One Needful Thing

When was the last time you went through a struggle and had to keep reminding yourself that God would work everything out in the end? Through a kaleidoscope of fog you look for the good that He will work , and wonder if you will see the sparkling reflection of the desired outcome ahead. I have often told myself that what I'm going through now has a better ending, and once I see the outcome it will all be worth it. This is true, but why do we have to wait until the end before peace can come? Why do we have to wait for the answers before we can have joy? There are some circumstances of life that warrant no happiness and no fulfillment, but that does not mean that in the midst of these we cannot be happy or filled. Remember Mary, Martha, and Lazarus? They were close friends of Jesus who went through trying times. Mary and Martha had lost their brother. He was not only a close friend, but also a stable rock for them to cling to. And then he died, leaving them alone. When Jesus c...

Have the enemies of Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness been on your trail? At times it seems they sniff you out and hunt you down no matter how hard you try to stay away from them. No matter what you do they are right behind you threatening to steal all joy and purpose out of your life. I remember a time recently when these foes were on my trail for weeks, months even, if I'm honest with myself. I thought I could outrun them, or at the very least pave my own way to a peaceful corner so that I could smile contentedly as I watched them pass me by; their pursuit in vain. Now I realize that I can't outrun them. I am not strong enough - I never was and I never will be. They will seek me and claim my future as their prize, and I will be stuck in the moment of now without hope. I will be stuck in today and have no good thoughts or feelings for tomorrow. But my failure and lack of strength are not what break me, and that's not what breaks you! In fact, my weakness...

Unworthy. This word usually denotes something negative. If you've ever been rejected by someone you have most likely had feelings of worthlessness that may have been followed closely behind by anger, frustration, and even defeat. Or maybe you've felt you were unworthy of something because you look at your lack and know you will never be able to measure up to what you expect of yourself or think others expect of you. Or there is a past mistake that haunts you around every turn of life and you wonder if it will ever stop defining and defeating you. It is so much a part of you it's hard to let it go. But there's a flip side to this word. A side that, when brought to light, can be humbling yes, but also a rare form of worship that when expressed is a sweet fragrance to our Heavenly Father! How can this be, you may ask. How does this work? I look at the life of John the Baptist and see a man who could have been very proud and self-righteous, but chose not to be. His c...

Have you experienced a time in your life when you weren't happy with where you were as an individual and had a desperate need in your soul that wasn't being fulfilled? There was (or there is) an emptiness in the pit of your stomach that couldn't be satisfied with merely a slice of pepperoni pizza and a bowl of chocolate ice cream. It's a need so intense that all other feelings are momentarily forgotten as you struggle to fill that pit deep inside. How do you fill this void? You invest in your relationships with others to see if the hole will be filled. You work harder at your profession to see if the emptiness will subside. You spend hours in front of the television to drown out the ache within. You fill your life with busyness, not simply because you like being busy, but because you don't want to slow down and feel the hollowness inside. In the Bible, there was a man chosen by God to judge Israel and deliver them from their enemies the Philistines. But this...

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." (Mark 12:41-44) If you want to talk about sacrificial giving, talk about this widow woman! She barely had two cents to rub together, yet she gave all she had to God. In the beginning of this sacrificial story, Jesus is watching the people come and go as they give offerings to God. Just as He watched those people then, He is watching us now. He looks on our hearts, sees our motivations, and knows when we are holding back and when we are giving our all. As the people...

Has your life ever gone from bad to worse to "Is life ever going to be good again?" I can think of someone who was the victim of some pretty awful people, and yet even though his life was the exact opposite of pleasant, he didn't shut down or give up on God. A young man living in the desert was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery. Joseph fell prey to the dark whim of his step brothers and his life was forever changed in one moment. He was no longer under the protection of his earthly father, but came to a place where he was completely dependent on the protection of his Heavenly Father. (You can find this story in Genesis 39-41) This is where we need to be as well. We need to be completely dependent on our Father no matter what our circumstances are. Why? Because this world is not our home and there is no guarantee of tomorrow. Our daily lives are a gift of God and our time is in His hands. (Psalm 31:15) When we are faced with hardships we can either run t...

