Over the past decade, Ann Voskamp has been a tool in God’s hands, by which He has reshaped my life, so it should come as no surprise that I am sharing one of her blogs with you while we traipse through some side trails as we await our next journey. The timing is perfect because it focuses on gratitude. However, the content is helpful to our walk of faith and, therefore, perfect for any time of the year. I pray it is a blessing.
My therapist says it steady, his eyes searching mine, reading my face.
And I turn away, as if not looking into his eyes but out the window, I can turn back all this startling wave of drowning ache.
“I’m kinda worried about you, Annie,” a friend comes looking for me after that therapy session. “You… okay?”
“Yes, of course, I am… and no, I’m not… and yes, I am. You know… ” I smile weakly, bravely, through everything brimming.
Every single one of us is walking through some kind of deep heartbreak, and real life strain, and if you look into people’s eyes, and ask the right tender question, there it is: a fracture of pain right up the side of their one life. Bruised relationships, and draining bank accounts, and weary dreams, and sheer mountains ahead of us, and who isn’t a bit tired of the fight called life?
This world is a broken-heart factory, and it’s full of His glory, and it’s only holding both of those, that you let go and find joy.
Ann Voskamp/Blog/When It’s Kinda Hard to Give Thanks
*Note:This is a bittersweet glimpse into her life and a glimpse of just some of the trauma and heartache she has known. If you’re not familiar with Ann and her writings, I encourage you to check out some of her blogs or pick up a copy of her book, One Thousand Gifts.
Sometimes, I hesitate to use or write about this verse, which has been a crutch and saving grace for almost fifty years of my life. I’ve shared it often as a testimony of how I came to know it when I was in my teens and the many ways He has used it in my life since that day in the little farmhouse in Texas. Yet, really, can God’s Word ever be shared too much? I don’t think so … plus it is the verse that came to mind when I watched the video that I am sharing with you today.
The video is a beautiful reminder of what a difference it makes to give all of our worries and cares to God. I have seen it time and time again in my own life. I’ve seen what happens when I try to handle the worries and cares on my own and what happens when I lay them at His feet or raise my hands in urgency and sometimes tears – saying, “Here, God – please take ‘this’ I can’t carry ‘it’ alone.” I’ve given Him everything from a daughter’s cancer to my sore knees. Yep, He even cares about sore knees and parking places – well, the truth of the matter is He cares for us, so if our concern is a parking place, then He has invited us to give that concern to Him. Before you laugh too hard or perhaps scoff at giving such a seemingly trivial concern to such a great and mighty God – let me share this brief story/example.
I have bad knees, and for the past year, I have been getting injections to help manage the pain. The doctor I see is in a building with limited “close” parking. There is plenty of parking, but you may have to walk a city block or two—or more, depending on the day and time. I learned very quickly to make it my mission to give God the concern – both for a parking place and/or strength to walk as far as I had to. Time after time, I saw a place open right as I pulled in or when I circled for the third time. There have also been days when I found nothing close and ended up in the three-story garage. Disappointed, yes? But not for long, because in spite of the pain, every time I had to walk further than was comfortable, I knew His strength or saw the greater need for another, whom He allowed me to encourage or the one I was able to share Him with along the pain-filled walk.
You see, it wasn’t that I prayed for a parking place; it was that I prayed. I talked to the One who cares for me and placed my care/needs in His hands and then watched to see what He was going to do.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
After reading my morning verse recently, I found myself journaling these words: “Father, You are good. How long ago did You show me this verse? How many years since I sat at my kitchen table reading and rereading it and the verses that followed? How many times and ways since then have you shown me the truth of those verses?”
Sometime in the early nineties, I sat at the table of our newly built home, enjoying the quiet moments of my baby’s nap time. Sometimes, when she slept, I would rest or clean, but most often, I would spend some alone time with God in His Word. As a newly “revived” believer, I was hungry for the Word and eager to build/rebuild a relationship with God.
