This God of ours who holds our lives in the palm of his hand, this God who delights over the unfolding of our days, this God who knows all, sees all, and can do all, he is the God of details. He is in every detail, leaving nothing out and nothing wasted.

Be assured, he is in the details of this very day of your life. Look for him there, and you will surely find him.

What will you find him doing in the details? You will find him aligning connections, making a way, opening doors, and setting up opportunities to step into the life you were created for. You can’t see it, but I assure you, He is there and he is doing it for you.

You’ve heard it said, the Lord works in mysterious ways. The quote actually comes from a song written in the 1773:

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never failing skill;

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

My sister, the mysteries of today are God’s works unfolding in your life. He is performing his wonders for you. His will is at work, his good plans are unmatched and unstoppable. And what you fear are dark storm clouds, are actually filled with mercy and will bring blessings upon you. But, it will be so mysterious you might just miss that it was God in the details.

We assume God is so busy dealing with the big things of the world that he doesn’t really care about the small details. But you’re wrong. God knows exactly what he wants, and what he wants is in great detail.

When God instructed Noah to build the ark, he gave him specific instructions. Genesis 6: 14-16 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.”

God was telling Noah exactly what he wanted in the largest wooden vessel ever built. Now remember, building this boat made absolutely no sense. Noah spent the majority of our current life span building this boat, in a time when it never rained. It was a drought, and he’s building a boat for a land that never received water. Yet, God was so specific in his details of the grand size of this boat. Why? Because the details mattered. The details wouldn’t make sense when they were given, but they were to be trusted.

Yes, God works in mysterious ways. Once the boat was complete, it began to rain, and it didn’t stop. The whole earth was flooded, and only the people and animals on the boat would survive.

Now my sister, if God can tell a man to build a boat 70 years before it starts raining, don’t you think he can be trusted with the details of your life? Don’t you think he can cover every single thing coming your way, and already has? Don’t you think you can find peace in knowing God works in mysterious ways, and while you will not understand those mysteries, you’re covered by them.

The mysteries of your life are well-known by the Almighty. This is where he is working. This is where his details are in motion. Watch him work! Watch him do unfathomable things on your behalf.

I had a conversation with two women at retreat this past weekend. This wasn’t their first retreat together, but it was their first one together intentionally. Last Spring God had brought them together at our adventure ranch retreat in Oklahoma. However, with a group of over 100 women riding horses, jumping off tall poles,

Exactly how does God do the impossible? How does his power appear in your life? How does he move? How does he flow? How does he appear?

Today we will go on a little journey through chapters 3 & 4 of Exodus to see how God works. Oh I just know this will speak to you right where you are. Get ready, this one is for you. Yes, personally for you.

In Exodus chapter 3, God speaks and says he has heard the cry of his people and he is moved to help them. His people were the Israelites and they had been held as slaves in Egypt. God says he saw how miserable they were and he was concerned about them.

Did you know God gets concerned about you? He sees what you are going through. He hears your prayers. He is moved by you. He wants you to know today, that he sees you. He knows exactly where you are and he’s going to do something about it.

In response to what his people are going through, in verse 8 God says “so I have come down to rescue them.”

Oh yes, please Lord come down and rescue me.

Is that your prayer this morning? Come rescue me. This is a big old mess. I see no way out. I’m completely stuck and God, you are my only hope. Come down and rescue me.

So God has seen how miserable his people are. He has seen how they are being treated and he’s decided he’s doing something about it. I have come down to rescue them. Then he turns to Moses and says in verse 10, “So now, go. I am sending you.”

Wait, hold up God, you said YOU have come down to rescue them, why are you sending me?

Ahhhhhh, this is a powerful lesson today, listen up.

God comes down with his power to work and move by sending us. We are his hands and feet. When God wants to do something, he moves you. So now, go. I am sending you.

Wouldn’t we rather God just magically do something? Wouldn’t we rather him snap his fingers and change it all? I mean if I were God of the universe and this was my world, that’s the way I would have set it up.

