Brie Gowen

Savor the Essence of Life

Three Things God Says About COVID-19

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Nothing brings character out quite like crisis. You will see some of the most courageous people charge into a burning building, but sadly, you will also see the ones who knock down the weak, trampling them to escape calamity. You will see people who instill fear, take advantage of a bad situation, yet also the helpers, the ones who pick up the fallen, serve the weak, despite their own trepidation, and give more than they take. I would like to think that all followers of Jesus fall into only one of the above mentioned categories, but sadly we all can fall to fear, panic, and survival of the fittest. Yet, in a time of chaos and uncertainty, I believe God calls His children to a deeper level of trust in Him. So, consider this a friendly reminder, to all of us who profess the faith, to follow the commands God has put forth for us in His word.

Without further ado, here are three things God is telling us amidst COVID-19.

1. Stay home! I want to put this as best as I can. I completely understand the fear of losing financial resources. I totally do. Most of us don’t have a huge savings built up, but I’m trying to encourage a kingdom mindset amongst all of this. I want my brothers and sisters out there to try and see this situation as an opportunity to grow deeper in dependence and relationship with Jesus, to not fear the waves that come, but trust the one who controls the storms. It’s not the boat that will save you; it’s the One who controls the ocean. He will provide.

Also, let’s think about what’s important. Is it staying current on bills or human life? Trust me as a healthcare provider on the frontline of this. It’s serious. People are dying. Maybe not you, the healthy twenty-something, but you can be without symptoms at the beginning of the virus and pass it along to people you do care about. Your grandparents, your friend’s immune compromised child. Life will always trump bank balance.

Then there’s this little nugget.

Romans 13:1-2 (NIV)

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Please trust the experts in disease transmission on this. Let’s not listen to that mom in your private Facebook group.

I won’t say I believe every word from a politician’s mouth or especially the news, but I do obey the authorities God has placed over me. Our government has given very clear and strong recommendations, and a large number of people are still ignoring the highly educated, well established plans to slow the spread of this virus. You are hurting others, you are hurting yourself, and you are disobeying more than the president you don’t like. You’re disobeying scripture. Let’s humble ourselves under the authority God has placed over us, trust that His plans will prevail, and stay home! I’m a nurse and a Christian. I trust medical science, but above all my Savior. God has given us healthcare and healthcare providers with the knowledge to save us. Let’s trust that God-given wisdom that says staying home will keep this from getting bigger than our hospitals and medical supplies can handle. Please.

2. Stop hoarding food! I have had friends inquire of my family, if we have enough. Since we started living in an RV we have limited space for storage period. Our fridge is small, our pantry also. We can store about enough for a week for our family of five, and that means frequent grocery trips. This past week I went shopping after a twelve hour shift at the hospital bedside, and as most of you know, the shelves were bare. Yet as I made my way through the aisles I always found one to two of every item I needed, even if it wasn’t my typical brand. By the way, I only took one, leaving the other for the next person.

Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

I’m reminded of the Israelites in the desert. God provided enough manna for each day. Some tried to take more and keep it for the next day, but He caused it to spoil. He wanted them to understand that He was their provider, and they could trust Him to give exactly what they needed. I’ll bet there’s a lot of people today who may end up throwing out some food they bought in over abundance, never realizing that God wanted to show them what He could give them.

Jesus came showing us how to be servants, showing us that the first would be last, and the last first. He saw people in need and He fed them. Never once did He hold onto what God had given Him and not share with the rest. He didn’t take all the fish and bread from the little boy and split it with His disciples. He thanked God for the little He had, then God multiplied that gratitude to feed five thousand. Imagine the blessings we are missing out on because instead of thanking God for what we’ve been given that we need, we’re taking more than enough right out of the hands of the hungry. It’s going to rot.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Don’t let fear drive your actions. I love my family, and I feel the need to take care of them. I understand that you want to get your family what they need, but stop and consider the fact that fear is driving you to load up a shopping cart with sixteen cases of water and twelves packs of toilet paper.

Which leads us to the third yet biggest commandment He’s speaking during this time.

3. Do not fear!

I say it again. Do. Not. Fear. There’s a reason this is the most repeated phrase in scripture. You see, fear is from the devil, and fear is a liar. Is all this kinda scary? You betcha butt! I am walking into a lockdown, negative air pressure, isolation, COVID-19 unit at work. Tons of healthcare providers around the country are doing this. If we let fear rule our actions, we would shut them all in a room and let nature take its course, but no, we go in and provide the very best, life-saving care we can. Are we afraid of catching the virus, or perhaps spreading it to our family? Of course! But we don’t let fear dominate and rule our actions. The reason the Bible says so frequently not to fear is because God knows we will. Sin has created some really crazy, frightening things out there, but faith in Jesus gives us a mode to combat fear and not let it rule our hearts and lives. He has overcome all evil, and COVID is no different. Even death has lost its sting, y’all. I serve a creator who gives eternal life, and the gift He offers is bigger than the most fatal of diseases.

Do you think this surprises God? Do you think He is as shocked as we all are by the death toll in Italy? No!

Psalm 139:16 ESV

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

God knows beginning to end. He knew this was coming, and He knows how it will end. He knows the solution. He knows the good that will come from this. What the enemy means for evil, God will turn to our good. We have a tendency to forget that.

God is whispering amongst the chaos,

come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I will give you peace. I do not give as the world gives. Take comfort, for I have overcome the world. There it is. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wasteland and streams in the desert. Hope like a river, it flows to those who trust in me. Do not be afraid. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Your foot will not strike the stone. I will rescue you.

If I were to offer any advice during this time of social distancing it would be this. Use this time to read the Bible. Y’all! There’s a wealth of truth and wisdom from the Lord inside those pages. Let them be a healing balm to your worried soul. Let them guide your decisions so that fear doesn’t lead you, but His peace sustains you. Listen to the real expert on what’s happening. Don’t just take my word for it.

