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.

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

—Proverbs 16:24

All of us have felt this power. Maybe we’re stressed, insecure, frustrated, or exhausted, and someone says something kind. Those words find the hurting place in our hearts, and unexpected tears fill our eyes.

We were trying to hide the hurt, but they saw it, spoke to it, and in doing so, brought a little healing.

We often forget this power when it comes to our own words. Hurtful words come easy. Pleasant words take work and intention.

But since we’ve all had both kind and hurtful things said to us, we know how difficult it is to rid the hurtful ones from our minds, how hard it is to stop fearing they are true, and how long it takes us to put them aside.

The pleasant words often get lost because we can only remember the harsh ones.

When we speak to others, we’re adding to one side of that scale or the other. Something we say may end up in a person’s mind forever—pleasant words bringing gentle encouragement and peace or hurtful ones lingering in insecurity and fear.

There are enough unpleasant words in the world. With every word we say, we can either tear others down or build them up.

When we see a hurt in someone, we shouldn’t be afraid to speak life there. Let’s be intentional about speaking words that build up—words that heal the wounds in others, pleasant words that are sweet to the soul and healing to the body.

The post October 23-The Taste of Grace 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.

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.”

—1 John 4:4

The world is often dark, and we have an enemy, but we don’t have to be afraid. The Lord’s power within us is greater than the evil without.

This doesn’t mean we can stop all the evil that happens, but it does mean we can overcome even when we’re walking through things caused by evil. We can be “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

We can show kindness when others are cruel. We can love when others hate and be peacemakers when others divide. We can reach out when others retreat and give when others take. We can hope when others despair.

No evil or law in the world can make us stop being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, and self–controlled . . . unless we let it (Galatians 5:22–23). 

Satan wants the evil to make us bitter, cruel, angry, anxious, fearful, selfish, unforgiving, hopeless, and indulgent so we will stop following God’s path.

We overcome by not letting it overcome us; we triumph over it and destroy Satan’s plans when evil doesn’t overtake our hearts.

This overcoming doesn’t require a gun, a cape, an argument, or anger. Jesus didn’t overcome by fighting. He overcame through his death, and we overcome through the death of our flesh (Romans 8:13). As we’re raised again in the power of the Holy Spirit, the life we lives will show others the way to the kingdom of God.

As we submit to and obey Christ, he works in us, and we overcome.

The post October 22-The Quiet Strength of Christ 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 Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.’”

—Isaiah 49:14–16

Sometimes we feel like God has forgotten us, but he hasn’t. Look how gently he assures us. He is more mindful than a nursing mother. We are inscribed on the palms of Christ’s hands through the scars he suffered so each of us could come to him freely.

He doesn’t forget. In fact, he thinks of his people continually. When you or I remember something, it usually flits out of our minds quickly as another thought overtakes it. We can only think of one thing at a time, but God can hold each of us in his mind at all times.

A nursing child may think his mother has forgotten him when she leaves him even for a few hours. To that child, the separation might seem unending and cruel.

We might feel that way on this earth. There will be times we can’t feel the presence of God, and all seems hopeless. It may feel like he’s deserted us here in a world of strangers who can’t give us what we need.

But just as the good mother’s plan is always to return to the child, the Lord himself will come back and get us. He has not forgotten.

In the meantime, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit living in our hearts, and through him, we are comforted, helped (John 16:7), and taught (John 14:26).

The post October 21-Your Name on His Hands 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.

“The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.”

—Isaiah 26:3

We would all say we want perfect peace. Here is the formula—to constantly, steadfastly fix our minds on the Lord and trust in him.

When fear, doubt, anxiety, insecurity, anger, selfishness, jealousy, bitterness, or any other unpeaceful thing arises in our hearts, we turn our eyes from it and back to the Lord. We stop looking at the circumstances, desires, and needs we have no control over. We choose to hand it all over to the Lord, and we find peace again. 

Like Peter walking on the water, if we turn to the uncertain waves of this world, we will start to sink. If we look at the Lord, he will lift us back to confidence in him.

When our minds become anxious and troubled instead of full of his perfect peace, our first and intentional reaction should be to put our minds back on the Lord and fix them there.

We must unceasingly ask ourselves, “Is my mind fixed on the Lord? Do I truly trust him? Or am I looking around at the desires of this life, chasing other things, and becoming disillusioned by my circumstances?” We must do it every time those things come up, over and over and over.

Perfect peace follows when we trust him with those things instead of striving with them because as it says in the next verse, “In God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:4). He’s all–powerful, all–knowing, and all–sufficient. 

His perfect peace will exist in both the calm and the storms of life when he is our rock.

The post October 20-The Secret to Perfect Peace 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.

“Then his servants approached and spoke to him [Naaman], saying, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash, and be clean”?’”

—2 Kings 5:13

Naaman was the commander of armies, and even the king considered him a mighty man and warrior. But Naaman was afflicted with leprosy and went to Elisha for healing.

Elisha sent instructions for Naaman to wash in the Jordan River seven times. 

Naaman was furious; he felt this was beneath the honor of his station. He should’ve been given some great deed or sacrifice to show himself worthy of his healing; there isn’t anything special about dipping yourself in a river. 

How often do people come to God and leave angry because he simply says, “Believe in me, and be cleansed” (John 6:28–29)? They want something that makes them feel good about themselves—some reason to say, “Look, the Lord forgave me because of this worthy deed!”

But all of us come to God unclean in sin as Naaman came to Elisha in leprosy. No great position in this world gives us a different route to his forgiveness. 

And after our cleansing, he tells us not to go and receive honor, but to go and disciple (Matthew 28:19–20), to go and wash feet (John 13:14–15), to go and die (John 12:24–26). In all things, we are to be servants.