Today’s verse brought that table and time to mind, as it was there that I first remember beginning to study Philippians 4:4-7, specifically – Paul’s words, “Rejoice in the Lord always. (I will say it again: Rejoice!) 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7Andthe peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – note: while verse eight wasn’t included in my early study, it soon followed and has rescued me from more than one battle.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
God seemed to embed those words in my mind that day. Through the three decades that have followed, He has continued to faithfully ingrain them and use the words to help me through many turbulent days/years of this life/world. These words … have taught me to fix my eyes on God and His will … to ‘rejoice’ even when the days are hard, sad, or downright scary. The words helped me develop a relationship with God, teaching me to spend time in prayer, talking to God, not just at Him. From there, I began learning to trust Him, to fix my thoughts on Him, and to experience the promised peace.
To this day, these words of Paul remind me that God is near, that His return is imminent, and that in and with God, I can have, know, and be filled with peace even in the tumultuous storms of this life! God’s peace is truly a peace that surpasses all understanding. It is a peace that gives strength and hope in both the good and challenging seasons; this strength and hope have led me to “re-joy-cing” in God for more than thirty years of my life.
As I read the words again this morning, they were not new to me but they caused my mind to stop and remember God’s goodness so many years ago and every day since to change my life from the inside-out!
“Joy is the flag flying high above the castle of the hear, announcing that the King is in residence there.”
~Unknown
Loving Heavenly Father, my strength and hope are from You and through Christ in me. Your grace and power fill me with the confident JOY to keep going when hope seems far away and sorrows weigh me down. When I am weak, You are strong! So in my sorrow for this world and despite my concerns – please continue to help me KEEP my eyes and thoughts fixed on You – and let the flag of JOY fly high above the castle of my heart – where You rule and reign – announcing to all that You – my God and King – are in residence here!💜 – And to borrow from today’s devotion from “Our Daily Verse,” “May my life be a testament to the unshakable joy found in a relationship with You. Let this joy be my strength, a light to others, and a reflection of Your constant grace in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.27 I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations. Ezekiel 36:26-27
Observations and Applications
Sometimes, God’s Word leaves us wondering why certain things happen, or – as we have seen in the book of Daniel – there are visions recorded that we can’t quite understand because some things are meant to stay hidden from us. As we see in the journal page below, this is not the case with today’s passage and the unfolding events in the life of Israel, the people of God. Clearly, God was very open with what was going to happen and why –
– God was very open with what was going to happen and why –
Through Ezekiel, God makes it crystal clear to the people that His anger had been poured out on them because they had defiled their land with their “evil way of living.” It was detestable to Him, and because of this, God scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they chose to live. One would think this would have awakened them and caused them to change their lifestyles, yet, from there, it seems to have escalated, as even in the faithless lands where they were exiled, they brought shame to God’s name – to the point that He was concerned about His reputation.
God uses Israel to reveal Himself to the nations – and the same is true of believers in Christ today. God not only uses us but He has called us to be His light to the world. 🦋
The people had failed God, falling short of His glory despite the teachings they were to remember and obey, as well as the warnings God sent them along the way. So, “for the sake of His holy reputation,” God moved to magnify His great name by restoring Israel and making the nations know that He was the LORD. However, we must not miss this vital truth: God did not restore Israel for their sake but for His own. He uses Israel to reveal Himself to the nations – and the same is true of believers in Christ today. God not only uses us to make Him known but He has called us to be His light to the world.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:14-16
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God created man and that He created him for His glory. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of man, according to the Bible, is simply to glorify God. – Gotquestions.org
One of the ways we glorify God is by walking faithfully in a relationship with Him. Apart from God, it is impossible to glorify His name. As we saw with the Israelites, sin separates us from God (Isa 29:2), not only hindering His glory through us but jeopardizing His reputation. Be encouraged by these words from gotquestions.org: while “sin separates us from God and makes it impossible to glorify Him on our own. – through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, our relationship with God is reconciled—our sin is forgiven and no longer creates a barrier between God and us (Romans 3:23–24).”
Since God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26–27), man’s purpose cannot be fulfilled apart from Him. King Solomon tried living for his own pleasure, yet at the end of his life he concluded that the only worthwhile life is one of honor and obedience to God (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
Gotquestions.org
Prayer Response to the Journey
Father, thank You for the reminder that this life You have given us and all that You do in and through us, and the callings You have placed on our lives are not about us – but are meant to be all for Your glory. Help us never to bring shame to Your reputation but to live as lights in this dark world— Let us heed the words of Jesus and not let our light be hidden. Help us to walk with You and talk with You and to live and speak in such a way that radiates Your love and grace to the world around us so that everyone will give You the praise and the honor due Your holy name. – In the name of Jesus – Amen.
