Lisa Appelo's Blog, page 6

When Circumstances Are Too Much To Handle

There’s a popular meme that often comes across my Instagram feed that reads “She believed she could. So she did.”

It’s a message that says, You’ve got this, girl. If you believe in yourself enough and work hard enough, you can do it.

Listen, I’m a plucky girl with a lot of grit (some would say hard-headed), but I don’t buy the words of that meme. Because I have very much encountered circumstances too much to handle.

Life can dish out some hard things. And maybe, like me, you’ve found yourself navigating a life you never saw coming or facing a future you’d rather trade in.

Several years ago, I went to bed happily married to my high school sweetheart and woke up a widow and single mom to seven children. My life before my husband’s death hadn’t been perfect. We’d had our share of struggles in marriage, challenges in raising kids and difficulties in finances. But even with those imperfections, it was the life I wanted. The life I would have chosen over and over again.

My grief included so much more than the death of my husband. Anyone who’s walked shattering loss understands the reverberations it sends through life as you know it. Expectations for the future, dreams we held, the normal rhythms of family and household were all gone and would never be again. Friendships shifted, single parenting felt vulnerable and my finances based on Dan’s now-gone income felt precarious.

I was in decision overwhelm dealing with estate paperwork, household issues and children ranging from preschool to college. I was reeling from grueling emotions and trying to shepherd my children through theirs. Fear of an unfathomable future threatened to paralyze me and in the midst of it all, I sensed the enemy working overtime to get his foot into our little family and finish off the devastation we felt.

Life can give us far too much to handle.  

Maybe you’re facing circumstances that are too much to handle. Maybe you’re grieving a loss that’s too hard, dealing with a diagnosis that seems daunting or parenting a child who’s difficult.

Elijah the prophet faced circumstances that were too hard. Elijah was no featherweight. He was a bold and courageous prophet in Israel during the time when wicked King Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, ruled.

Elijah challenged 800 prophets of Baal on the summit of Mount Carmel to prove God was the true God. After the prophets of Baal sacrificed a bull, chanted and cut themselves without any response from their god, Elijah built an altar to God. He drenched it with water till a moat surrounded the altar and then prayed. God immediately sent fire, consuming the sacrifice and licking up the water.

Then with no clouds on the horizon, Elijah prayed for rain and, filled with the power of God, tucked up his cloak running ahead of the rain and King Ahab’s chariots—a distance between seventeen and thirty miles. Elijah was no featherweight indeed.

And yet, days later, when his life was threatened, Elijah cowered in the wilderness. There, sitting alone under a broom tree, Elijah prayed: “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life.” (1 King 19:4, NIV)

Elijah had come to a place where circumstances were too hard to handle.

God didn’t shake his head at Elijah with a tsk, tsk, tsk. He didn’t rebuke him or tell him to get himself together. Instead, God sent His presence to Elijah.

Despite what the memes may tell us, God didn’t design us to be able to handle everything life can dish up alone. He didn’t create us to walk in our own strength.

God designed us to be utterly dependent on Him. It’s one of the last thing Jesus told his apostles just before His crucifixion.

“As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5, ESV, emphasis added)

Circumstances that stretch us far past our own strength remind us God intends us to lean on Him.

Trying harder or pushing through or digging down for internal fortitude will always fall short when God designed us to look to Him to do what we cannot.

So when circumstances are too much for us to handle, I suggest a different meme. Let’s rest in our relationship with our all-powerful God and tell our soul these words instead: “She believed she couldn’t, but she trusted that God who called her to it, would equip her for it.” 

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Scripture Encouragement to Not Lose Heart

When you’ve been waiting and praying and longing for something to change, and that change isn’t even on the horizon, it’s hard to hold onto hope. We need scripture encouragement to not lose heart.

Even the strongest of faith get tired of being strong. Even the longsuffering grow weary of suffering for so long.

You’ve prayed all the prayers, surrendered your circumstances over and over to God and trusted that while you’re doing what you can, God is doing His part.

Surely, God will reward your faith in the wait. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their best life while yours feels on hold. And while you’ve done your best to wait patiently—

change still hasn’t come.

This place of threadbare hope is the enemy’s playground. His whispers begin to wedge between the truth you’re clinging to and the circumstances surrounding you. It’s futile to keep hoping, he whispers. What you’re asking is too hard and the ticking clock shows it’s too late. Give it up.

But this is just when we need hope the most. “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all…As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.” (G.K. Chesterton)

You’re not alone if you’re tempted to lose heart. God’s word speaks to it, showing us how to re-anchor when hope is threadbare.

