Tag Archives: God

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Your anchor in a crisis

anchor, hard places, storm

Nothing can stir up a season in life like a fast-moving storm that leaves little time to think through the solution. A sudden job loss, a deadly diagnosis, an uncovered secret, rejection.

A big enough change in life can break down our emotional capacity to keep up with plans. When our reasons shatter, our footing can slip. If we don’t have an anchor holding us firmly in place, we might drift in our relationships, habits, work, even Church.

anchor, hard places, storm

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV

Challenges will come. It is dangerous to focus on your problems more than on your purpose for living.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 NIV

He is your Anchor in a swirling storm. Jesus walks on the waves of life asking you to keep your gaze on Him. Even though the surface is changing, don’t look down. Keep looking up at Him with each brave step forward. The most courageous thing you could do is surrender your struggles to Jesus.

Do you have faith to believe that even though the calm has been disturbed, healing can still come when we accept the pain rather than stay away from it? We might spend more time and energy denying change rather than moving forward in it.

When the winds blow, where does your soul find security? When the waters rise, what truth do you tie your emotions down with? You never fully realize the worth of an anchor until you’re in a storm.

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Answering The Call

It struck me in the middle of a citywide meeting in a fancy shmancy restaurant, ‘ask for the leftovers’. That’s tacky… I can’t ask. The meeting ended and I walked out the door,maggianos only to see waiters had already boxed up leftovers and set them out for the taking. Okay. I’ll grab a couple. ‘Grab three’. I live alone, I do not need three. ‘There are three of them’. As I walked to my car, the Lord revealed there were three people He wanted to feed. I thought perhaps they would appear on my way back to the office but as I approached the interstate exit I heard Him say ‘keep driving’. So I continued on. I saw a woman walking and thought, that’s probably one. I stopped and asked if she needed help. She did not. So I continued on and on and on and I heard, ‘you’re going the wrong direction’. 30 minutes into my trek and I’m going the wrong direction. So I turned around.

Any other day, I find homeless people on nearly every street corner, but not today. Not one in sight. I started praying, Lord, reveal who these people are. I have to get back to work. And He told me that I couldn’t do his work under the world’s standard of time. A peace calmed my heart. But I started to become anxious soon again. Where are these people? I saw a man standing on a corner. Yes, that could be one, I thought. I parked in a lot, walked up to him and asked “Are you hungry?” “No,” he said, “But I get that alot.” Argh. Okay. So I got back into my car and drove further benchdown the road. I turned into a logical place, a park. I thought since there were three boxed meals, then it must be a family of three I’m looking for. But then I see one… sleeping on a park bench and I knew. So I hopped out of my car (in heels) and trekked through the grass. I nudged him awake, “Are you hungry,” I asked. “YES!”, he exclaimed. “Okay, well God told me you were out here and wanted me to bring you this. God bless you man,” I said and walked back to my car. Alright, one down… two more to go.

A few circles in the park and I saw a man sitting on a swing with a garbage bag sitting next to him, but he’s wearing a pair of Nike’s and has on three gold watches. That can NOT be someone in need. ‘That’s all he has, Trisha. Feed him’. I found parking down the street and journeyed up some paths and through the grass, back to the man on a swing. “Are you swinghungry?” I asked. “Yes, I am,” he said. “Okay. Well, God wanted me to give you this meal,” I remarked. “Why? Why are you doing this,” he asked. “Because God told me you were here and hungry. May God bless you brother,” and I walked away. Side note: I started to feel like maybe I should stay and have a conversation but sadly I didn’t turn back around. I think next time I will stay and listen to his story. That may mean more than a meal at the end of the day.

It’s now an hour later and I have one more meal left. I heard God say ‘start heading back’. So I started the drive and just before the interstate exit, there he was! He must have been late getting to the corner because I had already passed by it once and didn’t see him. luckOr perhaps God had other things for me and I was just early the first time around. Nonetheless, I pulled off the side of the road. He had his dog with him and a sign that read DOWN ON OUR LUCK. I approached him from side and said “I know you are hungry. I’ve been searching all over you. God sees you. He knows you. And He loves you. He wanted me to find you and give you this. Be blessed brother.” Usually someone will chime back ‘oh, God bless you.’ But not this guy. He didn’t say a word. He just looked at me in shock and that’s when I knew… he doesn’t know Jesus and you just introduced him to that love. 

