Leaps and Bounds

Posted on by Betsy

If you have kids or grandkids, you have experienced the phenomenon of watching them grow by leaps and bounds. Our three-year old can tell you the entire table of contents of his favorite book. He couldn’t do that a week ago. The five-year old suddenly made two soccer goals. She couldn’t do that last year, mostly because she disliked the uniform. Something clicks in the mind and suddenly a child can do a thing that couldn’t be done previously. Well, mostly. This never happened to me when it came to Algebra. There was no leaping or bounding there for me.

I thought about that when I read today’s passage. Paul describes the faithfulness of the church at Thessalonica as growing by “leaps and bounds.” How does your faith grow? Is it leaping and bounding?

2 Thessalonians 1 (Common English Bible)

3 Brothers and sisters, we must always thank God for you. This is only right because your faithfulness is growing by leaps and bounds, and the love that all of you have for each other is increasing. 4 That’s why we ourselves are bragging about you in God’s churches. We tell about your endurance and faithfulness in all the harassments and trouble that you have put up with.

I appreciate how you are incorporating a devotional into your day. Good on you! I want to encourage you to engage in other things that will help your faith to grow:

Regular corporate worship.

Volunteering in a ministry or mission.

Regular, meaningful giving of your financial resources.

Deep and constant prayer.

Imitating Christ in all that you do.

Paul says that growing by leaps and bounds in your faith makes you worthy of God’s calling and honors the name of Jesus.

11 We are constantly praying for you for this: that our God will make you worthy of his calling and accomplish every good desire and faithful work by his power. 12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and you will be honored by him, consistent with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What do you need to do to grow your faith? Start now.

Leaps and Bounds by Rendy King

Happy Are Those

Posted on by Betsy

Here is what not to do next time you are traveling. Do not put your heavy laptop in your checked baggage. I realize most of you know this. I struggle with the weight of my laptop in my carry-on, so on a recent flight I changed my routine and put it in my suitcase so I wouldn’t have to lug it around the airport. It was a direct flight … what could go wrong?

All was well until my checked bag decided to take a trip to Buffalo, N.Y. Unfortunately, I got off the plane in Norfolk, VA. Because of the lateness of the flight to Buffalo, my suitcase could not be returned to me for another day. Lesson learned.

It is hard to carry heavy things. Isn’t it lovely when you find a way to set them down?

David knew all about carrying heavy things. His many sins weighed heavily upon him. If you run a checklist of the Ten Commandments, he broke almost every one. But David also knew the joy that comes with forgiveness after you lay that heavy sin at God’s feet and repent:

Psalm 37 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 While I kept silent, my body wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

I have admired the sacredness of the confessional booth. While protestants do not follow a practice of confessing sins to a priest, the visual example of that ornate box while sitting in a worship service must bring comfort to Catholics during mass. It is a visible, tangible reminder of the nearness of forgiveness.

All you have to do is come.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let all who are faithful
    offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
    shall not reach them.

God is our hiding place, where we can take our sins into the sacredness of his presence and be assured of redemption. God hears us when we confess and delivers us from the harm that sin brings.

7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

Are you carrying a burden of sin that is just too heavy to keep lugging around? The “confessional booth” of God’s heart is always open.

Happy Are Those by Michelle Robertson

Separation

Posted on by Betsy

If you live far away from your family, you know the pain that separation can bring. Missing out on daily joys and activities is hard. Thank goodness for technology like FaceTime that allows us to see and hear each other, but nothing can replace a warm hug and the feeling of a three-year-old holding your hand.

One of the things that heaven promises is that when we get there, we will never be separated again:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39, NIV 1984) 

God’s perspective of death is that death is not the end. It is not final, nor is it forever. God’s perspective is that by the power of the resurrection there is a death of death, as believers receive eternal life upon their death. And so, the good news is that nothing can separate us permanently from God or our families … not even death.

