Savor—it’s practically the definition of the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s the smell of turkey in the oven, the aroma of cinnamon drifting from a pie cooling on the counter, or the taste of that one dish you look forward to every year.

Of course, it also includes the dish you don’t look forward to but eat anyway because it’s part of tradition. For me as a child, that dish was lutefisk—the Scandinavian, lye-soaked fish my great-grandmother faithfully brought each year, which carried a “savor” all its own. From my vantage point, only a faithful few in our family truly enjoyed it.

Savor includes both smell and taste, and, especially, it carries the idea of lingering enjoyment.

This year, I’ll be hosting a traditional turkey dinner with family and friends. But whether your table looks like a classic Thanksgiving spread or a collection of your own traditions, a good Thanksgiving includes the anticipation of flavors, the pleasure of aromas…and the joy of leftovers.

That idea of savoring—holding onto something good instead of moving on too quickly—appears in a passage of Scripture in which we often overlook the word itself.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples a pivotal question: “Whom say ye that I am?”

Peter answered with a powerful declaration, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus affirmed his answer with words worth remembering: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

What follows is one of the doctrinal highlights of the Gospels: “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

But in the emphasis we give to Jesus’ declaration, we sometimes miss Peter’s lack of savoring.

For just a few verses later, when Jesus began to speak of His coming suffering and death, Peter rebuked Him. And Jesus responded with a startling statement: “Get thee behind me, Satan…for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23).

Peter had received profound truth directly from God, but he didn’t savor it. He didn’t linger in it. He didn’t hold onto it. And because he didn’t savor the things of God, he acted on fleshly—and in this case, even satanic—thinking.

It’s striking when you think about it. Peter didn’t reject truth. He didn’t argue against it. He had just boldly declared it.

But he didn’t hold onto it. He didn’t let it settle in. He didn’t give it time to shape his thinking or recalibrate his perspective as he moved on to the next moment.

Unfortunately, we do the same.

We hear truth preached. We read it devotionally. We nod in agreement when a verse pierces our hearts.

But then the moment passes. A schedule demands our attention. A conversation distracts us. A problem presses in. And before we realize it, that truth has slipped from both our minds and our living.

It’s not because the truth isn’t powerful. It’s because we don’t savor it as we should.

Scripture often describes truth as something we experience with our senses—a kind of spiritual taste:

• God invites us to taste His goodness: “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).
• God describes His Word as sweet: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).
• God calls us to taste His grace: “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:3).

So how do we move from simply tasting to actually savoring the things of God?

It’s not complicated; it just requires intention.

1. Slow down.

Savoring never happens in a hurry. You don’t savor a meal while rushing out the door. You don’t savor a conversation when your mind is somewhere else. And you don’t savor truth when you move on from it the moment the service ends or the devotional closes.

Psalm 46:10 holds the key: “Be still, and know that I am God….” There is something about the knowledge of God that can only come through stillness. There must be times when we pause if we are to savor the goodness of God and knowledge of His presence in our lives.

Speaking from experience, it’s easy to blame the pace of our lives or the demands of our days for our lack of stillness. But this is a personal decision. We must choose to carve out moments to be still in His presence.

2. Meditate on it.

Biblical meditation is not emptying the mind to see what appears; it is focusing the mind on the truth of what is. It is deliberate thinking on God—His ways, His Word, and His goodness.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. (Psalm 63:5–6)

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. (Psalm 143:5)

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. (Psalm 119:97)

Biblical meditation is the quiet return of your thoughts to a truth God has given you. It’s replaying a verse in your mind while washing dishes. It’s revisiting a sermon thought while driving. It’s taking time while you read the Bible to ask, “What does this show me about God? About myself? About how I should respond today?”

Savoring involves reflection, contemplation—meditation.

3. Share truth with others.

The natural outflow of meditation is conversation: “I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings” (Psalm 77:12).

Like a good meal that is best enjoyed in company, our savoring of the things of God grows deeper when we talk about it with others. When we share what God is teaching us, that truth settles more firmly into our own lives.

God designed us to strengthen one another this way—to speak of His works, His character, and His truth together. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

Just as Thanksgiving flavors linger long after the meal is finished, the things of God are meant to linger long after the moment they are first received.

The goodness of God and the greatness of His Word are too rich to only taste once.

The post Hold That Taste appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

Life verses fascinate me—mostly because I can’t choose just one. My “favorite” verse changes from week to week. This week, it’s Proverbs 3:5–6. Last week, it was Philippians 4:13. I’ve given up on choosing a “life” verse. 

But my grandma—my dad’s mom who has been in Heaven for years—had a favorite verse that intrigued me.

Grandma had many endearing qualities. She was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. She loved people deeply and prayed for them earnestly. She delighted in making others happy. And she could tell her own real life stories in a way that kept me enthralled and begging for more. 

But what sometimes puzzled me was the verse she chose as her favorite:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)

It’s not that the verse itself is unusual. I love it (it’s one of my favorites!)—and I know many others who do, too.

But my grandma was a worrier—a skilled, chronic worrier.

She worried about simple things, like whether we had “used the toilet” before leaving the house. She worried about mundane things, like whether whoever was driving her used the blinker or if one of us had taken full advantage of a grocery sale. And she worried about larger things—like the safety of her grandchildren in the daily routines of life.

As a young teenager, I sometimes wondered why my grandma, who so often didn’t seem to experience “perfect peace,” chose Isaiah 26:3 as her favorite. How could she choose a verse that she so obviously didn’t experience? 

Well, that’s how I thought of it back then. But I’m more experienced myself now, and I think I understand. Grandma loved that verse because she needed it—not because she perfectly lived it.