Words cannot express the way my heart is touched by the way God uses us. My lack of patience at times will try to get the best of me, but I have learned that when we ‘answer the call’, it rarely ever happens on our time. In fact, if we’re not careful, God’s call can come across as more of an interruption according to the world’s standards. And it reminds me of the old saying ‘leave room in your life for God’s interruptions. They are really blessings in disguise.’ I am truly blessed and left without sufficient words for how great our God really is. I look forward to that day we meet face to face.

My hope as you’re reading this is that if you’ve ever been unsure about whether God sees you in the mess you’re in, I’m here to tell you He sees, He knows you and help is on the way. Don’t give up hope yet! For others, I’m here to ask ‘Are you ready to answer the call when it comes? What if it looked tacky and took up an hour and a half of your day? I think God is calling out to us every single day to do things like this because that’s what He created us to do. But sadly, I don’t respond to a lot of them because my own agenda gets in the way. I wanted to encourage you with this story today, of what answering the call could look like. I cannot describe the humility on my heart or the power of Jesus exuding in my soul, but maybe it’s not for me to tell you. Perhaps you’ll have to answer the call and experience it for yourself.

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

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His Faceted Brilliance

The Lord just captures my heart and mind with such stunning radiance, I am awestruck by the wonders of His work. Isn’t He just… amazing! When I close my eyes, His acts look more like a diamond with many chiseled facets that gleam a different light depending on the angle you’re viewing the Rock from. If you stand back and view a diamond from the side, you see it really only points in one direction.

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What’s simply amazing is how the great Author makes the millions of us each feel loved and known. In one act or display, like a sunrise, He shines in my direction with such an intentional, personalized ray of light… the message my heart hears is God speaking a very handcrafted word directly to me. And yet to another person standing near, viewing the same sun… from their angle, it shines a different facet of light that speaks a very intimate message from the Lord and looks completely different from my own. The light looks different from wherever you are standing, but one thing is for sure, every glimmer is unique and on purpose.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'” Isaiah 43

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me…” Psalm 139

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Lord, you are, even more beautiful than diamonds…

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His Plan Revealed

Isn’t our God just remarkable? I mean, if you think about it, He takes the time to walk hand in hand with each one of us everyday when there’s an entire world to take care of. We are on His mind from the rising of the sun to the next rising… not even in the darkness (when the sun goes down or when our sin rises up) does He set us aside. I’m just in so much awe of how amazing He really is. I cannot pour out praise enough for what a magnificent God He is!

I have to share about a most incredible experience God gave me this last week. He just consumed me with answers to prayers in one sweep, in the most unlikely way you can imagine! To make a very long story short, a trip to Verizon Wireless to restore service on my phone ended in the sales rep delivering messages from God over an hour and a half. Yes, that really happened! Prayers I’ve been praying, answers I’ve been seeking, the depths of my heart only God could reveal began to unfold right there!

How did that happen you might be wondering? Well, I’m not sure. I was sharing a testimony to the sales guy of God’s hand at work with my broken phone and a few seconds in he grabbed a pad of post it notes and began writing messages down. I asked what he was doing and he simply responded ‘you’ll figure it out later… keep talking’. So I continued with my story of praise to the Lord and post it after post it, this guy began revealing God’s direction for my life, the source of conundrums that have been perplexing my thoughts, what the future has in store, gifts He has anointed me with and interpretation of the crazy dreams I’ve been having recently. There were details delivered from my prayers; things that made me laugh, blush, raise eyebrows and be overjoyed. Only God… only God.

I’ll start to share some of those in the days to come, as they’ve already begun to unfold. But all I can think of right now is this prayer…

Restore us again, O God of our salvation…revive us again, 
that Your people may rejoice in You.
Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, 
and grant us Your salvation.

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, 
for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; 
but let them not turn back to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, 
that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; 
righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, 
and righteousness looks down from the sky. 
Yes, the LORD will give what is good, 
and our land will yield its increase. 
Righteousness will go before Him 
and make His footsteps a way. Psalm 85: 4-13) (ESV)

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One Is A Whole Number

Sometimes I look around and feel like everyone has someone… except me. But truthfully, I know there are those ‘coupled up’ who feel the same way, alone. And as tempting as it is to sit around feeling sorry for myself, God is using this time to draw me closer to Him. It has become a matter of changing my mind and attitude to gratefulness that I have time to spend alone with God.

Jesus often went off by Himself to be alone with God the Father in prayer (Luke 5:16). When I’m alone with God, without the distractions of the world, I can hear His voice much more clearly. Typically, that’s why I fast. Its in this stillness, that I can hear the whispers of His will. When I’m walking in intimacy with God, one isn’t the loneliest number, as the song goes; one becomes a whole number. The great Jehovah-Jireh promises to meet all my emotional and social needs during this time.

