I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart, and have no fear of them: for it is the Lord your God who is going with you; he will not take away his help from you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16


Take Heart.

It's one of my favorite phrases in the Bible, but sometimes I have struggled to understand it. What does it really mean? How can I lay hold of something that feels far away at times? What does taking heart practically look like? And still, I have been desperate to take heart in times of trouble, pain, or confusion.

​The Lord has been bringing my attention to this phrase again and again over the past week or so. I've had conversations with friends who are grasping for answers or searching for hope and while we are talking, I hear the voice of the Lord whisper to my own heart, "Take heart." I feel courage well up in me as Lucy did when Aslan whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," in Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia). Their ship is heading into the dark, deep, misty clouds and the whole crew is filled with fear. That is when Lucy smells the fragrance of Aslan's breath and hears him whisper, "Courage, dear heart." She can't see him, but she knows his scent and his voice. She knows he is near. 

In order to smell the sweetness of someone's breath, we have to be incredibly close. To hear a whisper, we have to almost feel the whisperer's lips brush against our own ear. As I write this, I keep thinking, "Am I that close to the Lord? In my own times of trouble and fear, am I close enough to be aware of the presence of the Lord? To hear his quiet whisper? To feel his breath on my skin? To smell the fragrance of God?" 

Keep that in mind as we dive into "take heart" throughout the Bible.

What does it take to "take heart"? How do we quit waiting for courage to come upon us and instead reach out and take hold of courage? Take hold of heart?

In order to take heart, to not lose heart, we have to stay soft towards the Lord. We have to keep fighting. We have to be interested, enthusiastic, and concerned about the things of God and the Lord himself. 

When we let heartache, pain, anger, frustration, discouragement, or even busyness surround us and begin to drown out the voice of God,   dampen our zeal for him or even crush us under its weight, we can become apathetic. It’s easier to numb ourselves, isn't it? It is so much easier to quit hoping, then we won’t be so disappointed when it doesn’t work out. It's easier to become disinterested because then we can’t be discouraged. It's easier to lose our enthusiasm so we don’t look foolish when things fall apart. It's easier to lose our concern, to quit caring so much, to stop paying attention to what God is saying or calling us to so it doesn’t hurt when it’s so hard. Maybe we even quit caring for His bride, the Church, or the people of God so they can’t harm us.


But sweet friends, notice in these passages, along with “take heart” He says that trouble will come, but in HIM we have peace. It doesn't say in the world we have peace. It's not in things going our way, nor in everything working out the way we plan or hope. We can have peace when our marriage is falling apart, when we are experiencing financial ruin, when our health is failing, and when our children lose their way. We have peace when we find ourselves IN the Lord Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. We don’t need our life’s circumstances to be peaceful in order to experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. His peace will guard our hearts and minds. His peace will make us whole. His peace will protect us. 


It also says to wait for the Lord. The waiting is the hardest part for me. It has been hard my whole life; waiting for my first kiss, waiting for my college acceptance letter, waiting for a proposal, waiting to get pregnant, waiting for opportunities to come knocking, waiting for God to move me to the next thing, waiting for stability, waiting for new friendships to be forged, waiting for healing, waiting, waiting, waiting. And I haven’t always waited with patience. I often remind my children that patience is “waiting without whining.” That is something I have to remind myself too. The Lord wants to develop patience in me through my long-suffering. He doesn't want me to just learn to suffer for extended periods of time, but He wants me to learn to wait for the Lord to do what he has promised to do - without complaining or whining because he isn’t moving at my preferred speed or in my preferred fashion.

Part of taking heart is waiting for the Lord - expecting him to come through - and when I have that sincere expectation and the real, true belief down in my bones that he will come through in his perfect timing, I can wait without whining. 


The last thing I want to touch on is the phrase “all you who hope in the LORD” in Psalm 31. It can be so easy to lose hope - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. I had a friend say something to me the other day that hit home for me, “I’m afraid to hope.” Have you ever felt afraid to hope for something? Afraid to hope that a problem would meet the solution. Afraid to hope that things would work out for the best? Afraid to hope that someone in your life would come to their senses?

Afraid to hope for a miracle? 

Hoping for those things is scary - and rightly so. Those things will always fail us. People fail us. Problems may go away for a time, but new ones crop up. Things don’t always work out the way we want them to. Some people never come to their senses. Sometimes God says no to the miracle we are praying for. Does that mean we should shy away from hope? 

It means we need to stop putting our hope in what God can do and start putting our hope solely in God. We don’t need answers. We don’t need solutions. We don’t need miracles. We need the presence of God. Oftentimes those answers, solutions, and miracles come along with His presence, but even if He doesn’t bring those with Him, His very nearness is enough, sweet friend. His very nearness is enough.

Being near to God, we can have peace when everything fails. We can have comfort when our life is so disturbed. We can rest in Him when we are surrounded by chaos. His presence is all we truly need.

HE is our light in the dark. HE is our comfort in pain. HE is our peace in the storm. HE is our friend when we are alone. HE is trustworthy when we are betrayed. HE is near when others are far. HE is everything when we have nothing. HE is our fill when we are so empty. HE is our life when we are close to death. HE is our hope when we are facing  despair.


We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
    for our hope is in you alone.
Psalm 33: 20 - 22


He is enough. 


So courage, dear heart. Don’t lose heart, sweet friend. Grab it with both arms around the waist and hang on for dear life. Don’t let hope slip away. Take heart! He has overcome what you are facing. And there is grace enough for you and what you are facing today. You can be filled with HOPE that his very presence is enough to see you through. 


Remind yourself: When I am facing fear and trouble, pull in close enough to the Lord to hear his whisper, feel his lips brush against my ear, and smell the fragrance of his breath. 

Take heart, dear heart.


I wrote a song years ago that has been ringing in my mind and heart for a few days now. I wrote this song when I was going through a bipolar episode and was struggling to hang on. I was struggling to trust God to see me through. I was struggling with a will to keep living. It was a terrible time in my life and I really don’t like to go back there in my mind, but I think the Lord is bringing me back there - not to revisit past pain and sin - but to offer hope and maybe even an anthem to those suffering right now… If his presence is enough for me, it is enough for you.



    This valley that’s in front of me
    Feels so dark and lonely
    Open up my eyes to see
    Just where you’re leading

    And Even if you don’t
    Even if your answer is no
    In your grace I’ll boast
    And I will ever trust you

    When I’m looking for answer
    And when I’m grasping in the dark
    When the truth is all I’m after
    Please speak to my heart 

    And Even if you don’t
    Even if your answer is no
    In your grace I’ll boast
    And I will ever trust you

    ‘Cause in the darkest night you’re bursting forth with light
    Your hand of rescue comes we will ever trust you
    Your voice breaks through the cloud
    Your love comes crashing down
    Our hearts are bursting now we will ever trust you


I'm praying for you today, sweet sister, that whatever you're facing, you would be so buried in the Lord that you hear his whisper, feel his lips brush against your ears, and smell the fragrance of his breath surrounding you. That you could face your fear and trouble filled with hope in the Lord alone and peace that only comes when we are IN Christ Jesus. It would be such an honor to pray for you specifically. Feel free to email me @ prettyandwiseco@gmail.com or send a message to us on our Instagram or FB page.

