Kathy Bradford

confidence, hope, provision, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Confidence: Relying on God’s Hope Through the Storms of Life

Devotionals, Stay SaneSeptember 24, 2018January 13, 2019

Life is guaranteed to bring storms. We must learn to put our confidence and trust in God. Only He can provide hope for the days ahead.

While everyone was hunkering down in anticipation for Hurricane Florence, my family too was (and still is), walking through a storm, but it’s not the tropical kind. It is the physical kind. My son Evan is having his bone marrow transplant. He has had 7 rounds of chemo and after his brother donates bone marrow, Evan will have his transplant.

He Goes Before

I have faced fear these past few months in a way that I had not thought possible. Sometimes the fear is so real, I can taste it and so strong, I can barely breathe. It is in moments like this I have had to remember what my heart can quickly forget. My God goes before me.

This summer I spent some time in Proverbs. At the end of the study, I looked at Proverbs 31. Two verses clearly stand out to me…

She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet… Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

Proverbs 31:21,25, ESV

Maybe saying they stand out is not the right way to put it. They literally make me groan. Not afraid? Clothed in strength? Laughing at the days ahead? How?

Emotional

I find myself spending way too many days in a panic hoping things will change. And if I am honest, I am frustrated by my own feelings and how emotional I feel.

I can quickly equate extreme emotion with sin. I am not sure where I made that connection. But let me be clear. Scripture does not support this. Emotions are good. God gave us feelings. I get in trouble when I live as if they are always true. Just because my feelings have me running to fear and anxiety does not mean I have to stay there.

Still…

While I have been dealing with this extreme situation, I have also been fighting for joy and looking to see God’s good gifts. Many people in God’s body have rallied around us providing in ways I could not have thought possible. As each new needs has appeared, God has supplied. His ways have truly not been my ways.

I was sharing my frustration recently with a friend about my inability to laugh at the days ahead. She just shook her head at me and told me I was laughing. I told her I was definitely doing more crying than laughing. But she reminded me that I was still seeking, still praying, still fighting to believe that He is my supply. This is a joy that cannot be taken away through any trials in this life.

Just because our feelings have us running to fear and anxiety does not mean we have to stay there. Continue seeking, praying, and believing He is our supply. Click To Tweet

Confidence Through the Storm

James tells us to count it all joy brethren when we face various trials knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance (James 1:2). And Paul reminds us…

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope,

Romans 5:3-4, ESV

The Proverbs 31 woman doesn’t have confidence because she has taken care of her family in her own strength or because she has put provisions aside. She has confidence because she knows who ultimately is responsible for her home. I know that too. The doctors have come up with a treatment plan, but God is ultimately the one I can and must turn to for hope. He holds all my days in His hands and He cares about my son in ways I cannot even imagine.

valued, worth, identity, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian Mentoring, Women of Faith, Spiritual Growth

Valued: Living Confidently Because We Know Our Worth

Devotionals, Stay SaneJuly 25, 2018September 8, 2019

When we put our identity in relationships, we can question if we are valued. People are going to let us down. This post discusses where we find our worth.

It started simply enough. My friend shared some good news. Only she didn’t share it with me first. I heard about it from another friend… A friend had a physical need and I was there front and center. When I was facing my own storm, I did not hear from her for weeks and then she never mentioned what we both knew I was going through… A good friend canceled plans and didn’t try to reschedule.

Each time, I tried to convince myself that my friends’ actions were unintentional and that my friends were really not trying to hurt me. But I was hurt, and ignoring the way I was feeling was actually making it worse. I started distancing myself from these friends. What was going on?

My identity…

A lot actually. The biggest issue was in the area of identity. God used these situations to show me the depths of my heart. When the relationships in my life were going well, I had a tendency to think well of myself. But when I began to feel unnoticed or worse unwanted I began to see what my heart was really clinging to.

Who am I when no one notices me? Do I matter if my friends don’t care or show up? I had to admit that for me the answer was a hearty no. I was feeding off the attention of others.

