Honest Reflections

Two-minute read.

Do you ever feel like giving up?

I do—more times than I care to admit.

Stepping on the scale and the numbers go up instead of down, I feel like quitting.

Sluggish sales in my shops make me want to throw in the towel.

Hardened hearts that refuse to soften deflate me.

On and on the list goes. But the Lord tells us not to give up, for eventually, we will reap in due season if we don’t give up. Meditating on Paul’s words to the Galatians helps me persevere when the devil whispers, “Quit.”

Persevering when we don’t see immediate results can discourage us. But the absence of immediate results doesn’t mean we’ve wasted the effort. Seeds take time to grow. The moment you plant one differs from the moment it blossoms. And in between, we must wait. Farmers don’t dig up the seed every few days to see if it has grown. They plant them, then tend them and wait for the results.

In the same way, God calls us to do what He places before us and trust Him with the outcome. When we consistently do the next right thing, we will eventually see results. But if we give up and quit, we’ll never reap the rewards.

Any professional athlete knows this statistic: to reach elite status, you must practice for at least 10,000 hours. That equates to 250 hours per week, or just under five years of practicing forty hours a week, just to become a professional in their sport. And even then, it doesn’t guarantee success.

When we put in the time with the Lord, we will reap the rewards.

Unlike athletes who may never become the number one player in the world, God guarantees us success when we follow Him and obey His commands. We may not see immediate results, but in due time, we will receive the harvest.

Keep going. Keep sowing. Keep serving. The harvest belongs to the Lord, and He has perfect timing. At the proper time, we will see the work happening beneath the surface that we can’t see now. We plant seeds through prayer, kind words, a shared Scripture, or a faithful act of service. We may never see the harvest ourselves, but God does not waste faithful obedience. Weariness doesn’t equal failure; we can keep going, even if discouraged.

Sometimes, faithfulness looks less like running and more like taking the next step.

God calls us to live faithfully. He’ll take care of the harvest.

Journal Questions:

• Where in your life are you feeling weary or discouraged because you haven’t yet seen the results of your efforts? What would it look like to trust God with the outcome?
• What “good work” has God placed before you that you are tempted to give up on? How can you take one faithful step forward today?
• How does knowing that God promises a harvest “at the proper time” change the way you view waiting? What can you surrender to Him as you wait?

Application:

Plant seeds of love with your actions today and wait expectantly for the harvest.

Two-minute read.

Ron and I plan our vacations months, even years, in advance. We planned a trip to Maine this year and waited with anticipation. We originally scheduled the trip three years ago. But when my father-in-law’s health issues progressed, we had to cancel it. And so, as the days grew closer to our departure date, I battled anxiety that something would happen and we would have to cancel it.

While we waited, we did what we knew to do: save money, prepare travel necessities, and pray.

All went well. We left on time, had no major incidents, and enjoyed a new adventure in the Northeast. Looking back, I can see God’s hand in both the cancellation of the first trip and the perfect timing of the second one. Throughout the planning and preparation, I learned that the Lord not only answered our prayers, but also remained faithful during the waiting.

Sometimes, God changes our circumstances quickly. When we canceled the first trip, we did it mere weeks before our departure date. Three years passed before the next one, a long season of waiting. Our second trip differed completely from the first one, but turned out better than we ever imagined.

The Lord didn’t waste the waiting.

Instead, He prepared us in ways we needed for the second trip. Our waiting caused us to appreciate and enjoy the trip more. Because of the cancellation, we had more time to study and fine-tune our plans, making the most of our time. We also learned to trust God more as we let Him guide our steps.

David, the author of Psalm 27, doesn’t say, “Everything is already fixed.” Instead, he tells himself to wait for the Lord. Staying faithful while trusting God to act helps us mature. We may want immediate action, clear direction, and a quick resolution, but the Creator wants to deepen our faith, strengthen our courage, and teach us to depend on Him rather than our circumstances.

Waiting courageously when standing in the unknown requires strength we can only receive from the Savior. Christ gives us the courage we need to wait with confidence, knowing the bravery needed to wait well.

You will never regret waiting on the Lord.

Sometimes, God does His deepest work in us during the waiting.

