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“Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.”  Psalms 9:10

I have a prayer closet.  I was inspired after the movie “War Room.”  My husband and I went to see it one night in September of 2015.  The very next day I cleaned out our guest room closet and put a chair in it.  I have to admit, at first it felt silly to sit in a closet with my Bible. I started simply by just doing my Bible reading, writing in my journal.  Since that time it has evolved into a sacred place in my home. I now have a desk, I sit on an exercise ball, the walls are covered in scriptures and prayer requests.  I have a “bucket” where all answered prayers go. It’s my office, it’s where the Lord and I meet. It is my favorite place on earth. When my heart is broken, it is where I come.  When I rejoice, it’s where I come to rejoice with Him. When I’m not home, I miss it. It’s always the first place I come too when we get back. It’s where I know I will always find God.  It’s our special place.

My desktop has a glass overlay on it.  Underneath it is more scripture and inspirational quotes I’ve acquired over the years.  This morning, when I sat down to write, I saw this one:

FAITH IS ACTING LIKE GOD IS TELLING THE TRUTH!

I have no idea where I found it or who wrote it, but just as I did here, it’s written in all capital letters on my desk.  That means, whenever I wrote it, I was telling myself, don’t forget it. And until this morning, I hadn’t thought of it. But isn’t it true?  Isn’t that exactly what faith is, acting like God is telling the truth.

When God says He won’t abandon you, He means it.  He really won’t. So why do we act like He does? Just because we don’t feel His presence?  Just because He’s not doing what we think He should do? Or is it because we don’t think we’re worthy of His attention?  Or He was never really with us in the first place?

I have no idea why you might feel like God has abandoned you, but  I can tell you for sure, He hasn’t. I know this because His word says repeatedly He won’t.  A quick google search brought up 107 verses saying that very thing. Isn’t it time we all started acting like God is telling the truth?  If we never try we’ll never know, we’ll never grow, we’ll never experience all God has for us. Determine to make that your goal today, no matter what, trust God and act like He’s telling the truth.

“I will be with you when you pass through the waters and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.  You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flames will not burn you up.” Isaiah 43:2 CSB

You won’t drown, even though it feels like you will.  You won’t burn up either. This scripture is found in the book of Isaiah.  I love what my Bible says at the beginning of this book: “The theme of this book is expressed in the meaning of the name Isaiah, “the Lord saves” or “the Lord is Savior.”  Hallelujah! Jesus saves, you heard it hear first.

When I worked for Nautica, there was a time when I covered the children’s line of clothing.  I’m not a Mom, as you all know, but wow, children’s clothing is a lot of work. So tiny and hard to fold.  And there was so much of it. I was working in a store in Richmond. I will never forget the lesson I learned that day.  Our fixtures for children had a table and little bench below it where you could merchandise clothes. I was working hard, had the table and bench cleared off, the clothes separated and ready to go back on it when I noticed a lady sitting on the bench.  I will never forget her.

I was immediately irritated.  Can’t she see that I’m working?  Does she know how much I have yet to do?  Come on lady, move it! Of course I didn’t say any of those things.  I actually didn’t have a chance. Thanks be to God, she spoke first. She immediately apologized to me for sitting on my bench.  She explained she had lung cancer and couldn’t walk very far without having to sit and rest. That of course made me feel like a jerk.  Then she told me the rest of her story. She was single if I recall correctly, the only one in her family who didn’t have kids. She thanked God it was her that had lung cancer, she didn’t want any of her niece and nephews to lose their parents.  She was young, in her thirties. She was beautiful, blond and her skin had a pretty complexion to it. She had never smoked a day in her life. I never learned her name, never spoke to her again. But she sat on my bench and praised Jesus because she had lung cancer and not her siblings.