The More We Know
Why did our journey lead us to Ezekiel? (borrowed and shared from got questions.org)
Ezekiel ministered to his generation who were both exceedingly sinful and thoroughly hopeless. By means of his prophetic ministry he attempted to bring them to immediate repentance and to confidence in the distant future. He taught that: (1) God works through human messengers; (2) Even in defeat and despair God’s people need to affirm God’s sovereignty; (3) God’s Word never fails; (4) God is present and can be worshiped anywhere; (5) People must obey God if they expect to receive blessings; and (6) God’s Kingdom will come.
Key Verses:
Ezekiel 2:3-6, “He said: ‘son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.'”
Scripture: Our Roadmap for the Journey: Daniel 2:24-35 / SOAP: 28a
When God gave Daniel the gift of interpreting the meanings of visions and dreams, He was clearly setting him up with a platform to make Him known to the King. We also see that Daniel sets God up for praise by boldly extolling God’s power to the King (2:28-30). As someone who isn’t always as confident and courageous as I would like to be, I stand in awe of Daniel’s confident and brave spirit. I also appreciate that he clarifies that his confidence is not in himself but God.1
Today’s Love God Greatly Journal entry offers a beautiful insight into today’s journey.
We hear this in his prayer (2: 19-23) and in his response to the King (2:28-30). ↩︎
19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. 21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. 22 He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
Daniel 2:19-23. NET
When we last saw Daniel, he had learned that the King had issued a decree for him and his friends to be killed. Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
Today’s portion of the journey reveals – “that very night, their prayer was answered.” Daniel 2:19
Distress led Daniel and the others to pray… prayer led to God’s answer through a vision given to Daniel … and the answer led to praise – 🦋
The Prayer Was Answered
“The secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel 2:19-23 NET
Like the Psalmist in Psalm 118, Daniel and his friends prayed to the Lord at the thought of what the King had decreed. Today, our journey reveals that the Lord heard their plea and rescued Daniel and his friends from the ordered execution. As He was with the Psalmist, the Lord was Daniel’s strength; the Lord gave Him victory over the threat of death at the hand of the executioners! – and that is exciting – However, the answer of living by faith in a faithless world lies in the truth of verses 20-22
Both Psalm 118 and Daniel 2:18-22 “reflect not only the urgency of seeking divine help but also the transformative power of faith in God.”
Prayer of Response to the Journey
Father, thank You for reminding us to trust You and do what is right. Help us to “settle in this land” and maintain integrity. Then, we will delight in You, and You will answer our prayers. Help us to commit our future to You, LORD, and to trust You to act on our behalf. – Let us be quick to praise You when we see Your answers, even when and if that answer is ‘no.’ – for we know that even then, You are Good.
I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.
Jeremiah 24:7. NLT
Observation and Application from today’s journey
The Heart of God for His People is seen in the “I will” statements God gave through Jeremiah. They must have been great words of encouragement to Jeremiah, words of hope for a heartwrenching and seemingly hopeless situation. God had sent His people into exile because of their rebellion, but here, God tells Jeremiah, “I consider them to be good.” He then proclaims that He will look after their “welfare.” He will also restore them to their land, build them up, and not uproot them. He will give them the desire to acknowledge Him as Lord; He will be their God, and they will be His people. Why? Because God loves them with an everlasting love and, from the beginning of time, was working all things out – not to harm them but to give them hope and a future. The LGG journal for today’s portion of our journey explains this so well that I am sharing it with you here. May it help us as we move forward through the lessons of living faithfully in the land of the faithless.
