Category Archives: prayer

if you’re afraid to move forward: a kindling post

Posted on by June 23, 2023

Type type type, delete. Spend thirty minutes trying to come up with the perfect metaphor.

Make three attempts, delete every one. Try a different tack for another twenty minutes. Delete sentence.

Review paragraph. Ponder life decisions.

Finally, the easiest answer is the best one, though it takes the most sacrifice: Delete the whole paragraph.

if you're afraid to move forward -- a kindling post

But ohhh, the words and time that were put into it. Were they wasted?

Nope.

Those were the invisible words, helping you to get to the visible words you just can’t see yet. Typing and deleting is part of the process, and you can’t rush it, skip it, or fast forward. It must be endured.

Because if you need to give up something to start over, that’s the fastest way forward.

So here’s the word:

The Lord is going to use those painful things in your past to change the trajectory of your future. He’s not going to waste them. He never lets the enemy win. He is constantly moving in love on your behalf, and you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

— Psalm 23:5-6

You don’t have to be afraid to turn back to God. You don’t need to fear His response to the gravity of what you’ve done or what you’ve been through or what you might confess. You don’t need to be afraid to admit what happened or what you want to happen. He already knows the things you’re afraid to tell Him.

As soon as you turn toward Him, He sees your heart of surrender. As soon as you repent, He sees Jesus standing right there, between sin and salvation, and you are covered.

Perfect love casts out fear. Perfect Love has made the way for you to live free from fear, free from your past, and free from anxiety or terror about your future.

He is longing for your return, for you to walk in righteousness, for you to be in right standing with Him. There’s no barrier. Fear has no place. Shame has no place. You are free forever as you come close and find your Redeemer. He is the warrior standing ready to shield you from the enemy, and He’s also the Master who will train you to battle on the right side.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
— 1 John 4:18-19

If you realize you’ve done something wrong — or even something you just should have done differently — remember that the Lord is not shunning you. He is not pushing you away in His correction.

The Lord convicts, but the enemy condemns. You know this already, but let’s call it out so the enemy can stop having a heyday in your heart, okay?

If you are feeling separated from God because you realize you should have done something differently, we command shame to go away in the name of Jesus.

The Lord is drawing you near in love so you don’t repeat the same mistake. So you can move forward in joy and victory.

The enemy is trying to prevent you from being close to the Lord so you will continue old mistakes and compound them with new ones.

We mature by repenting, and we repent by admitting we should have done differently and clinging close to the Father who loves us.

He loves you. He is for you. He is not the one reminding you over and over of sin that you’ve already dealt with. He’s the one calling you forward into the next thing.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

— Psalm 27:11-13

The Lord is not going to ask you to surrender something that generates true life in you. He is going to ask you to surrender the things that suck life out of you, though you may have become reliant on the process and the pain of it.

Sometimes we take on our weaknesses as our identity. But it’s time to let those things go.

Don’t let what the enemy has done in your life define you.

Listen to the Lord and ask Him for His perspective. He is cutting away at the false idols and old lies and habitual thoughts that have held you back, and replacing them with truth that does not waver based on opinions, circumstances, or feelings.

When you lay those things down, you’ll be laying down pride and stubbornness and fear, also. There’s tremendous freedom ahead.

I hear you hesitating, asking all the questions. But you just surrendered fear, remember? So don’t run back to pick it up again, afraid of the freedom in your future. God has good plans for you in the days ahead. Rise up and face tomorrow boldly, because you are covered by the King.

…Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
— Romans 1:4b-6

Just because a situation or circumstance started wrong, it doesn’t mean that everything that came out of it is also wrong and worthless.

Just because something began with sin or mistakes or regret doesn’t mean that every successive part of that situation is tainted.

God is the redeemer who is constantly taking the situations we’ve blown from the get go and turning them for good, wringing righteousness and goodness from where we go awry. So don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.

Take the right steps now, and give God room to move. Don’t give up on His ability to redeem.

No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.
— Proverbs 21:30

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
— Romans 8:26-28

Jesus, thank You for tomorrow. Thank You for coming, for always being with us, for giving us the Holy Spirit and teaching us to hear Your voice.

Protect our morning and the rest of the day. Protect our expectations and our voice tones, our conversations and our travels. Draw us close to each other and to You, and fill the day with memories that we love looking back to, together.

Our thoughts will be Your thoughts tomorrow. We are renewing our minds, we are in Your word, and we are seeing You move in ways this year that we’ve never recognized before.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

— John 1:12-14

Here’s the printable version of this post:

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Looking for more posts like this? Kindling is a series of prophetic devotionals and encouragement to relight your fire in the places it’s gone out. They’re all right here. Or subscribe to get everything right to your inbox.

if you need a break: a kindling post

Posted on by June 13, 2023

I had a dream once where I was speaking to an adoptive mom. I asked about her story and how she was doing, and she tried a few times to speak but finally she just cried.

And I looked at her and said, “You probably need a break.”

if you need a break: a kindling post

It is a word for so many of us. You’ve been going and going, pushing through pain and discouragement and impossible situations, and you are so weary you don’t even have words for it.