Who am I when no one notices me? Do I matter if my friends don’t care or show up? I had to admit that for me the answer was a hearty no. I was feeding off the attention of others. Click To Tweet

My jealousy…

This wasn’t a new problem for me. I can remember in 2^nd grade being friends with Kellie and Kathy. We were the 3 Ks. I can still remember the day I found out that Kathy had been invited to Kellie’s house to spend the night and I had not been included. I was devastated. How could they leave me out? I knew I could not let them know how much it mattered to me. But, man it mattered. This led to making assumptions about how they felt about me. I never asked them then how they felt… I just made it up… Therefore, I must not matter.

This kind of thinking followed me through high school, college, and even marriage and parenting. My heart had begun to rely on the subtle lie that my worth was based on how others perceived me and treated me. If I was wanted, valued or important, I was noticed, pursued even. That was a recipe for disaster. One that helped me see what I had been missing even as a believer. It’s a simple but profound truth.

My pursuer…

He pursued me.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8, NIV

People were never intended to define me or to give me worth. That was God’s job. In my desire to be pursued, I had missed the biggest pursuer of all- Christ. I still have to work on this mindset. My heart still yearns to be noticed and validated, but I must allow God to validate me. That takes a lot of practice and a lot of “taking thoughts captive.”

My help…

I’ve seen a few things help:

I have had to admit that I have an addiction to relational idolatry. I depend on the relationships in my life to give me significance. This is so hard to fight. I have to confess and ask for forgiveness where my relationships are sin and where they have taken places in my heart that really belong only to God.

Because I am prone to think I only matter if I am pursued or valued by others, I have to speak the gospel over myself again and again. The gospel tells me that Jesus pursued me when I was hostile to him. My worth is based on His actions not mine.

I have to be quick to admit my wrong and ask forgiveness from those I have offended and I have to pray about situations in which I have been offended. This may lead to me going to that person or it may mean I can lay this hurt down with Jesus.

We can rest in the worth that Christ has given us. Our worth does not have to rely on the hope from friends, or anyone else in life.

I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker or heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1, NIV

Jon Del Rivero

provision, need, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Provision: Trusting God to Provide Daily For All of Our Needs

Devotionals, Stay SaneJuly 9, 2018September 8, 2019

God’s character lets us know He is in the providing business. We can trust Him to bring provision through daily bread to us. There is no need to fear.

I have always loved to read the stories behind the exodus. Moses and his own faults. The Israelites and their constant mistakes. I read their mishaps and feel pretty good about my own constant inability to stay faithful. Exodus is one story of God being over and over again faithful in the face of constant unfaithfulness. I am overwhelmed by God’s provision- parting the Red Sea, talking through the burning bush, and performing numerous miracles. The one I come back to over and over again is the one about manna. The people are in the desert with no means for food and God provides them with this cracker like substance. They are so confused by its appearance that they are said to name it, “what is it?” or “manna.” This substance feeds them for 40 years and it ceases to appear when they reach Canaan.

What is the provision?

What is God providing through this manna? All of the circumstances surrounding the manna is nothing short than miraculous. Any extra gathered will spoil. There is always enough for every person in the camp. Not a single person goes without or is hungry. The portion gathered on Saturday does not go bad enabling the people to take a Sabbath rest. On and on the provision happens.

Who is receiving the provision?

And don’t forget that these are not deserving people. Have you considered who God is providing for? These are the same people who will die in the desert. They are the ones who refused to take the city that He had promised them. They had constantly murmured and complained about Him and given Moses continual grief. Yet, He provides a substance for them that will supply them with food for 40 years. That’s a long time by any standards.

Who is giving the provision?

Why does He take care of a people who are so unfaithful? The provision of the manna has little to do with the people receiving and everything to do with the God providing. His character is what matters. Nehemiah speaks about this event saying,

Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Nehemiah 9:21, ESV

In your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God…who keeps covenant and steadfast love.

Nehemiah 9:31-32, ESV

God’s provision is always a reflection of His own faithfulness and steadfast love. Jesus called himself the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

John 6:35, ESV

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

John 6:51, ESV

Provision that never ends…

He was the manna that would not end, would not spoil, and would always bring life and rest. Manna was a temporary solution to a very real and permanent problem. The Israelites died in the desert knowing that God’s care had never wavered. He had cared for them then and he is caring for us now through the bread that will give eternal life. Jesus is the bread that brings us life. This is through salvation and it is through his sustaining power. He gives us life through His spirit and through His word.

