Immeasurably More

The joy of the Lord is my strength. When I am weary, when my soul feels downcast, the joy of the Lord is the strength of my spirit and the water to my soul. “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 The enemy loves to steal our joy. His plan is to leave us feeling hopeless and without a desire for living. He wants to keep us just busy enough that we miss the small joys of life on this earth. Although the father of lies is having his way on the earth, the Lord has the victory and He has planted so many opportunities for joy as we live out our lives on this earth. About a year ago, right around the time of Thanksgiving, I started a collection of sticky notes on my closet door. I started this collection during a time when I was really struggling with having joy in   the midst of my circumstances...

The pursuit of holiness is something I have felt the Lord bringing up in my own heart and challenging me to dive deeper in the topic on the blog. As I was reading the Word the last few weeks, I kept coming across verses that talked about the holiness of God and about the holiness that we can put on as we pursue a life of seeking to please the Lord. Every time I would read one of these verses, I felt the word holy/holiness jump off the page and I knew the Lord was drawing my eyes to this topic for a reason. I am excited to share what He has taught me about holiness! HE is HOLY. Hebrew 7:26 “Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” Holiness is part of the nature of God. As I spent time with the Lord and asked Him about this quality, I began to hear His heart. The holiness of God l...

It can be so easy to get caught up in the world and in our own lives and disregard the fact that there is a life after death that is far greater than the one we are living now. I often find myself in daily life looking at the things I am doing and the things that fill my day and wondering, how many of these things am I doing with eternity in mind? What eternal fruit am I producing? In what ways am I building and coming into agreement with identities that will last into eternity? Just as I began wrestling with this, the Lord showed me specific instructions in the Bible that speak to living a life with eternity in mind.  Here are the ways the Lord has shown me to combat the temptation to be consumed by our own lives on this earth and instead be more concerned about eternity. Some of these truths are so basic and need only the explanation of His word, but each of them hold eternal value in the kingdom. They are not just suggestions, but are commands the Lord gives to each of...

God has been speaking to me more recently about what it means to have confidence in Him aka God-fidence . Full confidence in Him, not half or part, FULL. Let me take some time to unpack what this word has meant to me and how I feel the Lord has used it to build my faith and strengthen my relationship with Him. God-fidence means believing God for the miraculous in every situation. God-fidence means being confident in what the Lord is doing and what He is up to rather than focusing on the appearance of your circumstances. How often do we judge a circumstance by its outward appearance rather than focusing on its inward value and importance in the growth of God-fidence in our lives? God-fidence means seeing circumstances differently because you have confidence that He can bring hope and faith and salvation out of seemingly hopeless situations. God-fidence is trusting Him with your weakness and allowing Him to put His strength on display. God-fidence means taking risks! It mean...

He is my first love. The One who has known me yet loved me from the beginning of time. When I stay close to Him, I act out of a place of deep security. Like when a child decides to be brave and jump off the edge into the pool because they know their mom or dad is going to be there waiting when they jump in. This sense of security is not the world’s definition of it. It’s a security in having a constant and unwavering love following me wherever I go. This love is an everyday kind of love. Every morning I’m in it. This love is an everyday kind of love.   Every evening I’m in it. /This Love by Housefires/                 Even while I am unaware of it, I am in it. Even when I jump out of bed to start my day without giving it a thought, I am in this love. Even while I too busy to consider it, it follows me and hovers over me. This love surrounds me and showers me. He waits for me and goes before...