See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19 God’s been stretching me lately. He’s been taking me out of my comfort zone and time zone. And although I often resist change, sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s good to remember just how unqualified I am, but how qualified He is. Part of that stretching requires me…
A couple of years ago, as I was watching one of my sons play soccer, it became increasingly obvious the boys did not understand the purpose of the game. At one point, a teammate was in possession of the ball with nothing between him and the goal. He proceeded to pass the ball to a teammate behind him surrounded by defenders instead of pursuing the goal…
It’s a painful reality. People we love add to our hurt. Sometimes intentionally, most of the times unintentionally. But when it does occur, the cut is deep and hardly forgotten. People let us down. They say things they shouldn’t. They don’t show up when they should. They scatter instead of sticking. And sometimes opinions, judgements and criticisms flow freer than love, mercy or grace. Job’s friends…
What do we do when godly people give ungodly advice? And it happens. It happened in the bible, it’s happened to me and I’m pretty sure it’s happened to you. The only thing worse then receiving ungodly advice is offering ungodly advice. The first thing we need to do is recognize it happens. If you read the book of Job, you will find an example. Job’s friends loved…
Last week Joyce Meyer mentioned Job in a sermon. It got me thinking. Thinking about hardships and when people you love either fail to show up or hurt you when they do. Because sometimes I am the friend who fails to show up and sometimes I’m the friend experiencing deep hurt only to look up and realize everyone has scattered. As I began to meditate…
Certainly, there comes a time in all our lives when we confront suffering. We personally experience hardships. But, we also witness suffering in the lives of those we love. This week I will begin a three part series addressing… What do We do When We Confront Suffering. Part one: Three Good Things We can Offer our Friends Who are Suffering. Part two: When Godly People Give…