Lately, I’ve been reading my way through the minor prophets. To be honest, I have a hard time following many of the books without a commentary to help clear things up a bit. “What is God really getting at here?” “Is there any hope for Israel?” “These are terrifying consequences for their disobedience; how are they not turning back to God sooner?” 


These are the questions I find myself asking throughout these books. So much loss. So much pain. So much sin. So much disobedience.


I just wrapped up the book of Jonah. I felt a sense of relief as I finally jumped into a book that I could understand without consulting a theologian immediately. As I was reading, the Lord opened my eyes to see Jonah’s story in the light of loss and expansion…


Most of us who grew up in the Christian Church know his story. He was the guy who was told to go to Nineveh and ran way instead. Somehow, he got into the belly of a giant fish and stayed there for 3 days - ALIVE. When he was spit up on the shore, he finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh to preach. Nineveh was saved.


That’s the gist of it. That’s what I understood for much of my younger years. That was the whole story, I thought. Well - save a few key pieces of the story. How about Jonah being thrown out of ship into stormy waters? How about when Jonah was angry that God was going to save Nineveh? 


Something that hit me differently while reading it this time was the part of the story when Jonah found himself in that boat. They came upon a huge storm that was growing worse and worse. It was such a terrible storm that the boat was almost ripped apart! I can’t imagine a storm that terrible. I don’t want to imagine it. 

When I was a teenager, I went on a cruise with my family. One night, on the ship, we hit a huge storm while at sea. The ship was rocking so badly, all the furniture on the deck was flying off into the ocean. Everyone was rushing to get back to the safety of their rooms, however the storm was so wild that we all had to crawl to our rooms - no one could stand to walk! I sat in the window sill of my room and pulled the curtains closed around me so I could see the ocean. Wild, angry waves were crashing everywhere. It was a terrible sight, but I knew we were safe. Our ship was so much larger than the waves.


Sometimes, when life’s storms hit, we find ourselves in a tiny boat, like Jonah. It is so much smaller than the waves that we are threatened to be crushed and smashed to pieces by the storm. Our boat can’t withstand it. 


This is where Jonah found himself, but initially, he wasn’t aware of how much trouble was surrounding him. He was sleeping down in the bottom of the boat. Who could sleep in a storm like that? Everyone on the ship was praying to their gods, hoping that one of them was real and would stop the storm. Someone went to wake up Jonah and yelled, “PRAY TO YOUR GOD THAT HE MAY SAVE US!” Jonah realized why they hit this storm. It was his own disobedience. He had been running from the Lord, he was living in sinful defiance to God. He was faced with his own reality and that his sins were going to be the death of everyone around him if he did not do something about it. He told the men, “This is because of me. Throw me overboard and God will end this storm.” 


Hang on. This is where I was stuck. How in the world was Jonah able to say, “This is my fault; throw me overboard.” That was as good as saying, “Go ahead and kill me.” Then I heard the Lord ask me, “Lyndsay, do you feel the gravity of your sin the way Jonah did? He recognized the true consequences of sin. He FELT that death was the payment. Do you feel that?” Immediately, I felt conviction. For all my “regular, everyday” sins, I don’t feel that kind of grief. I don’t feel what those sins really cost to cover. I don’t feel the weight of what Jesus has done for me when I gossip, when I stretch the truth, when I lash out in anger, when I am deceitful, when I am lazy, when I am gluttonous. That is a loss I don’t allow myself to feel very often. I don’t think about what those “small” sins really cost. Someone has to be thrown into the wild and angry ocean to pay for those sins. And I deserve that. Like Jonah, I should be thrown in. 


YET GOD. He didn’t allow Jonah to die. Jonah proved his heart in that moment; he knew what he had done and how it had grieved the heart of God. He knew he sinned against the LORD. He knew the cost of his sin and he was ready to pay. He wasn’t going to run away anymore. The LORD saved Jonah - in an unconventional and uncomfortable and unlovely way, yes - but He saved him nonetheless! 


There’s so much more to unpack here in this story of Jonah’s life, but we’ll just hang out here today letting it all sink into our hearts and spirits. 




How are you running from God? 


Do you feel the weight of your disobedience? 


Do you really know and feel the cost? 




God is gracious and merciful. Just like He prophesied to Israel time and time again, if we would just turn our hearts back to Him and quit running to other lesser gods. If we would just praise His name again and obey Him again, He will save us. It may be a big, smelly fish, but it’s still salvation. It may be unconventional, uncomfortable, and unlovely, but it’s still salvation. It may be a baby in a manger to a poor family and an unwed mother, but it’s still salvation. 


It wasn’t until Jonah was ready to lose his life that God saved him. It wasn’t until Jonah was ready to give his life that God saved everyone else on that boat. And not just physically either. When the storm stopped, the men realized they had been worshipping false gods all along and have now seen the TRUE God. They bowed down and started to worship the LORD. Even in Jonah’s sin, God was glorified. Even in Jonah’s disobedience, others were made right with God. But it took Jonah owning up to his sin, bringing to light his disobedience, and committed himself back to God for the others to be saved. 




What might God do with your life when you quit running from him, bring to light your sin, and commit yourself back to Him? 


How might people around you come to believe in the TRUE God because of your repentance? 


How might the Kingdom of God EXPAND because of your obedience? 




Jonah was ready to lose everything. Jonah really felt the loss. And it was that LOSS that made way for EXPANSION. 




The men in the boat were saved. Then the whole city of Nineveh was saved from destruction. All because Jonah decided to quit running and start obeying. 




Will you quit running today?

Stuck. 


How do I get unstuck and move forward into the next thing? 


I asked my 8 year old son his thoughts on this the other night. I mentioned I needed to sit down and do some writing and he asked, “Oh for that pretty and wise thing?” 


“Yes,” I said. “I’m supposed to write on stuck and transition. How to get unstuck and move forward into a new thing, the next thing, or whatever God wants to move you into… do you have any thoughts on that?” 


Honestly, I thought he would just shrug it off or, more likely, be a little confused because, to be perfectly transparent, I was a little confused. How do I write about this? How do we get unstuck anyway? I feel stuck right now and I’m not sure how to move forward here. Maybe I was just asking for amusement, because who asks an 8 year old for life advice? Apparently me...


“Sometimes, when you’re stuck, late at night, the Lord speaks like thunder. Ya know, mom?” 


Wait… what? 


“Has the Lord ever spoken to you like thunder, Jude?” 


“Yes.” 


“What did He say?” 


“You don’t remember, mom?” 


I racked my brain and couldn’t remember a time he described hearing God’s voice like thunder.  


“Refresh my memory, buddy boy.” 


“God said to me, ‘You’ll be with me forever.’”


Now I did remember. That was the night Judah gave his life to Jesus. We were sitting on my bed asking God to speak to Him and practicing listening to God’s voice together. I remember Judah said the Lord told him that he’d be with God forever and that he knew that meant he needed to give his life to Jesus. We had daddy come upstairs, we talked about salvation again, and Judah said he was ready this time. We prayed together. Judah shared his heart with Jesus and asked the Lord to save him from his sins and told Him he’d follow him forever. Jude was baptized that weekend. 


“I remember that, buddy! That’s when you gave your life to Jesus, right? I didn’t know the Lord sounded like thunder though.” 


“It was thunder alright, but a different kind of thunder than I’ve ever heard before and I KNEW it was Jesus speaking to me.” 


