Affirmed in Christ

God’s Will

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33, ESV

As a young child, if you asked anyone I was going to be a rockstar. I wrote songs. I sang and played piano and I was not afraid of performing in front of audiences. As a teenager, my professional goal changed to veterinarian. I had a pet hamster for a long time and I wanted to have more pets to care for.

As a college student, I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was a premed major, I took the MCAT, applied through AMCAS, I got secondaries…I am not a medical doctor.

Deciding “what am I going to do with the rest of my life” or “what am I going to be when I grow up” left me jumping from one thing to another. As an adult, I learned that there was one way that had a certain clarity. Seeking God’s will for my life.

To be transparent, I’ve had moments when I thought a job or situation would play out differently – an unfavorable outcome does not mean that something was not God’s will. (See, Treasure in Trials).

Did it draw you closer to the Lord, did it cause you to seek Him, to have a character shift to be more like Christ, to pray, to ask a friend to tell you more about Jesus? Then, dear friend, it was God’s will.

God’s will aligns with His character, it is unchanging and steadfast.

We’re instructed to seek Him in every moment and God is faithful to hear us and give us what we need.

Questions for today?

What do I need to do to truly focus on my relationship with God?
Am I actively seeking His will for my life through prayer?
Do I have friends or family who I consider safe and wise counsel?

Seek the Lord. Fear the Lord. Be Affirmed in Christ.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
proverbs 9:10, ESV

A Prayer of Healing

Lord Jesus,

I want to be whole. I desire to be healthy and spiritually mature.

Search me. Show me where I need to be healed. Show me where I need restoration. Help me identify the wounds in my past that I need to revisit for the purpose of giving them over to you.

Show me where I am replaying the brokenness of my past in the present. Show me where I am perpetuating dysfunction instead of being a blessing.

Show me who I need to forgive. Help me let go of childhood wounds and be present in Your purposes for my life today.

God, your love is powerful and can kill the root of bitterness. Indeed, many people have wronged me. Indeed, I have wronged many. I have been hurt in many ways. Some situations will never be resolved. Some people will never apologize. Help me to forgive and move on!

There are things in my life that I may never be able to let go of – I need the love of Christ. Your love brings everything together in perfect harmony. Bring peace to my soul, Lord.

I pray this trusting and believing in You, Lord. Amen.

1 Peter 4:8
Psalm 147:3
John 15:5
Colossians 3:14

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ.

Wednesday’s Reminder

Back Talk

One of my greatest passions is speaking to students and helping them think about their future. I want to help them understand, early in life, how their decisions now will impact their future. They need to develop goals, and then develop plans to achieve those goals. It’s something I missed out on in that stage of life, so in some ways I see it as the next best thing to being able to go back in time and talk to my younger self.

Interestingly enough, a few years ago a therapist asked me, “what would you say to your younger self?” I didn’t take it very seriously until he pressed in deeper with, “think about some of the most painful seasons you had growing up. What affirmations did that boy need to hear at that time that he didn’t get?”

Eventually it clicked. The reason I focus so much on motivating teens is because I know how strong the connections are between childhood events and adulthood. The wounds and voids we develop stay with us unless we do something about it.

Because of this, I developed a list of affirmations, that I missed out on early in life, that I still need now. I go through the exercise of telling my younger self what I should have heard then expressing the affirmation for myself today. They are:

You are valuable – I am worthy of respect and love because I am made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
You have purpose – I am unique. I was made with careful attention by God (Psalm 139:14). I have something meaningful to offer this world.
God loves you – God has proven His love for me by sending His Son to die for my sins (Romans 5:8).

Questions for today?

So, what do you need to hear?
What did you miss out on that you still need to receive today?

God has it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t overcompensate in other areas.

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ.

A Prayer in the Waiting

Gracious Lord,

I seek You today in my current season of waiting, with the desire of what I am waiting on stirred up in my heart. God, You know exactly what I am waiting for. And I know that, right now, it is Your grace that sustains me.

As I have read the truth of Your scriptures, I can say for certain that this waiting season is a good plan that You have for me because that is what Your Word says. And included in my good plans is a future filled with hope. If I fix my eyes on You, Lord, and be still, You will hear my cry.

Still, Father, there are times when there is weariness in the waiting. In this very real weariness, Holy Spirit, remind me of God’s steadfast love. Remind me that endurance comes from my Heavenly Father. Fill me Lord with Your endurance, so that I may not be weary or grow faint in the waiting but have a renewed strength to persevere and wait expectantly.