You probably need a break, too.

And you might be like, Duh, of course I need a break. If I knew how to take a break I would do it. But do you know my life? There’s no break, no slowing down. No reprieve, no respite, no money, no vacation time.

I get it. Believe me. The need to take a break can feel like one more burden, one more impossible task that you’re failing at and unable to accomplish.

So, here’s the word: The break we need isn’t ours to achieve or figure out. It’s His to do for us.

I am learning that our role in the break — our breaking — is the surrender of the belief that we can and should be able to do everything. I have ran into the wall so many times, feeling like a failure over things I was never supposed to do or control or be responsible for in the first place.

Other people’s choices. The sale of our books. Our kids’ behavior. How people see me. So many things.

Here’s what He’s telling me over and over:

Obedience is doing what He’s told me to do. Surrender is trusting Him with what only He can do.

And it is a breaking of my pride and sense of accomplishment. It’s a good breaking, though.

So maybe you need that kind of a break. Some respite or a vacation would be a good break, too — but that is also His job, and we can surrender to it.

I’ve told you this before: The yarn does nothing on its own. It has to yield to the hands of a maker.

But I’ve been wrestling and relearning and going deeper with this lately: We abide, but He does the work. We seek the Kingdom, but He does the work. We obey in what He calls us to, but He does the work.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

— Matthew 6:33

It’s all Him — but also, it’s us…but it’s Him!…but it’s also us.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

— John 15:4-5

We connect with Him, and we bear fruit, but only because of the Vine. All glory and honor go to Him, but He lets us not only “seek for glory and honor and immortality” but He also lets us have them when we carry the light yoke and yield to His work in and through us.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

— Revelation 4:11

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

— Romans 2:6-10

It’s us but Him but us, with Him.

All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

— John 17:10-11

Jesus, free us from fear and anxiety as we walk in the tension of doing and trusting, seeking and surrendering. Protect us from worries, feelings of not-enough, rejection, trauma, insecurities, compulsions or tics, shame, regret, unforgiveness of ourselves or anyone else. All those things go now, in Jesus’ name, and do not come back.

Help us do the work to keep those things gone. You do the work, but help us maintain it by keeping our “temple” clean and inhospitable to the enemy’s attacks. We choose forgiveness. We renew our mind and read the Word. We examine our thoughts and reject those that don’t line up with truth, instead of letting anything and everything that flies into our mind take root.

We pray for Your peace and freedom tonight in waves, for more encouragement than we thought we could experience in areas we’ve been struggling in. We pray for that peace and encouragement and hope in a way that feels solid, steady, growing, something we can grasp onto and not let go of.

Give us all the holy stubbornness we need to be steadfast in the mission You’ve called us to.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

— Hebrews 13:20-21

Want the printable version of this post? Here you go:

if-you-need-a-breakDownload

Looking for more posts like this? Kindling is a series of prophetic devotionals and encouragement to relight your fire in the places it’s gone out. They’re all right here. Or subscribe to get everything right to your inbox.

courage for those in dread & resignation [part 2]: a kindling post

Posted on by May 19, 2023

This post is not for everyone. And friend, I hope it’s not for you, but if it is, hold on and press forward: There’s light and freedom at the end of it. If I were with you I would hold your hand as we step forward and tell you it’s going to be okay. It is. But even better; He is with you – at your elbow, within your blood, breathing life into your lungs. So here we go.

courage for those in dread and resignation [part 2]

This is about those situations and circumstances we’ve written off as hopeless, the ones we’ve pushed away to the farthest corner possible because they’re filled with blackness and despair. Those ones where we’re convinced that nothing good is coming of it; the enemy has stopped our ears and imaginations to all truth and covered our thoughts in that area with bleak resignation.

Part of the problem is that we protect ourselves by willful blindness. We turn off our vision in those areas – we can’t avert our eyes exactly, the trauma or pain is too close – but we can numb ourselves to seeing it. It’s too much to deal with right now. I don’t know what to do anyway. The voices are too loud and the disappointments are so crushing, it’s too much to face so we refuse to do so.

We don’t even tell ourselves it won’t get better, we just accept this as our new less-than reality. We wanted more than this, sure, but well, it wasn’t to be. “More than” was not for us. “More than” is for a select few – the rich maybe, or the immensely talented, or the highly favored, or those who were brought up in perfect families with all the right opportunities.

We think maybe it’s temporary and that we’ll come back to it later when things are easier or safer or clearer, but they never are because we never dealt with them to make them so. And when life started to ease up in the slightest we were so elated by the reprieve we could not imagine losing it by going back to deal with the dark place.

We wouldn’t really have lost the reprieve, of course; that was fear talking. And us listening.

So we live in blackness – not everywhere, of course, but in this one area we’ve given up on. Other things are mostly okay, and because of the contrast between darkness and light we don’t realize the amount of grey that bleeds into our areas of bright color, like so much ash blown by the slightest breath of wind.

