BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight” Where are my girls at that feel under pressure right now? Are you facing an intense, scary situation? Maybe you would say this place in your life genuinely stinks. Well I’m really glad you’re listening this morning, because I have an escape plan for you! You want to get out of this … today you’ll learn how! Sometimes we find ourselves in times of turmoil, chaos and conflict and we wonder why. Why is this happening to me? Why is life falling apart? Why am I under attack? Well, you are not alone. This morning I will share 3 stories in the bible of good people in ridiculously hard times and how they escaped. First – It’s HOT. The story of 3 young guys with funky names, Shadraq, Meshack and Abendigo are told in the book of Daniel chapter 3. These guys were bold. They refused to worship the king’s idol and were thrown into a fiery furnace. When the king looked in the furnace to his shock he saw not only these 3 young men walking through the fire, but a fourth in the fire with them. God was walking right along side them. He was with the the whole time. And they survived. I guess you could say things got real HEATED for Sadrach Meschac and Abendigo. But because of their fiery furnace encounter, we still know their story today. What did they do? They trusted God. In the middle of the fire. When it was unfair. When they were right and the king was wrong and they were punished anyway. They kept trusting God. Our God is the God over the fire in your life. What are you going through right now that threatens to destroy you? God is right beside you, walking with you. All you must do is trust him. (Hillsong – “Another in the Fire” – there is another in the fire, standing next to me) Second – It’s Scary. This is the story of Daniel in the book of Daniel chapter 6. Daniel was a good man and he was doing everything right, but a few people got jealous of his success and threw him under the bus, or in this situation, in the lion’s den. Anyone feeling betrayed right now? Feeling talked about? Anyone feeling unfairly attacked? Anyone in a scary situation and you don’t know how you’re going to get out of it? We can learn a lot from Daniel in the Lion’s Den. The image I used to see as a little girl in my parent’s big bible is still engraved in my mind. The image of a man in a maroon colored robe, bravely standing with his back against a dozen hungry lions in a dark pit, looking up toward the sunlight. Scripture says an angel of the Lord had sealed their mouths shut. I want you to imagine for a moment this scene. Maybe you don’t have to imagine too much because right now you’re almost living it out in your own life. Danger is all around you. And somehow you’re surviving. God has made a way when there seems to be no way. Somehow you can find peace even in the pit because all you have to do is TRUST God. You don’t have to fight the lions. You don’t have to defend yourself. You don’t have to curse those attacking you. You turn your back on those attacks and you turn your face to the son Jesus and you can stand with confidence knowing God is defending you. Someone needs to cry out to God and ask him to seal the lips of your attackers. And third – This Stinks. Lucky Jonah, he’s not in a fiery furnace, nor is he in a pit of lions, but Jonah finds himself in a really stinky situation, in the stomach of a whale. Oh Jonah, how did you end up here? Well unlike the 2 previous stories, Jonah brought his stinky situation upon himself. Sometimes we do the same. Maybe there’s no one to blame but you. So now what do you do? God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach. But the people of Ninevah were brutal and Jonah straight up di...

How good does your life look on the outside, and how increasingly empty is it feeling on the inside? Do you feel stagnant in life, having lost your passion and energy? Are you an all-or-nothing type of person and lately it’s been more nothing? Have you been so busy just living that you’ve forgotten to be ALIVE? Have the tasks and chores and the things on your to-do-list overshadowed the sheer fact that you woke up to the greatest gift today? The gift of a new day of life. So the challenge is to find balance. To be living and be fully ALIVE. To be productive while being grateful. To care as much about your zest for life as the appearance of your life. It’s easy to lose our balance, in fact I would venture to say it’s darn hard to maintain our balance. When life is out of balance, we quickly experience burn out. Hey sister, if you can’t find joy on the journey to your goals, you’ll likely never make it. And if you do, you’re going to be miserable. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my happiness for a goal weight. I’m not willing to sacrifice my last precious months with my girl’s at home for a business goal. I will NOT let this time be all work and no play. So right here, right now, we must seek and create balance. Most of us are either too focused on work and forget the play, or we’re all about the play and the work doesn’t get done. Which one are you? Do you recognize how this imbalance is not serving you? Do you agree that becoming your best will require both work and fun? What good are the size 8 jeans, the $10,000 in savings, and the clean house if you forget to be ALIVE? You can’t just go through the motions here. You gotta throw your whole body into this thing. Many of us are walking around feeling stagnant. Our lives on the outside are beautiful, picture perfect – but inside we’ve lost my passion and energy for more. Have you become stagnant? Is your life boring? Hey sister, it doesn’t have to be. If life is boring, you’ve just gotten busy living and forgotten to be ALIVE. Maybe on the outside things look good, but are you losing your passion and energy? This is how the enemy often attacks us. He allows things to look good on the outside so you will silently struggle alone. No one knows to reach out to you because you look like you’ve got it all together. All while he’s working away at you on the inside, attacking your passion and zest for life. Teasing you with the easy way out. Tempting you with checking out of the game and settling for watching everyone else, convinced you’re just not good enough. And so the game goes on and on, he wins and you lose, and your potential goes untapped. And so the very thing you were created to do in this world goes undone. The impact only you can make sits on a shelf and your worth goes down the drain. So my question to you today is, do you see where the enemy has been working on you? Working to keep you unbalanced? Working to steal your passion and energy? Working to just keep you bored and unaware of the gift of life? Job 33:4 tells us “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” The spirit of God made you, my friend. It is the breath of the Almighty that gives you life. His breath gives you life. Have you been breathing shallow lately? Going through the motions, feeling drained? Skimming? Staying surface level in your own life and rarely ever digging deep? I know exactly what we need … we need the one who gives us life to breathe life back into us! We need the breath of the Almighty to do some resuscitation in our lives and bring us back in balance. Won’t you ask God to breath life back into you? Won’t you ask him to bring back your passion a...