5 Kinds of Scripture Encouragment to Not Lose Heart

1. Know there’s always a “but God.”

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever,” Psalm 73:26 says. “But God” are two of the strongest words in scripture.

But God means that He is sovereign over our circumstances and perfect in His timing. God gets the last word, not our situation. So while it may appear that our prayers have fallen flat, we can trust there is always, always, always a but God.

2. Trust God’s goodness for you.

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13, NKJV) We don’t know exactly when David penned Psalm 27, but he was clearly in tremendous difficulty. In looming despair, David says one thing pulled him through: trusting not only that God is good, but that he’d see that goodness for him.

Friend, when our strength is giving way, let’s remember God’s goodness. No matter the outcome of our prayers, God’s goodness is for us. No matter how long we wait, God’s goodness is with us. And no matter if change ever comes, God’s goodness bring life right here.

3. Don’t stop praying.

Our tendency to lose heart in long waits doesn’t surprise God. In fact, Jesus shared a parable “to show them that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” (Luke 18:1, NASB 1995)

The parable was about a persistent widow who kept seeking justice from a judge who neither feared God nor cared for people. Because of the widow’s persistence, the judge finally acted.  If an unrighteous judge responds to persistent asking, Jesus taught, won’t our righteous Father respond when we cry out?

We can never overpray with God. When change hasn’t come, Jesus himself calls us to keep praying and not lose heart.

4. Remember God is preparing you for eternity.

“So we do not lose heart…For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:16, ESV)

While none of us want suffering and we pray it away, God uses it to prepare us for eternity. Paul had gone through intense persecution being “afflicted in every way…persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” But he knew God never wastes suffering, using it to shape us for an eternity beyond compare.

Let the longsuffering that is waiting do it’s work to chisel out idols of comfort and control. Let the pain of longing draw you to God, knowing eternity with Him far surpasses any pain we experience here.

5. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

One of the reasons we lose heart is because we become hyperfocused on our circumstances and people around us. But we’re not running their race. And we have no idea what God has for us in our lane ahead.

Hebrews tells us to run with endurance fixing our eyes on Jesus. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3, NIV)

How do we not lose heart when we’ve waited long past our own timeline for change? We cling to Jesus. He doesn’t just give us hope. He is Hope.

No matter what you’re wrestling with, struggling against, wading through or waiting for —

“Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14, ESV)

Bible Verses About Not Losing Heart

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26, ESV

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13, NKJV

Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. Luke 18:1, NASB 1995

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 Corinthians 4:1, ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison… 2 Corinthians 4:16, ESV

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:3, NIV

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:5-6, NIV

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9, NKJV

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him. 1 Samuel 17:32, NIV

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Ephesians 3:1, 13, ESV

He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. Deuteronomy 20:3, NLT

For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart. 1 Chronicles 22:13, NLT

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Scripture Writing Plan in Grief

Scripture writing in grief is a deeply comforting practice. While grieving often makes Bible study hard because focus is difficult or emotions leave you too numb to know where to start, hand copying scripture is simple and easy. A scripture writing plan in grief roots God’s word in your heart to find comfort and hope in shattering loss.

After my husband died, I needed God’s word more than I needed food. God’s word became my daily reset where I could give God my heartbreak, sadness, fear and questions and let Him comfort and anchor me in the truth of His character and promises.

When so much feels uncontrollable in grief, writing scripture is an intentional step we can take to help navigate emotions, process grief and renew real hope.

I gathered 31 of my favorite Bible verses to grieve with hope to create this printable scripture writing plan. This grief scripture writing plan includes verses about God’s comfort, how God sees and redeems our tears, how God heals the brokenhearted and about God’s promise of heaven.

What is Scripture Writing?

 

Scripture writing is a simple practice of copying by hand a Bible verse or passage. Handwriting scripture helps us see it in a fresh way. As we write, we’re able to focus on each word, its meaning, and its application. Hand copying God’s word slows us down to let God apply it to our broken heart. Scripture writing helps us remember the verse and to meditate on it throughout the day. And finally, the act of writing itself can be cathartic in grief. It’s a tangible declaration of God’s truth our heart and emotions need.

In the chaos that often comes in loss, through swirling thoughts or tsunami emotions, scripture writing is an easy way to be still and know that He is God.

How to Use Scripture Writing in Grief?

 

Start with a journal and pen that will inspire you to pause each day and write. These journals are my favorite and this is my dream pen. If you’re already journaling your grief or keeping a gratitude journal, simply fold scripture writing into the journal you’re already using.

