The Mirror of the Word: A Daily Devotional Podcast from C.E. White

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees you; therefore I retract, and I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.” 

—Job 42:5–6

There are different ways of knowing God. We can know what we’ve heard about him without having any experience that leads to understanding. This is what Job is explaining.

When he finally did see God, he realized that trying to understand the Lord with his own human limitations had been nothing but foolishness. He retracts his former opinions and recognizes the limitations of his human insight. Now he’s ready to trust God even when he doesn’t have answers.

When we come to see the Lord as he truly is, our response is utter humility—the recognition of our own smallness before him, our complete dependence upon him, and the total submission we rightly owe him as the God who knows all from the beginning to the end of time.

The more we see of him, the more of ourselves—our pride, self–sufficiency, abilities, and understanding—we will turn away from in order to trust the only true power and wisdom of God himself.

And this utter humility will lead to us trusting him without question, to confidence in his guidance even when it doesn’t make sense to our human sensibilities, and to following him with thanksgiving and praise even when we can’t see the ultimate plan.

The world is broken because of our sin, but in his sovereign grace, he can and will use even the brokenness to bring about good as we follow and obey.

The post October 3-Ashes of Pride appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“But the news about him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

—Luke 5:15–16

Our focus is so often on doing the work and meeting the needs in front of us that we forget to withdraw for prayer, but it’s a vital part of our walk with the Lord. If we neglect it, the work and the meeting of others’ needs will wither and turn to something more like that noisy gong or clanging cymbal talked about in 1 Corinthians 13.

Our withdrawal for time to pray and meditate on the Word is what keeps us abiding in the vine, overflowing with God’s rivers of living water, and pouring out his love. When we don’t abide in him and operate through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we often end up doing works that sound good but that God never prompted.

Spending time in the Word and praying are essential building blocks of a thriving Christian walk with the Lord that will fuel love and help us impact the world for his kingdom.

Our spirits need this nourishment just as our bodies need food. We will not be healthy or functioning properly in the body of Christ without it.

Whether it’s kids, jobs, or crowds clamoring for our attention, doing this might look, to them, like we’re selfishly withdrawing from their needs and our duties, but Jesus’s life shows that incorporating this into our lives is the only way to serve them well. Through following his example, we will also become an example to them, demonstrating our belief that time with our Lord is the most important thing in life. 

The post October 2-Nourished in the Wilderness appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

—1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Do we still consider our lives and bodies our own? Do we think we should be able to do with them what we please rather than obeying the Word, conferring with the Holy Spirit, and allowing the Lord free reign in our actions? Or do we follow him even when it goes against our own desires, thoughts, hopes, dreams?

If we still consider our lives our own, we haven’t yet fully surrendered.

Once we have, there may still be moments where our flesh tries to turn the other way, but the Spirit will check us faster and in more subtle ways on things that a year or two ago, we never would have recognized as rebellion.

There are times when the idea that this life is not my own rankles. I respond with resistance.

There is always the possibility of willful disobedience while we’re in these bodies, but if we’re maturing in our spiritual walk, that rebellion will lessen in frequency and intensity.

Our lives are not our own. They belong to the One who bought us with a price greater than we can ever comprehend. He ransomed us out of slavery and into freedom—a freedom in which we have given ourselves to him gladly to follow the good path he has forged for us. And it’s the only path that leads to hope, joy, and eternity. Without him leading, we have no hope of finding the way.

The post October 1-Not My Own appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.”

—Hebrews 10:19

Sometimes we’re hesitant to approach the Lord in prayer. We feel we’re unworthy to enter the holy place, so we’re afraid he won’t listen. We worry that maybe there’s no point. 

But as Jesus died, the veil separating the holy place from the worshippers was torn in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). Prior to this, only the High Priest could enter the inner sanctuary of the temple. Jesus’s sacrifice tore that barrier down. 

He is now our High Priest (Hebrews 7:25–28), and as believers, we are one with him (John 17:23), so through his sacrifice, we can always approach the throne.

Hebrews 4:16 tells us to approach the throne with confidence “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

“So that . . ..” This is one of the reasons we go to him. By not doing so, we deny ourselves the help he wants to provide through the grace and mercy we receive in his presence. 

If the leader of a nation gave us written permission to appear before him and make petitions as often as we needed, we would know what an honor that leader was granting. Yet we have a greater access to the King of Kings. Let’s take him at his Word and not ignore this great gift.

We approach the throne in humility, knowing that in and of ourselves, we’re not worthy, but we can still do so boldly because we have full access through Jesus Christ. 

Our Lord wants to give us mercy and grace to help in our time of need.

The post September 30-Mercy Awaits appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered.”

—1 Corinthians 13:4–5

Sometimes it’s easiest to grasp what this kind of love looks like by imagining its opposite. 

So let’s ask ourselves a few questions:

If we fail these questions, it’s often because we’ve stopped looking outward at how we can love others and gone back to looking inward. Our actions may be rooted in insecurity, fear, or selfishness; we worry that we won’t get what we need or want if we don’t exert control. 

To discover how we can change, it may do more good to ask what it would look like to be on the receiving end of a 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love. We would know that person truly wants our good and cares for us. It would remove fear and comparison from the relationship, allowing us to live in honesty, confidence, and peace with that person.

The post September 29-The Selfless Kind appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” 

—1 Corinthians 3:7

We like to live in the harvest, where the fruit of our labors is always visible. I’m so glad God gave us this illustration because watching any farmer will show us that’s not how it works.

The fruit will come in its time, but it may look like nothing at all is growing for quite a while.

