Spiritual sundowner’s: When darkness overwhelms you
Darkness can increase disorientation. It can increase anxiety and depression. Can something similar be true spiritually? Can spiritual sundowner’s be a thing?
Mary Magdalene stuck her neck out
Thank you, Mary Magdalene, for coming to Jesus. Your story shows: REST is humbly serving the One who always treats me with high respect, entrusts me with significant responsibility and involves me in things of first importance.
The most unwanted assignment
Sitting in my car at that gas station on that winter afternoon, staring at Isaiah 58:1, I began to cry ... Oh. Lord. Not. This. Assignment.
(c) jwmpap
Living by the Spirit
A person can be a Christian, yet not live by the Spirit. Ah, but that's not what our Lord intends.
Dear weary one, can we talk about the spirit realm?
Today, I’m standing in the middle of a road that leads to a bridge out, sounding a cry I’ve sounded before. I’m seeking with all my heart to echo what the Lord has cried out to me when he's found me hurtling down this road. And also, I’m seeking to express what God has taught me as I've cried back to him, “I’m trying! But it’s impossible! I cannot stop!”
The LORD is with you, mighty warrior
May I tell you a story? It’s a true story. And it shows what can happen when God sees courage in you that you do not see.
Cries of the shunned
In the middle of that dark-valley time, I often found myself alone with God, crying aloud and writing passionately in my journal. During that time too, I came to identify with David, the shepherd-poet-warrior-king, in ways I had not before. For David was also ostracized by people he trusted. And he cried out in distress - and in faith.
The blessing of the Lord
This is the Lord’s blessing: He entrusts himself to us. As we receive him, he delights in us. Out of this greatest blessing, all his other good gifts flow.
“Come be with me” – Seven encounters with God
Seven times, God called Moses to come to him on a mountain. Still today, when the Lord says, “Come be with me,” more than you can imagine hangs in the balance.
Radiant! A glory story
When all seemed lost, Moses pressed in: To know the character and ways of God. To live in his Presence, to seek his face, to see and reflect his glory. May your heartcry echo that of Moses. And even when you do not realize it, may you become ever more radiant because you have been with your Lord.
The blessing of rest
Real rest is so different from what I had thought. It’s so much more expansive, and desirable, and enjoyable. And it’s so very vital. Thing is, I desperately needed real rest long before I knew I needed it. I had no clue how rest-deprived I was.
Now and forever: Resting in God’s love
Think of it! All that David experienced and described in Psalm 23 – all of it – is still flowing from God’s great love, in hot pursuit of you.