Forgive me Father when I focused on the timing and the length of the waiting instead of focusing on You. I recognize this is a time to seek You more diligently and to continue to trust in Your sovereignty.

I pray this trusting and believing in You, Lord. Amen.

Psalm 46:10
Isaiah 40:30-31
Jeremiah 29:11-13
James 4:13-15

Affirmed in the Waiting

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ.

Scripture in the Waiting

Affirmed in the Waiting

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord
Psalm 40:1-3, ESV

The influence of literally everything at our fingertips sometimes does not allow us many opportunities to practice waiting. Waiting is one of those things that takes time to learn how to do well.

As a child, I heard the reminder to “wait patiently” followed by the adage “patience is a virtue.” Typically this was said to me after a long line of questions of why, how or when something was occurring. Though I heeded the reminder/warning of remembering to wait patiently, my understanding didn’t catch up until later in life.

As a wife, I found myself crying out to God with why, how and when as I grieved the miscarriage of my first child. I would never oversimplify the heaviness of the grief or the brazenness of my pleading prayers. Through real tears and raw prayers, the Holy Spirit led me to Psalm 40:1-3. In that season, I read the scripture above in a new way.

In Verse 1, David displays a perseverance in “waiting patiently”. In this perseverance, God showed favor to him and heard his cry. Being affirmed in the waiting is to wait with an expectant hope.

Perseverance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because of God’s love (Romans 5:3-5).

Application

Being affirmed in the waiting means to trust the Lord’s will and His timing. Acknowledging God’s preeminence is a first step. He is truly superior and higher than everyone and everything. Though we may never know the full purpose of the waiting, dear friend, we can be certain that our Father’s plan is perfect and His timing is for our good (Romans 8:28).

In this season of waiting, where is God guiding you to seek Him more? In your prayer life? In serving at your church or within your community?
Commit to one action you can start this week to work towards your answer to the question above (e.g., seek God more in daily prayer time, volunteering).
Pray – Pray specifically, include scriptures in your prayer, acknowledge God is in control and pray with an expectant hope.

Persevere in the waiting.

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ

Affirmations in Christ

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2, esv

The Bible tells us that as far as the east is from the west, that’s how far God removes our wrongdoings, our offenses, our sins (Psalm 103:12).

There is nothing that we can or cannot do that can separate us from Christ. The justification of our salvation is not in us, but in Christ alone.

Today’s affirmation reminds me and you, dear friend, that as born-again believers, we can hold onto the truth that the Lord shows compassion to us (Psalm 103:13).

Affirmations in Christ

Nothing can separate me from the love of Jesus.

In Christ, I am free from the sins of my past.

John 3:16-18
Romans 8

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ.

A Prayer for Evangelism

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV

Loving Father,

I am so humbled by Your love. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, for the precious gift of salvation and new life. Thank you Lord. Today I pray for boldness. Just as I boldly professed the truth of the Gospel, the good news, when I first became a born-again believer, God I pray for the same boldness today and in daily living.

Lord fill me with the right words to say when You give me opportunities to evangelize to family, friends and neighbors knowing that Your word is sweet and true. Holy Spirit, help me as I am speaking with others to remember scriptures at the right moments. I ask and pray that I will freely express to them where I am still continuing to grow and excitedly offer growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord together. I pray for wisdom to lovingly share my hope in Jesus.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
1 Peter 3:15, ESV

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ.

Very Present Help

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll”¹

Times of being in a valley are not the ones that we readily and openly share.

When we get the promotion, the job, the speaking engagement, whenever the good thing happens, most of us are quick to share and have to admit we expect congratulatory responses – even from people we may avoid on any other day.

Joy is easy to share.

Sorrow, grief, pain, angst, frustration, they typically don’t cause us to display.

But my sister, my brother, why not?

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Psalm 46: 1-3, ESV

It’s through the not so pretty times that I seek my Heavenly Father. That I find myself professing His goodness. That I long for Him.

And these same moments that are real life – when I admit how much I am a sinner in need of a Savior – are when the Father gets all the glory as He carries me through as my very present Help.

In a place with my safe circle of friends is where I found myself being held accountable, being vulnerable in expressing my valley and being prayed for. God, my very present Help was there.

In this moment, I asked the Lord for the right words to share for me, for us, when we are in valleys. The Holy Spirit led me to finish the stanza…

“Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul”¹

Our God, our present Help is near, carrying and caring for you in every moment.

Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ

¹“It is Well With My Soul” by Horatio Gates Spafford . to 1878. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mamcol.016/.