Could the rejection you’re experiencing be God’s guidance to something different? Could the attack ultimately be his protection? Now I know it doesn’t look like it, and it certainly doesn’t feel like it, but honey, God works in seemingly negative situations for positive impact in your life.

Check this out … the Israelites were God’s chosen people. He had good plans for them in a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. But their current reality was 400 years of slavery in Egypt. How would he get them out of Egypt and keep them out? How would he push them on to freedom? Through attack!

After the plagues of blood turning to water, frogs, lice, gnats, boils, hail, locusts … I mean everything bad happening in Egypt making life absolutely miserable, Pharaoh was finally convinced he couldn’t keep his slaves any longer and he let the Israelites go. But the story wouldn’t end there. Y’all, guess what God, in his divine wisdom and power, did next. Just go ahead and guess. You would never guess. You wouldn’t imagine what he did next.

Exodus 14:4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.

After the Israelites were set free, he hardened Pharaoh’s heart to chase after them. I crap you not. That’s for real what happened! I can’t make this stuff up!

Wait, God, after 400 years you just set them free. You just did all these crazy plagues to make Pharaoh see your favor upon your people and cause him to loosen his grip on them, but now you’re hardening his heart so that he will purposely pursue them? You want him to chase after them? What???? Is God like bi-polar or something.

Let them be free. No, let Pharaoh chase after them. Protect them. No, pursue them. Which is it God. What are you doing? And while we’re questioning why God would do this to the Israelites, we’re really questioning him for ourselves. God, why are you allowing this hardship in my life? Why the rejection? Why the closed door? Why the struggle? I thought you were working for my good, but this just seems really bad right now.

Oh but sis … read the rest of the verse. God reveals his why.

Exodus 14:4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

God had plans to reveal himself through this pursuit. Not only reveal himself to the Egyptians, but reveal himself to the Israelites who were being pursued.

Were the Israelites afraid? Absolutely they were! Verses 10-12 “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Ahhhhh, there it is. Ding, ding, ding. The Israelites were willing to just settle in Egypt. They were willing to remain slaves and die in what was familiar than risk freedom in the unknown. And I assure you, without the Egyptians chasing them now, they would have surely hit the first little bump on their journey through the desert, and they would have turned to go back to what they had just escaped from.

Just like you would go back. You too would have gone back and settled in a life far short of what you were created for. You would have opted for familiar misery over the hard pursuit of the unknown. And that is exactly why God slammed that door. That’s exactly why he said NO, not now and not ever. Because he always had something greater for you.

Don’t you know God loves you entirely too much to jus...

What if today, on this very day of life, Jesus is in your midst, working in the details of your life? What if he is going before you? What if he is with you? And what if you just don’t recognize him?

You think you would recognize Jesus … but would you?

Yesterday morning I sat down and read the Easter story in Luke 24. I read how early on the third morning, the women went to the tomb of Jesus and they found the stone had been rolled away. I read how Jesus appeared to the disciples again and then rose to Heaven. But this time, while reading it, I saw something I had just skimmed right over in the past. Something that caused me to wonder if maybe I too haven’t been recognizing Jesus.

Scripture says two disciples were walking down the road, talking about the events of the past 3 days, now wondering where had Jesus’ body gone. Luke 24: 15-16 “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”

These were men who had spent the past 3 years living with Jesus. They had likely walked this same exact road with him before. Just 3 days earlier, Jesus had washed their feet. Now, here he is walking with them, and they do not recognize him. How is that possible?

Well Sis, you likely do not realize just how dependent every function of your body is upon the command of God. If God says you will live, then nothing can stop you from living. You will live through impossible circumstances. Some of you listening at this moment know that is true because God himself is responsible for you being alive today, and you know it.

Without God, your eyes don’t see, your ears don’t hear, and your mind doesn’t process thoughts. These two disciples were KEPT FROM RECOGNIZING HIM. Yes, God in all of his providence blocked their ability to know the very one they were talking about was with them at that exact moment. The one questioning them about what they had heard and seen, and what they believed, that WAS JESUS!

Wait … does God keep you from recognizing him and his work sometimes? Absolutely! There’s a mystery in his work that leaves us in awe. Sometimes, for reasons we cannot understand, God intentionally keeps us from recognizing him. But just because we don’t see him, doesn’t mean he’s not right here with us!

