Yet when we open Scripture, we discover something different. 

We find a God who cares for us. A God who promises to do a good work in us, lead us, and continue the work He has begun. Yes, we actively live this out. We are called to walk by faith, trusting that God is at work in our lives.

But every day seems to begin the same way. The moment we wake up, we are flooded with demands, discouragements, fears, and distractions. Conversations from yesterday and regrets from the past seem to meet us head-on before our feet even hit the floor.

But we do not have to carry those things alone.

By faith, we can bring them to God. And no matter where you are today, it is never too late to begin walking by faith again.

Meet Gideon.

When we first encounter him in Scripture, he was threshing wheat in a winepress, hiding from the Midianites and trying to preserve what little he had. He was not standing boldly on a battlefield. He was afraid.

Yet it was in that very place, in the middle of doubt and fear, that the Lord appeared to him and called him a “mighty warrior.”

Gideon certainly did not feel like a mighty warrior.

Like Gideon, you don’t have to have it all together. You just need to know the Lord calls you and has promised to be with you. God sees what He will do in and through you. We don’t wait for everything to come together. God calls us forward in the middle of our fears, confusion, worries, and whatever else we are carrying today. He does not wait for us to become fearless before He speaks. He meets us where we are.

What is confronting you today?

Do you know that God is with you? Do you know that He will give you what you need for today and the strength to keep moving forward?

Walk by faith. He is already at work.

Scripture: Judges 6:11–16

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This quote was a good reminder today to slow down and surrender to God’s love. When things don’t go just as I hoped, I have a choice: let them derail my day, or surrender to His amazing love. 

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Each day, we face a flood of thoughts. As we begin, thoughts of our shortcomings and things we feel we have failed at can be waiting for us. As we move through the day, we can pick up on others’ attitudes and internalize them as negative toward us. All of this can easily feed those thoughts.

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Before long, we begin to agree with them as if they are true. We start to believe we are unloved, unworthy, unseen, and rejected. Our imagination is a gift from God, but because of the fall, it can also become a place where fear and doubt grow.

We are told to take our thoughts captive. Everything must be measured against what the Word of God says about us. Even when the lie feels more real than the truth, hold fast to what is true. You are loved, and God is at work in you.

Something that helps me is to begin with thanksgiving. Give thanks for what God’s Word says about you. Give thanks for the good things in your life. Meditate on what is true.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Philippians 4:8

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I’ve been thinking about the promise that God is with us in every moment, every day, in every detail. It’s easy to think of the Lord as being with us when we read the scriptures, pray, and worship, but what about when we are cleaning the house, taking out the trash, filing taxes, or doing the daily duties we wish we could skip? 

Remember that God is with us in every moment. In all those moments I mentioned, are we remembering and making room for Him? God with us. As the apostle Paul said, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” 

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When you look across the landscape of your life, what do you see? Do you see only a series of good and bad choices that have led you to where you are today? Does it feel like an endless desert, with no refreshment in sight?

I pray that today you would see more. May you have eyes of faith to know that Jesus is making a way and bringing rivers of living water. The desert will not remain. He will cause it to blossom.

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I desire that. How about you?

What do you hear as you go through your day? Are the words you hear ones that make you feel loved and accepted, or are they words that make you feel anxious, angry, or ashamed? These do not have to be spoken words. They can be the words of our thoughts. Each day we are bombarded from the inside and out.

How do we respond to them? And what are the things we hear throughout the day?

If you are like me, you can be flooded with thoughts that quickly pull you off the right path. We hear, in our mind’s ear, the responsibilities and financial demands that cause our hearts to race. We hear condemnation for mistakes we have made. Those around us say things or ask things that create stress. We read things online that stir anger or discontent.

With so many voices coming at us, how do we hear joy and gladness instead of being battered by a sea of internal turmoil?

Pray.

I know that sounds simple, but time and again I have found this to be the answer in my life.

Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. Regret. Shame. These voices speak loudly. But there is good news. There is Someone at work, a Good Shepherd who leads us beside calm waters and restores our souls.

King David prayed those words, “Make me hear joy and gladness,” during one of the lowest seasons of his life. It was part of his prayer as he turned from his sin and asked the Lord to forgive him and restore him.

May we hear more than the words that sink us. Jesus invites us to speak with Him. “Ask and you will receive.”

So my prayer today is this:

Lord, make me hear joy and gladness today. Help me not be overrun by my thoughts, but to be alive in You. Fill me with the rivers of living water You promised.

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I was reminded this morning that in Christ, we haven’t missed anything. The truth is that because of Him, we have gained all things. This is not the end, but it’s the beginning of something wonderful. In Christ, life is already beginning to spring forth.

Grace and peace to you.

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“Strong emotions, self-rejection, and even self-hatred justifiably toss you about… You are not what others, or even you, think about yourself. Act ahead of your feelings and trust that one day your feelings will match your convictions.” — Henry Nouwen

Paul writes in Philippians 3 that we are found in Christ, not by our own righteousness, but by God’s righteousness through faith in Christ. We have His righteousness, and God is at work in us.

Our emotions can be all over the place. They rise and fall. They accuse and exaggerate. But the truth of who we are is not anchored there. It is anchored in what God says about us.

Who we are is not determined by our ever-changing feelings, but by the unchanging work of Christ.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” — Philippians 3:12

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I was walking this morning when the beauty of creation caught my attention. The sun hit just right on a brisk winter morning. A lone bird sat quietly on a power line above. In that moment, I was reminded that God does, indeed, take care of all our needs. By His grace, the beauty of that moment drew me away from my worries and back to gratitude—for the reminder that God is faithful, and for all that I have today.

My hope, dear reader, is to gently remind you to turn your thoughts toward the love and care of the Lord today.

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