Today, I’m taking you back to the seed of BIG Life. I’m taking you back to June 2009. Hubby and I had taken a little break from our crazy busy lives and overwhelming business, and we were on vacation in Belize. I was reading the book ‘The Shack’ on the beach, and although it had nothing to do with the book I was reading, I began feeling the promptings of God to do something about the desire I had been wrestling with.

The desire seemed silly, and honestly it seemed too late. Instead of being driven by the desire, I was discouraged by the desire and filled with regret for not taking action earlier. I wanted to document the days of my life with a daily gratitude photo. Just one photo to remember each day’s special moment of deep and true gratitude. Like a gratitude journal with photos instead of words, because each photo is worth a thousand words.

But my kids weren’t toddlers anymore and I felt it was too late to begin with them already in Elementary. I had missed the opportunity to capture gratitude for the days already passed, but I hadn’t missed the days ahead. There was still time. I could begin living with greater intention. I could start that day.

So I did. I started that exact day. One moment of sheer gratitude, simply captured in a photo, and documented as a day of life given. And this was the seed for BIG Life. The beginning of a different way of living more grounded, centered, focused and intentional.

I haven’t missed a single day since then. 4,652 days captured in 4,652 photos of gratitude. This process changed me. It changed my perspective on ordinary days of life. It set my mind to seek out special moments and make them stand still so I could savor them longer.

I now understand fully what it means in Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

This has become sortof my life mission, to teach how to number our days. Why? So we may gain a heart of wisdom. So we can live each day like it truly matters, because actually it does. So we can remove the filters, and see the moments unfolding for what they really are … priceless and never, ever happening again.

Today is NEVER happening again for you. Ever. You are surrounded by once-in-a-lifetime moments. Yes, for real, they’re unfolding all around you. But are you too distracted to notice?

This month I’m mentoring 600 women. I just led them through a 1 week Mental Cleanse. A time of intentional disconnecting from the distractions so they could be fully present for what was most important to them. We started with a question. A question that set the stage for some powerful commitments to be made. Now I ask you that question:

ARE YOU CONTENT WITH LIFE PASSING AS IT HAS BEEN?

Dang, doesn’t life seem to be going so fast? Do you ever come to the end of a week, the end of a month, heck the end of a year and look back and wonder where it went? Do you sometimes struggle to remember how you spent those days and regret there isn’t more to show for the time you had? The days just all sortof lump together and become a monotonous mountain of repeated actions and chores with nothing spectacular that really stands out.

And so our entire lives pass. We go from one phase into the next. Kids grow up. We get older. Some things change and some things just stay the same. And our eyes are glazed over with this film of distracted boredom in our reality. Y’all, we can’t be content with that! We can’t be satisfied with unimpressive days of living when God made this all so miraculously impressive for us!

Let’s return to number our days. Set each one apart. Today is a stand-alone day. It isn’t yesterday any more and tomorrow may never come. You have today, THIS DAY. What number is it? It can’t be left out. It is crucial to recognize its importance and value.

What beauty do you have in your life right now? You know who to thank for it, right? God is the giver of all good things, and every ounce of goodness you have is from his hand. He is squarely behind it all. He orchestrated these blessings. He aligned this next level for you. He paved the way before you which you now walk. He got you out of what you were in before and led you here to experience his power unfolding in your life.

Ahhhhhh, he is good isn’t he? And I don’t mean just good like good natured and kind, but ya’ll God is ridiculously good at his job! The way he has orchestrated the details of your life to bring you into the beauty you have right now, dang who else but God could do that? That’s some epic stuff he’s been doing for you. Make sure you thank him for it!

What struggle do you have in your life? What’s gone wrong? What has been a whole heck of a lot harder than it should have been? What continues to burden you, hold you back, frustrate you, confuse you, overwhelm you? Yeah, who orchestrated that? Who’s handiwork is that mess in your life?

Going back to the Saturday Night Live days of the early 90’s, I must question, “could it be S-aaaaa-tan?”

Yes, yes it could it. It could be that slimy sucker doing his nasty work. That could be the source of your troubles. He could be behind this struggle.