1. Handwrite the scripture. As you copy the day’s verse, focus on each word. Word mapping is a great way to flesh out the verse’s meaning.

2. Ask questions to study the Bible verse.

Does this verse reveal God’s character?
Does this verse reveal God’s promise?
Does this verse teach me how to navigate life now?
Does this verse teach me about eternal life to come?
How can I align my heart to the truth in this verse?

3. Pray the scripture.

Use the Bible verse to pray over your circumstance. Praying scripture is a wonderful way to pray God’s word back to Him and to pray in the will of God. If the verse reveals God’s character, praise and thank God for that attribute. If the verse reveals one of God’s promises, pray that promise in advance and ask God to give you eyes to see how He is working. If the verse teaches about navigating life here or eternity, ask God to align your heart and hope to His truth.

4. Meditate on the scripture.

Hand copying each Bible verse helps us focus on it through the day. If you’re feeling anxious or the enemy begins whispering lies, use the day’s verse to resettle on truth. I’ve found the longer I think on a verse, the more the Holy Spirit teaches me about that verse.  

 

The Scripture Writing Plan in Grief

 

You can start this scripture writing plan anytime. No need to wait till the first of a new month. We’ve created a beautiful copy of the full scripture writing plan for you to download and keep in your Bible or journal. Click on the graphic above or subscribe here to get your copy.

1. Psalm 34:18
2. Psalm 147:3
3. Isaiah 61:3
4. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4
5. Job 1:21
6. Psalm 56:8
7. Psalm 126:5-6
8. Psalm 30:5
9. Psalm 30:11-12
10. 1 Thessalonians 4:13
11. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15
12. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
13. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20
14. 1 Corinthians 15:26
15. 1 Corinthians 15:52
16. 1 Corinthians 15:54
17. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
18. 2 Corinthians 4:16
19. 2 Corinthians 4:17
20. 2 Corinthians 4:18
21. Isaiah 25:8
22. Job 19:25-26
23. Psalm 23:4
24. Psalm 46:1
25. Psalm 94:18
26. Psalm 119:50
27. Deuteronomy 33:27
28. John 14:2-3
29. John 16:22
30. Rev 21:4
31. Psalm 27:13

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When Grief Makes New Years Hard

It’s hard to look forward when everything you wanted lies in the past.

When you’re navigating devastating loss, grief makes New Years hard. Looking ahead to a fresh start or setting new goals can be overwhelming.

It’s almost impossible to conceive what the next year will hold when you’re still reeling from what the current year dished out. The future feels like a bleak, black hole, filled only with sadness of who and what won’t be part of it—and worry for what could be instead.  

Grief makes New Year’s Day hard for many. Moving into a New Year might mean leaving behind memories of someone you loved or the marriage you thought would always be there. For some, it means another 12 months fighting a diagnosis that stole life as you knew it or another year waiting for that deep longing to be filled.  

While the world is abuzz with setting New Year’s goals, making resolutions and finding their word for the year, the grieving are wondering how to make it through this one day—or this one moment.

Why is New Years Difficult When You’re Grieving?

 

Here are several reasons.

1. You’re moving further away from the one you love. Turning the calendar marks more time since you heard their voice, felt their touch or warmed at their contagious laughter and moving into a new year without your loved one compounds the heartache.

2. Setting goals for what you want is difficult when you’re trying to figure out who you are now. Loss always impacts our identity, sometimes at its core. Goals can wait until we process that loss and begin to find our footing in life now.

3. Making personal resolutions of the self-improvement kind is incomprehensible when you’re using every bit of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual capacity to put feet to the floor each morning and make it through the day.  

4. The past holds beautiful memories while the future holds scary unknowns. How can you even begin to sketch plans for a future that you don’t want?

5. Creating a bucket list seems futile when the dreams you once had imploded without notice. When you’re gathering the shattered pieces of your heart, it seems pointless to hold new dreams again.

6. And finally, anticipation requires hope fueled with excitement, both in thin supply in loss. One of the things I missed most in deep grief was looking forward to something.

While stepping into a new year won’t magically make grief go away, we can let grief set our approach to the New Year.

We don’t have to do New Years the way everyone else does it—with stretch goals or try-harder resolutions or inspirational vision boards.

Maybe the grieving have an advantage of eyes opened to a new way to approach a new year.

Walking through devastating loss is painful but it’s also perspective-changing.

Loss teaches us what matters and what doesn’t. It helps us hold things of this world loosely and fix our eyes on the eternal. It reveals that each day and each breath is pure gift, that there is delight in ordinary moments and that joy comes right in the midst of heartache, not after.