She taught me a lesson that day, more than one.  She taught me that Jesus is with you when you pass through the rivers.  He is with you when you pass through the fires. We never know what someone is passing through, but if they know Jesus, they aren’t doing it alone.  I don’t know if I would have had the same attitude this beautiful lady did, I hope it’s not something I have to find out. But to hear her praise Jesus in the midst of her fire to a complete stranger, that changed my life.  You won’t drown, and you won’t be burned up, Jesus will see you safely through to the other side.

“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing.  I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.”  John 15:15 CSB

He has made known to us everything He has heard from His Father, we are His friends.  We are IN! We belong! We are friends!

Just this morning on the news, I heard a clip from Brene Brown.  She’s a NY times bestselling author who has studied relationships for the past two decades.  She has a new Netflix series, “ “The Call to Courage” which is about choosing courage over comfort in today’s society.  She was describing the difference between “fitting in” and “belonging”. I love the point she was making: fitting in is knowing what you need to do to be accepted by the people around you, belonging is being true to yourself and your beliefs, even if it means you are all alone.  That’s not a direct quote, it’s what I heard.

It’s true.  We spend so much time trying to fit in we don’t belong.  I know I’ve felt this way in my life. Some of my loneliness moments have been when I’m surrounded by people because I refuse to do what they are doing.  It’s because I try to live for an audience of One, I’m not saying I always succeed. In fact, there are times I just down right fail but there are two scriptures I cling to when it comes to this:

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God.  If pleasing people were my goal I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NIV)  According to our verse today, I wouldn’t be Christ’s friend, since He no longer calls us servants but friends.

The second scripture I yearn to hear when God moves me to heaven is this one:

“Well done good and faithful servant!”  Matthew 25:23 NIV

I don’t want to “fit in” here on earth.  I want to belong to Christ in Heaven. I want Him to be my friend and I His. The song, “What a Friend in Jesus” says it all:

What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and grieves to bear

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer

Oh what peace we often forfeit of what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations is there trouble anywhere

If we have don’t be discouraged take it to the Lord in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

“And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.”  1 John 2:25 CSB

God’s promise is a “divine assurance of good”, it is life “everlasting”.  Life with Jesus comes with the promise of eternal life. We know that God sent Jesus into the world to save it, not condemn it (John 3:16-17 NIV).  He doesn’t want anyone to perish according to these verses. This promise is one that can be very controversial. I don’t claim to know everything, I’m not trying to prove anything, I just want to focus on the promise of eternal life.

Did you realize your eternal life has already begun?  I think Billy Graham explains it best in one of his most famous quotes:

“Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”

We have new life in Jesus.  We can have his peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7 NIV).  We can have His power, love and mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). We have authority in His name to defeat our foes (Luke 10:19).  Death is not a problem, He overcame it (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Your eternal life has already begun. It’s up to you how fully you live it now, here on earth.  I reference it often, but Jesus is very clear what kind of life He wants for us in John 10:10 NIV:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  

Jesus came so you can have life and have it to the full.  He died on the cross for you to make a way for that to happen.  I don’t know what circumstances you’re facing today that are stealing your joy.  I know that this life can be really, really hard. I know there is illness, there is disease, there is death.  I know there are relationships that suck the life from you, I know it can be challenging loving people who don’t want to be loved (or think they don’t).  I know there are addictions and murders and things out of our control. I know there is more in this world that doesn’t make sense than does. There are more “why?” questions then there are answers.  I know that.

And I know there is God.  Who has all the answers, all the solutions.  There is God who sent His Son to help us through this life until we reach our new address in heaven.  I know there is God who will create a way when we can’t see one (Psalm 77:19). There is God who has overcome this world (John 16:33).  There is God who knows every hair on your body (Luke 12:7), every tear you’ve cried (Psalm 56:8), every hurt you’ve felt. There is God who has promised us eternal life, a life that has already started.  Step into it, step into His promises. Don’t let the thief steal a thing from you, embrace all God has for you. Embrace life!