But it could be you. It could be you making this harder than it needs to be. It could be you dragging your feet, delaying your progress. It could be you picking at your own wounds, retelling those same old stories, prohibiting your healing. You could be the source of your frustrations. You could be holding you back. You could be burning this down your own self. Are you holding the matches?

The goodness in your life, no doubt, ALL GOD. James 1:7 “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father.”

What you do with that goodness is on you, and that choice will make a radical difference in your life. Choosing whether you sit on that goodness or put it to use will change your trajectory. It will either unpack your greatest potential, or sit you on a shelf waiting for the next hand out in life. Honey, you weren’t made for a shelf. You were made for the fields of life, playing with your whole heart.

Today is a good and perfect gift coming down to us from God. Yes, wrapped in the rising sun, today is one magnificent gift. Now, what will you do with it? This is on you now. Gifts are given to be opened. Gifts are given to be enjoyed. Gifts are given to be used. TODAY IS YOUR GIFT.

Now understand, as good as today is, as beautiful as it’s potential is, there is potential for this day to be ruined.

The enemy has his eye on this day. He loves him some Monday because Monday’s are especially easy to be screwed with. He has already twisted Monday into a day we dread, so it’s primed for his continued twisting throughout the day. Why not make today more difficult? Why not cause delays and changes? Why not disrupt plans and turn things on their end? Why not get her panties in a wad right from the beginning, yessssss, this could screw up the whole week!

Girl, he’s been poking around at your beautiful gift! Today is a good and perfect gift coming down to you from God, are you just going to let the devil mess with your gift like that? Those are your panties, you get to choose if they’re in a wad or not.

Girl, you be walking funny with your knickers in a knot? You’re all bent out of shape, flustered and frustrated, looking all kinds of funky and uncomfortable. Why would you let the enemy do that to you? He only has that kind of power over you if you let him.

Remember my sister, 1 John 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

The enemy might try to take your gift,

Every morning while I’m up early and getting ready for the day, I receive a text. This text is from a podcast listener who I now mentor. As part of her morning routine, she texts me her word for 2022 and her mantra. She is faithful and always right on time. This is how she begins her day, remembering her intention and commitment for this year.

This morning when that text came in, I felt the promptings of God tell me that her word is what he wanted me to share with you today. Okay cool, so I sat down with her word, and I began to study it and what it means in scripture.

The word is ATTEND: By definition it means to be present.

Oh dang, doesn’t that just get you? Woah, couldn’t we all use more of this in our lives? To be more than just here, but to be actually present. To be fully here in each moment, savoring the life we have been given to live as it unfolds.

I don’t know about you, but my body can be in one place, but my mind can be in 10 different places. And when this is happening, I know none of these places are getting all of me, and therefore no one is getting the best of me. Now of course, God knew this when he created us. He knew this would be a struggle. He knew we would be divided in our focus, pulled in our time, and distracted in our living. So you know what he gave us? He gave us a built in warning system to alert us when we’re here, but not really present. An alarm to bring us back to being here, in one place, fully. Present. To ATTEND.

Understand your God-given warning system so you can respond with urgency. What is it? It’s that YUCK feeling. It’s that discontent down deep within you that questions if there isn’t really more for you. It’s that slight feeling of disgust knowing you gave less than your best because you only showed up with a 1/4 of you, the other 3/4 of you was distracted with other things. It’s an echoing emptiness.

This yuck, this discontent, this disgust, that’s not your brain malfunctioning, sending the wrong signals. Nope, those are all the correct signals! It’s an alarm. The warning system is going off. You’re not supposed to feel good when you’re living this way, this isn’t your design. Something is wrong and you’re being alerted to it.

Do you remember in the past when your perfectly good television show would be interrupted by a local test of the emergency broadcast system. You knew the minute would be filled with horrible, annoying, loud horns and sirens repeating for entirely too long. You’re screaming “we got it, it’s working!” You couldn’t ignore it. You couldn’t sleep through it. It was alarming. And it was supposed to be.

Girl, I know you would love a sweet little blesseded alarm that shows up in the voice of Paula Dean and says “darling, you’ve gotten just a scooch off track here. Now maybe you would like to come on back where the gettin’s good and attend to the life you have been given.” But the good Lord knows that’s not going to work with you. Nope, only the annoying alarm will work. The one that makes you feel bad at the end of the day. The one that teaches you a lesson you don’t want to have to repeat.

