Category Archives: prayer

living stones: we are building, not throwing

Posted on by March 21, 2024

I grabbed the phone and called one of the state offices we’ve been working with. Someone (several someones, actually) have repeatedly mentioned a miraculously helpful entity called a “care coordinator” to help us navigate part of the guardianship world we’re dealing with now on behalf of two of our kids.

But I didn’t even remember which office they went through, or what number to call. There have been so many phone calls.

living stones: we are building, not throwing

So I tried one, and a lady picked up.

“Hi,” I began, “I spoke with someone from your office a few weeks ago about applying for my disabled son’s benefits? He has a medical situation and we’re getting the runaround about Medicaid, and I’m wondering if I could get connected to a care coordinator through your office to help me navigate this, but I’m honestly not even sure if I’m calling the right place. Can you help me?”

Blarghhhhh. I just dumped all the details on her, no mercy.

“Umm…” the lady stammered. “Uh…maybe…I’ve actually only been here for four months. Umm…” She stalled again, and finally settled into awkward silence.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“No, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m just…just trying to–”

“No,” I assured her, “I’m pretty sure it’s definitely me, too.” The confusion is probably contagious.

And it turns out I was wrong; care coordinators are apparently fabulous at helping with one particular area, but not the actual area we need help with right now.

If I understood the process better, I could navigate it with more clarity. As it is, I pretty much only understand enough of it to complain. And there’s been plenty to complain about. I do not work in this system, I am just trying to work my way through it, and so far I have just enough experience to throw stones at it. Mea culpa. I should’ve paid more attention, should’ve taken notes or something, and should be speaking (and writing) blessings instead of curses.

(But this is the government, yo…) I know, it’s pretty hard to bless sometimes.

But I’ve noticed this among the Church, too. We don’t understand things, so we complain. We don’t pay attention, so we misunderstand. We misunderstand, so we accuse. The stones fly furiously, contagiously, and the only thing built up is confusion as the living stones divide, refusing to acknowledge the others in the same building.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

– 1 Peter 2:4-5

The internet has always had a mean streak, and Pharisees have always been associated with stone-throwing. I’m not saying those two things have anything to do with each other; it might be a completely random coincidence that I put them in the same sentence. Draw your own conclusions.

But over the last two weeks I’ve heard “You need to be more careful” from a total stranger who didn’t like a video I shared, “You should do your homework” from a stranger who hadn’t actually listened to the sermon I shared, and “The word is ‘prating’ not babbling” from a stranger who didn’t like the translation of scripture I shared, miffed that I didn’t revert to King James, because that of course is what Jesus Himself used.

In years of writing online, I’ve noticed that normal people generally respond to posts in one of these ways:

  • constructive comment
  • hit the like button
  • simply keep scrolling

But weirdos on social media with a religious spirit tend to respond in these ways:

  • Why did you underline THOSE words?
  • What do you have against the other verses?
  • I don’t like the title of your post and have appointed myself as the religious police to protect any ignorant passersby from misinterpreting scripture and living a life of sin because of it
  • I didn’t bother reading/watching/listening to the link in your post, but here’s my redundant/irrelevant/argumentative comment, anyway
  • Why are you using a STICKY note as a BOOKMARK?! You are covering the WORD of GOD, heathen!

Smile…sigh.

Why is it that some Christians think their belief entitles them to act so unChristlike to others, especially Christians? Did they miss the part in the Bible about building up one another in love, and taking the log out of your own eye, and the world will know we are Christians by our love for each other, not by the vitriol we unleash on the internet?

I don’t think I’m the only one noticing this spike in the spirit of stupid, because I recently read this post and this thread, and this is a terrific video, also.

I can only imagine how confusing this must be for new Christians trying to navigate the Church. I’m sorry, I’ve actually only been here for four months…umm…

But another thing I’ve noticed is that if I listen – or, not even listen (as in, “actively attend to”) but just hear too much faith-quenching, belittling, nit-picking, stone-throwing, I start to feel stifled. And this surely indicates the enemy at work.