And you know what I would have on my hands? A bunch of ungrateful human beings who sat around and did nothing but complain waiting for their God to do everything. Maybe that’s why God doesn’t just say poof and fix our problems. He knows we would grow lazy. He knows we would be ungrateful. He knows our greatest potential is only reached through his power working in the struggle through us.

So instead he says, I’m coming down to rescue, but I’m coming down through YOU. So now, go. I am sending you.

Really, what an honor this is. Think about that! God is sending you an invitation to be a vessel for his unstoppable power. He has extended an opportunity for you to partner with him in doing impossible things! He could do it without you, but instead he wants to do it THROUGH you!

And here’s where it starts getting good. God has just responded to Moses’ prayers by saying “I’m sending you”, and Moses begins arguing with God. Verse 11, “Who am I to lead the people?” Wait God, you’ve got the wrong guy. Can’t you pick someone else? Who am I that you would choose me God?

God says, go I AM WITH YOU.

But that wasn’t enough for Moses. Is it enough for you to know that God is with you?

You do know that God is with you today, right? Whatever it is that you need to do today, whatever it is that you’re facing, you’re never alone. God is right there with you if you invite him.

What I really love about God is he will not only be right beside you, but he will go before you at the same time. He will go in front to clear the way. And he will also go behind you. Oh yes, God’s got your back. He’s protecting you. You are surrounded. You are filled. You are empowered. Respond to the promptings of his spirit and step into his power.

Moses says,

What is your direction? Have you allowed the distance you have to go to discourage you from the directional change you need to make? Ahhhh, I’m so far gone, why even try? Oh Sis, when you don’t even try, you continue in the wrong direction.

What would happen if you would just decide to change your direction? Well let me tell you, the whole trajectory of your life would change. Did you know a 1 degree change in direction will result in a measurable difference over time? If an airplane changes it’s direction by just 1 tiny degree while flying from California to Maine, it could end up in Vermont?!!!

My sister, it’s not the distance that matters, it is your direction.

Luke 15: 11-32 Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. A wealthy man had 2 sons. The younger son demands his inheritance early, leaves home with his money and wastes it all. He loses everything and ends up sleeping and eating with the pigs. One day he remembers who he really is, and decides to return to his father and beg forgiveness. My favorite part of the story is verse 20, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

While he was still a long way off, the father ran to him. I find that interesting because when the son left, the father didn’t run after him. But when he was returning, he did.

When the son left home, there was a point the father could have easily seen him and called to him. He was still close in distance. Distance didn’t matter, the son was heading in the wrong direction. Now the son is returning home and is now far in distance, farther than before, but the difference is in his direction.

The father’s response to the son was not because now he’s close to him and before he was not. No, the father’s response is because of the son’s direction. He has turned back towards the father.

You may have strayed far from your Heavenly Father. You may have been apart from him for a long time. It may have been years since you did anything more than go through the motions to check the box of your Christian duites. Guilt and shame is layers deep and piled on high. Maybe you’ve fallen a long way from where you once were on your journey. But remember this my friend, the distance is nothing for God.

You think you’re far from God, but what is far for him? Scripture tells us in Isaiah 40:12 that his hands are so tremendously ginormous (is that a word or did I just make that up … ginormous … yeah, they’re really really big) that he measures all the heavens between his thumb and his pinky. So understand, distance is nothing for God. No matter how far you may have wandered off from the life he has for you, you’re still in the palm of his hand.

It’s not your distance, it is your direction. Are you still wandering away from God’s good plans, or have you turned to seek him again? I believe in this moment, by intentionally listening to this devotional, you are turning. Now maybe you have a really long way to go in getting back to who God created you to be, or maybe you’ve just gotten a little off path by being busy and distracted. None of that matters, what matters here is your direction. YOU HAVE TURNED TO GOD.

And as we see in the story which Jesus told of the prodigal son, when the son changed his direction and headed back towards the father, while he was still a long way off, the father came running to him. You may have a long way to go and you think God will only bless you when you’ve cleaned yourself up and gotten your crap together. You’re wrong. That’s a lie of the enemy trying to convince you of your unworthiness. Listen to me, Jesus already died for you. The price has already been paid for you. Nothing you alone can do will make you worthy,

There’s a space between who you are and who you are becoming … God dwells in that space. As you become more like who you were created to be, you get to experience more and more of that space which God fills. His presence is felt every time you lean into his desires for you. His guidance is received every time you step further into his good plans for you.

