The next parable Jesus tells is one of the most debated in Scripture. Unlike some of the other parables, Jesus never explains this one. That means faithful Bible scholars have reached different conclusions.

Let’s read it for ourselves.

Matthew 13:31-32, “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

So…what do you think?

Is this story about the beautiful growth of God’s Kingdom?

So what do we do when Scripture isn’t immediately clear? We go to Jesus. Because Jesus didn’t just tell the truth… He IS the Truth. John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” So I asked Him, “Jesus, what do you want me to see here?”

Here’s what I believe the Lord showed me. This parable has two sides. Like a coin. If I flip a coin and it lands on heads, does that make tails false? Of course not. Both are always there. I believe this parable contains both a beautiful promise…and a loving warning.

So the heads side of this parable is a story of growth. The mustard seed is known as a tiny seed. This isn’t the only time Jesus talks about the mustard seed. There’s a much more familiar scripture many of us remember. Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'”

Throughout Scripture, the mustard seed represents something tiny that carries incredible potential. God specializes in starting with what everyone else overlooks.

A tiny seed.

Heaven has never been impressed by size. Heaven has always been impressed by surrender. The mustard seed is something that is so small and seemingly insignificant, but within it is potential for big things. Even the tiniest grain of faith can move mountains. So, this tiny grain of the mustard seed can be planted in a garden and become larger than all the other plants in the garden and grow to be a tree where birds make their nests.

What begins so small, with God, can grow to become greater than you can possibly imagine. Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

We all love the idea of doing something BIG for God. We dream about changing lives. Writing books. Starting ministries. Launching businesses. But most of us don’t love the tiny assignments that produce those things.

We want the tree. God hands us a seed.

“God, send me across the world as a missionary…” …but I don’t want to pray with my neighbor. “Lord, use me in powerful ways…” …but I don’t want to serve where nobody notices. We want significance. God offers faithfulness.

Most of us woke up today holding seeds from God. The problem is… Seeds don’t look impressive. They don’t look like the future God sees. And because we can’t see the tree… we underestimate the seed. We’re not willing to start small. We want big full blown trees, not tiny seeds.

People ask me all the time how to build their own mentoring, or a podcast, or retreats. They usually don’t like my answer. I tell them…

Start with the seed.

But we want to be great from day 1. We want immediate success. We want a full blown tree by day 2 please. But Jesus says, “from this tiny seed, something big can grow.” GROWTH TAKES TIME.

We all want overnight success. God almost always chooses faithful consistency. Trees don’t explode into existence. They grow. Slowly. Quietly. One ordinary day at a time.

There’s one way you grow something great … be willing to be bad at it long enough to get good!

I remember my first ever mentoring session in 2012. I was cutting edge hosting live videos before live videos were a thing outside of the nightly news. Facebook live didn’t exist. There was no zoom. I had a full blown studio set up in our master bedroom, special lights and cameras and programs. That first live mentoring session I had like 12 people watching and I was a nervous wreck. I taught my lesson, then I thought I was done. But there was one problem – we had practiced how to start the live broadcast, however we had failed to practice ending the broadcast. We literally didn’t know how to stop recording.

My husband signaled to me to continue as he frantically searched for a way to stop recording. By this time I had said absolutely everything I knew to say and I had nothing left. So you know what I did … I started dancing. Yip, just me in front of a live camera dancing. Y’all, I cannot dance. It was so awkward. Finally in desperation my husband just unplugs the entire thing from the wall and cuts power.

We both looked at eachother and said, “Whew, now that was a mess! I never want to do that again.” Then the next week, we did it again. And again, and again. Over 700 weekly mentoring sessions later, we’re still just showing up and doing it again.

Looking back now, that wasn’t embarrassing. That was a seed. Seeds are awkward. Seeds are unimpressive. Seeds are hidden underground where nobody celebrates them.

But without the seed… there is never a tree. It was a small seed and a messy process, but with God, it has grown into more than we could have ever imagined.

Again, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

This is how God has always worked. He works through small beginnings. He works through ordinary obedience. He works through people who are simply willing to keep planting. Never underestimate what God can do with one tiny act of faith repeated over and over again.

He works in small beginnings. He works in unseen potential.

Don’t let unseen potential become unmet potential because you’re not willing to put in the ground work.

But every coin has another side. The same principle is true of evil.

Sin rarely shows up looking dangerous. It usually arrives looking small. Harmless. Easy to justify.

One compromise.

They’re just tiny seeds…

Until they aren’t.

Left unattended, what began as something small quietly grows in the dark until it takes over far more of your life than you ever intended.

Be careful what you’re planting. Tiny seeds always become something bigger.

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In our study of the parables of Jesus, we find the next story he tells. Remember, that’s what a parable is – it’s a story along with a teaching. It’s earthly stories with heavenly meaning told for a purpose by Jesus.

Matthew 13: 24-30

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

“‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’

Okay – now what does that mean exactly? Once again a planting story to tell us more about the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples were unsure what this meant, so they asked him. WOW – what a concept. When you don’t understand, ASK JESUS.

Really, have you done that?

What uncertainty are you facing right now? What confusing situation are you in? Where are you right now that just doesn’t make sense and you don’t know what the next right step is? You honestly don’t know the solution. You don’t know the right thing to do? You don’t know what to think or what to say. Well, there’s one place to turn for that – YOU GO TO JESUS!

Jesus, I don’t understand this – please help me to understand. Jesus, I don’t know what to do, but you tell me that YOU ARE THE WAY and I’m trusting you. Show me the next step in your way.

When the disciples ask Jesus what this parable meant, guess what happened? HE EXPLAINED IT TO THEM! Wow, just like that. They didn’t have to sit around arguing about it. They didn’t have to wander around confused and perhaps getting it wrong. They just asked Jesus!

Girl, just ask Jesus! Have you done that yet?

So, here we go – Still in Matthew 13:36-44:

Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom.

Thank you Jesus for making that clear. Thank you for helping us understand these heavenly things with this earthly story. Now, because we may be slightly removed from the experience of growing wheat today, let’s dig deeper so we really get it.

The farmer is Jesus.

My friends, there is evil among us. There are counterfeits all around us, sent by the enemy do to evil. There is a real spiritual battle taking place all around us. Wherever God plants truth, the enemy plants deception. Wherever God brings life, the enemy tries to sow destruction. Wherever God grows wheat, Satan tries to plant counterfeits. They were sent to destroy us, but God won’t let that happen. The work of the enemy is to destroy all God’s good work. God plants good seed, then the enemy sneaks in and sows weeds in the field. But God is wise and he will NOT allow the enemy to succeed.

So here’s what God does – he waits. Oh how patient our Lord is. He waits for the good seeds to grow. And he waits for the weeds to grow. He allows it.

It’s easy for us to question why. Why would God allow evil? Why would he permit for the enemy to be trompsing around in this field doing his nasty work? Well first, remember this, the world we live in has been given over to Satan. This is a fallen world and the prince of this world is the devil. How can he do his nasty work here – well girl, this is where he reigns. BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS – his reign is temporary and he’s already been defeated!!!! He knows his destiny and it cannot be undone. Jesus promises victory!

1 John 5: 18-19, “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”

You and I are just passing through this world. This isn’t our home. We’re on our way to a radically different destination – the Father’s radiant Kingdom is our destiny. We are set apart, untouched by the evil one, promised at eternal paradise on the other side of this brief life in a fallen world. Will there be evil here? Yes. Will the enemy plant weeds here and cause trouble? Yes. Do we have to worry about it? Nope. We just stay close to Jesus and remain in his truth!

The farmer delays judgment because pulling up the weeds too soon would damage the wheat. His patience protects His people. Here’s what we often overlook today – There was a weed called darnel that looked EXACTLY like wheat. This weed was poisonous but you couldn’t tell the difference as it was growing. But when the wheat started producing and the darnel started producing, you could tell the difference. Until then, they looked exactly the same. It was an imitation plant bearing poison.

And yes, that’s what we have around us. Imitations. They look like what God is doing, but they’re NOT. They are planted by the enemy to bring destruction. With time, they are revealed.