So here, to myself and anyone else needing the antidote to the enemy’s venom:

You can hear God’s voice in your life, in your days, and in your situation.

(You can also share what you’ve learned freely, and block the religious meanies on the internet.)

We have to remind ourselves of what is true.

We need to remember that not every thought in our head is our own. Sometimes it’s an accusation the enemy planted through someone else.

We need to keep in mind that people don’t judge us the way we think they might be judging us. And those who are judging us should probably be minding the logs in their own eyes.

And we need to remember that what anyone thinks about us isn’t as important as what God thinks of us.

When we hear the accuser pounding thoughts through our heads, what do we do?

Run back to the truth. Do it fast. Get it in your head and keep it there — pin it on your bathroom mirror and your kitchen cabinets and the dashboard of your car — and make it louder than the harping, and clearer than the smoke and mirrors.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

— Ephesians 3:7-12

There’s a movement out there that wants to pooh-pooh the Spirit’s voice in your life. It’s not from unbelievers, but from believers, and they probably (hopefully) don’t even intend to do it. They have no idea that their fear or legalism or concentrated zeal in their pet subject is quenching the Spirit and leaking onto others. And they don’t mean wrong (oh no, being right is their goal); they seem to think that they’re doing the Church a favor by throwing stones at entire segments of believers who practice things they’re not familiar or comfortable with.

For example, I’ve seen this in criticism about worship being “too emotional” or revival being “about feelings,” as if emotions or feelings immediately invalidated things…which they don’t…because God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all have emotions.

For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

— Exodus 34:14

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

— Ephesians 4:30

Jesus felt compassion, felt angry, felt sad, and even felt surprised and impressed by someone’s faith.

Other critics (or, many of the same) declare that prophetic words or personally hearing God’s voice outside of what is expressly written in the pages of Scripture, are suspect. They feel that these challenge the Bible, when in fact, if they read the Bible more thoroughly, they would see that personal words and hearing God’s voice are all throughout it:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

— John 10:27

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

— John 14:26

And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

— Mark 13:11

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

— Acts 1:8

…and on and on and on.

Another common stone thrown is that some expressions of worship or devotion are “disorderly.” This comes back to the scripture that all things should be done in order (which, if you read it, has another topic often taken out of context and grossly abused, to the detriment of the Church) but who gets to define “order?” Does it mean calm, predictable, understandable, and within our comfort zone? We need to be careful here because this is similar to how the Pharisees and others justified their arrest and persecution of the followers of Jesus.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

— Acts 4:31

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

– Acts 2:12-13

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

– Acts 4:1-3

We don’t see the calm, predictable, understandable, comfortable, pre-scheduled, societally-approved kind of order in Acts. So it makes sense that if that’s how someone defines “order,” they would be very uncomfortable with moves of the Holy Spirit.

And this is where we need to remember that just because something is uncomfortable doesn’t mean it is wrong. Just because we don’t understand something doesn’t mean it’s not true. Just because we aren’t familiar with something doesn’t mean it’s not genuine, because we are not God and He gets to define the terms. We don’t make the rules. We are all learning; we all have different backgrounds, and not one of us here has arrived yet.

The Kingdom is built outside our comfort zone.

Sure, anything can be abused. But when we focus more on the abuse, we tend to disregard the real thing and throw the abundance of good out with the lesser portion that is counterfeit. And scripture has a lesson for us here, too:

The servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 

He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 

But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

– Matthew 13:27-30

This is sort of the Lord’s version of saying, “It will all shake out; let Me deal with it.” He has not anointed any of us as the Church Police to root up the wheat in our zeal. Throwing stones at other believers is not a spiritual gift.

But He has anointed us to other things: We have the Holy Spirit, and the mind of Christ, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and we are seated at the right hand of Christ. We are building up, not tearing others down.