How to Receive God’s Promises in Your Battle

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I’m going to tell you a story you may or may not be familiar with, and then I’m going to tell you exactly how you can apply the lesson to your own life. This story is about a man from the Old Testament called Joshua. I’ll bet you remember him. He’s the guy who marched around the wall of Jericho seven times, shouting loudly as God caused it to fall to the ground. But that’s not the only battle he led. He actually faced many armies on his way towards the land God had promised to Israel. The Book of Joshua is full of so many gems, so I’ll simply pass along one that really stuck out to me today. It’s good news we all can use as we face our own battles in the journey to God’s promises for us.

Following Jericho, God told Joshua of the next step. He wanted him to go take the land of Ai. I love that with every command of impending war, God tells Joshua, “do not be afraid.” That’s something we all need reminded of numerous times, not just in battle, but on the daily as we face the challenges of life. So, I like how God continues to tell Joshua not to be afraid, to be courageous, as He reminds him that the Lord God is always with him, as He is with us.

Anyway, back to Ai. God starts by telling Joshua not to be afraid, and then He delivers His promise. He tells Joshua that they will win this battle, that God Himself will deliver Ai into the Israelites’ hands. Good news, right? There’s so many times I feel (hear) God’s promises to me. He tells me that He’ll provide for my family, that He will direct our paths. Sometimes His promises are just general in nature, but other times more specific. Like when He promised provision for our sabbatical back home in Mississippi. I think we all face battles on the daily, and whether by reading the Bible, praying, or talking with a Godly mentor, we receive promises from the Lord that we don’t have to fear what we’re facing, because we don’t face it alone.

It was the same for Joshua. He knew the direction God was leading him, and he knew God promised His favor in the battle. I have had instances where I’m reading The Word, and I feel a promise from the Lord delivered to my heart. I feel so good in that moment. So confident. But the next day, when I’m trying to walk out that promise, it’s a little harder. I think that’s why God commanded to Joshua what He did next.

Joshua 8:18 (NIV)

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand.

God had promised the conquer of Ai, but as Joshua points his javelin towards the city, he is not only commanding his army to battle, he is also walking in faith. He is following the instruction of the Lord faithfully, and he is showing in a physical sense the inner trust his heart holds. He’s pointing in a certain direction, but he’s also making the proclamation (for all to see) that he is headed that way because God commanded it. He is not afraid, and his javelin shows it.

We move to a new city, or we take that intimidating promotion. We accept the position leadership gives us, or we agree to help out in a field we’re not fully confident in. Whether it’s coaching little league, teaching Sunday school, leading a team, or persevering through a difficult season of marriage, we walk forward in faith the things God places in our lives. We walk with confidence into the unknown because He tells us not to fear. We hold up our own javelins, even with arms trembling, and we step out, in faith. Or we should, rather.

For the sake of the lesson, let’s say we’ve all pointed our javelin with confidence (albeit shaky) towards our specific promise land. What’s next?

The battle, of course!

Y’all. Have you ever been in the middle of a battle, and it feels like a ten year war? Like, there is no end in sight. Even if you know a victory is supposed to be coming, your faith can falter when faced with continued hardship. When I read about the battle with Ai, I was convinced it lasted longer than five minutes. I mean, the strategy was really cool. They lured their enemy out to the middle of nowhere, attacked the vulnerable city in the enemy’s absence, then turned around from their fake retreat to surprise the over-confident Ai in an ambush of epic proportion. It was awesome, but I don’t think it was speedy. I’m pretty sure it took some time. I would imagine there were moments where Joshua (in his humanness) worried about his soldiers. He probably cringed as the plan played out, perhaps mental fingers covering his hesitant eyes while they prepared to take the land of their enemy.

Joshua 8:25-26 (NIV)

25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed[a] all who lived in Ai.

The battle had continued, the enemy had been mighty, the way uncertain, the victory not yet complete, but do you know what Joshua had not done, despite the odds? He had not drawn back his hand. He held the javelin, pointed in the direction of God’s promise, until the war was won.

He had walked in faith, but more importantly, he had continued to walk in faith even as the battle waged on. So many times we find ourselves in situations that seem endless, the victory too far away to see. We get discouraged, and we don’t want to keep going. Our arms get tired. Our fears crowd in. We begin our battle in confidence, but it’s easy to draw back our hand when the going gets tough. We don’t hold out until the battle is complete. We draw back, and in doing so, we miss the promise of victory that God had in mind.

If you find yourself in a tough situation today, I would encourage you to hold out your javelin in faith. Point it towards the promise of victory that God gives. Don’t pull back your hand when the battle drags on, but instead hold steady in faith until God declares it done. Don’t miss the victory He has promised in your life. Don’t draw back your hand until the end.

A New Perspective For a New Year

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If I’ve learned anything this year it’s that my perspective of my situations have more of an impact than I realized. Even as you walk through the pouring rain, you can curse the sky that you don’t have an umbrella, or you can laugh as you jump in muddy puddles, being grateful you aren’t trudging through a season of drought. I discovered a new love for my career, and I realized the impact I can have on the lives of others through my work. Instead of focusing on the difficulties inherent in my vocation, I chose to highlight the opportunities to change the world one life at a time. Perhaps it sounds a little corny, but I stopped looking at the small nuisances of life in general. And instead I began looking at the bigger picture. I learned how to view life more regularly through a kingdom perspective. It changed everything.

This morning I read a verse in Psalms that really struck my spirit.

Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

The level ground part. That’s what struck me. How often in life do we all feel like we’re living an uphill battle? We struggle and strive to get ahead, to reach this place of fulfillment, and we often times feel as if we’re trying to paddle upstream. I think about the trout that swim up waterfalls to find their mate, and while it makes for fascinating television on the Discovery channel, I don’t think we are called the same as fish are. I don’t believe God has it for us to (always) swim upstream through life. I think He desires to place our feet on level ground.

Back to the whole “kingdom” mindset, I believe this is one practice that helps us remain on the straight path, incline excluded. I believe that as we focus on our life with a kingdom perspective, we won’t feel like we’re on a treadmill that keeps increasing the grade until we’re thrown off the back-end onto our butts. But how does one get a kingdom mindset?