The grieving have learned the fruitlessness in forging a life of your own making and the fullness in yielding each day to God’s shaping.

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, NLT)

Only when our entitled expectations die, can we embrace God’s far better will.

Only when we let go of the life we wanted, can we make room for the life God has for us.

And only when a heart is shattered, can we let God reshape it for Himself. 

So, yes, New Years is hard in grief but we can also choose to see it with a new perspective  —

While you’re moving further away from the one you love, you’re also moving closer to a heavenly reunion. A new year means new possibilities to share why we grieve with hope.

While goals are difficult when you’re sorting out a new identity, each new morning means God has great purpose for you this side of loss. God won’t waste your suffering. And as he comforts you, he’s equipping you to comfort others.

While grief takes enormous mental, emotional, physical and spiritual capacity, your hard work to grieve with hope will pay off. Time alone won’t heal, but God does soften the raw, jagged edges of grief.

While the past holds beautiful memories, it’s a lie that everything good is behind you. God’s promise to give abundant life hasn’t changed and his goodness doesn’t start and stop. The coming year may hold sadness, but it will also hold sweet new moments.

While writing a bucket list may seem futile, God is a restoring God who delights in surprising us with His goodness. God who is sovereign over unexpected pain is also author of unexpected joy.

While anticipation, hope and excitement may be in thin supply, hope isn’t a feeling. Hope is a person. You are held by the God of hope, even when your emotions are screaming different. And he is the God who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, ESV)

This New Years, trust God to go before you, to direct the steps you can’t see and to tenderly bind your wounded heart.

New Year Scriptures to Comfort in Grief

 

These New Year Bible verses are especially helpful when you’re grieving the New Year.

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. (Psalm 65:11)

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. (Psalm 37:23)

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

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10 Prayers in Grief and Loss

Prayers in grief and loss are a lifeline when you’re navigating waves of pain. Prayer shifts our focus from our circumstance to God, our comfort and hope in the circumstance. Prayer unburdens a heavy and overwhelmed heart. And prayer in the loss of a loved one keeps us tethered to God, anchoring our faith and turbulent emotions.

Sometimes, when we have no words for prayer, we can pray scripture or borrow prayers. 

Praying scripture in grief is a reminder of God’s truth and faithfulness. God welcomes our lament—honest prayer where we cry out to God with our emotions, struggles and questions. Or maybe you want to know what to pray for someone who is grieving.

These ten prayers are based in some of my favorite Bible verses for grief. If words are hard right now, borrrow these prayers for comfort in loss, for strength in grief, and more to uplift your heart and usher in the peace that passes understanding.

A Prayer of Comfort in Loss

(Praying scripture of Deuteronomy 33:27 and Isaiah 61:3)

Lord, grief feels like it is pulling me under with waves of hurt and despair and I’m overwhelmed by sadness, heartache, and even physical pain. But you are God over this storm and I trust you in it. While I didn’t see this coming, you did and you have good for me here and comfort for me even in this place of deep loss. Help me lean on your all-sufficient grace breath by breath as you walk with me in this. Thank you for your love holding me and your everlasting arms carrying me through this so I don’t have to bear this alone. You are my dwelling place. Quiet my hurting heart and let me find beauty for these ashes, blessing for this mourning, and praise instead of despair. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Strength in Grief

(Praying scripture of Psalm 34:18)

Lord, this grief is too hard for me and I cannot do this. I’m facing so many new things and so many hard tasks. They are overwhelming me and I need you desperately. You have promised to be strength in my weakness and I am counting on you. I look to you to do what I cannot. Order my steps to take care of what I can today and leave the rest in your hands. Give me strength to endure the hard emotions and the deep missing, as I cast every single care on you. Help me sleep well so that I can wake rested and ready for the day and help me to nourish my body through this deep grief. In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

A Prayer for Grief and Sadness

(Praying scripture of Psalm 46:1)

Dear God, I am overcome with sadness. I know you are my refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble and so I lean on that promise as I navigate this place of suffering. My heart is so heavy and my world feels so dark. Relieve my heart of this heaviness and help me see your light shining in the darkness. Uphold me with your comfort and surround me your infinite love. Be my hope when the enemy whispers hopelessness. I don’t know what my future holds, but I trust you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Hope in Grief

(Praying scripture of Psalm 73:26 and Romans 15:13)