I can relate. If you were to look through my journal, you’d find many verses I love, but don’t fully live as I wish. It’s not that I just like the phrasing or familiarity or word choice. I love them because I need them. But in the routines of daily life, there’s a growth curve to actually live them.

Think about it: if the only promises of Scripture we could claim were the ones we already lived, we wouldn’t need any of them—would we?

Perhaps you can relate, too. 

• Maybe your favorite verse is about joy—but you battle discouragement.
• Maybe it’s about courage—but you wrestle with fear.
• Maybe it’s about God’s nearness—but you often feel alone.

If so, you’re not a fraud. You’re not failing. You’re human.

You’re doing exactly what God invites us to do—reaching for truth in the middle of the struggle.

So what do we do when we believe the truth, but don’t always feel it? How do we grow to live the verses we need?

Here are three thoughts…from three of my favorite verses:

1. Reach for the Scripture you need. 

Don’t wait until you’re “doing better” to turn to God’s Word. When we are weak, weary, struggling, sinning, or failing—that’s when we most need the truths of Scripture.

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

The key is to let God’s Word pour into your life at the point of need. It’s the very entrance of God’s Word—not our strength—that brings light to our struggle.

Don’t let Satan convince you that reaching for Scripture while struggling makes you a hypocrite. Think of it more like a sick person picking up medicine—or a traveler switching on a flashlight in the dark.

When you need help is exactly when you should reach for God’s Word. Let the light pour in.

How? Here are a few suggestions:

• Read full passages of Scripture—not just a verse at a time.
• Play the audio Bible while you get ready for the day, exercise, or engage in other tasks that don’t require concentration.
• Turn to verses that speak to your specific need. (Ask a godly friend for suggestions if you need them.)
• Write out related verses and place them where you’ll see them often.

Keep reaching for the truth to counter temptation, discouragement, and the lies of the enemy. God’s Word brings light—even before it brings feelings.

2. Hope in God’s power to change you.

Spiritual growth is not ultimately about your ability to apply a verse or exert more effort. It’s about God’s ongoing work in you.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)

If you are God’s child, His power is already at work in your life. The fact that you still struggle doesn’t mean He has stopped working. It means His work is still in progress. 

• He is conforming you to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
• He is the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).
• He works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Take hope. God is faithful to finish what He has begun.

3. Walk in the direction of truth.

Faith is not just something we believe; it leads to something we do. In other words, faith walks. 

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

One of the best questions you can ask in the middle of your struggle is, “What is one step of faith I can take right now?” 

It doesn’t have to be a huge step. But what is one way you can act on the truth you already know? It might be

• Sitting down and opening your Bible when you don’t feel like reading.
• Taking the next step in obedience, even when you aren’t sure you can take the step after.
• Choosing to forgive someone who hurt you.
• Reaching out to a Christian friend for prayer or counsel.
• Speaking Bible truth out loud when your emotions lie to you.

Truth shapes us as we walk in it—not as we wait to feel it. So take a step of faith today, no matter how small it may be.

Reach, Hope, Walk

The verses we love often reveal the places where we’re still growing. That’s not hypocrisy. That’s discipleship. It’s the beautiful, lifelong process of growing in Christ. 

So reach. Hope. Walk.

God’s Word is true and powerful, working in you as you apply it—one step at a time.

The post When What You Believe Isn’t What You Feel appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

To my recollection, I have only ever set one multi-decade goal, and I set it as a young teen.

I was reading a biography of the missionary Hudson Taylor authored by his son and daughter-in-law and read where they related that near the end of his life he finished reading his Bible one morning and, closing it, said, “That’s forty times through in forty years.”

The incident resonated so deeply that I still remember where I was when I read it. Something inside of me said, “I want to be able to say that forty years from now.”

As I remember, I was just finishing my first read through the Bible. Equipped with this newly-defined, long-range goal, I finished that first time through, noted the date in the back of my Bible, and began again the next day.

Less than two weeks ago, when I closed my Bible after reading Revelation 22 on New Year’s Eve, it was my thirtieth time through—a fact I didn’t realize until I decided to count the dates in the back of my Bible the next morning. As I finished counting, I felt profoundly grateful for how God has used His Word in my life. I posted on Twitter,

This morning I began my 31st journey reading through the Bible. Nothing has shaped my faith, directed my steps, answered my deepest needs, increased my understanding of God, or drawn me into the Lord’s presence like daily time with Christ in His Word.

In the back of my mind as I typed those words into my phone, another realization was surfacing. I was visiting my parents who still live in the home where several of my early journeys through the Bible took place. I was feeling particularly nostalgic and kept finding myself remembering poignant experiences from those days. What surprised me was that with many of those experiences, I remembered specific verses or passages God had used to build my faith through that time. It was as if the verses themselves had become landmarks to me. That’s an incredible gift.

A Word of Encouragement for Strugglers

Many Christians begin each new year with a Bible reading goal. And by the second week of January, many have already become discouraged by inconsistent progress.

If this is you, I’d like to offer encouragement that this is a goal worth pursuing. Don’t give up in discouragement. Don’t assume that consistent Bible reading comes naturally to a rare class of “super Christians” while remaining illusive to you.

As in developing any habit, persistence is key. It’s encouraging to remember, too, that the fact you even desire to develop this habit is evidence of God’s grace at work in your heart.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

Thank Him for putting the will, or desire, in your heart, and depend on Him as you work at consistency in the doing of it.

But in addition to encouragement, I’d also like to give suggestions to help you flourish in your Bible reading goal this year.

I didn’t always have a daily habit of Bible reading. Even now, I have seasons when I find it slipping—in focus, if not in frequency. At these times, I come back to the suggestions I am sharing here.