Yes, there are many problems in this life that will be like a Mt. Everest we must climb, but there’s also the fact that we encounter mounds of sand that we see as insurmountable. The thing about sand is it’s here today, but gone tomorrow. The waves take it out to sea. If we can look at the sand castles and know they’re fleeting, we’re more able to focus on the lasting castles in God’s kingdom. What I mean is this. You can actually categorize things in your life into two categories.

Does it impact your eternity? Yes or no. Those two answers, while simple in nature, can cut down on much of the stress we experience in life. And while I know life isn’t black and white, for the most part you can absolutely take an eternal perspective on most problems. I recently told a friend, “if you keep beating your head against the wall where you are, struggling to make things work, then perhaps God has something different in mind for you.”

This comes back to the fact that God doesn’t have for us to fight and fight to enjoy this life. As we follow His will, He places us on level ground. Things just seem more in line when you’re following what God has for you, and if you’re confused as to what that is, go back to seeing things through an eternal perspective.

Are you fighting tooth and nail to climb the corporate ladder, spending more time away from family than at home? Ask yourself why. If it’s to grow wealth you can’t take with you, then consider that relationships with your spouse and children might be more beneficial. People say all the time they’re working all that overtime for their family, but most of the time it’s really for vacations, more financial security, or stuff (sand).

Are you angry at someone for wronging you? How does what they did impact your eternity? Nothing can separate you from Christ. But your unforgiveness can make you feel distant from the Lord. It also negatively impacts the object of your anger.

We have a tendency in this world to place too much importance on things that in no way affect God’s kingdom, and that’s fine to a degree. I mean, I really like tacos, and I know those have little to do with Heaven (although I secretly believe they’ll be there). What I’m saying is, God wants us to enjoy this life and the things that bring us happiness, but the problem comes when we place too much importance on those things.

So often we’re on uneven ground in life because we’re chasing the world and its pleasures. So often we feel it’s an uphill climb because we’re being drawn towards the idols we’ve placed (replaced God with) on the mountaintop. God’s will for you will never lead you to embrace so tightly things that take your eyes off Him. His good spirit will lead us to even ground.

My goal for this year, just like the year before, is to shift my focus from the fleeting things of this world to His face. My goal is to release worries over the things that don’t matter, and to focus more on the things that do. It’s to seek His word so that He can lead me to level ground. No uphill battles here, unless God’s leading me there.

Where God Guides, He Provides

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If not to testify to God’s goodness, then why else am I here? The last time I wrote something I shared my faith with you all, despite bleak circumstances. You can read it here if you missed it, but I’ll also give a brief recap. Basically, we decided to take more than a month off from my job to travel home for Christmas. I jokingly called it our sabbatical, but in all honestly, I really felt like it was in a way. I had never felt quite so strong about something as simple as a vacation, but I actually felt led by God to take this time.

It’s funny how the more you place your trust in Jesus, the more He delivers. I didn’t always pray about taking time off or whether I should buy my husband that expensive present, but if I’ve discovered anything over the past couple of years, it’s this.

God wants every part of our lives.

He doesn’t just want Sunday morning or the important, life-altering decisions like where to work or who to marry. He wants it all. The little things, the big things, the seemingly inconsequential. He wants our secrets, our deepest desires, and our hugest regrets. He can work with it all.

Over the years I realized that the more I released to the Lord, the more He took care of for me. It was hard to let some things go, whether I told myself He had enough to worry about without hearing about my insecurities, or whether I held tightly to the things I felt like I needed to control. For me, it was always the bank balance. That was the hardest load not to carry. I assumed it gave me peace and comfort to budget accordingly, but in all reality, it only added to my stress. Bills multiplied, stuff broke, and unexpected illnesses occurred. So, no matter how much I thought I had a handle on my checkbook, it always fell apart. There never seemed to be enough. Can you relate?

I did not tithe! I mean, I gave money to different charities, I supported local and international ministries, frequently, but I always had control of my giving. I gave when I felt like I had enough to give, but when it came to a regular, scheduled “here, God, you take this part right off the top,” I wasn’t good at that. I couldn’t relinquish that control. I knew when I had the money to give!

At the beginning of this year I felt the Lord pricking my heart to release that last bit of my life. I mean, I had already handed Him where we lived. We had been accepting travel positions based on where He led us to go work, and accepted them with a smile. Even if I got floated off my preferred unit at work, I smiled, because I trusted the Lord to give me the patients I needed to see that day. We trusted Him for our health, forgoing traditional health insurance, and instead utilizing a Christian medishare program if needed for medical expenses. I had given Him my fear, my anxiety too, and it was like He was saying, “okay, Brie, it’s time to loosen up the purse strings.”

Y’all, I put it off on my husband. I mean, he was the head of the household after all, and if he said something about tithing regularly, then we’d do it. So far, I controlled the entire budget. I paid the bills. I let him know what the available balance was. He didn’t even know the online banking password! If this guy, who never even thought about due dates and such, said something to me about giving to the church regularly, well, I’d take that as a sign.

You know what God did, right?! Yep, by the end of the week my spouse came out of left field with, “Brie, I think we should start tithing faithfully.”

Okay, God, got it, loud and clear. You see, tithing for me wasn’t about the money as much as it was about control. And I knew we weren’t necessarily giving money to the church because they really needed our money to make ends meet. God was telling us to tithe for what it would do in my heart and my relationship with Him. It was about letting go and letting God. It was about trusting Him for our provision. It was about believing He would provide what we needed, always, even when I could not see how. Some paydays I saw more debits due than the credits available. We had more bills than we had paycheck. It would be easy to not tithe those weeks, to say I’d pick it back up next time, but I refused. It wasn’t that it would hurt the church’s offering plate. It’s that it would hurt my faith. So, I gave even when I didn’t feel like we had it to give. I gave when my logic told me I shouldn’t. I gave, no matter what, because that’s what God told me to do.

Well, back to the present. He was telling me to take five weeks off work. It made zero sense to my budget-conscious self. We did not have the funds to do it. We could save up, scrimp, squirrel away, and whatever else, but logically it wasn’t wise to go that long without income coming in. Especially at Christmas! And two birthdays in December! And the gas mileage accrued when you haul 10,000 pounds of house across three states!