The problem is, we’ve taken these God-given alarm systems within us and we’ve tried to hush them. We medicate them. We baby them. We label them as some sort of dysfunction. No, that’s not a dysfunction, it’s actually functioning perfectly. You’re not supposed to feel good when you’re not living good. You’re not supposed to be satisfied when you’re skimming through life. You’re not supposed to be happy when only 1/4 of you is showing up for the happiness.

The alarms are blaring. Alarms to bring us back to being present in our lives!

Proverbs 4:20-22 reading in the KJV “Attend to my words; i...

How hard is it for you to believe in things you cannot see, control or understand?

I had one of my world-class adventure ideas this week that resulted in the worst night’s sleep ever. Why? Something I could not see, could not control and could not understand.

We went camping. In fact, I’m coming to you live from a beautiful camping spot right on the water on the island of Key Largo in the Florida Keys. Sounds magical, right? Well, I thought so too! We’ve been itching to use our truck-top camper, and there was finally a 2 night cancellation at campgrounds that are booked a year in advance, so I snagged it.

The setting is absolute perfection. A private tiki hut with picnic table on the dock, a full moon casting its reflection on the water, dinner cooked outside in a cast iron skillet. Sign me up for this every day for the rest of my life! How could such a paradise turn into an experience we can’t wait to drive away from?

One word: No-See-Ums

Here’s another word: Every-Freaking-Where

No-See-Ums. If you don’t know, then you just don’t know. But if you’ve ever had an encouter with No-See-Ums, then you know! You know that somehow a bug so tiny you can’t even see them has the undeniable ability to tear you up! Their bite is painful, and they are relentless in their pursuit. Unfortunately for us, our super cool, overlander style tent that sits on the very top of our truck cab, is not No-See-Ums proof. With bugs tinier than a speck of sand, they just fly through screens and have an all-night feast of you.

We slept exactly zero hours. Longest, most miserable night ever. We booked 2 nights, I can say with confidence we will be passing our heavenly spot on to the next traveler tonight.

I cannot see these bugs, but I 100% believe in them. Why? Because I’ve felt their effects. I’ve seen their impact. While I can’t see them, I see their work. Once you experience them, you will never question why someone is flinching, jerking, and swatting at thin air. It’s a No-See-Um.

God works in this way, doesn’t he? I mean in a less assaulting type manner, but in the unseen. You can’t see him. You can’t control him. You can’t understand him, but once you’ve had an encounter with God, you know he is real.

What work has God done in your life that makes you know without a doubt he is real? How do you know he is with you if you can’t see him? How have you seen his power manifest, without see the hand the power came from?

The disciples were traveling with Jesus, spending every moment of their days with him. They could see, him, but they didn’t fully understand who he was. Then, they have an encounter with the unseen.

Matthew 17: 1-9 “Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. He was transfigured – his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. A bright cloud enveloped them and a voice said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

The disciples fell to the ground, terrified. “Get up” said Jesus, “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up they saw no-one except Jesus.

Suddenly they saw what they had never seen before. They saw Jesus’ true identity and real power. It had always been there, they simply hadn’t seen it before. They saw where Jesus had come from and what he would return to. The light of heaven. Revelation 21:23 says “And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.”

The disciples were seeing Jesus’ face shinning bright like it does in Heaven. They had never seen that before. But this encounter for Peter, James and John would change the way they saw Jesus forever. They experienced his divine nature. They felt the power in his presence. And what they had never seen before,

There’s a God given purpose living inside of you. A designed purpose for your days using your experiences, your talents, and your passions. We often go on a search for our purpose. Maybe I’ll find it over here, as if purpose is some sort of object hidden in the bushes, waiting for you to find it. I assure you, your life has purpose and it doesn’t require a hunt to be found. You’ve never lost it. It’s inside of you. Within you is purpose.

If you don’t feel guided by your purpose, understand it’s just been laying dormant. It’s not a hunt that’s needed, it’s a movement. Your purpose needs to be stirred and moved so you’re reminded of what’s within you. Imagine it’s like you’re pregnant. You’re carrying around purpose. Sometimes it lays real still. And sometimes it gets hiccups and you know it’s there. And other times you’re not sure if it’s purpose moving around or if it’s gas. Yeah, that’s kind of the way purpose feels sometimes.

