God is love.

Don’t breeze past that statement. Think about it. It isn’t just that God loves you. Love is part of His being.

God is sovereign. He created all and sustains all. Everything is part of an unimaginably immense tapestry, intricately interwoven.

God is our Father. We are adopted into His family, He is our protector, our guide, our Sovereign Father Who is Love.

Yes, the world is wicked. Yes we all face difficulties and pain and hardship and confusion and sickness and weakness and all sorts of suffering.

Jesus warned we would have troubles. He also promised He would never abandon us.

Look at your circumstances. Do you view them with fear or dread or anxiety? Or do you see them as opportunities for God to work in and through you to help others as well as yourself?

All that the enemy means for evil, God works out for good. Our cognitive abilities aren’t sharp enough to perceive everything the Lord is doing. Instead of trying to figure out all the whys and hows, we should just surrender to God and trust Him to work it all out.

God is sovereign.

God is love.

God is our Father.

God is always with you.

God is our strength.

God tells us to trust Him with everything,

God has a plan,

A good plan.

For you.

God is our guide,

God’s ways are higher than ours.

God’s will is perfect.

God is God.

I am not,

Neither are you.

Take comfort in that. God‘s got you

Pain subsides. Fear shrinks. The lost are found.

God loves YOU for exactly who you are. He created you with a purpose to glorify Him,

Take Jesus at His Word.

Trust God. Walk toward Him and leave the worries behind.

You have God. And He’s got you!

‘

Dear friends,

I don’t know what your facing. But God, our Heavenly Sovereign, Loving Father, knows.

God loves us. And we need to surrender all to Him – all our troubles, all our pain, all our pain, all our struggles, all our needs.

Trust – actively choose to put your faith – in God. You do not know what lies ahead. But God does.

Our troubles may not lift quickly. But God can use our circumstances to strengthen our faith and draw us nearer to Him.

Pray to The One Who loves us – loves you – so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us – for you. Seek Him first. Stay in His Word. Trust in the LORD. Who is greater than any circumstance, Who is always with us.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. – Romans 8:26-33 (ESV)

You are not who others say you are.

You are not who others expect you to be.

You are not who the school bullies said were.

You are not who the adult bullies say you are.

You are not what anyone thinks about your ethnicity.

You are not defined by your clothes size.

You are not defined by your (in)abilities.

You are not defined by your sin.

You are not defined by your failures.

You are not defined by your past.

You are not defined by anyone else’s sins, failures, etc. – not by association, not by DNA, not by anything anyone else brings to the table.

Your job doesn’t define you.

You birthplace doesn’t define you.

Your Sitz im Leben (station in life) doesn’t define you.

Your credit score does not define you.

Your math score does not define you.

Your looks do not define you.

Your friends do not define you.

Your family does not define you.

Your coach does not define you.

Your enemy does not define (although he’ll spew every possible influence on you he can).

Your weaknesses don’t not define you.

Your strengths don’t define you.

Only God defines you. The very God Who created everything and everyone also created you.

With a unique design.

With a God-intended purpose.

We are not perfect. But The Lord is!

This same perfect God created us all in His image.

We are who our Heavenly Father says we are. And we who trust God through Jesus Christ are defined by who He says we are.

We are His.

We are loved.

We are here with a divinely imparted purpose.

We are forgiven.

We are blessed beyond measure.

We are our His.

To refuse acceptance of this is to accept lies as truth. It is delusional.

It is delusional.

Trust God in knowing Who you are. He’s known you since before time. Can anyone on earth honestly make that claim?

Don’t believe the lies about yourself. Only believe in your Father God through His Son Jesus. He gets you. After all, He designed and created you!

You are loved beyond measure, beyond grasp!

There is therefore now condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. – Romans 8:1

I’ve been feeling convicted lately.

Convicted about certain things I say.

Convicted about certain attitudes that pop up now and then.