I’ve also found that it is during this wholeness I have in Christ that I am able to recognize and reach out to others in need of companionship. I’ve noticed there are so many people within reach that are looking for someone to care about them and many more in search of a savior. My adored Author hasn’t forgotten about me… He’s filling my heart as a vessel during this time to pour into others with desperate, more immediate needs.

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More Than ‘This’

Only one spot left next to an outlet in the cafe and I collapsed into a chair with an armful of hopeful reads. Before I could draw the phone charger from my purse, a guy next to me asks ‘You want to switch places?’ And a conversation about God’s work in our lives ensued. This actor/fitness trainer/sales rep made a comment that caught my attention in his effort to explain an approaching move to California. “I’m just better than ‘this’,” he said, alluding to his 8-5 job. He talked about the gifts God gave him was above where he’s at.

Two concepts crossed my mind. There are certain commands throughout scripture God outlines for His people. Working to eat is one. It doesn’t matter if you’re out in the field or pushing pencils, we’re required to have a job. If your job doesn’t allow for you to share the gifts God has blessed you with, there are 12 other hours in a day to seek out opportunities to serve with these. I think about the parable of the bags of gold in the book of Matthew. The servant who invests what the master gives Him will be rewarded ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Here’s the second thing I thought about. Outside of tithing ten percent of your wages to the corporate church, there’s ‘giving’ to the fellowship church, a concept that goes the extra mile. Giving is out of generosity, giving is out of gratitude… giving gives us meaning in ‘life’. The gentleman in the cafe was right you know? He was created for more than just defining his life by an 8-5 paycheck.

I remember during the summer months as a child, my parents would leave a list of chores each day. I’d race through the list and scurry off to the pool. Mom and Dad would come home, compliment the tasks done and remark ‘you know, it wouldn’t hurt if you did more than you’re told’?

In the echo of my earthly dad’s voice, I hear my heavenly Father gently reminding me ‘you know, it wouldn’t hurt if you did more than you’re told’. If you have found yourself searching for something ‘bigger than this’, before you move thousands of miles away only to find your life is still not satisfied, try going the extra mile where you’re at. If we feel we’re ‘bigger’ than where God has us, there’s a great possibility we’re probably not doing enough with what has been given.

God is always on time and gives us just what we need. Where are you investing your time and your talent… not for a paycheck (that’s when you receive the benefit), but for the greater call of Christ? Because you were made for more than ‘this’.

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Encouragement For The Ordinary

A few years ago, I moved into a one-bedroom apartment with my sister. While shopping for home accessories/necessities, we stumbled upon an aisle of white boards and my sister jokingly said ‘we should have a chore chart!’ In all seriousness, I thought the idea could alleviate arguments over cleaning responsibilities. So we picked one up.

chore chartWhen we got home and unwrapped the new chart, we found magnets to ‘star’ the chores completed, plus magnets to reward each other for doing a job well done. As silly as that may sound for two adult women, we created incentives like movies, manicures and massages. There was a rule though; one could not ‘star off’ their own chores or pat themselves on the back with ‘great job’ magnets and rewards… only the other person could cross off a chore on the chart when the job was noticed. And here’s what happened: Our little apartment was filled with so much encouragement, love and joy in just doing the ordinary. The simplest of tasks, like washing dishes, would not only get a star for completing the task, but also a ‘job well done’ reward! We both would rush home to see if the other noticed a chore and handed out a reward… ha ha, yes, I’m in my 30’s 😉 The encouragement only grew from there, as we would write messages every morning/night on the bathroom mirror to express our love and joy for each other.

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I learned a very important lesson during this time in my life, that the ordinary counts when it comes to encouragement! So often we save uplifting words/acts for the things we deem ‘big and out-of-the-ordinary’ but what if we changed our view on the ordinary and saw them less as requirements and more like rewards? I think we’d experience just what my sister and I shared; an explosion of excitement and encouragement exuding from our hearts toward each other where we just couldn’t wait to lift one another up.

I will confess that I’m not very good at encouraging others. It’s been a struggle from the way I was raised and transcended into failed relationships. But realizing this key truth; whether your gift is encouraging others or not, we are all called to encourage. If you’re not great at encouraging, maybe this starts with recognizing all the ways God encourages us. By absorbing His encouragement we receive daily from the word and Spirit that lives inside our hearts, we may be filled with even more to give others. We all come from an encouraging Father and, created in His image, we should strive to be more encouraging to one another, even for the ordinary things.