This morning I was brought back to a sermon I heard several years ago about the story of Elizabeth and Mary. About purpose being stirred in the presence of Jesus.

Elizabeth and Zachariah were unable to have children until she miraculously became pregnant at a very old age. The bible isn’t specific in her age, but it’s estimated she was in her late 80’s.

Elizabeth was pregnant with a miracle who had tremendous purpose. That miracle was a baby named John, who would grow to become John the Baptist, the man chosen by God to pave the way for Jesus. His purpose was to go before the Messiah preparing for his work on Earth.

Elizabeth’s little cousin was Mary. You know, virgin Mary … the “Mary did you know” from Christmas. Yes, that Mary. And Mary was pregnant with a miracle as well. Who was she pregnant with? Yes, Jesus! The very son of God sent to save the world.

The entire story goes down in Luke chapter 1. Zachariah is visited by an angel and told his barren wife will have a baby and that baby’s purpose is to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. 6 months later the same angel comes to Mary and gives her the shocking news that she will bare the very child of God who will save the world.

We know the end of the story, but imagine being young, unwed Mary whose whole world just got turned upside down. Everything good she had working in her life was now ruined. That nice boy she was going to marry would surely dump her knowing she’s pregnant and there’s no way that baby is is. They stone unwed mothers in this town, was her life in danger? What is a girl in a situation like this supposed to do? Oh … she will go see her cousin Elizabeth who’s pregnant too.

So now we pick up in verse 41 when Mary comes into her cousin Elizabeth’s house, “At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her.”

Elizabeth was pregnant with a baby who had tremendous purpose. Mary was pregnant with Jesus. The purpose in Elizabeth leaped within her when the Jesus in Mary came near. Ahhhhh … did you get it?

The purpose in you is moved by the Jesus in others.

Your life has purpose. You are pregnant with purpose. You don’t need to go searching for it, it’s already inside of you. Perfectly placed within you by your creator. But maybe it’s been laying still. You don’t feel led by purpose. You don’t feel driven by purpose. What needs to happen is your purpose needs to be stirred. It needs to be moved.

How is the purpose in you moved?

By the Jesus in others.

As a follower of Christ, Jesus is living inside of me. He guides and directs me, working through my hands, my feet, and my words. The Jesus in me is here today to move the purpose in you. This world desperately needs exactly what is inside of yo...

I made a terrible mistake last night. I savored my last cup of coffee at 8 pm before beginning a cleanse. The reasoning was good, one it was my last chance at caffeine for the next several weeks, and two, I was preparing to teach a live mentoring session and I was dragging butt. I needed a little perk, but that perk lasted well beyond teaching time. So I went to bed late, still not the least bit sleepy, and started watching a random documentary on Hulu.

I’m a documentary junkie. I love the real life stories because they always relate to our real life stories in some way. Well, this particular documentary had me screaming at the TV, “just give up already, this is never going to work” and it left we awake for several more hours through the wee hours of the morning reflecting on how God works in those mysterious, mind-blowing ways.

The documentary is called “The Biggest Little Farm”. When I tell you you need to watch it, I mean it. Watch it. Watch this ridiculous dream of a husband and wife unfold in the midst of continual struggle and battle. Just watch how absurd it was for them to continue. Watch how one thing after another worked against them, then God revealed how it could work for them … and it would happen naturally.

By God’s great natural design, the same things that were killing their progress were in turn used to grow their success. You should write that down and claim it as yours. By God’s great natural design, the same things that are killing your progress will be used to grow your success.

Snail infestation, major problem. Nobody wants hundreds of thousands of big, ooey gooey snails infesting their fruit trees. But in God’s great design, that snail infestation becomes a major solution for something else. Coyotes, major problem. Every morning they would wake up to the destruction of the coyotes on their farm. Hundreds of their animals slaughtered. No electric fences, no security cameras, no firepower could eliminate the affect of their late night hunts. But wouldn’t you know, in God’s great design, hungry hunting coyotes becomes a major solution for something else.

