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March 27 - March 29, 2020
Jesus never asks us to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He calls us to a life of faith, not a life of comfort. Instead of coming to him for a safer, easier, stress-free lifestyle, the Son of God challenges us to risk loving others more than ourselves. Instead of indulging our daily desires, he calls us to deny them for something eternal. Instead of living by what we want, he tells us to pick up our crosses daily and follow his example.
Jesus never asks us to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He calls us to a life of faith, not a life of comfort. Instead of coming to him for a safer, easier, stress-free lifestyle, the Son of God challenges us to risk loving others more than ourselves. Instead of indulging our daily desires, he calls us to deny them for something eternal. Instead of living by what we want, he tells us to pick up our crosses daily and follow his example.
I worry that for a lot of people prayer is like buying a lottery ticket, a chance at a life here on earth that’s problem free, stress free, pain free. For others, prayer is merely a sentimental routine, like reciting favorite song lyrics or a beloved nursery rhyme from childhood. Yet others pray only because they feel even guiltier if they don’t. But none of these prayers reflect the life Jesus came to give us. Instead, he called us to leave everything to follow him.
I worry that for a lot of people prayer is like buying a lottery ticket, a chance at a life here on earth that’s problem free, stress free, pain free. For others, prayer is merely a sentimental routine, like reciting favorite song lyrics or a beloved nursery rhyme from childhood. Yet others pray only because they feel even guiltier if they don’t. But none of these prayers reflect the life Jesus came to give us. Instead, he called us to leave everything to follow him.
As your faith grows, your prayers will likely well up deep inside you. You may not even know how to express them in words. They’re simply communication between you and your Father, the living God Almighty. Deeply personal and just as unique as your fingerprint.
David surrendered his heart before God and prayed one of the most vulnerable, transparent, and dangerous prayers you’ll ever hear. Wanting to honor God in every aspect of his being, David prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23–24).
The prophet said, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer. 17:9 NLT). It’s easy to pretend we are good at heart, but the Bible teaches us that our heart deceives us and is desperately wicked. At its core, our heart is all about self—not Christ. It’s about what’s temporary—not eternal. It’s about what’s easy—not what’s right. It’s obsessed with what we want—not what God wants. You might think, no, not me. My heart is good. Please remember, without Christ, it’s not. If we think it is, we are being deceived by our own
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after asking God to search his heart, David prayed, “know my anxious thoughts” (Ps. 139:23). He wanted to share his worst fears with God. To face them and give them a name. To trust that God was bigger than any fear David could dream up. Are you willing to pray such a prayer? “Lord, reveal what holds my mind hostage. Show me what I fear the most. Go ahead, help me face what terrifies me.”
God showed me that what I feared the most revealed where I trusted God the least.
The things that kept me awake at night were the things that I wasn’t trusting God to handle.
Our fears matter. Because ultimately, our fears show how we’re relying on our own efforts and not trusting in our Savior. The truth is we—you and I and everyone—are always inadequate. We’re never enough. We’re always weak. But here’s the incredible thing: when we’re weak, God’s power is made perfect (see 2 Cor. 12:9).
the pathway to your greatest potential is often straight through your greatest fear.
If you’re afraid of failing, it could be that your spiritual enemy is trying to talk you out of doing what God has created you to do. So pray and step into your fear. Let God propel you forward by faith. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.
Remind yourself that you love pleasing God more than you fear failing.
As God reveals your fears, he will also build your faith. You need him. You need his presence. You need his power. You need his Spirit guiding you. You need his Word strengthening you. Faith doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Faith means you don’t let fear stop you.
Even after he knew the goodness of God and had walked with him for most of his life, David still blew it. And that’s why he prayed this dangerous portion of the prayer: “Search me, God . . . know my anxious thoughts. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” (Ps. 139:23–24).
most of us are masters at rationalizing our wrong actions. If you’re like me, you’re good at accusing others, and equally good at excusing yourself.
more than two people that you love and trust suggest you have a problem, you should recognize that you have a problem and deal with it immediately.
God showed me clearly: I was settling for a counterfeit reality and missing out on what mattered most. I was missing out on my life, losing precious moments with the people I love most.
“In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good” (Ps. 36:2–3).
If someone is suggesting a change in your life and you bark back, instead of barking, you would be wise to listen.
I’ve found that the more convinced I am that I’m right about something, the more likely that I’m wrong.
Denying the truth doesn’t change the facts.
Being obsessed with the approval of others is, in a word, idolatry.
don’t be discouraged. Be full of faith. Discovering your deepest need is a gift. It’s an opportunity. It’s a blessing. Because your deepest need becomes a gift when it moves you to depend on Christ.
Wherever you are weak, his strength is there. Wherever you are hurting, his comfort is available. When you are tempted, his grace will give you a way out. Let your fears drive you to God. The fear of God is the only cure for the fear of people. If you battle with lust, let God’s Word renew your mind. If you are tripping over pride, humble yourself and God will lift you up. If you are hiding a secret sin, find forgiveness by confessing it to God and healing by confessing it to trustworthy people. Ask God to show you the truth. Because the truth will set you free.
venture out into the deep waters of communication with God. Open your heart to healing from a divine God. Step into the beauty of God’s forgiveness and grace. Seek his unfailing, unconditional, and unquenchable love. And have the courage to pray this dangerous prayer. But don’t just pray it. Respond to what he shows you. Step through your greatest fear and into faith. Embrace your deepest need and let it drive you to depend on Christ.
Even though trials are never fun or easy to endure, God can often use them for his purposes. In fact, James, the half-brother of Jesus, was bold enough to tell us we should be thankful for the way God uses hardship to perfect us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4).
