May 11, 2020 · 5:38 AM

Finding Strength In The Lord

One of the Bible Verses I memorized as a kid in song form has helped me through some pretty tough times. If you grew up in church, you probably know this little song too from Nehemiah 8:10. In some of my most painful, sleepless nights, I’ve laid in bed singing, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” When I’m too mentally tired to fight any more or begin to feel defeated or overwhelmed, I sing this little song to remind myself that I can’t win the battles I’m facing in my own strength. I need God’s help and His strength in the toughest of times. I can have tears streaming down my face and begin to look for God’s joy that’s not circumstantial. He gives strength in our weakness and helps us to rise up like eagles, to keep running and not grow weary and to walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

Another promise to us who find our strength in the Lord comes from Psalm 84:5-6. It says, “How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring” (TPT). Each of go through the valley of tears in our lives. Some of us spend longer times in that valley, but we’re encouraged to keep looking to the Lord for strength during these times to stay renewed and to keep us moving forward, especially when we feel we have nothing left in the tank. God wants us to dig deeper inside to find those pools of refreshing through our pain and sorrow.

The brook of blessing refreshes us in the valley. It gives us hope that God still sees us and hasn’t forgotten us in those dark times. He reminds us that we are His and He’s giving us the chance to experience the depths of grace most people will never know because they only see the pain. But we have a peace that passes understanding knowing that our trials produce endurance, character, and a hope that will not leave us disappointed (Romans 5:3-5). We also know that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), but we have to look past the pain to see that He is doing something in us that can’t be done any other way. He’s showing us we are capable of enduring anything when we find our strength, hope and joy in Him.

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May 8, 2020 · 5:49 AM

Embracing Weaknesses

Every one of us likes to know what our strengths are. We take those silly tests on social media to find out which character we are so we can read about the good things in us. You may have even taken the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment to find out your top five strengths. I loved finding out what mine were, but do you want to know what we don’t want to know? Our weaknesses. We don’t like to focus on those because we see them as things that hold us back, minimize our potential and become a detriment to our productivity. However, they’re the things that I tell leaders to know and understand just like their strengths so they can build well balanced teams. I think we should be focused on our strengths, but be aware of our weaknesses.

Usually our strengths are God-given talents that have been developed over a lifetime. He uses those to place us where He wants us and to help us accomplish our purpose. What I also know about God is that He loves using our weaknesses to do great things. You see, when He accomplishes something through our weakness, we can’t claim it was us who did it. We’re forced to rely on Him and His strength. Acts of faith are rarely done through our strengths. That’s why we always feel like we can’t do something God is asking us to do or feel inadequate. If you have those feelings, you’re right where He wants you. Take that leap of faith, embrace your weakness and trust Him to use His strengths through your weaknesses.

Here are some Bible verses on finding His strength in your weakness.

1. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that reveal my weakness [the things by which I am made weak in the eyes of my opponents].

2 Corinthians 11:30 AMP

2. So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.

Hebrews 4:16 TPT

3. He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever.

Psalms 136:23 NLT

4. But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 GNT

5. So be made strong even in your weakness by lifting up your tired hands in prayer and worship. And strengthen your weak knees, for as you keep walking forward on God’s paths all your stumbling ways will be divinely healed!

Hebrews 12:12-13 TPT

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May 7, 2020 · 5:45 AM

Greater Than Worry

Worry. It’s something that everyone deals with. Whether it’s about paying the bills this month, will we find true love, the end result of an illness, or any number of things, we all worry. I love that dictionary.com defines worry as, “To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.” Worry is nothing more than self torture. It’s allowing our mind to put us into a debilitating prison where our mind thinks of every negative thing that may happen in a situation. Worry only looks at the negative outcomes.

If you’re a worrier, take heart. God wants to free you from that torment. 1 John 3:20 says, “God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves” (MSG). Not only does He know you better than you know yourself, He knows your future. There is nothing that is going to happen to you that He doesn’t already know about. I learned several years ago to trust that worrying didn’t solve the problem or change the future, so I began to hand my worry to Him.

I Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (NLT). I admit it was difficult to learn to hand them off to Him because I didn’t know what to think about or do since all I knew was worry. But that’s where Philippians 4:6 came into play. It says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (MSG).

Worry never changed the outcome of anything, but prayer has! Quit tormenting yourself and start praying to God about it. Release it to Him because He is greater than your worry and your problems. He wants to trade peace for your suffering. He wants to give you a lighter burden, but you have to be willing to exchange worry for it and leave it with Him. God cares deeply about you and the things you’re going through. Trust Him to do what’s best and give Him your worry. Give no place in your mind to anxiety and debilitating worry. Be free.

Photo by Toimetaja tõlkebüroo on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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May 6, 2020 · 5:56 AM

Creative Compassion

Throughout the last couple of millennia, Christianity has thrived in times of pandemics and plagues. While the world is full of fear from an unseen enemy, Christians have peace in knowing death is not the end. They know the words Jesus spoke, “Do not let your heart be troubled…Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…Love your neighbor as yourself.” They have then put those words into practice. There are stories of places where the plagues were killing everyone, but it was the Christians who tended to the sick without fear. They used times of global fear to show the love of Christ and to explain the hope of salvation while hearts were open to understanding and learning about God.

