One surefire way of ushering peace into our lives is to spend quiet time with God. But as the world would have it, quiet moments are hard to find, but that’s okay too because the Lord is available to listen twenty-four hours a day—while we walk, run, sit in traffic, shop at the grocery store, or stare at a wall. He is waiting to hear from you, to touch and bless you for your efforts to get to know Him better. He is a deep well of peace and understanding.
Jesus gave up His life for us. He is the bridge between us and our Father. That alone makes me want to spend time with Him. He gave it all so we could have it all—and He is all we truly need. Building intimacy with the Lord is a lifetime journey. The more time we spend with Him, the more centered we become. There is no secret method to bring you closer to the living God other than pouring out your heart to Him, drawing near to Him, and asking Him to pull you in deeper with Him.
Bearing Fruit
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” —John 12:24 (NIV)
If you’re familiar with gardening in the least, you know that a seed needs to die before it can be planted. It needs to be dried up—merely a shell of itself—before you can place it into fertile, damp soil, cover it in a blanket of darkness, and warm it with the sun’s love. Slowly, ever so slowly but surely, a prickling of life will appear. In the right season, at the right time and not one second prior, a green fragile shoot will begin to poke through the ground. Days of sunshine, rain, the attentive care of the gardener, will help grow that seedling into a beautiful fruit tree—that, once again when the time is right and the season arrives, it will bear beautiful, luscious fruit to share with the world.
It’s nature’s way. It’s God’s way. The Lord penned that analogy in His indelible Word for a reason. YOU are that seed. When you wholly surrender your life to Christ and submit to obedience, you die to self and become like Christ. He is the fertile soil, the sun, the water, the ever-attentive gardener. He is there to watch over you. He is there to prune the dead branches if needed (lust, greed, anger, deceit, addiction just to name a few) to ensure that you produce quality spiritual fruit.
When you intimately know Him, you are growing spiritually. He is working to ready you for a harvest, the likes of which you could never see coming. He is preparing you for a marvelous and wonderful assignment—one in which only YOU can accomplish. God didn’t call a few or a select group. He called us all and challenged us to go and preach the good news to the entire world. Shine your light. Be fruitful for Him. Go and shout the good news any way you can.
He gave us another example, too. This time it links us directly to Christ. John 15:5 reads: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (NIV)
The word remain means the same as abides, or obeys in this case. Jesus is asking us to dwell in Him obediently. He is letting us know that without Him our efforts are fruitless. Jesus likens Himself to a vine that delivers a life force straight into us. As long as we remain grafted to His body, we are infused with His power to do great and miraculous deeds. He is attaching us to His very being and allowing His light and glory to shine through us as we bear much fruit.
My grandmother had a vineyard. When she grafted one branch onto a master vine, it took some time and the right care for it to bud with fruit of its own. We are like that branch. Jesus is telling us that with the right care, we too will see positive fruits of love, restoration, sharing the gift of Christ, joy and abundance.
Have you ever heard anyone say that we are the body of Christ? Well, you are in the spiritual sense. We are more than a friend, a created being. We are a part of the body of Christ. How overwhelmingly awesome in the truest sense. He loves us so much that He has invited us to be a part of Him. And more than that, He longs to work through us to help heal a dark and hurting world.
Your fruit matters.
You matter.
No one can fulfill the unique purpose He has set for you to accomplish. Your journey is as unique as the fruit you’ll bear. The world needs you to follow Christ, become a part of Him, so He can shine through you like a laser that envelops the world in the brightest of lights.
Grace
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. —2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NIV)
Paul had some extravagant revelations given to him. He knew things that certainly made him special and put him in danger of having a big ego. Instead of watching pride inflate him, he was given an infliction. Many a scholar have scratched their head over what that infirmity might have been, but regardless of what handicap he incurred, his ego was kept in check, his feet firmly grounded on planet Earth. Instead of separating from God like he might have without it, it brought him to his knees, closer to the Lord. As Paul brought the Lord his weakness, the Lord graciously exchanged it for His strength. Paul concludes his thoughts on the matter with the words, “…so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Long after I gave my life to Christ, I still had zero clue about grace. What was it? Something that sounded nice enough. Something polite. Maybe something you said at dinner? Regardless, it sounded great. I didn’t know if I needed it. Not until I hit the bottom of the pit was I formally introduced. God’s grace found me alone in the dark and shone its bright, warm light of love over me. I was inching, crawling out of despair until I landed under the shelter of His wing. That’s where grace brought me. It allowed me to rest while the Lord did for me what I could not do for myself.