"This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16) "Walking in the Spirit is the only way to live the Christian life." That phrase is ingrained permanently in my memory. When I was a teenager at a Christian camp, my counselor had my cabin of girls practically chanting this phrase all week as we learned about the Holy Spirit in our daily devotions. (Okay, maybe not chanting like monks or anything, but we did say it quite a bit!) I remember thinking to myself, "Yeah, that's a good thought, but what does walking in the Spirit look like in my normal daily life?" I was stumped. And I was waiting for a magical formula that would mysteriously show me what I should do in order to live this way. If I could do XYZ then, shazam! I would be walking in the Spirit! Little did I know that it's no magical formula I need to complete, but rather it's making daily choices that bring me close to God as...

"And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind [Jesus], and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched." (Luke 8:43-44) When I read this passage, I see the impossible situation this woman was in. For twelve years she suffered with an affliction that wasted her money and wore on her heart. I don't know how old this woman was, but twelve years is a long time to go through any type of suffering. No one could heal her. No one could help her. She had no answers to the affliction she faced every. single. day. A time of suffering can be one of the loneliest places any individual can be. Have you gone through a period of suffering or waiting on God for answers and all it seemed you received from Him was silence? A time where there was no apparent answer to your cry? This woman was alone. She had no hope of ever being healed, but she did hav...

Predictable. Predictable is "safe" in our minds. We think it's good and therefore desire it in our lives. But let's face it, predictability is not the norm. It has not purchased tickets to the ride of our life. We may think predictability is safe, but we sometimes fail to realize that it's not a natural part of life. If you haven't guessed it yet, I'm talking about a predictable life where everything goes according to our plans and fits on our calendar. It's the bills being paid on time, the job that continues to give you a raise, the healthy family of yours, the cars and appliances all in working order, and the spouse that will always love you no matter what. Predictability is a family portrait Christmas card life. Something that looks great on the outside and on the inside. Most often though, the outside is merely a pretty picture with something less beautiful on the inside. If life really went the predictable route we want it to go, we wo...

God is good. All the time. Just recently I found myself posting the above sentences on social media after I had gone through a rough situation. Why is it that when hard times come we refer to God's goodness? Is it because our feelings tell us He is good? Is it just a show of spirituality that makes us say "God is good all the time," but really we are just trying to keep our life together and put on a plastic everything-is-okay smile? Is God really good all the time? And if so, why don't I always feel like He is being good to me? I am a person who likes to see things in black and white. This is right, that is wrong. This is good, that is bad. If I try to apply this same principle to God's goodness, I find some errors in my thinking. Let's try to apply my logic to God's goodness and see how things turn out: Earthquakes are bad, sunny weather is good. Cancer is bad, a healthy body is good. The car breaking down is bad, low gas prices are good. ...

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." (Philippians 2:5-9) This passage is a picture of what true humility looks like, and Jesus' life exemplified it. His first step in humility was becoming a man, but He didn't stop there! He took on the attitude of being servant-like. We are to put on the mind of Christ by patterning our lives after Him. With Him as our model, there is no room for even a sliver of that monster pride in our hearts! By daily walking with God and surrendering our wills, we can respond correctly when something tempts our pride to flare up. ...

Just recently I was talking to a friend and I revealed an awful truth - I am broken. The idea that I was broken had been manifesting itself in my life in the form of a sin struggle I thought I could not overcome. Have you been here too? Is there something in your life that seems too big or too oppressive to overcome? I thought I would never be whole in this area again. That this sin would get the best of me each time it mockingly knocked on the door of my heart. You see, you and I are broken. We don't work the way we were intended to work, and we often fail miserably over and over again. The inherited battle against the flesh is a lifelong struggle that every Christian faces. The Apostle Paul says it this way: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." (Romans 7:18-19) Our ...

"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." (John 21:3-6) There are so many lessons to learn from just this short passage! I love that at different times of life I can come to the same passages of Scripture and come away with a new application or see it in a different light. The first thing I notice here is that these experienced fishermen were laboring all night long and didn't catch one stinkin' fish! Their livelihood before meeting Jesus was fishing. They knew how to do i...