What sets the wheat and the weed apart? What they produce! When the wheat grows to maturity and begins producing, then you can tell it apart from the weeds planted by the enemy. Before then, it all looks the same.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:20, “Just as you can identify a tree by it’s fruit, you can identify people by their actions.”

You know that saying, “When people show you who they are, BELIEVE THEM!” Actually, yes. We will be known by our fruit, and our lives look completely different based on if we are God’s wheat or the enemy’s weeds. Remember our study on the fruits of the Spirit? The fruit we produce when God’s Spirit lives within us: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Over time, fruit tells the story. We all have bad days, but over a lifetime, what grows out of us reveals if we are wheat or a weed.

But here’s what the wheat is not called to do. The wheat is not called to identify weeds. We are not called to police the field. We are called to do one thing – become faithful wheat! That’s it – grow, bear fruit and trust the Lord of the harvest.

In the end, God will sort this all out. That’s not our job. Our job is grow in this field and know when we’re done growing we will be gathered into the farmer’s barn. That barn is the radiant Kingdom of Heaven where we will get to shine forever. God will take care of these weeds. We don’t have to worry about them.

So today, stop looking around the field. Stop counting the weeds. Stop obsessing over who’s fake and who’s real. Stop letting evil steal your attention. The enemy would love nothing more than for God’s people to spend their lives staring at weeds instead of becoming healthy wheat.

Jesus never said, “Go inspect the field.” He said, “Follow me.” Your assignment isn’t to expose everyone else’s fruit. Your assignment is to produce your own.

Become a woman whose life is overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let your roots grow deep in Christ. Stay planted. Stay surrendered. Stay faithful.

Have you ever noticed that healthy wheat doesn’t spend its energy competing with weeds? It simply keeps reaching for the sun. That’s our calling too. Keep reaching toward the Son. The healthier your relationship with Jesus becomes, the more fruit your life naturally produces.

There will always be weeds in this world. There will always be deception, evil, heartbreak, betrayal, and counterfeit versions of what God intended. Don’t be surprised by that. Jesus told us it would be this way. But don’t let the weeds make you question the Farmer. The Farmer hasn’t lost control. Not for one second.

He sees every seed.

One day the harvest will come. One day Jesus will make every wrong right. Every counterfeit will be exposed. Every injustice will be answered. Every tear will be wiped away.

And on that day, those who belong to Him “will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom.”

Can you imagine that? No more weeds. No more temptation. No more evil. No more fear. No more tears. Only the radiant Kingdom of our Father.

So until that day… Keep growing. Keep trusting. Keep producing good fruit. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Because the field is temporary… but the harvest is forever.

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While Jesus walked this earth, he taught us the truths of God and the secrets of living well. In just 3 years of ministry he said everything he needed to say, and he said it perfectly. Now, over 2000 years later, his words are our perfect guide for life.

Some of Jesus’ teachings were on deeply spiritual things that he knew we would struggle to understand. Not all things needed to be understood, but for some things we would need to understand so we could live well. For these things, Jesus often taught in parables.

Parables are stories. The word parable means “to throw alongside”. So, Jesus is teaching using a story thrown alongside a truth. These are earthly stories with Heavenly meaning.

Today, we begin our study of the parables of Jesus. We will read the stories he told, understand them, and apply them to our lives so we grow and get better. Through these parables we will see how a holy God speaks to ordinary people with everyday stories we can see, understand and remember. Some things God says are mysteries and simply cannot be figured out – but these are not. God essentially leaned down and brought his wisdom in a way we would actually get it.

(Now you will notice with these parables, they are often found in a few of the gospels. Remember the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the accounts of 4 of Jesus’ disciples as they walked with him. They are retelling everything they saw, experienced, heard and learned from Jesus. So, you may read the same parable in the gospels and that’s why. For simplicity, I’ll just be choosing one of the gospel accounts and reading it. You could also study the other books to see if there’s any special differences noted by the authors.)

Ready to get it? Let’s dive in to the Parables of Jesus!

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Part 1: The Parable of the Sower

Scripture: Matthew 13: 1-23

Here’s the setting. Jesus is in his 3 years of actively teaching and preaching here on earth and more and more people are beginning to follow him. On this particular day Jesus was staying at a house near the sea and when he walks outside a large crowd starts gathering around him. So, Jesus gets in a boat, goes out a little on the water and sits down in the boat to start teaching. The crowd of people stood on the beach to listen.

First, just knowing that the King of the Universe, the Savior of the world, the divine Creator in human form didn’t choose a fancy synagogue like all the other teachers. He didn’t choose a formal stage or a platform. No, he chose a boat floating on the sea, wearing his ordinary robe and sandals like everyone else there that day. We see through this example that Jesus really didn’t come to judge the world, he came to save it. In humility, he met us right where we are to teach us the highest of lessons.

And here, in this boat, is where Jesus begins teaching in parables – again earthly stories with heavenly meaning.

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

That was Jesus’ story. But what was the point in this? Was he giving a gardening lesson?

For some listening, it would seem like nothing more than that – but for those God was calling to follow him and setting apart as his people, he was speaking in a way they could truly understand.

Everyone in this day understood farming. Everyone had to grow crops to survive. Their survival depended on a successful harvest. They knew seeds, they knew soils. And for those who were called as followers of God, he was about to open their minds to how his word works in their lives through the example of the sower, the seed and the soils.

The disciples heard Jesus’ story and came to him asking why he was speaking in such a different way, then Jesus explains the story.

The seed is the word of God. This seed falls on 4 different types of soil, and it is the soil that makes all the difference. It’s the same seed. The same sower. Different soil.

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Soil #1: The Path

Do you ever read your Bible, skim the words, get through the whole chapter so you can check the box, but not actually understand it? Yip, that’s seed hitting the soil along the path. That’s seed that won’t grow. That’s knowledge that quickly gets snatched up by the evil one. He swoops in like a bird and takes the surface level seed.

Growing in God’s word isn’t about speed reading and getting through chapters. That’s just the path – that’s where everyone is walking – that’s ground that can’t really grow anything. If it’s worn with traffic, fast moving ground, it’s not growing ground. Surface level knowledge of God’s word will get snatched up every time by the evil one.

Satan knows the life changing power of the Bible even more than you do – that’s why he continually tries to hinder you from really diving into it. He’s perfectly fine with you keeping it on the surface, speed reading to check a box, and never have it actually grow in your life. Life doesn’t change on the soil of the busy path.

The seed never changes. The Sower never changes. The harvest is determined by the soil.

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Soil #2: The Rocky Ground

Verses 20-21, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”

Rocky soil is shallow dirt mixed in with rocks. This little bit of soil warms quickly with the sun and the rocks, creating fast growth of the new seed, but it simply won’t last. The rocks keep the seed from ever growing roots. While it sprouts up fast, the first hard rain will wash it right out.

That can be us. We can get all excited about what God says to us, we can be all gung ho in the beginning, convinced we’re going to really do it this time, but as soon as life gets hard and the storms hit, we just get washed right out. Life hits and we’re out – why? Because our soil was rocky and allowed for no permanent growth. Everything was temporary and short lived.

Have you noticed how you get excited fast but fizzle? That’s rocky ground. There’s ground work to be done.

The seed never changes. The Sower never changes. The harvest is determined by the soil.

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Soil #3: Thorns

Verse 22, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

Notice something. The seed actually grows here. This isn’t the path where nothing happens. This isn’t the rocky soil where it dies immediately. The plant starts growing, it just never produces what it was created to produce.

Why? Because something else is growing right beside it.

Jesus says the thorns are “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t have to plant weeds. Have you ever noticed that? You can spend all weekend pulling weeds out of your flower beds, and two weeks later they’re back like they own the place.

You never planted them. You never watered them. You never invited them. They just showed up. Our hearts work the same way.

Nobody wakes up and says, “Today I’d really like to become anxious.” Nobody decides, “I’m going to slowly make my job my identity.” Nobody plans to let social media steal their contentment. The weeds just grow.

The bills. The schedules. The kids. The comparisons. The endless to-do lists. The pursuit of more. The fear of not having enough. The pressure to keep everyone happy. None of these things may be sinful by themselves… But together they quietly choke what God is trying to grow.

Notice Jesus didn’t say the thorns killed the believer. He said they made them unfruitful.