Grace is an unlimited supply of God’s supplication and power to meet and exceed our needs both spiritual and physical. Grace is God’s undeserved, unmerited favor poured out over your life by Christ Himself through the same cross He gifted our salvation through. Grace is God stooping down to grant you kindness, granting you favor and meeting needs that are beyond your abilities or expectations. It is God interceding into our lives and lavishing us with His love. The first burst of grace lavished on mankind was on the cross as Christ paid for our sins and gifted us eternal life. Grace is nothing we can earn ourselves. It is a gift. Freely given and can never be bought or earned.
In the pit, in the dark, writhing in agony, grief, fear of the unknown is where grace is often met. It’s grace that will give you the strength to get your feet back on the path He has set out for you, your heart and mind all pointed toward Christ while He works supernaturally behind the scenes to change your circumstances.
Our job is to obey, to have faith, to trust, to know that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. So let’s take a lesson from Paul and boast all the more gladly about our weakness so that Christ’s power may rest on us.
The end is the beginning
Thank you, friend, for journeying with me! I hope you’re not exhausted, but excited to know that even though we’re made of flesh, we have a supernatural power on our side and He just so happens to be our Father. What a HUGE relief to know that we are forgiven, and we truly do have hope no matter how bleak the situation is in our life. I’d love to end with this.
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”(Psalm 34:10 NIV)
I do believe that above all, that good thing is Jesus Himself.
There are moments in our life that feel impossible to bear, storms too dark, too violent to comprehend, and I hope in some small way the pages of this book may have helped ease the chaos and brought you a ray of His light that you desperately needed. I hope you hang on tight each day, clinging to Him, pouring yourself out before Him, not in an effort to wear yourself out, but to empty out the darkness that might be surrounding you as you lay it at His capable feet.
He is with you, in you, over, and u
nder you. He has encased you in His perfect love. He wants to help. He wants to make you everything you were destined to be. It is not too late. Never too late. He has not given up on you. He is calling out to you, holding out His hand, holding out everything—His son, eternity, His love.
It is all for you.
You are His biggest concern—give Him all of yours.
Give Him all of you.
Ignore the water beneath your feet and keep your eyes on Jesus.
Biblical Evidence for HOPE
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
—Zechariah 9:12 (NIV)
But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
—Psalm 9:18 (NIV)
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
—Romans 12:12 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
—1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)
“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
—Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
—Psalm 39:7 (NIV)
While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
—Titus 2:13 (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
—Psalm 23:1-6 (NIV)
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
—Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
—Psalm 146:5 (NIV)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
—Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
—Romans 8:25 (NIV)
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
—Romans 15:4 (NIV)
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.
— Psalm 33:18 (NIV)
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
—Psalm 43:5 (NIV)
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
—Psalm 130:7 (NIV)
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
— Psalm 33:22 (NIV)
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
—1 John 3:3 (NIV)
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
—1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
—Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
—Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)
So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
—Titus 3:7 (NIV)
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
—Proverbs 23:18 (NIV)
As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
—Psalm 71:14 (NIV)
For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
—Psalm 71:5 (NIV)
And I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
—Acts 24:15 (NIV)
You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
—Psalm 119:114 (NIV)
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.
—Psalm 119:74 (NIV)
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
—Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
—Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
I say to myself, The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.
—Lamentations 3:24 (NIV)
Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.
—Titus 1:1-2 (NIV)
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.
—Hebrews 6:11 (NIV)
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
—Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
—Colossians 1:27 (NIV)
My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.
—Psalm 119:81 (NIV)
It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
—Lamentations 3:26 (NIV)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.
—Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
“May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.”
—Psalm 33:22 (NIV)
Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
—Proverbs 24:14 (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
—1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV)
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.
—Hebrews 3:6 (NIV)
The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
— Proverbs 10:28 (NIV)
The Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
—Psalm 147:11 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
—2 Corinthians 3:12 (NIV)
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
Hope Unstoppable: 31 Day Devotional Page 7