The Best Is Yet to Come
Are the best days of your life behind or in front of you? Our outlook on life—and our answer to that question—can change with time. When we’re younger, we look ahead, wanting to grow up. And once we’ve grown older, we yearn for the past, wanting to be young again. But when we walk with God, whatever our age, the best is yet to come!
Over the course of his long life, Moses witnessed the amazing things God did, and many of those amazing things happened when he was no longer a young man. Moses was 80 years old when…
Regardless of how old we are or who we are, we are ALL storytellers. From the moment we take our first breath until our very last, with each new sunrise God grants us, our life’s story is being written. Along the way, there may be some chapters in our lives that are more significant than others, which we may remember more passionately. Nevertheless, each of us has our very own “special” biography to share with others; for we are all custom-made by God’s design.
After being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer three years ago, I was to discover just five months ago that I am now living with Stage IV breast cancer; in other words, it has now metastasized throughout my body. Subsequently, I am now in aggressive therapy to hopefully put the cancer in remission, which has yet to occur.
Recently, I was asked why I wanted to write and publicly share my story. Without a moment's hesitation, I knew exactly why. It's all about H.I.M., aka Hope – Inspiration – Motivation.
It is my heartfelt passion to encourage others during their life’s journey when facing their trials and tribulations. With God’s compassion, grace and strength, it is my sincere mission to turn my life’s story into a message of H.I.M. Rather than wallowing in my own fears and tears, I am inspired, more than ever, to give H.I.M. to others, while their life feels like it is crumbling all around them.
Like Jeremiah, when we read the first two and a half chapters of Lamentations, we, too, may feel afraid, alone, discouraged and in despair. However, as Jeremiah begins to trust and seek God’s compassion and great faithfulness, which we read in Lamentations 3:22-26, he also learns to “quietly wait” (patiently) for God’s deliverance for hope, inspiration and motivation.
• Hope – “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:24)
• Inspiration – “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• Motivation – “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)
It is, therefore, by such lessons of Jeremiah that we, too, can experience God’s unwavering love, faithfulness, and mercy cascade into our lives when we seek and trust Him. For I know, I will never be alone, while the chapters of my life continue to be written, and as I continue sharing H.I.M. to others.
When you feel you can no longer cope, remember God gently whispers, "persevere, stay calm, carry on and never give up hope."
For "true faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible" (Author Unknown).
The Price of Admission
Every year some two million people from all over the world visit St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It is well worth the admission fee to experience the magnificent structure designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren during the late 17th century. But tourism is secondary at this place of Christian worship. A primary mission of the cathedral is “to enable people in all their diversity to encounter the transforming presence of God in Jesus Christ.” If you want to tour the building and admire the architecture, you must pay an admission fee. But there is no charge to enter and…
Believing is Seeing
Familiar paths are comfortable, but it’s the unknown that forces you to trust. When you struggle and fall, faith may be the only thing you have in this cruel world. It’s a gift given to help you. Trust the Giver. And He will help you see the way again.
Keeping Faith
It’s tempting to think of faith as a kind of magic formula. If you muster up enough of it, you’ll get rich, stay healthy, and live a contented life with automatic answers to all your prayers. But life does not work according to such neat formulas. As proof, the author of Hebrews presents a stirring reminder of what constitutes “true faith” by reviewing the lives of some Old Testament giants of faith (Heb. 11).
“Without faith,” the author says bluntly, “it is impossible to please God” (11:6). In describing faith he uses words such as “persevere” and “endure.” As a…
Is it true that experience is the best teacher?
It’s been said that experience is the best teacher. But is that really true? Today on Discover the Word, lets allow King David to be our guide by digging deep into Psalm 27 and discovering three things David learned about God the hard way. That’s today on Discover the Word.
Loving Can Hurt Sometimes
We all know the unexplainable joy and completeness that comes from loving someone and being loved in return. But love can sometimes also cause us deep pain. Although we normally associate these feelings with romantic love, it is just as applicable in our friendships.
Love Your Neighbor
An anthropologist was winding up several months of research in an African village, the story is told. While waiting for a ride to the airport for his return flight home, he decided to pass the time by making up a game for some village children. His idea was to create a race for a basket of fruit and candy that he placed near a tree. But when he gave the signal to run, no one made a dash for the finish line. Instead the children joined hands and ran together to the tree.
When asked why they chose to run…
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Psalm 27 – a song of hopeful faith
Have you ever struggled to trust God while also feeling desperate for Him to come through? Well, today on Discover the Word, the team will discuss some raw emotions expressed by the psalmist David. His close relationship to God during times of fear and betrayal reveals how adversity can be an opportunity to discover His […]
3 Beautiful Truths about Broken Relationships
Have you ever wished for a perfect relationship with a family member, friend, or romantic partner? One where you are completely understood and loved by the other person in the exact way you want, and vice versa?
Best Friend—Forever
One of the pieces of wisdom I have come to appreciate is my dad’s often-repeated statement, “Joe, good friends are one of life’s greatest treasures.” How true! With good friends, you are never alone. They’re attentive to your needs and gladly share life’s joys and burdens.
Before Jesus came to earth, only two individuals were called friends of God. The Lord spoke to Moses “as one speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11), and Abraham “was called God’s friend” (James 2:23; see 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8).
I am amazed that Jesus calls those of us who belong to Him friends: “I have…
What does having a heart for God look like?
What does having a heart for God look like? Today on Discover the Word, we will discuss King David’s song of hopeful faith—Psalm 27. David starts out talking about his God, declaring his confidence in God’s deliverance. But in the end, he responds to his God. Explore why that’s an important distinction to make . . […]
Why Pneumonia Was What I Needed
I used to be a very ambitious person. In college, I enjoyed life and worked hard to get what I wanted—especially when it came to grades. I wanted to be the top student so that others would look up to me. This came at the expense of everything else: God, family, and friends.
Visible Vulnerability
As I ventured out several weeks after shoulder surgery, I was fearful. I had become comfortable using my arm sling, but both my surgeon and physical therapist now told me to stop wearing it. That’s when I saw this statement: “At this stage, sling wear is discouraged except as a visible sign of vulnerability in an uncontrolled environment.”
Ah, that was it! I feared the enthusiastic friend who might give me a bear hug or the unaware friend who might bump me accidentally. I was hiding behind my flimsy baby-blue sling because I feared being hurt.
Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable can be…