Instead of just asking God to keep you safe, give you more, and protect your life, you may have to ask God to break you.
Gary reminded me that God loved me. He always has my best interests in mind. But for me to be wholly useful to him, I’d have to be empty of myself. God would have to break me of pride, of self-confidence, of self-sufficiency. And God would also have to break me of things that I didn’t even know needed to be removed from my life.
what are we losing by clinging to our comfort?
In some way, at some time, he showed her unconditional love when she had known only abuse. He treated her with dignity. He showed her respect. He honored her when others heaped shame. Jesus would have shown her the same love, same grace, same mercy that he offered to every repentant sinner that he’d ever encountered. Though she would have been full of shame, he helped her feel worthy. Though she would have felt worthless, he showed her that she had value. Though she was guilty of sin, Jesus offered her grace.
The perfume not only represented the work she used to do; it also represented what she could use to stir up future “business.” When she broke the bottle, she burned her bridges. No going back. She poured out all the perfume on Jesus, symbolizing that she would give him all of her life.
But some scholars believe, and I agree, that Jesus’ instruction to “do this” included more than a simple and short act, or ritual, involving bread and wine. Some believe that Jesus’ “do this” also refers to how we are to live. We don’t just remember Jesus during Holy Communion at church; we remember him in how we live our lives daily. Because Jesus’ body was broken, because his blood was poured out for us, we too should live daily for him, broken and poured out.
But it’s in the giving of our lives that we find true joy. Rather than pursuing our will, we surrender to his. Instead of trying to fill our lives with all that we want, we empty our lives to make a difference in the lives of others.
We too are to die to ourselves, so we can live for him. Broken and poured out.
Jesus isn’t inviting us to a life of comfort and ease, but one of surrender and sacrifice.
What if when Jesus said “do this,” he wasn’t just talking about a ritual that we do occasionally at church? What if he was also inviting us to be broken and poured out daily? What if he was inviting us to a life of humility, sacrifice, generosity, and joy? What if, instead of praying, “God watch over me, protect me, and bless me,” we invited God to do something deeper in our lives? What if we recognized that burdens can, with God’s help, become blessings? What if we embraced the truth that problems can make us stronger? That trials can strengthen our faith? That hurting can make us more
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So I started praying one of the most dangerous prayers anyone can pray. “God, I trust you so much. I know that you love me, that you are always working in me. If you want to do something more in me, then do it. If it’s painful, then I welcome the pain. If you want to use trials to make me stronger, build my faith, make me closer to you, then use them. God, do whatever it takes to free me from my love for this world. To crucify my love of comfort. God, break me.”
It’s easy to impress people with our strengths, but real connections are forged through our shared weaknesses. We may impress people with what we can do. But we connect in our common struggles. This is one of the blessings of brokenness. We may fight to be strong. Show our best when posting selfies. And never let them see us down. But when we are broken together, bonding goes deeper than we can imagine—especially in the family of God. Just as persecution always unites, strengthens, and emboldens Christians who suffer together, so does brokenness create a bond that stands the test of time.
John explained to me that tinnitus is the worst pain he could ever imagine. And yet, by God’s grace, he’d never been closer to God than he was in that moment. He told me that in brokenness, he found joy.
In the brokenness and pouring out of his life, John found hope. In the middle of his worst pain, he discovered a peace from heaven that he didn’t have the words to explain. I had discovered it for myself. But now I saw it in him. In our brokenness, we often experience God’s greatest blessings.
The apostle Paul cried out desperately to God for healing and deliverance from some unknown trial. In three different seasons, Paul begged, pleaded, and petitioned God to take it away. But when God said no, Paul discovered something he would have missed otherwise.* God’s grace was enough. Who does God most often use? God uses those who are broken and dependent on him.
True brokenness before God isn’t a one-time event; it’s a daily decision. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31 NKJV). What does that mean? Every day, he chose to crucify his own desires so he could live fully for God’s.
Being broken isn’t just a moment in time born out of a painful event. It’s a daily choice to die to pride. To crucify lust. To destroy selfishness. Rather than living a life of ease, it’s a choice to live a life of faith.
If you are struggling financially, fall on God and trust him for his provision. If your life is falling to pieces, break along with it. Trust that God will be what you need. Adjust your heart. Guide your steps. If you have had a bad report from a doctor or you are afraid for the health of someone you love, pray to Jesus, the one who healed the sick and performed miracles in the lives of everyday people. When things get difficult, many run from God. Don’t do that. Run to him. And don’t fight the breaking. Forget trying to appear strong. Be weak. Be vulnerable. Be broken. It’s in your weakness
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Let me remind you, this isn’t advanced Christianity. Brokenness isn’t just for monks and missionaries. Brokenness is actually the first step. It’s basic Christianity. The gospel is an invitation to come and die. Die to your sins. Die to your past. Die to your flesh. And die to your fears. It’s not a comfortable, halfhearted, part-time commitment to Christ. It’s a radical, daring submission to his will for your life.
We might even correctly think we’re unqualified, inadequate, or unprepared to do what God asks us to do. But that’s not a problem. You see, God never calls perfect people. God calls imperfect, flawed, weak men and women just like you and me. He simply wants people willing to be vessels, and he invites them to use their lives to make a difference for him.
When was the last time you had such an encounter with God that you were left in awe at his glory and holiness? Too often these days, many people treat him casually, even trivially.
To truly get to a point of submission and availability to God, and to be fully aware of his presence, we are wise to recognize and understand our sinfulness.