A Phoenix is a bird in Greek mythology that symbolizes rebirth. A phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes. We see this glorious imagine in our mind of this beautiful bird arising from the ashes, glowing, bright in color and elegance. Rising, rising, rising, higher and higher. Alive. Powerful. Strong. Determined. But don’t forget it was the FIRE it went through that caused the ashes it now rises from. Everyone loves the thought of rising up from the ashes. Oh look at me with a comeback surprising everyone. Look at me still here when you counted me out. Look at me powerful and strong, dusting off those ashes. But remember, those ashes are the result of a fire. You don’t get ashes without the fire. You don’t rise up without first being down. It was the fire you went through, the fire your survived, the fire that burned and hurt and tormented that has brought you to today. You now have a strength within you that only comes from experience. You now have a passion within you to thrive that only comes after a time of just trying to survive. Now you RISE. This is your year of the Phoenix. It’s your time now, can you feel it. Come on and rise! Isaiah 43:2 – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Now this scripture didn’t say you would never go through fire. No, it pretty much guarantees you will. It says WHEN you walk through fire. When. Not if. Not maybe. Not for a select few unlucky ones. WHEN YOU. In other words, it’s gonna happen. There will be a struggle. There will be heartache. Life won’t be fair. You will be attacked. You will be at a loss. Fire will be all around you, and you’re going to walk right through it. Walk. That means MOVE. Keep moving. If you’re in the fire, maybe it’s because you pitched a tent and you decided to stay there. Sometimes the fire, the drama, the turmoil is so familiar to us that it becomes our comfort zone. We tend to stick with that which we know, and if we know chaos intimately, we remain in chaos because it is familiar and it is now our normal. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY. What a miserable way to endure life. Just sitting in a fire you were never meant to stay in. It says “When you WALK through fire.” Walk on out of that. Keep moving. Now is not the time to stop. Let’s go back to that verse “When you walk through the fire you will not be burned.” So we know there will be fire and we know we’re supposed to keep moving through it. Now we have a promise. You will not be burned. Will you feel the heat? Oh heck yes you will. But it will not consume you. Here’s what the fire will do – it will motivate you. Sometimes God has to let that fire touch us and refine us to motivate us to live up to our true potential. You only grow during the struggle my friend. My friend, you don’t have to be a new you, you just have to be the REAL you. The woman God created you to be. That woman has been refined by the fire. That woman may smell like smoke because you were surrounded by the flames, but you will not be consumed. You will be motivated by the fire. You will keep moving. You will walk right through it, and then you will rise from the ashes. Isaiah 61:3 says God wants to give you a crown of beauty for your ashes. All that was lost in the fire. All the damage that was done … those are your ashes. Won’t you give those ashes to God so he can give you something beautiful? Come on Phoenix … let’s rise. Rise up above all that has happened to you. Rise up above the disappointment. Rise up above all they said. Rise up above those failures. Rise up above, dust off the ashes. Receive your crown of beauty and take flight.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Look around today. God created all this out of nothing. I currently call the country my home. With the absence of street lights and tall city buildings, our night sky is vast and magnificent. All that we can see is our galaxy, but there is so much more. Much, much, much more. Scientists estimate that there are hundreds of billions more galaxies in the universe that we can’t see. Each one of these galaxies has billions of stars which brings the grand total number of stars in the universe to 10 billion trillion. That is 10 followed by 21 zeros. That’s more stars than the number of grains of sand on the Earth. And the size of all of this? Well this blows my mind. The only size I can understand is the size of the Earth. The Earth in comparison to each one of these stars is a tiny dot. We live on this itty bitty dot surrounded by 10 billion trillion ginormous stars. And it all began with NOTHING. If God made this amazing, beautiful universe out of nothing, don’t you think He can take all that you don’t have, all you can’t do, all that isn’t enough, all that is broken, all that is hopeless, and all you’re totally uncertain of and turn it into a BIG Life? Let me speak into the empty places in your life. Where is there a void? Where is there an ache of loneliness or want? Where is something missing? God wants to fill that void for you. Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 says “now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” I believe the Spirit of God is hovering over you at this moment, ready to create in your life. Ready to fill your empty places. Ready to give form to that which you don’t see. God is ready to move in your life. Do you believe that today? Are you ready for God to fill you up? Are you ready for him to create opportunities? Are you willing to fully surrender your life to the creator? It is in our moment of surrender that God says, NOW I CAN DO SOMETHING WITH THIS. On the first day, God created light and he separated the light from darkness. And the same God who created the very light which still lights the Earth today wants to bring light into your darkness. He wants to show you your true worth and your God given potential. He wants to banish the darkness of depression and anxiety and show you a world of hope and beauty. Won’t you let his light shine in your dark places? My family is currently dealing with some darkness. Darkness that no doubt comes from the pits of hell, lies tearing apart relationships, authored by the prince of darkness, intended to pull precious souls into his plan. And God says “let there be light!” Let the truth shine on that darkness. Let there be no dark corners remaining for the enemy to hide. God separates the light and the darkness. If you’re dealing with a darkness, ask God to separate it with his light. That’s what he does. This is what changes lives. This is what causes the overwhelm to be contained. No more Satan. Your dark shadows of deception are forced out by the light and truth of our savior Jesus Christ! On the second day God filled the earth with water, then he separated it to create sky and dry land. Where are my girls at that feel like they’re drowning? You’ve been treading water for so long just trying to keep your head above water. You work and you work and nothing seems to change. You fight and you claw your way through life and it still doesn’t seem like enough. God’s getting ready to separate the water which drowns you. You will see blue sky. You will be safe upon the shore. You’re going to get out of this. God’s making a way for you. You don’t have to see the way. You don’t have to feel the way. The way doesn’t even have to exist at this moment. But our God is going to MAKE a way for you.