1. Embrace Responsibility, and avoid excuses.

It’s easy to compare your situations with someone else’s and conclude that yours is an exception. (If I were married, it would be different. If I had a godly husband, I would have his encouragement in my spiritual growth. If my job or children didn’t leave me so exhausted. If?.?.?.?.)

The truth is that you will never develop a spiritual habit on excuses. Yes, you may face a set of challenges that another woman doesn’t face. But she won’t be the one to encounter the needs that life will bring your way. You need to consistently be in God’s Word to develop a strong foundation for when the storms come.

When you hear yourself making excuses for why you can’t consistently read God’s Word, stop. Identify the excuse, and ask instead, “How can I overcome this challenge?”

Most of us are good at solving problems if we will take a moment to define the problem and then look for a solution. I encourage you to take this same approach to overcoming the excuses that try to dissuade you from consistently spending daily time in God’s Word.

2. Use creativity to find consistency.

There’s no silver bullet. What works well in terms of schedule or even mode for one woman may not be what works for you. Consider your season of life and your specific schedule, and set a plan for what you can do consistently over time.

I’m not a big proponent of looking for the shortest possible time frame you can spend exposing yourself to Scripture. (Let’s face it: a daily pop-up verse on your phone isn’t exactly going to help you build a strong walk with the Lord and a mind steeped in His truth.)

But my number one suggestion for getting started in daily Bible reading is to start by getting up fifteen minutes before what would otherwise be your first obligation of the day. Use these quiet moments in the morning to spend one-on-one time with the Lord in His Word and prayer.

Most women I know who do this soon find that fifteen minutes isn’t enough and look forward to stretching that out to thirty minutes and sometimes longer.

I recognize that there are a variety of situations where getting up fifteen minutes earlier doesn’t work. My encouragement in these scenarios is to be both realistic and creative. Instead of assuming you can’t have substantive, personal time in Scripture, consider some out-of-the-box ideas. Here are a few:

• Index cards: Choose a Bible passage or topic, and daily write out one or two verses to carry around with you throughout the day to think on as you perform other tasks.
• Audio Bible: Do you have time on your commute or time when your mind is not occupied with the tasks in front of you? Download one of the free audio Bibles onto your phone, and listen to Scripture. If you find it hard to retain what you are hearing, consider listening to the same chapter or book of the Bible multiple times before moving on.
• Lunch break: If you have even a free half hour at some point during the day—whether that is a lunch break at work or a child’s nap time—use that time to dig into God’s Word.

3. Refuse perfectionism.

You go to bed with every intention of rising early to spend time in God’s Word. But when the alarm goes off, you hit snooze and wake up ten minutes later disappointed that half of your time is already gone. What do you do now? You use the ten minutes you still have!

Perfectionism is a tricky thief because it insinuates that if you can’t do something the way you envisioned, it’s not worth doing at all. And in the end, it robs you of progress.

Give yourself grace, and look for progress—not perfection. Reading one verse is better than not reading a chapter. Three days a week is better than no days a week.

Getting started with any new habit often has setbacks. So when you hit a setback, get up and try again.

4. Make it a priority.

If you had a phone call tomorrow morning that you absolutely did not want to miss, what would you do to make sure you were up and ready for it?

Whatever that might be—setting six alarms, going to bed early, taking an early morning shower, asking a friend to call to make sure you’re up—choose to do it for something much more life-impacting than any phone call. Spending time in God’s Word is worth pushing through whatever discomfort is involved to make it a priority.

If your goal for time in God’s Word is getting up early in the morning, remember that getting up early begins the night before. Getting to bed on time and having your clothes and Bible laid out and ready for when you wake up goes a long way toward supporting your desire to get up with your alarm.

Another way to set a priority on time with the Lord in the morning is to determine you will read your Bible before all the demands of the day hit. I’ve heard a few phrases that underscore the priority of Scripture and offer catchy ways to reinforce it in your habits.

• Bible before breakfast: If you are in the habit of eating breakfast, determine to nourish your soul before nourishing your body. Or, if you live alone, consider “Bible with breakfast.”
• Word before world: Before you interact with others—in person or online, spend time in God’s Word.
• Prayer before phone: It’s easy to mindlessly scroll through your phone and lose the valuable time you have set aside to spend with the Lord. Consider not picking up your phone (except to turn off the alarm) before you have spent time in God’s Word and prayer.

5. Celebrate victories.

Did you learn something from Scripture you didn’t previously understand, or did the Holy Spirit use His Word to give you strength or insight for your current needs? Share it with a friend!

Did you spend five minutes in God’s Word that you would not have if you had not been purposefully pursuing a habit in it? Thank the Lord for progress!

Celebrating the small wins, even if they seem insignificant, reinforces the habit you are building and will encourage you to continue.

A Bigger Goal for You

Since I first set that “forty times in forty years” goal, I’ve found that it was an insufficient goal. It’s not that I want to read the Bible less than forty times. It’s that I want it to impact me more deeply.

Over the years, my desire has deepened so that I want more than to have read the Bible through a bunch of times. I want my life to be infused by God’s Word.

I want it to shape my thoughts, decisions, relationships, advice to others, daily routines, and every other aspect of my life. I want it to, as Colossians 3:16 admonishes, “dwell in [me] richly in all wisdom.”

Whether or not your specific Bible reading goal is to read through the Bible this year, I want to encourage you to set a goal that your life would be changed by God’s Word over the next twelve months.

For the word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

A life shaped by Scripture doesn’t happen by accidental or occasional exposure to God’s Word. It happens with purposed intent and repeated actions—one day at a time choosing to feed your soul on the life-giving Word of God.