Now when you step out of this space and venture off into wayward territory, away from your divine design, you feel a disconnect. You feel a deep void of purpose. A lack of passion. A numb monotony where every day becomes the same and seems rather pointless. Haven’t we all felt this? Haven’t we all wandered out of the space God has filled for us and found ourselves in this emptiness? Sure we have.

Humans are like sheep. Sheep wander and take flying leaps into dangerous pits they can’t get themselves out of. There’s a video that makes me giggle every time I see it. A sheep is stuck in a deep ditch, with only it’s feet sticking straight up. Two people fight to rescue the sheep, set it back up on it’s feet. The sheep shakes itself off and joyfully takes 3 leaps as if to yell “freeeeee-dommmmm”, and proceeds to dive head-first into the same ditch from which it was just rescued.

This is exactly why Jesus referred to us as his sheep. He is our good, good Shepherd, and we continually need him, by great design. Me, head-first dive into a ditch. Jesus, my rescuer. Over and over again.

Now, have you ever thought of this … if God dwells in the space between who you are and who you are becoming, but you’ve wandered off the right path, the moment you turn back and take the next right step, you are automatically back to becoming who you were created to be and BOOM that’s the space where you find God! Drastic changes are not required to be in God’s presence. It’s an ever so slight, intentional return to him. A turn from what you were doing in your own power, to seeking his power to do what is right. A silent prayer whispered in a moment of surrender, “God, what do I do next?”

This is the space filled by God. If you’ve been out of it for a while, welcome back Sis. The journey continues now towards becoming all you were created to be!

Will you be perfect now? No. Will the journey be easy here? No. Will everything suddenly make sense? No. But here’s what we know … You will be covered in God’s grace, and his grace is sufficient for you.

Where have we heard those words before? “My grace is sufficient for you” was spoken to Paul in his space of becoming.

Now, remember, Paul wasn’t always Paul. He wasn’t always a man covered by sufficient grace. His past is dark. Before he ever became Paul, he was Saul, persecutor of Christians. Literally a man on a mission to eliminate the followers of Christ. He was not living the life he was created to live and therefore he lacked God’s presence in his life. In Acts 9, he was stopped in his tracks by a bright light and the voice of Jesus. He lost his sight that day and he was blind for 3 days. When his sight returned, he stepped into the plans God had for him, and he became Paul.

Paul was continually becoming more and more of who he was created to be. And in this space, he was surrounded by God’s presence and God’s power. But this space wasn’t perfect, in fact, this space was continually bothered by a problem. Paul referred to his problem as a thorn in his side.

Now, we’re not told exactly what this “thorn” was, and perhaps that is by great design so we can relate to our own thorns. You know, that problem you just can’t seem to shake. That thing that won’t go away. Paul asked God to remove his thorn and free him of this problem. Three times he pleaded with God, but it did not happen.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lent season which leads to Easter. In some religions ashes will be received as a mark on the forehead today. In this episode I will guide you in a deeper understanding of this tradition so whether you receive ashes today or not, may you receive the grace it represents.

Ash is the remains of something that has burned. Something that was ruined. Something that was and now ceases to be. When God created human beings in his likeness, he created us for paradise. He had an image of the life we could have with him, and that life was perfection. But because of our free-will, that was ruined.

Genesis 2:7 “The LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Then that man sinned and did the one thing God told him not to do. Of course, he and Eve were tricked by the snake in the garden and ate the apple. Because of this sin, life went from paradise to hard.

Genesis 3: 17-19 “God told the Man: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, the very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you’ll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you’ll get your food the hard way; Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk. Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”

It’s the great dichotomy of life … the life God envisioned for us in paradise, versus the life we are living in a fallen world.

But, this isn’t the end of the story. God doesn’t just leave us in the ashes with a ruined life. He doesn’t turn his back on you because you’ve messed this thing up my sister.

