Faithfulness

The GT Weekend! ~ Waiting Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) The story of God’s people is one full of waiting and watching. From Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Sarah, to David and the prophets, nearly everyone in Scripture waits for the Lord to work. Often the stories we read show us our own human nature of waiting poorly. In the waiting, our doubts and our sin so easily ensnare us. Not only that, but we get so caught up in our day-to-day trials, we forget to look for the work God is doing. What are you waiting for? How are you living as you wait? Is your mind caught up with fretting about the thing you are waiting for and how to ensure it arrives? Or do you distract yourself so you won’t even think about it. Spend some time in self-reflection. Confess the ways you are waiting poorly, and ask God to give you a steadfast hope in His good timing. Meditate on the truth of God’s faithfulness by writing out Psalm 13 and praying it aloud to God as you write.

2) As we wait on the Lord, we will inevitably face questions and doubts. Will God keep His promises? Am I hearing Him correctly? Can I trust Him? Maybe we will discover that what we thought we were waiting for was not, in fact, God’s plan for us. Maybe we will find that the time we spent waiting has changed both us and our desires. Are you willing to put your trust in the all-knowing all-powerful God who has promised that all things will work for the good of those who love Him? What hopes and dreams are you holding onto? Where are you questioning God’s goodness? How are you anxious about the future? Can you submit those dreams, questions, and fears to almighty God? How has He shown Himself faithful to you before? God tells His people time and time again to remember His faithfulness. Take some time to look back today on how the Lord has been present. Remember the goodness God has shown you in the past, and submit to His will for your present and your future. Remember Him in the waiting.

3) In Friday’s journey, we considered the rich tapestry of history God has woven by His good will, and continues to work until the end of time. Sarah reminded us that while we see the messy underside and crisscrossed threads that don’t make sense to us, God sees the big picture. This image resonated with me as a person who enjoys crafting. I can’t tell you how many times I have re-started a crochet project because something didn’t look right, or because I hadn’t read the instructions properly, or because I was confused. Praise God He knows what He is doing from eternity past to eternity future; He never needs to unravel the work He has begun. Do you trust that God’s timing is perfect and abundantly more merciful and good than we can imagine? Do you trust He knows what He is doing, even when we don’t? Consider the works of your hands. Perhaps you sew or crochet, maybe you paint or write, or maybe you are an expert home organizer (can you share some of that skill with me?!). Often our projects start messy and get worse before they get better. As you do your work today, consider the great plan God has for all of history and entrust to His care all of your hopes, dreams, and desires. Ask Him to sustain you in all things.

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Isaiah 40:28-31a back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
There is no limit to His understanding.
He gives strength to the powerless.
Youths may become faint and weary,
And young men stumble and fall,
But those who trust in the Lord
Will renew their strength…

Prayer Journal
Oh Lord, our Hope in times of trouble, our Grace in times of restless waiting. You give us rest for our souls. You give us security in Your completed work. You are the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and we trust You. My sight is limited, my knowledge incomplete, but You, oh God, have a good plan. Help me to trust You when my faith grows weak. Forgive me for my tendency to doubt and attempts to fix everything myself. Forgive me, and strengthen me, for Your great glory. Father, I commit to You my every step. My future is in Your hands, and I rest securely, knowing You will do what You have said. Help me to be bold in my faith, proclaiming Your goodness to a lost and broken world. May my life show Your good will to those around me: my children, my neighbors, my church, and my community. May my life be a testimony to Your great faithfulness.

Worship Through Community

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Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

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Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Waiting Day 8 The Anticipated Gift

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 2:21-38
Isaiah 55:8-11
Psalm 62:1-12
Psalm 25:1-22

Waiting, Day 8

Oh, the very goodness and faithfulness of the Lord!
Check in on how your heart responds to that phrase.

Celebratory? Enthused? Encouraged?
Or, perhaps, this Journey Study comes to you in a season where that sentence feels so very far from the truth. A season of waiting…maybe more accurately, painful waiting.