This is a habit worth pursuing.

The post How to Read Your Bible Consistently This Year appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

It happened again last Sunday. A friend and I were talking at church, and she said, “It’s like you hear all the time—‘God never gives you more than you can handle.’”

I hate it when people say that.

It’s not that I think they mean to be trite. It’s just that the statement isn’t true. I know lots of people who have more than they can handle. Chronic sickness, traumatic loss, crushing grief, emotional turmoil…God never intended for us to bear these burdens of life on our own, and He did not make us strong enough to carry them on our shoulders. 

Not convinced? Even the Bible tells us of people who encountered storms above what they could handle in human strength. 

Even the Bible tells us of people who encountered storms above what they could handle in human strength.
Share on X

Noah had more than he could bear. The storm Noah and his family went through was beyond what we can imagine on every level—including physically and emotionally. 

Elijah had more than he could bear. That’s why he ended up under the juniper tree and begged God to take his life. 

Job had more than he could bear. One messenger after another came to him with wave upon wave of devastating news. And then his own friends accused rather than supported him. 

Jonah, David, Jesus’ disciples, Paul, and others faced storms—physical and personal—that were above their capacity to overcome. 

You face storms too. All of us face storms. 

Sometimes people know about our storms, and sometimes our storms are intensely personal. But here’s the good news: God doesn’t call us to face and overcome these storms in our own strength. He doesn’t see us struggle and chide us for being so weak. He doesn’t hold us at arm’s length until we “get it together.” 

He comes to us, He infuses us with His strength. And He gives us anchors. 

Anchors of truth. 

Anchors of promise. 

Anchors that are strong enough to hold us and for us to hold to through the most tempestuous storms. 

God doesn’t see us struggle and chide us for being so weak. He doesn’t hold us at arm’s length until we get it together. He gives us anchors of truth.
Share on X

Our problem is that instead of attaching ourselves to these anchors, we tend to reach for substitute anchors: friends, isolation, distraction, food, social media, and sometimes trite sayings like “God will never give you more than you can handle.” 

What we need are true anchors—solid and trustworthy—that can hold us through the storms of life. 

This need is why I recently wrote Anchored: Finding Stability in God’s Word for the Storms of Life. 

Written as a Bible study, this book goes through ten storms in the Bible—actual physical storms God’s people endured—and draws insights on how we can find stability from God and His Word through the personal storms of our lives. 

Here’s a quick overview: 

1. Reach for God’s Promises (Noah) 
2. Listen for God’s voice (Elijah) 
3. Respond to God’s grace (Jonah)
4. Hope in God (David)
5. Be Patient (Job)
6. Trust God’s Care (Disciples)
7. Find Victory in Christ’s Presence (Disciples)
8. Praise God (Paul and Silas) 
9. Serve Others (Paul)
10. Build a Strong Foundation (Sermon on the Mount)

(Click here to download a free sample of lesson 1. And click here to download a free corresponding week of material from the study guide.)

Download a free sample lesson and corresponding study guide material from the new Anchored Bible study!
Share on X

Frequently Asked Questions

In the past few weeks since this study was published, I’ve been asked a few of the same questions several times. 

How long did it take you to write Anchored?

The short answer is that it took three years. The more detailed answer is that I first wrote and taught these studies three years ago. Even as I prepared the outlines for my ladies’ Sunday school class, I intended to turn them into a book. But I had a few years of indecision on if they should be a book or a teaching curriculum. (See the next question on how I resolved this dilemma.) I started writing this in earnest in the fall of 2020. I set aside nearly every Sunday afternoon and about an extra full day each month to work on it. Near the print deadlines, I wrote every chance I had. 

Is this study for personal use or a group?

Both! As I mentioned a moment ago, I really struggled with how to share this material. Because I had first developed it as teaching outlines, I wanted it to be shared in a way that is easy to teach in Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or other groups. 

However, the idea for the study began related to a personal need in my own life, and I wanted it to be accessible for anyone to use as a personal study as well. 

The compromise is that it is printed as a group study with teaching suggestions and discussion questions in the margins. But it works well as a personal study if you ignore the margins. 

Do I need the leader guide or the study guide? 

The leader guide is the heart of Anchored. The study guide provides five daily devotions for each week as well as outlines for those listening to a leader present the lessons. 

You need the leader guide if

• You are using Anchored for personal study. 
• You are the leader/teacher of a small group presenting the lessons. 
• You are a member of a women’s Bible study in which everyone is reading the same book and then meeting to discuss what they have read. 

You will want the study guide if

• You are using Anchored for personal study and would like extra devotions to go along with the study. (Do not, however, get only the study guide.) 
• You are the leader of a group study and would like to get one for each member of your group to have outlines as you teach as well as devotions to read throughout the week.

Can I see a sample?

Yes! Click here to download a free sample of lesson 1. And click here to download a free corresponding week of material from the study guide.

Where can I get a copy?

These books are available in paperback through strivingtogether.com (leader guide and study guide), and they are available in kindle through Amazon (leader guide and study guide). 

Is there anything I can do to help you get the word out?

Okay, so this isn’t actually a “frequently asked question.” But I do have three requests!

1. If you read and enjoy the study, would you take a moment to leave a review on Amazon? It would be an encouragement to me as well as an encouragement to others who are considering the book!
2. Would you share Anchored on your social media? 
   • If you are using this Bible study, post a picture of it or share a way the Lord has spoken to your heart through it. 
   • Share one of the graphics below with a quote or verse from the book that has been meaningful to you. 
   • Share a link to this blog post. 
3. Will you pray with me that the Lord uses Anchored to encourage and help many ladies?