You can know Jesus, love Jesus, go to church, read your Bible… And still have a life where God’s Word never reaches its full potential because everything else is competing for your attention.

Maybe today isn’t about planting more seed. Maybe it’s about pulling weeds. Sometimes growth doesn’t require adding one more Bible study. Sometimes it requires removing what has been choking the life out of the one you’re already doing.

The seed never changes. The Sower never changes. The harvest is determined by the soil.

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Soil #4: The Good Soil

Verse 23, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

That’s God’s goal. Not information. Transformation.

God isn’t trying to make you a Bible trivia champion. He’s trying to make you look more like Jesus.

Fruit takes time. An apple tree doesn’t apologize because it didn’t produce apples the week after it was planted. Growth is slow. Roots grow before fruit shows.

Sometimes you’ll wonder if anything is happening at all. Keep showing up. Keep reading. Keep praying. Keep obeying. The roots are growing even when you can’t see them. And one day the fruit everyone sees will simply be the evidence of what God has been growing underground all along.

So today… Which soil are you? Actually… That’s the wrong question.

The better question is… Which soil is your heart today?

Maybe today you’ve been living on the busy path. God’s Word has stayed on the surface because you’ve been rushing from one thing to the next.

Maybe today your heart is rocky. You love the excitement of following Jesus until life gets hard.

Maybe today you’ve got weeds. Not terrible sins. Just too many things competing for your heart.

Or maybe… By God’s grace… Your heart is becoming good soil. Not perfect. Just open. Soft. Hungry. Ready.

Here’s the best news of this whole parable: Soil can change.

A hard path can be broken up. Rocks can be removed. Thorns can be pulled. The condition of your heart today does not have to be the condition of your heart tomorrow.

So before you close your Bible today, don’t just ask, “What did I learn?” Ask, “God, what kind of soil is my heart today… and what do You want to do with it?”

Because the seed never changes. The Sower never changes. But when the soil changes… Everything changes.

“Lord, soften whatever has become hard. Remove whatever is keeping me shallow. Pull whatever is choking my growth. Make my heart good soil so your word doesn’t just inform me – it transforms me.”

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It’s back-to-school time. Today, I have friends walking their baby into kindergarten for the very first time. And I have other friends helping their baby move into a college dorm.

Those two days feel worlds apart… until you’ve lived them.

Those of us a little farther down the road know the truth. One day you’re zipping a backpack that’s almost bigger than they are. The next day you’re hugging them goodbye in a parking lot, trying not to cry until they can’t see you anymore.

The days are long. The years are unbelievably short.

And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. We aren’t raising children to keep them. We’re raising them to release them. But before that day comes, God gives us something incredibly sacred.

Influence.

During the school year, our children will spend nearly half of their waking hours at school. Nearly half.

Half of their conversations.

As moms, that realization can make us want to tighten our grip. We want to protect them from every hurt, every bad influence, every disappointment, every temptation. But we can’t. We can’t walk beside them every minute.

God can.

He’ll be in the classroom before they arrive.

There isn’t one place your child will go where God cannot meet them.

But here’s the beautiful and really really important thing… We get to invite Him there.

We’ll buy the new shoes.

But before we send them out the door… Let’s send them covered in prayer.

Our my greatest assignment as a mother was never to control my children. It is to continually talk to God about them.

Not lecture them more.

James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

Do we actually believe that? If we do, then let’s pray like it.

One of my favorite pictures of bold prayer comes from Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Jericho looked impossible. The walls were too high. Too thick. Too strong. Humanly speaking, there was no way through. But God didn’t hand Joshua a cannon to blast through the walls – He gave him marching orders.

“Walk around it.” Once a day for six days. Seven times on the seventh day. After the 7th circle on the 7th day, have the priest blow their horns, let the people shout, and those walls will just fall down.

Read the story in Joshua chapter 6. The battle plan from God sounded foolish. Marching doesn’t knock down walls. Trumpets don’t break stone.

But obedience invited the power of God. And when God’s people obeyed, the walls that looked impossible suddenly came crashing down.

Ever since reading The Circle Maker, I’ve loved the picture of praying circles. Sometimes I literally walk around the thing I’m praying for.

Sometimes I simply picture it in my mind. Not because there’s something magical about circles. There’s not. The power isn’t in the walking. The power is in the God we’re walking with. The circle simply reminds me that I’m surrounding something with persistent, believing prayer.

Mama… This school year, your Jericho may be the very building your child walks into every morning. So go make a circle. Walk around that school. Pray over every classroom. Pray over every teacher. Pray over every coach. Pray over every bus. Pray over every lunch table. Pray over every child who walks through those doors—including the ones who have no one praying for them.

Pray that truth would be louder than lies. Pray that kindness would overcome cruelty. Pray that lonely kids would find friends. Pray that teachers would have wisdom and patience. Pray that they would have JESUS! Pray that your child would have courage to stand for what’s right. Pray that God would place divine appointments in their path. Pray that lives would be changed. Pray that walls would come down.

But this isn’t just a call for mom’s with kids in school – this is a call for every single one of us listening. Listen to me – at a school near you, there are children inside those walls who desperately need someone talking to God on their behalf. THEY HAVE NO ONE PRAYING FOR THEM!

So let’s get to marching. Let’s get to praying. Let’s circle our schools until the God who brought down the walls of Jericho does what only He can do.

Because while our children may spend nearly half of their waking hours at school, they never have to spend one moment there without the presence of God going before them.

Could your prayer really make a difference? Absolutely. Read James 5:16 again: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

Do you know who that righteous person is? You. Not because you’ve done everything right, but because Jesus made you right with God. Through Him, you have been given the incredible privilege of approaching the throne of God with confidence. You don’t have to wonder if you’re worthy enough to pray. Jesus settled that once and for all.

Now pray. Pray boldly. Pray specifically. Pray expectantly.

Your prayers aren’t empty words floating into the air. They are powerful conversations with the God who moves mountains, breaks chains, opens doors, and brings down walls.

So start praying your circles.

Circle your children.

Invite the presence of God into every classroom, every hallway, every bus ride, every friendship, and every decision. Because your prayers have great power and God still produces wonderful results.

If you don’t know what to pray, you pray scripture! Yes, pray God’s own word, declare his promises over the school. I have a easy guide in the transcript of this devotional at biglifedevotional.com. (Thank you, Darlene!)

Prayer Circle:

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.'”

School Entrance & Main Gates: Welcome and Protection

Classrooms: Wisdom, Truth, and Learning

Teachers: Strength and Patience

Hallways, Lockers, & Common Areas: Peer Influence and Identity

Cafeteria & Playgrounds: Kindness and Light

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Is there something from your past holding you back? It could be 50 years ago, or 5 days ago. Regardless, past regrets, guilt, and shame have a way of holding on to us. We replay the stories we have no way of changing because what is done is done. You can’t go back. You can’t undo it. So, what do you do?

Too many of us are serving life sentences for sins Jesus already died for. We keep dragging yesterday into today and wondering why it’s so hard to move forward. We allow our worst moments to become our identity. We introduce ourselves to God with our failures, while He calls us by our name.

Maybe you wish you had made different choices. Maybe you stayed too long, left too soon, trusted the wrong person, or became someone you’re not proud of. Maybe you did things that still haunt you. Or maybe things were done to you that have created a deep shame. Maybe you’ve asked God to forgive you a thousand times, but you’ve never forgiven yourself. You’ve accepted His grace for everyone else while withholding it from yourself.

Regret has a way of convincing us that our past gets the final word. Shame whispers, “This changes everything.” But grace declares, “No, Jesus does.”

Once, there was a woman caught in a shameful act of sin and brought before a crowd for Jesus to judge. Now imagine that for a moment. You know what you did, but imagine standing before a crowd with your sin announced and Jesus looking right at you. You have no excuse. No justification. It’s just the truth of what you’ve done as your full identity.

What would Jesus say to you?

You don’t have to guess. What He said to one daughter about her guilt and shame is what He says to every daughter about her guilt and shame. Hear Jesus today.

John 8: 2-11, “At dawn Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, which with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’

‘No one, sir’,’ she said.

‘THEN NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU.’ Jesus declared. ‘GO NOW AND LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN.’