Lord, though my flesh and heart may fail, you are the strength of my heart and my portion. I need you desperately. Oh God of my hope, fill me with your joy and your peace so that I can overflow with hope again. I don’t look to my circumstances which feel impossible but I look to you alone. I will fix my eyes on you when I don’t know what to do because nothing is impossible for you. Give me hope for this day as my daily bread so I can show up for my family and for the tasks needing my attention today. Help me make your voice louder than the enemy’s lies and root my hope in your unfailing character and unflagging faithfulness. I love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer When You’re Brokenhearted

(Praying scripture of Psalm 34:18 and Psalm 56:8)

Father, my heart is utterly broken, but you have promised to be close to the broken-hearted and save those crushed in spirit. Wrap me in your presence and uphold me with your comfort in my sorrow and distress. You are my only hope and though I don’t understand the whys of my circumstances, I trust you. You see every tear I cry and you have counted every one of my tossings. Redeem them Lord for you and for your purposes. Take what the enemy means for evil and use it for your good and your glory, molding my broken heart to look like yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Grief and Loneliness

(Praying scripture of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Father, when my night fills with aching loneliness, fill me with yourself. Keep me from filling the emptiness with anything that is harmful or becoming dependent on anything that would numb that loneliness. When moments in my day remind me of who I’m missing, give me grace to move through that gaping loss. You have promised to comfort us in every trouble and I ask you for your compassion and comfort. Give me eyes to see others who need your comfort and a heart to reach out to them. Use this loneliness to draw me closer to you, to depend more on you, to seek more of you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Grief and Anxiety

(Praying scripture of Psalm 23 and 2 Corinthians 10:5)

You are my Good Shepherd and I lack nothing. Help me feel your presence and know that you are with me as I walk through this valley. Thank you for going before me and for preparing a table of your goodness and blessing in the presence of my enemies. I trust the way you are taking me even though this hurts and I would have chosen different, because this path is for your glory, not mine. I call out the lies making me afraid and I take them captive to the truth that you are for me, that you are good, and that you will fulfill your promises. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

A Prayer When God Feels Distant

(Praying scripture of Psalm 139)

Lord, I know your eye is on me even though I can’t see you. And though I don’t see your hand, your hand is hemming me in, behind and before. Thank you that you have laid your hand on me. You know my deepest needs, you know my hardest struggles, and you know the longing of my heart. Help me perceive you and discern how you are moving in my life. Draw me to you in a fresh way and to your Word. Open my spiritual eyes to meet you in scripture and restore the joy of my salvation. Keep me anchored in your love when everything around me is shaking. I ask all of this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for a Grieving Friend

(Romans 12:15, Psalm 147:3)

Lord, today I weep with my friend who is weeping. I lift her to you and ask that you would bring comfort as only you can. Heal her broken heart and bind up her wounds with your kindness and goodness, with your compassion and your love. Stand with her and strengthen her when she feels weak, give her wisdom as she makes hard decisions, and sustain her with your moment-by-moment grace. Help her to trust you in this and to lean on you with her hard emotions and hard questions. Cloak her with the peace that passes all understanding as you carry her I this. Thank you for your infinite mercy that will meet her fresh every morning. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Grief on Annivesaries and Birthdays

(Praying scripture of Psalm 126:5-6, 1 Thessalonians 4:13)

Heavenly Father, this day is especially hard because it’s an anniversary/birthday of one I loved and today I’m reminded of all that’s missing. But I know Lord that I do not grieve as one without hope. You are my hope, not only for eternity but for an abundant and fruit-filled life this side of eternity. Only you can take what feels shattered and bring joy again. So I give you every piece of my broken heart and all that I’ve sown in tears and ask you for joy again. I have wept and done the hard work of grief. Fill my heart with a new song of joy. Lift my head and my heart to be able to live well in the days you’ve given me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Need more hope and encouragement from scripture? 

I’ve been enjoying this beautiful Hope & Encouragement Bible.  This Bible has wide margins for recording sermon notes or your own Bible study notes. It has a lay-flat seam (perfect for Bible study) and it’s filled with encouraging truths next to key verses as well as 52 Dayspring devotions. You get this Hope & Encourgement Bible in a set with the 100 Days of Hope & Encouragement devotional journal. This journal has 100 devotions along with journaling space to write out prayers or record personal application. Find out more about this set here!

 

 

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52 Bible Verses to Grieve with Hope

In deep grief, God’s word brings deep comfort. The Bible is living and active and meets the most broken and pain-filled places in our soul. “Within the Scripture there is balm for every wound, a salve for every sore,” Charles Spurgeon said.

Early in my grief, I was desperate for comfort only God could bring. Some Bible verses anchored me when my world turned upside down. Some verses reminded me of God’s truth when lies threatened to pull me under. And some Bible verses brought hope that, despite the cavernous loss and sadness, life would feel good again.