Many of us resist God’s call because it has us serving in the low places rather than earning prestige in the show places, but if we come to him in humility, we will be cleansed like little children just as Naaman was (2 Kings 5:14; Matthew 18:3–4).

The post October 19-Simple Obedience 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.

“The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” 

—Galatians 6:14

What does it mean for the world to be crucified to us?

It means that we no longer chase satisfaction in the here and now. We seek our fulfillment in pursuing the will of God (John 4:34). Though we still live here, we’re no longer taken in by the “worries of this world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). The spiritual world becomes more real to us than the physical world (2 Corinthians 4:18). We know that worldly pleasures will not last and seek instead to build up eternal treasure (Matthew 6:19–21). 

We know our kingdom is not of this world, so we are not alarmed nor crushed when our earthly kingdoms crumble (John 18:36).

What does it mean for us to be crucified to the world?

We, like Christ, are willing to give ourselves up for the sake of others (Philippians 2:3). It is no longer our life, but his (Galatians 2:20). We are dead to sin (Romans 6:11), and now live for his glory and the sake of his kingdom.

“To live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21) frees us from the pressures of succeeding in any earthly goal. 

All earthly ends may be frustrated, but when we make living for Christ our goal, then the purpose of every ordinary life is secure in him—whether we are parenting or working or living with a chronic illness that keeps us from pursuing other things.

No matter what we achieve—or don’t—there’s no such thing as a wasted life spent seeking God. 

The post October 18-The Freedom of the Cross 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.

“For who has shown contempt for the day of small things? But these seven will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” 

—Zechariah 4:10

Sometimes we get discouraged with all the small things—one tiny step after another. We want to see results. We want our efforts to be rewarded now.

But God rejoices over our small beginnings. He knows the only way to have a result is to be faithful in all the tiny steps along the way.

Even the first step of planning is rejoiced over—holding the plumb line to get everything straight before beginning the work of rebuilding the temple. There are no visible signs of progress—just planning, measuring, preparing. 

It’s easy to dismiss the importance and value in these early steps and long for the days we can already see the walls going up and the structure taking shape, but each step is necessary and worth celebrating.

Perhaps we’re just beginning and others are showing contempt for our efforts because they can’t yet see the visible rewards. Or maybe we’re doubting the value of what we’re doing ourselves—doubting whether it will ever amount to anything and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the breadth of the work ahead of us.

We can trust that the Lord is rejoicing over every tiny step we take along the way to obeying him and building the kingdom.

Let’s rejoice over every new beginning and each small step. Many of them will seem tedious, but they are all getting us closer and closer to building something meaningful.

The post October 17-Small Steps, Eternal Purpose 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 if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

—John 13:14

This is a picture of how Christ cleansed us with his servanthood and sacrificial love. He did not demean us or look at us disdainfully; he lowered himself in humility and did the cleansing for us. Jesus is the only man that ever walked the earth who had no cause for humility. He was God himself in the flesh and would have been perfectly within his rights to destroy us all or demand we bow down and worship him by force. 

Instead, he came in humility.

He died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). He came for those who know they’re not righteous—the sick, not the healthy (Mark 2:17). He prayed for forgiveness for his murderers while still suffering from their wounds on the cross (Luke 23:34).

How much more should we, as the sinners that we are, approach others in humility, servanthood, and sacrificial love? We have no cause to think ourselves better than any other; it’s only through Christ washing us that we are cleansed. We shouldn’t look at the uncleanness of those around us with disdain and disgust, but with compassion and a desire to show them the same loving servanthood Jesus displayed.

Even while living in the middle of painful circumstances others have caused, we can serve them humbly, speak the truth that may lead them out of darkness, and pray they will find forgiveness.

There’s no room for prideful leadership in the body of Christ.

The post October 16-Learning to Wash Feet 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.

“Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”’” 

—John 7:37–38

Sometimes we feel empty, wrung out, and drained. When that’s the case, we need to consider what we’ve been running to quench our thirst. Is it TV? Relationships? Food? An addiction? Work? Video games? Exercise? 

If we’ve been filling our free time only with things other than Jesus, we can’t expect to overflow with the rivers of living water, because this overflowing requires that we first come to him and drink. The inflow determines the outflow. 

Some of the things listed above are not necessarily bad, but they are if they displace our time with God or if we expect them to take the role of our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. They will leave us emptier than we started rather than refreshed and refilled.

We all overflow with something. If it isn’t the life–giving fruits of the Spirit promised to believers, we need to evaluate why. 

It could also be that we need to dig into past hurts and get help to heal from those.

Whatever the reason for it, let’s make sure that our emptiness sends us running to God instead of to some worldly quick fix that will not last. Let’s fill our souls with the things of the Lord so his living waters are pouring out of us into the lives of others.

He is the only well that will never run dry.

The post October 15-What Are You Thirsty For? 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.

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.”

—Romans 8:22–23 

For those who struggle through this life—which includes everyone from time to time—this verse is a huge comfort. We groan, and creation groans. 

This world, broken by sin as it is, will never fully satisfy us. Some have it easier than others, some have seasons of rest between battles, and some seem to have only strife and pain, but nothing in the Bible makes it seem like this life will be perfect, easy, or totally satisfying.

If we’re going through hard things, we’re in good company. Jesus, Joseph, Esther, the disciples, Ruth, Paul, Job, and countless others all struggled too. 

It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in the wrong place; it means we live in this broken world. 

Sometimes the brokenness seems too heavy for us to bear, but there is always hope. 

This passage continues, speaking of our adoption and the redemption of our bodies: “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Romans 8:24–25).

The hope we await will never be fully realized in this life. God is guiding us through the difficulty now, and every moment brings us closer to our glorious eternal hope.

The post October 14-Waiting with the Spirit appeared first on C. E. White.