Lori Hatcher's Blog: Refresh Blog, page 20

One Truth to Make Us Brave

I’m not brave.

You won’t catch me parasailing off the back of a cruise ship, rappelling down a mountain, or jumping out of an airplane. When my girls were little, I wouldn’t even ride the kiddie roller coaster with them at the fair. “If you want to ride THAT ride,” I told them, “you’re on your own.”

This is why I had to chuckle when a patient of mine, hearing I had gone to Japan, remarked, “Wow, you’re BRAVE.” I’ve gotten similar responses about my two mission trips to Mexico. People also call me courageous when they hear I’m a women’s ministry speaker.

“I could NEVER stand up in front of people and speak,” they say. “You’re very brave.”

And when they hear that I asked a stranger if I could pray for her? Over-the-top brave according to most people’s estimation.

I smile when I think about these comments, because I know that a timid, cowardly heart beats inside my chest. Within my own strength, I am decidedly NOT brave.

So why do I do brave things? 

Because God tells me to. 

When we know God is calling us to do something, it’s no longer a matter of preference. It becomes a matter of obedience. And with the desire to obey God and do what He’s calling us to do comes a bold confidence that He’ll also enable us to accomplish it.

Remember when God called Moses to tell Pharaoh to free the Israelites? Moses almost stammered and stuttered his way toward disobedience. “I I I cccccan’t, Lord,” he said, “I st-st-sttttutter.”

“I’ll put the words in your mouth,” God said. “Now go!” And Moses went. We all know what came of that act of obedience.

Remember what God said to Joshua when he called him to lead the Israelites in battle to conquer the land of Canaan? “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them” (Jos 1:1-2).

God called Joshua, and then he promised to go with him: “I will give you every place where you set your foot . . . . No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 3-5).

The same is true for us, because God does not change. Just as with Moses and Joshua, when He calls us, He’ll also equip, provide for, and enable us to do what He calls us to do.

This is why we can boldly go on mission trips to foreign countries. This is why we can share our faith without fear. This is why we can give and work and speak and minister in Jesus’ name with confidence—because “the everlasting God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).

Is God is calling you to a task that seems too big and scary for you to accomplish by yourself? Guess what? You’re right where He wants you to be. And He has something to say to you:

Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:8

What have you done that others have considered brave? I’d love for you to leave a comment and tell us about it. And if God is leading you to do something brave, please leave a comment below so we can pray for you.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post One Truth to Make Us Brave appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

              Related Stories3 Reasons Why You Need QuietYour Words (and your attitude) Can Impact Someone’s LifeThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future 

3 Reasons Why You Need Quiet

We live in a noisy world.

Devices ding, ping, jangle, and whistle. Media delivers a non-stop monologue. And then there are those blessed people whom God has placed in our lives—those who call us Mom, Dad, Husband, Wife, Grandma, Grandpa, Co-worker, Boss, Friend, Fellow-church member, and Passerby.

And if outside noise isn’t enough, there’s also a whole lot of noise in our heads. Sometimes it’s productive, because it reminds us of important stuff we need to do, but most of the time, it’s just environmental overflow from the hubbub around us. It elbows its way into the quiet spots in our heads like a 300-lb. man squeezing himself into the airplane seat beside us.

Today I’d like to share three reasons we need quiet in our lives:

1. Quiet allows us to hear God’s voice. As I study God’s Word, I see times when he thunders from the mountain top or shouts through a storm. Most often, however, he speaks to his children in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our souls.

Think of Elijah on the mountaintop and David in the open fields, or Daniel in his prayer closet and Jesus during his early morning worship times. Sometimes he shouts over the din or our lives through an accident, illness, crisis, or family emergency, but often, even then, his voice is muffled by the chaos around us. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Be silent, that we may hear the whisper of God.”

2. Quiet allows us to hear our voice.

Quiet spaces in our minds are open fields where God can plant the seeds of creativity and inspiration. When we still ourselves, turn off our devices, and wait in quiet reflection, it’s amazing what we think.

On a recent early-morning walk in the woods, I cleared my mind of clutter and invited the Lord into my consciousness.  As my thoughts wandered, I began to connect Scripture with an idea for a blog post. Then I thought of a lovely gift idea for my daughter for Christmas. Before the walk had ended, I had the solution to a problem I’d been wrestling with, another blog post idea, and the basis for a women’s ministry presentation.

Peter Drucker, an American businessman, said, “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” Building times of quiet thought into our days allows us to hear our own voices and leaves room for our creativity to blossom.