How incredibly remarkable. Jesus didn’t turn away. He didn’t shame her. There was no condemnation in the presence of Jesus—not by Him or anyone else.

And don’t miss this. Jesus knew everything.

He knew the details no one else knew. He knew every choice that led her there. He knew the things she was ashamed to say out loud. There were no secrets remaining before Him. Yet Jesus did not condemn her. Instead, He invited her to leave it all right there and walk away without that burden. Without that secret. Without that regret. Without that shame.

A woman set free from the very mess she had created. A woman given a new life as fully forgiven. And that is you.

How do I know that’s you? Because not a single one of us is without sin. No one has gotten this all right. We’ve all failed and fallen short. Every single one of us deserves condemnation, but praise God, we don’t receive what we deserve. We receive what Jesus purchased for us instead.

There are two things Jesus says to this woman, and I believe we often embrace one while completely missing the other.

First, He says, “Neither do I condemn you.”

We love that part. We underline it in our Bibles. We thank Him for it. But then we spend the rest of our lives condemning ourselves. Isn’t that strange? Jesus releases us while we keep ourselves imprisoned.

Jesus says, “I don’t condemn you.” And we reply, “Thank you, Jesus, but I do.”

He says, “You’re forgiven.” We say, “Yes, but I’m ashamed.”

He says, “I’ve removed your sin.” We say, “Yes, but I still carry it.”

Can I lovingly tell you something? It is not humility to carry what Jesus died to remove.

Some of us have made self-punishment our penance. We secretly believe if we carry our shame long enough, somehow we’ll finally pay for what we’ve done. But my sister, that’s not repentance—that’s pride dressed up as punishment. You cannot pay for a debt Jesus already paid in full – stop trying. If Jesus doesn’t condemn you, then who gave you permission to condemn yourself?

The second thing Jesus says is, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Notice He didn’t say, “Neither do I condemn you, now stay here and live defined by what you’ve done.” No. Grace never leaves us where it finds us. Jesus didn’t simply free her from condemnation, He freed her for transformation.

He drew a line in the sand that day. Everything before this moment was her past. Everything after this moment would become her future. And do you know what Jesus refused to allow? He refused to allow her past to cross over that line.

I wonder if that’s what Jesus is doing for you today.

Perhaps He’s drawing another line in the sand – not because He has grown weary of forgiving you, but because He is weary of watching you carry what He has already removed.

How many times has He offered you this forgiveness? Every single day of your life. And every day you’ve picked it back up again.

You’ve brought Him the same regret. The same shame. The same failure. Not because His forgiveness isn’t enough, but because you’ve struggled to believe it really applies to you. Today can be different. Today can be the day you finally realize that you cannot change what you did, but it has never changed the way Jesus sees you.

You think what you did changed everything, but you’re wrong. WHAT JESUS DID CHANGED EVERYTHING.

Your choices are not more powerful than His cross. Your failures are not more powerful than His forgiveness. Your past is not more powerful than His grace.

He hung on that cross to forgive you. Not partially. Not temporarily. Completely. And now He asks you not to carry this beyond the line He has drawn. He already died for this, and He doesn’t want a part of you dying too.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” That includes you. Not someday. Not after you’ve punished yourself long enough. Not after you’ve finally become who you think you should be.

Today.

And my sister, that doesn’t merely include you – it is about you. If you were the only person in the world, Jesus would have died for you. He would have stretched out His arms on that cross simply so you could hear Him say, “Neither do I condemn you.” He drew the line to create a boundary for your past. Don’t drag your past across the line He has drawn.

He meant it when He said, “I do not condemn you.” And He meant it when He said, “Go now and leave this.”

The enemy wants you looking over your shoulder, grieving what cannot be changed. God invites you to lift your eyes and look ahead at what can still be redeemed.

You may not be able to rewrite the story, but God is able to redeem it. He has never once looked at a broken life and said, “There’s nothing I can do with that.” In fact, broken pieces are often His favorite place to begin.

At some point, you have to stop visiting the graveyard of your past and start walking into the purpose of your present. What happened matters, but it doesn’t get to matter most. God’s grace is greater than your greatest regret.

You cannot change yesterday, but you don’t have to keep carrying it into tomorrow.

So today, I want you to picture Jesus bending down and drawing a line in the sand for you. On one side is everything you’ve done. Every regret. Every failure. Every shame-filled memory. And on the other side is the abundant life He died to give you.

Hear Him say it one more time:

“Neither do I condemn you.” And then hear the rest of His invitation: “Go now.”

Leave it here.

Leave it forgiven.

Leave it buried.

And walk away free.

And you know what free women do … they help set others free. There are others just like you. Others dragging around that same guilt and shame. Others who have suffered too. And now you, with the power of the Holy Spirit within you, and the personal experience of forgiveness and freedom, you can lead those women to the same encounter with Jesus and the line he has drawn for them. LET HIM USE YOU NOW!

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Maybe you’re living out a story that doesn’t look like you imagined. You had dreams, you had desires, you had plans … and your life seems to have fallen flat. You’ve been left wanting – left waiting – left wondering.

When will things change for you? How much longer do you have to wait? What if what you want will never happen? Then what? Will you just be miserable?

Or what if it does change? What if your waiting is over. What if the very thing you’ve always wanted is on it’s way to you now, it’s literally happening. Then what? Will you finally be happy?

One thing I know for sure – we’re in a continual pursuit of what we think will make us happy, and that mark constantly moves. Most of us literally woke up surrounded by answers to the very prayers we once prayed. Yet we didn’t wake up feeling like we have it all. The mark moved. The distant land of happiness is still just out of your reach. But you tell yourself when you finally get there life will be so good.

It’s almost like the end of the rainbow. It looks like it’s just right over there. Like you can walk right to it. But when you get there, the end of the rainbow has moved on you, so you never quite arrive.

Within our Bible is the story of a woman who waited well. A woman who was brutally honest with God instead of faking her way through it. And a woman who finally got what she wanted and shows us precisely what to do then.

That woman is Hannah. Her story is found in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. Hannah was married to a man with one of those really hard to pronounce names, so we will just call him E. E had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was the one E really loved, but Peninnah was the one who had given him children. Verse 5 says, “The Lord had closed her womb.”

Why wasn’t she able to have children? It’s actually very clear. The Lord had closed her womb.

Now of course to us that doesn’t seem fair. Why? That’s what Hannah was asking as well. And guess what? God didn’t fault her for asking. He doesn’t find fault in our asking either. You can ask God why.

Why are you left waiting? Why has your life turned in a direction you would have never asked for? What do you have to do to get this to change for you?

Here’s what I notice in these stories in our Bible – if our questioning is directed to God, it is always handled with care and powerful resolve. God always makes a way, or He reveals how His way is for a greater purpose. It’s never left unresolved. He answers.

But the issue becomes when we’re turning to anyone or anything other than God for solutions to our problems. In your wait – in your struggle – in your trial – who are you bringing your questioning to? Where are you going when you are seeking? Those self-help books are not your answer. That relationship isn’t your answer. That promotion isn’t your answer. That number on the scale isn’t your answer. That next accomplishment isn’t your answer.

Your answer is God.

Hannah could have become bitter. She could have become resentful. She could have given up on God altogether. Instead, she ran to Him.

At this time in history, once a year you could go up where the priest was and offer a sacrifice and worship the Lord. Yes, just once a year. Every year when Hannah would go to worship the Lord, there E’s other wife would be as well. And there, Peninnah, the wife with children, would poke at her. Verses 6-7, “Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.”

Every time Hannah went to worship God, she was only reminded of what she didn’t have. Reminded of what she wanted but still lacked. Reminded of her struggle, her short-coming, and her future that looked nothing like she had imagined. Year after year. Prayer after prayer. Disappointment after disappointment.

But you know what she didn’t stop doing – she didn’t stop going to worship God. She didn’t sit in her hurt, wallow in her disappointment, and give up on God. She kept going to worship. Even when this awful woman would be there. Even when she was reminded of what she didn’t have. SHE KEPT GOING TO GOD.

Girl, whatever you’re waiting on, you keep going to God. Don’t let anyone discourage you. Don’t let anyone or anything get in your way of going to God.

Now, this part of the story shows us our most important move. Verse 10, “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.”