We plant; we water; we wait. We water some more and wait some more.

If the farmer didn’t have the evidence of harvests witnessed year after year, putting all that seed in the ground would seem like a ridiculous waste of time. It would just look like digging a hole and burying a dead thing.

Many times, God asks us to plant. Maybe the “seed” looks completely dead to us, and we can’t imagine how it could ever possibly grow. If we’ve never watched him work before, planting will likely feel like a waste of time. Yet before we even begin to see results, God asks us to spend more time and energy to water. It feels pointless and risky.

But if he asks us to plant and water, the rest is up to him. We may never even see the harvest. John 4:37 says, “One sows, and another reaps.”

The planting and watering are never futile when we’re doing them at God’s direction. We can trust that he will bring the growth in his way and in his time, whether we are there to see it or not.

The post September 28-Faithful in the Waiting appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Speak, for your servant is listening.”

—1 Samuel 3:10

Have you ever tried to listen to two conversations at the same time?

Once, my niece was talking directly to me while the other adults had a different conversation going.

Part of me wanted to be in both conversations, and eventually this ended in frustration from my niece. “No one is listening to me!” she said.

My first thought was, “I’m listening!” Then I realized that wasn’t true—not really.

I was half–listening, and she could tell.

I wonder how often we do that to God. We’re sort of listening to him, but we also have half an ear on the world’s chatter to make sure we don’t miss anything.

Maybe we really love God and want to hear from him in the same way I truly love my niece and wanted to know what she had to say, but to really hear him, we must shut out the voices of the world. We must focus on his voice to the exclusion of all others.

It’s not easy. The voices of the world are loud. They make us fearful and self–conscious. We’re afraid we’ll miss something vital and get left behind. But the world’s words are never worth missing something the Lord says to us.

And he often speaks in that still, small voice he used with Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He is speaking, but if we only listen to the loudest voice, we’ll often miss what he has to say.

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

Let’s stop half–listening and turn both our ears to hear our good Shepherd as he guides and directs us each day.

The post September 27-The Still, Small Voice appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

—Hebrews 12:1

Ridding ourselves of obstacles and sin is necessary; it’s not given as an optional part of following Christ. If we’re still choosing the world, its comforts, and our sins, we won’t be able to run with endurance. A dedicated athlete does not eat doughnuts and pizza every meal, then expect to win the race; he must lay those things aside, just as we must lay sin aside (1 Corinthians 9:25).

It’s not that we must be perfect. The Bible makes it clear that’s impossible in this earthly body, but we must be constantly laying aside the weights and sins that keep us from being all–in with Christ. We cannot have two masters, and if we try, we will become entangled. Every choice to hold onto sin leads us further away from our heavenly Father.

As believers, our question will not be “How much sin is God okay with me keeping?” but rather, “How can I rid myself of this sin since it’s an obstacle between me and my loving Father?”

If Christ is our true master, our aim will always be obedience because we trust God’s Word.

The more we rid ourselves of obstacles, the more fully we will experience who Christ is (John 14:21) and the easier it will be to run that race as our endurance builds from training and practice.

The post September 26-Running the Race Well appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

—Philippians 4:6–7

This verse is a recipe for going from anxiety to peace. God knows our worry is pointless. It does not change the circumstance nor help us cope with it.

But prayer changes things (James 5:16–18) and thanksgiving brings us hope in the midst of the trouble.

Why thanksgiving? In Scripture, talk of thanksgiving is often coupled with the phrase “to remember his steadfast love.” Its purpose is to remind us of all the times God has shown his love in the past; this fuels the faith that he will continue to show that love both now and in the future.

Thanksgiving is not a vague action, but an intentional recalling of specific acts of God’s faithfulness so that our trust is renewed. It’s why the Lord had the Israelites build monuments; they served as a visual reminder to them and future generations of his rescue and help (Joshua 4).

Prayer and thanksgiving guard our hearts and minds in Jesus, preventing the darts of doubt and fear from destroying our confidence in God.

When anxiety rears its ugly head—which is sometimes many times each day—remember this formula. Take it to the Lord over and over. Recall his past protection and provision as well as the ultimate salvation he guarantees in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

We can be at peace not because all is calm, but because we know the God who calms the storm.

The post September 25-The God Who Calms the Storm appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another.”

—James 5:16

Many of us find ourselves increasingly isolated. Even if we’re not alone in the physical sense, we’re often alone in all the ways that matter.

Our world has glorified independence and shunned vulnerability, and social media has created an excess of artificial relationships based almost solely upon what can be seen from the outside. 

For this to change, individuals—you and me—must step outside our comfort zones and start confessing our own sins. We must admit not only our need for help and support, but the responsibility we have toward each other. It will mean asking and being asked hard questions and giving and receiving tough answers. 

This will often mean reaching out in uncomfortable ways. Not everyone will welcome it. Many church–goers prefer the superficial status quo. They don’t want to need or be needed, and they don’t want to be accountable to or for others. 

But many are starving for connection.

Most of us have invisible burdens, invisible wounds, and invisible sins. We’re lonely, isolated in our struggles, and don’t feel like it’s safe to be honest with anyone. 

We can’t love one another fervently (1 Peter 1:22), encourage one another toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), turn each other back to the truth if we stray (James 5:19–20), nor bear those invisible burdens (Galatians 6:1–2) if we won’t open up about our sins and struggles.

Living in confession would prevent many secret temptations from growing into full–blown sin (James 1:14–15).

We must each humble ourselves in vulnerable confession and be willing to support and pray for others seeking to grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

The post September 24-Safe to Be Honest appeared first on C. E. White.