“He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.”  Psalm 40:2 CSB

Pit in its original form refers to a cistern or well.  Often times, they would use these rock hewn reservoirs or man-made wells as prisons.  In today’s world, we can find ourselves in the pits of life. They can feel like prisons from which there seems no way out.  Especially from our earthly view of things, because we see in part, not in whole (1 Corinthians 13:9), we can feel trapped, isolated, alone with nowhere to go.  

How do we end up in the pit?  Beth Moore’s book “Get Out of that Pit” lists three ways we end up in pits: we’re thrown in, we slip in or we jump in.  Joseph’s brothers threw him in (Genesis 37:24 NIV), David slipped in when he saw Bathsheba sunbathing (2 Samuel 11:2) and Benaniah went in full force after the lion (1 Chronicles 11:22 NIV).  Either way, they all ended up in the pit. And we can do the same thing today in our lives. There are relationship pits, financial pits, spiritual pits, physical pits. Often times, we’re thrown into relationship pits because we can’t control what other people do.  Financial and physical pits are ones we slide in slowly over a period of time. We can throw ourselves into spiritual pits when we turn our backs on God for whatever reason.

No matter how you got there, a pit is a pit.  When you’re at the bottom of it, the only place you have to go is up.  Even more importantly, the only place you have to look is up. That is when we will start finding our way out of the pit.  When we place our eyes back on Jesus and let Him do the heavy lifting. And He will do it, He’ll bring you out and set you on solid ground.  I love what Beth Moore says about the three ways to get out of the pit:

“I believe the Bible proposes three steps out of the pit, and each involves your mouth: Cry Out, Confess, Consent.”

In a snapshot, here’s how to put it in action.  First CRY OUT for God’s help. Then CONFESS your heart to Him, whatever it is, whatever brought you to the pit, lay it all out for God.  Then CONSENT to wait on Him to deliver you in His time, in His way. God’s will is for you to get out of whatever pit you’re in. He’s got a plan to get you back onto solid ground.  But it’s up to you to turn to Him, open your mouth and let Him into the pit with you. Once you do, He’ll lift you out. He promises He will.

“No, despite all these things we are more than conquerors through Him, who loved us.”  Romans 8:37 NIV

Here is an interesting fact I learned from Mark Batterson in his book “If”. The phrase “more than conquerors” in this verse comes from the Greek word “huperniko” which means “hyper-conquer.” Not just a conqueror, through Jesus, we can conquer with success to spare.  It is also where the word Nike comes from in Greek mythology. She was the goddess of victory. As Mark puts it, Paul redeems it and uses it to describe us.

We are conquerors with room to spare!  Why do we act like we are anything less?  Why do we act like we are victims instead of victors?  There is nothing we can’t do when Jesus has our back. Philippians 4:13 tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  So why aren’t we?

Because we don’t believe we actually are.  Because victory doesn’t happen immediately.  Because in order for there to be victory, there has to be a battle.  God will give you victory, but not before you enter into the battle. The Bible is full of battle scenes that end in victory.  But there is always a battle.

David didn’t win the victory over Goliath until he faced him down (1 Samuel 17: 41-47 NIV).  Esther saved the nation but not until she had fasted and prayed, then put her life on the line going before the King (Esther 4:16-5:7). Joshua had to march for 7 days before the walls of Jericho fell down (Joshua 6:1-21 NIV).  Ruth had to leave her home, her family and travel to a distant land to become part of the lineage of Christ; then she worked tirelessly in the fields to provide for her and her mother-in-law for months before being recognized by Boaz (Ruth 1:16-3:9 NIV).  These are all different types of battles, but they are battles. Some fought on the battlefield, some fought in the kitchen, some fought in the wheat field. But they were all battles that ended in victory.

I have no idea what battle you are fighting, where it’s taking place or how long it’s  been going on for you. I do know, through Christ you can have victory and victory to spare.  But first you have to fight the battle. It’s the path to victory when you do it with Christ.

“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.”  Psalm 46:1

God is amazing.  I was reminded how amazing this weekend, not just because it was Easter weekend.  We’re campers. We were camping this past weekend with family and friends. We’ve camped in this campground several times before, we typically get the same three spots.  In fact, we were there just a few weeks ago, in those spots. But for whatever reason, this time we didn’t get those spots. We were up further, which turned out to be a God send.