Honestly, I would have seen each of these problems as the nail in the coffin that killed the dream. I would have given up. Again, I’m yelling at the TV, “people, this isn’t going to work.” Now, I speak from a little experience. Our family got the bright idea we would become farmers back in 2015. We found a 200 acre hunting ranch in Arkansas on Airbnb, contacted the owner, and signed a 1 year lease. Yes, for real, we did that. We moved our 3 teens to the middle of nowhere on the beautiful Kings River where we were surrounded by fertile grounds just waiting for us to grow something.

When a friend lovingly mailed us a dozen 3 day old baby chicks, the decision was easy, we would start with growing chickens. Oh it was real fun for a few weeks. We gave them cute chicken names like Teriyaki, Strips, Fingers, Buffalo and Popcorn. (get it?) I transformed the junkiest old truckbed trailer into the cutest turquoise chicken coop you’ve ever seen, complete with a window box and flowers. But, between the coyotes, owls, and a stray dog or 2, our chickens never grew to produce a single egg. We were out of farming just as quickly as we were in, and after a year on the ranch we decided we were better suited for other adventures.

So, last night watching this documentary of this ridiculous farm in the makings, I was screaming at my TV with personal experience. THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK! But I was wrong. Ridiculously wrong. Their farm worked beyond any imagination of working, and it worked naturally within God’s great design. Enemies became allies. Predators became protectors. Problems became solutions. And little things made big differences.

At the very end of the documentary,

You are no longer who you used to be. You have changed. You don’t do the things you once did, you don’t think the thoughts you once thought, you’re not that person anymore. And it’s not that you have arrived and now you’re perfect, because honey your entire life is simply about this journey of becoming. But can we take just a moment and recognize how far you’ve come? Can we recognize how you truly have changed?

There’s the you now, then there’s the BC you … Before Christ. Girl, stop dragging around those things that you did in your BC years. Maybe you had accepted Jesus back then, but you hadn’t developed a relationship with him. Understand, it’s the relationship with Jesus that has been changing you, not a scripted prayer or formal decision. RELATIONSHIP.

In this relationship with Jesus, we begin to recognize his promptings. We see things differently. We are guided supernaturally in ways we can’t explain. But really, it’s quite simple, it’s our relationship with Jesus that has changed our journey.

Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

A sheep is not the smartest of all creation. They wander. They get lost. They get in trouble. They get stuck. They are in constant need of a Shepherd. And doesn’t it make perfect sense that Jesus referred to us as his sheep. He is our great Shepherd, always guiding us, providing for us, rescuing us, and bringing us back to what is best for us.

And because of this relationship with him, we know his voice.

A sheep knows their Shepherd’s voice. They wouldn’t be able to tell you why that one voice is different, they wouldn’t be able to define it or explain it, but they just know. A sheep responds to their Shepherd while all other voices will cause them to scatter. It happens naturally and by design.

My fellow sheep, you’ve been overthinking how you will know when Jesus is speaking to you. You’ve been over-complicating the process of hearing from him and receiving his guidance. YOU WILL KNOW. The more time you spend in God’s love letter to you, the more time you invest in seeking his ways, the more this relationship will grow. And as this relationship with the Almighty grows, you will distinguish his voice above all the rest.

It’s not some magical formula or secret step-by-step instruction you must follow. If you want to better hear God, seek to grow your relationship with him. Spend time with him. As you do, his voice becomes prominent and his guidance is undeniable.

Again Jesus said, “my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus KNOWS YOU. He knows you personally. He knows all about you, he knows the purpose for which you were created, he knows the potential which you carry around inside of you, and he knows the things you struggle with that get in the way. He knows it all, and he speaks to you personally and directly. As he speaks to you, you are drawn to him. Not by accident, by design.

The more we know Jesus’ voice in our lives, the more we are able to recognize outside voices as a threat. The closer a sheep grows to his Shepherd, the more he will isolate from strangers. He cannot be tricked into getting close to some dude holding an apple. If it’s not his Shepherd, he’s not getting close. If it’s not his Shepherd, then he is a threat.

Girl, if this is not from Jesus, then it is a threat. Don’t be tricked. Don’t be fooled. KNOW HIS VOICE. This is the benefit of a growing relationship with Jesus. The more we learn his voice, the more we recognize the voices that aren’t his.