Psalm 119:92 says, “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” These 52 Bible verses to grieve with hope have been divided into subsections. In addition to these scriptures, get the Bible study 7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart free here.

Bible Verses to Grieve with Hope

1. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3, ESV)

2. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

3. You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30:11-12, NLT)

4. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. (Isaiah 61:3, NLT)

5. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. (Psalm 119:50, ESV)

6. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. (Isaiah 61:3, NLT)

7. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, ESV)

8. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.“ (Job 1:22, ESV)

Bible Verses About Tears

9. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:5-6, NIV)

10. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (Psalm 56:8, NLT)

11. I have heard your prayer and seen your tears…(2 Kings 20:5, NIV)

12. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Rev 21:4, ESV)

13. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5, ESV)

14. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15, ESV)

15. For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling…(Psalm 116:8, NIV)

16. “Listen, LORD, to my prayer! My eyes are flooded with tears, as I pray to you. I am merely a stranger visiting in your home as my ancestors did. (Psalm 39:12, CEB)

You can learn more about how God created our tears to help us heal in grief here. 

Bible Verses for Hope After Death

17. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NLT)

18. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, NIV)

19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:19-20, NIV)

20. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26, NIV)

21. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8, NKJV)

22. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, ESV)

23. “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! (Job 19:25-26, NLT)

24. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. (Psalm 116:15, NIV)

25. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3, ESV)

26. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8, ESV)

27. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV)

Bible Verses for Comfort in Suffering

28. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, ESV)

29. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7, ESV)

30. Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV)

31. Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV)

32. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV)

33. So we fix our eyes on Jesus, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV)

34. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. (John 14:1, NIV)

35. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25, NIV)

36. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26, ESV)

37. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. (Psalm 119:50, NIV)

38. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27, NIV)

39. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4, ESV)

40. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV)

41. The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him…(Nahum 1:7, NIV)

42. The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9, ESV)

43. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27, ESV)

44. When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. (Psalm 94:18, NIV)

45. But you, LORD, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15, NIV)

46. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13, NKJV)

47. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. (Psalm 18:3-6, NIV)

48. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:16, 19, NIV)

49. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1, NIV)

50. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2, NIV)

51. A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. (Psalm 102:1-2, NIV)

52. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. (Psalm 31:2, NIV)

 

More Bible Verses to Help Comfort in Grief

 

I asked several author friends and ministry leaders who have navigated grief to share their favorite Bible verses to comfort in grief. 

Sometimes grief is hardest in the mornings, when you wake up again to devastating loss. Find Bible verses to help morning grief here. 

The post 52 Bible Verses to Grieve with Hope appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

But the Lord Bible Verses

But The Lord Bible Verses

But the Lord are three words that make all the difference to our circumstances. Like the “but God” Bible verses, scripture also has many “but the Lord” Bible verses showing God’s sovereignty and power over every situation.

But the Lord means God will bring good out of the most difficult circumstances. But the Lord means God can redeem what looks wrecked. And but the Lord means God will triumph, not the enemy.

Here are a few of my favorite “but the Lord” scriptures.

32 “But the Lord” Bible Verses

 

Numbers 14:9
Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.

Deuteronomy 6:21
…him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

Deuteronomy 7:23
But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.

Joshua 14:12
You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.

Joshua 6:23
But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

1 Samuel 16:7
The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

2 Samuel 22:19
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

1 Kings 19:11-13 
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

2 Kings 13:23
But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.

2 Kings 17:36
But the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship.

1 Chronicles 16:26 (see also Psalm 96:5)
For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Psalm 14:26
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

Psalm 18:18
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

Psalm 32:10
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Psalm 34:19
The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

Psalm 37:17
for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

Psalm 37:33
…but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

Psalm 94:22
But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

Psalm 118:13
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.

Psalm 129:4
But the LORD is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.

Proverbs 16:9
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Proverbs 17:3
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

Proverbs 21:2
A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.

Isaiah 5:16
But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.

Isaiah 60:2
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Jeremiah 10:10
But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.

Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

Jeremiah 36:26
Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

Joel 3:16
The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Acts 9:15
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.

Take a look at 31 more “but God” Bible verses and subscribe here to get your own copy of all 31.

The post But the Lord Bible Verses appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

The Power of Gratitude: 12 Benefits of Giving God Thanks

Most of us know thanksgiving is a good practice. But do we know just how good? The Bible shows the great power of gratitude. 

While practicing daily thankfulness may seem like another chore, I hope to convince you the power of gratitude far outweighs the few minutes it takes to practice it. There are so many reasons to intentionally cultivate gratitude! 