Who woke up today carrying a heavy load of uncertainty? Who is walking into work today unsettled? Who is at home today concerned over something specific? For some it’s something small, and for some it’s life-altering. God’s word instructs us very clearly on what to do with these worries. 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Your anxiety is the very thing causing you unease or worry. It’s not yours to hold onto. Imagine this as a game of hot potato between you and God. Stop holding onto it. Pass it. Instead we sit there examining the worry, fretting over ever detail, posting about it, talking about it all while the one thing we’re supposed to be doing is casting it on God. CAST IT ON HIM. To cast means to throw. Throw those feelings of hurt on him. Throw those feelings of nervousness on him. Throw those feelings of hopelessness on him. Frustration, overwhelm, uncertainty, confusion, hey it’s hot potato here sister, throw it! But there’s one really important step we sometimes forget in “casting it on him”. We forget that means we actually have to let it go. You can’t cast without loosing your grip. You can’t cast without giving up ownership. -Analogy of throwing baseball – you will hurt yourself if you wind it up and don’t let it go – So you’ve got this problem. Whew it’s been worrying you. It’s been keeping you up at night. It’s been so heavy it takes your breath away sometimes. Your energy has been zapped by the weight of these feelings. CAST IT ON HIM. Loosen your grip. Your problem can no longer be your identity. You must be willing to move on in your life without this. Are you really ready to give up worrying about it? Some people are and some people aren’t. If you’re ready, God is ready. Cast all your anxiety on him because HE CARES FOR YOU. Hebrews 4:15 – “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” God is touched by the FEELINGS of my problem. The devil tells me God doesn’t care. He says I’m alone. He says something is wrong with me for feeling this way. But let me tell you the truth, NO ONE CARES ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL MORE THAN GOD DOES. The God who runs the whole universe watches your face. In Genesis the Lord said to Cain, “why has your countenance fallen?” In other words, why is your face sad. Girl, you think God doesn’t hear your cries? He sees your tears. You don’t even have to be crying, he sees the look of worry and sadness on your face. And get this HE CARES. Why does the enemy work so hard on us trying to convince us God doesn’t care about our feelings? Here’s why … when you stop believing God cares, you give up on your faith. Nothing is too big to bring to God. And nothing is too small. Cast ALL your cares. All of them. What happens when we try to worry our way through life? What happens when we tuck it all inside and carry the weight on our own? One of 2 things. We either have a complete breakdown, or we just go numb. Have you stopped living the BIG Life you were created for because you’ve been hurt before and you don’t want to be disappointed again? You don’t get your hopes up because that hurt isn’t worth it. So you go through life numb in robot mode. You shut off everything to manage the pain. No pain gets in, but listen to me, no pleasure gets in either. Are you just a shell of what you were supposed to be. Today, cast ALL YOUR CARES ON HIM. God I give this to you. I release my grip. This will not become my identity. This problem does not define my life, my value or worth. I am a treasured child of the almighty. Now listen up, this isn’t a promise that God will fix everything that worries you. I may have written a script of how I believe it should all work out, but God is not obligated to follow my script.

