Life Journeys

Be more preoccupied with the divine solution than with the human condition eating away at you. There is no need to defend yourself against the accusations rehearsed in your own private courtroom. Though the secret place is often found in the sacred seasons of our suffering, love is not rationed out by how well we’ve been managing life.

See the Lord Jesus as your Champion over every adversary. Every fight you've had with sin, temptation, the whisper of deception, accusations, and condemnation and the ache of feeling like you don’t measure up has been won. The path in front of you — that's holy ground. Jesus will lead you into whatever battle is coming. Honor the vessel of dignity you're being handed.

You’re not a failure when your faith hasn’t resolved all your hard times. Success is letting your faith produce one of “heaven’s patriots.” Perfection is heaven’s report for you when faith is allowed to sustain your life in weakness. There’s no shame here. Stop demanding perfect performance as the entrance fee for God's presence.

In my trial, He said, “This is a moment of preparation. Heaven is fully aware of what you're going through right now and is planning for an eternal reward through it. The man wearing heaven’s identity doesn't set it down just because the road got hard. Your body is God’s address. Whatever verdict your past has been handing down, it no longer gets the final word.”

Heaviness does not mean God has forsaken us. Mourning over failure does not mean our hope is gone. A life reduced to ashes does not mean we can't have God's joy and peace. A broken heart does not mean that the immense liberty of heaven's favor is not for us. The stone in your chest isn't disqualifying you. It's the very thing He said He came to heal.

God's divine power has already given us everything we need for life. No achievement can buy it. No reputation can earn it. It isn't reserved for the spiritually elite. We haven't been called to glory and virtue by accident. We were made for it. You are a walking manifestation of His life. Refuse to let captivity be your identity.

People think, "I chose God, and yet I still blew it, still looked too long, still gave in again" — and they assume the choice must not have taken. Choosing God set a direction. Your struggle is the curriculum your choice enrolled you in. Ask, “which direction am I facing when I get back up."

Heaping guilt on top of an unexplained weakness doesn’t produce holiness – just paranoia. Interrogating yourself for a verdict you were never meant to reach alone robs peace. Don’t let your failures become the facts that define you. Think the truth of God’s word instead of the things your fear hands you.

“All have sinned and fallen short" - not of being better than the neighbors, well liked, or richer. God is at work fitting us for a greater glory by faith - a higher calling than policing our words and actions. Both condemnation and demanding our rights bring corruption into our nation and into our souls.

God doesn't usually deliver us in our affliction by handing us an explanation. What He does instead is give us Himself. Some are called into deeper waters not because they've failed more, but because grace has entrusted them with more to carry. Keeping His word by faith will light the way through.