What does all that mean? What does it really look like, here and now?

I’m not completely sure. But let’s not throw stones at each other while we figure it out.

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bits and pieces: how we build the Kingdom with small offerings

Posted on by December 8, 2025

“You don’t need the light to go down the stairs,” I mumble as I flip the switch off. I do this at least once a day and the stairwell isn’t even dark; there’s a window at the bottom, and light from the kitchen filters in at the top.

And even if it were utterly dark (which it almost never is at our house), humans – even small humans – know how to walk on stairs. We’ve done it a million times, even carrying bags of groceries or dozens of eggs. It’s muscle memory. But the kids flip the light on just for the fun of it, I guess.

bits and pieces: how we build the Kingdom with small offerings

We like to see where we’re going, and we like the way to be clear. I was reminded of this last week when I drove to church through heavy snow and hated it with every mile, knowing I could do it but not liking it. In those times we kind of wish we had the cop-out of not being able to do something so we can beg off from the responsibility. But no, we can do hard things like driving on sloppy roads, and learning how to use cantankerous sewing machines, and going through the bureaucratic hoops of guardianship.

We were officially granted guardianship of Reagan on Tuesday, which is an odd thing because we’ve been her parents for over eleven years and she’s been 18 for a month already. So yay, that’s done – until next month, at least, when we repeat the process with Andrey. Now we just need to get used to all the new paperwork routines and deadlines (have I told you lately how much I hate paperwork? SO MUCH) and new adult-y things for her, like establishing her own bank account, which is also an odd thing because we’re supposed to get all this in place as soon as possible but we won’t even have the decree in hand to do so for 4-6 weeks, because this is the government we’re talking about.

Right, the sewing machine isn’t the only cantankerous one around here. Maybe we should switch subjects and talk about cheerful things, like how we didn’t die when we drove home in the ice fog last week.

It was the same day I mentioned a minute ago, when we were driving in the heavy snow to church. But on the way home, the snow had stopped and the roads were clearer, and I even told Cham she could turn on the radio to look for Christmas music.

And then four minutes later we hit the ice fog on the highway.

At first I thought it was fine, but then I quickly realized we were driving through a cloud that was adhering to us. Ice started building up at the top of the windshield, and then it crept lower. I flipped the wipers on and they helped a little, but within another mile they went right over the glaze that continued to spread downward.

“Turn off the radio,” I said, and flipped the heat to its highest setting. We were still four miles from home and all those little tiny particles kept building up on each other.

And I think this is when I repented of angrily flipping off the light switch to the stairwell, because seeing where we’re going is more than just a luxury sometimes. It’s one thing when you have muscle memory to walk down the stairs, but it’s a totally different thing when you’re on the highway in the dark, and ice is covering more and more of the windshield as it shrinks your view of the highway in front of you.

There was nowhere to pull over. The road was barely plowed, two lanes had shrunk to one and half, and there was no shoulder. Pulling over and putting on hazard lights meant blocking what was left of the slow lane, and surely we would’ve been hit in the fog.

So we did what we had to do, and kept going. The ice continued to crawl further down, and I continued to crouch further down so I could see the road out of the clear space left in the windshield. We were in this catch-22 – we had to drive slow because we couldn’t see far in the fog, but we also had to drive as fast as possible to get home before we couldn’t see anything at all.

Sometimes stopping and quitting isn’t an option. Sometimes we must keep going; we have to see it through, even when we can’t see ten feet in front of us. We know we’re in danger, we know God has to protect us, and we know that stopping doesn’t just mean rest or quitting, but something far worse.

And we made it, obviously, because I’m here writing to you about it. We barreled through the last intersection and pulled off the highway, drove up the hill, and then up our driveway, and the relief would’ve been complete if we hadn’t driven separately, because Vince and Afton were still out there behind us somewhere.