You’ve likely heard of the fruits of the spirit. The 9 things that naturally come in our lives as a result of Jesus dwelling within us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Today, I present the fruits of the spirit in a different way through the Message Translation of the Bible. Just a more modern wording for us to consider and apply. Galatians 5: 22-23 “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” Understand why I titled this devotional “I want it all”? Oh yes please God. I’ll take all of it. I need every bit of what you’re offering here in this scripture. How about you? It’s like a buffet with all of the best things in life and God says “Girl, whatever you want, it’s all yours when you live my way.” Let me highlight a few of the offering’s on this magnificent all-you-can-eat buffet God has offered. First, exuberance for life. Exuberance is being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness. What is all this energy and excitement over? Just LIFE. Life on this Thursday in the middle of April. Someone asks the general, canned question, “how are you today” in passing… well I double dog dare you to say “I’m full of exuberance for life!” This is what God is offering you. Don’t you want it? My sister, understand this means God wants to make you a morning person! Impossible you say? NOTHING is impossible to our God. I’ve seen this happen in women’s lives. Former absolute HATERS of the sunrise now wake up an hour earlier just to get more out of life and savor their new favorite part of the day. You can be excited about waking up every day. You can be full of energy and cheerfulness. Yes, this means you can naturally be in a GOOD MOOD. A good mood can be your default. An exuberance for life is yours when you what …. when you live God’s way. Another offering on the buffet of life set before you today is serenity. Sweet serenity, this means you can be calm. You can be filled with peace in a less than perfect situation. You don’t have to flip the heck out over anything. You don’t have to jump to worst case scenario. You don’t have to play out the 10 possible negative scenarios in your head to be prepared for what COULD happen. Nope, you can be completely calm. You can control your emotions and not be agitated, irritated or stressed out. Anxiety and depression are replaced by a reassuring sense of calm. Serenity is yours when you what … when you live God’s way. This scripture also says we develop a willingness to stick with things. Well holy schamolly did you hear that girls? God is offering you willpower. He is offering you the ability to finish what you start. Who needs to grab ahold of that and run with it? Who will take a double helping of willpower today? How different would your world be this year if you could stick with things? Imagine the goals you could accomplish if you were a gal who naturally had a willingness to stick with things. Goal weight – check. Debt free – check. Beautifully clean house – check. Are you getting excited yet sister? A willingness to stick with things is yours when you what … when you live God’s way. And finally I want to highlight one last gift God offers in this scripture. We find ourselves not needing to force our way in life. How many of you feel exhausted because you have to fight your way through every day? It’s all a battle just to survive.

Are you currently facing something in your life that seems ridiculous? Ridiculously hard. Ridiculously impossible. Your solution will likely seem ridiculous as well. Perhaps what God is asking you to do will make NO SENSE. Will you be obedient and do it even when you don’t understand? Joshua Chapter 6 tells us the story of the Battle of Jericho. (verse 2-5) “But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho … You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” Let’s get this clear … THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Joshua led an army of men. Can you imagine how foolish he looked gathering up his troops and saying, alrighty boys, here’s our battle plan. We’re going to take this city of Jericho that’s all walled up and impossible to get into by a brilliant plan. Listen up everybody, we’re going to march around the wall. And then, then we’re going to blow some horns and we’re going to yell like real loud with our big manly voices, and then … then those walls are gong to fall down and we’re going to walk right in. Talk about looking like a fool. The city of Jericho was a total of about 6 acres. It was completely protected by a a stone wall 11 feet high and 14 feet wide. At its top was a smooth stone slope, angling upward at 35 degrees for 35 feet, where it joined massive stone walls that towered even higher. It was virtually impossible to penetrate. No one was breaking through those walls. No one was climbing over those walls. But Joshua had faith strong enough to look like a fool and believe that God would do the impossible if he didn’t give up. What is your Jericho? What is it that you desperately want in life that seems to be walled up and absolutely untouchable? What are you about to give up on because it now seems ridiculous? Let me tell you something about the Jericho’s in your life … the process can make you crazy. What seems like it should work doesn’t work. What seems like a reasonable amount of time isn’t enough. And so we get frustrated and we give up. We give up on the dream. We give up on the goal. Because darn it, the walls are too high and too thick and it seems impossible. Who am I talking to today? Who has been trying everything they know to do? Who’s frustrated over the process? Who’s looking at a huge stone wall in front of them, blocking them from moving forward? Gather around, God has a message for you today. REMEMBER WHERE YOU’RE GOING. The very thing which you want. The thing you have prayed for. The thing you’re working so hard for … it’s just on the other side and all you have to do is keep the faith and keep marching. You are right on the edge. It may only take one more push. One more step. You’re being positioned. Don’t you dare give up now. The process you go through to win your Jericho battle will seem ridiculous. Others will NOT understand your circling. But do not lose faith. Keep marching. March through the ridiculous. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense so that you are forced to get out of your own head and get in your spirit. GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD, GET INTO YOUR SPIRIT. (It’s much like the Billy Ocean song ‘get outta my dreams, get into my car’ … but different.) God has something for you. He woke you up this morning and said KEEP MARCHING. And our response needs to be, “God, we will be the women crazy enough to stick with it. We will keep marching until the walls come down.”

