flawed but fiercely loved.

Grace & Purpose

“We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us.” Romans 12:6 NCV

God does nothing by accident. What looks ordinary to you is strategic to Him. Romans reminds us that our gifts didn’t come from luck, personality, or background; they came from grace. That means God handpicked what He placed inside you, and He did it with purpose.

David is a perfect example. Before he ever wore a crown, he carried a harp. When Saul was tormented, David’s music brought peace to the room (1 Samuel 16v23 NKJV). That skill opened doors David never could have forced open himself. It brought him into the palace, into proximity with purpose, and into preparation for kingship. His slingshot may have killed Goliath, but his harp positioned him long before the battlefield ever showed up.

God has always worked this way. Noah’s ability to build saved a generation (Genesis 6v14). Joseph’s gift to interpret dreams positioned him to preserve nations (Genesis 41:15–16). The Magi used their knowledge of the stars to find the Savior (Matthew 2:1–2). What others may call strange, God calls usable. What seems unrelated, God calls intentional.

But don’t miss this truth. Some of the greatest gifts God brings out of you will be refined in your hardest seasons. David wrote Psalm 23 while walking through the valley. He wrote Psalm 51 after moral failure. He wrote Psalm 142 while hiding in a cave (1 Samuel 22:1). Pain didn’t disqualify him, pressure sharpened him. Brokenness didn’t silence him, it gave his worship weight.

You may be discouraged right now. You may be weary. You may feel overlooked or misunderstood. But hear this clearly… your circumstance isn’t wasting you. God is shaping you. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8v28 NIV). Even the season you would never choose can become the place where your gift matures.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." — Colossians 3:23–24

Still Loved

“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’” Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV

God’s love isn’t a lease. It isn’t a contract that expires once you mess up. It isn’t based on your consistency or your perfection. It’s everlasting. That means it began before your biggest mistake and it will remain long after the shame tries to suffocate you. When He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” He meant it.

You might think your failure disqualifies you from favor, but grace rewrites the story. Take King David, for example. The moral scorekeepers love to remind us of what went wrong after Bathsheba. The death of the child. The family unraveling. The blood that disqualified him from building the Temple. They point and say, “See? He never recovered.” But the Word tells another story. Open Proverbs and read the first verse. “The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David.” Not just any son, the son born of David and Bathsheba, the son of scandal and second chances, the son God chose to carry the torch of divine wisdom. That isn’t the work of karma, that’s the mark of redemption. Solomon didn’t come from a clean slate, he came from a rewritten one. A slate smeared with sin but wiped clean by mercy. A future birthed not out of perfection, but out of forgiveness.

You can begin again after your Bathsheba-gate. You can rise from what tried to ruin you. Because God doesn’t toss you aside after failure, He draws you close with lovingkindness, intention and grace that whispers, “I’m not done with you yet.”

Still Trusting

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13v15 (NKJV)

Job didn’t just survive pain, he stared it down and kept trusting. His story reads like this: chapter 1, Job is on top… wealthy, respected and blessed. Chapter 2, everything crashes. His health fails, his children die, his wealth vanishes. Chapter 42, God restores him with double what he lost. But the miracle wasn’t just in the ending, the miracle was in the middle.

Between chapters 3 and 41, Job wrestled, mourned, questioned and sat in silence. He listened to friends who spoke from pride, not revelation. He cried out to a God who seemed distant. And yet through it all, Job never let go. He had questions, but he kept his posture. He had pain, but he kept his praise. Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” That is the kind of faith that cannot break.

You may not understand what is happening in your life right now. You may feel stuck in a chapter that looks nothing like the promise God showed you. But hear this: just because you don’t see the restoration yet, doesn’t mean it is not on the way. God never changed His mind about Job and He hasn’t changed His mind about you.

When your faith is under fire and your future feels unclear, stand on the Word: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3–4 NKJV) Perfect peace isn’t found in perfect circumstances, it’s found in relentless trust. Everlasting strength isn’t the absence of struggle, it’s the promise of God’s power when your flesh is failing.

It’s not over, until Jesus says it’s over.

All the odds were against Jairus. His daughter was dying. Jesus said to him, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”  So many were the obstacles in the way of his miracle. He was in a hurry. Please let the crowds disperse, he wished, it’s an emergency! “Please hurry Jesus!”, he wanted to say. He couldn’t get to do it. And then the woman with the issue of blood touches Him. Jesus asks, “Who touched me?”  Further delay. By now news arrives that his daughter is dead.  Now he is desperate.  He said, “Just believe”, didn’t He?  Finally, Jesus goes with him to his house. He sees people wailing and mourning. Jesus says “She’s only sleeping.”  The people begin to mock now and Jesus throws them out and raises Jairus’ daughter back to life.

I’ve found that most of the time the confusing things I go through in life are simply to remind me to remember God. Sounds silly? But really, it makes sense. He often uses tough, confusing days and situations to gently remind us, “I AM here. I AM your firm foundation. I AM your Rock that doesn’t waiver. I AM the One you can run to in these times. Talk to ME. I AM here for you.” He is such a gentle yet persistent God who finds ways to continually draw us nearer to Him through life’s situations.

And that’s encouraging. It removes a lot of the pressure for us to feel like we need to have it all together. Jesus is here with us in our joy, but also in the weird parts.

Throw Out Your Fears

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

“For nothing is impossible with God."

Luke 1:37

Every great miracle in the Bible began with an impossibility. All of us, at various times in our lives, face situations that are beyond us. We can't solve them on our own. We can't overcome them in our own strength. What impossible situation are you facing today? A sickness that is incurable? A family crisis where one of your children is running away from God? Debt that is so overwhelming, you don't know where to turn to next?

A.W. Tozer said, "Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, Jesus can do for you.” 

Hold on. Pray. Pray with faith. Pray with the expectation that God can make the impossible possible.

Be Willing To Look Foolish