The disciples walked with Jesus, not yet knowing it was Jesus, telling him all about the crucifixion and the empty tomb. Then, they invited him in to stay with them. Now, this is where it gets really good. Luke 24: 30-31 “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”

Yes, they recognized this man was Jesus. Their eyes were opened to the truth that had been right in front of them! Scripture gives no account of some magical transformation, it was simply a matter of God allowing their eyes to see.

Have you ever asked God to simply help your eyes see what is already all around you? Have you ever asked him to allow you to recognize his presence that is already here? Would he do that? Would he enable your eyes to be opened as they’ve never been opened before? Would he empower you to recognize him?

I know he can! It’s right here in scripture. And that means it’s possible for us too.

Why not ask him for it? Why not ask him to open your eyes to what you have been missing? Remember, every function of your body is completely reliant upon the command of God. Your eyes may be seeing, but they may not be seeing all there is to see.

Lord, open our eyes to recognize you!

This is discernment. There are things happening all around us, movements of God, his divinity in the details, and we’re walking around clueless. We desperately need discernment.

Good Friday, the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. The personal sacrifice of One for all. For me. For you.

On this day we remember Jesus carrying that cross for us. We remember him willfully stretching out his arms as they nailed him to that cross, signifying “this much.” This is how important you are. This is how loved you are. This much, with arms wide open. And we remember his excruciating death, the pain inflicted, the burdens carried, the weight of it all which took his final breath.

What an incredibly sad day. The day the world fell dark and our Jesus was crucified for being nothing other than holy, righteous, miraculous and pure.

And yet, we call it Good Friday.

The worst day in history when evil prevailed and the son of God was unjustly put to death between two thieves. It was bad. Painful. Dark. Terrifying. Unfair. And yet it was Good.

It was the ultimate good.

It was the good the world could not see which God had planned. The good which would not be revealed without the bad. The good which would allow the worst to first unfold. The good which would require some time. (Maybe there’s some good in the works in your life, but right now it looks bad. Take notice of how God works.)

Let’s read the story of this day:

Mark 15: 22-39 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

**Do you know why the offering of this wine mixed with myrrh is important? Why such a specific, seemingly unimportant detail to be included in the record when Jesus refused it? It’s important because this mix was a drug which dulled the senses. An offering to the one facing an agonizing death by crucifixion, making it more bearable. But Jesus refused. He refused ease from the suffering. He wanted a clear mind while he hung on the cross. Why? So he could think of me and you. So he could give wholly of himself, enduring it to the full for us.

24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

***Could he have come down at that moment? Could he have called down an Army of angels from heaven to avenge him and destroy his accusers? Absolutely. It was all within his power, but it wasn’t within his purpose. His purpose was to pay the ultimate price for us. And because of that purpose, he endured. Because of that purpose, he took the insults, he took the pain and he took the punishment, so that we wouldn’t have to.

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

***I always found Jesus’ final words confusing and burdensome. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Every translation of the bible reads the same. There is no alternate meaning here or way to read it. Jesus is saying God has turned his back on him in these final moments. Why?

When Jesus hangs on the cross, despised, suffering,

Have you ever had to do something you really didn’t want to do? Maybe you’re facing a situation like that right now. Everything within you wants to run and hide, but you know you have to face this and deal with it. You would rather God just make it all disappear, but he isn’t, so you’re left to go through that which you don’t want to go through.

Not that our situation could possibly compare to Jesus’ sufferings, but he knows exactly how it feels to know you have to do something you’re afraid of. He knows what it feels like to wish it could be different, but know it’s not changing. He knows what it’s like to pray you are spared from going through the worst, but still having to go through it.

Did you know Jesus prayed and asked for another way besides the cross? Did you know he was fearful of what was to come? Did you know he wept to the point of nearly dying before the first nail was driven into his hand? Jesus didn’t joyfully hop and skip his way to the cross. He wasn’t spared the pain and agony. But even knowing the torture that was ahead, and knowing there was no other way to save you and me, he willingly went.

What was Jesus doing on this day before he was crucified? Tomorrow is Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us, but what about today? What was he doing today, the Thursday before Easter?

He was celebrating with his friends.

He and his disciples had gathered to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was a celebration of how God had saved the first born of the Israelites when destruction passed through Egypt and their babies died. The destruction had literally “passed over” their homes and spared their children. This was the final plague that convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites free from their 400 years in captivity.

So on the final full day of Jesus’ life, he was celebrating what God had done. He was remembering the power of the Almighty to save and rescue.