The areas near our resignation are soot-smudged and tainted, shadowed by mediocrity we accept by default because of their proximity to the blackness: A hard relationship with a child that bleeds onto all our parenting. A leadership wound that taints our desire to serve. An old trauma that kindles fear into any new experience.

And we get used to this, and stop thinking about it. We have accepted it like the smells in our house and the hum of the refrigerator.

With enough time, the blackness is so integrated that, should someone question it, we eventually argue on its behalf. We make excuses, defending what the enemy has done in this part of our lives with our own justification, rationalizing away all the insecurities it bubbles up in us. Because, hey, this is our normal. And if our normal isn’t okay, we must not be okay.

And we have to be okay, because we know the blackness doesn’t get any better – and if we admitted it was supposed to be better, than we’d have to admit we were wrong to accept it in the first place.

Accepting it has been easier. We kicked against that dark shell for a while but it was exhausting, and when we gave up, it covered us like a blanket soaked in chloroform.

It’s okay, the enemy hissed. You just rest here.

And we did.

You’re thinking, I hope, of a situation in your life that has been covered in this kind of darkness. Maybe you’re thinking of a multitude of them.

You need to know that the enemy will do anything to distract you from acknowledging it, and then admitting that the blackness is not okay.

He will fight you every step of the way. And yes, fighting back is exhausting. But if you think about it and just peel back the thinnest layers of his lies to you, you’ll realize that the blackness has been sucking the energy and strength you’ve wanted to give to so many other areas of your life that have been tainted by the shadows of the other issue.

It takes a brave person to hack away at the darkness, to admit the emperor has no clothes, to acknowledge that our acceptance of despair has been an agreement with the one who hates us rather than an agreement with the God who loves us.

It takes one brave thought. One honest admission. One strong moment of clarity to start kicking at the hardened blackness.

We start to think truth.

We think, Hey – it wasn’t meant to be this way.

And a flake of crust loosens from the darkness.

We think, I’m not going to make excuses anymore about this. This is wrong.

We start to agree with God.

I’m not destined to live like this. God didn’t die for me to be “less than” in my life.

You realize you are the rich, the immensely talented, the highly favored, the one with the perfect Father who gives you all the right opportunities.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

– Ephesians 1:3-10

But then it gets sticky, and all of our paths diverge in their own directions. Relationship issues have their lies to be confronted and healed, lifestyle choices have another set of lies that have to be confronted and healed. Past trauma has its own set of lies that need untangled. And the overlap from one area to another can seem overwhelming and complicated.

This is when we ask Him for the One Thing.

Just one, and He is a gentle, precise teacher. He will give you the most important thing to tackle that you are ready for. He doesn’t waste any time on peripherals, but He will also only confront the strongest lie that you are ready to handle.

It’s likely the enemy will immediately compound his efforts and lie to you about this because he’s terrified you will realize you’ve been locked in a prison with the key in your possession the entire time. He will tell you it’s too much, you can’t handle it, it’s too painful, you’re just not ready. He knows that appealing to our laziness and exhaustion with excuses and rationale works. And he will keep trying it until he realizes it doesn’t work on us anymore.

So we have to not allow it to work.

We have to ask God, What is the One Thing? And He tells us.

Maybe the One Thing is a habit we’ve held onto that has hurt us or our family. We may suddenly realize (or already know) there are a whole host of related habits that are also bringing decay into our lives. But, no matter – He has given us the One Thing, so we acknowledge it.

Yes, I did/believed/accepted that. Yes, it was wrong. Yes, You made me for more.

Big, deep breath. You did it. Now what?

It depends. Some of us might be tempted to run back to despair and excuses here because the issue at hand really is more about someone else’s choices than ours, and we know we can’t change them.

If this is the case, there is good news. Ready? You don’t have to change them. What you’ve already acknowledged has moved mountains – not only in your life, but in this other person’s life as well. You have moved a barrier out of the way. You’ve peeled a layer of darkness away and light is emanating beyond – the grey areas nearby are cleaner and brighter already.

As the darkness begins to lift, the Lord allows us to see strength that was won in the hard place.

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

– Psalm 97:10-11

Jesus, I’m praying tonight for the one who is running out of hope and needing to hear Your words. We command the enemy to be silent, the lies to be crushed, the attacks and accusations to dissolve into nothing.

We release peace and wisdom and the ability to hear You again, louder and stronger than before. I pray that we will walk and think and speak in ways that agree with You and Your word, instead of capitulating to the enemy and his lies.

Show us how strong we are, how we are more than overcomers. Help us to not pave the way for the enemy’s plans with foolish, hopeless words. We are shutting off that path and building the road that takes us forward by reading Your word, and agreeing with it.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 4:6

Here’s the printable version of this post:

courage-part-2Download

Did you miss part 1? Here you go.

Looking for more posts like this? Kindling is a series of prophetic devotionals and encouragement to relight your fire in the places it’s gone out. They’re all right here. You can also subscribe here to get new posts straight to your inbox.