Have you ever been truly hungry? I don’t mean “lunch was an hour late hungry”, I mean like day 8 of a 10 day juice cleanse hungry. Hunger elevates your sense of smell enabling you to smell what’s cooking at the neighbor’s house 3 doors down. If you’re not hungry, you never even smell it. Hunger will rule your thoughts and drive your actions. Hey sister, if you’re really hungry for the life God created you for, you won’t be able to sleep in day after day. Lazy days is an indication of a lack of hunger. If you’re really hungry to step into your full potential, you’ll step right out of your comfort zone and do whatever it takes. The issue is a lack of hunger. Maybe you don’t really want it. Now think about it … why wouldn’t you want the abundant goodness God has available specifically for your life? One of two reasons … One, you don’t believe it’s truly available to you. Or two, you’ve gorged yourself on the cheap imitations of a BIG life and you’re full. It’s like playing the video game of life versus really living life. Sometimes we settle for the video game because it’s “just enough” and we leave no room for real life. Girl, are you hungry? Do you want it? Matthew 5:6 says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” There’s a condition to being filled. What’s the condition? A hunger for it. A hunger is a WANT, a deep DESIRE. Who will be filled? Those who are HUNGRY. So here’s what you need to know today … if you don’t really WANT it, it’s really hard to GET it. The question is, how bad do you want it? How hungry are you this morning? God responds to your hunger. Think of the crowd of thousands who had gathered to hear Jesus. They had sat for hours just trying to hear a single word. After being there so long, they grew faint from hunger. GOD SAW THEIR HUNGER AND RESPONDED. If they wouldn’t have been hungry, there would have been no need for God to fill. You remember the miracle right? The only food in the crowd of thousands was the lunch of one boy. 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. And God said I CAN WORK WITH THAT. In our eyes, it would never be enough. In God’s hands, it was MORE THAN ENOUGH. Jesus broke the bread and the disciples began feeding the crowd. After everyone had ate all they could eat, Jesus instructed them to gather the leftovers. They filled 12 baskets full of leftover bread. Impossible. Aren’t you glad you are loved by the God of the impossible? And aren’t you glad he sees your hunger and responds to it? So here’s the deal, put this in bold in your journal … You acting like you don’t need anything is stopping God’s miracles in your life. Hey, you don’t have it all together. You don’t have all the answers. Your plan, no matter how long it took you to formulate it, write it and laminate it, is NOT sufficient. You can settle for a little, unfulfilling comfortable life, but if you want to live up to your potential of a great big, beautiful, overflowing life … sister YOU NEED GOD. Are you hungry for Him? Do you thirst for his presence in your life? Are you desperate for his guidance and provision? Are you willing to admit your need for him to fill your empty spaces? When you are WEAK, THEN HE IS STRONG. Say this with me this morning, I NEED YOU GOD. I AM HUNGRY FOR THE LIFE YOU CREATED ME FOR. I AM SEEKING YOU. And God responds. He is moved by your hunger. This is where God works, right in the middle of your need. Right in the middle of your insufficiency. Right in the middle of your surrender. Right in the middle of your desperation. Now, don’t be fooled and believe God’s response looks something like a lottery ticket. Your broken down car likely won’t be magically replaced by a 2019 Honda...

Luke 13:10-13: “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” Ya’ll this woman had been crippled for 18 years and with the touch of Jesus, she was immediately healed. WooooHoooo, that’s my Jesus right there. Boom! I will do the impossible for you! I will change in an instant what you could not change for 18 years! Now where is our focus on this story? The miracle right? We focus on the miracle. But I want you to focus on something else. I’ll read the scripture again, let’s not focus on the miracle, let’s focus on what led to the miracle. If you need a miracle in your life, learn from this woman’s miracle and see exactly what brought her to it. Here it is, what will bring you to your miracle: “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” What led to the miracle? We all say her infirmity. Her problem. She was crippled for 18 years. But if that’s where our focus is, we’re missing the application for our life today. This isn’t about what’s wrong with you. This isn’t about what happened to you. This isn’t about your need. This isn’t about what you can’t do … this is about what you CAN do. Here’s what we’ve been missing in this miraculous story of healing. This poor, crippled, bent over woman, GOT UP AND WENT that day. She showed up. In order for her to be at the synagogue where Jesus was teaching, she first had to get up and go there. I bet she didn’t feel like getting up that day. I bet she was aching and hurting. I bet she was even embarrassed by her condition. BUT SHE GOT UP ANY WAY. That’s exactly what we need to do. We can’t sit around waiting for Jesus to come knocking on our door with our miracle. You have a responsibility in your story. Your responsibility is to get up and position yourself. Do what you can with what you have right now. Stop focusing on what you can’t do, and girl, do what you can do. This woman got up and went even when she didn’t feel like it. Even when it was HARD FOR HER. Even when it had been hard for her for 18 years! Ahhhhh, sister will you bring your 18 year hardship, your 18 year struggle to an encounter with Jesus? Or will you give up thinking your miracle will never come? Have you bought into the lie that it will always be this way? Hey, nothing ever stays the same, all things are forever changing, so why can’t you believe your hardship could change too? Oh it could! One encounter with Jesus could radically change your life but you must position yourself for the encounter. But may I take you even deeper? Can I take you deeper this morning? There’s one more thing we may be missing in this story. How did this crippled woman make herself get up and go even when she didn’t feel like it? How do you make yourself do what you know you need to do when you plain ol’ don’t feel like it? Well, my friend TD Jakes pointed this out to me and I share it with you this morning. What you don’t see in this story is what made this woman get up and show up for her encounter with Jesus was she had been THINKING. Yes, she had been thinking. And it was her THOUGHTS that brought her to the synagogue that day where she met Jesus and she received her miracle.