A season where more questions fall from your lips than victory cheers.
Where are You, Lord?
Why did You give this to me?
Why did You take this away?

Regardless of heart motives, I’m so thankful our “why” questions are embraced by God; He faithfully draws us close in our questioning. Still, nowhere in Scripture does He promise to reply in the manner we might hope.

Yet, even in this space of unknowns, we can praise the God who carries us through our uncertain seasons of waiting as He actively works to soothe our fears and cultivate our faith. His strength is endless, His power limitless, and His pen authors the best stories every single time.

Waiting is a vital part of any story.
How we choose to wait often determines the level of joy contained throughout our journey and, in many cases, it impacts the story’s end. Such was the case for Anna and Simeon, two faithful saints of the Lord who demonstrated faith-filled waiting. Though the waiting period yawned before them, they fixed their gaze on the unchanging Yahweh, Lord of All. They daily sought His presence, choosing to dwell with Him instead of the land of fear and doubt.

Anna and Simeon waited for the long-ago-promised Messiah. Finally, on a seemingly ordinary day, as they sat again in the Lord’s presence at the temple, their faith was turned into sight as they beheld the infant face of Christ Jesus. They beheld the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord God wrapped in wrinkly days-old skin.

Precisely because they had spent their waiting in worship,
they were familiar with the Spirit’s pressing.
Finally, here was the goal of their faithful waiting.

Though the whole nation of Israel had waited centuries, they missed the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. They neither welcomed the wee Christ, nor did they worship as He performed miracles and declared Himself to be the Messiah. Israel waited, just as Simeon and Anna had, but the difference was their “how”.

Israel sought a king they could control; one who would fulfill their expectations.
The humble in heart welcomed the King they already worshipping while they waited.

Like Israel, like Simeon and Anna, we each can choose how we wait in our seasons of mystery, pain, and seeming endlessness. Will we focus our hearts more on receiving the promise or on worshipping the Promise Keeper?

Though I have much to still learn about waiting well, over many seasons of waiting, the Lord has faithfully taught my heart to worship in the waiting; He has shown me the joy to be discovered if we wait on Him.

I had been single for several years and sensed the Lord leading me to a specific man as my future husband. In a story that would take far longer than I could recount here, the Lord walked me through years of listening and obeying; these became my praise to Him. I continued praying for this man, and many fellow Christians prayed alongside me, until finally I asked the Lord for a clear answer the next time the two of us interacted. When I saw him again, I mentioned an interest in getting coffee, but he didn’t set up a date. As we turned to go, he exited through one door, and I turned towards a glass one, but realized too late that it was a pull exit instead of a push door. I walked full force into the see-through glass, but instead of feeling humiliation at my clumsiness and grief over losing this man, laughter bubbled out. After years of waiting and praying, I found myself filled with joy and laughter.

I had waited well, and the evidence was the Lord’s joy showing up against all odds. The outcome wasn’t what I had envisioned, but the Lord had given me the same gift He had given to Anna and Simeon and all who waited for the Messiah with humility, Himself.

In that specific season I had learned to know His voice better and lay my plans at His feet. I wonder how often Anna or Simeon doubted the Lord would show Himself to them as they waited, yet still, they came to Him each day at the temple, expectantly waiting with open hands to receive whatever He had for them.
These were sacrifices of praise.

I’m now married, with a little one on the way, to a man the Lord had been preparing for me all along. As I feel tiny kicks inside, I am reminded again that the Lord writes the best stories. His storyline taught my heart to trust and worship Him regardless of plot twists. He was faithful to Simeon, Anna, and even to Israel, though they rejected Him, and He continues to be faithful to all who humbly seek Him.

Delight yourself in the Promise Keeper, Sister.
Learn the rhythm of worshipping while you wait and joyfully discover His faithful goodness that will never fail!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Waiting Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Waiting!

Waiting Day 7 Look, Listen and Wait: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Look, Listen and Wait!

The Questions

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)

Psalm 13

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?

3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your faithful love;
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.