Instead, he runs right toward you with the overwhelming offering of grace. Grace for your sin. Grace for your shortcomings. Grace for every failure. Grace for every act of delayed obedience. Grace for every time you tried so hard and still got it wrong, and grace for every time you honestly never even tried.

So here we are with the ashes of what could have been. Charred remains of burned up dreams and holy potential in paradise, met with the reality of real life here that is already hard, then we make it harder. God’s solution to our ashes is the grace offered to us through Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 61:3 the Lord gives us “beauty for ashes.”

And this is what the ashes of Ash Wednesday are here to represent. Our lives will have ashes. We will fail, and the world will fail us. There will be darkness and hard times. We’re all dying here folks, none of us get out of this alive. We’re on our way to returning to the dust we came from. We will battle the enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy every good thing which has been offered to us. BUT GOD.

Oh yes, BUT GOD. BUT GOD came running at us with Jesus. Jesus came to set us free. Jesus came to redeem us. Jesus came to fill us with hope. And Jesus came to give us beauty for our ashes.

I’ve screwed up and God says, “here let me take that and give you beauty.” I’ve sinned and God says, “I know, and I chose you any way. Now let me have your ashes because I have a beautiful life for you still.”

This is where GRACE just comes and wraps you up honey. Grace you didn’t earn. Grace you could never buy. Grace you will never even understand. But that grace is yours to receive.

I teach goals. I guide women in writing big, bold, powerful goals, breaking them down into daily action steps, then showing up and slaying those goals to step into the life they want. I teach them to track their goals every day and mark them as they go. Some days are those 100% days.

You weren’t supposed to make it, but you did. You were supposed to stay stuck back there, but you got out. You were never supposed to change, but here you are changing. The forces of hell were fighting to hold you, but Hell lost another one and this time, it was YOU!

Hell lost you. Have you ever thought about that? You don’t dwell in that darkness. You don’t belong to that bondage. All because Hell lost you! And when Hell lost, girl you were set free. Free to live up to the potential God has placed within you. Free to step into the abundance of life Jesus came to give you. Free to partner daily in the unfolding process of becoming exactly who you were created to be. HELL LOST YOU!

Psalm 40:2 “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.”

It was God who saved you from the Hell that fought for you. It was God who lifted you up, rescued you, and gave you this life to live that was once impossible, now it’s been made possible for you! That’s what God has done for you. Oh everyday to live in awareness of all he saved you from. To see what Hell’s plans were for you, and to know those plans were blown the heck up by Jesus himself!

Hell doesn’t get you, you have been saved, but has Hell gotten your mind? Have your thoughts been overwhelmed by that darkness? Have your worries dug holes you can’t find you way out of? Has negativity taken you low, low, lower … and here you are as a saved girl, rescued from the pits of hell, but you’re dwelling in a pit of despair?

Oh let me remind you of our scripture again: “He lifted me out of the pit of despair…”

God isn’t just interested in saving your soul, he’s all about saving your mind too. His desire isn’t for you to live your days here in a pit of despair, just surviving until your final day, to be lifted to glory. No! Remember, Jesus said he came to give you life and life to the FULL. He says his purpose is to give you a rich and satisfying life. A rich and satisfying life cannot be found with a mind in a pit of despair.

That pit is Hell in your head. Understand, God is here to lift you out of that! Will you let him? Will you let him raise you up to higher, better thoughts? Will you allow him to heal your mind?

You don’t have to think the thoughts you’ve always thought. You don’t have to ride that same train to funky town. You don’t have to wake up and worry. There’s a better way, and that way is out of the pit of despair.

Despair: The complete loss of hope. This loss of hope is NOT God’s plan for you. For real, it’s not. Let me prove it. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE and a future.”

God’s plan is for you to have hope. Hell’s plan is for you to live in a pit of despair with a complete loss of the hope God plans to give you. Oh but let me tell you something, the devil can’t take what God gives, unless you let him! Romans 11:29 “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”

God’s good plans to give you hope and a future have not been withdrawn, and the devil has no power to cancel them! However, the devil can work to deceive you and make you THINK you have no hope. He can make you THINK there is no future for you. He can make you THINK your way right into that pit of despair. Is that what’s he’s done to you? Tricky, slimy sucker, get on out of here!