“And that’s when you got ‘unstuck’?” 


“Yep.” 


My eyes started to well up. My 8 year old gets it deep in his soul… something that I often forget or struggle to understand at all. 


Are you stuck tonight, sweet friend? Unsure how to move forward or get out of what you are in? 


Jesus is calling you out of that “stuck” place now. And the only way to get unstuck is to hear and obey the voice of the Lord, just like Judah who was intentionally listening for Jesus that night when the Lord spoke like thunder in his heart and he immediately obeyed. 


“You’ll be with me forever.” 


Jesus was calling him by his future - not his past and not his present. Jesus was calling out Judah’s destiny and inviting him into that reality. 


Push pause right here.


Are you getting what I’m saying? We can’t get unstuck without the voice of the Lord calling us out into HIS reality. 


How many men and women in the Bible have been given new names, new futures, new destinies? 


Gideon was the least of his family who was the least in their tribe who was the least of all the tribes of Israel. He was hiding from his enemies when God called him out of that place. How did God do that? “The Lord is with you, o Mighty Man of Valor” Gideon wasn’t a warrior! He wasn’t a champion! He was a nobody from a nobody family in a nobody tribe in Israel who were all under constant attack and oppression from other nations. God called him out of hiding from his enemies and oppressors and into conquering his enemies and a new freedom for his nation! He was called into his glorious destiny… God’s reality! 


Moses was hanging out with sheep after running away from his past sins when God called him out of the wilderness and sent him back home. God entrusted to this murderer and abandoner the salvation of his entire nation from the powerful Egyptians. God was calling him out of running and into his glorious destiny… God’s reality!


Saul was joyfully ordering and watching the killing of the followers of Jesus when God entered in! He called him out of the business of death and into the business of life. He even renamed Saul (which means “desired”) to Paul (which means “small/humble” and “released from sin” <--What?!? Let's dig into that another time). God called him out of sin and into his glorious destiny… God’s reality!


I could do this all day. There are names upon names upon names of people in scripture who were called out of whatever situation they were stuck in and into God’s reality through an encounter with Jesus. 


If you are stuck today, you need an encounter with Jesus. Take time, right now, don’t wait a minute longer, to actively listen for Jesus’ voice. You are guaranteed to hear the voice of the Lord if you open up your bible and read. Quit talking and just listen. 


He has heard your cries for help, sweet friend. He has caught every single one of those tears you’ve cried and bottled them up. He has laid beside you as you lay awake at night worrying. He has wrapped his arms around you while you felt utterly alone. He hasn’t missed one single moment of your “stuck-ness”. He’s been here through it all, but sweet friend, he is ready for you to move on. It’s time to quit crying out and start quieting down to hear the voice of the Lord calling you out. 

Take some time right now before you finish this article. Don’t short change yourself. Do the work and see the life-change. Push pause here and go listen to Jesus.




Are you back now? What did he say?

How can you obey right now? Do you need to make a phone call? Go do it! Do you need to be baptized? Call your pastor or a friend and get baptized! Do you need to (insert blank here)? DO IT! 


You want to get unstuck? It’s time to obey, sister. God is calling you out of where you’re at and into his glorious destiny for you… HIS reality! He isn’t calling you by your past. He’s calling you by your future. Remember: Gideon wasn’t a mighty man of valor until after Jesus declared that over him. What is the Lord declaring over you today? Now it’s time to walk in obedience.


As I tell my kids, “Listen and obey. Right away. All the way. Happy way.” 


I love you, sister. I’m in your corner cheering you on! Let me know how I can pray for you today and I will do that: prettyandwiseco@gmail.com.

Fasting. The Lord has been saying that word to me over and over for a couple of months now. I haven’t known exactly what to do with it. Obviously I should fast, but from what? And for why? I struggled for awhile because I was concerned about my motivations behind agreeing to a fast. Is it because I just wanted to feel better? To lose a few pounds? Why was I really choosing to fast? What was I hoping to achieve with this fast? If the answer didn’t have some spiritual element to it, I was concerned I was just choosing to fast for selfish reasons. And yet… “FASTING” still rang loud and clear in my head and heart and I just knew it was the Lord. 


Just last week, I had a friend invite me and some other people to do a 40-day fast together… from sugar. 


If God had not already been saying “fast” to me, I would have said, “no thank you” to that invitation! Y’all. We just wrapped up the holidays which means I just wrapped up about 5 pounds on my person after all the lazing around, cookies, pies, and sweets. And soda… oh mercy. I need a soda once a day to survive the chaos that is my life. 


That last sentence right there is why I knew that I needed THIS fast. 


“I need a soda once a day to survive the chaos that is my life.”


I hit my limit and then I run to caffeine and carbonation to sustain me instead of Jesus. That hurts to admit, but it’s just plain true. Stop right here and ask yourself, “Where do you run when you hit your limit near the end of the day?” I’m not talking when your world falls apart, it’s easy to run to Jesus for the really big things, but what about the small things that we try to handle on our own? What do you need to help you handle it? What is your “soda”?


My eyes have been opened by one small sentence uttered in the corner of my mind as I read the introduction to the book guiding our fast. “I need a soda once a day to survive the chaos that is my life.” I can’t even handle a single day of my life without some sort of help. And to be truthful, soda may help for a moment, but it’s hurting me in so many other ways.


Weight gain.


Sore and achy muscles.


Sugar/caffeine crash.


Anxiety and irritation.


Addiction.


Trying to fill Jesus’ role in my life.




OUCH. That last one is painful, but I was confronted with that truth. I am turning to a sugary can of carbonation that is only hurting me in the long-run instead of the Living Water who only ever brings good into my life.


Why am I not just turning to Jesus? How did I get here? 


Thinking about the fast coming up, I started to get very afraid of failure. “There’s no way I’ll be able to abstain from sugar for 40 days, I can hardly make it a day!” “Wow. How weak am I? I am afraid of putting down sugar for a few weeks.” “You’re just a fatty.” “You will fail at this.” “Other people know you’re fasting so they are all going to watch you fail because you cannot do this.” 


Notice how the thoughts in my head went from me voicing my fears to the enemy making accusations? 


When we allow fear-filled thoughts to swirl around in our minds, we open the door for the enemy to come and torture us. We start thinking his thoughts about us. We start believing lies about us and about God’s heart for us.


What happens when we take those fear-filled thoughts and questions and present them to the Lord instead of ruminating on them ourselves? He gives us hope for uncertainty. 


I wrote in my journal all the reasons why I knew I was going to fail at this fast. All the reasons I was afraid to do this fast. I didn’t just confess these things to myself, I was confessing them to God. What happened next began a change in me… I gave him all my fears and uncertainties and in return, he handed me hope. My thoughts changed from questions and doubts to hopes and dreams. 


What if this crippling anxiety eases up as I quit turning to sugar and turn to Jesus? 


What if my body quits aching as I turn to Jesus over sugar?


What if my kids see a difference in me throughout the day?


What if my husband sees my attitude change?


What if our home is filled with more peace and joy… just because I let go of sugar and grabbed hold of Jesus?


What if I gain infinitely more than I lose in the next 40 days?


What if people see more of Jesus in me after this?


What if I hear His voice more clearly?


What if I crave his presence and am filled to overflowing?