I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper… even the Spirit of truth…

John 16:15, ESV

Enough provision for today…

As encouraging as it is to know that Jesus gives me life and he sends a helper, I still struggle to look ahead and see that all my days are taken care of. I struggle to rest in his goodness and his care knowing that he has promised enough provision for today. Enough provision for my daily bread. Remember that prayer? Jesus asked for daily bread and I can ask that way too. It doesn’t mean that I do not follow good and sound steward principles, but it does mean that my plans are just that- human plans. God owns it all and He has the resources to provide for me daily. He is that kind of God. I can trust His provision of me and know that I will have daily bread for today and that gives me hope for tomorrow.

God owns it all and He has the resources to provide for me daily. He is that kind of God. I can trust His provision of me and know that I will have daily bread for today and that gives me hope for tomorrow. Click To Tweet

Ales Krivec

poverty, rich, abundant, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry

Poverty: Being Poor in Spirit, We Can Receive God’s Abundant Riches

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 25, 2018September 8, 2019

Our poverty in spirit makes us feel useless. But because Jesus came to be poor, we can live above our impoverishment and be abundantly rich.

Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites..so he called his disciples to him and said…[they] gave out of their abundance but she out of her poverty…

Mark 12: 43-44, NKJV

I’ll never forget the first few years of marriage. My husband Rodney and I had 2 degrees, and a lot of love, and a little debt. Our premarital counseling was full of plans and nice budgeting charts. I knew we were suppose to struggle early on. It was normal for couples to save, and in time build a life. Poverty really wasn’t on my radar.

My Poverty…

I was marrying a minister, and he had a masters to work on. That would require sacrifice, hard work, and delay. We started a family, and then we had our third child. All my well made plans came to a halt. Because of his health, we started the road down Medicaid, and disability, and specialist, and therapies. One week in the hospital ran into thousands and thousands of dollars. I was in the midst of poverty. But, my poverty was not just financial. It was spiritual, physical, and emotional. I was spent in every way. Depleted and dry.

Attending church in the middle of the chaos became the only praise I could muster. I was getting no sleep, and I had a toddler and a kindergartener. My husband worked full time and went to school full time. My third child went on oxygen around the clock and I was at the end of my rope. The community Bible study I was in was studying 2 Corinthians and one verse leaped off the pages at me.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9, NKJV

His Poverty…

Can you wrap your mind around that? The king of the universe Jesus, the Son, poor? He owns it all. Every knee will bow before him one day. He became impoverished for me. My savior willingly gave all away so that I could be rich. The riches I own are not the kind I can put in the bank, though God has taken care of every financial need we have ever had. The riches I own are not always supernatural strength or intellect. My body can be tired and my heart can be very broken. My child is still sick 16 years later. But, my Jesus is enough. My heart can trust in His finished work.

[Jesus] made himself of no reputation taking the form of a servant…

Romans 2:7, NKJV

Why would he willingly take on poverty? Why would he willingly become nothing? The only answer is to reconcile us to God.

For there is only one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and humanity- the man Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:5, NLT

Abundant Riches…

While I fight being impoverished in every way, Christ poured himself out willingly. This can be a lesson for me in so many ways.

Jesus allowed himself to be a humble servant. I can follow his example and willing serve others within in my sphere. I can also allow others to serve me when I am poor and depleted.

Poverty in mind, body and spirit may make me feel useless, but it is not the worst place to be. The worst place to be is without Christ. Christ can inhabit my meager widow’s mite and use it for great kingdom work. My sufficiency is not based on my own riches but on his.

God himself can be my supply. I have not liked the dependence having a chronically ill child has brought, but I have seen miracles and provision in ways that I could have never imagined. I may fight neediness but I am needy. The cross proved that and has given the antidote- my surrender.