There was a violent storm that blew through on Friday night.  The last estimate showed 35 official tornados that had occurred in its path.  We were all hesitant to camp, especially the ladies, but we decided it would be ok.  I was praying for protection the entire time. I was crying out to God in our time of trouble.  And He heard me before I ever prayed the prayer. That is what I find so amazing about God, this isn’t the first time He’s answered a prayer before I ever prayed it.

The next morning a large tree had fallen across the site we would normally have been in.  By my calculations, it would of landed right where we would have been sleeping. God did help us in times of trouble.  Thankfully, that spot was empty. No one was injured.

Even more interesting is the story of the couple who were in the spot beside it.  They were there to serve at a local church for Easter weekend. The husband had come up on Wednesday night and chosen the spot they were in that day.  When his wife came on Good Friday, she told him she wasn’t thrilled with the spot, could they move to the empty one. Her husband, having been there for two days already asked if they could please just stay where they were since he was already set up.  The other spot was so wet, he didn’t want to mess with it. She agreed and they stayed put. That decision saved their life.

It was 1:30 in the morning when the husband heard the first limb break.  Then the tree fell. Not from wind, not from a tornado, but because it was so wet it had nothing to hold it in place during the storm.  They knew, when they went out with their flashlights, God had spared them. If they had moved spots, they would have been hit by the tree.

God promises to be our refuge in trouble, for all of us.  He is our helper in trouble, even when we don’t know we need it.  Whatever troubles you’re facing today, cry out to Him. He’s waiting to help.  He knows where the tree will fall, He’ll make sure you’re out of the way.

“Honor your Father and Mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and so that you may prosper in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 5:16 CSB

This is one of the 10 Commandments, the only one that comes with a promise attached to it.  Life, specifically in this verse means to “prolong one’s days.” It’s important to understand this is a conditional promise.  We have to fulfill our part of the equation: honoring our father and mother. No matter what age you are, you’re to honor your parents; whether young or old they deserve your respect.  It has always been a challenge to me. I never appreciated them when I was younger, always thinking I knew better. I had the privilege of helping take care of both of my parents at the end of their lives. The requirements then are completely different, often unpleasant, and can be frustrating to say the least.

How does God command us to Honor our parents?

Forgive them for not being perfect.  No one’s parents are perfect, they are human beings doing the best they can with whatever they were given.  Be kind and compassionate to them, forgiving them as Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32 NIV). That means forgiving them for not letting you go to the concert in highschool.  Forgive them for not allowing you to date whoever you wanted or go wherever you wanted. Forgive them for needing your help to work the remote control as they get older. Forgive them for the role reversal that happens as they age. Forgive them for not being exactly who you thought they should or could be.

Speak well of them, whether in private or public, your words should be respectful (Matthew 15:4 NIV).  Paul tells us in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians we are to speak encouraging words to one another, building them up in hope (5:11 NIV).  Doing that for our parents should be first and foremost in our language. God used them to give you the greatest gift of all, life itself. They diapered your bottom, fed and clothed you to the best of their ability.  It is not an exaggeration that one day, you may be diapering theirs, even then, respect them with your words.

Seek their wisdom. They have lived longer than you, they have gone before you in the struggles of life.  They know more than you know, whether you believe it or not. Solomon tells us in Proverbs, those who walk with the wise will be wise (13:20 NIV).  You will be surprised what you learn if you listen to what they have to say. I can attest, my mother’s words ring in my ears more often than not since she passed.  I wish I would have paid more attention to her when I had the chance. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. She always said I would miss her, she was right.