3. Quiet restores our souls. 

Psalm 23 reminds us that God the Good Shepherd invites us to lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our souls. Listen to the words the psalmist chose to describe the place where God refreshes us: lie down (not race around), green pastures (not black asphalt), and still waters (not raging rivers). Peaceful, hushed places, whether they’re on the top of a mountain or the corner or your bedroom, are restorative and invigorating.

Keep in mind that the place is less important than the presence. When we carve out time to sit in stillness before the Lord, we gain a fresh perspective, spiritual energy for the day, and hope for the future.

I hope by now you’re convinced that intentional periods of quiet are healthy, productive, and necessary. But the same busy world that steals our quiet also often prevents it.

How can we build times of quiet into our lives? Here are three ideas: 

1. Make an early morning quiet time a priority.

You may not naturally be a morning person, but it’s worth retraining your biological clock. There’s a reason Jesus, probably the busiest soul on the planet, met with God early in the morning. I’ve found that if I wait until nighttime/bedtime to have my quiet time, I fall asleep in the middle of it. 

2. Look for moments of quiet during the day, and instead of pulling out your cell phone to check Facebook, open your Bible app, and meditate on one verse of Scripture.

Or think about what you read that morning in your quiet time. Ask God to speak to you. Then direct your mind to conscious listening. Jot down what you think you heard. (Hint: One way to know if it’s actually God speaking is that what you hear always agrees with Scripture.)

3. Turn off the noise. 

When you’re driving, walking, or working around the house, instead of turning on the TV or your Ipod, listen instead to the silence. You’ll find mental room to think and pray if your mind isn’t pulled in a thousand different directions based on what you’re hearing from an outside source. Don’t be afraid of silence.

“Make time for the quiet moments, as God whispers, and the world is loud.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to build quiet into your days. Do you have a suggestion on how to capture or create moments of silence? Have you experienced on of the benefits I’ve listed above, or maybe you’ve thought of one I haven’t? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

Today, why not begin your day with a few moments of silence? And after you’ve stilled your soul and rested in God’s peace, allow Kari Jobe’s “Be Still My Soul” set the tone for the rest of your day.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post 3 Reasons Why You Need Quiet appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

              Related StoriesThe Best Reason Not to Fear the FutureAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?Your Words (and your attitude) Can Impact Someone’s Life 

Your Words (and your attitude) Can Impact Someone’s Life

I was reminded recently how profoundly our words (and our attitudes) can impact someone’s life.

“Isn’t the cool weather lovely this morning?” I asked my patient as I seated her in the dental chair.

“Yeah, but before you know it it’ll be cold,” she said, “and I hate cold.”

“True, but don’t you just love to curl up under a blanket on a cold winter night?”

“I guess, but cold weather means the holidays are coming, and I hate the holidays.”

“Whaaat? Don’t you like visiting with your family and eating all those delicious Christmas cookies?” I said.

“Yeah, I do, but as soon as they leave, I’ll have a mess to clean up. It’ll take days to get my house back in order. And Christmas cookies? Hmph. All that butter and sugar. My cholesterol will never recover.”

No matter what I did to steer the conversation to the positive, my patient was determined to reroute it. Like a magnet with a negative charge, this lady was headed in one direction and one direction only. Even the happy news that she had no cavities didn’t brighten her smile.

“I’ll probably have five next time,” she grumbled as she made her way out the door.

“Wow,” my boss said, “her glass was certainly half empty.”

“More like half empty with a bug at the bottom,” I said, shaking my head.

We encounter negative people every day. The grumpy barista at the coffee shop. The rude waiter at the restaurant. The Debbie Downer co-worker who loves to point out everything that’s wrong. Sometimes, horror of horror, we’re the Negative Nellie dragging down the happiness and licking the red off everyone’s candy. ‘



But while negativity is powerful, positivity is even more powerful. A smile, a kind word, or an encouraging “Atta-girl” has the ability to change someone’s day. It can raise the happiness meter in the room and make everyone within earshot smile.

Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age, said, “Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”

This has been true in my life. When I was in sixth grade, my substitute English teacher, Mrs. Silva, wrote a note at the bottom of my writing assignment. I like the interesting verbs you used. You’re going to be a great writer someday. 



Thirty years later, I’m still a long way from being a great writer, but her words set me on the path and gave me a gentle nudge.

A few summers ago, I returned to my home town. Although I had tried unsuccessfully several times before to find Mrs. Silva, a chance conversation with a relative provided the information I lacked.