I believe today is no different. We should be on the frontlines of bringing hope and peace. We should be encouraging people rather than living in fear. These windows of opportunity only open so often and close as quickly as they open. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “If anyone asks about the hope living in you, always be ready to explain your faith” (TPT). It’s times like these that we should be helping, encouraging and sharing our faith. When we put others first, especially in crisis, they want to know why we are doing what we are doing. That’s when we share the hope we have. That’s when we tell them our lives are not our own.

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.” What creative things have you seen people doing for others lately? I’ve seen churches make masks to donate, care for widows, buy groceries for people out of work, offer drive through pantries and more. What can you do to bring hope and show compassion as an expression of God’s love? What has God put in your heart to do? Share it with others and encourage them to help you do it. This is our time to make a difference. This is our time to show others the peace they can have even in a crisis. Look for creative ways to encourage people being affected by this pandemic, and then go do it. You don’t need permission, you just need passion.

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May 5, 2020 · 5:54 AM

Start Running Again

I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to laugh. Years ago, I lived near the local YMCA. I had a membership and would use it to exercise. They had their treadmills right up front facing the window towards the parking lot. I went in and started jogging on one working my way up to running looking outside. There was a TV in the room, but it was four machines over to the right and up in the corner. As I was running, something came on that made me look. I started watching TV while running. My right foot missed the treadmill and landed on the side, which is stationary. I went forward, hit the front of the machine, fell backwards on my rear onto the now sprinting speed treadmill. It shot me off backwards. I did a backflip when I hit the floor. I jumped up, like nothing happened, because people were in there jogging next to me. I got on the treadmill, ran for about 10 seconds, turned off the machine, walked out and never went back.

I’ve never been able to get on a treadmill without thinking about that moment since. Falling shook my confidence in those machines even though it was my fault. As a former runner, I should have known better than to look anywhere but straight ahead while running. Looking anywhere else distracts you from the goal and causes you to drift, losing precious time. In this case, I lost my pride too. The same feelings happen when we take our eyes off of Jesus and fall. Sometimes our fall is public and we feel like we can’t face those people again. Sometimes there’s a constant reminder of it that causes us to hang our head in shame even though we’ve been forgiven. And almost all the time, you have feelings of being a second rate Christian because of it. I’m here to tell you those feelings of shame and condemnation are not from God.

Proverbs 4:25 says, “Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don’t hang your head in shame” (GNT). It’s time to pick up your head and start running again. Your sin and your past is no longer remembered by God. It has been cast as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). There is a robe of Christ’s righteousness around you and your relationship with God is based on that and not your past failures. It’s time to get back on track and to start moving ahead with confidence. You’ve stayed in the swamp of despondency long enough. God still has a plan and a purpose. Nothing you do could ever remove that from you. It is irrevocable according to Romans 11:29. So fix your eyes straight ahead on Jesus and start running once again.

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

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May 4, 2020 · 5:49 AM

Finding Direction

Whenever I walk into an organization that is struggling to move forward, I usually ask different people what the vision is. Most of the time in those organizations, few can tell me what it is. The few that can tell me, have no idea how what they do contributes to the vision. I then get together with the leaders in a room and have them close their eyes. I then ask them to point to the north. When they open their eyes, they see that everyone is pointing in different directions, and at least one is pointing up. I then open the compass app on my phone, and show them where north is. I have them close their eyes again and ask them to point to the north. This time, usually all but one are pointing in the direction I showed them. I then explain how vision gives people direction, and without it they do their own thing pulling the organization in different directions.

As individuals, we’re not that much different. Each of us need direction for our life or we go nowhere feeling unfulfilled. Without a cause or a purpose, we lack direction. If I asked you what your purpose on this earth was, could you answer? If not, you’ve probably tried several jobs, been in and out of relationships and searched for purpose in some very different ways. You’re not alone if you feel that way. “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold over 50 million copies to date because it speaks to that very question all of us have: “What on earth am I here for?” Believe it or not, you were created with a purpose and you can know it. Each one of us have a unique set of talents and giftings that when combined give you the unique ability to do what God made you to do.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful” (NLT). God offers divine guidance and direction. One way to seek it is in prayer. Another way is through His Word, the Bible (the Law). Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” God’s Word guides us and lights up the right path for us, but only when we put it in us. Abraham had a land to find, David had a giant to fight and Nehemiah had a wall to build. There is something God made you to do as well. It may not be as grand as some of the people I just mentioned, but it is grand to the ones you will impact. I’m praying for you today to find your purpose and to start moving in that direction

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May 1, 2020 · 5:46 AM

Hope In Hardship

Going through hardships is part of life, but lately it seems a higher percentage of people are going through them. Financial hardship is one so many of us are facing as the world faces record unemployment. I’ve been to visit several people in recent weeks delivering food and money through our church’s benevolence ministry. I’ve seen the financial hardships up close. As financial hardships increase, so do relational hardships. Couples are struggling being cooped up together 24 hours a day with little to no money and stress is high. Single people face relational hardships and are feeling alone now more than ever.