Eight minutes later they pulled in the driveway and pounded up the stairs and into the kitchen. Our conversations were all “Oh my gosh,” and “I’ve never seen it like that,” and gratitude that we pray over this highway every single day.

I wonder if those tiny daily prayers matched that ice fog granule for granule, keeping it at bay so we could get home in time. Because good and great things build up on themselves, too.

Over the last several months I’ve seen encouraging progress in prayer, and sometimes it surprises me in its suddenness: Oh yeah, I prayed for that, as I notice a kid making better media choices, and another kid having better sleeping patterns. I keep noticing small but visible victories, these little pieces that start adding up and instilling courage, reminding me that prayer is a powerful work that builds on itself, too. We don’t have to know what the answers or details are, we just need to agree with God’s will for goodness and healing and restoration.

And that brings me back to my efforts with the sewing machine, because I don’t really know what I’m doing with this fabric, either. I just know that I want to make something beautiful out of these bits and pieces.

I don’t have a pattern, and I don’t really want a pattern. Some people follow intricate geometric designs, and I admire their precision and planning. But I don’t want to do that; my brain space for precision and planning goes to writing, and this is play.

Why is it that it’s so much easier to not have a plan when it comes to this? With bigger life situations when I don’t see light on the next five steps, it’s not play; it’s frustration and fear and self-doubt. But here with these bits and pieces, I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m also not doubting myself. I know that if I mess up, I can seam rip; if I cut too many pieces, I can use them in something else.

That’s what I can do in your situations, too, the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me. That’s what grace is. Nothing is wasted.

We take things so seriously. A lot of our situations are serious, of course, but we fret over them as though we’re more attentive and concerned than God is, which is stupidly presumptuous. We spend a lot of our lives flying by the seat of our pants, and it seems like that’s by design because God does amazing things with our loaves and fishes, scraps and thread. He knows we don’t know what we’re doing half the time, and there’s huge comfort in that.

It’s not my job to create the material or know exactly what the finished product will look like. I’m just taking the material available and pulling certain pieces together, doing what I know to do – and when we know better, we do better – so these bits and pieces in front of me can become something beautiful, useful, and redeemed.

There’s a dark, moody scrap here, telling a kid no, they can’t go to a certain event. And there are lighter, brighter scraps over there, laughing together during movies and telling old family stories. Threads of abiding prayer weave through every day, holding pieces together. And I think, so far at least, this is all I need to really know.

We want to do something grand, but often all we have energy for is bits and pieces. Are the bits and pieces enough, though? They have to be, because it’s the only way things are made and accomplished. A book is read – or written – a word, a sentence, a page at a time. Relationships are built one interaction at a time. Breakthrough is achieved one steadfast, grace-filled, desperate day at a time.

Our obedient, faithful bits and pieces counter the ice fog of life, and it’s enough. We have vision for the next couple of small steps, we have strength for the one busy day ahead of us, we have patience for one more go-round with the kid who’s been cooking our grits. It’s all we can do. Like manna that cannot be hoarded for more than the day ahead, we cannot store the effort and strength and energy we need for all these things. We can only build the character that perseveres and comes out victorious with one small, obedient decision at a time.

It’s not about doing everything just right. We don’t always know if it’s working. We know if we’re obeying, though. And we also know when we’re procrastinating by praying for more guidance when the way is already clear, but just not as clear as we want it to be. We want undimmed light for all 17 steps, not just the first couple.

But if risky obedience is approached a little more like play, joy suddenly takes the place of anxiety. It all hinges on trust, though – Does He care? Does He have our best in mind? Is He big enough to cover my imperfections?

Yes, to all three.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

– Malachi 3:10-12

The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!

– Psalm 34:7-9

Joy and freedom and expansion are markers of the Kingdom. Fear and dread and anxiety are the enemy’s methods to waylay those.