What if I’m a new person on the other side of this?




Maybe you aren’t planning a fast. Maybe you’re thinking about one now! Go through this exercise written below and then allow the Lord to bring to your attention whatever your next step should be. Just take some time today to ask yourself, “What am I turning to instead of Jesus just to make it through the day?” If you’re like me, after answering that question and then thinking about giving it up… your mind may start swirling with fear. Maybe you don’t need to even answer that question for fear to start swirling. You may be walking through deep waters right now and are already filled with fear and uncertainty. 


Whatever you’re going through, don’t allow the enemy to terrorize your thought-life by dwelling on uncertainty and fear. You don’t have to pretend those thoughts don’t exist. Burying our thoughts and emotions that are negative or uncomfortable doesn’t actually get rid of them. They’ll crop up in other ways. We can’t escape those things this side of heaven. You can’t just wish them away… you have to take them to the throne room. Those fears, questions, pains, sorrows… those all belong at the feet of Jesus, not stuffed in a forgotten corner of your mind or dark crevice of your heart. Share them with the Lord and allow him to give you hope in place of your uncertainty. Trade your sorrows for joy, your uncertainty for peace, and your fear for hope. 


Here’s the take-away:

1. Evaluate yourself honestly: What do I turn to in order to get through my day?
   
   
2. Write down all the reasons why giving that up will hurt, be too hard, is impossible, etc.
   ​
   
3. Bring those reasons to God. Let him show you the truth about what that “crutch" is actually doing for you. Let him give you hope and show you what turning to Him, craving Him over your crutch will do in your life. I’ll bet there’s a new level of freedom waiting for you on the other side of that “yes” to God. 

Something God has been speaking to me about a lot over the past year is my purpose. It’s not as complicated as I thought it would be. It’s not as glamorous as I’ve hoped it would be. It’s not as mysterious as I assumed it would be. It’s not as boring as I’ve worried it would be. 

My purpose is incredibly simple. It’s utterly beautiful. It’s completely fulfilling. And I’m convinced it is your purpose too…

To be eternally happy in Jesus. 

That’s it! It’s not some big chore. It’s not some complicated process. It’s not self-glorifying and glamorous. It’s not inaccessible and frustrating. It’s simple and beautiful and fulfilling. 

Psalm 16:11 says…

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The Lord has been speaking this over me for a little more than a year now and I have to tell you - it has challenged my doctrine and the belief system I’ve carried for a long time. I’d spent most of my life believing that happiness is fine and dandy, but it’s secondary to holiness. I’d come to view the pursuit of happiness as self-serving and a form of idolatry. My mentality was that my lack of happiness could be worn as a sort of spiritual badge. “Look at me. I’m not completely, incandescently happy and that means I’m not a self-indulgent idolater.” Really what that says is, “I love God so much that I’m not happy! I serve God so much that I’m not happy! I spend so much time with God that I’m not happy!” 

What a TERRIBLE testimony to the character and heart of our Lord - the CREATOR of happiness! And where in the world does it say anything like that in the Bible?

Let me tell you something the Lord taught me…

Happiness in Jesus is the only path to true holiness. 

If you come out of time spent with Jesus and you’re still grumpy, I wonder, did you really meet with Jesus? Oh I’m not saying you didn’t read the Word! I’m not saying you weren’t just praying. But were you WITH Jesus all that time or were you working through the actions of holiness without the heart of happiness?

When Jesus becomes our everything - our hopes, our dreams, our passion, our fulfillment, our source of love and acceptance, our source of empowerment and transformation, our confidence and assurance - why wouldn’t we be happy? And the happiness in being near the Lord, the Creator of the Universe who spoke the stars into existence and still thought the world needed YOU - gives us the desire to please him and allow him to transform us into a holy people!

John Piper shares an excellent illustration for this concept. I’ll do my best not to butcher it…

Imagine if your spouse showed up at your door this evening after work and rang the doorbell instead of walking straight in. When you answer the door, he is standing there in his best suit with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and asks you on a date with him tonight. He says he has the kids taken care of, all the details are planned, all you have to do is go get dressed. If you were to ask, “Why? What made you go to all this trouble?” And he were to answer, “Well it’s my duty as your husband to do the right things. It’s my job. So I’m fulfilling my obligation as your husband to do nice things for you,” would that just let the air out of the room? That would kill the romance for me. But what if he were to answer, “Because nothing makes me happier than to see you smile and to watch your heart overflow! I am happiest when I make your heart glad! There is nothing more fulfilling to me than to bring you pleasure, my dear.” 

STAHP. 

Would you think that was a selfish answer? Is that the wrong motivation? No way! It’s the same way with us and God. Are we obeying and growing in holiness because it’s our role as His child? Because it’s our duty as a Christian? Because we are supposed to? 

Or are we obeying God and growing in holiness because nothing is more fulfilling and nothing makes our heart happier than to see the Father happy! To bring pleasure to God! 

Okay, I’m not saying any of this to cause marriage problems for you so, remember your spouse is human - they are NOT JESUS - and you GET to be the love of Jesus to them. This story really isn’t about them. It’s about us. So let’s refocus on us and Jesus (because I know some of us ladies struggle here…)

Do you want to get to that place with Jesus? I know I do. Can I share with you a few things I’ve learned along the way while on this journey with the Lord over the past year? 

If our purpose is to be eternally happy in Jesus - how do we fulfill that purpose when we just aren’t happy? In my uneducated opinion, when we are unhappy it’s because we have some areas of our lives out of alignment and it’s wearing our heart down which is going to cause a blowout eventually (did you catch my subtle tire analogy there? I just had some car work done and learned a couple things…)

Here are the three places to check for alignment issues:

1. GRATITUDE 

When I am unhappy, the vast majority of time, it is because I am focused on crummy circumstances, painful relationships, frustrations at home or work, and am generally discontented with my life. 

My husband has a practice with our children that I’ve come to adopt for myself. When one of our kids starts to flip their lid and lose control or get super negative, my husband sits them down and gently asks them to list 3-5 (depending on how emotional things are) things they are thankful to God for. Usually they don’t want to do it at first; they want to stay mad or sad. Isn’t that just like us though? We get to our pity party and don’t want the party to end, probably because it’s justifying our bad behavior (ouch!) and we don’t want to own up to our poor choices. Anyway - once the kids start listing things that they are grateful for, it never fails, by about 2 or 3 in the list, smiles start to creep over their faces and they can finish the list with giggles. 

It may take more than 2 or 3 on your list because, let’s face it, being a grown up is a little more complicated than being a kid. But maybe that’s why Jesus told us we need to have childlike faith to enter the kingdom. We need to quit overanalyzing and nuancing every single issue in our lives. IT’S MAKING US MISERABLE, SIS! Let’s just keep it simple. We have so much to be thankful for and it’s time to refocus our eyes and hearts to our gratitude list and start reaching smiles and giggles by 2 or 3!


2. SURRENDER

This one is hard. I know. But sometimes we just aren’t happy because we aren’t willing to let go of our stuff and say YES to God. This is a trust issue. When we struggle to hand things over to God it is because there is a part of our heart and mind that just doesn’t believe He can handle it, that He’ll do the right thing, that He is for us - not against us. We don’t trust Him. 