Oh my sister, this is a lesson for us today. Even when you are facing certain hardship, remember to praise God for what he has already done. Remembering what he has done for you in the past will strengthen you to face what is next.

What has God already done for your family? What destruction has “passed over” you and you’re here today only as a result of God’s protection and provision? Won’t you celebrate that? Never forget all he has done to bring you here. You’re walking around with proof of his miraculous works. Let that carry you into whatever may come next.

What else was Jesus doing on his final full day of life? After the celebration dinner, he went to the garden and began praying. Do you know what Jesus prayed? This is important my sister, because Jesus is teaching us how to pray through our hardest of times. He’s teaching us how to deal with the things we do not understand and wish could be different.

Matthew 26: 36-39 “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The cup Jesus refers to is the suffering. While Jesus was fully God, he was also fully human. As humans, suffering is instinctively avoided. Nobody wants to suffer. Suffering gets zero stars from this girl. So Jesus is asking, can the suffering be avoided in any way Father? Can you accomplish your will in me without this suffering? But if you cannot, then your will over my own.

Did you know you have an emotional habit, and that habit is determining your reaction to most everything in your life? And let me assure you, your reaction to life often determines your experience in life. You can spend your days stressed, anxious, frustrated and overwhelmed, but that would be your choice. It’s your choice to either remain in your emotional habits, or create new ones. God has given you the ability to choose.

So Sis, if what you’ve been feeling hasn’t really been working for you, would you consider working on choosing a new emotional habit? Yes? Great … I’ll teach you how!

You naturally respond to the unfolding of life out of your current habit. If you always freak out when things go wrong, then freaking out when the next thing goes wrong will just happen without your thought or intention. If you always receive change with a negative perspective, the next change is guaranteed to appear negative to you. If you always stress over the details and fret about what could go wrong, stress and fret are continually on your doorstep and you just can’t seem to hide from them.

But, just because it’s always been this way for you, doesn’t mean it has to continue to be this way for you. Without intervention, it will certainly continue, and likely even grow, but you can create a new emotional habit and respond to your life differently, thus creating a new experience.

Would you like to be perpetually positive? Would you like to find the good in everything? Would you like to see God’s fingerprints on every detail and feel peace in knowing he’s working on your behalf? Do you want to dwell in peace? Do you want to wake up with joy instead of overwhelm, and go to bed feeling blessed instead of stressed?

Maybe you don’t have to wait for the circumstances in your life to change, maybe you just need to work on a new emotional habit, and Sis, that’s completely within your control today!

How many of you have lived long enough to know things don’t always go as planned? Doors don’t always open. Mountains don’t always move. Battles don’t always just disappear. But scripture shows us examples of emotional habits derived from faith that allow joy to be present even in the hardship. For strength to continue down the hallway of closed doors to find the one that has been opened for you. To put on your boots and climb the mountains that won’t move. To show up for battles you don’t really want to fight, but walk away in victory.

James 1: 2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Nobody likes trials, but trusting in the mighty hand of God to guide you through every single thing that is and is to come, will bring you to pure joy. Yes, pure joy, because you can anticipate the goodness God will create as he works it all together. Yes, pure joy, because you know even this trial will help you grow into exactly who God created you to be.

Whatever you’re going through right now, it’s not useless nonsense. God allowed this because he knew he could work in it. He knew ultimately more good would come out of it, and good is always his plan.

Putting this in very practical terms, understand that you can literally train yourself to get excited when things don’t go your way. You can be filled with anticipation with every closed door. Why? Because it means there’s a better door for you opening on down the hallway. It means your way wasn’t as good as God’s way, so he intervened on your behalf.

Instead of saying ‘thank you’, we throw our little hissy fits and pity parties. Nooooooo girl. Stop that.

God wants to use you. He wants to radically change and bless your life, not just for you, but for your entire family. And this is why the enemy works so hard to stop you, it’s not just about you. You see if the enemy can just keep you stuck, depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, and too busy then your whole family is negatively affected.

There’s something IN you that God is going to grow and multiply. What is IN you? That’s what the enemy is fighting you over. It’s not about where you are – it’s about where you’re going and what’s next. Your unborn potential. That’s what is under attack. Things you don’t even know about yet. Plans for your life you’re totally unaware of.

This morning I’ll be sharing a few entries in my journal from an old TD Jakes sermon titled Generations. The story comes from Genesis 17: 1-9

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”

Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.

Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: You’ll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that ‘I’m making you the father of many nations.’ I’ll make you a father of fathers—I’ll make nations from you, kings will issue from you.