With my heart beating excitedly, I called her, explained who I was, and arranged to meet. When we visited that evening, I reminded her of the writing assignment long ago and the kind words she had written at the bottom.

“Oh my,” she laughed, “I graded so many papers that semester. I don’t remember.” 

“Oh, but I do,” I assured her. “Thank you for taking the time to encourage me. And for your part in my writing journey.”

I handed her a copy of my devotional book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, inscribed with her name in the flyleaf. She sat quietly for a moment, flipping through the pages.

“I retired five years ago,” she said softly. “I’ve always wondered if I made a difference.”

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Proverbs 16:24

Today, we have the chance to affect someone’s life, either positively or negatively. Will we be like my patient with her glass half full and something nasty in the bottom? Or will we be like my middle school teacher with her glass so full it runs over and splashes onto everyone nearby?

The choice is ours.

Now it’s your turn. Has anyone ever spoken words of affirmation that changed the course of your life? Leave a comment below and share your story.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post Your Words (and your attitude) Can Impact Someone’s Life appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

              Related StoriesAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?10 Truths to Teach Your Children and Grandchildren about PrayerThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future 

Is It Enough to Believe with All Your Heart?

“I believe with all my heart God is going to heal him.” 

“If I truly believe God is going to ___________ (deliver me from my financial troubles, give me a new car, send me a husband, release me from the job I hate), then he will. But I have to reeeeealy believe it.” 

“God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and happy. If you’re not, it’s because you don’t have enough faith. James 1:6-8 says so: ‘But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.’” 

Have you ever heard someone say one or all of these statements? I have. 

I’ve also seen people continue to experience illness, financial trouble, singleness, difficult marriages, and challenging jobs, even though they reeeeeeealy believed God was going to answer their prayers for deliverance. Was their faith not strong enough? Did they harbor a smidgen of doubt that hindered God from answering their prayers? 

How can we be sure we have enough faith to tip the scales in our favor when God decides which prayers to answer in the affirmative? And how do we “ask in faith, believing,” when we’re just not sure how God’s going to answer? 

Years ago I was scheduled to have surgery to remove a cyst/tumor. There was some concern that the growth might be malignant, but we wouldn’t know until the day of surgery. As I prayed about the outcome, I wrestled with “asking in faith, believing,” for a cancer-free report. I knew God could heal me if necessary. He certainly had the power. 

But the thought occurred to me that he might not choose to. I’ve lived long enough to know that sometimes God glorifies himself by delivering someone from a difficult situation. Other times he glorifies himself by empowering them to go through it. How could I know God’s will in order to believe with all my heart and get the answer I hoped for? 

Jennifer Kennedy Dean, in Live a Praying Life answers this question better than anyone I’ve ever heard. Listen to what she writes: 

“Faith is not ‘believing real hard.’ Faith is not shutting your eyes and drawing a long breath and willing yourself to believe something. You can make yourself believe anything, true or not. Believing something won’t make God do it. Belief is one thing; faith is something else.” 

Her observations are similar to mine, that because “many believers have mistaken belief for faith, they have had experiences in prayer that are discouraging and disappointing.” She describes faith quite differently than belief: 

“Faith has only one focus: God. Jesus said: ‘Have faith in God’ (Mark 11:22). When your faith is in God, not in your own idea of what God should do and how He should do it, then faith has substance. The person who is living a praying life is living a life of faith. That person understands that prayer is always releasing the power of God for the purposes of God. Therefore, once prayer has begun, whatever direction as situation takes, it is taking the direction that will accomplish the purposes of God. That’s faith.” 

And then, she writes the words that parted the faith curtain for me: “You do not have to be able to predict how God will act in order to have faith.”

What we must know to be able to ask in faith, believing, is that God is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving. Everything he allows into a believer’s life is to accomplish two purposes: my good and his glory. Knowing this allows me to yield my will to his and trust him to accomplish his ultimate and best purpose in every situation. 

Richard Foster, in the book, Prayer, says this: “Frequently we hold on so tightly to the good that we do know that we cannot receive the greater good that we do not know. God has to help us let go of our tiny vision in order to release the greater good he has in store for us . . .” 

This is why the true prayer of faith lifts our requests to him, then ends with, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” When we pray this way, we can rest in faith, knowing we can trust the God who has all the power of the universe and all the wisdom of the world at his disposal. Knowing that he loves us and is working for our highest good and his glory allows us confidently to yield our will to his, “asking in faith, believing.” 