Original Intent

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)
Psalm 13 is a lament of David, probably written while running away or hiding from Saul, the jealous King who sought to kill God’s chosen leader. (1 Samuel 21) David felt like God was far from him, hiding His face from him, since God wasn’t providing the deliverance and victory he had asked and waited for. Author David Guzik suggests, “No doubt, David had faced worse circumstances but had faced them more bravely when he had sensed the presence of God with him. Yet now, feeling distant from God, it did not take much to send David into despair.” Instead of delivering David from his troubles, God allowed David to wait, seek, and trust in His provision. According to author David C Egner, “When God withholds His hand, He wants us to look to His heart. In other words, He wants us to learn more about His goodness and His love, and to trust Him to do what is best.” Sometimes, God lets us wait so we can exercise our faith in Him. He wants us to trust in His promises and His Word even when our circumstances seem in opposition to God’s promises. The Lord longs to show us mercy and compassion, and promises we will be happy (blessed) when we wait on Him. (Isaiah 30:18) We can be like David and turn our lament into praise (Psalm 13:6) when we choose to patiently wait on God and remind ourselves of His faithfulness in every situation. (Psalm 119:90) At times, it may feel like God’s face is hidden, but He is always near to us (Psalm 145:18) even when He asks us to wait.

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)
When David asks God to “Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death” (verse 3), he could be asking God for several things. Author Albert Barnes suggests David alludes to “his exhaustion, arising from trouble and despair, as if he were about to die.” David was physically weary from being on the run from King Saul who was trying to kill him. (1 Samuel 19) The brightness had gone out of his eyes due to him searching tirelessly for God to interrupt his circumstances. He was watching for physical deliverance from the Lord while also watching out for his enemy, and his eyes were dimmed and weary as a result. He wanted his eyes to be revived by seeing God deliver him. David Guzik asserts that David also requested spiritual enlightenment because “David had the wisdom to know that though he felt powerful feelings, he wasn’t seeing reality. His vision was clouded and dark, so he cried out to God, “Enlighten my eyes.’” David knew that though his circumstances looked bad, he ultimately needed to see through the lens of God’s beloved, chosen and anointed King (1 Samuel 16) and not through the eyes of a hunted fugitive. He wanted God to restore brightness to his eyes and hope to his heart.

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)
In verse 6, David writes of the future when he will sing to the Lord because He has dealt generously with him. His current situation is nothing to sing about. He is being hunted down by an angry enemy! But David trusts in the faithful love of God and in His deliverance. He is so confident in God’s coming generosity and rescue from his dire straits that he willfully chooses to rejoice now. Because he has already trusted God’s faithful love, David is now free to rejoice! “But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.” (verse 5) Author David C. McCasland notes, “In every struggle—mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual—our challenge is to move from the fear of being overwhelmed to the confidence that God has overcome.” David makes this movement from wondering where God is, to rejoicing in the deliverance he knows is coming. He goes so far as to call God generous for the deliverance He will provide. David believes God is faithful and trustworthy because He has delivered David generously in the past. David knows that though it feels like God is nowhere to be found, He is actually with David, preparing to act generously toward him. Psalm 84:11 tells us that God “is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.” David believes what he knows to be true about his generous, faithful God instead of the feelings invoked by his fearful situation. We can follow David’s example and trust that God will not withhold good from those who follow Him, regardless of our feelings or situation.

Everyday Application

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)
A friend once asked how she could feel close to God again. The Scriptures seemed lifeless and every sermon seemed flat. Her devotional time was fruitless and her prayer time felt empty. She believed God was ignoring her. I encouraged her to keep seeking the Lord, but I wish I had known to direct her to David’s example in Psalm 13. David thought God was hiding His face from him, and he wondered how long God would forget him. (verse 1) According to author James Montgomery Boice, “The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.” David’s knowledge of God led him to recall God’s faithfulness. Soon, David’s lament about his circumstances became a plea for God to intervene. (Psalm 13:3) He stopped dwelling on the fear and despair he felt and focused on the God who saves. (Psalm 68:20) When David called out to God, he remembered His faithful God could be trusted. (verse 5) After all, God had already delivered David from a lion, a bear, and a giant. (1 Samuel 17:37) David knew that the God who saved him before could save him again. He was so confident in God’s faithfulness that his heart began to rejoice! (verse 5) His situation hadn’t changed, but his focus had. Instead of wondering why God had forgotten him, David remembered God was his refuge and his deliverer. He no longer saw God as the one hiding His face from him, but rather as the One who could be trusted in all things.