What about you? How is God speaking to your heart about your own poverty? Do you know him and his rich grace? Are you fighting his ability to speak into your own poverty? Do you think you have to fix it all yourself?

He is enough for today and for every tomorrow.

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Poverty in mind, body and spirit may make me feel useless, but it is not the worst place to be. The worst place to be is without Christ. Click To Tweet

Jesse Bowser

constant, unchanging, hope, Oh Lord Help Us, women, Christian, ministry

Constant: Hopeful in the Waiting Because Jesus is Unchanging

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 11, 2018September 8, 2019

Hope is challenging when our lives are full of waiting. Jesus is our hope and deliverer even when nothing may ever change. He is our constant.

My friend had a broken heart. I’m done she wrote. Done praying, hoping, waiting. What kind of father allows his children to suffer and hurt when he has the power to change and heal hearts? He hides behind this idea that we are to learn lessons and become stronger. It’s cruel and I want no part of it.

As I read my friend’s words, I knew I too had felt these very thoughts and more as I suffered through long periods of waiting. What is a believer to do in the midst of extreme despair? As believers our only answer is hope.

He is Our Hope

The weight of situations have left me feeling broken, alone, vulnerable, and angry. While listening to preachers talk about peace and comfort and better times, I have rarely connected better times with being in God’s presence. I know I have attributed better times with better circumstances; the problem would be resolved and the weight would fall off. Yet, Scripture is full of those who saw long times of waiting. Moses in the desert – not one time but twice, Joseph in prison, and David in hiding. And us his church waiting for his return. If I am honest, I do not want to be one of the waiting. I want to be one of the delivered.

How can I find hope and even believe there is anything to hope for in the face of so much pain? In the face of impossible situations and ones that may not change?

He is Our Deliverer

Hebrews 11, while it speaks of so many who were faithful and saw victory, also talks about suffering, mocking, flogging, sawn in two, stoned, killed by the sword. Destitute, afflicted, mistreated- of whom the world was unworthy. While many today want to make Jesus into some wise teacher, He is and was so much more.

He is the great deliverer. For some, that will be here on earth. They will see healing and change. But, many may never see deliverance until heaven. Regardless of when the hope that we long for is fulfilled, we can all stand sure of one thing- His presence. He has promised us His presence. Jesus said he was sending us a comforter. What does that mean but that we would require comfort? This world has trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.

Regardless of when the hope that we long for is fulfilled, we can all stand sure of one thing- His presence. Click To Tweet

He is Our Constant

I can see the weight of worry and despair fall off because He is my peace, who has broken down every wall. My problem will not go away. Some of my worries may never get better or even change until I walk the gates of heaven. But, He is constant. I can trust him with my agony knowing that He too, understands what it is like to suffer. I can lay my despair at the feet of Jesus and know if not now, then one day all will be redeemed. All will be made new. All will be as He intended.

Jesus too, suffered knowing that the only relief would be the cross. I can take comfort that in whatever I face He, who knew no sin, suffered in my place so that I will not face eternity with no hope. This is a different kind of hope than the one who does not know Jesus, our great high priest who, though was tempted, was without sin. I will forget this truth often and I hope that I can reach out to those who will gently remind me of what is good and true. I can pray and take time to train my heart to remember and meditate on His constancy.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:3, NIV

eberhard grossgasteiger

Hero, God, glory, Oh Lord Help Us, ministry, women, scripture

Hero: We Are Not the Main Character of this Story

Devotionals, Stay SaneMay 22, 2018September 8, 2019

God’s word is applicable to our lives, but this cannot be where we start. We must begin by acknowledging the true Hero of the story.

I grew up in a family that attended church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I heard a lot of preaching. But, it was only until college I began to systematically study the scriptures for myself. It was stunning, what I began to discover. Well-meaning teachers had added information to the Biblical stories. I am not sure of their motives but I want to believe they were wanting to motivate a desire to make the Bible interesting or to promote a character trait they were hoping to emphasize. The hard truth was they made up details.

The one that was perhaps the most shocking to me was the story of Noah. I had heard over and over again about Noah’s impassioned plea to his neighbors to repent and believe and come on the ark. Over and over Noah’s neighbors laughed at him and denied that the rain was coming. Or so I was told. But, that’s not really how the story goes.