If you don’t know Jesus’ voice, you may be easily swayed into listening to other voices. Voices that tell you you’re not good enough.

Do you ever feel like you’re failing? I mean like you’re trying but it’s not working? No matter what you try, you just keep screwing this thing up somewhere along the way?

And then just knowing God sees it all. He sits high upon his throne with a view of every single thing we do, in full awareness of our next mistake before it even happens. We can’t hide anything from him. Sometimes I just want to come running to God and say “Lord, I’m trying, darn it!”

I’m trying to clean this up, but I keep making more messes as I do. I’m trying to do better, but it seems my better isn’t quite good enough. I’m really trying darn it, but I don’t have a whole lot of progress to show for it.

Did you know in God’s holy word, someone else felt this exact same way? Someone else sat and wrote similar words, and they qualified for preserving throughout all these generations because God wanted to ensure we read those words today. Words that would speak exactly how we feel in frustration with ourselves.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:15 ” I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

And in response we want to say, “Paul, SAME!!!! Dude, me too!”

Right, you too are confused by your own lack of ability to do the things you know you need to do. You too can’t understand why there’s a disconnect between knowing and doing. Oh girls, we don’t have a knowing problem … we have a doing problem.

We are directed by God’s Spirit which dwells within us. That Spirit is continually prompting us and showing us what to do. We know it. We feel it. But dang if we don’t resist it and do the thing we’re not supposed to do. We want to be good, but darn it, we keep doing bad.

The struggle is real. I’m not just saying that. Seriously, the struggle is real. Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and authorities, and the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

The powers of Hell come out to fight against us doing the things the Spirit prompts us to do. Why? Because if our enemy can keep us feeling bad about every little we do, then we surely won’t have the confidence to do the big things God has planned for us to do. We’re off the battlefields and sitting on the sidelines, exactly where our enemy wants us.

But understand this my sister, no matter how bad we’ve screwed up, and no matter how many times we’ve been caught in the trap of doing the thing we said we wouldn’t do, God still wants us off the sideline and on the field of this life! He still wants us in the game, in the fight, showing up for the good plans he has for us.

God hasn’t counted you out. He hasn’t dismissed you from your destiny. He hasn’t cancelled your calling. Nope, he sent his best player in to cover you. He sent JESUS FOR YOU!

And this is what the Apostle Paul realizes, he realizes Jesus is for this exact struggle. Not only to save us for an eternity, but to save us right here, right now. To change the things we can never change.

Reading in the MSG translation Romans 7: 18-25 “I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. (Well isn’t that a peak into our soul, goals, our daily schedule, and our pantry?)

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel,

Today we’re going way back to the best days … the days of the 80’s. The days of big hair, neon legwarmers and cut t-shirts. And no doubt, the days of the best music ever. I’ll start the song, and I know you can sing it.

1988. The big hair band Poison.

Every rose has it’s thorn.

Just like every night has it’s dawn.

Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.

Every rose has it’s thorn.

Yeah it does.

But why? Why does every rose have it’s thorn? Have you ever thought about that? Why did God create beautiful, delicious smelling roses to have pesky thorns? Thorns are there to protect the rose! This is the rose’s God-given protection from being eaten by all the predators attracted to it’s sweet fragrance. Because it is so sweet and so beautiful, it must be protected from danger, thus the thorns.

So yes indeed, every rose really does have it’s thorn. And these thorns are a good thing.

What is your thorn? What purpose does it serve?

Just last week we talked about Paul having a thorn which God refused to remove. Episode 1066 “That Continued Problem”. We learned that God’s grace is perfectly sized and just enough to cover anything and everything you are going through. But honestly it’s sometimes conflicting because yesterday in episode 1070 we learned about “The Offer of Healing” and how sometimes we don’t really want to be well because of our addiction to the pity, the pass, or the perks our illness gives us.

So God refused to heal Paul of this thorn in his side that was tormenting him, but Jesus is making sure we understand we must truly WANT to be well. So which is it, do we get healed, or do we not? Are we not healed because we don’t really want it? Are we being punished? Is this for a greater purpose than we understand?

There is no one answer.

Does Jesus heal? ABSOLUTELY!

Does God do the impossible on our behalf? YOU BET YOUR BUTT HE DOES!