Do you know how to overcome this? There are 2 steps to overcoming here… that’s it. Here they are:

1. Read your Bible. If you read it, you’ll see His character and His track record. Spoiler: He’s good and He always wins. And when you are on His team - you’re going to win too.
2. Just do it. That’s harder than it sounds. I know. You’re preaching to the choir. Girl… I know. But it’s still true. Listen… you want to grow in faith? Then you have to just hand things over and sweat it out while you wait to see just how trustworthy He is, sis. And I promise you - I’d bet all my worldly possessions on this fact - He is trustworthy. 100% of the time. 
   
   

 3. PRESENCE

If you aren’t happy, there’s a good chance you aren’t spending much time in His presence. You may be spending time reading the Bible - you can read the Bible and miss that this is the very voice of God speaking his love over you right in that moment. You may be praying - we can talk to God and forget to listen to His precious voice speaking truth over us and breaking off every lie we have chosen to believe. You may be going to church - we can attend church and miss God’s Spirit moving and speaking and ready to heal in the room. 

Get in His presence with a heart to see Him, hear Him, and know Him. And if we do it looking for Him to DO something for us rather than just to BE with us - we may miss Him. I have found that when my heart is just to be near to God, not to have him fix all my problems, his very presence is enough. I don’t need answers. I don’t need problems gone. I don’t need finances restored. I don’t need relationships perfect. I just need His presence and that is ENOUGH for my heart. That is where I’m fulfilled. Not because he fixes my problems - which he does that sometimes - but because his presence fills my heart and that’s what I really am needing. 

So sister, what is out of alignment in your heart today? What is keeping you from stepping into the fullness of joy only found in His presence? What needs to adjust so that you can live out your true purpose and be eternally happy in Jesus?

Lord Jesus, we know that You alone fill all our holes and gaps. You alone put healing salve on deep, deep wounds. You alone give hope everlasting. You alone give beauty for ashes and joy for mourning. I pray for my sisters today who aren’t happy. For sisters who are hurting and struggling. For my tired and weary sisters. For my brokenhearted sisters. For my sisters who are angry and the ones who are afraid. You are the lifter of heads so we call on You to fulfill your Word and lift their heads up to you and your glorious face right now, Jesus. Just looking into your face changes everything, Lord. We need YOU. Help us to know that. Bring us that revelation in our minds and our hearts. That YOU are the answer - not what you can do - but who YOU are. We want to be eternally happy in YOU Jesus. Show us where you are ready to bring an alignment in our hearts and we’ll submit that to you Jesus. Help us to trust you. We believe… would you help us with our unbelief? We know you are good, you are faithful, you are loving, you are redeemer, you are hope and salvation. Remind us of that truth now, Lord, as we draw close to you today.

When I was a young teenager, I was really into reading these books for teens on spiritual warfare. The books followed the lives of a brother and sister who had spiritual encounters with the occult, the demonic, witchcraft, etc. They were written in a way that showed God always overcomes evil and the importance of the Armor of God, however, they scared me to death. So much of the book was written to help the readers see that the occult is nothing to delve into while the brother and sister and the power of God didn't overcome evil until the climax of the book - as every good suspense book is written. But as a young teenager, this made me VERY afraid of the devil.  ​
​
I had read the scriptures and grown up in Bible-teaching churches and a Christian family. I knew the devil was out to kill, steal, and destroy. He is the accuser of God's people. He isn't someone to poke a stick at. After reading those books, I had nightmares. Terrible ones. I could tell you story after story of nights when I woke up paralyzed by fear, hardly having a voice to pray and ask for help. This waned for a time, but shortly after I moved to an area that was inundated with witchcraft the dreams came back. The overwhelming fear came back. The spiritual oppression came back full force. I would wake up and feel like my voice disappeared. I would wake up and feel a presence in my room. If my voice came back, I would just start worshipping and saying out loud, "Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord." I felt like the darkness was haunting and taunting me.  

Listen. We are NOT meant to live this way. We are NOT meant to be afraid of the dark, afraid of the demonic, afraid of the enemy. We are NOT meant to hide and cower until he goes away and leaves us alone. We are NOT meant to look for the devil hiding behind every bush in every circumstance. Let's not give him that much credit. He doesn't have any power over us unless we hand it over to him.  

I began to understand this about 8 years ago, but God has been showing me some new things about where I stand with the devil.  

I have heard it said so many times by believers, "greater levels, greater devils." Maybe that's true, I can't say for sure. I don't see much of a biblical precedent for that, but circumstantially speaking, the statement seems to carry some weight. "Greater levels, greater devils" is a statement that implies that the closer we get to God, the more the enemy is going to attack us. The attacks will get greater and greater, harder and harder as we draw near to God and his plan.  
I don't know that I fully subscribe to that statement. I think sometimes that may be true, but I don't know if that is a steadfast rule for every believer.  

There is a verse in the New Testament (1 John 3:8) that says Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil." So if I think about it beyond Jesus' 33 years on earth, I have to understand something very important. The devil is still prowling the earth looking for who he can devour, he is still the prince and power of the air, he hasn't been thrown into the lake of fire yet. Jesus ascended into heaven and gave us his Spirit who gives us access to ALL of God's power. ALL of it. Not just some of it, but ALL of it. Did we get that? The power that raised dead men to life, healed the sick, and made blind people see is LIVING INSIDE OF US. And we have FULL ACCESS to that. On top of that, we are made to walk in the footsteps of Christ, fulfilling the mission he has put before us. Our lives and paths may look different, but we are purposed and equipped to DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL, just like Jesus. We aren't on the defense y'all! We are offensive players. We are STALKING the darkness.  

I think each time we submit more fully to God and begin to fulfill our purpose, we come up against a spiritual wall. We enter into enemy territory and we are purposed to DESTROY the enemy in that territory. That territory belongs to God and we are the ones to TAKE IT BACK for God. We walk in a constant state of victory because our brother, Jesus, extended all of his power to us. We have full access to the resources of heaven and perfect victory, but it's up to us to go to God and receive it.  

We are not made to be afraid of the enemy. We are made new in Christ so that he is AFRAID OF US. We are made to stalk the darkness, take back territory, and reign as sons and daughters of the most powerful, most loving, most righteous, most holy, most gracious, MOST HIGH GOD. El Elyon.  

We have nothing to fear for our God is with us. Emmanuel. He provides the resources to secure the victory. Jehovah-Jireh. We have ranking over the enemy because we belong to the Almighty God. El Shaddai.  
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So let's stop cowering in fear. Let's stop doing what keeps us safe and start doing what we were purposed to do: 
STALK the darkness. DESTROY the works of the devil. TAKE BACK territory.

Leadership has been a regular topic of conversation between my father and I since I was about 8 years old. I remember sitting on his knee after a friend in the neighborhood treated me poorly and didn’t keep her word. I was in tears and instead of scooping me up, telling me it was going to be okay, and leaving it at that, my father scooped me up, talked me through how to make things right with her, and helped me learn that I can create boundaries and communicate to others what is acceptable in our relationship and what is not. These were some of my first conversations centered on leadership that I can remember. And they haven’t stopped since. 

Anytime I hit a wall in a relationship - professionally or personally, anytime I run into an obstacle I don’t know how to overcome, anytime things get sticky or fragile and I can’t risk being too clumsy in my approach to solving a problem, I ALWAYS call my dad. I have avoided so many “fatal” errors in my life and my different leadership roles because I called my dad before I made a rash decision. I sought council instead of flying by the seat of my pants. I’ve saved myself so many headaches and have learned so many invaluable lessons in leadership… I’ve been a much better leader to people because I called my dad first. 