Perhaps you remember how the story ends. 99 year old Abraham and his wife Sarah finally have that baby that God had promised.

What have you been waiting on from God? What do you do when God says nothing? When God’s waiting it out and you’re totally OVER waiting? This text shows God speaking to Abraham very clearly. I would like that. There have only been a few times I’ve felt God speak to me that clearly. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if every morning when we woke up we heard clear instructions from God on where we’re supposed to go and what we’re supposed to do.

Well here’s what I didn’t know before. God hadn’t spoken to Abraham for 13 years. For 13 years, Abraham had prayed and searched for God and God had said nothing. God saw everything that had been happening to Abraham and said nothing. All while Abraham had been stumbling in his own efforts, making grand mistakes and big ol’ messes while God watched and said NOTHING.

Maybe you’re in that season of praying and searching and God has been silent. Ahhhhh, yes. There are some truths God cannot introduce to you at earlier times because you have not gone through enough to see what God has for you. It’s when all your bright ideas have failed and your grand plans fall apart that you can hear God speak.

WHY HAS GOD BEEN WAITING? BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN READY. He has been taking you through the process to get you ready for the promise.

The process prepares you for the promise. Don’t give up in the process and miss the fulfillment of the promise. You’re just being prepared. That’s what all of this is. Preparation.

So here Abraham was at 99 years old, having made a real mess of things. He and Sarah were so desperate for the baby God wasn’t giving them that he had slept with his wife’s servant and had a baby with her. Well, that’s never a great idea. But when you’re desperate and God isn’t answering, whew we can come up with some cockamamie schemes and stir up some messes.

And now at 99, God finally speaks to Abraham and says NOW I’m going to bless you. Here at the end of your rope where your ideas and strength have run out. Here in the middle of your impossible, I’M GOING TO DO THIS.

Ahhhh, when God is ready to bless you, circumstances mean nothing. My sister, God’s about to show you WHY you went through all you went through. Your later days shall be greater than your former. Your good days are still ahead of you. You haven’t reached your peak yet. There’s still greater potential in you!

It was too late for Abraham and Sarah to have a baby,

Sometimes life hands you some real crap and you’re left to deal with it. Am I right? Sometimes you look at what you got and you wonder how you’re ever supposed to step back into a good life again.

But Sis, you have been given a promise, and that promise covers every detail of your life. This promise is for your past. It is for you today. And it is for your every tomorrow. And this promise, well it is a game changer. And with every good promise, the enemy comes in with his taunting lies and tries to twist it so you feel disqualified from the goodness planned for you.

Romans 8:28 has been one of my favorite verses for the past 20 years. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Now, in the beginning, I dismissed myself from this promise because I was sure I didn’t meet the 2 qualifications to receive it. Surely I didn’t love God enough to be completely covered by this kind of grace, and second, I was entirely too normal to be called for some greater purpose.

Have you disqualified yourself?

Oh there are not qualifications on your love for God. Do you love him? Okay, end of story. It doesn’t matter that you cuss a little, or a lot. It doesn’t matter that your mind darts down dark hallways of inappropriate thoughts or irrational worries. It doesn’t matter that you have a special and unique way of naturally screwing things up. Okay, so you’re dirty … you’re walking around with a past … you’re a little jacked up … God’s words says, IF you love me. You love God, okay, you’re covered!

The second qualification to receive this grace over your life is to be called by God for a purpose. It doesn’t say that you have to fully understand your purpose. It doesn’t say you have to be nailing it every single day. It simply says you have to be called by him.

And girl, I’ve got good news for you … your telephone rang! Colossians 1:16 “All things have been created through him and for him.” Why do you insist on making it fussier than it needs to be? Your purpose is simple. You were created by God FOR GOD. Your life is for God. The fact that you’re alive today reveals your very purpose, which is to to LIVE. I mean truly live.

So, we’ve checked and you meet both qualifications for this good grace over your life. You love God, maybe not perfectly, but perfection was never required, that’s what Jesus is for. And, you’re called to a purpose which is to live.

Yay you, you’re in! Don’t make it any more complicated than that.

God causes all things to work together for good. I’ve always focused on two words here. All and Good. God causes ALL things to work together for GOOD. All good. In fact I would say it “it’s all good.” I’m all good. All this is good. And darn did I ever try to believe it.

But even in my ridiculously peppy, notoriously energetic, almost annoyingly positive spin on life, I eventually was faced with the truth … it’s not ALL good.