Let’s unpack the power of gratitude with these 12 benefits of giving God thanks. (And go even deeper with this free 30-day Gratitude Bible Reading Plan.)

12 Benefits of Giving Thanks

 

1.Gratitude glorifies God.

This alone would be reason to give thanks to God. Our gratitude glorifies God as we exalt not the gifts, but the Giver. Gratitude helps us realize all we have comes not because of us, but from God.

And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 2 Corinthians 4:15

2. Gratitude helps us see God.

Gratitude opens our spiritual eyes. There’s a beautiful cycle in giving God thanks: the more we thank Him, the more we see Him working in us and around us. Gratitude helps us sense God’s presence, His personal care and His perfect timing.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. James 1:16-17

3. Gratitude puts us squarely in God’s will.

We often make God’s will out to be some big, mystical plan when sometimes, it’s simply obedience. And part of His will for us is to be thankful, not just on the sunny days but on the hard ones as well.

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

4. Gratitude brings peace.

Count your blessings, not sheep we’re told to get rid of the worry keeping us up at night. Gratitude helps us see that God’s hand is all over our circumstances. And God tells us when we give him our thanks, He gives us supernatural peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

5. Gratitude draws us to God.

Gratitude for the magnitude of God’s undeserved kindness draws us to Him. We see that when Jesus healed 10 lepers. As Jesus walked by, all 10 cried out for healing. “Go, show yourselves to the priests,” Jesus commanded and as they went, they were healed! Fingers were restored and ulcers disappeared as full sensation returned to their faces and limbs. Certainly they were all happy, but only one was thankful. Only one came back to Jesus, fell as his feet and thanked him.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:17-19

6. Gratitude brings contentment.

It’s said that gratitude makes what we have enough. If we aren’t grateful for what God has given us, getting more won’t satisfy us either. Being thankful is the key to contentment.

. . . godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

7. Gratitude deepens faith.

Keeping a record of God’s past faithfulness is a faith boost when we face new difficulty. My gratitude journals are testimonies that on my hardest days and in the worst circumstances, God’s record of faithfulness is 100%. That’s why God commanded Israel to remember His great deeds.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

8. Gratitude leads to joy.

The overflow of gratitude is joy. Realizing God’s abundant goodness, even in the hard, is a gateway for joy. Psalms 126 shows this so clearly as the Hebrew exiles sang their thanks to God for bringing them back to Israel. It’s a psalm I prayed in advance for years.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:1-3

9. Gratitude defies Satan’s lies.

Satan is so wily! He whispers that God isn’t good; that He’s withholding good from us. But his scheme’s as old as the garden of Eden, where he questioned Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” When Eve responded only the tree of good and evil was off-limits, Satan suggested God was keeping good from them. “You will not certainly die. . . For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

In a garden that was perfect, that produced abundantly without work or weeding, where every single plant but ONE had been given to Adam and Eve, Satan focused on the lack. True gratitude for God and the abundance He gives protects us from caving to the enemy’s lies.

No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

10. Gratitude guards against envy.

Envy makes us want what someone else has. I mean, we deserve it! Gratitude makes us realize God has given us far more than we deserve. Because there’s enough for everyone, we can cheer rather than compare. A heart wholly grateful has no room left for envy.

I will give You thanks with all my heart; Psalm 138:1

11. Gratitude helps us live in the present.

“Wherever you are, be all there!” Jim Elliot famously said. But that’s difficult to do in the worry and rush of life. Gratitude helps. Gratitude opens our eyes to the simple beauty of ordinary days. It lets us see this day and this moment as gifts and to take in the abundance right now.

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. Ecclesiastes 7:10

12. Gratitude is a testimony.

When we thank God openly and acknowledge what He’s done for us, we proclaim a personal, caring God to the world around us. We show that contentment and peace come not from what we have but Who we know.

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Psalm 105:1

Developing a grateful heart brings incredible blessing. My only regret in keeping a daily gratitude list? Not starting it sooner.

Want to access the power of gratitude? Go deeper with this free 30-day Gratitude Bible Reading Plan.

 

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What Does it Mean to Be Still and Know I Am God?

I reach for my journal and notice the verse “Be still and know that I am God”  impressed into the leather-like cover. 

Psalm 46:10 is a popular verse. We put it on t-shirts and coffee mugs, pulling it out of the chapter like it’s a sripture meant to stand alone. Honestly, just reading these words makes me want to stop doing, push my to-do list aside and inhale deep. 

What does it mean in Psalm 46:10 when God says “be still?”

