Posts with the category “surrender-and-trust”

09/11/2026Sometimes loving people is inconvenient. It interrupts the schedule. It takes longer than we expected. It asks something from us when we already feel like we have plenty of our own stuff to ...  Read More

09/10/2026Some things in our lives don’t need a little adjustment. They need to be broken up. We can get comfortable with patterns, attitudes, habits, even ways of thinking that have been sitting unto...  Read More

09/07/2026There are things we can carry for so long that they start to feel normal. A fear we’ve learned to live with. A lie about ourselves we’ve repeated so many times we assume it must be true. A h...  Read More

09/06/2026I don’t know about you, but asking for help is not always my first instinct. My first instinct is usually to figure it out. Make the phone call. Work the problem. Come up with a plan. Fix wh...  Read More

09/05/2026There’s a big difference between knowing things about God and actually allowing what we know about God to shape the way we live. We can read Scripture, listen to sermons, sit in Bible studie...  Read More

09/04/2026Some things in life can be faked for a little while. We can fake patience through a meeting. We can act joyful when we’re irritated. We can smile at somebody while having an entirely differe...  Read More

09/03/2026There are days when life feels pretty manageable. Then there are days when you realize just how little you actually control. One phone call, one unexpected problem, one piece of news, and su...  Read More

09/02/2026There are days when our minds get ahead of us. We’re physically standing in Wednesday, but mentally we’re already living in Thursday, Friday, and three weeks from now. We start solving probl...  Read More

09/01/2026There are times when following Jesus feels like standing in front of a job that is bigger than the tools we have. We know the kind of person we want to be. We know there are attitudes that n...  Read More

09/01/2026There are times when following Jesus feels like standing in front of a job that is bigger than the tools we have. We know the kind of person we want to be. We know there are attitudes that n...  Read More

08/31/2026Some people make a difference loudly. Others do it so quietly that you may not recognize their impact until years later. A conversation. A prayer. An invitation. A word spoken at exactly the...  Read More

08/30/2026Sometimes we know exactly where we want life to go. We’ve thought it through, made the plan, prayed about it, and maybe even convinced ourselves we know what the next few months should look ...  Read More

08/27/2026There are days when the biggest battle isn’t around us, it’s where our mind keeps going. We can belong to Jesus, trust Him, love Him, and still find ourselves consumed with things that won’t...  Read More

08/24/2026There are parts of following Jesus that are easy to keep private. We can pray quietly. We can read our Bible alone. We can worship with our headphones on. But eventually, what God is doing i...  Read More

08/23/2026There are some things we can do halfway and still get by. We can half-listen to a conversation. We can half-clean the garage. We can even half-follow the directions and somehow get the furni...  Read More

08/22/2026Sometimes we picture God as distant, somewhere above all of this, watching from heaven while we try to make sense of life down here. John opens his Gospel by telling us something completely ...  Read More

08/21/2026There are things we spend years accumulating that can disappear almost overnight. Money can be lost. Possessions wear out. Homes need repairs. Careers change. Even the things we carefully pr...  Read More

08/19/2026There are a lot of things people can know about us. They can know where we work, what church we attend, what we believe politically, what team we cheer for, even what we post online. But Jes...  Read More

08/17/2026Sometimes the hardest part of following Jesus isn’t believing the big things. It’s living out our faith in the small moments, with the person who gets on our nerves, the family member who kn...  Read More

08/16/2026Some days faith feels strong. Other days, faith looks like doing the next right thing while your heart is hurting. You pray, you keep showing up, you keep trusting God, and yet nothing aroun...  Read More

08/15/2026There are times when waiting on God feels harder than doing something. We can handle a task. We can make a phone call. We can work a problem. But waiting? Waiting requires us to trust God wh...  Read More

08/14/2026There are days when following Jesus feels peaceful and steady. Then there are days when it feels like you walked straight into a fight you didn’t know was coming. Paul doesn’t pretend those ...  Read More

08/11/2026There are things in life that are easy to start and hard to keep doing. We begin with energy, hope, and a sense that God is leading us. But then time passes. The results don’t come as quickl...  Read More

08/09/2026Sometimes we hold tightly to what we have because we’re afraid there won’t be enough left for us. Enough money. Enough time. Enough energy. Enough patience. But God’s way has always been dif...  Read More

08/07/2026There are a lot of things we try to be known for. Our work ethic. Our accomplishments. Our personalities. Even our failures have a way of trying to define us. But John reminds us that the de...  Read More

08/06/2026Have you ever noticed how light changes everything? A single lamp can calm the fear of a dark room. A lighthouse can guide a ship through a storm. A porch light tells someone they’re welcome...  Read More

08/05/2026Sometimes we find ourselves waiting for something bigger.A bigger opportunity. A bigger paycheck. A bigger ministry. A bigger house. A bigger platform.We tell ourselves, “If I just had more,...  Read More

08/04/2026We’ve all met people who know a lot. They can quote facts, solve problems, and carry on impressive conversations. But every once in a while, you meet someone whose life speaks even louder th...  Read More

08/03/2026Some verses comfort us because they promise life will get easier. Others comfort us because they tell us the truth.Today’s verse is one of those verses. David doesn’t pretend that following ...  Read More

08/02/2026There’s something about money that quietly competes for our attention. We tell ourselves we’re just trying to get ahead, provide for our family, or enjoy what we’ve worked hard for. None of ...  Read More

08/01/2026Waiting is hard.We don’t mind working. We don’t mind moving. We don’t mind seeing progress. But waiting? Waiting can feel like nothing is happening. We pray, we hope, we trust… and then we w...  Read More

07/31/2026There are moments in life when we quietly put limits on what we believe God can do.Not because we doubt He is powerful, but because we’ve lived through enough disappointment to lower our exp...  Read More

07/29/2026There’s a difference between believing in Jesus and surrendering to Him.Many of us are willing to invite Christ into certain parts of our lives. We’ll trust Him with our eternity, but strugg...  Read More

07/28/2026Some promises in Scripture meet us right where we are today. Others invite us to lift our eyes beyond today and remember where this story is headed. Revelation 21:4 is one of those promises....  Read More

07/27/2026There are some verses that are so familiar we can almost quote them without thinking. James 1:19 is one of those. But if we slow down long enough to hear what James is really saying, we disc...  Read More

07/26/2026Most of us spend a lot of time giving value to things. We decide what’s worth our time, our money, our attention, and our affection. But every now and then, Scripture pulls our eyes away fro...  Read More

07/25/2026Most relationships are easy when life is going well. It’s not hard to find people who want to celebrate the promotion, enjoy the barbecue, or laugh over a cup of coffee. But adversity has a ...  Read More

07/24/2026Today’s passage reminds us that temptation is something every believer faces. None of us are exempt. The encouragement isn’t that we’ll never be tempted, it’s that we never have to face temp...  Read More

07/23/2026Some of the deepest wounds we carry don’t come from strangers. They come from people we trusted. A careless word. A broken promise. A relationship that changed overnight. Those moments can l...  Read More

07/22/2026Sometimes life feels like one long list of “what ifs.”What if the money doesn’t stretch far enough? What if the diagnosis gets worse? What if I lose my job? What if my family never changes? ...  Read More