So what do you do when it’s not good? No matter how you spin it, what you’re dealing with in your family, in your marriage, in your health, or in your finances is NOT GOOD. God said ALL things, but not this thing. It just can’t be good.

And then God brought me back to this scripture, one of my favorites, and pointed out another word. Together. All things work TOGETHER for good. This bad thing, this hard thing, this seemingly unfair thing works TOGETHER with all other things and creates the good we seek.

What we often do is we single out this one event in our life and we say “this, this isn’t good.” And then we set up camp on that single event and life becomes overall pretty crappy. We get depressed. We get stuck. And we disqualify ourselves from any future good ...

I guess you know you’re “old” when you catch yourself saying things like “that’s what the kids say these days.” But, have y’all heard what the kids say these days? I hear it all the time. They say, “I’m going with …”

It’s not even a complete sentence. It’s like they just drop off mid-sentence and leave it completely open ended. I’m going with …

You’re going to retreat, oh well I’m going with …

You’re going down to the river, I’m going with …

You’re jumping in the pool, I’m going with …

That’s it. No further questions. No further details. Simply, I’m going with.

And girls, I’m finally beginning to understand, this is exactly what Jesus asks of us. He’s asking us to make a clear cut decision to always go with … Yes, leave the dot, dot, dot. Oh Jesus loves the dot, dot, dot in your life.

But maybe you don’t. You don’t like that cliff hanger of uncertainty. You don’t like the stepping out without looking down. You don’t like the moving forward without a certain end destination and GPS instructions.

If Jesus showed up this morning and said, “Come on girl, you wanna go with …”, you would be like “that’s cool Jesus, but where exactly are we going, how are we going to get there, how long is it going to take, and what’s the weight limit on my luggage because I need to drag all the things with me.

And I don’t know about you, but Jesus has never, not even once, given me those details in advance. He’s never shown up with a complete itinerary, packing list, guaranteed weather forecast, and pre-paid funds for the trip. Every single awesome thing I’ve ever stepped into was a roll of the dice, a risk, a chance, and an open ended invitation to simply go with …

Yes, with the dot, dot, dot.

Matthew 4: 18-22 “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, repairing their nets. And he called to them to come too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”

Now there’s a whole lot of dot, dot, dot there. Jesus didn’t tell them where he was going, he simply said come, follow me. Their simple decision to GO WITH, radically changed the trajectory of their lives.

And I’m telling you right now girl, your simple decision to tell Jesus today, “hey, I’m going with …” will radically change the trajectory of your life! Where will he take you? How will you get there? How long will it take? I have no idea, and neither will you, but Sis, you’re not supposed to know!

You’re trying to figure this thing out, when in fact, it is un-figure-out-able. (Is that a word?)

All you need to say is, “I’m going with …” (Is that a complete sentence?) It doesn’t matter. Jesus does the creating here. Jesus also works the completion here. Your willing spirit needs to move your shaking boots, and do exactly what these fishermen did, drop it and go.

Drop what?

Drop your excuses.

Drop your expectations.

Drop your entitlements.

Jesus, wherever you’re going, however you’re getting there, whatever you’re doing along the way, and for however long it takes, I’m going with!

What happens when you wait for all the details?

I heard a question on a podcast this morning that kinda stopped me in my tracks. A question I’m not sure I’m bold enough to really ask others yet, but even just asking myself has been revealing. So I present a question to rock your whole world today.

Ask: “What’s it like to be around me?”

You see, you don’t know what it’s like to be around you. You’ve never sat in a car having to listen to you. You’ve never been on the other end of the phone with you. You’ve never been married to you. You’ve never been parented by you. You’ve never had to work with you.

So, which one are you?

Are you the one that retells the same sad stories to be pitiful?

Are you the one that excludes herself from every crowd, then wonders why she doesn’t fit in?

Are you the one that overruns every conversation and makes it all about her?

Are you the one that shrinks back, plays little, and contributes nothing?

Are you the one that continually talks bad about others to make herself look a little better?

Are you the one that has 7 different moods, and 6 of them make everyone want to hide?

Are you the one that has to control everything and always be right?

Are you the one that always overshares?

Really, what’s it like to be around you?