But God. Y’all, all I felt was peace. I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. Where God leads, He provides, but not just financially. He also provides His peace. That’s how I knew we needed to come home for Christmas. Because, despite my brief concerns based on what I could budget and see in the natural, I knew with 100 percent certainty that we were doing His will. Why was it His will for us to take a month off in Mississippi? I’m still not totally sure. I’ve seen Him doing some things, but I’ve also learned you may not see clearly all that God is doing through you at any given time. You just trust. I knew this. I knew He wanted us to go, and I felt zero anxiety about the financial aspect of it.

The plans, though! Yep, I had made plans to save money. Yes, all my plans had fallen apart. Still, I trusted. I can’t really explain that except for the Holy Spirit. He sustained my faith. In the physical I saw disaster, but in my spirit I felt peace. So much peace, so little fear. Praise the Lord.

Well, the night after we arrived I was given a stack of mail from my aunt that had been delivered to her house. There was a lot of junk in there, but nestled in the bundle was an unexpected blessing. It was a large refund check that would adequately cover my time off work. We had not been expecting it at all. We had not known it was coming, but God did.

Bottom line, He told us to go. It didn’t make sense financially, but we knew it was His will, for whatever reason, so we followed. And we followed in faith. Through His wonderful mercy and grace, we followed in faith. It wasn’t our strength of faith, but rather Him at work in us. We simply allowed Him access to our hearts and every part of our lives. In turn, He controlled every aspect. I finally had let go of all control over finances in my life, and in turn He took over that part, far better than I ever could.

I suppose it’s easy to lose sight. We look around and can’t figure out how God will work it out, but He always has a way. Our job is to trust Him always, in all things. I could write a book about all the miraculous things He has done in our lives, but for now I share this one. I mark this place in our lives. This will forever be remembered as the Christmas that God paid the tab.

When Your Well-Made Plans Fall Through

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Proverbs 16:9 (NLV)

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

This verse popped into my head last night, and I just had to laugh. It’s all I could do. I’ll be perfectly honest, though; at first I wanted to cry. All the plans I had made, and not a single one had panned out. In fact, each one, one by one had fallen through. Now what were we gonna do?!

A month off! Sounds good, but crazy, right?! I mean, it’s not like I had paid time off. It’s not even like we had some huge nest egg set back to pull from. Nope. All I had was certainty. I’ve stopped questioning my ability to hear from the Lord. When I feel Him leading me in a certain direction, well, I just go. I used to obsess back and forth, “is this really God’s will,” but I learned something pretty darn important. Are you ready for this nugget?

He’ll work it out regardless.

I’ve found that you often have to step out of your comfort zone to follow where God is leading. Sometimes we can use the excuse of “I’m not sure it’s God’s will” to keep us from doing something scary, and as a side effect we never experience the blessing he had in mind. It takes courage to hear from the Lord, but once you can trust that he’s speaking to you, especially in the big things, it will simply become second nature to follow him for the little things. It took me a while to grasp this. The great, grand conclusion is that even if you accidentally turn left when God says right, he’ll just have you bust a couple more lefts to get around the block.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Anyway, back to my story. I had decided to take the month of December off work as a travel nurse. I felt like God was leading us to take that time. I felt it was a needed rest, a time of rejuvenation for my husband, and much needed communion with my loved ones beyond our immediate family circle. I felt I needed to take those five weeks off from work so strongly that I just made the decision and did it!

I remember telling a coworker, “I’m not sure we have the funds to take off all that time, but I’m walking it out in faith.”

Even though I knew in my heart God wanted us to take this sabbatical, and I knew he was our provider, you better believe I set out planning. And that’s a good thing. I’m a quarter fly by the seat of my pants, half map it out accordingly, and 1/4 let the chips fall where they may, after my map flies out the window. Which is exactly what happened.

I started by squirreling money away, telling the kids no, placing a freeze on eating out. All good things. I kept running through the numbers, like, repeatedly tallying debits versus credits, to the point that even I felt convicted.

“Sorry, Lord,” I’d say as I put my calculator down. “I just need to trust you on this.”

The numbers were there, though, and that honestly gave me peace to know we weren’t being total idiots. With our camping membership in play, the whole time back home with family would be a rent-free stay for our RV, and I even found parks along the route home that would be free or no more than $10 for the night. I was pretty proud of myself.

“Oh, I’m sorry hon,” the lady on the phone said. “There are no vacancies.”

And so it began. Every stop I had planned, didn’t go as planned. The park within our camping membership back home that promised a three week stay for free? Closed for the season. Not one single plan I made went as planned, and I’ve found that happens in this life. As much as I want to try and fix everything before it’s even broken, some things I just don’t have the knowledge to mend. But my Poppa does.

I told a friend last night, “if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past two years, it’s that it will work out.”

Y’all, God is faithful to those who trust in him. We certainly don’t deserve it, but he continues to pour out his great grace and favor over us. The past couple of years have been a faith-building journey of uncertainty, yet through it all God always made a way. Nowhere to stay? He would place something unexpectedly in our path. Good health, safety, and provision always given. If an unexpected repair came up, then the funds came through. We learned not to worry what our next step would be. We just kept our eye on our guide. Jesus. Always Jesus.

It’s like, the more I placed my trust in him, the more he supplied his favor. I said I laughed when I thought of that verse from Proverbs because I know God’s not done with me yet.

Last night I told the Lord, “well, I guess you’re not done showing me what all you can do.”

My faith isn’t perfect, y’all. Far from it. You better believe I got a little twitchy thinking about the extra funds needed for lot rent for the month of December, but then the Holy Spirit whispered that verse. See, besides being just okay at my faith, I’m also just an alright planner, but thankfully my all-knowing God’s got this. My plans can fall through, and I don’t have to sweat it, because my trust is in him. Where he leads, he provides, and in the end, that’s really all I need to know.

Why Do We Celebrate Anxiety?