He has no power to steal what God has given you, but he can trick you into thinking he does. He can lure you into that pit of despair where you think you have no hope. But let me remind you of our faithful God who will time and time again lift you out of that hell in you...

Think about the way you wake up. Besides feeling sleepy maybe, what are your other thoughts? Are you dreading the day? Are you anxious about the day? Or do you feel grateful for the gift, ready to step into all God has for you today?

Why do you feel the way you do? What can you do with it?

A little scientific reasoning behind your feelings reveals it’s a chemical reaction. Melatonin is a hormone produced by your brain in response to darkness, making you naturally sleepy. As you near the end of your night’s sleep, your body starts producing the hormone Cortisol instead. You likely know about Cortisol, it is the stress hormone. Think of it as your body’s built in alarm-system. It’s there to wake you up and make you move. If you wake up to a lion threatening to eat you, it’s cortisol that causes you to run like an Olympian with your eyes barely open.

Cortisol is naturally at it’s highest in the morning when you wake up. Yip, stress is naturally highest in the morning. This can make you a moody beast! It can make for a bad start. And you could claim it’s not your fault. Oh but girl, it’s your choice.

That boost of Cortisol in the morning is God’s great design to get your body going for the day. However, when you don’t respond to this rush of hormones correctly, instead you can feel immediately overwhelmed. Yes, wake up overwhelmed. Wake up anxious. Wake up with dread.

Anyone? Oh, that’s just Cortisol being misused.

Misused Cortisol, like anything and everything else in life, becomes a burden.

Honey, are you burdened? Are you weighed down? Are you dragging a load that’s too much for you to carry? Are you frustrated with your slow progress and overwhelmed by the never-ending struggle?

Jesus said in Matthew 11: 28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

The MSG translation says “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace” with Jesus.

Ahhhhhhh … isn’t that the opposite of what you feel? You feel a forced rhythm. You feel a daily grind of “have to”. I have to get up. I have to go to work. I have to do this and I have to do that. It’s all forced, and it’s become a burden.

But my sister, recognize it’s simply because you’re using a good thing in the wrong way.

Just like waking up, Cortisol is God’s gift to help you get up and going, but when used wrong, it is the source of anxiety and overwhelm from the moment your eyes open. Get out of this forced rhythm, and girl get into the flow Jesus is offering you. He is offering to carry your heavy burdens. He is offering you rest and peace. He is offering you a life lived freely and lightly.

You can’t live freely and lightly when you’re burdened. A burden is defined as a heavy load. What does a heavy load do to you? It makes it hard to move forward. It exhausts you. It makes you want to give up.

Your burden is a target for the enemy. He dwells in your exhaustion, because when you become weary, his whispers become loud. When you’re struggling to take the next step under the weight of it all, his lousy petitions of settling short of how far you could go, are a welcomed offer. And if you’re waking up burdened, my guess is he’s right in your ear when the alarm rings. Are you laying there and listening to him? Oh the burden grows heavier, doesn’t it?

But, what can Jesus do with your burden? He can make it lighter. He says “Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” What exactly does that mean? Sis, if you’re carrying around a heavy load,

Have you ever been in this place where you know God could have stopped this thing from happening, but he didn’t? Maybe you’re in that place right now. Why didn’t God step in and stop this? If he knew about it, and if he cared about it, why did he allow it?

As a person of faith, I believe God ultimately uses all things together for good as Romans 8:28 tells us, but what about right now? Do we have to wait for heaven for the good?

Scripture tells us of 2 women who knew God was capable of anything, yet they were disappointed Jesus hadn’t showed up in time for them. They was disappointed that they would have to wait until heaven for this to be right again. But they didn’t know Jesus was on his way at that very moment … a moment that already seemed too late. Here we learn NOTHING is too far gone when Jesus shows up. And guess what, Jesus is on his way!