And those that entered male and female of all flesh went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

Genesis 7:16

Noah did not try to convince his neighbors. He did not try to defend God or discuss the coming rain. He built the ark and gathered his family and the animals and he waited for God to close the door.

That’s a pretty big difference.

The Main Character…

And there were lots of other stories just like that. In fact, I even have had a bent for adding emphasis to certain details from the Bible and leaving other details out. My biggest problem however was even more subtle. I was reading the Bible always looking for application. How would this affect me? How would this scripture influence my life? What was God telling me to do and how could I be like the human character mentioned in this story?

The Hero…

While these are all good goals to wrestle with as we study God’s word, if it’s where we start, it’s pretty flawed. Just like those Sunday school teachers I had 30 years ago. The emphasis of every story is a hero. And that hero is God. He begins in the beginning and creates. He comes in the form of Jesus to be crucified and resurrected. And He returns again to come take his bride. Every story is whispering his name. Every story is declaring his glory. This is not new news to us. If we have spent any time in scripture, we know this. But we still don’t look for Him.

We look for us. And we come away from scripture more convinced that we don’t have what it takes (we don’t in the flesh), and we come away more discouraged and defeated. God’s word is active and living – a two edged sword. It is meant to divide us from our thoughts of lies and unbelief. Yet, we can’t be the hero. He has to be the hero of every page. He’s there. I will admit, I forget this. I forget this a lot. And when I remember who I am reading about and what He is capable of and whose I am… Well, I find my heart soaring and my lips praising and praying. I can’t help myself. As I meditate on his truths and on Him, I find peace, I find joy, I find hope. I can’t find hope in myself.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

If this has been an encouragement, please share the love with others…

The emphasis of every story is a hero. And that hero is God... Every story is whispering his name. Every story is declaring his glory. Click To Tweet

Jon Tyson

training, battle, faithful, Oh Lord Help Us, ministry, Christian, women

Training: Being Equipped for Battle Through Daily Faithfulness

Devotionals, Stay SaneMay 8, 2018September 8, 2019

We cannot wait for the big battles of life to learn to fight. We need daily training. God will prepare us for battle in the day to day faithful small acts of doing life.

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.”

1 Samuel 17:38, ESV

David is a character in scripture that is deeply familiar to most. Who hasn’t heard of the big giant Goliath and the small shepherd boy David rounding off in the field between the Philistines and the Israelites? Goliath came out and stood on the battle field day after day shouting out at the Israelites to send someone to fight against him. “Choose a man and have him come down to me,” he would bellow. And the whole camp was “dismayed and terrified.” Until David came. He wasn’t really there to fight. In fact, he was on an errand. His father needed him to take supplies to his brothers and find out news. David was the youngest and spent his day tending sheep.

He shows up and hears Goliath ranting at the camp and he is not dismayed. He is insulted. But, have you ever noticed who David is defending? “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David is concerned for the glory of his God. He hears Goliath and his first thoughts are not for his safety, his comfort, or his family. He is thinking about his God. When Saul dismisses David as just a boy, David reminds him of what he has been doing. “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them…The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.“

And David does. He takes a stone and he slings one straight into Goliath’s forehead. He kills him and cuts his head off. And this is the best part: This is exactly what David has been doing for years tending the sheep; slinging stones and stopping enemies. Saul originally tries to get David to wear a suit of armor. He thinks he is a boy and needs defenses like the rest of the camp. But, the armor wasn’t going to be effective. It was too big and David could barely move.

Stones and slings were what he was familiar with. He had trained with those stones, using them many times before. He had struck down other adversaries. Goliath wasn’t his first kill. And to be honest, he had a lot more death to come in his future. But, here in this moment facing what was his first “real” battle, David used what he knew and what he had been practicing. He didn’t wait to learn to sling a stone in the midst of battle.

Training

Have you considered what made David ready for battle? It was only what he had been already doing. He had been tending sheep and killing enemies. He had been in training all that time. Fighting little enemies in preparation for the bigger ones.