Obedience, courage, and surrender are contagious. Sometimes people wait for the obedience of someone else to move. So your obedience creates a current that moves the less willing, and momentum sweeps through like a rising tide that lifts all boats and aligns many in the right direction. Our obedience isn’t just for ourselves; it changes the atmosphere and culture around us.

Is the dim light enough? Just enough for this step, and the next one, and then next one? Because these days, just those little steps might be all we have in us. And maybe that’s for a good reason.

Will you find your identity in your grand achievements and accomplishments, God asks us, or will you find it in Me?

I believe in the bits and pieces: Joy, freedom, expansion, obedience, courage, and surrender. He’s using these small steps of ours to make grand, beautiful things out of the scraps we have left.

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dominance: praying revival into a world on fire

Posted on by October 7, 2025

Life has leveled up to a new level of ridiculous. I don’t mean the current events – I mean, they are, but we can talk about that later. What I mean is, there’s a rooster living in our bathroom.

I introduced you to Freckles in the last post. And yes, even inside, he still crows in the morning. Not the first day; he was too injured and didn’t eat or drink for about 36 hours. But the second morning I woke up to crowing at 7:14, approximately twelve feet from my head. The next day it was even earlier, 7:03.

dominance: praying revival into a world on fire

Knightley meowed from the corner of my pillow, and Vin murmured, “Cats to the left of me, roosters to the north…here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”

But this morning was better: Freckles, now acclimated to the late schedule of homeschoolers, waited until after 10am to start crowing. I told you, he’s marvelous.

(Wait, did I mention we also have five quail who’ve been brooding in the same bathroom for six weeks? They need to transition outside but currently their brooder won’t fit through the door because there’s a cage the size of a Prius blocking it from opening all the way.)

So some things have to change. Since we had too many roosters with all the chicks that hatched this summer, we sent two of the lesser-favored ones to (ahem) freezer camp, and in the reshuffling of space and territory, the other young rooster took it upon himself to prove dominance. Freckles got the worst of it; I found him hiding in a nesting box with one eye swollen shut.

And then – because Vin and I clearly still don’t know what we’re doing – instead of removing him that night like we should have done, we handpicked who he should roost with and put him in the coop with the gentlest hens…so we thought. The next morning both of his eyes were swollen shut and his ear was also terribly swollen, because one of them had picked on him overnight.

It’s what chickens do. If someone’s injured, they attack. It’s not exactly Kingdom culture.

That was Saturday, when everything else all over the world escalated. He’s been in our bathroom ever since to recover in safety, with occasional trips the first couple days to the living room for spa treatment (meaning, Vin held him while I swabbed his swollen eyelids with a steamy washcloth and talked to him about his nice complexion) and afternoon excursions during the last couple days to play with the kids in the yard or help the guys change tires because we got our first snow this week.

Our beautiful fall quickly turned to bleak-fall-mixed-with-winter, and we need to figure out what to do about roosters, and quail, and garden pots that need put away. I cannot resolve world events but I can tackle these. So while world leaders strut about a war they helped create to line their own pockets as others pay the ultimate price, I’ve been distracted with the small events in my own territory, watching Freckles make progress as his eyes start to see again.

Is it enough, though? It’s such a small thing in light of so many unknowns and concerns about the future. We can pray deep and wide, but physically I can only reach so far.

And I thought about not sharing any of this at all because people on the internet can be stupid. (Not you, of course. Other people.) Why do you have more than one rooster? You should just get rid of the one who lost the fight. You should do this and this and this…People who don’t bother asking about the size of our flock or other dynamics are happy to throw out all kinds of unhelpful advice and criticism so they can feel like experts. But I’m not here for advice or criticism; I’m just here learning and trying to do the right thing, like most of the rest of us.

(For the record, we have too many hens for one rooster, and I don’t want to eliminate the one who’s nicest to the hens and our family. Duh.)

In the middle of the world threatening to light itself on fire, there’s something visceral and focused about trying to bring healing to one creature, and about not just letting nature take its course but instead being an intentional steward, partnering with God to bring restoration.