This means that this time of painful separation is only temporary. While the rest of your life will be spent without the one you love, the rest of your life is but a blink of an eye in the scope of eternity. Just as those highly anticipated moments in our lives seem forever to get here, like kids who wait for Christmas or brides who wait for their wedding day, those events are but a blink of an eye in the scope of an eternal lifetime. If you have older children, think back about their toddler and elementary years. How often do we say, “I can’t believe how fast it went”? And yet each pregnancy was its own lifetime!

The problem with grieving is that it slooowwws down time. We become suspended in an artificial reality that is all too real. Days are long and nights are longer because we are stuck in the moment of our crisis like a fly caught in tree sap. Our movements and our thoughts are sluggish. It takes forever to get simple things done, to make sentences come together, to remember why we have walked into a particular room. It is not uncommon to forget even names of friends and acquaintances after the shock of a death. Grief can make us feel as though we are swimming in tar, trying to reach a distant shore that keeps moving farther away and the swim is taking forever. Embracing God’s perspective that death and mourning are only temporary states can begin to help us shake off our sluggishness and get on with what is the rest of our short existence here. Hear these words of Psalm 90 that offer us a perspective of how God measures time: 

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4, NIV 1984) 

So, if you are grieving right now, take heart. This separation won’t last forever, and you are not alone in your sorrow. Jesus himself walks with you today, and while you can’t feel him holding your hand, you can know for certain that he holds your heart.

This based on an excerpt from my book, Mourning Break, available at Amazon.

Gone the Sun by Sherri Henderson

Seeing the Small

Posted on by Betsy

I am that person on the airplane who plays with your toddlers. I have been known to sing, wave, make funny faces, and play endless games of peek-a-boo to entertain them while their parents are struggling and need just a moment to catch their breath. I recently sat next to a mom with a toddler on her lap and spent the entire trip playing with the little girl, who was fascinated with my rings and my mad itsy-bitsy spider skills. Her mom thanked me a thousand times when we deplaned, and I responded that I was once that thankful mom and I’m just paying it forward. Besides, I love small children.

A lot of people don’t notice the little ones. A lot of people don’t notice the little things. A lot of people don’t look beyond their own noses to see someone’s little struggles.

You know who does?

Jesus.

I have always loved the story of Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus the tax collector. Luke identifies him as a “short man” who was struggling to see Jesus in the crowd:

Luke 19 (Common English Bible)

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. 2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 

We need to remember that tax collectors were the bottom run on society’s ladder. They were mistrusted and rightfully so; many were corrupt and stole from their takings, overtaxing the poor for their own benefit. Someone with this background must have really wanted to see Jesus to even just be in the crowd.

5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.

This story reads so well! Jesus looked up. Jesus saw Zacchaeus. Jesus invited himself to lunch in Zacchaeus’ home. The crowd was appalled. The rabbi supping with the sinner?? It just wasn’t done!

But Zacchaeus was happy as he welcomed Jesus to his table. Isn’t this the way we should all feel? Even in the depth of our sinning, happiness comes when Jesus sees us and enters our lives with his saving grace.

7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

Was there ever a time when the crowd didn’t grumble about Jesus?

The best part is Zacchaeus’ immediate reaction to the Savior. He knew what was required and his repentance was immediate, sincere, and appropriate. How about yours? Do you follow through with your repentance and not only turn away from your sin, but actively work hard to make reparation to those whom you’ve hurt?

8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 The Human One came to seek and save the lost.

The snooty observers were disgusted, but Jesus stated his mission clearly. He came to seek and save the lost, not comfort the comfortable. As someone once said, the church isn’t a sanctuary for the saints, but a hospital for the sinners.

Salvation comes when we understand the difference.

Trees of Life by Alice Rogers

God’s House

Posted on by Betsy

Last week I had the tremendous blessing of volunteering in my church’s Sunday afternoon children’s program. Gosh, I had forgotten how fun that can be! They have been studying the Lord’s Prayer, and the craft assignment was to draw a picture of “God in heaven.”