Honor your parents, God promises long and prosperous life if you do.  But more than that, honor them because they deserve to be honored

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39 CSB

This promise is one we can never hear enough.  I don’t think any of us truly believes God loves us unconditionally.  I think we all have those little niggling thoughts at the back of our heads that try to make us doubt the truth of this statement.  I could be wrong, but I came from a family that has shown me unconditional love, and I still find it hard to believe. After all, I know all my deep, darkest secrets.  But He does. His words says He does, and we’re to believe it.

After I graduated college, I was flight attendant.  During that period of time, I made one of the most grievous mistakes of my life.  Thinking of it now makes me shudder. I will never forget how my family loved me through it, specifically my Mom and my little brother.  I called my brother first, it was a Friday night, I was living in VA Beach, he was in Williamsburg. I was in tears when I called. When he answered, I said, “I’ve done the stupidest thing.  I’m not lovable anymore.” You know what he said to me, he said, “There is nothing you could do that will make me stop loving you. Come on home, I’m here waiting.” And he was. I drove home that night and confessed my horrible sin and he never stopped loving me, he helped me through it.

A couple days later, as I was leaving my Mom’s house I told her.  She was standing at her front door, I was in the driveway. I never told her the details, I just told her I’d done something that I was ashamed to admit, I hadn’t listened to the advice she had given me.  She just looked at me with love in her eyes and said, “Did you learn from it?” I said yes, I certainly had. She said “That’s all that matters, I love you.”

I am blessed, I have experienced unconditional love in my life, more than once.  But a lot of people haven’t. They don’t know what it is like to be accepted no matter what.  That is exactly what God does for each and everyone one of us. He says, there is nothing we can do that will stop Him from loving us.  If you make a mistake, learn from it and keep going. He loves you.

I don’t know if you’ve experienced unconditional love or not.  Either way, I pray today, wherever you are, you will accept that God loves you unconditionally.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you. He always has, always will, always does.

“So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”  John 8:36 CSB

The movie “Shawshank Redemption” could arguably be listed as a classic.  The tale of two inmates that bond over years of imprisonment together. But there was one inmate, Brooks Hatlen that touched my heart for another reason. Incarcerated in 1905, he became the prison librarian in 1912 where he served until he was released on parole in 1955.  He was a lifer, or so he thought, until he was released. Brooks didn’t know what to do with his freedom. They put him in a halfway house, found him a job in a grocery store, all the things he would need to start a new life. But he didn’t want a new life. He didn’t want his freedom.  He wanted to go back to jail where he was comfortable. Where he knew what to expect, knew what to do, knew how to live. He didn’t know how to live free. In the saddest scene of the movie, Brooks kills himself in his lonely room of the halfway house. He didn’t know how to live life free.

It’s sad to say, but many of us suffer the same problem as the fictional character Brooks.  We don’t know how to live free. We don’t understand the freedom we have in Jesus. We don’t truly believe we’ve been forgiven all of our sins, even the ones we have yet to commit.  Just because you begin a new life with Jesus doesn’t mean you automatically stop sinning. In fact, Jesus knows we won’t. Each morning, I start fresh. Above my desk I have this prayer hanging which I borrowed from C.S. Lews:

“Imitation: Da hodie perfecte incipere– grant me to make an unflawed beginning today, for I have done nothing yet.”

I live in freedom knowing that in my weakness, God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 CSB).  I will never be perfect, Christ didn’t come because I was perfect. He came because I am a sinner who is in need of rescue (Galatians 1:4 CSB).  He did the same for you. But it can be hard to let go of the past and walk in confidence that Christ has set us free. The life we were living is known, the new life in Christ is unknown.  It’s easier to stay where we were than to take steps of faith into the new life God is leading us too. It’s heartbreaking how abused women stay in abusive relationships because they don’t know life without abuse.  It’s seems safer to them than taking steps towards a new life. It’s heartbreaking Brooks would rather die than live a life of freedom.

But that is exactly what Jesus came to do, set us free.  He has set us free from our pasts, from our sins, from hurts and hang ups.  He came to give us life and give it to us in full (John 10:10 CSB). Accept the gift of freedom He has given you.  Don’t go back to jail, step into freedom, step into life!