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were all siblings. Jesus knew them and loved them. He had spent time with them and considered them friends. Lazarus became sick and while Jesus knew the sickness was so bad it would kill him, he waited to go. Seriously, that’s what it says. John 11:6 “When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days”

Jesus waited. He didn’t show up and stop the sickness. He didn’t step in when we think he should have. So Lazarus died. When Jesus finally shows up, Lazarus had been buried for 4 days.

In verse 21, Martha runs to meet Jesus at the gate and she says ““Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

But Jesus was late, and the worst had happened. He didn’t stop it from happening.

Do you feel like Jesus could have stopped this from happening in your life, but he didn’t? Do you question why he allowed that to happen when you know he had the power to step in and protect you?

That’s how Martha felt. Jesus, you could have stopped this, but you didn’t show up when I called for you. Now, Lazarus is dead and we’ve all been mourning for 4 days. Have you only come to cry with us? Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha says ““I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

But Jesus wasn’t talking about some day, Jesus was talking about TODAY. He was here NOW. And when Jesus is on the scene, impossible things happen NOW. What seems too far gone is in perfect alignment for God’s power to be displayed.

Hey, you know your too far gone … your ‘God, where were you when this happened’… well, you’re about to see what happens when God is here now. Understand, it wasn’t that he was unaware before, it wasn’t that he was too busy, but he waited for reasons you cannot understand, but now you’re about to see.

Now the other sister, Mary shows up to the gate where Martha is talking to Jesus. In verse 32 it says “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Again, Jesus, why weren’t you here to stop this? We know you could have, but you didn’t. Word for word, she said the same exact thing her sister Martha did. You could have, but you didn’t!

Jesus replied, ““Where have you laid him?” And then, “Jesus Wept.”

Jesus cried. He hurt over their hurt. All while he knew of his own plan to raise Lazarus, he still hurt with them. Please my sister, you have to know, Jesus cries with you. While you’re still in this season of it not being okay and wondering why he allowed this to happen, he cries with you. He has all the power in the world to make things happen, and he’s about to do it, but know first, he takes the time to hurt with you.

That’s our Jesus!

You’re on your way, but you haven’t arrived yet. You’ve been purchased, but you’re still in transit. You’re not there yet, but you’re getting closer.

Closer to what? Closer to becoming who you were created to be! On your way where? To the life you were created to live. Today is part of the journey there. This is all a process of your becoming.

Do I have any Amazon shoppers listening this morning? You see it, you like it, you buy it, and then you expect it to arrive, right? Well understand this, you have been seen, you have been chosen, and you have been bought, now you’re on your way! Yip, you’re just like that treasured Amazon package awaiting delivery, you’re in transit.

On Sunday morning I listened to Elevation Church online and the guest pastor mentioned the phrase “in transit”, and I can’t stop thinking about it! Isn’t that us? We’re in transit.

You’ve been bought by the blood of Jesus. That’s a mighty high price sister. His life was given for yours. Jesus was sacrificed so that you might have the opportunity to live up to your greatest potential here on Earth, then spend an eternity at the best after party ever with him. So now, you’re just on your way. On your way to your destination of living that life Jesus came to give you. You know, the life Jesus talked about in John 10:10 when he said “I came that they might have more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

Have you ever tracked a package while you’re awaiting delivery? Have you ever seen it get stuck? A red exclamation mark shows up on the screen with the words “There’s been a delay.” You click to see details and you see it’s been stuck somewhere in Wisconsin for the past 2 days with no further movement. Uhhohhh, that’s a problem folks!

Have you ever been stuck somewhere in Wisconsin for a few days with no further movement? Maybe not Wisconsin, but in worry. Have you ever been stuck in worry? Has your package been delayed in the depression of Delaware, the misery of Missouri, the struggle in South Carolina, the chaos of California, the illness in Illinois, the overwhelm of Oklahoma, or the trouble in Texas? Have you ever fallen of the wagon in Wyoming? Got stuck in a rut in Rhode Island? Are you laying in a ditch somewhere in the Dakotas?

It happens.