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“Girl, I am so busy! I’m about to lose my mind!”

We make a joke, make light of the situation, while in reality we just went into the bathroom and cried. Have you noticed yet that we’ve become a society who wears busyness like a badge of honor? It’s as if the fuller our plate here on earth, the greater our reward one day will be. But to me that represents a merit based system the world has created rather than the grace we’ve been gifted. We end up building who we are on what we do, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be that way.

A man who goes to his job sun-up til sundown, 6-7 days a week is a “good provider.” To be a good mother we are convinced we must reach a certain plateau. Our children must be pristinely groomed in the latest fashion, ready for a photo op at a moment’s notice. You need the right brands, the right house, and the right vehicle. Success is equated with the size of your pocket book, and your Christianity is based on Sunday attendance or how many ways you donate. And while I’ll be the first to admit those things do have their importance, we’ve convoluted our thinking to assume they’re the most important.

Young moms are bringing their babies to Sunday service not because they crave the presence of Jesus and His worshipping church, but rather because it’s expected. They dress their tots in matching, monogrammed outfits not for their own pleasure, but rather to appear like their life is as presentable as their children’s wardrobes. We lose sight of the ragged appearance of the Gospel, like our piety holds precedence over the bloody scene on Calvary. Not to say we don’t need reverence, but when you place it above the cross you’ve elevated man before His Savior.

We become what we do. It’s all a show. There’s a parade of what a perfect life should be, and everyone is in line to put on their costume for the day. Every day becomes the same, a repetition of being who we think we need to be, not who we were meant to be. In other words, we’re allowing the world to direct our steps, and we’re pushing the will of God into the closet with the gift bags and tissue paper we hold on to for a rainy day. Do you really think the Lord is grading our performance?

God wants our love, and the world wants our distraction. If we get lost in becoming what we see on Instagram, we’ll miss who Jesus wants us to become. If we’re placing our importance on how many plates we can spin, we’ll forget who to cry out to when they fall. When our perfect world comes crashing down, we’ll be lost on how to pick up the pieces.

We worry, oh Lord, do we worry. We worry where our sustenance will come from. We place our trust in horses and chariots to win our wars, for its our savings account that saves us. It’s our insurance that ensures we’re taken care of. It’s our devotion to our clean homes, cleanly swept walkway, and community reputation that gives us our purpose. We shine our windows so the world can see the outward beauty we project, but the chimneys, those hidden, dark places are filthy with soot. Our hearts are corrupted, but our front yard is maintained. We can check the boxes of soccer mom and baseball dad, but meanwhile we’re sleeping in separate beds. We can throw the perfect holiday party, but our soul feels as dirty as the kitchen sink the day after. But at least our Christmas card looks professional.

We feed our satisfaction with shopping sprees and our worried mind with a bottle of wine, yet our souls are in torment; they are hungry. We’ve become a very anxious lot, and the craziest part is we assume that’s just how it’s supposed to be.

John 14:27 (NIV)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

We’ve become a very anxious people, and the enemy will tell us that is to be celebrated, as if the fuller your plate, the fuller your cup, but the problem really becomes what that cup is overflowing. Is it Jesus? No! It’s bitterness, anger, and discontent. It’s worry, depression, and a sense of unfulfillment. We think the fastest rabbit wins the race, and that’s why you see people on their deathbed, at the finish line, weeping in regret. The fastest runner doesn’t win, but the one who can enjoy and learn from the journey. Who even remembers how to stop and smell the roses?

We make funny memes about how the Holiday Season has us freaking out, and we laugh and laugh. Meanwhile our hearts are hurting. We end up on the other side of January wondering where the joy went, why it can’t be like it was when we were a child.

Have you ever wondered why those MLM companies are so successful? It’s not just whatever product they’re pushing. It’s the dream they’re selling. A dream to not have to run so fast. A dream that you can slow down, off-load your daily to-do’s, and enjoy not having to worry about money! Money… that root of all evil, yet it’s only evil because of the focus we allow it. I’m guilty. We all just miss the fact that peace is here for the taking, but we have to lay down the things that don’t matter. What we’ve really become is a culture that places our importance on everything but the Kingdom of God right here, right now in our lives. Yes, Jesus come quick, I agree, but we forget that He is here right now, in our hearts, yet hidden by worldly distraction.

I wonder if we can change? I wonder if we can stop assuming a fast-paced anxiety is the best we’ll get this side of eternity, if we can understand that freedom has already been won when Jesus died for us? He didn’t give His life for us to be slaves to time, our workload, commitments, and routine. Indeed, He’s freed us from that sin that so easily entangles us.

Maybe we can step out in freedom by laying life down. Gain more by letting go of it all. Take an inventory of our full plate, and pick today to scrap off the pieces that aren’t giving us life. Jesus has given us life, but also an abundant life, a life free from anxiety. The Bible instructs us to “fear not” 365 times, one for every day of the year. We fear the things we cannot change, yet many of those same things we can change by letting them go. We can stop celebrating anxiety and instead cast it down.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

When Jesus Tells You to Put Out Deep

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I come from a long line of fisherman; not by trade, but certainly not just for pleasure. What I mean is, my kinfolk wanted to catch something when they went fishing. My grandpa was known for his ability to reel in a huge haul even when others couldn’t get a bite. He took pride in knowing the waters, what time the fish were biting, and what bait best caught which fish. He was an expert at his trade, and he knew how to always bring home a full basket of fish.

Me? I didn’t inherit that specific skill. It’s not that I didn’t like fishing. I quite enjoyed it. I just wasn’t that great of a fisherwoman. I’d go home empty handed a lot, but it didn’t really bother me. See, I didn’t so much want to catch fish as much as I just liked fishing. I can think back on sweet Summer afternoons, a book in hand, draping the line between my bare toes, so if I got a tug I’d know. I was too busy reading to watch my bobber, and as you can imagine, I got my bait stolen more than not.