Getting ready to write this article, I had a million leadership “lessons” I could have shared from my father’s wisdom. He’s been in leadership positions professionally for almost 40 years. He’s learned a lot and I’ve gleaned from that field time and time again. Initially, I figured I’d write something about, “How to deal with conflict resolution,” or “Team building,” and how those things factor into work AND home life… or something of that nature. 

However, I felt the Lord pull me in a direction I really didn’t want to go, to be quite frank. But I realized that it was something I desperately needed to hear at one point in my life and maybe there are some of you that need to hear this right now. So here goes…

Leadership After Failure.

Have you ever been in a leadership position - in any capacity - and done something so spectacularly stupid that you almost (or did) burned your life to the ground? 

“Where do I go from here?” 
“God will never allow me to lead again.”
“How could He ever entrust other people to me again?”
“That’s it. Those dreams are gone now.”
“I threw away everything and there’s no getting it back.”
“Will anyone ever trust me again?”
“Should anyone ever trust me again?”

All those thoughts ran through my head on repeat several years ago after I had a metaphorical loose thread on a sweater that I kept tugging at and tugging at until the entire thing unraveled - my entire LIFE unraveled. I had a problem I should have handled differently. I should have sought help other places. I should have seen the signs. I should have reached out to the right people. Instead, I stayed hidden, dealt with it the way I wanted to, and ignored God while trying to do His work. I was trying to lead well in His name at home and at work all the while suffering and inadvertently inflicting more suffering upon myself and those around me.

Spectacular failure.

I hit a wall. My world caught on fire - a fire that I started myself - and I was standing in the ashes of my own indiscretion, selfishness, and inept leadership. 

Listen to me. I was getting out of the shower a few days after my spectacular failure and I was reeling in the aftermath of that failure when I heard the Lord say, “Did David lose his anointing after Bathsheba? Did I remove his crown? Did I take him from his throne? Did I choose a new king?”

I stood in that bathroom and cried. I couldn’t believe what the Lord was saying to me! How was he possibly so generous? I sinned against Him and others and, yet, He did not take away my anointing - the thing He purposed me for and set me aside to do. He did not remove my garment of praise and return to me a cloak of mourning. He still had a job for me. His will and purpose was not swayed by my sin. But why was that? How could He still hold me so dear? How did He not see me as despicable? Here’s what I think…

Because my spirit was broken and my heart contrite before Him.  

I wasn’t blaming anyone else for my failure at this point. The whole world knew and there was no hiding anymore. I failed. I wasn’t hiding from Him any longer either. He was all I had to hold onto and I was hanging onto the hem of his cloak for dear life believing that just His nearness could make me whole again. 

The Lord can do a lot with that, sweet friend. 

In the coming months, the Lord did an unbelievable and miraculous work in my life. He brought so much healing to me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He brought healing to my family and our future. Hope was set before us and we could see it clearly when our eyes were on Jesus because all of our hope was in Him. Leadership looked different for me for awhile. Things changed because of failure, that was true, but my purpose remained. My anointing retained. My calling the same. The Lord helped show me how to lead well after the fire. And a lot of conversations with my dad helped too. 

All of us lead. Maybe at work, at home, or some other sphere. And I’m convinced we all start a fire in our leadership at some point. Maybe it’s a spectacular fire and you burn the whole forest down. Maybe it’s small and easy to stop the spread. Maybe your fire took out the entire west coast. Whatever your failure looks like - a spectacular one or a minor blunder - we all have to figure out leadership after the fire. 

So what do you do after the fire? How do you lead well? Here’s a few things I’ve learned…

1. Call your dad.  Your heavenly Father knows exactly what to do. So call on Him. Make Him your priority and He will take care of the rest, He will lead you to your next step, He will teach you how to rebuild your life, He will guide you to love people well, He is your everything. And it’s not just after a fire, sis. That’s an important lesson we all need to learn yet many of us don't until we burn the forest down. So if you haven’t set any fires yet - learn this now. It’s just Jesus. It always was and it always will be. 
2. Own up to your mistakes and humble yourself. This one is so hard. It’s easier to find other people to blame, at least in part, because it’s hard to look at ourselves in the mirror after fires. However, it is vitally important to take responsibility for our actions and make it known to the people you’ve hurt. Ask forgiveness. Do the hard work. Humble yourself. We can’t be right with God when we’ve got pride still lurking in our hearts.
3. Shame died on the cross. If you belong to Jesus Christ, shame has no hold on you. You don’t have to wallow in guilt and shame and self-hatred for any length of time to prove you are repentant. What is repentance? It literally means to change your mind and to turn around. It doesn’t mean to hate yourself and sulk until you’ve paid your penance. So shake off that shame at the foot of the cross right where it belongs because it doesn’t belong on your shoulders, sis. That’s a lie that will keep you from pursuing Jesus wholeheartedly and experiencing real healing. Repent - if you weren’t pursuing Jesus when you failed, do that now. If you weren’t thinking with the mind of Christ when you failed, take every thought captive and submit it to Christ - change your mind!
4. Say yes when He calls again. Because He will, sweet friend. He isn’t done with you. You aren’t damaged goods. YOU aren’t a failure. Failure is an event, not a person! Failure does not define you, degrade you, or defeat you when you are in Christ Jesus. If you are wallowing in your failure, you will miss His voice as He calls you into new leadership. So set your eyes, open your ears, and say yes when He calls. 

Leadership is difficult and can be scary. It forces us to grow, challenges us to mature, and leads us to places we sometimes don’t want to go, but, as Jesus lovers, leadership is a beautiful gift. It’s an avenue that grows us into His likeness. So press into it. And when failure comes, because it always does, remember this:

Failure is an event, not a person.

Failure does not define you, degrade you, or defeat you when you are in Christ Jesus. 

“For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2​

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

“For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 57:15

Read more from Lyndsay @ www.lyndsayterry.com
Head over to the Community and join in the conversation!

As quickly as our lives have slowed down, so many of us have somehow found a way to busy ourselves again, filling our days with non-stop information, interactions, noise, and to-do lists. 

FOCUS seems a hard thing to discipline ourselves to do when everything moves at the speed of light and the entire wealth of information the world has to offer is one google search away. We've been conditioned to want instant gratification and accept nothing less than "right now". Our attention spans have shortened drastically. Is reading more than an short article or the max amount of characters in a tweet a challenge for you sometimes? I practically fall asleep every time I attempt to read a regular book!

FOCUS feels distant and BLURRY feels more realistic. Can you relate?

It's hard to be a Mary in a world built for Marthas! But, sis, we were made to put aside the day's work for a time - it will be there when we are done - and sit at the feet of Jesus. We were made to give him our whole hearts, our whole minds, and our whole attention everyday. Have you taken the time to do that yet?

We aren't looking to drop some wisdom on you today - we are looking to point you to the Giver of all wisdom. Today, we are hoping to give you space to FOCUS on Jesus through some scripture for reflection, worship music for soaking, and a  prayer to pray today. 