Have you ever had a package arrive months later, beat and battered, edges worn and sides caved in? It got lost somewhere along the way, but it was finally found and now here it is!

Girl, isn’t that us?!!!!! We’ve gotten lost somewhere along the way, but thank you Jesus we’ve been found!!!!!! We may not look as good as we once did, and we may be worn out from the journey, but dang it, here we are!

And let me tell you something, God still wants what he ordered in you! When he paid for you with the blood of his son, he did that forever with no returns. He has never given up on you once during your journey here. He’s always known you will make it.

So how about some grace with yourself here today? You aren’t a next day delivery … you’re a lifetime journey. It’s okay that you’re becoming and struggling at the same time. That’s how it works. Yes, you’ve got problems, but those problems do not overshadow God’s purpose for you.

You’re not destined to be stuck here forever, so what do you need to do to get unstuck? Do you need to accept help? Do you need to allow yourself to be picked back up? Do you need to admit your way isn’t really working? Do you need to remember who paid for you and know you’re truly worth something?

Hey God, it’s me over here stuck in this rut in Rhode Island, would you help me out of this?

Lord, I hate to admit it, but it’s me back off the wagon again in Wyoming.

Has the story you tell yourself become more valuable than the breakthrough you used to seek? Have you grown so accustom to the pain of disappointment that the thought of it ever being different no longer even excites you?

Yip, me too. I hate to admit it, but dang it, me too. I’ve prayed so long over the same thing that I’m not even sure I have enough hope left in me to think it could ever be different. There have been glimpses of change, moments of progress, but they’re always quickly followed by more steps backwards than we ever took forwards.

How about you? Are you so hurt by all the steps backwards that you no longer even wish for steps forward? Has the pain of this disappointment become a familiar companion? You’ve made friends with the pain just so it wouldn’t break you, now you almost hold on to the pain because it’s your right to be hurt.

Am I talking to anybody? Is there anyone else out there that’s freaking tired of hoping this or that would change, praying only to see a momentary change replaced by a long standing regression, and you’re just over it. SO OVER IT! You’re so over it, you don’t even want to pray about it anymore. You’re so over it that you would reject the hint of breakthrough if you saw it.

That’s where I’m at. My prayers have become more like “Here God, I don’t even know what to say. You deal with it.” But, I don’t get my hopes up for anything.

You say you want this to change. You say you want what you’ve been waiting forever for. But through it all you’ve been disappointed so many times that you’ve made friends with this pain and identify with being hurt more than you identity with being healed.

You know what’s happened here Sis? We’ve lost hope. We used to genuinely hope it would change, but now we’re so tired of hoping, that we’re okay giving up that hope. Afterall, isn’t it easier to just not hope at all, than every day wake up and hope and be disappointed over and over again?

This crap ain’t easy, but guess what … you and I are capable of the hard stuff! It’s not easy to keep hope alive when accepting disappointment and clinging to pain would be more of a guarantee. But let me tell you what happens when you lose hope and cling to the pain of that perpetual disappointment … you become bitter.

Me and you, oh girl, we weren’t made to be bitter. We’re not designed with bitterness in mind. We have no good place to hold bitterness within. It doesn’t look good on us.

I always talk about the puke-green jumpsuit of misery that never looks good on anyone. Well bitterness is the exact wrong color of yellow that looks equally as bad. You put on the jumpsuit of bitterness and everyone will be running away from you! No one wants to sit at the table with the bitter woman. No one wants to hear the same old stories of bitterness we tell.

Even justified bitterness is still bitterness. And let me tell you, that is NOT God’s design for you. It doesn’t look good on you, and it certainly doesn’t feel good in you. Bitterness eats you up like rust on the inside. Infecting and destroying.

It’s time to lay that bitterness on the table and let it be butchered! You don’t want this! You don’t want to cling to this same old story. You don’t want to dwell in your disappointment and relive this pain. This really doesn’t look good on you.

Oh, do I have a scripture for us today! Check out what God gave me in Hebrews 12:15 “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”

You know what this bitterness growing up in me has been doing? It’s been halting the flow of God’s grace.