Not catching a big bass or catfish was just fine for me sitting out on the lake across from where I grew up, but when you start talking about bigger fish, well, it’s a different story. This morning I was reading in the Book of Luke about some guys who fished for a living. In fact, these fellas had been fishing all night. The bad part was they weren’t catching anything. They had the boat, they had the net, and they certainly had the desire, but their haul for this particular excursion had been paltry.

Suddenly, though, Jesus offers them a specific instruction, and when I read it the words were like an electric shock up my spine.

Jesus had instructed, “put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4 ESV)

It got me to thinking… Jesus was telling me to put out deep.

How many times are we in that boat, we have the desire to do God’s will, and we even have the right equipment, but we can’t seem to net a result? Perhaps it’s because we haven’t yet put out into the deep.

Y’all, there is nothing wrong with the shallow end. I like it, personally. It’s safe. You don’t get tired from treading water, and you can always see the bottom. The shallow end is known, comfortable, and you get plenty wet swimming there. But I’ve found that sometimes to really swim you have to go out to the deep end. To catch fish you have to stop being distracted and pay attention. You just do. And if Jesus is telling you to go deeper, you won’t be satisfied until you do.

Almost two years ago Jesus told me and my husband to go out deep. I even wanted to do it, too, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary. A lot of people we loved tried to talk us out of it. They didn’t want us to drown, and I get that. We just knew that Jesus wanted us to fill His nets more than we could do in the shallow end.

We had to leave the familiar town, jobs, and family support systems we knew. In fact, just to make sure we didn’t get cold feet, the Lord pushed us into the deep. He took away the security of the familiar, forcing us to step out in the move He had placed on our hearts. We left a failing business in search of better employment, but that doesn’t mean we could see the bottom. The deep can be murky. Faith keeps you swimming.

We traveled a thousand miles with a pickup truck of suitcases, and a reservation at an extended stay hotel. It was the size of our previous living room, and the rent almost three times our mortgage back home!

I questioned, “how could this be God’s Plan?!!”

But still He whispered, “let out into the deep.”

Y’all, I had scoured the internet prior to leaving for Florida and I couldn’t find anywhere to house a family of five within our budget. The housing assistance with my travel company was no help. They quoted me a $13,000 bill for a three month lease with what they found! No one wanted to do a short lease, or they were charging more than I could afford. It was so much more/worse than I had bargained for, and after another fruitless day I had broken down into hopeless tears. I couldn’t for the life of me fix this particular problem, and that’s when I knew deep down in my Spirit that I had to stop trying.

So, we had left our home with no concrete housing solution. We had enough money in the bank (from selling all of our possessions) to last in that hotel maybe a month. Still we put out deep. We knew that’s where we would net what God had for us.

Have you ever experienced one of those crazy coincidences, like, where one step leads to another? I don’t believe in luck or coincidences, but I do believe in a faithful God. Within a week and a half of housing my family in little more than a broom closet, in the worst section of downtown Orlando, God led me in one specific direction for a housing solution. Of the thirty people I emailed, one replied. She replied to tell me she couldn’t accommodate us, but she did have a suggestion of someone who might could. That suggestion led us to not only a bigger space, but one that was in a safe area, in a gated community, at 1/4 of the price we had been paying, with our own yard and a community pool. I had exhausted every ounce of what I knew to do, but God led us exactly to what we needed. And it ended up being better than anything we could have manufactured on our own.

Many times God has exactly the answer we need. He has the exact solution to our dilemma, but He cannot present His solution until we put out into the deep. He cannot throw us a lifesaver until we leave the safety of the shore. We’re crying for a catch, but we’re refusing to let down our net. We’re not happy with splashing around in the kiddie pool, yet we’re afraid to cross the rope into the deep end.

He’s saying, “let down into the deep.”

We weren’t happy, you see. Back then. We weren’t happy with the way things were, we wanted something different, and we wanted God to lead us to new things. But we were also hesitant.

We’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught a thing!

That’s what Simon said. But then he remembered what He knew about Jesus. He decided, well, if He says do it, then I’ll do it. I’ll let my nets out again, but deeper this time. I’ll trust that what He instructs me to do will work, even though I’ve already done everything I know to do.

Y’all, God is still calling us deeper. Each day we become aware of more areas of our life where we’ve been trying to do it on our own, but it hasn’t been netting the results we desire. We’re realizing that we have to keep putting out into the deep. It’s still scary, but the thing is, we’ve seen the kind of fisherman Jesus is. He does it for pleasure and for the fruit. He gets joy from the harvest. When you let down where He leads, trusting His instruction and provision, the result is always more than your boat can hold!

This post alone cannot hold all the specific, miraculous instances where God provided for us financially, protected us physically, or sustained us emotionally through the last two years. It’s been amazing, and subsequently we’ve become stronger swimmers. Listen, I’m not saying you have to follow our lead, sell all your possessions, and take off to new places. But I am suggesting this. If you’ve been praying for a change or asking God for something in particular, and you’re just not seeing any result, perhaps ask yourself if He is calling you to let out into the deep. Ask yourself if He is calling you to trust Him deeper, get to know Him further, seek Him at new depths, or simply to stop thrashing about in the waves like He’s not able to save you. The thing is, when Jesus tell you to put out deep, you need to be ready to drop your net.

When Your Enemy Means You Harm

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I recently had a situation where someone wished to harm me. They had nothing to gain from me by their actions, and the only result of their jabs at me and my family would be their own pleasure. I believe you call that malicious, or perhaps vindictive. Regardless, I called it done. Despite this person’s attempt to cause us emotional and physical harm, we were unbothered. I’ll be honest; I’m pretty sure for a few minutes I wanted to be upset and worried, but I didn’t stay in that place. Thank God, I was able to abide in His truth.

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

It’s easy to become tussled by our enemies. I have met plenty of people in my life who let the devil use them to do evil, and if we allow it, the attack can not just be physical, but also mental. We can become burdened by their efforts to cause us strife, and we can forget who holds our lives in His hands. It’s ok, we all lose sight. I’ve found humans are a forgetful bunch, but last night I received a wonderful reminder of God’s goodness to us, especially when we are in great need, and I wanted to share it with you.

