Tag Archives: Religion and Spirituality

Where is God in Suffering?

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality
A year ago, my world fell apart as the ground on which I stood was snatched from beneath me. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the ground taken from underneath you, but I pray that you do.
When you lose the ground you stand upon, you find the Rock that you can rest upon. The only true solid ground that exists. And you experience His grace in ways you never thought imaginable.
 It takes a while to see it from this perspective, and you may never totally understand His ways but I can assure you, you’re suffering is not in vain. God’s calling you to know Him more, while a million other things are trying to distract you. But if the goal is to know Him, to really experience Him, then whatever it takes to get your full attention  is worth it. Even if it’s painful, and my God is it painful…

Bold Prayer

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality

I think sometimes God appears to not be answering our prayers because we’re praying for far less than He thinks we deserve. We forget how powerful He is! Our ENTIRE world rests in the palm of His hand.

God specifically asks us to pray boldly. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest … Jesus the Son of God … [who] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” Hebrews 4:14-16. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 2:9, He says that, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” Isn’t that exciting?! God has things planned for us that we couldn’t even dream up! He wants to give us these things! Therefore, listen to your heart! And don’t let your mind put limitations on your prayers! Pray with boldness.

Love Love Love This Quote!!

Posted on by under Quotes

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our own standpoint. Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

The Seasons Remind Me That I Must Keep Changing

Posted on by under Quotes

trees changing

I could not have known then that everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like seasons; they have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing.
― Donald Miller

 

 

Why I Love Writing

Posted on by under Personal Life Reflections

To me, writing has always come either in the form of Divine revelation, which floats off the tongue like air, or a purging of the soul, which vomits itself out of the pen and on to paper. Yet both are equally beautiful expressions of self. One being directly from God, the Holy Spirit who lives in us. And the other being indirectly from God, as my earthly mind struggles between what the world tells it and what I know to be True. In either case, writing has always had a spiritual element, which, whether floating or vomiting, ultimately serves to bring me closer to God.

God’s Grace

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality

“God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly.
Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.” -Max Lucado

Engage First and then Retreat

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

First engage with the world and then retreat from it. The devil wants you to believe in urgency, the lie that you can’t do both. The truth is, you can balance both engagement and retreat.

We are all creatures of habit. For those of us who are in the habit of constantly keeping busy, the problem is making the time to retreat and reflect… Or conversely, for the more introverted types, the problem can be getting out of your retreat stage and starting to engage with the world again. The devil wants you stuck. But God sets you free, allowing the possibility of a healthy flow between the two.

Listening in Prayer

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality

Plenty of us pray regularly. We submit our requests to God and thank Him for our blessings. But how many of us really take the time to listen to what God has to say back? This takes practice and as aforementioned, time (something of which most of us believe we don’t have enough).

We spend our days engaging with the world, fulfilling our duties, and crossing items off our checklist. But we do ourselves a grave disservice when we don’t make the time to listen to God. We grossly underestimate the negative impact this can have on our lives. In what other relationship would we ask a person for something and then run off without hearing his/her answer? Remember, God became a Person for this very reason- so we, his beloved people, could communicate with Him! Communication is a two way street. And He loves talking to us just as much as He loves hearing from us. Don’t give God the short end of the stick.

Workaholics

Posted on by under Personal Life Reflections

I am an admitted workaholic. My drive to succeed is relentless, compulsory, and at times unnerving. I have noticed that I am never satisfied. And I don’t think that I ever will be. As soon as one goal is accomplished there is instantly another higher goal in its place. By work alone, I will never be satisfied, I realize. While this focus and drive is perhaps a strength of mine, it is also by far my greatest weakness. Work can be a distraction from the Real Satisfier if we aren’t careful. For the workaholics among us, may we always aim not to worship our work but to instead use our work as worship.

Posted on by under Quotes

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!
― Max Lucado