Your problem is big. God is bigger. Your faults are great. God is greater. It seems impossible. God does the impossible. Have you forgotten the power which resides within you? You are HIS creation. His spirit lives within you. Through him you ARE capable and you will be MORE THAN a CONQUEROR. What problem are you facing today? What impossible is knocking on your door? It’s time to boldly proclaim “IT’s GOING DOWN.” Rise up warrior. It’s time to fight for the life you want and the life you were created for. Tap into the inner strength which comes from your God and move forward. Check out these powerful words of our great big God tucked in Jeremiah 32:27 – “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for me?” Nothing is too hard for our God. Nothing is beyond his scope. Your impossible is 100% possible with God. God sees it all. He sees your faults. He sees your struggles. He sees your problem. He sees your impossible. AND HE LOVES YOU TOO MUCH TO LEAVE YOU ALONE. So what will your response be to this amazing, loving God of yours? What will you do with your problems today? Oh there are many options. You can pile up your problems and take inventory. You can talk about them. You can wallow in them. You can focus on them. You can work yourself into a full blown anxiety attack. Those are always popular options. Or maybe you’re more like me and you tend to do the opposite. You ignore your problems. You try your best to pretend they’re not there, as if your avoidance of the truth will somehow change it. And so the problem grows bigger as we bury our head in the sand and life spirals out of control. Life is not perfect … let us not live in la la land. Nor is it hopeless … let us not live in doom and gloom. Within you is creativity, wisdom and strength and it’s EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TODAY. You can do ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU. Whatever it is you need to do today, you CAN do it. In Judges chapter 6 we read about Gideon. He was a man who felt defeated. A man who’s circumstances caused him to lack faith in himself and in God. He was hopeless, discouraged and fearful. Then in verse 12 it says “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’ God called him a mighty warrior not because he had been winning, not even because of his great faith, but instead because of what was in him. There was a warrior inside of him because that is exactly who he was created to be. He just had forgotten. You too were created to be a warrior, but perhaps your circumstances have you feeling defeated. It’s time to remember who you are through Christ Jesus, and rise up sister. Within Jeremiah 33:3 is a sweet promise from God for you today “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” I don’t know about you, but I have some problems that I don’t know how to navigate through. I’m not sure of the next right move. But God has promised me if I call to him HE WILL tell me great things I do not know. So here’s our action plan this morning girls. CALL TO HIM. Could it be that simple? Oh yes, it could be and it really is. The answers you seek are already in you. When you call out to God for help it releases all the creativity, wisdom and strength you need for the next step. Then it’s a matter of REPEAT. Call out again and receive for the step after that. You don’t have to be discouraged today. You don’t have to be filled with fear. God is ready, willing and able to HELP YOU. Oh how he loves you. His love can move mountains … yes, your mountain. What’s your impossible today – We boldy proclaim “it’s going down!” Rise up mighty warrior. Feet on the floor.

Are you listening today with a frustrating situation in your life that seems hopeless? Are you listening today from a broken place that doesn’t make sense? I believe God wants to redeem this for you. He wants to make it right. He wants to heal and restore. He wants to bring your brokenness to a place of wholeness. Would you trust him to do that today? Would you trust him to be the redeemer he promised he would be, personally in your life? I often share the story of Abraham and Sarah, the couple in their 90’s unable to have children and then God shows up and says “ahhh, no … that’s not the way your story will end. I will give you a child and many nations will come from you.” But do you know the rest of the story? What happened after Abraham and Sarah have their promised child? Life was now good, they have what they want. Their son Issac is growing up and he’s a good boy. He’s everything they ever imagined. Maybe that’s where you are in your life right now. Your reality today is what you once prayed for. God has been faithful. He has provided. He has made a way when there seemed to be no way. Look around you today and I bet you’ll find answered prayers surrounding you. You live in the house you once prayed for, or you get to go to the job you prayed for. Maybe you woke up next to the man you prayed for and fed the children you prayed for. Ya’ll I even have the dog I prayed for! Now, what if God asked you to give it all up? What if the very thing he gave you was required as a sacrifice? I’ll be honest, I don’t even want to touch that topic with a 10 foot pole. Understand, that’s exactly what God asked of Abraham and Sarah. This child for whom they had prayed, this miracle which God had given them, their hope and their future was now at risk. Genesis chapter 22 in my bible is titled “Abraham Tested”. I wonder if the current chapter in your life could be titled something similar. You’re being tested. Verses 1-2 says “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Yes, the son which Abraham had waited 100 years for, his pride and joy, his hope for the future is now being requested to be sacrificed by God. How do you even come to terms with that. What God? You want me to give up the single most precious thing you have given to me? Now imagine being the mama in this story for a moment. Imagine looking out the kitchen window and seeing your husband gathering wood. Wood for a fire. A fire that would burn an offering to God. A sacrifice. She must have known. She must have wanted with every ounce of her to run after her husband and son as they carried the wood to a mountain to build the fire. What a mother Sarah was. What an example for us today. She was willing to sacrifice the best she had for the greater good in full trust that God would redeem it. What if she would have held on too tightly? What if she would have done what every single one of us would want to do – go slap your husband, call him crazy, and grab your child. Then become bitter at God for even asking. But she didn’t. She watched as they walked away carrying the wood. She trusted God would follow through with his promise to not only give them a son but build nations from them. And if he took it away, he would redeem it. I wonder if we hold so tightly to that which God has given us that we restrict life from fully flowing through us. I wonder if our grip is so tight on our blessings that life can’t full flow through them either. I wonder if we treasure the gift so much that the gift itself becomes more precious than the giver.