Have you ever read the book of Esther? It’s a short book, but packed with tons of good stuff. One thing especially stuck out to me as I read it last night. In the book, Haman is a high official to King Xerxes, and Haman decides he wants to kill a Jew by the name of Mordecai. Haman is so excited for his plan of murder he even builds a gallows by which to hang poor Mordecai. Haman is an important fellow, but Mordecai follows the one true God. So watch what God does.

King Xerxes is in bed battling insomnia and decides, out of nowhere, to read a book that keeps record of his kingdom (it does sound like good sleepy-time material). In this book he’s reminded of how a guy named Mordecai outed some bad guys who wished the king harm.

Xerxes is like, “dang. That Mordecai is a good dude. I need to honor him!”

The next day in comes Haman. He’s all pumped to tell the king about his plan to hang this fella, but the king interrupts his idea with a question of his own.

“Haman,” the king asks, “how should I honor a man who really needs accolades for his service?”

Of course, Haman thinks the king is talking about him, and full of pride he suggests a parade through the city in royal duds.

Boy was he surprised when the king said, “great idea! You drive the chariot tomorrow to honor Mordecai!”

Can you imagine his face?!

Here you have the ultimate enemy of Mordecai. He wants him dead. He plans out the details. He’s basically already dug the grave for Mordecai. But God! God had different plans. What Haman meant for harm, God turned to good. Only our God can turn a death sentence into a parade in your honor!

So, whatever enemy you face today, whatever battle you find yourself in, try and remember Mordecai. The same God who saved his life is also fighting for you! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He loves His children with an unconditional, all-consuming love. He will move mountains for you. He can certainly handle a bit of malicious intent.

In my own situation, I am still dealing with the repercussions of my enemy’s attacks, but I am not beaten. I stand strong in what God can do. In fact, I’m excited to see how He works it all for our good.

When God Took My Husband

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You know what’s hard to figure out at nineteen? Well, let’s be honest. A lot of things! But do you know one thing I especially couldn’t quite grasp yet? It was the fact that God had my best interest at heart, always and forever, and even when I couldn’t see it. I believe this more now than I did over twenty years ago, but I think most of us still forget it’s true. We forget His plans are to prosper us, or His ways are higher than ours. I mean, we hear this stuff over and over through the years. We even read it ourselves in the Bible, yet it’s easy to forget. It’s easy to think maybe that part is for someone else. That makes it hard to give God something you want to hold onto. It’s hard to hand over control of the things you hold really dear.

I found the man of my dreams about twenty-two years ago. He was handsome, but he was also kind. He was unique and talented, but also humble and personable. He was unlike any young man I had met before. He was slow to anger, but so quick to forgive. He loved me. And the best part? He loved me for me. I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. In fact, never before had I felt more at ease and comfortable with someone of the opposite sex.

I was new at this comfortable kind of love. We didn’t fuss, and we didn’t have to try so hard to be happy. We just were. I also was new to another relationship at the time, and that was with Jesus. I mean, I had attended church for years, but it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I understood there was a difference between religion and relationship. I was growing in a way spiritually I had never experienced before. I was finally able to understand the Father Heart of God and how His love for me could heal all my past hurts. I was studying the Bible, praying more, seeking God each day, and my beau fit in perfectly with it all. He was the one!

Yep, I said it. The One. Capital “O.” I felt like God told me so. I was new at this hearing God’s voice thing, but I understood it didn’t have to be a burning bush to be Him speaking to me. I was finding that I could hear Him through others, through the scriptures, but also through the quietness of my own heart seeking His will. I had witnessed His miracles, and I had found that when I followed through with the things His Spirit placed within me, He worked in mighty ways. He revealed things to me I would never know on my own. So many things. Naturally, when I felt Him impress to me that the young man described above would be my husband, I took Him at His word.

Have you ever lost something you loved? Something that you knew was right? I did. I watched my college sweetheart go away, and I felt my heart rip in two over that broken promise. I knew God had this man to be my husband. Even after we broke up I still felt like it was true. It was like the Lord had taken him from me, this one thing that made me so happy, and I couldn’t understand why He would do that. I couldn’t understand why we had to give up our relationship.

They say, in Christian circles, that you should willingly give over everything to God. They say He knows better than we do. They use words like “His timing,” or “everything happens for a reason.” Well, that doesn’t help a thing when you’re in the midst of loss. It’s hard to see God’s plan as it is, so never mind the difficulty when your vision is clouded by a veil of tears. I did not give my love life to God back then. I didn’t say, “whatever you say, Lord.” Instead I cried, I begged, I yelled, and I pleaded. I didn’t surrender my plans in favor of His; instead I became bitter and distant. What kind of God hurts the people He loves? Why even tell me this man was the one if he so obviously wasn’t?

The amazing thing to me is that even if you don’t give your life (or most precious possession) to God, He is still faithful. I didn’t hand my future husband to Jesus! He took him from me! But then He gave me now.

Twenty-two years later and I am married to the man of my dreams. It’s the man God told me I would marry. It just didn’t happen when I thought it would. I realize now that we weren’t ready. We were not the man and woman God needed us to be. We were distracting one another from the plans God had, and He had yet to refine us to the vessels He would need us to be for His kingdom purposes. At nineteen it’s hard to understand that your life has more purpose than just yourself. It’s hard to see the impact God wants to make through you for the world at large. Heck, it’s hard to always see that at twenty-nine, thirty-nine, and beyond. But I’ve discovered He always has kingdom purposes. You don’t have to be a minister or missionary to change the world for the better. If you impact positively even one life then you have served a purpose higher than yourself.

We were not the husband and wife we needed to be two decades ago. We were not the parents we would need to be to raise our amazing daughters. And while the Lord can work with any kind of mess, at any age, and at any time, His purposes for our lives together needed to ruminate. We needed to wait.