I’m so thankful we don’t have to figure out what’s best and then work ourselves into a belief frenzy before we can pray. Instead, we can come before the Lord and acknowledge, “God, I don’t know what the best answer is in this situation, but you do. I trust you. Please work for my good and your glory.”

Now it’s your turn. What does this explanation of the difference between belief and faith mean to you? Leave a comment in the box below and share your thoughts. 

And if you have questions about prayer, I’d love to share the insights I’ve learned over my 20-year journey. Our Daily Bread helped me capture them in my most recent book, Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Restore Power and Praise.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post Is It Enough to Believe with All Your Heart? appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

               
CommentsIs It Enough to Believe with All Your Heart? by LoriAHatcherDoes God Love Me? by LoriAHatcher5 Things to Do When You Feel Hopeless by LoriAHatcherThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future by LoriAHatcherThe #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity by LoriAHatcherPlus 5 more...Related StoriesAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?5 Things to Do When You Feel HopelessThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future 

Does God Love Me?

How can I know God loves me? When it comes to children and spiritual truth, I’m never sure who is the teacher and who is the student. 

Such was the case during a conversation I had with my oldest granddaughter, Lauren, when she was around four years old. 

“Gigi!” she said as she bounced into my house one Friday morning. (If you’ve spent any time lately around preschool girls, you know that every statement ends in an exclamation point, and that they run, skip, bounce, or hop everywhere. Walking is never an option.) 

“I drew you a picture so you’d remember me while I’m in New-Ork.” She waved the masterpiece in her hand. “See, it’s you and me on a mountain. And I wrote my name on the bottom so you’d merember who drawed it.” 

“You know something?” I said, scooping her up and twirling her around in a happy circle. “I think about you every day. Every. Single. Day. You know why?” 

She thought a moment, then said matter-of-factly, “Because you love me?” 

“Yup. Because I love you. And you know what? There’s someone else who thinks about you every single day. Can you guess who?” 

She thought a little longer, following the trajectory of my thoughts. 

“God?”

 “Yup.” Her blue eyes lit up with the success of nailing the correct answer. 

“He thinks about you every single day . . . Do you know why?” 

The pause was longer this time, but then, “. . . because he loves me?” 

“Yes!” I said, “He loves you so much he never stops thinking about you.” 

This heartache . . . if God loves me, then he can heal my heart and restore my joy. 

When Jesus said we must become as little children to see the kingdom of God, I think he had in mind simple conversations like this one. If we, like little Lauren, accepted without conditions the fact that God loves us and never stops thinking about us, it would eliminate much of the angst we feel every day. 

This circumstance I’m experiencing . . . if God loves me, then I can trust him to use it for good in my life. 

This hard path I’m walking on . . . if God loves me, then he won’t abandon me to face it alone. 

What are you going through right now? Would it look different if you viewed it through the certainty of God’s love?

Try it and see. Then trust, pray, and rest. 

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). 

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post Does God Love Me? appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

               
CommentsDoes God Love Me? by LoriAHatcher5 Things to Do When You Feel Hopeless by LoriAHatcherThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future by LoriAHatcherThe #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity by LoriAHatcherWhy We Love Feeding People by LoriAHatcherPlus 5 more...Related Stories5 Things to Do When You Feel HopelessThe Best Reason Not to Fear the FutureThe #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity 

5 Things to Do When You Feel Hopeless

I can’t imagine a more desperate situation than having a child who is near death. 

It’s a terrifying experience, no matter what the age of the child. In our own family, I have two miracle nephews, both of whom were frighteningly close to death, but whose lives God chose to spare. I pray every day that these men will never forget God’s mercy to them and never take their lives for granted. 



I thought of my nephews today when I read of another frantic parent on the pages of Scripture—Jairus. His 12-year-old daughter was sick and near death. This Judean family lacked the benefit of modern medicine, state-of-the-art equipment, and well-trained specialists. 



All they had was prayer. 



And Jesus. 



I hope you never have a child who is critically ill, but we all face faith challenges like the one Jairus and his wife encountered. We’d be wise to learn from his example.

Here are five principles we can apply from Luke 8 when we encounter a faith challenge:

1. Run to Jesus for help. 



Jairus flung himself at Jesus’ feet and begged him to heal his daughter, and we must do the same. While we should avail ourselves of every resource available and every human being who can assist us, it’s crucial that we begin and end with God. We must recognize it is God who holds our lives, our futures, our fortunes, and our families in his hands. He is the gatekeeper who can provide and direct all other resources our way. 