She didn’t hold it in. She didn’t pretend like she was okay. She let it all out. She was desperate before the Lord.

Jamie Macdonald has a song called Desperate. Girl, cry out those words to God if you’re waiting for him. Don’t hold it in. Don’t pretend like you’re okay when you’re not.

I’m at the end of myself and I’m

Get desperate before God.

Hannah was so desperate before God, praying, begging, crying, the priest thought she was drunk. No, Hannah wasn’t drunk, she was desperate.

Girl, let yourself be desperate for God. Stop trying to hold it all together. Stop pretending you’re okay. Stop with the facade. Get real before the Lord. If you’re not fine, stop saying you are.

Somewhere along the way we’ve gotten the idea that faith means pretending we’re fine. Hannah would disagree. Faith isn’t pretending you’re okay. Faith is bringing your honest heart before a faithful God.

God can handle your questions. He can handle your tears. He can handle your disappointment. He’s not intimidated by any of it.

And perhaps this is what you need to hear today—you don’t have to fake contentment while you’re waiting. God isn’t asking you to pretend you don’t care. He’s asking you to bring what you care about to Him.

Notice what happened after Hannah prayed. She didn’t immediately become pregnant. Her circumstances hadn’t changed. God hadn’t yet answered her prayer. But here’s what she did after she cried out to the Lord – verse 18, “She went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.”

Something shifted in Hannah. She no longer carried this burden. She had left this in the hands of God.

Let me tell you something—whatever you’re waiting on, whatever you’re hoping for, whatever you’re desperate for—it is perfectly held in the hands of God. PUT IT THERE. And when you do, your circumstances may not change immediately, but you can feel different. You can feel lighter. You can live better.

At that point, nothing had changed, but Hannah had. She walked into God’s presence carrying her burden, and she walked out having left it there.

I wonder if that’s what God is inviting some of us to do today—not to stop wanting what we want, but to stop carrying what He has invited us to surrender. You don’t have to know what God is going to do next. You simply have to know where to go while you’re waiting. Go to Him.

So how does the story end? Well, it’s easy to say the story ends with God giving Hannah what she had begged Him for. Verse 20 says, “So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.'”

The end of the rainbow? No.

This isn’t the end. Let me tell you what Hannah did after she got what she had waited for so long. Let me tell you what she did when the Lord answered and her story changed.

Verse 27, Hannah goes to worship the Lord and she once again prays, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I GIVE HIM TO THE LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

In chapter 2, her prayer continues, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. I delight in your deliverance.”

Who is Hannah worshiping? The Lord.

And here’s where we often mess up—God gives us what we asked for, our prayers are answered, we’re living in His blessing, and that thing becomes our god. Our focus shifts to what God gave us instead of the God who gave it to us.

Whatever God does for you, make sure you give it back to Him. Don’t let your blessing take the place of the Blessor.

And maybe that’s been God’s invitation all along.

When you don’t have it—trust Him.

When you’re waiting—trust Him.

When He says no—trust Him.

When He says not yet—trust Him.

And when He says yes—trust Him still.

Hannah teaches us that contentment isn’t found in finally getting what you’ve always wanted. If it were, she would have ended her story in chapter 1 holding Samuel in her arms. Instead, she begins chapter 2 with her hands lifted in worship.

Her greatest joy wasn’t that she had a son. Her greatest joy was that she had her God.

Perhaps that’s the secret of contentment. It’s not found in getting the life you imagined. It’s found in knowing the God who is writing your story.

Whether you’re in chapter 1 weeping bitterly or chapter 2 singing joyfully, He is still worthy. He is still good. And He is still enough.

So bring Him your waiting. Bring Him your questions. Bring Him your disappointments. Bring Him your answered prayers. Put it all in His hands and leave it there.

Because the greatest gift God will ever give you isn’t what comes from His hand—it’s His hand itself.

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Last week we talked about valleys and mountains. Valleys being those dreaded low places in life, and mountains being those beautiful highs. We all want to stay in our mountaintop experiences, but we can’t. Do you remember why? Because nothing grows on top of a mountain. If you go high enough, the view is breathtaking, but the air is too thin for anything to grow.

And that’s the way we are.

The highs are beautiful, but we’re not growing when we’ve reached the pinnacle. God wants His girls continually growing. Don’t you realize there is so much more potential in you? God loves you so much, He won’t allow you to remain in a place where that potential becomes stagnant. So, to the valleys we go.

The valley is where everything grows. Down here, sis, in these trenches, is where you grow. God’s greatest desire isn’t simply for you to be happy or comfortable. It’s for you to know Him, trust Him, and become the fullness of who He created you to be.

Can you see that? Your valley isn’t evidence that God has forsaken you—it’s often evidence that He hasn’t. He loves you entirely too much to leave you standing on that mountaintop.

Where would I be if I hadn’t struggled with my health and faced death? Where would I be if I hadn’t gone through financial disaster and lost it all? Where would I be if I hadn’t been crushed on this journey to the point of wanting to quit? Where would I be if my family hadn’t endured seven years of division and separation?

Would I be happier? Actually, no.

Would I be further along? Absolutely not.

Without those hardships, those struggles, and those deep valleys, I wouldn’t have discovered I could really trust God. I would still be so full of myself—convinced my success was something I had earned. I would think the house I owned, the car I drove, and the clothes I wore defined me. I would have missed the miracle of waking up to another day of life. I would still be standing on my mountain, looking down on those who were struggling, quietly assuming they must have done something wrong while I had somehow done everything right.

Thank You, Lord, for not leaving me there.

Because on that mountain, I would have missed the sweetness of humility. I would have taken so much for granted. I would have remained trapped in my performance, my striving, and my self-importance.

And perhaps most tragically of all, I would have walked through this life with knowing ABOUT God, but not really KNOWING him, not really TRUSTING him, not really LEANING on him, not really changed by him, and not really truly LOVING him.

Here, in the middle of those struggles and hardships, I found something I never would have discovered on the mountain:

He didn’t leave me here.

So why am I coming back around to this valley teaching? Quite simply, because that’s exactly where the Holy Spirit led me this morning. And I believe this message isn’t just for someone out there—it’s for someone listening right now. Here’s what He put on my heart…

Someone woke up today feeling incredibly alone.

Someone is dealing with people who are exhausting, difficult, and beyond their ability to change.

Someone is married to an unbeliever and wondering how much longer they can carry the weight of that burden.

Someone is watching their aging parents face decisions they never wanted to make, navigating circumstances where every option feels impossible.

Someone is crying out for their prodigal, wondering when they’ll finally come home.

Someone is facing financial devastation and doesn’t know how they’re going to make it.

Someone is standing in the middle of a mess they cannot fix, no matter how hard they try.

Someone is walking through the darkest wilderness season of their life and quietly wondering, “Am I ever going to get out of this?”

Sis, if that’s you, I want you to hear this clearly: You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. You are not stuck in a place where God cannot reach you.

The same God who meets you on the mountaintop is the God who walks with you through the valley. And maybe, just maybe, this valley isn’t where your story is falling apart. Maybe it’s where God is growing something in you that could never grow anywhere else.

So for you, my sweet sister, God knew you would be listening today. And for you, He asked me to remind you once again of the growth in the low places. The fruit you will produce because of your time in the valley.

Yes, here in the valley of loneliness. Here in the valley with difficult people. Here in the valley with an unbelieving spouse. Here in the valley with aging parents. Here in the valley with your prodigal. Here in the valley with no money, messes you can’t fix, and this dreaded wilderness—God is drawing closer and closer to you.

Why?

Because it’s here that you realize you need Him. It’s here that you hit your knees. It’s here that you draw near to Him because He is your only way, your only refuge, and your only hope.

And James 4:8 promises, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

This is the valley of closeness. This is the valley of abiding. This is the valley of dependence.

This is where your prayers change from rushed and routine to desperate and real. This is where His Word becomes more than words on a page—it becomes your daily bread. This is where worship becomes your warfare and peace becomes your victory.

This is where you stop asking, “Lord, how do I get out of this?” and begin asking, “Lord, what are You growing in me here?” This is where you discover that Jesus really is enough.