Romans 15:2-6 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

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Break Off From The Burdens

I just started a new job and no sooner had my foot touched down in the office, I was piling on a to-do list and creating demands in my schedule. No one was asking for it; it was a voluntary reaction. Only by the grace of God, He revealed a truth to me before I repeated a mistake I’ve made in so many positions prior.

I think we can get comfortable with bearing burdens after awhile and even learn to like it. We carry a heavy weight of demands on our shoulders for so long that when it’s lifted, we get the sense that something is missing. There’s this inner dialogue that says ‘if I’m not weary, I must not be working hard or doing enough’. The ‘lightness’ in our labor or load makes us feel more like we’re lost. Our tendency then is to create or take on burdens so that we feel comfortable again with the choking weightiness of a yoke that infringes on this freedom.

The devil shouts with accusations, fabricating fear by calling freedom a ‘sluggard’ or ‘lazy’. But God’s word calls it something else: “Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10) Throughout scripture, putting on a yoke is used to punish a person and enslave lives, even if we’re doing it to ourselves.

God’s desire is repeated throughout the book “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30) He’s a God who gives us rest in our work. God doesn’t desire demands on our life, but a weightlessness, a buoyancy and freedom to enjoy the days He delivers. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Slavery to sin, slavery to undo demands and slavery to any other God, even the ‘God of work’.

At one time I associated ‘demands and creating work’ with ‘success, growth and getting ahead’ but now I see it was only keeping me from experiencing a fuller freedom and joy in Christ. What a lovely concept when my heart is light, there’s room for relationships. When my life is free, I have margin and peace to embrace the big and small ‘interruptions’. So while I may not be seeking out more pressure in my day, truth is, my heart is free enough to perform better with what God gives me.

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Finding Love In The Loneliness

A few months ago I moved into a neighborhood, alone, nowhere near my existing friendships and as you can imagine I started to experience a loneliness in my heart. Several friends suggested online dating, while others offered countless opportunities to volunteer. I grimaced at the thought that God would be glorified in an attempt to fill my brokenness where God longs to make me whole.

Deep down, feeling ‘alone’ is uncomfortable. We desire relationships because that is what God created us for. However, I believe there is an even deeper connection we find in God that relieves our longing, it quenches the soul. Oftentimes, we try to put people in a position only God can hold. We jump from relationship to relationship or sometimes attempt to drown our lives in many relationships at the same time to avoid the deeper pain of being alone.  And truth be told, we attract what we are, meaning brokenness will attract the broken and then all we’re left with is one broken relationship. 

There’s something sweet God gives us in the quietness of our day and I believe it’s that restoration of fullness that forms the foundation we need to build all those other things on. When I’m still, there’s a refreshment that comes from His presence, a tenderness in His comfort, a peace that calms every longing and a joy that soothes my desires. It’s through these moments that I’ve recognized all else will eventually fade in this life, but God Is… Was… and Will Be always there. When the Rock is my everything, I am comfortable with the ‘uncomfortable’, I have strength in my ‘weakness’, a deeper love in my ‘loneliness’ and I’m confident in ‘just being’ where He has me.

I like this quote, “singleness is a calling, not a status”… even if it’s for just a season in life.

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More Than A Job, It’s About the Journey

There was a time I packed up my car and drove hundreds of miles on a word from God that there was a job awaiting me. There were no openings and over several months God brought many interview opportunities my way. 

Today I have a new job and it’s not in the place God called me to a year ago. But I still believe in what He told me. You see, perhaps it was never about actually getting that job as it was about the journey there. Some serious pursuit, passion and patience went into His call. My faith and hope in following God into the unknown, even when it didn’t look like my version, seemed mostly crazy by friends and family. Maybe all along, it was about increasing my hope, stretching my faith, trusting in God, growing my pursuit in His calling, than it ever was about the final destination. And maybe even the ‘let down’ of never actually getting that job wasn’t really a let down at all. Maybe it was about still having faith to follow God, even if… His leading didn’t look like mine.

And I learned one more thing in that journey. I spent more time anticipating and daydreaming about the future, that I missed out on enjoying the daily adventures getting there. I had a tunnel vision focus on the result and missed opportunities of joy in the ‘here and now’. I think it’s interesting that we so often want to know God’s plan for us, but the truth is, we’d sit in anticipation for ‘tomorrow’ and miss out on today.