I am a better wife today than I was yesterday, but especially better than I would have been at twenty. The same goes for him. I appreciate my spouse. I have no problem being a humble wife and laying down a desire to always be right. I wasn’t always this way. He has grown in leaps and bounds also. I sometimes wonder, would we be as happy as we are now if things had gone differently? Would our life be just as amazing had we married at age twenty? Would I realize how wonderful, selfless, and truly loving my man is, or would I take him for granted? I don’t know. What I do know is that God’s timing is always perfect, His promises are always true, and His will extends beyond anything I could make happen. His way brings true, lasting happiness. I didn’t always realize this was so true.

I wish I could say I acted super spiritual when God took my husband from me. I wish I could tell you I got down on my knees and prayed, “thank you, Jesus, that your plans for me are so good. I completely trust you will bring him back to me better than before and bless our future together exponentially!”

I can’t tell you that because I did the exact opposite. I acted like any teenager would. I stormed off and slammed the door in my Father’s face. Sigh. I’m glad He didn’t let it go at that.

Despite our ability to follow God’s plan perfectly, He still lays the foundation. Despite our ability to trust, He is still faithful. Despite our ability to surrender, He still gives abundantly. I mean, doing it His way with a smile and knowing nod the first time would always be better, but seriously, how many of us have ears to hear?! The wonderful thing is that even when our faith flounders, He still loves us. He still blesses us. He takes, but then He gives back even more. I am blessed today because of yesterday, and now I try to always see my life with that mindset. If something falls apart, I anticipate how my Father will piece it back together, better than it ever was before.

Taking Crackers From Dad’s Plate

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“I’m sorry for the uncertainty,” my recruiter said.

I replied, “it’s not your fault.”

And it wasn’t. It wasn’t his fault any more than it was mine, but it wasn’t even the fault of the hospital administration we waited on for an answer. It simply was what it was. Gosh, I hate that phrase, but I could think of no better description. It was what it was.

Travel Nursing is a whole lot of waiting and uncertainty. I mean, it’s not that bad, but it for sure is less stable than a staff nurse position. I never know from one assignment to the next where I might end up. Basically we sign a contract to work a job three months at a time at a given location, and somewhere around 3-4 weeks from the time it ends, I can start looking for my next job, hospital, and location. No sooner. You might have the grand idea of going to Colorado in the summer, and even though a job would be open in April (when you were under contract in Florida), it most likely wouldn’t be hiring in June (when you needed another job).

This took a lot of getting used to for me. Always a planner, even a perfectionist (though I shudder to admit it), it was hard for me. I guess it could be hard for anyone who enjoyed stability with their employment or certainty with their finances. Perhaps for a young, single person it would be easier, but for a middle-aged mother of three taking her children and husband along, it was not. One might consider it a heavy burden being the primary breadwinner for your family in such an undependable environment. Travel nurses made good money, as coworkers were quick to remind me, but you had to when you accounted for the things you didn’t have in your pay package. You needed a financial cushion since you didn’t have paid time off or sick leave. You wanted a little extra if the next job came a couple of weeks late, or if it took you a thousand miles from your current one. See what I mean?

Today my husband had made himself a plate of sharp cheddar slices and saltines, and as he sat eating it our three year old appeared out of nowhere like some snack-stealing ninja. She offered him her grandest grin, reached stealthily and confidently for a cracker, then giggled as she stole it away.

He watched her wander off and mused, “she didn’t even worry that I wouldn’t give her one. She just knew I would.”

And that, my friends, is the kind of thinking I have adapted to over the past year.

When God leads you to something new, and when you listen to His lead, they say you’re stepping out in faith. And I’m discovering that many times when you’re led to something, God has a wonderful plan to change you for the better from the inside out. He doesn’t just take you to a different job or state. He takes you to a new level with Him. He takes you from fear to courage, from defeat to success, from the bondage of worry to the freedom of trust. Who knew?

I have loved God for a long time, but even as I drew close to Him in a personal relationship, there were some areas I still held control of. It’s not that I didn’t think He couldn’t handle it. I knew He could, but so could I. I would worry about finding us affordable housing in Florida. I would worry about leaving the same job I’d been at for seven years. I would balance the budget and be proactive. Nothing extra for tithing at the time, but I would worry about that later. I got myself into this mess of debt, and I’d get myself out. Always thinking of ways to save money, solve problems, and make things easier. Worried about the children, feeling responsible for the struggles of those around me. It was exhausting.

Somewhere in the mix it got really heavy. The anxiety was too much sometimes. I mean, even as God was giving us wonderful accommodations for our travels, beyond what we could find on our own, I worried. Even as I earned income above what I ever thought I could, even as God blessed our finances, I worried for the unexpected expenses. Even as He provided money out of nowhere for the surprise RV repairs, I worried in the back of my mind for the next repair around the bend.

I wrote everything down, I calculated, I estimated, I ensured. I easily forgot that my Father would give me anything from His plate.

Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV)

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Now, here I am with seven shifts left on my current work contract. Will I stay, will I go? If we go, where? Is this where God wants us to be right now? Last week I felt so certain it was, but now? I’m not so sure. I thought about praying for Arizona before. I had prayed to get the job in Tucson. I had really wanted it! But then I had prayed to God that above all I wanted Him to take us where He wanted us to be. I wanted Him to open doors, and close them too. The thing was, when you did that, you had to trust God when the open doors were not what you expected them to be. Especially then.

So, I have zero anxiety. Zero worry. 100 percent chill. I can say that in all honesty. God told me once that I won’t always know the answer. I won’t always see the path ahead. But I can know who directs those paths. My God. My Father, who with His plate of great abundance provides for all my needs. Not some, but all. He leads, He guides, He protects, He provides. I ask, I receive, I lay it down, He gives back even more to me. I can approach His table with confidence, knowing that He loves to give good gifts to His child. I can let go of all the things I thought I needed to control and exchange them for the better things He has in store. That is trust. That is walking in faith. That is receiving from His bounty.

Whether we go, whether we stay (and we really wanna stay), we are at peace. If we go, no matter where we go, we go with God, we go with joyful, expectant hearts, ready to shine the light of Jesus. It’s not always easy letting go of worry, or giving up control, but it is always better in the end. Letting go brings courage, it banishes fear, and it provides you with a solid certainty of life (even if the circumstances surrounding you are uncertain).