2. When things look darkest, don’t give up. 



Friends met Jairus on the way and told him not to bother the teacher anymore, that his daughter was dead. Short of death, we mustn’t believe the lies that say our situation is hopeless. The pages of Scripture and the history of our world hold innumerable examples of God’s miraculous power. He can cause a barren womb to bear a child, a jobless man to provide for his family, a lonely orphan to find a home, and a comatose patient to speak again.

Nothing is impossible for God. NOTHING. 



3. Don’t be afraid. 



When the news arrived that Jairus’ daughter had died, Jesus issued a challenge to him: “Do not be afraid. Only believe . . .” We too must rest in the perfect love of Jesus, trust his plan and purpose for our lives, and allow his peace to replace our fear. We must remember that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” (Rom. 14:23) and not surrender to the sin of unbelief. It hinders the effectiveness of our prayers and steals valuable energy from our efforts. We cannot allow it to hamstring us.

4. Watch God work. 



When he arrived at the home, Jesus commanded everyone with no faith to leave the room. Then he demonstrated his sovereign power over man’s greatest enemy, death, by raising Jairus’ daughter to life again. While we may not be praying for someone who is critically ill, the same power that raised the dead is available to us through Jesus Christ. 



And if your faith is weak? Remember that faith is like a muscle—the more we use it, the stronger it grows. If you have only tiny faith, pray mustard seed prayers and watch God answer. Every prayer victory will make it easier to believe God for something greater the next time. 

Don’t be afraid to ask God to give you more faith. The father of the demon-possessed boy did: “I do believe;” he confessed to Jesus, “help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). 



I know there are some reading this post who have prayed, hoped, and believed God would spare your loved ones, yet they still died. I’ve been on that side of the hospital bed too, and I know your sorrow. I don’t always understand God’s ways, but I know we can trust him, even when our hearts are breaking. 

Others may be struggling with infertility or fighting to stretch an unemployment check. Your heart may be aching for a prodigal or experiencing a broken marriage. Unless God shows us that his will is different than what we’ve been praying, no matter how dark the situation seems, we must continue to pray for God’s miraculous deliverance. 

Jesus’ words to Jairus are his words to us as well: 



“Do not be afraid. Only believe . . .”

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post 5 Things to Do When You Feel Hopeless appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

               
Comments5 Things to Do When You Feel Hopeless by LoriAHatcherThe Best Reason Not to Fear the Future by LoriAHatcherThe #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity by LoriAHatcherWhy We Love Feeding People by LoriAHatcher2 Reasons for the Trials that Blindside You by LoriAHatcherPlus 5 more...Related StoriesThe Best Reason Not to Fear the FutureAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?10 Truths to Teach Your Children and Grandchildren about Prayer 

The Best Reason Not to Fear the Future

I asked a group of women recently to list the fears that race around in their heads when they lie down to sleep. Here’s a sampling:

Will my children and grandchildren walk with God?

Will my marriage go the distance?

Will we have enough money to pay for college, weddings, and retirement?

Will we be persecuted for our faith?

Will our country continue to disintegrate?

Will societal unrest destroy our country?

Will godly officials be elected to office?

For these and other fears, there is hope–in God’s Word and in the Disney movie starring Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin. I watched it recently, and one line from the movie connected me with God’s truth. It has reverberated in my heart since I heard it.

In one scene, an adult Christopher Robin awakens to discover he’s slept the night away. He’s late for a very important meeting.

“Oh no!” he says. “It’s tomorrow.” Panicked, he rushes into a day filled with pressure, problems, and hopeless scenarios. A day devoid of joy and fun. 

Pooh remembers their conversation as the sun sets on the movie. “What day is today?” he asks. 

“It’s today,” Christopher Robin replies. 

“Oh, that’s my favorite day. Yesterday, when it was tomorrow, it was much too much day for me.” 

I have often felt Pooh’s angst. Standing on the precipice of Today peering through the thin veil into Tomorrow, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by what the future might hold. Fear clutches my heart. 

Tomorrow is much too much day for me. 

Thankfully, Jesus knows the frailties of our hearts. This is why he cautioned, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mat. 6:34). 

Don’t peer into the veil, he warns. One day’s challenges are enough. 

Jeremiah, in the book of Lamentations, tells us why each day must stand on its own. 

“(God’s) mercies never end. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23).

Like the manna He supplied to the Israelites every day, God’s supply is inexhaustible – but the quantities are limited. Today’s mercies are only enough to feed Today’s growling stomach. There are no leftovers to vacuum seal and set aside. Tomorrow’s mercies remain safely stored in the warehouse of God’s supply until the new day arrives, and we cannot raid the stash. 