(To save these graphics, right click and select “save image as.” Or long tap on your phone, and select the option to save to your photos. From there, you can set these as your lock screen or share on social media.)

The post Every Heart Needs an Anchor   appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

Sometimes I’ve wondered, If I were a Pilgrim, would I have celebrated Thanksgiving? Perhaps after all of the hardships enduring a brutal winter, burying so many family and loved ones, and struggling just to survive, I’m not sure that I would have thought of setting aside three days to give—of all things—thanks. 

But I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the pilgrims lately. Because if they could institute Thanksgiving 1621, surely we can celebrate Thanksgiving 2020. 

If the Pilgrims could institute Thanksgiving 1621, surely we can celebrate Thanksgiving 2020
Share on X

This year has been challenging. It has held losses for many of us—financial, relational, physical, and even emotional. 

But has our year not held blessings as well? Has it truly been harder than that first Thanksgiving when bereaved Pilgrims (families who had dug seven times more graves than they built huts) gathered with their Native American benefactors and together gave thanks to God who preserved and provided for them? 

Like the Pilgrims, we, too, have had many blessings. God has preserved us. He has provided for us. And He promises to freely give His best to us. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). 

If there is anyone whose example teaches us the importance of giving thanks in the hard seasons, it is Jesus Himself. For Jesus gave thanks just before the cross. As He was instituting the Lord’s Supper, that sacred moment as He shared with His disciples the significance of the sacrifice He would be making in just a few hours, He first gave thanks. 

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.—Luke 22:17–19

Jesus didn’t give thanks with selfish motives—to smooth the road ahead. He didn’t give thanks to make Himself feel better or to fulfill an obligation. He gave thanks because He loved the Father and received every gift as from the Father’s hand. 

I don’t know in what ways Thanksgiving 2020 may be different from what you would have hoped. But I do know it is a holiday worthy of our celebration and of our purposeful giving of thanks.

So may we, like the Pilgrims and with our Savior, lift our hearts to the Father in grateful thanksgiving. 

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.—Psalm 136:1

The post Giving Thanks in a Hard Year appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

You know that feeling of fear when you sense yourself falling into a downward spiral? A cycle where you’ve been before?

Regardless of what triggers it and regardless of what type of cycle it is—grief, sadness, frustration, rejection, overthinking, or any other type of pain—if you’ve been there before, you feel hopeless. Stuck. As if change is out of your control. There’s this sense of fear that I’ve been here before and hate the ride.

But what if…

What if that spiral doesn’t have to end the way you anticipate?

What if it’s not a downward spiral, but a forward cycle?

What if the pull down comes from misunderstanding how God designed the path to work?

What if instead of being a vortex of defeat it could be a cycle of hope?

Enter Romans 5. In three glorious, hope-filled verses, God describes how negative triggers can lead to a cycle of hope. And it all has to do with understanding God’s purposes.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.—Romans 5:3–5

It begins with tribulation.

To us, tribulation is bad news. Not so from a Romans 5 perspective—it’s really good news.

Sometimes we use words so often that we only hear them in a surface way. We speak of “trials and tribulations” with just an general sense of “something negative.”

The word tribulation, however, is spectacularly descriptive. It comes from the Latin word tribulum, referring to a threshing board. Think of the wheat on that threshing board being beat over and over again as it is separated from the chaff. That is the idea of tribulation.

And, as the many promises in God’s Word about tribulation reveal, it is a common experience for followers of Christ.

Thankfully, God assures us that no tribulation will separate us from His love.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?—Romans 8:35

He promises that even in the midst of tribulation we can know His peace.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.—John 16:33

And He is available to give comfort in our seasons of tribulation.

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.—2 Corinthians 1:4

Are you experiencing tribulation? If yes, you’re off to a great start in the cycle of hope.

Tribulation leads to patience.

In the midst of tribulation, God gives us what we need to press on—patience.

Patience carries the idea of “bearing up under.” It has to do with endurance. And Romans 12:12 indicates that this patience is held up by the twin supports on either side of hope and prayer.

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;—Romans 12:12

Even when we don’t feel joyful, we have the option to rejoice. That choice is rooted in hope. When I know—based on the promises of a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2)—that today is not the end of my story, that God has a purpose in my pain, that He has promised a future with Him, that He is unfailingly good and faithful, I have real, solid truths in which I can rejoice.

And even when I don’t feel joyful, I can pray. I can bring the honest condition of my heart to my God (who already knows and cares), pour it out before Him, and pray His promises back to Him.

These choices—rejoicing and continuing in prayer—allow patience to develop and lead to the next part of our cycle of hope.

Patience leads to experience.

I have never understood why people say “don’t pray for patience.” I get the surface answer is the idea that praying for patience is like asking for trouble. But I’m afraid this actually speaks more to our undervaluing spiritual maturity than to any wisdom about avoiding trouble. Patience is one of the great tools God uses to bring the spiritual maturity that we need.

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.—James 1:3–4

Tribulation leads to patience, and patience leads to experience. This experience refers to “experiential evidence.” It is what happens when we have seen God’s faithfulness before and thus know that we can count on it again.

I love what Charles Spurgeon, who struggled with major depression at various times throughout his life, said:

 I know, perhaps as well as anyone, what depression means, and what it is to feel myself sinking lower and lower. Yet at the worst, when I reach the lowest depths, I have an inward peace which no pain or depression can in the least disturb. Trusting in Jesus Christ my Savior, there is still a blessed quietness in the deep caverns of my soul, though upon the surface, a rough tempest may be raging, and there may be little apparent calm.—Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon’s first major episode of depression was after a great tragedy and from which he thought he may not recover. But he did. And although he continued to experience bouts of depression, his statements convey the settledness that comes through experiencing God’s faithfulness in hardship.