Journal Questions:

• What are you currently waiting on God for, and what makes the waiting difficult for you?
• How can you choose courage and continue moving forward while you wait for God’s timing?
• What might God be teaching you about trust, patience, or faith during this waiting season?

Application:

Memorize Psalm 27:14 and use it to help you wait well.

Two-minute read.

 “God, where are You? Why aren’t you doing something?”

Two questions that Habakkuk asks the Lord in his prophetic book. Seeing Judah filled with violence, injustice, and wickedness, Habakkuk wants answers.

As we all do when we don’t understand why God allows things to happen.

Habakkuk shows us an honest conversation with the Lord. Sharing with God his heart, the prophet doesn’t hold back and waits expectantly for answers.

But he doesn’t get the answers he wants.

Often, God responds in a way that may seem even more confusing. Because we only see in part, we don’t understand the Lord’s logic. But the Creator sees everything, beginning, end, and middle. He already knows the outcome and what needs to happen to achieve it. God promises victory, but it may seem delayed.

The Lord doesn’t deny that His promises may feel slow.

As an impatient person, I can attest to that truth. The Lord does fulfill His promises, but He doesn’t do it according to my timetable. Where I want things done yesterday, God does them in His time and way.

Delays don’t mean denial.

First, we must understand that the Lord answers every prayer. He either says yes, no, or wait. The Lord told Habakkuk to wait with confidence. Active trust says, “I don’t see it yet, but I trust the One who does.” God’s purposes don’t depend on our ability to see them unfolding. What the Lord has determined will happen in His appointed time.

God doesn’t give us the date.

He gives us the promise.

Faith learns to live between those two things.

Remembering how the Lord answered in the past will help you wait better in the present. Focusing on what God did before helps us trust Him now. We don’t have to see or understand the Lord working for Him to accomplish His task. Whatever the Lord has planned for His purposes will come at the right time.

God doesn’t ask us to understand the timing. He asks us to trust it. The vision may seem slow. The answer may seem late. The door may seem permanently closed.

But the Lord continues to work.

And while He does, we can wait, watch, and trust.

Journal Questions:

• What are you currently waiting on God for, and how has the waiting affected your faith and trust in Him?
• Where might God be asking you to be patient rather than trying to make something happen in your own timing?
• What would it look like for you to trust that God is working—even when you cannot see the answer yet?

Application:

Remember how God came through for you before and trust He will do it again.

Two-minute read.

As a burgeoning gardener, I’ve learned much about seasons. In our first garden, we planted too late in the season. This year, I planted it a little early. Thankfully, I still harvested, but I had to cover the plants more than once to keep them from freezing. When God’s word speaks of season, I have a deeper understanding of planting and harvesting than ever before.

Not every season feels beautiful.

Some seasons carry pain and confusion, like when I planted zucchini and squash. At first, they flourished, then I noticed the leaves dying and wilting. Upon closer inspection, I saw the squash bugs that had taken over the plants, feeding on the vines and killing them. My confusion disappeared when I discovered the culprit, and I grieved the loss of my crops.

From planting the seed to harvesting the vegetables, I must wait and pray. Whether the plants take weeks or months to mature, I can’t rush the process. Instead, I make sure they have enough water and keep the weeds at bay, praying over the plants as they grow and hoping for a bountiful harvest.

No matter the season, the Lord remains sovereign over them all.

God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

Solomon reminds us that the Lord sees the whole picture when we can see only a small piece. We will have seasons of suffering and pain, but God continues to work even when we don’t understand, and He uses everything for good for those who believe and trust in Him. When we want God to make something beautiful right now, He says, “Trust me with the timing.”

Because the Lord has planted eternity in our hearts, we crave something more than the temporary world we live in today. We long for things to make sense, for lasting relationships and significance. The longing for something eternal points us to the Creator.

God made us for more than getting through daily routines. He created us with an awareness of something bigger than we can see. We can’t see the scope of the Lord’s work; we only see today, but God sees the beginning, middle, and end. He knows the seasons and the outcomes. When we trust in the Savior, He leads us through the seasons and helps us discover eternity with Him.

Journal Questions:

• What season of life am I currently in, and what might God be teaching me through it?
• What is something I don’t understand or can’t see clearly right now that I need to trust God with?
• Where do I need to remind myself that God sees the whole picture, even when I can only see today?