You just woke up to THE day. Your day. You likely didn’t realize the value or importance of this exact day, but today is a game changer. Today is the day you make yourself proud. We all like to feel good about ourselves. That feeling of pride and knowing “Hey, I’m worth somethin’!” And the great designer of life has that feeling available to us every day of our life. He not only has it available for us, but he wants it for us. Every day of life he is hoping we will feel like the magnificent creation that we are. And I love the way he designed it all. Oh how smart he is. We have to earn it. We have to earn that feeling of, “Gosh I’m proud of myself!” How do we earn it? We work! You have to stop wishing for easy and wish you were better. You get better when you work. There probably isn’t a single one of us who wouldn’t love to be single lottery rich. I mean, wouldn’t life be easier if we had a crap ton of money? And wouldn’t we all love that magic pill diet. Take a little pill for our diet, eat whatever we want, and lose the weight. We all would love that. Sign me up for it! And wouldn’t we all love three magical wishes. I’m here to tell you that your life will change when your “I wish” is followed by an “I will work.” You want it? Work for it girl! Proverbs 14:23 says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads to poverty.” We all love to talk about all the things we wish were different in our life, but where does all that talk lead? It leads to poverty, and I’m not just talking about being poor. The definition of poverty is being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Does that define your life pretty well right now? Inferior in quality and insufficient in amount? Could it be because you’ve been wishing, but you haven’t been working hard. Scripture says hard work brings profit. Awesome! You wish for it, then you work for it. It’s not going to just magically fall in your lap or come knocking on your door. You’ve got to get up and work for it sister. Could God rain down all the money you need at this moment? Could he remove the extra 50 pounds you’re carrying around in a week? Could he send his angels to clean your house for you? Sure he could. But by great design of life, you want it you work for it. If you’re not willing to work for it then don’t be disappointed when you don’t get it. Many of us decided this year we’re going to work for it and we are. We see progress because we’re working. Our success is a result of a partnership with God where we do our part and then he does his. And it feels real good, doesn’t it? But for many others, perhaps even a greater number of us, we’re still waiting. When will your journey begin? You have some goals for this year, when will you get started on those? Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done.” Are you waiting? Remember back when you first had the urge to do something about the situation that’s on your mind? Remember when you wrote that goal – Remember when the doctor told you change was necessary? Remember when you THOUGHT you were ready to change? Don’t you wish you would have gotten started then? Where would you be today if you would have just gotten started and stuck with it? Further than you are today, right? So why can’t today be the day? Why can’t today be the day you decide you don’t want to feel this way any longer, and you just do it? You change. You get to work. Nope, today’s not the perfect day, the weather’s not perfect, and heck, it’s Wednesday. I mean, who decides to change their life in the middle of the week? You do! A listener is deciding at this moment they will stop smoking. Yes, today is the day. And you don’t have to feel overwhelmed by it. God is on your side and he will strengthen you every time you call out to him. It’s no accident you’re hearing this.

When God created you he placed within you unlimited potential to live a ridiculously good life. He placed within you talents and gifts, making you a totally unique individual in this world. And he left a hole in you. At first glance this hole would seem to be an imperfection. A mistake. A flaw in you that you’ve tried to fix for years. But this hole is no accident. This is a perfect God sized hole that only he can fill. This is why you continually struggle on your own. This is why you measure and come up short. This is why you always seem to be missing one piece of the puzzle. It’s not because you’re lacking. It’s not because you’re unworthy or broken. It’s because you were created to need. To need God. Your creator tied himself perfectly to you, creating a need within you that would continually bring you back to him. Yes, this could be why you’ve struggled. Not because there’s something wrong with you … but because you were created with an inherent draw back to your creator. Psalm 23: 1-2 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters This psalm was written by David. You know, David and Goliath … the little shepherd boy who slayed the giant? Yes, that David. He was a shepherd. He understood the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. The closeness. The care. While David was a shepherd, he knew he too had a shepherd. The Lord is MY shepherd. David says he is mine. He didn’t say God is the shepherd, he said God is MY shepherd and there’s a difference there. What’s the difference? A personal relationship. Don’t you know God wants a personal relationship with you? He wants to personally care for you. What is it you’re worried or burdened with today? What is it that’s laying heavy on your heart or mind? What big decision do you need to make or step you need to take? Did you know God wants to guide you in that? That’s how much he cares. Maybe you think God doesn’t have time to be concerned about your ability to pay the mortgage payment this month, or that job interview, that test, that next step, or your back that’s been hurting you, but the truth is he cares deeply about EVERYTHING in your life. He wants to be close to you. He wants you to come to him for everything. God is your shepherd. He is caring for you – Always. Because of him, you will lack nothing. Everything you need will be supplied. And we are sheep. Stubborn, foolish sheep. Did you know that sheep cannot live on their own – they require a constant caretaker. They are wanderers and they instinctively wander off into trouble … just like us. Do you seem to wander right into trouble quite often? Do you ever stop and look around and think “how did I get myself in this mess?” We wander around through life, we dabble here and we dabble there, never staying still long enough to create a foundation and so God MAKES us slow down. Understand that’s what it means by “he makes me lie down’ in green pastures” … he makes me slow down. When I won’t stop on my own, he creates the stop. It is said that ancient shepherds would lovingly break the leg of a sheep who was constantly wondering off into trouble. There’s not a lot of proof to back up this claim, but what can be proven is shepherds used what’s called a “leg brake”. Not break as in a broken leg, but brake as in the brakes on a car. A leg brake is a weight attached to the leg of a sheep which caused a burden, preventing the sheep from wandering too far. It slowed the sheep down with a burden. It wasn’t a punishment to the sheep. It wasn’t to break it’s leg, but instead to cause it to be close to the shepherd. This closeness caused the sheep to learn to trust it’s shepherd. Once there was trust,