Convicted about the need to ALWAYS be aware of God’s sovereignty over EVERYTHING which is why I don’t need to understand everything, just trust God through Jesus.

Convicted about not drinking enough Coke Zero.

Ok… not the diet soda but certainly the overuse of sarcasm.

I am convicted by the Lord about these things and others.

Convicted, yes. But condemned? No way!

Those who follow Jesus, seeking Him first, are no longer under the curse of condemnation but inspired by God to change what He’s leading me to change.

Condemnation is not from God. He won’t tell you are a loser, or hopeless, or beyond help. Remember God is love.

We always have hope in Christ. He ALWAYS loves us with a love we cannot be separated from, a love eternal, a love none of us can fully comprehend but can fully trust in.

You are loved. And love never condemns.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

What keeps you from a closer relationship with Jesus?

Maybe it’s fear. Anxiety pulls our attention inward as we worry about our circumstances and focus on our troubles.

Maybe it’s unforgiveness. It’s easy to sit and stew over the injustices and slights we face, and to resent those who we feel have wronged us.

Maybe it’s life’s distractions. We get overly involved in our jobs, our overfilled schedules, politics, social media, etc etc and so on.

Maybe it’s a matter of just not taking the time to draw near to God. He promises to draw near to us when we do. He tells us to seek His kingdom first above all, trusting Him with the cares of this life.

Whatever it is you put above God – whether it be money or worry or position or career or pleasures – take the time to reshuffle your priorities to practice placing the Lord above all. You’ll find you have no greater treasure, no possession more precious, nothing more wonderful, than your Father God through His Son Jesus. The love and grace and mercy and forgiveness He provides us brings us joy and peace and strength unspeakable.

Today I want to encourage all of us to lay aside the things in life that distract us from Jesus and put our full focus on Him, running the race of the life He created for us. You will find the blessings of knowing and following God are far greater than any earthly reward.

I’ve been spiritually marinating in Psalm 23 quite a bit recently. Think about this: David mentions the valley of the shadow of death. The shadow of death. Shadows are simply natural outcome of an obstacle coming between us and the light.

No shadow can harm you. The light is still shining. It is the light that casts the shadow. So, let me ask: what obstacle has come between you and the Lord? What is casting a shadow over your life? Is it fear of something or someone? Maybe unforgiveness? A sinful habit you think is unbreakable? A situation unbearable? An issue insurmountable? Go to the Lord in prayer. Confess your sins and ask forgiveness. Cast your cares on God. Open your Bible and read what He has to say. Seek God first. Listen to Him and trust in Him and recognize He is the Sovereign God.

No shadow can harm you. The light is still shining. Do not fear or dread the shadows. They have no substance. God is the evershining light. He is right there, in the heart of every one of His children. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding,

God loves you. Spend some time with Him. Rest in Him. Be grateful to the Lord our Father. Sleep well friends.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You for all You are! You are the Creator and Sustainer of all. There is nothing beyond Your grasp.

Your control.

Your abilities.

Your wisdom.

You.

I only know what I know, and that ain’t much.

I only see what I can see, and that’s neither far nor clear.

I only do what I can do, which is very limited.

I can’t know everything.

I can’t walk forward without running into obstacles.

I can’t make everything right.

Thank You, Lord… I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to stumble blindly through this life. I don’t have to fear my insecurities and troubles.

You, dear Father, are sovereign over all. You owe me nothing.

But I owe You everything. My very life.

Father, I lay down my ego, my fears and worries and doubts, my perceived “need” to be in control of my circumstances. Nothing happens without You knowing about it beforehand. Nothing is beyond your reach.

You call me not to figure it all out, but to trust You. To trust You with everything.

Everything.

And walk in Your light, without fear.

Fear nothing.

Fear no one.

For YOU, my Father – Abba – are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

Your will be done, not mine.

Your wisdom, not mine.

Thank You, Lord God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Guide me in Your will, on Your path.

Amen.