Application:

Release your demand to understand everything and trust God with the parts of your story that remain unfinished.

Two-minute read.

Waiting seems passive, but it’s not. Active trust looks to God with an attitude of trust, patiently depending on Him to answer. Placing our confidence in the Savior leans into His promise of strength and renewal, something we can’t produce on our own.

Like most people, I struggle with waiting. The Lord’s timing does not align with mine most of the time. I want things yesterday. God doesn’t see things the way I do. My heavenly Father sits on the throne, not me. Whenever I question the waiting, I’m reminded of His sovereignty. Thinking of other periods of waiting, I remember how God delivered the victory at exactly the right time and in the right way.

Everyone’s waiting.

If you asked the people around you, “Are you waiting for anything?” They would say yes. People wait for the perfect job, the perfect spouse, and the perfect paycheck. In their minds, they create a narrative of what those things look like. The more detailed they get in their story, the harder the waiting seems. And when God doesn’t do what they thought, look out, trouble brews.

But if we wait with active trust, we won’t create narratives that fall short of reality. Instead, we’ll keep a continuous conversation with God going, asking Him for His will, not ours. When questions arise, we can ask Him, and He will answer. But in His time, not ours. And one day, when the Lord calls us home, we’ll have the answers He didn’t give us in this life. But until then, we can trust.

Some days, you may feel like you’re soaring; other days, every step takes energy. Some days, you can barely manage to put one foot in front of the other. No matter the season, God’s faithfulness doesn’t change. Waiting for Him to move says, “Lord, I don’t have the strength for this on my own, but I trust You to give me what I need for today.”

With God, you can experience the miracle of walking without fainting and soar high with the eagles.

Journal Questions:

• What area of my life am I trying to handle in my own strength instead of waiting on and trusting God?
• Am I in a season of soaring, running, or simply walking? What might God be teaching me in this particular season?
• What would it look like for me to intentionally wait on the Lord this week and trust Him to provide the strength I need?

Application:

Turn your waiting into active trust through prayer.

Two-minute read.

When David wrote these words, he contrasted the temporary success of wicked people with God’s lasting faithfulness. We’ve all had that feeling of unfairness.

Doing your best at work but getting overlooked.

Watching a dishonest person prosper when you tell the truth.

Loving someone who doesn’t love you back.

Praying faithfully and someone else receives the answer you desperately wanted.

Doing the right thing and experiencing heartache.

Seeing someone who hurt you appears to have an easy, successful life.

The list can go on and on. David wrestled with the reality that people who do wrong sometimes seem to get ahead while people trying to do right struggle. I know I’ve wrestled with this myself.

David doesn’t pretend unfairness doesn’t exist. He acknowledges it.

But then the king reminds us that the story doesn’t end there. The wicked may appear to flourish in a season, but their success doesn’t last. God’s justice, goodness, and faithfulness ultimately prevail.

Therefore, David tells us what we should do: commit everything to the Lord, trust Him, and He will help you.

God doesn’t always explain why something happened. But we can trust the One who sees the whole picture when we can only see one page. Trusting the Lord with everything takes the burden off our shoulders. We no longer must think about fairness, because we know, at the end of the day, God will make all things right. And He uses everything for His good.

And so, every Sunday morning, I commit my plans for the upcoming week to the Lord. Opening my calendar and my Bible, I pray over every appointment and give it to God. Then, I let it all go and trust Him to work out the rest. When things get canceled, I know God has a reason. If something gets added, I know He has a purpose in it. And when everything changes, I let the Lord lead the way.

As I close my prayer time, I write these words: “My life is Yours, Lord; use me as You will,” completely surrendering my life, my calendar, and my desires to Him.

The wicked may flourish for a moment, but the Lord always wins.

Place life’s unfairness in the Lord’s hands. We don’t have to understand for God to work. We only have to trust.

Journal Questions:

• What situation in your life feels unfair right now, and what would it look like to truly place it in God’s hands?
• Are you trusting God with the outcome, or are you trying to control how and when things should work out?
• What is one thing you can do today to release your worries and commit your plans, relationships, or future to the Lord?

Application:

Lift your concerns to the Lord, and ask Him to use you as He will.