Welcome to the 2nd quarter of 2019. This year is quickly passing whether you’re in the game or not. I’m a countdown kinda girl. I have a running countdown to several things. It’s 25 days until our BIG Life Chicago Mission Retreat. It’s 39 days until my daughters’ high school graduation. 87 days until we go white water rafting at the BIG Life Colorado Retreat, and just 99 days until my daughter leaves for the Army. I number my days because when each one is assigned a number, that means it counts. Think about it, when you’re teaching a child how to count and they say 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 … you would say oppps, you missed one. Remember number 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. That number 5 is important. It may not be your favorite number, but does that really matter? 5 is still important and you can’t just skip over it. Your days are numbered, whether you’re counting or not. And while you may not have woken up to your favorite day ever, this day is of tremendous importance. Don’t just skip over it. This is day #91 of 2019. Isn’t it crazy how fast these 91 days have flown by since we celebrated New Years? We are 1/4 of the way through this entire year. How many of those days have mattered? All of them. Every single day has mattered. But think back over the days so far this year, was there a particularly hard day in there? What has been the worst day of 2019 for you? A day when everything went wrong. A day when your world came crashing down. Now think about the best day of 2019 so far for you. What day was it that was near perfection for you? What day brought you tremendous joy? Now understand this, your worst day and your best day, as well as all the ordinary days in between have brought you to this day, #91. Have you been counting them? More importantly, have you MADE them count? Psalm 90:12 says “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Teach us God. Teach us. Help us to get this right. When is the last time you simply prayed, “God, help me to get this right.” Teach me how to live this day right God. I don’t want to waste this day. It’s important. I can’t just skip over today and expect to arrive to a better day tomorrow. Today is #91 and I can’t get to #92 without it. Help me get this day right. Your greatest gift is your time. The time God gives you is precious. How are you spending it? You will never, ever, ever in all of eternity get another shot at this day. This number in your life will never come again, so don’t you think it’s important to consider how you will spend your time today? Who gets your time? What gets your time? Would you give your money to just anyone? I mean would you mail 60 bucks to FaceBook? Think about it. Would you be comfortable with tucking three 20 dollar bills in an envelope and sending it in to Face Book? No. Well, then shouldn’t you consider giving it 60 minutes of your time? You can always make more money, but sister you can’t make more time. Would you leave a 5 dollar bill on the windshield of the jerk in the parking lot who took your parking place? Of course you wouldn’t. Then why would you give him 5 minutes of your day being upset over him? Don’t you understand 5 minutes of your LIFE is much more valuable that 5 dollars of your earnings? At the very end of this day, you will have spent 1,440 minutes on something. Will it be of value? Will you come to the end of this day even remembering what you did? Or will it be just another Monday that your survived and #91 is marked off the calendar as a day without return. Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Help us to do this right today. Help us to see our time as more valuable than our money. Help us to get smarter about this so we can live well.

Mark 6 in my bible is titled “Jesus Rejected In Nazareth” Was Jesus the truth? Yes Was he who he said he was? Yes Was he doing good? Yes And yet he was rejected. And you’re shocked that you have been rejected? Surprised that you weren’t chosen – Passed over again. Can’t believe someone said that about you. Oh come on. If Jesus was rejected, perhaps we should count it an honor to be rejected too. What should we do? Keep being true. Keep showing up. Keep doing good. Let’s read in Mark chapter 6 starting in verse 1 through 6: “Jesus returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” 3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” ————- Notice it says because of their unbelief, Jesus couldn’t do any miracles among them? Are you praying for a miracle in your home? A miracle in your health, a miracle in your relationship, a miracle in your finances, and yet you don’t really believe? Your unbelief is shocking to Jesus and it is hindering the very miracle you seek. Maybe it’s not that you don’t believe Jesus cares about you, and maybe you don’t even doubt his power, but you’re “keeping it real” and the reality says THIS THING AIN’T WORKING. Not only is it not working, but there’s no way it ever will. Because of the continual state of this situation in your life, you’ve lost your belief that it can change. And honestly, that’s shocking to Jesus. He can’t believe that you don’t trust him with this. He can’t believe that you’re questioning his ability and desire to help you. Remember verse 6 of our scripture today, “he was amazed at their unbelief.” Other translations say he was marveled, he was wondered and greatly amazed by their unbelief. He just couldn’t believe their lack of faith himself. But we’ve all been there. We’re disappointed. We’re frustrated. We’ve run out of time or money or patience and everything we’ve tried isn’t working. And maybe, just maybe, that’s right where Jesus wanted you all along. A place where his miracles are most needed. And my sister, all that is keeping it from happening now is your faith. God wants to know if you will BELIEVE today. You know what else shocks Jesus? How little we have done with all we have been given. We haven’t really tapped into the potential God has placed within us. We haven’t really stepped into the life Jesus Christ bought with his own blood for us. We haven’t fully unleashed our faith to go and be and do all that God created us to do. And quite honestly, that’s shocking to Jesus. Oh how he would move in my life if I just believed. And oh how he would move in YOUR life if you just believed. The situation that’s weighing heavy on your heart right now, what is it? What’s your impossible? What’s your frustration? What’s been taking way too long in your life? If you will just believe, Jesus will start moving. What keeps us from believing? I think most of us listening this morning believe on a surface level. We believe what we have been taught, but has it gotten down deep in our soul and changed our thoughts and our actions? The very thing that kept the people of Nazareth from believing is what keeps...