Can you get in the way of God’s offers of healing and restoration? YIP. BEEP BEEP GIRL, MOVE IT.

Do some requests seem to go unanswered? Yes. But remember, no is an answer. And if God says no, there’s a greater purpose than a yes could possibly bring.

Sometimes we’re called to trust the ‘no.’ Sometimes we’re asked to believe what we cannot understand and lean into the all-knowing Almighty.

Paul struggled with a problem. We don’t know exactly what this problem was, perhaps a physical ailment, a mental challenge, or an internal battle, but whatever it was we know it tormented him. It was his torn. Nearly every translation of the bible refers to Paul’s problem as a thorn. Que the music Poison, “every rose has it’s thorn …”

Why? Why does every rose have it’s thorn? Not to punish it, to protect it!

Paul’s thorn wasn’t a punishment, it was his protection! 2 Corinthians 12:7 “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

The danger to Paul was in becoming proud. If everything was so good in his life, he would potentially become conceited. God, in all of his wisdom, knew Paul was capable of great and mighty things, but he also knew the dangers of him becoming all puffed up in his own greatness. God knew Paul being conceited would hurt the purpose for which he was created. So, to protect him and all the goodness he had within, he was given a problem that continually humbled him.

And although Paul genuinely wanted to be made well, and asked God 3 times, God said no. Not as a punishment, but as a protection. This torn protected Paul from the greater danger of being conceited. So, he was humbled.

Could the problem you’re dealing with right now be for the same...

We refer to Jesus as the Great Physician. He is the one who heals the sick, restores sight to the blind, makes the lame to walk, and gives life where there was none before. No where in our Bible do we find an account of a sickness too great for Jesus’ healing powers. Never once does Jesus walk away and say this is too far gone. Nor does he ever say this isn’t a big deal, why have you bothered me about this headache?

You go to the doctor because you’re sick and you’re seeking a solution. You go to Jesus because you’re sick and you’re seeking a solution. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. Sick of being sad. Sick of being worried. Sick of being miserable. Sick of hurting. Sick of nothing changing.

I don’t know about you, but I’m super quick to pray for someone else’s healing, but I think of 10 other things before I consider that for myself. What if Jesus really just wants you to say very specifically today “I WANT TO BE MADE WELL.”

Now girl, if you are made well, you realize what you will have to give up, right? That means you’ll probably have to get some work done because your excuse to lay on the couch will be dismissed. You realize you’ll have to sacrifice the pity you receive in your sickness and you don’t get to be pitiful any more. The story you tell over and over again will have to be left in the past, because when you’re healed it doesn’t get to be drug into your future.

Isn’t that why Jesus asks “do you want to be made well”? Healing will require a release of many other things that become almost addictive to us. Healing may require an active participation on our part, and we may have been laying around miserable for so long that we no longer identify with being whole.

In John 5, Jesus, the Great Physician, comes to a pool where all the sick are laying, awaiting healing. There he finds a man who has been disabled for 38 years. This man had given up on his healing. He was only laying by the water because it was what he had always done.

Maybe you’re not laying by water, but you’re laying on the couch. You’re dragging butt through your days because that’s what you’ve always done. You’ve always lacked the energy to do more. You’ve always struggled with the confidence to do something different. You’ve always hid in the corner, or sat on the bench of life.

But my sister, what if it could be different? What if the rest of your life could be a different story? What if your healing begins with one thing? What one thing would it be?

Verse 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?”

Jesus begins with our desire. Do you WANT to get well? Notice it says Jesus asked this after learning that the man had been in this condition for a long time. He knew once we’ve suffered with illness for a long time, it becomes our identity. It becomes our only story. And we become dependent upon the pity. The excuses it gives us become our only crutch to carry us through.

DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?

Do you want to be the healthy one without a single reason to sit it out again? Really think about that, because sitting it out feels kinda good sometimes, doesn’t it? It’s your ticket to get away with doing less … do you really want to forfeit that ticket?

Do you want to be the well one who has no worthy story of pity? Do you want to be the one who gets zero benefits because you have absolutely nothing holding you back?

This is why Jesus asks, because sometimes we’re real attached to our illness. Are you willing to trade that for healing? Are you willing to never use this as an excuse again? Are you willing to never stand out as “special”?