WORSHIP PLAYLIST

Instrumental Worship  

Top 40 Worship (August 2020)

Traditional Worship

SCRIPTURES FOR MEDITATION

Joshua 1:8
Psalm 77:12-13
Psalm 143:5
Psalm 145:5
Psalm 19:14
Psalm 113:3
James 4:8
Philippians 4:8
Psalm 63:6
Psalm 16:8
Psalm 92:1-2
Psalm 42:1
Jeremiah 29:13
Jeremiah 24:7
Isaiah 26:3
Psalm 112:7
Psalm 91:14-15
Colossians 3:1-2
Philippians 3:13-14
Hebrews 12:1-2
Hebrews 3:1
Proverbs 5:1-2
Proverbs 4:25-27
Psalm 119:6
Jonah 2:7
Colossians 3:23-24
Matthew 6:24
Matthew 6:33
Romans 8:5
Proverbs 16:3
​1 Corinthians 10:31

MEDITATION PRAYER (Rebecca Barlow Jordan)
Lord, quiet my heart and still my soul as I wait on you during these moments alone. I recognize you as a holy and majestic God - one who deserves great praise and glory. All of creation testifies to your awesome and unique works. There is no one like you, no other god worthy of honor.

I want to focus on You, Lord, and to shut out all the distractions of the world. For these next few moments, it's just you and me, God. You are Spirit, but you are a God who knows us so intimately. I like to imagine you as literally sitting here beside me, because of your promise that you are Emmanuel - always "with us."

As I think about the truths in your Word, may the meditation of my heart be sweet and honoring to you. I am not trying to clear out my mind. I simply want to empty me of self and fill me with your Holy Spirit.

I long for your presence, Lord. Narrow my thoughts to include only those things that are honorable, truthful, beautiful, pure, and praiseworthy. I ask for your wisdom to apply these truths to my life morning, noon, and night - literally all through the day. For you are worthy to be praised all the time.

I remember your great faithfulness in the past and am so grateful that you shower fresh mercy and grace on me each morning. I rehearse your goodness through answered prayer and personal reminders to me daily of your love for me. Even when I feel alone or distant from you, you draw me back into your presence when I purposely slow down and draw close to you. I treasure your Word and want to chew on the truths you reveal to me today. As I pull apart each piece and relect on every principle and word of instruction, I'm asking you to guide me and teach me what you want me to know.

Is there a promise here for me to remember? Is there an action I need to take or a sin to forsake? Is there more for me to understand about your character? Help me to personalize your message to my heart today. Your Word is powerful. I celebrate the strength and wisdom you will give me as I learn to honor and glorify you more.

I need you and love you, Lord. And I ask you to speak through your Word and in these quiet moments together. Whisper or shout into my spirit, whichever you want, and whatever I need the most. But most of all, just receive my praise as I focus my thoughts only on you. I'm listening and anticipating as I read and meditate on your beautiful Word. 

In Jesus' name, Amen.



Sisters, we want to encourage you to join us on the Community today. We'll be there ready to hear what God is sharing with you as you focus and turn your ears and eyes on Him today. What is He teaching you? Where is He leading you? What is He showing you?

How can we partner with you as you passionately pursue Him today?

Focus. 

Y’all. When I was scheduled to write on the topic of “focus”… I should probably just spend time telling you all the things that focus ISN’T. All the things that mess with your focus. All the ways to lose focus. Because, let me tell you, I am no expert in this area.

In September 2017 my life was a wreck. My husband and I were working hard at rebuilding our marriage into something beautiful after we had just about run it into the ground, I was trying to rebuild my relationship with Jesus after I had spent too much time neglecting it and running from Him, we were trying to make new friends in a new place, a new home, and a new church. September 2017 was kind of a mess and yet, that is the place and time the Lord spoke so clearly to me: “Write.” 

Excuse me… come again? “Write.” I was in the middle of a staff meeting at my new job. We were in the middle of prayer and I heard the Lord as clear as a bell, “Write.” I remember thinking, “about what?” And immediately the Lord said, “Full portion God.” 

He gave me the name… of a book. My book.

I tried to shake that thought out of my head right away. I was the worst candidate to write a book on anything, especially concerning spiritual things. Don’t get me wrong, I am a deeply spiritual person, but I was a deeply messed up person at the time and I knew God must have been confused for a minute there because I could have sworn he told me to write a book about Him. But He really did tell me to write and I couldn’t ignore it. We were praying and as soon as I heard “full portion God” I pulled out my pen and paper and started furiously scribbling all of the thoughts flooding into my mind. I still have the notes from that moment. The Lord just pricked my spirit and my mind took off running like my life depended on it. I went home and, in secret, began to write. 

I didn’t tell anyone because I was embarrassed. I was a colossal screw-up. Who did I think I was to write a book for the Lord? I was not smart enough or good enough or holy enough or experienced enough or any other kind of "enough" there was to be. It just wasn’t me and I knew it and so did everyone else. So I couldn’t tell a soul. Too many people knew my history and I couldn’t face the ridicule that would spew out over me if anyone knew I was writing a book. So I wrote in secret for a couple months. Here and there, whenever inspiration would strike, I would grab my laptop and write. 

In January 2018 my husband and I were just beginning to teach a class at our church on the gift of prophecy when we found out we were pregnant with our third child. We could not have been more ecstatic and grateful and hope-filled. We wanted to have a baby and we could not believe how easily it happened this time around as it had been a struggle before. Just two days after we found out we were pregnant, I woke up to spotting and fear. The day progressed and things just got worse. There was no stopping it. We were losing our child we had only loved for two days. The baby we had already been dreaming of holding and kissing and loving was slipping away and I could do nothing but watch and wait and groan in pain, both physically and emotionally - the greatest pain my heart could know. 

About a week later, I knew I needed to get back to this prophetic class with my husband. I needed to be immersed in the presence of God and actively listening to his voice and direction. I was scared someone would say “I’m sorry for your loss” or “how are you doing?” and I would lose it, but I went anyway. I just needed it and I couldn’t explain how or why, but I knew I did.

That first evening back, the Lord gave a friend of mine a prophetic word that he didn’t understand, but oh my gracious, I knew exactly what God was saying…

“I see a blank sheet of white lined paper. And it’s coming into focus, the way you would focus the lens on a projector. Laser-like focus,” he said. I about jumped out of my chair when he said, “laser-like focus.” He had no idea the Lord had told me to write. And I knew the Lord was saying, “I gave you an assignment. You better set your sights on your paper with a laser-like focus to obey me.” 

It was not the message I had expected or even hoped to hear that evening. I wanted to be scooped up and held. I wanted to hear “Your baby is here in my arms,” or “You’ll be pregnant again in [fill in the month here].” I wanted to hear about my baby or the hopes of another child… not about this book. And yet, the Lord was speaking to me about the book, not the baby.

Listen to me, sweet friend. Sometimes the Lord is going to speak to you about the book when you are focused on the baby. Your heart and mind and soul may be wrapped up in the baby because that is where the trauma is, that is where the heartache is, that is were the wounding is. But friend, that may not be where His focus is. And I know that can hurt to hear because we want the Lord to be focused on the things WE are focused on. But that is just not how it works. His thoughts are above our own. His ways are above ours. He is on a whole different level.

After January 2018, I lost focus. My eyes were locked on our baby. My eyes were locked on my pain. My eyes were flooded with loss. My focus shifted from God’s calling to just surviving one day to the next. And it went on like this for almost a year. 