Yet we want to. Oh, how we want to. 

We want to stockpile a lifetime’s supply of mercy so only have to ask once. We long to shed our mantle of fear and uncertainty forever. We want to walk into our future with our mercy cloaks wrapped tightly about us, impervious to the fiery darts of our uncertain futures – the same darts that drive us to seek shelter in the shadow of the Almighty. 

But it doesn’t work that way. “Yesterday’s mercies are for yesterday’s burdens,” John Piper said, and it’s true. Today’s mercy check is payable to the bearer on demand, but it can’t be post-dated. 



Every day God invites us to sit at his feet and obtain all the mercy we need – but only for that day’s challenges. 

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,” the writer of Hebrews says, “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 

This daily portion of grace and mercy tethers us to his side, where we are safe, instead of releasing us to the dangers of spiritual independence. 

God knows our hearts. He knows we’d jerk the coat of adequacy off the rack, shove our arms into its sleeves, and march off into the future with nary a backward glance. Clothed in our self-sufficiency, we’d have no reason to sit at his feet, learn from him, and allow him to work through us. We’d have no need for a relationship with him if he provided all we needed to live without him. 

Knowing our willful bent toward independence, God tethers us to himself by his grace. There we experience the freedom of knowing he’ll provide everything we need, exactly when we need it. 

What a gift. 

If you feel overwhelmed and frightened by the what ifs of the future, take heart. If you can’t bear the thought of tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, rest easy. As Pooh so wisely observed, tomorrow is much too much day for you. 

But today isn’t. Today you have God’s mercies – and they are new every day, abundantly sufficient for everything you will encounter. 

Today is all you have to face. And God’s mercies are already here.

Who in your life is struggling with fear? Please share this post with them today.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post The Best Reason Not to Fear the Future appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

              Related StoriesAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?10 Truths to Teach Your Children and Grandchildren about PrayerToday’s the Day! Two Very Special Birthdays 

The #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity

Purity isn’t about saying No. 

I can give you ten reasons why sex outside of marriage isn’t a good idea. You probably can, too. But purity isn’t about saying No, because No has it all wrong. 

The more books, articles, and blogs I read, the more sermons, pod casts, and You Tube videos I listen to, the more of God’s Word I study, the more I realize that purity is all about saying yes, not about saying no.

No Has It All Wrong

When I was 7 years old, my sister and I were playing hide and seek in the basement of our family’s Rhode Island apartment. It was a frigid December day—too cold for two little girls to play outside. Noisy, active, and suffering from a bad case of cabin fever, we were too rambunctious for my mother’s liking. She banished us to the basement until dinnertime. 

That’s when we decided to play hide and seek. And when we discovered the hidden stash.

Ducking behind a shelving unit, my shoulder brushed against a pile of boxes wrapped in an old, blue tarp. Curious, I proceeded to investigate. When I peeled back the tarp, I found the Mother Lode—a huge pile of Christmas presents. 

My sister and I gazed in delight at our wish list come alive—a Barbie Beach van, complete with detachable surfboards, an auburn-haired Kelly doll in a green polka-dotted midi dress, and matching purple body suits with crushed velvet pants. We dug into the pile, grinning and squealing with delight. 

Hearing Mom’s footsteps in the kitchen above reminded us that we were pirates in danger of being caught with our hands in the treasure chest. 

We guiltily re-wrapped the gifts in the tarp and resumed play until Mom called us for dinner. In the days that followed, we’d often sneak down to the basement to check on our presents. We’d unwrap the tarp from the pile and cover it back up again. We imagined how fun it would be to fully enjoy our presents on Christmas day. 

In the week before Christmas, the gifts appeared one by one under the tree, wrapped in shiny paper instead of the old blue tarp. 

I wonder if my mom noticed that we weren’t more excited. In truth, we paid the gifts little attention, because we’d handled the toys so often, we recognized the shape of every box and package. There was no mystery. 

Ordinarily it was impossible for us to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, but when bedtime came, we settled down quietly. The anticipation of Christmas Day washed over us like lukewarm ginger ale left sitting on the counter—it was stale and flat. 

Christmas morning was, too. Oh, we delivered the oft-practiced fake exclamations of surprise and spouted the expected, “I can’t believe it! It’s just what I wanted,” but the sparkle was absent. 

After all, we’d already unwrapped the gifts. 