Experience leads to hope.

All of this—tribulation, patience, experience—reaches a grand climax in hope.

Hope is not a small topic in Scripture. First Corinthians 13:13 places it on the same level as faith and in the same conversation as love: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

And Romans 5 tells us that we will not be ashamed when we hope in God.

You know how it is when you put your hope in something empty and ultimately feel ashamed? That’s what Romans 5 assures you will not happen when you hope in God.

…and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.—Isaiah 49:23

Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.—Psalm 119:116

This cycle that begins with tribulation can always end in stronger hope as we allow tribulation to lead us to patience and patience to experience and then experience to renewed hope.

Ultimately, the cycles won’t end until we see Jesus face to face. And we won’t be ashamed of our hope then. We will be so thankful of our tribulation-patience-experience-hope-based confidence.

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.—1 John 2:28

The cycle begins differently for each of us, because tribulation comes in many forms.

But when it comes to you—when the cycle that threatens to pull you downward begins—let God’s Word reroute that frightening cycle into a healing cycle of hope. Hope in God brings more hope.

The post The Cycle of Hope: Four Stages of an Upward Spiral appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

Pity is underrated.

This is especially true when you have a friend going through a difficulty and you know all the answers to the questions they aren’t asking.

I just finished reading through the book of Job, which has become one of my favorite Old Testament books. (I’ve written a couple of previous posts about Job’s confusion and endurance.) While reading, I noticed again Job’s plea for pity from his friends.

You remember the story. Job lost everything—including his wealth and livelihood, his children, and his health. His friends came to comfort him, but rather than speaking words of consolation, they spoke words of condemnation, suggesting from a variety of angles that surely he was at fault for all that had befallen him and that if he would just confess the hidden sin they assumed he harbored, all would again be well.

But Job didn’t see it that way. He knew that while he wasn’t perfect, he had no hidden sin. As the conversations between the four men continued, Job often turned his words from addressing their accusations to simply crying out in anguish for relief and understanding from God. And multiple times, he asked for relief from his friends’ condemning words.

On one of these occasions, Job pled with his friends for pity: “To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend” (6:14).

Pity. Job just wanted his friends’ pity.

Job isn’t the only one in the Bible who longed for pity. Psalm 69:20 tells us that David wanted it as well: “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.”

What is remarkable about Psalm 69 is that it is a messianic psalm specifically pointing to Christ on the cross. Of this passage, Matthew Henry wrote, “David penned this psalm when he was in affliction, and…the predictions were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.”

Read the verse again, and let this reality sink in: Jesus wanted pity. In His darkest hour, He longed for human pity and comfort.

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.—Psalm 69:20

Sometimes we contrast pity and compassion, dismissing pity as a mere empty feeling. But what if true compassion requires pity?

What if there are times when, like Job’s friends, we don’t see the situation as clearly as we think we do? And what if we don’t have as applicable answers as we believe? What if, in some instances, pity is the best vehicle for giving comfort?

There are two perspectives from which this truth is needful to grasp—when you are the person who needs to give pity and when you are the person who needs pity.

When you can’t “fix it,” you can still give pity.

I think those of us who know that God’s Word holds all the answers for life sometimes forget that we aren’t personally responsible or able to fix everyone’s pain. Sometimes, as in Job’s case, God allows suffering to continue for reasons known only to Him. Sometimes, like Job’s friends, we are too quick to assume what we don’t know and too impatient to listen when visible change doesn’t immediately take place.

But when we can’t “fix it” for our friends, we can still care. We can empathize. We can be okay with not being the hero and just be the encourager, affirming God’s compassion and care as we walk alongside one who is suffering.

Much of the book of Job is a record of the dialogue between him and his three friends. For chapter after chapter, the pattern is predictable. He speaks; they accuse.

But have you ever considered how Job’s suffering would have been made more bearable had his friends encouraged him? What if they had said, “We don’t understand either, but we trust God with you”?

When you need pity, God gives it.

I first noticed the messianic prophecy, “I looked for some to take pity,” during my Bible reading one morning years ago. It came on the heels of a difficult realization that a friend who had tried to fix something in my life which she didn’t understand had given up on caring as well. As I read these words describing Jesus’ experience, I understood in a more profound way than ever before, that He cares.

Jesus understands the need for sympathy. To once again quote Matthew Henry on Psalm 69, “We cannot expect too little from men (miserable comforters are they all); nor can we expect too much from God, for he is the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort and consolation.” (Incidentally, Henry’s parenthetical thought there is a reference to our friend Job: “I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all,” 16:2.)

Even in Job’s case, as poor, miserable Job believed he was cut off from God and was pleading with his friends to just show pity, God Himself was looking on Job with great pity and tender mercy: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11).

Pity is a gift.

Whether you are a frustrated friend who can’t seem to get her message of help across to one who is suffering or you are the anguished sufferer, remember that pity is a gift. There are times we need to give it, and there are times we need to receive it.

There are unexplainable griefs in this life. Sometimes God allows His own to shoulder burdens that don’t go away in a single conversation…or decade. Sometimes we do well to listen and care and walk with our friends to the throne of grace again and again—not in a short-lived quest for the perfect solution, but in assurance (and giving reassurance) of “mercy, and…grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

And then, when we pour out our heart and pain before someone from we hope to receive the gift of pity, and they don’t know how to—or just don’t—give it, we do well to remember that God empathizes with us.