Two-minute read.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul asked them to surrender their bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Paul appealed to them because of the mercies God had already done for them. This means giving God our actual, everyday lives, not just giving Him our thoughts for an hour on Sunday.

After all, if you only ate once a week, what would that do to your body?

Living for Christ means more than just going to church on Sunday and then putting Him back in the box. Following Jesus means choosing to pursue Him every day. Our bodies become a living sacrifice when we continually surrender to God.

In other words:

Your hands belong to God.

Your words belong to God.

Your time belongs to God.

Your choices belong to God.

Your ordinary Tuesday belongs to God.

All this equals faith expressed in how we actually live.

So this morning, when I cleaned out my attic and craft room, I did so to the Lord. Taking my time and systematically going through everything, one object at a time, I created piles for donation, trash, and keep. Then I organized everything into one of these three categories. Once finished, I loaded my car, drove to a local Christian organization, and made my donation so they could make money from what I no longer needed.

The Lord calls us not to become like the world, but to become like Christ. We shouldn’t just identify what we shouldn’t do; we should allow God to transform us into new creatures. When transformation happens, we become altogether changed.

And it all starts in the mind.

As we renew our minds in Christ, spending time with Him, in the Word, and with others, transformation occurs.

“Someone else can use this” became my prevailing thought this morning as I worked. Thinking about others and working as if for the Lord motivated me to finish the job when I wanted to quit. When I wanted to leave everything to sit for a day before donating it, a nudge from within said, “Do it today.”

And so I did.

And now, having finished the mundane job, I feel God’s pleasure at my obedience. My thoughts led my actions, and even in the most boring tasks, the Lord transformed me.

God’s mercies change what we give Him; His truth changes how we think. And a transformed mind produces a transformed life.

Journal Questions:

• What area of your everyday life do you need to surrender more fully to God as an act of worship?
• What thoughts, attitudes, or influences may be shaping you more than God’s Word, and how can you allow Him to renew your mind?
• What would a genuinely transformed life look like for you in this season, and what is one step you can take toward becoming more like Christ?

Application:

Commit an everyday task to the Lord and see how He uses it to transform you.

Two-minute read.

In high school, I worked at Montgomery Ward in their women’s department. One night, not long before my graduation, I had a meltdown. While inventorying scarves, my thoughts spiraled out of control, and I began crying. Worry about what would happen in the months ahead consumed me as I faced the brink of adulthood. My co-worker tried to assure me things would work out, but my anxiety won that battle.

And things did work out. But I didn’t know that then.

Just like the Israelites didn’t know what would happen to them when they lived in exile in Babylon. Far from home, living in circumstances they hadn’t chosen and couldn’t change, they must have wondered about their future. Had God forgotten them? Would they ever have their normal lives back? What did their future hold?

Everyone wonders about the future.

God understands our curiosity.

And He gives us a message: He has it under control.

Relaxing into the Savior’s plan for our lives should come easily, but it doesn’t. Knowing Christ’s miraculous death and resurrection, we have victory over whatever comes our way. But we still need reassurance that God has a plan for our lives, and we need to trust it.

The Israelites couldn’t see what their future would look like, and neither could I all those years ago. My anxiety and worry caused me to miss out on the moment. Life doesn’t let us skip difficult seasons; we must go through them. And in those valleys, the Lord teaches us valuable lessons that transform our lives. We learn to trust Him, even when we don’t understand.

Our inability to see the plan doesn’t mean God doesn’t have one.

Hindsight gives us 20/20 vision. Decades later, I can see the Lord’s hand in my life, guiding, directing, and protecting me along the way. I didn’t need to spend that evening in anxiety; I only needed to trust in God’s plan for my life and let it unfold.

The Lord sees the beginning, middle, and end.

We only see today.

But we can trust; God hasn’t forgotten us.

Hope lies ahead, as He continues to write our story.

Journal Questions:

• What area of my life feels uncertain right now, and how can I choose to trust God with what I cannot see?
• Have I been so focused on where I want to be that I’m missing what God may be doing in my life right now?
• What would it look like for me to hold onto hope and take one faithful step toward the future God has for me?

Application:

List ways God has provided for you in the past and let that strengthen your trust in Him for the future.

Two-minute read.