My battles are going to look a lot different than David’s. But, I cannot wait for the big battles to come to learn to fight. While my battles may look different than David’s, they will be in essence, the same. They will require I engage the enemy. They will be for the honor and glory of my King. And they will require that I draw on the resources that are already stored in my spiritual well. God is faithfully equipping me for battle and I am a part of that equipping.

God is faithfully equipping me for battle... Click To Tweet

I am in His word (the sword) and I am meeting with Him, learning to listen to His quiet voice. I am doing my life with God in the middle of it when there are no battles raging; when the water is calm or calmer. I can look at the days ahead and know that God is preparing me. He is not expecting me to get my act together. In fact, He is getting my act together. He is and will prepare me for the battle in the day to day faithful small acts of doing my life. He has begun a good work in me and He will be faithful to complete it. I can rest in that and I can rest in Him.

ITZIAR LORENZO

Remembered, God cares, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, ministry, encouragement

Remembered: Being Comforted and Held by the God Who Sees

Devotionals, Stay SaneApril 29, 2018September 8, 2019

We are told to take care of our heart, because that is where the enemy will attack. In these attacks, we may not be able to trust our feelings, but we can trust the God who sees. We are remembered and cared for.

Soon, my son, Evan, and I will get on a plane and fly to Philadelphia. There we will meet with a transplant team that will discuss the possibility of a bone marrow transplant. To say I am beside myself does not seem to give justice to the feelings I have. This is not our first difficult decision where Evan is concerned. He has had something health related going on since birth and we have been faced with tough choices all along the way, but this feels different.

When I share this possibility with people – friends and strangers – they all look at me in wonder. Concerned. Worried. They, just like me, know the gravity of this. It’s not a broken arm. Evan has a broken immune system and its over activity is working havoc all over his body. His joints, his muscles, his pancreas, his colon, and my heart.

The attack of the heart …

Do you ever wonder why we are told over and over to take care with our heart. To know that our heart is deceitful. To take our thoughts captive. And to guard our heart. Because that is where the enemy strikes. He strikes at my heart and that is, at its very essence, my thoughts.

And where does the enemy want my thoughts to linger? Oh that’s easy. God, but not the good stuff. It’s not thoughts like: God will supply and God will show up. It’s thoughts like: how dare God and why would he, and where is he? Just like Hagar. Do you remember her?

So [Hagar] called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.

Genesis 16:13, ESV

Scripture tells us that Sarai gave Hagar to Abraham as a means to bear an heir. But it all went horribly wrong. Sarai became jealous of Hagar. The scripture says dealt harshly with her and Hagar ran off. And in the midst of all this mess, the angel of the Lord came and gave Hagar a command and a promise. And Hagar knew she was remembered. She knew she had dealt with the God who sees.

The feelings that lie…

Often, I tell my children that my feelings lie. I tell them that to remind them and to remind me. I have choices with what I do with my fear and how I view my feelings. As a believer, I have a hope. It is founded in the cross and resurrection of Jesus and in the very character and nature of God. He never changes and he is always the same yesterday today and forever. Satan’s objective is to cause me to doubt that good character and to doubt that God sees and that He remembers. He also wants me to feel that I am being harshly dealt with, that what I am enduring is not a good Father but one I cannot trust and who does not care.

The God who sees…

So what do I do when my feelings feel like the only truth I can see or my thoughts keep finding their way to despair or doubt? This is actually one of the few things I can control. I cannot control what comes into my thoughts, but I can control what I allow my heart to meditate on. That can be as simple as carrying an index card in my purse with a verse on God’s faithfulness or as complicated as memorizing several passages that remind me of what my heart is prone to forget. There have been times when every wall in my home had a scripture verse attached to it. And not beautiful framed verses but copy paper written with markers.

I am in control of so little. But this I know, I can bounce my thoughts to his word and allow his word to develop in me a heart that flees to him for comfort and truth. I too, like Hagar, may find myself fleeing from harsh situations in dry and desert-like conditions. But, I am not abandoned. God hears me and He sees. I can believe that, trust him, and meditate on his good promises.

I am not abandoned. God hears me and He sees. Click To Tweet