Sometimes I am the creature who needs healing, and if I can get the log out of my own eye it makes a huge difference on a wider scale. This right here, where I can touch, is where I do the most important work. When the world is ridiculous, this is where I show it who’s boss: He is, of course.

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

– Psalm 25:8-9

So I harvested carrots, and pulled ripe tomatoes from the vines growing in the living room, and spent more time listening – really listening – to my kids than I was inclined to after bedtime. I cleaned the gross area under the sink and prayed for other gross areas to be cleaned from our country.

I read to my kids, and prayed with a stranger at the thrift store, and smiled at people who looked like they were in a hurry, because I’d rather be at home instead of running errands, too.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

– Psalm 37:3

Such tiny things. But I want people to be unable to drive through Wasilla without being touched by the Lord and encountering bold love from His people. This is my territory, the land He’s made me (and many others) steward of. This is the place I can touch and cultivate. This is where we release Kingdom culture, ignite revival, and prove Who is dominant.

This morning we were praying about how creation groans, and how creation sings God’s praises, and how creation bears witness to God. We listened to the same song I sang when I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant with Kavanagh, struck with the glory of sober obedience: If creation still obeys You, so will I.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

– Psalm 24:1

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

– Romans 1:20

And as we prayed, I kept hearing the phrase, “Creation, obey Him!” The enemy is bent on destruction because chaos and ugliness don’t reflect the glory of God or draw people to Him. But beauty, order, and strength do.

So in the midst of chaos, when anything I can do feels so small in comparison to world events, I’m pursuing order and beauty and strength in the areas I can reach. Because things here have to change.

I cannot counsel world leaders who beat war drums, but I can finish the tasks on my own desk. I can ask God to heal the wounded while I tend my rooster. I cannot prepare for all the unknowns, but I can pray for people to encounter God in dreams and visions as I bring order to my own house. I cannot root out evil networks, but I can ask God to invade hardened hearts as I wipe the counters and run another load of laundry and pray for those driving up and down the highway.

People are trying to light the world on fire, but what if the fire they get is revival, instead?

The globalists and the terrorists – but I repeat myself – think they dominate but they haven’t seen real power yet. They have no idea what comes of the prayers of those who have favor with the King who turns evil on its head: Communities saved. Culture redeemed. Workers of evil brought into the Kingdom of light.

What if we prayed that way, and the Lord confronted the perpetrators with the blinding light of a Damascus road experience? Because He does.

What if we prayed for those who are fleeing and despairing, and Jesus showed them He is the God who sees? Because He is.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

— 2 Peter 3:9

For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

– Psalm 37:9-11

It’s another season of sober obedience; our hearts might get hurt in this. But that’s the case in parenting, forgiving, writing, reaching out to others, being a friend, or trying to learn anything new. We might get hurt. None of this is safe or guaranteed.

But letting nature take its course and resigning to not doing anything is an insult to the One who gave everything, even when He knew it would hurt. He hasn’t called us to bury our talents and do the safe or easy thing. He’s called us to level up, even if it looks ridiculous.

He hasn’t called us to act like chickens, but to be saints, a royal priesthood.

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

— 1 Peter 2:9

It might bring the eucatastrophe we didn’t know we could hope for. We can pray for revival in the face of all the threats and posturing, and watch a quiet uprising that lights the world with a different kind of fire – the kind that burns but does not consume.

We pray rockets of revival and repentance into hearts everywhere, starting with our own. And the whole world will be changed, and we never saw it coming.

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P.S. Links for you!

  • How do we walk in God’s presence, and rest in God, and also be His resting place? What is He calling us to be, and how do we succeed? This is a life-changing teaching from Hayley Braun; her message starts around 1 hour 55 minute mark.
  • Incredible podcast here on hearing God, imagining with Him, and spiritually occupying the land the Lord has put before us, with Lana Vawser and Courtney Kueck.