One thing I’ve learned about hardships in my own life is that they give God an opportunity to shine as we become less independent and more dependent on Him. They produce in us faith that can’t be produced in good times. Also, hardships only last a season. After that, God is able to restore us as we have learned to trust Him more. He has not forgotten you or abandoned you in your hardship. He’s giving you a greater opportunity to experience a depth of His grace as of yet unknown to you. Trust in His strength during your time of hardship and in the sufficiency of His grace. He has never failed you, and He’s not going to start now.

Here are some Bible verses on hardship.

1. You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.

Psalms 71:20-21 NLT

2. Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, But the LORD rescues him from them all.

Psalms 34:19 AMP

3. And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:3-5 AMP

4. You find God’s favor by deciding to please God even when you endure hardships because of unjust suffering.

1 Peter 2:19 TPT

5. Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God’s servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.”

2 Corinthians 6:4 GNT

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April 30, 2020 · 5:30 AM

Patient Endurance Video

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Hebrews 10:36

If you have trouble watching the video, click here.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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April 29, 2020 · 5:36 AM

Rebuilding

I remember when my son was younger and tried to build the tallest towers with his blocks. He would get to a certain height every time and the tower would fall. He would get upset, but try again over and over. I kept waiting to see if he would learn from his mistakes. I then told him to use the larger blocks at the base. He tried it, but it still fell before it achieved the height he wanted it to. After several attempts and high frustration, I then told him to make the base bigger. He didn’t understand, so I showed him. He didn’t like that because we didn’t have enough blocks to make the tower high enough then. I told him he could do this and have a shorter tower that would stand or do it the other way and it would keep falling. Either way, the only way to make it work was to build the foundation right.

Have you ever tried to build something that failed or didn’t last? I’m talking about a life, a family, a marriage or business. No matter what you did, it would fall apart. Did you learn from it or did you just get frustrated and blame everyone else? When my tower fell, I did those things, but I also looked inwardly. I knew there were things about myself that needed to change when I got the opportunity to try again. I also prayed for wisdom in how to be a better husband, and later a better father. I asked God to help me be the husband my wife needed instead of asking Him to make her the wife I needed. I asked for wisdom in how to be the spiritual head of the house and to help me lay the foundation for a marriage and family to last.

Proverbs 24:3 says, “Through [skillful and godly] wisdom a house [a life, a home, a family] is built, And by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation]” (AMP). We acquire skill and wisdom from learning through our mistakes. We have to seek help and instruction from others who have the wisdom or skill we need. Neither of these things come without a lot of work. It also takes humility to admit we don’t know everything. Our desire to succeed in these areas we want to grow must be greater than our pride. It’s not weakness to admit you need help. It’s not weakness to admit you can’t do it on your own. It’s wisdom that seeks out more knowledge and skills in being able to build a life, a marriage, a family or business that lasts. If everything has fallen apart, seek wisdom in how to rebuild. God often uses destruction in His creative and growth purposes. He can use your failures as stepping stones to success.

Photo by La-Rel Easter on Unsplash

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April 28, 2020 · 5:55 AM

A Good Shepherd

Part of what I do for a living is leadership development. If you’ve worked for very long, you can think of leaders that you’ve admired and have helped you, and you can think of some that were only looking out for themselves. I’ve had leaders in my life who would ask me, “What’s next for you and how can I help you get there?” They were proactive in helping me reach my goals, gave me tools to succeed and showed the way. Their door was always open because they understood that when you’re leading people, you need to be accessible. One of the key things I talk to leaders about is the importance of visibility. It lets others know you’re there. It conveys that you’re in this together as well. People work harder for someone who is in the trenches with them and organizations accomplish more.

John Maxwell, one of the world’s leading gurus on leadership, says, “Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.” That means if you have people in your life who look up to you and are influenced by you, you’re a leader. Yes, you. Many of us don’t think of ourselves as leaders, but the truth is that we’re all leading someone. Are you the kind of leader that’s admired or one that only looks out for themselves? The Bible talks a lot about shepherds, and we mainly associate them with pastors, but really, it’s about leaders. We don’t need to skip over those verses thinking they don’t apply to us or use them against our pastors. Instead, use them to look in the mirror to see how you’re doing with those you’re influencing.

Proverbs 27:23 says, “A shepherd should pay close attention to the faces of his flock and hold close to his heart the condition of those he cares for” (TPT). If you’re going to pay close attention to the face of your flock, or those who look up to you, you’re going to have to turn towards them and look them in the eye. If you’re going to know the condition they’re in, you’re going to have to take time to check in with them and listen to them. God has placed people in your life that you are a steward of. When’s the last time you checked in on them or had a face to face conversation (virtually counts)? The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Look around, reach out to someone and see how you can help them. We’re all in this together, and we all need encouragement and motivation at times. Be the shepherd others want to follow.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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