Ron and I hosted our first connection group for our church. In the days leading up to the first meeting, we tried to prepare well. Planning the menu, we chose something adult- and kid-friendly. The day before, we cleaned the entire house and made sure we had everything we needed. Once we texted the final details, we felt ready.

And things went well. All the preparations paid off. But the one thing we didn’t think about caused the problem. We have a black trash can that we use for dog food. The bottom has a foot that came off, leaving a small, exposed metal bar. When one of the kids started crying, it didn’t take long to find the culprit. Thankfully, the minor injury didn’t take long to overcome. But it never fails: what we worry about never comes to fruition, and the one thing we never think of does.

Jesus addressed worry. People worried about food and clothing, the things needed for tomorrow. First, the Savior reminds His audience about creation. God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers. If He cares for them, how much more will He care for His children? (Matthew 6:26-30).

Then Christ tells His followers what they should do to combat worry:

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 6:33

When we seek God above all else and strive to live for Him, He will give us everything we need. The Lord holds tomorrow in His hands; we don’t have to live tomorrow today. Worrying about what might happen in the future takes us out of the present.

In the now, we find God.

Jesus doesn’t mean we should live carelessly and irresponsibly. We shouldn’t ignore legitimate preparation. Ron and I should prepare for our group. Planning comes from wisdom. But we shouldn’t let anxiety steal today’s peace because of our desire to control tomorrow. Spending emotional energy on what might happen makes us miss out on the now and the blessing of the moment.

God gives us grace for today.

We don’t need tomorrow’s grace now.

When tomorrow arrives, God will meet us there.

Journal Questions:

• What are you worrying about right now that you need to surrender to God and leave in His hands?
• How would your day look different if you focused on today instead of trying to figure out tomorrow?
• What is one practical step you can take today to trust God more fully with your future?

Application:

When your mind starts to wander to tomorrow, pray, “Jesus, help me stay present with You today.”

Two-minute read.

Since I started following Jesus, He has transformed my life.

The Lord has helped me work through my anger issues and process the losses I’ve experienced. God continually refines me. Over the past weekend, I suffered the consequences of a social media post I made in frustration: nothing horrid, but one I regret posting because it unintentionally offended a friend. As I pray through how to move forward, growth happens, and the Lord transforms my life a little bit more.

Living for Jesus means continual spiritual progress.

We never “arrive.”

God always has more to teach us.

Paul, the author of Philippians, accomplished an extraordinary amount for Christ, but he didn’t consider himself spiritually finished. And we shouldn’t either. Jesus’s followers never stop growing and learning; our lives are in constant sanctification as we continue to pursue the Savior.

Sanctification means becoming more like Christ. First, we experience justification, becoming right with God by repenting of our sins, and then transformation begins. Each morning, I have things to confess to the Lord. By surrendering my sin, God teaches me how to make amends, humble myself, and persevere as I try again. Sanctification never stops; the ongoing process of becoming more like Jesus only ends when God calls us to our heavenly home.

We must let go of our past, failures, and successes to keep moving forward. Failures keep us looking backward with regret. But our successes can cause us to believe we’ve done enough. In the Lord’s economy, we always have more to do. He gives us a purpose to fulfill, and we can only do that when we let go of the past and move forward with Him.

“Onward and upward!” Famed pastor Charles Spurgeon preached on May 25, 1873. His famous sermon focuses on these verses and reminds us, 150-plus years later, that the race doesn’t end. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and run towards the eternal goal.

Learn from your mistakes.

Enjoy your successes.

Then move onward.

Saved doesn’t mean finished. Our security in Christ’s gift doesn’t mean we stop growing. With the seed of repentance and acceptance of the Savior, transformation begins. Paul didn’t casually stroll towards the end goal; he stretched forward, longing for more. And we should as well.

Don’t live life looking in the rearview mirror. God’s plan unfolds each day. Each morning, we get to choose to follow Him again.

Journal Questions:

• What part of my past—whether a failure, disappointment, or even a past success—do I need to surrender to God so I can move forward?
• In what area of my life is God inviting me to grow and become more like Christ right now?
• What is one practical step I can take this week to “press on” toward Christ and continue growing in my faith?

Application:

Write down your biggest regret on paper. Then crumple it up and throw it away. Ask God to help you let it go.