And isn’t that what we’ve wanted all along? Not merely a better life, but a deeper one. Not merely God’s blessings, but God’s presence. Not merely a mountaintop experience, but a relationship so intimate that we can whisper, “Whether I’m on the mountain or in the valley, it is well with my soul.”

Sis, don’t waste your valley wishing you were somewhere else. God has fruit growing here that couldn’t grow anywhere else. One day you’ll stand on another mountaintop and realize you didn’t get there in spite of your valley – you got there BECAUSE of it. Yes, what’s growing in you HERE will take you to greater places next than you’ve ever imagined.

This is where you learn a deep abiding faith and trust that creates a HOLY YES to God’s next invitation. An invitation you would dismiss if you didn’t first grow here in this valley. An invitation to higher ground which you would have been to afraid to accept if you wouldn’t have see the hand of God in this low.

Grab your Bible and open it to 2 Corinthians. This is a book written by Paul as he was suffering greatly. He was being beaten, being imprisoned, facing constant turmoil and threats, all because he knew Jesus, he loved Jesus, and he was spreading the teaching of Jesus. He’s not writing about these things for pity, he’s sharing of his valley because he’s personally experiencing the growth and change within.

Chapter 1, verse 8-9, Paul writes, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never live through it.”

Okay – let’s pause right there. Is that how you feel? Are you questioning how you’re going to live through this? Do you feel crushed? Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you feel you simply don’t have the ability to continue in what you’re going through? Yes? KEEP READING!!!!!!

The next thing Paul says is “BUT AS A RESULT …”

Underline that. Highlight it. Circle it. Draw arrows to it. Paul is saying this horrendous valley he went through, uncertain he could even make it through produced a result. It caused something in his life. It wasn’t meaningless. It was all for a purpose. What resulted?

“AS A RESULT, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”

And what this says is if God can raise the dead, if he can defeat the most final of all finals which is death itself, then he can bring life, bring hope, bring light back to whatever hard, dark, overwhelming, and too far gone thing you’re dealing with.

Through this valley, through this hardship, through this thing you question if you’re going to be able to even make it through, something is going to shift and you’re going to change. That change is you will STOP RELYING ON YOURSELF AND LEARN TO RELY ONLY ON GOD.

Jesus says in Matthew 19:26, “For with God, all things are possible.” Not without him. You’ve tried that. BUT WITH GOD – have you tried that yet? WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

This is you learning to rely only on God.

I love to study different translations of a scripture to really understand it. Using the Bible app, I have my preferred translations set to NLT, NIV, TPT, and MSG. Then, when reading a specific scripture in the app, I can just hold down on it, then hit “compare” and it will show me that exact verse in all those different translations. If you’re not using that tool, try it.

So, for example, that same scripture, 1 Corinthians 1:9 in the MSG translation says this, “As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. WE WERE FORCED TO TRUST GOD TOTALLY.”

Well doesn’t that explain this season of your life? This wilderness, this hardship, this struggle. This isn’t because God has forsaken you here – this is because God is working here. He’s growing you. He’s literally allowing the best thing that could ever happen. What’s that … he’s allowing you to experience first hand that you can trust him totally.

God knows most of us wouldn’t just naturally trust him totally. God knows we will have to experience that impossible situation for ourselves, come to the very end of ourselves, sit in the mess without a way to fix it, and then call out to him. And when we call out to him, he comes running! He comes running with power that can strengthen you, give you peace, and bring every dead thing back to life. And then you know – YOU CAN TRUST GOD TOTALLY.

As a result of your low valley, you are learning more about God than any class could ever teach you. And perhaps the greatest gift of all won’t be what God DID FOR you in the valley. It will be what He did IN you. HE GREW YOU!

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

Here’s what Jesus didn’t say – “Only a select few, super spiritual will hear my voice.” No, he said, “My sheep listen to my voice.”

Jesus calls himself our Good Shepherd. What does that mean? In ancient Israel, a shepherd wasn’t just the owner of sheep – a shepherd was the one who lived with the sheep. His entire life was dedicated to his sheep. He slept near them at night. He protected them from danger. He led them to green pastures to eat and water to drink. The shepherd of this day knew each one of sheep individually. He knew which one was stubborn. He knew which one was prone to wander. He knew which one would lollygag and get lost. He also knew the dillydallyer that would inevitably get stuck in a ditch somewhere.

A shepherd wasn’t like a cattle rancher driving a herd from behind. A shepherd led from the front and the sheep followed him. My friends, THAT’S OUR JESUS.

He could have called himself anything. He could have called himself the General of the Army of followers. He could have called himself King. He could have given himself a crown of immeasurable value. But instead, he chose to be a shepherd to his sheep. To lovingly stay close.

Shepherds in Jesus’ day would often bring their sheep into a communal sheep pen at night. Several flocks would be together in one place with one gatekeeper watching over them. The next morning multiple shepherds would come to collect their sheep. There weren’t separate sections. They weren’t color coded.

The shepherd simply called his sheep. And his sheep got up and followed him. The others didn’t move.

Can you imagine the noise? Hundreds of sheep. Multiple shepherds calling out. Yet somehow each sheep knew which voice belonged to the one they trusted. They knew because they had heard it thousands of times before. They learned their shepherd’s tone, their shepherd’s call, their shepherd’s character. Their shepherd wasn’t a stranger to them – the other voices were.

A shepherd would continaully speak to his flock while leading them. He wanted his sheep to know his voice so if they wandered, they would return. A study was once done testing a flock of sheep to see how they recognized their own shepherd above anyone else trying to lead them. Thinking perhaps it was the scent of their clothes or their appearance, they dressed another man in the shepherd’s clothing and had him call to the flock of sheep. They would not listen. But their own shepherd, in completely different clothing could call out, and all the sheep would come running to his side. There was one thing they recognized – one thing they followed – HIS VOICE.

Jesus doesn’t say his sheep will always make the right decisions. Sheep are generally rather ignorant and they continually get themselves into perdicaments where only their shepherd can rescue them. But what matters is his sheep know his voice. They know when he calls. They know when he directs.

But I know the question we all have – DO I REALLY HEAR GOD’S VOICE? Am I good enough to know when it’s him guiding me?

The sheep has no qualification here. The sheep just naturally know. The work is of the shepherd. The sheep simply listen.

And isn’t that our problem – sometimes we’re simply not listening. We live in a world that is so busy and loud that we can’t hear our shepherd. We’re so quick to turn to anyone and anything that might give us immediate answers. We’ll turn on a podcast, we’ll call a friend, we’ll look for a sign, we’ll seek anything for a little guidance, but we won’t get still. We won’t get quiet. We won’t just sit with our shepherd and be close.

So we miss it.

Can we hear him – YES. We are sheep and the one thing we have the ability to do is hear our Shepherd. We don’t have the ability to figure things out on our own. We don’t have the ability to navigate our own way. We don’t have the ability to fix or change things. But we have the ability to listen and hear the voice that guides us. But we often don’t because we’re won’t … We won’t be still. We won’t be quiet. We won’t wait for his voice.

Here’s what we often do – “God please speak to me. Tell me what to do.”

When an audiable voice becomes more important than a close relationship, we’ve missed the point. The sheep weren’t just wanting the voice of their shepherd to make them feel more confident. The sheep wanted the closeness of their shepherd because it was their way of life!

What if instead of asking God to speak to us, we begin by saying “God, I just want to draw near to you.”

The goal isn’t to get better at hearing voices. The goal is to spend so much time with Jesus that you become familiar with him. When you’re familiar with him, you’ll know his ways. You’ll know his rhythm. And when he speaks, you will KNOW it’s him. Relationship produces recognition.

Ask anyone who truly receives the promptings of the Lord and his clear directions and I guarantee you they have a RELATIONSHIP build from a foundation of TIME spent with God. When you spend time with the Shepherd, you become familiar with his voice and you won’t be fooled by other voices – including your own.

Relationship changes our ability to recognize Him.

Our Good Shepherd says in John 10:5, “My sheep will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” And that’s our problem. We’ve spent too much time with strange voices. We’ve wandered off into flocks we don’t belong in with shepherds who are not our own. So we’ve gotten confused. The voice of the world is no longer a stranger to us – it’s so familiar that we don’t run from it. Social media is loud. Our own voice of fear and shame and comparison has been listened to so often that it’s just normal for us to do the stupid stuff our own mind comes up with. We’ve crowded out the voice of our shepherd and that’s why we’re confused.