The God who pitied Job is the same who Himself felt the loneliness of suffering without comfort. He is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15), and He invites you to cast all your cares on Him, “for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

The post Yes, I Do Want Your Pity appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

There are reasons I don’t write blog posts nearly as often as I intend to. And none of them include a lack of ideas. Well, at least not a lack of rough, seed thoughts.

As blog post ideas come to mind, they immediately go into my “post ideas” notebook in Evernote, which currently has 202 rough ideas to come back to later. And just for good measure, I have a dozen or so of these posts half-started in my writing program Scrivener.

So why don’t I post more often?

I tell myself it’s because I don’t have time. Or energy when I do have time. Or that the raw ideas weren’t as good as they seemed the moment they came to me. Sometimes I even write a rough draft and find it wasn’t as interesting or helpful as I thought it would be and never come back to it, despite my intentions otherwise. Many days I have “write blog post” on my to-do list, but it’s just never a high enough priority to end the day with a check next to it.

But today—when I didn’t even have “write blog post” on my list—I experienced something so unexpected that I couldn’t not write. 

My main goal for the day was tackling a mountain of papers I’ve let pile up for months.

As I sorted and shredded and filed, I came across a stack of notes. Some were birthday cards. Some were thank you notes. Some were notes from students. I was prepared to quickly re-read  each and then toss or file.

But then I came across a postcard that confronted me with words I wasn’t expecting: Thank you for writing. Someone sent me your blog, and it’s been a blessing to learn through what you have written. I hope you’ll keep writing. 

Whoa. Wait.

The blog I hardly ever write? The blog fed by the bloated Evernote folder and emaciated Scrivener document? The blog represented on almost every “day off” to do list I’ve written with an empty check box? That blog?

Hmmph! Who would have known?

I filed the card and continued my sorting. But something inside me changed: I wanted to write a blog post.

Not because I hadn’t written in over six months or because it was on my to-do list.

Not because I’d end the day disappointed in myself if I didn’t.

But because it made a difference in someone’s life. 

So here I am, writing.

And yes, in a way, even writing a post about not writing posts feels a little cheesy.

But this isn’t really a post about not writing posts. It isn’t even about wondering if your investments of time and heart make a difference. It isn’t about motivation for better idea-to-execution management.

It is about sharing with someone else how they are making a difference.

It is about questioning who needs to hear from you, “Thank you for writing. I hope you’ll keep it up.”

Could it be that a note or statement of sincere thanks from you would motivate someone else to press forward in the opportunities God has given to them?

Sometimes we put so much emphasis on the first phrase of Proverbs 4:29 that we forget the incredible potential of the rest of the verse:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.—Ephesians 4:29

We remember the first word of Proverbs 18:21 and forget the second and third:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.—Proverbs 18:21

Would you like to be a minister of grace? A giver of life?

You have the tools to do it at your fingertips. They are called words. And they can be offered in 101 and more moments of simple communication.

Thanks for teaching. 

Thanks for praying.

Thanks for your friendship.

Thanks for sharing the gospel. 

Thanks for caring. 

Thanks for your faithfulness. 

You are making a difference—keep it up. 

But somehow those words have to move out of the folder with 202 rough ideas into actual expressions to others.

Would you like to make a difference in someone’s life? Tell them they made a difference in yours.

The post 202 Ideas and a Postcard appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

If the Apostle Paul lived in twenty-first-century America, he would have available to him two ministry opportunities he clearly overlooked back in the first century.

The first is a book deal for Visions from the Third Heaven. 

The second is a thorn ministry.

You know how it works: Suffering comes into one’s life, and she then uses that difficulty to start a ministry for people dealing with the exact same issue. 

In Paul’s case, this would, of course, be a “thorn ministry.” We know that Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” which he pleaded with God to remove. Rather than removing it, God gave Paul His all-sufficient grace. 

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…—2 Corinthians 12:7–9

Indeed, sometimes we assume the purpose of our trials is to allow us to help others in the same situation. 

We have an expected progression and outcome: 

1. Suffering comes into my life.
2. It comes to a reasonably-defined conclusion.
3. God brings obvious good from it.
4. With clarity and hindsight, I use that difficulty to start a ministry for people dealing with the exact same issue. 

Truth be told, the progression of pain-to-ministry is how God sometimes works. 

But it’s not always. 

For instance, what if your pain is private? What if your trial is hidden? What if the difficulties through which you are going involve others and are not yours to share?

Or what if step two is missing? What if you you are dealing with a chronic kind of difficulty? The kind where you don’t see any conclusion in sight?

What if steps one and three work in more of an uncomfortable tandem than a clearly-defined progression?

Do you have ministry then? 

Sometimes God allows hidden pressures or ongoing challenges that don’t fit neatly into our “thorn ministry” packages. 

And in those times, when it seems our difficulties actually hinder us from ministry, we can take comfort in the fact that Paul didn’t have a “thorn ministry.” Rather, he allowed his thorn to deepen his gospel ministry. 

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.—Galatians 6:14

Paul didn’t have a “thorn ministry.” Rather, he allowed his thorn to deepen his gospel ministry.
Share on X

When you think about it, we don’t even know what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was. I wonder if the Corinthians did. 

We know it was painful and ongoing. And we know Paul would have preferred not to experience it. But that’s about it.

So how did this thorn enable Paul to serve? What’s the secret? 

Thorns don’t determine who we serve; they uniquely shape how we serve. 

Paul didn’t use his thorn as a platform to reach other people with thorns. He used it as a cup to receive comfort to give others in trouble. 

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Private suffering is not detached from personal ministry. Nor is it always the platform for future ministry. Rather, it is the receptacle for God’s grace from which to serve.