You don’t see you as clearly as others see you. I bet if you asked your husband, he could tell you which one you are, and you might fight about it for the rest of the day. Right now, some of you are listening to this with someone and you’re thinking “oh, I hope they realize which one they are because I don’t want to be the one to tell them!” Maybe right now you’re already considering who you could share this episode with because THEY ARE THE ONE! Oh girl, maybe you’re the one … the one who thinks everyone else needs to be fixed. You’re the one walking around with a plank in your own eye, trying to pick at someone else’s splinter.

What’s it like to be around you? Remember, this is about you in this moment, not about anyone else?

What’s it like to be around me? That question makes me cringe a little. Which one am I? Is that who I want to be? And even more importantly, is that who I was created to be?

Maybe you’re like me, and you’re currently blessed with health. There’s nothing horribly wrong. You wake up well. You have no known immediate threats to your life. But girl, what if we’re sick? What if we have an infection within that has us crippled from within, causing us to show up as a lessener-than version of who we could be? What if we have become “that girl”, and we don’t even realize it. We’re not well.

It’s time to meet your healer! Oh what, you think Jesus only came to restore sight to the blind and make the lame to walk? You think he didn’t come for bad attitudes, bad broken stories on repeat, and bad habits? You bet your butt he wants to heal you of the very things causing you to be any less of the magnificent creation you could be!

But, there’s one thing blocking you from that healing. What is it? Let’s read the familiar story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man who had been laying at a pool of water for 38 years.

John 5:6 “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

Maybe you’ve been walking through the majority of your adult years just thinking a bad mood is your natural state. Maybe you’ve been negative for so long, you think that’s the way you’re wired, as if God just wanted you to be perpetually pissy. Maybe you’re so used to playing pitiful, you think that’s the only way you will ever get attention,

Do you know exactly what happens to you after your final breath here?

Do you float?

Do you fly?

Are you transformed?

Are you teleported?

How do you get from here to Heaven? How exactly do we step into eternity? How do we receive our new body, our new name, and our new home?

Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t know where Heaven is. I don’t know how exactly I’m going to get there. But dang it, I know I’m going! Right?

I had the honor of spending the final days and hours of life with my Daddy. I can’t explain what he was seeing and experiencing, but it was real. With his eyes closed, he would have moments of hysterical, deep belly laughs and then he would say “Jesus is so funny!” Daddy would smile, his body would relax and he would say “it’s so beautiful, everyone is so happy here.”

What was he seeing? How was he seeing it?

His final words were a short series of statements. He said “Set the table. We’ve earned this. Run to the light.” And with that, he took his final breath and I assume Daddy ran to the light.

Is that light God?

Is it the doorway to heaven?

Do angels come and carry you?

Do you take off in flight yourself and soar?

The best book I’ve read on the topic of Heaven is the story of a little boy who died, spent time with Jesus in Heaven, then came back to life and told details a little boy couldn’t have possibly known. The book is “Heaven Is For Real”. And for all my fellow pet lovers out there, just know he talks about the animals in heaven too!

Wait, do our dogs see the light? Do they fly? Oh how I hope they do!

Well, this is what I’ve figured out … my understanding of it all is not required for it to happen.

There is a gap between here and heaven. A distance which I cannot measure and a journey I do not yet know about. A gap that separates this fallen world and the perfection of paradise. But, that gap is perfectly filled by Jesus. Yes, Jesus stands in the gap.

Jesus is who he says he is in John 14:6 ““I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

And understand this, just as Jesus will guide you in the gap between Earth and Heaven, he will guide you in the gap between where you are now and where he is leading you next.

God has good plans for your life, yes, this life you’re living here in this lifetime. But how will you know those good plans when they come along? How will you ever overcome your struggles and get good enough to step fully into the better life available to you? How do you live this life of purpose when the truth is you’re struggling to just pour the dang cereal in the bowl some mornings?

Answer: You trust Jesus to fill this gap too.

If you can trust Jesus to somehow get you from Earth to Heaven on an unknown flight to an unknown destination somewhere potentially in another universe, then Sis, don’t you think you can trust that same Jesus to help you get from this step to your next step?

Don’t you think you can count on him to guide you in the right direction?

Don’t you think you can know with certainty the strength will be there to do what you need to do when you need to do it?

Don’t you think the way will be made for you to live in the reality of God’s good plans for you that he established long ago?

YES! Jesus is the answer for your gap.

The distance between where you are and where you know you could be. The distance between how you’re currently living and how the desires of your heart tell you you could be living. The gap between knowing better and doing better.

Jesus, you are the way. You are the truth. You are the life. No one comes to God except through you, and now we’re understanding no one gets to live in th...