So what do you do? TURN OFF THE NOISE. GET BACK TO YOUR SHEPHERD.

Wherever you’re walking today, Jesus has already been there. This isn’t about asking Jesus to hurry up and catch up with you – this is about looking up and seeing where he is in front of you.

What if today we changed our prayers a bit. What if today we prayed, “Jesus, where are you already going? I simply want to follow you.”

It’s never about the sheep charting their own way. Sheep aren’t bucketlist destination diving out there. They’re following where the shepherd leads and finding the most perfect green pastures along the way to enjoy. The shepherd was already going great places, the sheep simply had to follow.

I assure you, Jesus, your Good Shepherd, is going to better places than you have ever imagined. His plans are higher, better and bigger than anything your human/slash/sheep mind could ever dream up. If you will just follow him, you’ll get to experience the most beautiful things this life has to offer.

Jesus, where are you already going? I simply want to follow you.

Are you already going over here to this new job opportunity – I want to follow you. If you have something else in mind, then Jesus I don’t want to wander off into fields of my own. I want to stay close to you.

I’ve decided I’m just following Jesus. His voice is heard when I stay close. His voice is heard when I am still and quiet.

When I stay close, I don’t have to wake up every morning worrying if the voice I’m hearing is my shepherd. If I’m close, then I know. But if I’ve been scrolling all night, watching countless videos, reading the posts of strangers, then I am confused. I’ve drawn close to strangers and their voices may be calling me.

Girl, get yourself back to Jesus. Stay close to him. That is truly your answer. Shut out everything else.

The sheep don’t follow because they understand everything. They follow because they trust the One who is speaking.

We tend to put all the pressure on ourselves. What if I miss him? What if I make the wrong decision? What if I’m just making this up? All while Jesus is saying, “I’m a shepherd. This is what I do!”

He knows how to lead sheep. He isn’t intimidated by stubborn sheep. He isn’t surprised by wandering sheep. He isn’t confused by lost sheep. That’s His specialty.

The pressure isn’t on the sheep to become brilliant navigators. The pressure is off because we have a brilliant Shepherd.

The shepherd is speaking to you. He’s calling you to just go where he goes. Decide now you simply want to follow your Shepherd.

Friend, perhaps you’ve made hearing God’s voice far more complicated than Jesus ever intended. He didn’t say His sheep would have extraordinary wisdom. He didn’t say His sheep would never wander. He didn’t say His sheep would always make the right decisions. He simply said His sheep know His voice.

If you’ve wandered, come back.

If you’ve grown confused, come back.

If you’ve filled your mind with stranger’s voices, come back.

He’s not disappointed that you’re returning. He’s a Shepherd. This is what He does.

He goes before you. He calls your name. He lovingly leads. And all He’s asking of you today is what sheep have always done—simply follow.

Jesus, where are You already going? I simply want to follow You.

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Have you ever questioned if God really likes you? We’ve been told over and over again that Jesus loves us … but does he like us? Is he pleased with us? How does he see us when we fail? When we struggle? When we wander?

I met a beautiful woman at our Colorado Retreat named Stevie. Stevie is this strikingly woman with black hair, a huge smile, tattoos, and rides a Harley. Honestly, she’s pretty cool. At Retreat, Stevie shared her testimony so boldly and courageously that you couldn’t help but listen. She said she had been married, then after divorce she went wild. She did everything wrong. She ran from God and ran into a wild way of living that took over her entire life. She drank way too much, she partied, she slept around. But then, she said it was if God just snatched her up and said, “My girl, that’s not the life I have for you.”

And THAT is the perfect image of how God looks at us when we’re failing, when we’re struggling or when we’ve wandered. He looks at you as HIS GIRL.

You are never NOT his girl. You are his beloved, his masterpiece, his chosen. There’s nothing you can do that changes that. No matter how far off track you’ve gotten and no matter how twisted your life has become, you’re still his girl. And you know what he wants to do … he wants to just snatch you up from that.

You know what that’s called? THAT’S CALLED GOD’S GRACE.

When instead of getting what you deserve, you get forgiveness before you even ask for it. When instead of being left to your own ways, you get lifted up out of it before you ever even sought it.

Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.”

Who’s the Son – that’s Jesus? What did he come for? To seek and save the LOST. Who are the lost? The ones who are failing – the ones who are struggling – the ones who have wandered. And the ones who don’t even realize they’re failing – the ones who are so wrapped up in performance that they don’t realize how far they’ve wandered. Jesus didn’t come waiting for lost people to stumble upon Him. He came looking for them.

Girl, Jesus is LOOKING for you. And what will he do when he finds you – he will snatch you up and cover you with GRACE.

Grace is God coming for you when you’ve done nothing to deserve it and everything to convince yourself He shouldn’t.

Grace is God’s love moving toward you before you ever think to move toward Him.

Grace is God giving you what you could never earn because Jesus paid for what you could never afford.

Here’s an image of GRACE:

Imagine you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean.

Whatever you’ve done, wherever you’ve strayed, no matter what you’ve been thinking, saying, doing or not doing … there’s GRACE FOR THAT!

For most of my life, grace was something that was never personal to me. To be honest with you, I felt I didn’t really need it. I’ve been married to my one and only high school sweetheart for 31 years. I’ve literally never been drunk in my entire life. I’ve never tried a single drug. I’ve been the picture of the good girl. And what grace is really needed for a good girl?

I performed for my approval. My success would vouch for me. Grace is for the ones who just can’t get it right on their own – and I was really getting it right all by myself. For real – that was the voice in my head. That’s what I told myself, and that’s what I believed.

And then I went and messed it all up. I prayed a prayer I had no idea would completely wreck me. I prayed that God would search my heart. I wrote a devotional on Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

But you see, I wasn’t doing it because I thought I needed it – I thought you needed it. But, I mistakenly prayed it too.

And with access of my heart granted, the Holy Spirit began a revealing work within me that made me sick of my own self. I saw how incredibly self-righteous I had become. I saw how twisted my pursuits had become and how wrong I had been. Everything I did carried the label of God, but there simply wasn’t a lot of God beneath the label – there was self.

And here’s the part that slayed me – GOD HAD ALLOWED ME TO DO IT.

I had sat behind a microphone for years, professing Jesus, but my own life wasn’t fully surrendered. I had played the part, but my part was a show for a stage. I had built this entire thing, and I had done it so wrong for so long. I had lead so so so wrong. AND YET GOD ALLOWED ME TO DO IT.

He never struck me with lightening. He never brought it all crashing down. No, actually continued to let it grow. I walked in success I didn’t deserve. And he waited for the surrender of my heart.

That’s GRACE.

Grace is God coming for you when you’ve done nothing to deserve it.

Grace is God’s love moving toward you before you ever think to move toward Him.

Grace is God giving you what you could never earn because Jesus paid for what you could never afford.

There’s been a grace over my life through all these years of getting it really wrong. There’s been a grace over my life that I simply never asked for because I didn’t know I needed it.

God searched my heart, and he found some really ugly things in there. But instead of punishing me, he began reshaping me. Instead of canceling me, he called me. Instead of condemning me, he gave me a holy conviction and the special strength to change it.

Just as there’s grace for Stevie who made a mess of her life with some epically bad choices – and there’s grace for me, the girl who thought she never really screwed up bad enough to need grace …. well, there’s perfect grace for you too, my sister.

JESUS LEFT HEAVEN TO RESCUE US!!!!! He didn’t wait until we called out to him. He didn’t wait for us to realize we needed him. He didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up and turn our lives around. Nope, he came for us first. THAT IS GRACE!

And you know what I’ve really come to realize, Grace isn’t God just giving you a second chance. Grace is really God giving you a whole new life you could have never earned.

You want a new life? A life lifted up from this mess you’ve been living in? A life that breaks free of the chains that have held you back? A life that’s bigger and better than anything you could have imagined? LET GOD’S GRACE CATCH YOU.

Girl, just let him snatch you up.

