship that is too much to sort out on your own? Praise God. Praise Him before you see a victory in the material world. Worship Him with a grateful heart before you have received what you are grateful for at all. Let your praise and worship go before you in the battle you face today, before your defenses, strategies, or your impulse to control or diffuse tensions. In the face of the battle, do the illogical, unexpected, revolutionary, radical thing and worship God for His victory over every hardship you face. Let your spirit join with His in gratitude and declaration of the truth, that He has already won, and His victory includes the one you need today.

Those who Jehoshaphat sent to sing and praise, saying, “‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever’” (2 Chronicles 20: 21c), began praising before the Lord intervened; as Scripture says, “And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed” (2 Chronicles 20:22). When we worship out of trust in the Lord, He responds with His victory.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23).

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

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