Do you wonder how you can have real ministry through thorn-like difficulty? 

1. We must receive God’s comfort if we are to give comfort. 

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.—2 Corinthians 1:3–5

If you and I aren’t personally, actively, persistently going to God Himself and receiving comfort through the pages of His Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we have nothing to give others but dry, empty words, or perhaps volatile, emotionally-charged experience, sprinkled with the dust of human intentions.  

We aren’t faucets; we are channels. If our experience in God’s comfort is shallow, our ability to give it will be as well.

If our experience in God’s comfort is shallow, our ability to give it will be as well.
Share on X

2. We must depend God’s strength if we are to serve from our weakness. 

The best part about thorn ministry is that it’s not our strength that enables us to serve, but our weakness. It’s our inadequacy, our limitations. 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.—2 Corinthians 12:9–10

But let us not revel in our weakness without relying on God’s strength. Without God’s comfort, we have nothing to give. Without God’s strength, we won’t give for long. 

Without God’s comfort, we have nothing to give. Without God’s strength, we won’t give for long.
Share on X

Our place of weakness is where God’s strength is enabled. 

It’s not strength that enables us to serve, nor is it exact experience.

It is weakness.

It is grace. 

The post Why Paul Didn’t Begin a Thorn Ministry appeared first on Stepping in the Light.

Twenty years ago, when I first began reading through my Bible in a purposeful way, with a commitment to myself to read through annually, I had no idea how significantly God would bless me through the pages of His Word.

Yesterday, however, as I completed my annual journey and recorded the date in the back of my Bible, I looked at the previous dates already recorded there, and I began to reflect on some of the events that had taken place during those years. 

These weren’t all easy years. 

Some were full of joy and others full of challenge. Some were downright tumultuous. 

But through the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of these years, I have had an anchor. 

The anchor wasn’t me. I certainly have not always responded to each of these challenges with the confident faith I’d like.

The anchor was the Book which yesterday I once again finished reading—God’s very Word. 

I’ve written before about how it all started—with a challenge to read through the Bible in one year, accompanied by an example of journaling, followed by the joy of discovery that God’s Word would speak to me. 

This started a journey that God has used to change—and shape—my life. Looking back, I’ve gained so much more than I ever knew I would through the pages of God’s Word. 

What does God give through His Word?

Knowing God

When I first started, it was probably more to know truth about God than to know God Himself. 

I remember how thrilling it was in those early days when I realized as a teenager that God would speak to me through His Word about the very situations I was currently facing. I soaked those verses up—and even recorded them in a journal.

Over time, however, my focus in reading shifted. God still teaches me truth through His Word. (And I still need His wisdom, guidance, and insight!) But I find myself increasingly delighting in how God’s Word reveals Himself. 

He, who is the Living Word, makes Himself known to me through His written Word. And I hope I never get over that.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.—John 1:14

And I find that my desire to know Him and to know all He has given me in Him increases as I spend time with Him through the pages of His Word.

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him…—Philippians 3:9–10

Daily renewal

It’s not only what we learn through Scripture that is so life changing, but it is also the renewing that takes place in our hearts as we do it day by day. 

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.—2 Corinthians 4:16

For all the issues and needed areas of of growth that I have, for all the seasons when I haven’t grown through or responded to challenges as I’d like…I have had a source of daily renewal—the Spirit of God renewing my inner man through His Word. 

In fact, for whatever ups and downs there have been (and looking back, there have been many times I could have totally derailed), I’m so grateful for the habit that God helped me develop as a teenager of daily reading His Word. There is no other spiritual discipline that has been more personally profitable than this. 

Hope

This one seems out of place to me for this short list, but it is a gift God has given me in more ways than I ever knew I needed when I began regularly reading His Word. And biblical hope comes in so many shapes and sizes, too. It comes through God’s promises in our areas of need, but it also comes through perspective as we read the larger story of Scripture. 

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.—Psalm 119:14

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.—Psalm 119:49

Hope comes as we see how God has sovereignly worked through history and how He has personally worked in individual’s lives. It comes as we see His truth for our situations; it comes as we glean wisdom for our decisions; it comes as day-by-day we find renewal and strength through His presence and promises; and it comes as we understand God’s great redemptive plan and believe His promises for a “happily ever after” eternity with Him.

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;—Colossians 1:4–5

There’s more than these three—so much more.

But I share these for three reasons that I hope will be an encouragement to you: 

If you are already spending time in God’s Word daily, keep it up. I know there are days when it doesn’t seem like it’s changing you, days when you feel like you’re simply going through motions, days when you’re discouraged because you’re falling out of the habit. Keep going. God is honored by your faith. 

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.—Hebrews 11:6

If you don’t currently, have a consistent time in God’s Word daily, begin now. Here at the beginning of January is actually a great time to start. It doesn’t matter which reading schedule you use. It doesn’t really matter how you do it or where you start. I’ve used a variety of schedules—beginning to end, chronological, Old and New Testament together, in print, on a screen—it’s all good. Journaling definitely adds clarity to the journey and helps you know where you’ve been. But just start. 

Don’t be discouraged either by previous starts and stops. Start again. It’s a journey worth pursuing.

And finally, I write this post for one more reason—to simply praise God. I never knew how greatly God would use His Word in my life…and I suspect I still don’t know how much more He wants to use it in the days ahead. 

But looking back, He has used it profoundly, and I praise Him for it.

Last night, I read Psalm 119, and as I did, I marveled at the many ways God uses His Word in our lives—in my life. And I thanked Him. 

Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.—Psalm 119:140

The post Three Surprising Benefits God Has Given Me Through Reading His Word appeared first on Stepping in the Light.