God has made a relentless decision to pursue YOU. A relentless decision to rescue YOU. A relentless decision to forgive YOU. And a relentless decision to transform YOU.

When God looked at Stevie, he saw his girl who he would turn into an evangelist that would reach people with the raw truth of how God never gives up no matter what we do.

When God looked at me, he saw his girl who he could humble and use as a vessel of humility to remind people of just how patient our God while we fiddle fart around not even knowing we need him.

When God looks at you, he sees his girl who is worthy of being pursued, worthy of being rescued, worthy of being forgiven, worthy of being made radically new. And right here today, HE IS SNATCHING YOU UP AND CALLING OUT, “MINE – SHE’S MINE!”

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God has promised He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11), but wouldn’t it be nice if He included turn-by-turn directions? I mean REALLY nice. Not some vague “trust Me” and “walk by faith” business. I want GPS. I want step-by-step instructions complete with an arrival time and the occasional heavenly notification saying, “There’s a problem ahead. I’ve found a better route.”

And if we’re being really honest, I’d also like Him to show me where all the potholes are, who I should avoid, and whether or not this particular problem could perhaps be skipped altogether.

Is that too much to ask?

I’ve learned there are two kinds of travelers in this world.

First, there’s the planner. I present to you my husband as Exhibit A.

He plugs in his destination, then immediately zooms out to study the entire route. He knows which highways he’ll take, approximately where he’ll stop, and could probably tell you which side of town he’ll be approaching from. Then he zooms in to study the intersections and lane changes. After reviewing the route for a solid five minutes, he calmly begins driving without the voice prompts because he has become one with the GPS.

Then there’s the other traveler. We’ll call this one the follower. I present to you…me.

Actually, I don’t even qualify as Exhibit B. Let’s call me Exhibit L. L for Lost. Perpetually lost. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where I’m going, but strangely, I’m never really stressed about it.

Here’s how I roll. I plug in a destination. Let’s say the TJ Maxx. I don’t really care which TJ Maxx. Any one will do. I don’t stop to consider which side of town it’s on or how many toll roads are involved. If the GPS lady picks one, I trust her judgment entirely.

Then I do something that absolutely horrifies my husband. I just press START.

That’s it. No studying. No planning. No zooming in or zooming out. We’re just going.

Then I pull out of the parking lot in whatever direction seems easiest while my GPS gets her bearings. Is it the correct direction? Typically, no. Is it even remotely helpful? Also no.

But soon enough, that sweet little lady comes through my speakers and says, “Make a U-turn.” Yo-kay! Let me whip this baby around and let’s get to the TJ Maxx.

Friends, which traveler are you? Here’s what I know. Whichever one you are, you’re convinced you’re right and the other one makes absolutely no sense.

And isn’t that exactly how we approach our lives with God?

Some of us want the five-year plan. We want the destination, the route, and every major intersection highlighted before we’ll take the first step. Others of us are saying, “Jesus, if you’ll just show me what to do before lunch, we’re making progress.”

But regardless of which traveler you are, we’re all asking the same question. What’s the way?

Jesus answered that question in John 14:6 when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Notice He didn’t say, “I’ll SHOW you the way.” He said, “I AM the way.” And I wonder if we’ve missed just how profound that is.

Jesus isn’t simply giving directions to God’s good plans for your life. Jesus IS God’s good plan for your life. He’s not merely the GPS helping you arrive at your destination. He is both the Guide and the Destination.

We keep asking God, “Show me where we’re going!” And He’s saying, “I’m right here.” Honey, if you know Jesus, then you know the way because HE IS THE WAY.

He’s the way you’re going to survive this heartbreak. He’s the way you’re going to make it through this diagnosis. He’s the way you’re going to overcome this addiction. He’s the way you’re going to begin again after failure.

And He accounts for all the wrong turns. Have you ever noticed your GPS doesn’t throw a fit when you miss your turn? It doesn’t sigh dramatically and announce, “Well, that’s it! You’ve ruined everything! You’ll never make it now!”

No! It simply says, “Recalculating.”

Friend, can I tell you something? God has been recalculating your life since the day you were born. You haven’t surprised Him once. That divorce didn’t surprise Him. That addiction didn’t surprise Him. That diagnosis didn’t surprise Him. That bad decision didn’t surprise Him. He’s never once looked at your life and said, “Well, I certainly didn’t see THAT coming.”

While we’ve changed directions, Jesus NEVER has.

Romans 8:28 is still true. God is still working ALL things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He doesn’t run out of routes to redeem your story. He allows U-turns. And when you’re convinced you’ve gone too far in the wrong direction, He simply whispers, “Recalculating.”

You don’t need to know the whole way. You simply need to know the One who is the way.

——————-

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He’s not only the way, He’s the truth. Isn’t it funny that we’ll trust a complete stranger with an Australian accent to get us across town, but we struggle to trust Jesus with our eternity?

We trust Siri. We trust Google Maps. We trust Waze. But when Jesus says, “I’ve got another route for you,” suddenly we’re skeptical.

Why? Because the route doesn’t look true. The route to freedom looks like surrender. The route to strength looks like weakness. The route to greatness looks like serving. The route to life looks like dying to ourselves. The truth is, God’s truth rarely looks like the world’s truth.

Friend, there are voices giving you directions every single day. Social media has directions for your life. Your fears have directions for your life. Your past has directions for your life. Your feelings have directions for your life. Your wounds have directions for your life. And Satan most certainly has directions for your life.

The question isn’t whether you’re listening to a voice. The question is WHICH VOICE is leading you?

Jesus says you’re chosen. The enemy says you’re forgotten.

Jesus says you’re forgiven. The enemy says you’re disqualified.

Jesus says you’re being made new. The enemy says you’ll never change.

Jesus says you’re more than a conqueror. The enemy says you’ve already lost.

Honey, somebody is lying. And Jesus has never lied.

Know the truth so well that every lie immediately sounds like the wrong voice giving wrong directions.

________________

Finally, Jesus says, “I am the life.” Notice He didn’t say, “I’ll GIVE you a life.” He said, “I AM the life.”

We spend so much of our lives chasing life. We think life is found in losing the weight. In getting married. In having the baby. In making more money. In retiring someday. In getting the promotion. In taking the trip. In finding the relationship. And so we keep moving the finish line.

“I’ll finally be happy when…” Except when we get there, we simply create another “when.”

Jesus says, “No sweetheart, LIFE isn’t found there. It’s found here. It’s found in Me.”

Life isn’t waiting for you 40 pounds from now. Life isn’t waiting for you after the divorce is finalized. Life isn’t waiting for your prodigal to come home. Life isn’t waiting for your circumstances to improve. Life is available to you right here, right now, because Jesus is here right now.

Stop putting your life on layaway. Stop waiting to start living someday. Stop surviving until circumstances improve. Jesus didn’t come so you could merely exist. He came that you may have life and have it abundantly, to the full, overflowing, BIG! (John 10:10).

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So maybe you’ve been asking the wrong question. You’ve been asking WHERE when Jesus has been saying WHO.

Where am I going? To Jesus.

How am I going to make it? With Jesus.

What should I believe? Jesus.

What was I created for? Jesus.

What’s God’s plan for my life? Jesus.

We’ve been asking God for directions while He’s been offering us a relationship. My sister, Jesus isn’t merely showing us the way to some future destination. He IS the destination. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life.

So let’s get going. Just press START.

Will there be wrong turns? Absolutely. Will there be delays? Probably. Will there be seasons when you have absolutely no idea where He’s leading you? Most certainly. Will there be times you find yourself sitting on the side of the road wondering what in the world God is doing? Oh, girl. Without a doubt.

But here’s what I know after all these years of following Jesus—I have never once regretted trusting Him with the route. I have regretted my own directions a thousand times. I have regretted my detours. I have regretted my delays. I have regretted grabbing the wheel and trying to become my own GPS. But I have never regretted following Jesus.

So where will He take us? I don’t know. But I know who will be walking beside me every single step of the way. And really, that’s enough. Quit worrying so much about where you’re going and pay attention to Who you’re going with.

Follow Jesus. Trust the next instruction He gives you. Because when Jesus is both your Guide and your destination, you can never truly be lost. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. And He’s really, really good at recalculating. We’ve changed directions a thousand times. He never has.

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