Saving sex for marriage isn’t saying no to the gifts of passion, excitement, and desire. Instead, it’s saying yes to the greater, more exciting, and more desirable gifts of passion, excitement, and desire with God’s blessing. 

God isn’t, as some have proposed, a sexual killjoy. After all, sex was his idea—a beautiful creation designed to knit the souls of two people together for life. He designed it to enhance our joy, cement our love, and bring pleasure and release. He designed it as the most intimate way two people can give themselves to one another in total commitment. 

Saying Yes to Purity

When we say yes to purity, we embrace the best God has to offer us—joy and fun in its perfect context—a marriage between two people committed to each other for life. 

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to a guilt-free relationship with the one we love and the Savior of our souls. 

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to God’s favor, knowing that God’s hand of blessing will not rest upon those who know his will and choose to do otherwise. 

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to an unhindered prayer life, because if we harbor sin in our hearts, God will not hear us (Ps. 66:18).

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to the knowledge that practicing self-control now, when it’s oh, so tempting, will make it easier to fight temptation in the future. 

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to God’s bigger plan for our relationships—to stand out as a powerful witness in this sin-sick culture. 

When we say yes to purity, we say yes to joy—eager, anticipatory, guilt- and risk-free joy. 

If I could go back 50 years and do Christmas 1971 over again, I’d make a different choice. I think you might, too. 

I wouldn’t unwrap the gifts until it was time.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post The #1 Thing You Need to Know about Purity appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

              Related StoriesAre You Waiting for Scary Test Results?10 Truths to Teach Your Children and Grandchildren about PrayerToday’s the Day! Two Very Special Birthdays 

Why We Love Feeding People

Why do we love feeding people? 

In my family, the love affair with feeding people goes way back. “Eat!” my grandmother would say. “You’re too thin!” She’d fry up Portuguese doughnuts drenched in sugar and set them before my sisters and me. Watching us devour her goodies, she’d smile a contented smile. 

Feeding Our Kids

One of my favorite memories is of preparing my youngest daughter’s 8th birthday breakfast. I was committed to feeding my family a low-sugar, no-junk food diet, but on her birthday, healthy went out the window. The birthday girl could request anything she wanted. 

She chose three of her favorite foods—chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and ice cream with chocolate syrup. Seeing her eyes sparkle when I brought her tray into her bedroom was a joy. Watching her devour her special food made me happy. 

Feeding Our Grandchildren

Now that I’m a grandma, I’ve had so much fun introducing my grandchildren to new foods. When our first granddaughter was a tiny girl, she loved strawberries. She’d eat the leaves and all if we didn’t watch her. She tasted watermelon for the first time at my house. Knowing it was going to be a messy process, we stripped her down to her diaper and sat her in the middle of the table. Barely old enough to sit up, she held a watermelon chunk in both hands and gummed her way to watermelon heaven. The memory of that day still makes me smile. 

As a special treat at Christmas time, I gave her one of my favorite holiday goodies, a Peanut Butter Temptation. Baked in a mini muffin pan, these heavenly treats combine two of my favorites—a peanut butter cookie and a Reese’s peanut butter cup. She was delighted, and so was I. 

Feeding the Birds

Today I filled my bird feeder with black oil sunflower seeds for the first time this winter. It didn’t take long for the cardinals, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches to find the feast I left for them. They swarmed my feeder, returning again and again to fill their bellies. Every time I passed the window, I felt happy. 

Watching my feathered friends feast and replaying my food memories makes me wonder if God takes equal delight in feeding us. Does it bring him pleasure to hear us sigh contentedly after a delicious meal? Does He grin happily when we return thanks for a bountiful Thanksgiving meal or a church potluck? Does his heart warm with satisfaction when we savor warm soup on a cold night? 

Our heavenly Father loves to meet our needs. Like I happily shared my favorite Christmas goody with my granddaughter, God delights in providing for us. And because He is a father who loves to give good gifts to his children, He doesn’t stop at the minimum. Sometimes he serves us chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, AND ice cream with chocolate syrup, just because. 

Thanking God

If you’re thankful for God’s generous hand of provision, why not join me in thanking God?

Father, thank you for your generous heart toward us. Thank you for providing not just our needs, but our wants as well. Thank you for giving us the ability to taste food, share it with others, and return thanks. Help us never take it for granted, but always be mindful of where it came from. We love you, God. Amen.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Matthew 6:26

Do you love feeding people? What’s your favorite “feeding time” memory? I’d love for you to share it in the comments. If you’re reading by email, CLICK here to post your comment.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

Why We Love Feeding People

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The post Why We Love Feeding People appeared first on Lori Hatcher.