It is always a treat to learn what kids think heaven is like. My favorite children’s sermon of all time was when I asked the children, “What is heaven like?” and a three-year-old thoughtfully responded, “Miss Betsy, I think heaven is a place where you don’t have to worry about going tee-tee in your pants.” Yup. Can’t argue with that. Heaven indeed is a place where we don’t have to worry about anything.

Last Sunday, I went around the room to see the kid’s drawings. Most of them had chosen light blue or yellow paper and were drawing angels, clouds, and a large, bearded man. One boy, however, had selected black paper and a white pencil. I was fascinated by his selections and watched as he drew lightning bolts and an imposing, ghost-like figure … with a beard …. always with a beard. At the bottom of the drawing, he drew a small earth with a happy donkey on top. That is some creative, out-of-the-box thinking there.

What do you think heaven is like?

In our psalm today, we get a beautiful picture of the psalmist’s idea:

Psalm 84 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)


How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, indeed it faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.

His emotional response to God’s home is obvious. He not only longs, but he also faints in anticipation of joining God in his dwelling place. This is a healthy attitude for believers. We, too, should have such a longing for heaven, our true home.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4 Happy are those who live in your house,
    ever singing your praise.

This is a reminder of the joy we will experience in God’s house. It will be a time of happiness and praise, not worry and toil.

5 Happy are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
    the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

But for now, we can find happiness in God’s strength for the journey. As we make our way through this pilgrimage of life, we go from strength to strength until God calls us home.

If you were to get your colored pencils out right now and draw a picture of heaven, what would its look like? Hold this image in your heart as you go about your day today. From strength to strength, God is with us.

Reflections of Heaven by Stacey Hanf

Ready or Not

Posted on by Betsy

We have been doing a sermon series on grief this month and my partner just preached an excellent sermon on “Dying Well.” The title might suggest that part of dying well is being ready, with wills finalized, funeral arrangements thought out (if you love your pastor, do this), end-of-life decisions made and in writing, etc. Truly these practical matters are important. I remember being startled once at a graveside burial to look across and see a headstone engraved with “Marge and Rad.” Marge and Rad were very much alive and had been in church the day before. Talk about being ready! But what about the spiritual matters? What does it mean to die well when it comes to the preparations you make to your soul?

A clue comes from this prayer, which is part of the United Methodist Church memorial service:

O God, who gave us birth,
you are ever more ready to hear
than we are to pray.
You know our needs before we ask,
and our ignorance in asking.
Give to us now your grace,
that as we shrink before the mystery of death,
we may see the light of eternity.

Speak to us once more
your solemn message of life and of death.
Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.
And when our days here are accomplished,
enable us to die as those who go forth to live,
so that living or dying, our life may be in you,
and that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us
from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

“Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. Enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life is in you.” This beautiful prayer invites us to realize that all of daily life is a chance to prepare ourselves to die well. Every day we have an opportunity to center our lives in Christ, and when those Christ-centered days are accomplished, we can be like Paul, as he describes dying well in the Second Epistle to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4 (Common English Bible)

6 I’m already being poured out like a sacrifice to God, and the time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. 8 At last the champion’s wreath that is awarded for righteousness is waiting for me. The Lord, who is the righteous judge, is going to give it to me on that day. He’s giving it not only to me but also to all those who have set their heart on waiting for his appearance.

Don’t you long for the assurance that in your last days, you might know that the champion’s wreath of righteousness is waiting for you? If so, what changes do you need to make in your life today to ensure that? Paul reminds us to have our hearts set on waiting for Jesus.

16 No one took my side at my first court hearing. Everyone deserted me. I hope that God doesn’t hold it against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that the entire message would be preached through me and so all the nations could hear it. I was also rescued from the lion’s mouth! 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil action and will save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and always. Amen

Paul’s dying thoughts were that God had stood by him all of his life and through all of his many trials. God was the source of Paul’s strength. Paul’s work in proclaiming Christ crucified and risen was the basis of his confidence. How about you? Have you shared your faith with anyone lately?

As you think about these things today, remember that you, too, are being saved for God’s heavenly kingdom. Thanks be to God!

