Life Link

“There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 12:7

There is something beautiful about knowing that you are seen and wanted, and when I look at the verses surrounding the verse previously emphasized, I hear God communicating that very idea God has a deep desire to be with those that are near to God’s heart, both back in antiquity and today as well. God wants to be with us! 

However, the conversation doesn’t end there. Not only does God want to be with us, but God also wants us to reflect that same type of love and generosity to those around us. As followers of Jesus, we have an opportunity to be people who walk alongside others, love them deeply, and always point back to Jesus and what God has done in our lives. When we are in community with others, we are able to have moments like one that is described in Deuteronomy 12. We are able to thank God for what we have and for the people that have been placed in our lives. As a community, we can celebrate together and point each other to the God who loves us, blessed us, and wants to be with us.

I did want to make sure that I took the time to say that I know that there are many parallels between this conversation and upcoming holiday celebrations, especially Thanksgiving. The fact is that for many of us, the upcoming holiday season can bring forth a lot of emotions, many of which aren’t incredibly positive. If you find yourself reading a verse that discusses topics like eating and rejoicing with family and find yourself struggling, know that you aren’t alone. God sees us where we are and wants to be with us even in the midst of incredible difficulty. Not only that, but God has also placed people in our lives to help us feel loved and understood. 

Words, words, words! What’s the big deal about words? Check out this month’s Access-Life 3 in 3 to find out and even catch some birthday surprises.

Romans 12:2: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

As I write this blog post today, I find myself reeling after a couple of really difficult weeks. Difficult losses, unmet expectations, inconvenient logistical changes, and other unfortunate circumstances have left me in a really tough place physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All of these realities have made writing a difficult endeavor. I was unsure of what exactly I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it. But, as I reflected on the highlighted verse from Paul’s letter, I realized what I wanted to talk about.

When I would think about Romans 12:2 in the past, I would usually view it as a commentary on how we, as followers of Jesus, should interact with temptations or desires that go against what God has asked of us. And, while I don’t view that as a wrong interpretation, I will say that the past few weeks have made me look at Paul’s words in a bit of a different light.

When dealing with things that weigh on our minds and hearts, I believe that followers of Jesus have an opportunity to be different. When we have a down week, or multiple down weeks, we can trust that we are still held tight in God’s steady hands and that there is hope even in the darkest and most difficult of circumstances. To be sure, this doesn’t exclude us from feeling grief, or deep sadness, or any other emotion, but rather, walking with Jesus helps us have the confidence to face those feelings and emotions and trust that we are not alone in the fight. It’s not up to us to carry all of these emotions ourselves. We have hope when there seems to be no hope and a firm identity when everything that we cling to seems to be fading. So, even in the midst of the hardest challenges, we can have hope and face it all because of the God that is in us and the people and resources that God puts in our lives.

Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the LORD’s house for the rest of my life. Psalms 23:6

Verse six of Psalm 23 is a passage of scripture that I often forget about. It’s an aspect of this well-known Psalm that I overlook. When reading King David’s words, I find myself focusing on the other verses in Psalm 23 that talk about God being my shepherd and how God is with me as I walk through the darkest valley, but verse six feels different  

I love the idea of God’s goodness and faithfulness pursuing me. It’s a different thought process than I am often used to. When I think about my relationship with God, I often view myself as the one who pursues, I am the one who has to earn God’s goodness and faithfulness. But, this is, of course, an incorrect and unhealthy view of the Good News of Jesus.

God pursues me. It’s never been the other way around. God shares goodness and faithfulness with me, not because of anything I have done, but of God’s consistent character and vast love. It’s all because of Christ. 

Sometimes when writing articles like this, I try to have deep and profound statements to share. But the beauty of the Gospel is its simplicity. Because of Christ, we can come boldly before God and experience an unending amount of goodness, faithfulness, and love. 

God pursues us, God loves us, and God wants to be with us. That’s the Good News. King David worded it better than I ever could, surely God’s goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all the days of my life. I never want to forget that, and I want to always be someone who reminds others of it as well It’s simple, yet profound. It is the Good News. 

“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:23

This verse in Lamentations is a truly beautiful reminder. However, as I was preparing what I would say and how exactly I would articulate it, I found myself gravitating to a verse that precedes the words that precede the words emphasized at the top of the post. “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:” Lamentations 3:21. I love how these two verses connect and I especially love the idea of daring to hope.

I remember a conversation I had about a week or so ago where a family member was affirming me and proud of me for not getting discouraged as I’ve been traversing through a rather difficult season of life. My response to them was that I was (and still am in many ways) discouraged, but I won’t quit. As I thought back on this small conversation, I thought about these verses in Lamentations and how they described the same sentiment that I did in my response to my family member. Yes, I am discouraged, but I won’t quit, I will still continue to dare to hope.

The more that I have thought about this idea of daring to hope, the more I began to wonder why I continue to dare to hope even when life isn’t going the way that I expected. And, as I pondered this question, I realized that the answer is found in Lamentations 3:23. Why do I continue to dare to hope? Because God’s faithfulness and mercies are new each and every day! My hope can remain because God is consistent even when life is anything but consistent. My resolve is replenished by an unchanging Source. This, of course, doesn’t imply that I have a phenomenal attitude each morning, but it motivates me to not quit and always dare to hope.

If you find yourself metaphorically walking through difficulty and losing hope, may I be a voice who continuously reiterates that you are not alone and that our Source of hope is unchanging. As a result, we can keep going even when we feel discouraged. Because of who God is and what Christ has done, we can dare to hope.