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2 Reasons for the Trials that Blindside You

Trials usually blindside us. 

Although some creep into our lives, most leap out and clobber us. One moment we’re strolling along happily, and the next, WHAM, we’re lying on the pavement wondering what just happened. 

Sometimes this happens literally, like the friend who stepped out onto her deck to water the plants and found herself at the foot of the stairs with a broken hip. Other times our trials come in the form of a job loss, family crisis, or sudden death. With no time to prepare, we’re left reeling, swaying from one emotion to the next. Fear, grief, and confusion pummel us until we’re emotionally and spiritually battered. 

In times like these, God’s sovereignty can be a mighty comfort. 

It can also be a stumbling block. 

People often struggle with God’s sovereign control when tragedy or trial enters their lives. Knowing God could prevent bad things from happening, we wonder why he allows hardship. 

But God is bigger than today. And even though I don’t like to acknowledge it, He has more in mind than just my comfort. His plan is grander, higher, and better than a pain-free, effortless life for us all. He tried that once, at the beginning of time, and humanity rejected it. 

Instead, He has one of two purposes for everything that happens in this world. 

The First Purpose for Trials

First, he wants to reconcile all who would believe to himself. He often uses the trials of this life to help us realize how much we need a relationship with him. Many a soul has cried out to God for salvation when they’ve reached the end of themselves and discovered how much they need someone wiser and stronger to direct their lives. God uses trials to draw us to himself. 

But what if we already have a relationship with him? What if we’ve already surrendered our lives to his control? What merit is there then in suffering and hardship? 

The Second Purpose for Trials

This is where the second aspect of his purpose comes in. God allows difficulty to grow our faith. He uses scary times to prove that he will take care of us. He uses heartbreak to help us realize that when all seems lost, God remains. 

My Experience

I’ve walked with God for more than 35 years. I’ve experienced heart-expanding joys and heart-breaking pain. The joyful times filled me with gratitude and worship to God. The gut-wrenching times flung me into his arms because I had nowhere else to go. 

The happy times have cemented my love and gratitude toward my heavenly Father, because every good gift comes from him. The hard times have anchored my trust in him. 

I’ve learned that whatever comes my way, God will walk through it with me. “Everyone deserted me,” the apostle Paul testified in 2 Timothy 4:16-17, “but the Lord stood at my side.” 

God wooed me with his mercy, then won me with his commitment. “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you,” he promises in Hebrews 5:15. The ultimate bridegroom, he has pledged to stand by me for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth. 

And he has kept his promise. No day begins without his steady presence beside me. No monster knocks on my door without him at my side. No need of mine goes unmet, although his superior wisdom often provides in ways far different than I expect. 

“In the day of prosperity, be joyful,” Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 7:14, “but in the day of adversity consider; Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other.” 

The Conclusion and Comfort

Because we live in a fallen world, sickness, heartache, and pain will eventually enter our lives. Believers and unbelievers alike will experience their share of sorrow. But we get to choose – will we walk through these days alone or with the Lord by our side? 

Because of God’s faithfulness and character, we can trust him. Whether joy or pain comes our way, we can have peace, knowing that our loving Father promises to use everything in our lives for our ultimate good and his everlasting glory. 

That’s powerful comfort.

Now it’s your turn. If you’re struggling with God’s sovereignty in the face of trial or loss, I want to pray for you. If you’ll leave a comment below, I promise to ask our Father to wrap his loving arms around you and carry you through. He is faithful. You can trust him.

Does Your Prayer Life Need Refreshing?

We know Bible reading and prayer are vital parts of our faith, but what happens when our prayer lives become stagnant and our quiet times grow stale? We need something more than just familiar verses and the command to pray. In Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise, Lori Hatcher shares relevant, five-minute devotions that spotlight unusual prayer verses in the Bible.

Each devotion ends with a Power Point (a spiritual truth to empower your faith) and a Praise Prompt (a short prayer designed to magnify God and make your faith soar). The Live It Out section challenges you to apply what you’ve learned right now for immediate change.

If you’re tired of your all-too-quiet quiet time, Refresh Your Prayers is the answer.

The UNcommon Book on Prayer – Unusual Devotions to Unlock Power and Praise

Available now at Amazon.com.

Have you subscribed to Refresh?

If you’d like to receive a weekly 5-minute devotion to help you rediscover the excitement of God’s Word, CLICK HERE.

The post 2 Reasons for the Trials that Blindside You appeared first on Lori Hatcher.