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow by Michelle Robertson

Complacently Pleased

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever met someone who “thought more highly of themselves than they ought”? We all know someone who is conceited, arrogant, braggadocios, and perhaps even narcissistic. They are in our family, in our workplaces, and in our church. On the one hand, it is good to have a certain measure of self-confidence and a healthy dose of self-esteem. But folks who carry that to a new level and think they are better than everyone else are hard to take.

Jesus had the same problem. In a wonderful parable told in the book of Luke, Jesus calls out the showy and self-absorbed Pharisees:

Luke 18 (The Message)

9-12 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’

First, we have to admire Eugene Peterson’s choice of words in The Message. I laughed out loud at the phrases, “complacently pleased,” “looked down their noses,” and the notion that the Pharisee “posed” to pray. What vivid pictures these words conjure up! We get an image of a totally insufferable religious hypocrite.

Next, Jesus introduced a tax man as the foil to the puffed-up Pharisee. This meant a lot to the hearers of this story, because tax men of the time were the lowest form of humanity, the dredge of society, and the dirtiest scoundrels around. Like politicians, some might say.

13 “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”

14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

So, the folks listening to the story were shocked that the tax man was the hero of the tale, and the religious man was the villain.

Jesus’ point here was the level of humble sincerity we must bring to the altar. When the tax man asked for mercy and forgiveness, acknowledging that he was a sinner, he was speaking for all of us. We are that man slumped in the shadows with our faces in our hands. That is where God meets us with his saving grace.

The show-off went home not being made right with God because the show-off couldn’t be honest about his sin. Even though he ticked the boxes of tithing and praying, his heart was insincere, and his offering was shallow.

God desires more from us. He invites us to “simply be ourselves.” What does that say to you today? We can boldly come to his throne just as we are, without one plea, and be forgiven. That level of honesty with God is all that is required to be made right. Where is God calling you to come clean and be real? It’s time to come home.

Looking for a new devotional book? Psalms by the Sea makes a great Christmas present.

Coming Home by Michelle Robertson

Navel-Gazing

Posted on by Betsy

Navel-gazing is the habit of excessive contemplation on a single issue at the expense of being able to see the wider view of the bigger picture. The image that comes to mind with this phrase is a person with their head bent low, not looking up and not engaging in the world around them. Focusing on their own navel, they never see what God is doing in the midst of their crisis.

Today’s beautiful psalm begins with an antidote to navel-gazing. The psalmist reminds us to look up. It is an instruction to lift up our eyes and look heavenward. This is what he did, and he saw God’s presence.

Psalm 121 (New International Version)

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Whatever you are dealing with right now, ask yourself this: where does your help come from? Too often we look the wrong direction for direction. We look to social media to confirm our bias. We look to alcohol and drugs to numb our distress. We look to gossip and over-sharing to assuage our anxiety. We look to movies and television to help us ignore reality. We look in all the wrong places because they are easy to obtain. But our only real help comes from the Lord. Lift up your eyes!

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

This is a powerful reminder of what happens when we look to God to help us and completely yield our situation to him. He won’t let your foot slip. In all of those moments when you awaken at 4:00 in the morning and can’t get back to sleep because your problems keep running through your mind, God is already on watch.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

Psalm 121 is a pilgrimage song that was sung as the people journeyed to Jerusalem. They had to walk over hills and through valleys that were surrounded by mountains. There was danger on the road. Robbers would hide in the hills and attack them. The sun beat down on them by day and the moon exposed their position by night. But God provided a protection of shade for them, as he will for you.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Knowing that God watches over us is a blessing of comfort and assurance. The promise that God will keep you from harm is something you can count on now, and forevermore. When we entirely yield our lives to his safe keeping, we walk in his peace. When that happens, the only kind of navel-gazing you will need is to bow your head in a prayer of submission and thanksgiving and let it all go to him.

The Lord is your keeper! Thanks be to God.