The Context of Psalm 46
 

Psalm 46 is a psalm of praise, exalting God as a “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.” Though the psalm doesn’t note the precise circumstance, it was likely penned after God protected or rescued Jerusalem from a great threat. In poetic hyperbole, the psalmist notes there’s no reason to fear even if the very foundations of the earth were to crumble. “Though the earth givesway and the mountains move into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:2-3, ESV)

While Psalm 46 was written about the city of Jerusalem (There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. Psalm 46:4), the God who was for Jerusalem is the same God who is for us. His character doesn’t change. God is also our refuge and strength in times of trouble. And in difficult circumstances, though everything shifts around us, we need not give in to fear because God is sure help. 

While the psalm is national in context, our personal circumstances can also cause such upheaval that it feels like our very foundations are crumbling. This is exactly what I felt when my husband died suddenly and I became widow and single mom to seven children overnight. Life as I knew it had imploded and it would never be the same again.

But God who was for Jerusalem brought victory, putting an end to war, shattering the enemy’s weapons and destroying their chariots. 

God is also for us, as His beloved children. (Romans 8:31). It’s in this context of God’s victory on behalf of Jerusalem, and in parallel on our behalf, that verse 10 commands us to “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, ESV)

Be Still And Know I Am God Meaning

 

The English definition of “still” means to “be silent, uttering no sound…quiet…motionless.”¹

But the way we use be still in English is different from the Hebrew word. The instruction to be still in Hebrew means to let go, stop striving, slacken and let drop. 

It’s a picture of loosening our clenched grip on the circumstances and outcome and trusting God who’s sovereign over both.

I’m the first to admit that being still goes against my instinct. We are fixers.  We want to make it happen, keep pushing through and force an outcome.

But the call to be still is a call to surrender.

It means giving up the myth that we have control to depend wholly on God.

To be still in this verse doesn’t mean doing nothing.

It doesn’t mean to give up and sit down.   
It doesn’t mean to quit doing the last thing God called us to do.  
It doesn’t mean to wait for God to do everything.

When God commands us to be still and know He is God, He’s commanding us to release control of the situation to His sovereignty. That means releasing control of the timing, the outcome and the ways God will bring about His purpose in the situation.  

When we surrender control to God in difficult situations, we can actively do these 5 things:

1. Worship

We cannot worry when we are worshipping. Psalm 46 is a song of praise beginning with who God is. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Worship reaffirms that God is on the throne and in control. Worship ushers us into the presence of God, where we find comfort and strength. In worship, we become less and the things of this world grow dim as God is exalted.

2. Pray

One of my college friends was super excited to spend her summer overseas on mission. When she arrived, she was assigned to the nursery tending babies – not exactly the edgy missions work she’d envisioned. But in long hours rocking babies and giving bottles, she grew a deep prayer life. She said she was forever changed and grateful for the gift of time to pray deeply. 

When our calendars and hearts are stilled, we have time to pray deeply. Jesus modeled this throughout his earthly ministry, often getting up while it was still dark or going off alone to pray. While great crowds pressed to hear him and be healed, “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” (Luke 5:16)

3. Remember

When we’re still, we can remember God’s flawless record of faithfulness. Psalm 46:8 says “Come and see what the Lord has done.” We remember two ways. First, by getting into the Word, where we’re reminded of God’s character, his miracles, his provision. Second, we remember what God’s done for us personally. God has not gotten us this far to drop us now.

Joshua at the end of his life reminded Israel of God’s constant faithfulness leading them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, in the wilderness and into the Promised Land. “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Joshua 23:14

4. Give Thanks

Give thanks in all circumstances, God tells us. And once we begin, we see with fresh eyes God’s goodness all around us. That God is tenderly caring for us and threading the details of every delay and every setback to accomplish a will more perfect than we could ask or imagine.

God is good and God does good and when we stop to count our blessings, we realize what we thought mundane is rich indeed. We see that God’s grace and provision, love and kindness has not been merely sufficient, but extravagant.  

5. Watch

Even when we’re still God is at work. Though we may not see what God is doing, we can be certain God is working every circumstance to accomplish his desires.  

This was never more true than on Holy Saturday. Jesus had died and been buried and as the Sabbath began, the disciples could only be still and wait. How defeated they must have felt. But in that Saturday stillness, God fulfilled his eternal plan as Jesus experienced death on our behalf and then defeated death! In our stillness, are we looking for God’s hand?

Regardless of the circumstances that swirl around us, we can still our hearts to worship, pray, remember, thank and watch.

 

¹ Websters Dictionary 1828

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