Then Jesus said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23
Jesus outlined it for His disciples and anyone who wanted to follow Him, with this invitation in Luke 9:23 – when He said: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” We know from other places in Scripture that true disciples, faithful followers of Christ, must choose a different path than the world. The world teaches a “me first/self-love first” –>then others … but Jesus taught clearly and unapologetically that the love of God and others is most important.1 He even defined that this love was to mimic the way that He had loved us.2
One of my favorite Phil Wickham songs is The Jesus Way. I listen to it far more than any other song in my playlist and was delighted to find a recording of the story behind the song recently. As we approach our new journey on Monday, from the book of Daniel, “Living Faithful in a Faithless Land,” this song and the story behind it seem very appropriate to share today. I pray it’s a blessing – 🦋
If you curse me, then I will bless you If you hurt me, I will forgive And if you hate me, then I will love you I choose the Jesus way
If you’re helpless, I will defend you And if you’re burdened, I’ll share the weight And if you’re hopeless, then let me show you There’s hope in the Jesus way
I follow Jesus I follow Jesus He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name He is the treasure He is the answer Oh, I choose the Jesus way
If you strike me, I will embrace you And if you chain me, I’ll sing His praise And if you kill me, my home is heaven For I choose the Jesus way
I follow Jesus I follow Jesus He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name He is the treasure He is the answer Oh, I choose the Jesus way
And I choose surrender I choose to love Oh, God my Savior, You’ll always be enough I choose forgiveness I choose grace I choose to worship, no matter what I face
I choose the Jesus way I choose the Jesus way I choose the Jesus way I choose the Jesus way
I follow Jesus I follow Jesus He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name He is the treasure He is the answer Oh, I choose the Jesus way
I follow Jesus I follow Jesus He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name He is the treasure He is the answer Oh, I choose the Jesus way Oh, I choose the Jesus way
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 NLT ↩︎
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 NLT ↩︎
Today, I’m sharing with you a prayer by Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of the late Billy Graham. As I read the prayer, I thought of the Psalms that are filled with praise to the God of the universe—like Psalms 8, 19, and 139—but I also thought of Paul’s words to the Colossian believers to think about the things of Heaven and not the things of earth.1This is so important for all believers to remember because the truth is – it is very easy to “give more weight to the pressures and stresses around us than to God’s sovereign plan and awesome power… and lose our focus on God.”
When we lose our focus on God, it is very easy to live according to our old sinful nature rather than the new nature that showcases God in us to the world around us. After all, as Paul wrote, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.”2 This lifestyle requires a God-shaped focus.
A Prayer to Stay Focused
True, Living Lord,
I acknowledge that You are Lord. Lord of the universe, Lord of this planet, Lord of this nation, Lord of this city, Lord of this community, Lord of my life . . . You are Lord of lords. I thank You and praise You, O Lord, for Your blessings and Your grace.
I humbly confess that I too often give more weight to the pressures and stresses around me than to Your sovereign plan and awesome power. I seek out worldly wisdom rather than turning to Your perfect wisdom. I boast in my own strength rather than leaning on Yours. I tend to lose my focus on You.
Lord, help me never forget that, in a world of confusion, You are the Way. In a world of political correctness, You are the Truth. In a world of death, You are eternal Life.
As I refocus on You and Your Word, give me wisdom to make decisions that are right. Give me courage to stand against that which is wrong. Give me patience to navigate my relationships with grace and truth, reflecting the light of Your love in a way that brings life to all I encounter.
Give me everything I need so others may see Jesus in me.
O God, I pray for these things not because I deserve them but because You have invited me to boldly ask for Your blessing in the name of Your Son, our Savior—Jesus.
Yesterday, my morning prayer journal entry started like this: “Father, You are Good. Your Word and the timing of the Spirit’s reminder are treasures in the morning and throughout the day. I do not know what lies ahead today, but I do know that it is my greatest strength, pleasure, comfort, and peace to know that You walk with me 💜 And I do not need to fear! – Fiery darts and thorns and thistles that litter the way cannot keep us from Your protective presence💜 When You are near, we have nothing to fear, for You will hold us up with Your victorious right hand.”
The entry was prompted by the “our daily verse ” email devotion that I received. Yesterday’s verse of the day was from Isaiah 41:10, and those of you who have been a part of the group for very long may recognize it as one I often use because it is among my top 10 life verses.
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
I am sharing it again with you today, along with the “ourdailyverse.com” devotion from yesterday. I pray it is a blessing of encouragement for your Friday and the weekend ahead. – “Today, let’s rest in the assurance that God walks beside us through every challenge. We’re never alone in our worries. – Have a blessed day.”
“Fear, it’s a familiar adversary, a shadow that threatens to darken even the brightest of days. But in the face of this relentless foe, God speaks a promise that has the power to change everything: “Do not fear, for I am with you.” – read the full devo athttps://www.ourdailyverse.com/p/verse-of-the-day-isaiah-41-10
Me From the Inside Out 