I Lift Up My Eyes by David Bevel Jones

The Time is Coming

Posted on by Betsy

Our lectionary passage today comes from a time in Old Testament history when God was about to restore Israel and Judah and bring the people home. He had allowed the infiltration of foreign armies to come in and decimate them, but the time was coming soon for the people to be returned from the diaspora and reclaim their land. A lot had happened since they left, and their understanding of the Law, the covenant, and their relationship with God had been diluted during their time in Babylon and beyond. But God remembered his covenant and told the prophet Jeremiah that the return to their promised land was upon them:

Jeremiah 31 (Common English Bible)

27 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will plant seeds in Israel and Judah, and both people and animals will spring up. 28 Just as I watched over them to dig up and pull down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days, people will no longer say:

Sour grapes eaten by parents
    leave a bitter taste in the mouths of their children.
30 Because everyone will die for their own sins:
    whoever eats sour grapes
    will have a bitter taste in their own mouths.

Several generations had been born and had died during the time that they were away from Israel and Judah. The sins of the fathers had taken a toll on the children. But God’s new covenant with his people would be different.

31 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 

33 No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 They will no longer need to teach each other to say, “Know the Lord!” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.

God desired now to put his instructions within each person, engraving the Law and his promises on their hearts. No longer would they have to depend on the priest to mete out scriptural teaching … God desired that everyone know him. And knowing him came with forgiveness of their past sins, which God promised to forget.

This scripture is a great reminder to us today of the importance of personal bible study, daily devotions, prayer, and meditation. We cannot rely on the pastor or priest for scriptural instruction, but rather are invited to know God in our hearts and minds for ourselves. Considering that multiple Bible translations are right in your phone, that task has never been easier.

God desires to KNOW you and be known by you. Isn’t it amazing to think that the Creator of the universe wants a relationship with you? Thanks be to God.

Looking for a new devotional book? Psalms by the Sea is now available at Amazon.

Moonrise by Victor Miles

East, West, North, and South

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever lost something or someone very significant to you? Loss is a crushing thing, whether it’s the loss of a job, a marriage, a loved one, a home, a rebellious child … and many times when we endure a loss, we feel that God is lost from us as well. It is a normal reaction to the shock of being separated from that thing or person that you so desperately loved.

Job struggled with this when God allowed Satan to test Job’s righteousness. In a matter of days, he lost everything, including his wife and children, who perished together when a mighty wind from the desert caused their house to collapse on them. He was left with the company of useless friends for comfort. In the midst of his tremendous loss, he cried out that he could not find God anywhere in the void of all that has been taken from him: 

Job 23 (New International Version)

Then Job replied: 

“Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me. Would he vigorously oppose me? No, he would not press charges against me. There the upright can establish their innocence before him, and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.

But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.”

Part of Job’s perspective about the loss of his property and the death of his sons and daughters was that God was nowhere to be found. Indeed, many people feel the exact same thing. Their perspective of death includes the notion that they have experienced the complete abandonment of God.

Even Jesus, in His moment of agony on the cross, cried out: 

“My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, NIV) 

But God’s response to Job illuminates exactly where God is and has been in the midst of all of our temporal struggles:

Job 38 (New International Version

4“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 

On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?”

God reminds Job that as Author of creation of the earth, he was there when the morning stars sang their first song together; he was the One who marked off the depth and breadth of the earth. He was and always will be THERE…. and where was Job? In this seemingly harsh response, God is reminding Job about the temporary nature of Job’s fleeting life in comparison to the magnitude of creation, which has been brought forth over the span of eternity. In God’s perspective, Job’s complaint is but a fleeting second in the context of Time.

God is in every moment of our being. 

From God’s point of view, death is not the worst thing. In fact, death isn’t even the last thing; death never gets the last word. Hear these words from the book of Romans: 

Romans 8 (NIV)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So, we see here that nothing, even death, can separate us from God. 

Are you struggling with a loss today? Take heart. God is wholly centered in your situation with you. You are not alone. Thanks be to God!

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Mourning Break, available at Amazon.

Morning Break by Michelle Robertson