December 2018, just a week before Christmas, I found out we were pregnant again. I was so scared, so excited, so anxious, and so hopeful all at once. My focus shifted once again from survival, to planning and building a future for our expanding family. 

The spring of 2019, I began a discipleship group with 5 other ladies… the nitty-gritty kind that forces you do deal with all of your junk and get right with Jesus. Well… I got right with Jesus, okay? With the encouragement (and harassment - ahem - I mean accountability) of my discipleship group, I started to write again. I was reminded of the calling the Lord gave me in 2017 and the prophetic word from a year before in 2018. The Lord had told me to do something and I had allowed my vision to get hijacked by everything happening all around me. I had allowed my focus to blur, to shift, to change, to move from the book to the baby. 

This time was so different. A year previous, I had given up on writing because of the heartbreaking loss of a child and now here I was writing while carrying a new life inside of me. A new life breathed into this child and a new life breathed into me and this book. It was a strange sense of coming full-circle and quite literally rewriting my painful past into something more beautiful now. 

My daughter, Abigail Rose, was born in August 2019. After she was born, I wrote here and there, but things really slowed down. I was focused on the baby again instead of the book. However, at the beginning on 2020, I asked the Lord for a word for the year - something to help direct my attention to what He has for me - and I heard, “focus.” I knew it was primarily about the book. I had promised the Lord I would finish he first-draft by May. And you know what? I did. The first draft is completed and I feel more completed. I know it’s not done, there’s more to do, but I feel a spiritual milestone in this place. A monument to a new level of spiritual maturity has been built by the hands of long-suffering and continued obedience. 

This is a long story to bring you to this point…

What is your “book”? 
What is the thing God has called you to do? Maybe it’s changing careers, maybe it’s homeschooling your kids, maybe it’s starting a non-profit, maybe it’s writing a book, maybe it’s sharing Jesus with your neighbor. Whatever it is, name it - out loud. Don’t let yourself keep it a secret anymore. Own it and call it out and get some accountability. You need people to account for your ability when things pull you down or the devil is being his liar self telling you all the ways you are the wrong girl for the job. You need people in your corner cheering you on, telling you the truth about yourself, poking and prodding you to complete your metaphorical “book” and obey the Lord.

What is your “baby”? 
What is pulling your focus away from the thing God has called/commanded/asked/told you to do? It’s not always wrong to acknowledge the baby in the room. For me, of course I needed to mourn. Of course my heart and mind and focus was pulled toward this baby and the pain we were experiencing. And that is not wrong. But what I believe God wanted for me during all of that was to continue to chase after the book. To continue to obey, even through the pain, even through the tears, even though the heartache because the act of obedience is what ushers in healing and comfort and peace. The baby and the book don’t need to compete. 

How can you obey right now?
Focus simply boils down to obedience. When we obey the Lord in the small things, it keeps our eyes focused in His direction and we can more easily and fluidly move in sync with His Spirit. If I had just kept my eyes focused on Jesus during that painful period of loss, if I had just looked for ways to obey Him in the small things, I believe I would not have lost sight of the book. I would have experienced more peace when I felt so much turmoil and more strength when I felt so weak. 

Friend, obedience sharpens our vision to more clearly see the life God has intended us to live with the unique gifts, passions, callings, and purpose each of us possess. So if focus is a struggle for you, just look for one way to obey the Lord today. Just start there. He’ll bring it all into focus as you just commit to the next step of obedience in front of you.

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Friend, that drive to be happy… God put that there inside of you. And it’s your job as a Jesus lover, a child of God, to FIRST and FOREMOST passionately pursue pleasure that is all-satisfying… that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Read that scripture again and soak it in…

“You make known to me the path of life…”

What questions do you have? What answers do you need? What decisions need to be made? Who are you really? Why are you here? What’s your purpose in life? HE will make known to you the path of life. He will answer those questions. He will direct your steps. He will guide you, lead you, walk alongside you. But you have to stick close. You can’t hear the voice of someone who is far away. You can’t follow along The Path of Life when you are on your own path doing your own thing. You need to be close to Jesus.

“In your presence there is fullness of joy…”

I want it. You want it. We all want it. We all NEED it! If you are a follower of Jesus and you could not be easily identified by others as a joyful person… you need to spend some more time with Jesus, sweet friend. In His presence, there isn’t just a little joy, some joy, or enough joy. It says in His presence there is FULLNESS of joy! I want to be filled to overflowing with so much joy it just leaks out all over the people around me until they are filled up too because of the presence of God in my life! Wowza! I’ve got tingles all over my arms thinking about the kind of JOY I have in the presence of God! Take notice: it doesn’t say “In your presence, sometimes there’s joy,” and it doesn’t say, “In your presence, there is joy if you [x y z].” There are no qualifiers in the statement. It’s just what happens when you step into the presence of God as His baby girl! As His beloved daughter! As His favorite kid!

“At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 

In his presence, there is joy overflowing. And at his right hand, which symbolizes a special place of honor, there are pleasures forevermore. Eternal, everlasting, never-ending pleasures. 

Listen. I don’t think the people of God can do the work of God and fully obey the will of God if we do not understand the position we hold in the Kingdom of God. If you feel like you have to earn it, you don’t understand what your salvation bought. Eternal life is just one part of the package. It’s a side-effect of an even greater work. Salvation found only in Jesus Christ restores you to your place as a sinless, righteous son or daughter of God. You were made for the Garden, we stepped off the Path of Life and royally screwed up the world, and lost access to the Garden which is a picture of perfect intimacy with the Father. What did Adam and Eve do in the Garden? Walk around every evening talking with God. In person. They had perfect communication with God. They were in perfect standing with God. There was absolutely no shame or hindrance between them and their Father. Joy was EASY to find. Joy was ALWAYS around because God was always around! They were FRIENDS with the God of the universe and HE was their dad! 

That is what you and I were made for! Because of sin, we lost access to God who is our eternal joy! Jesus made a way back for us by sacrificing his perfect life on behalf of our sin-filled lives so that we could be God’s kids again… so we could go back to the Garden. 

If you love Jesus and have been saved, but are still walking around like you are carrying the yoke of slavery to sin… girl, pick yourself up and dust yourself off! You are a child of God. You are the head and not the tail. The devil may strike your heal but you will crush his head. You live with the eternal, everlasting, never-ending, all-fulfilling, all-encompassing victory of Jesus over every sin in your life! If that doesn’t fill you with JOY I don’t know what will!

Pray that verse over yourself. You remind yourself that, because of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, you have 24/7/365 from now until forever access to JOY. You tell yourself the truth…

• I don’t need to worry about all the questions. God will guide me as I stay close to hear His voice.

 

• I was made to live in the presence of God and in His presence is the fullness of JOY!

 

• I am seated with Jesus at the right hand of God - a place with pleasures forevermore!

 

• I was made for JOY and ETERNAL PLEASURE that can only be found in Jesus!

So today, go find the fullness of Joy! Go be in the presence of God. Worship, read the Word, soak up His presence, spend some time in prayer… like more than 2 minutes. Get on your knees, lay facedown, whatever… just get in His presence and get your heart back in the Garden! Your joy will start spilling out all over! I promise! 

“God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.” - John Piper

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