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)
When asked how he is doing, one friend of mine always cheerfully answers, “I’m living the dream!” Another friend responds to my query with a lilting, “I am blessed and highly favored!” They remind me of the psalmist David, who writes passionately and honestly about his feelings in his songs to the Lord. While many of David’s psalms are praises to God, as seen in Psalm 8 and Psalm 145, David expresses his feelings of despair in Psalm 13:3 when he asks God to restore brightness to his eyes so he does not sleep in death. David is physically and emotionally exhausted from being chased by his enemy, and he lets God know that his eyes are failing and death seems near. He is frustrated that following God has led him to hiding out and fighting for his life. I have never been in such physical danger as David, but I have felt his frustration of doing all the right things only to see my situation get worse. It is hard to remember God’s goodness when our eyes are clouded by difficult circumstances. I want God to remove the obstacles for me, and sometimes He does. But many times, He simply tells me not to fear because He is God and He is with me to strengthen me, help me, and hold on to me. (Isaiah 41:10) If you feel like your eyes and your hope are dim today, call out to God to restore brightness to your eyes and hope to your heart. Even if He does not immediately change your situation, He will give you the strength to endure and peace to comfort you until you rejoice, like David did, in God’s deliverance. (verse 5)

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)
My mom used her sewing machine a lot when I was growing up to make clothes for my sister and I, to make clothes for our dolls, and to make gifts and crafts to sell and give away. So, it was a big deal when her sewing machine broke beyond repair. We didn’t have the money to get a new one, so we prayed for one. I colored a picture of a new machine and hung it above her sewing table as a reminder of what God was going to give her. I don’t remember how it happened (I think someone gifted us their old machine) but it wasn’t long before there was another sewing machine whirring away in the sewing room. I was happy, but not surprised. I was used to God providing when we prayed. I grew up believing God would provide all our needs (Philippians 4:19) and He did, though maybe not in the way I expected or in the time frame I had in mind. Like David, I knew God to be a generous God. (Psalm 13:6) Even in his fear and the chaos of his life on the run, David knew that when he called on God, God would come through. Author Marvin Williams states, “We all go through dark nights of the soul when we wonder if God has abandoned us. As with David, our aching can give way to joy when we approach God honestly, plead for help, and reaffirm our trust in a God whose love for us will never waver or change.” David had some close calls that made him question if God really had his back, but in every situation David was able to recall the goodness and faithfulness of God and the generous treatment he found at God’s hands.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Alive Day 14 Dearly Loved: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Dearly Loved!

The Questions

1) If God is for us and sacrificed His son on our behalf, what does this say about God’s love for us? (verses 31-32)

2) Christ died, was raised, and now intercedes for believers, but what does His intercession entail? (verse 34)

3) How is the truth that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love intended to impact our everyday lives? (verse 35)

4) What does it mean to be put to death all day long and counted as sheep to be slaughtered? (verse 36)

Romans 8:31-36

31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

Original Intent

1) If God is for us and sacrificed His son on our behalf, what does this say about God’s love for us? (verses 31-32)
From the beginning, God’s purpose for creating mankind was to have a relationship with them. When man sinned, purposefully choosing to love and pursue themselves and their selfishness over God, their relationship with God was broken. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love for us” (Ephesians 2:4), made a pathway to reconcile that broken relationship by sending God the Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin upon Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Abraham’s story of sacrifice in Genesis 22 gives us a real sense of God’s deep love for us. “Take your (Abraham) son,” He (God) said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering…”. (Genesis 22:2) Notice God’s words, “your only son…, whom you love.” God knew how much Abraham loved Isaac; this was the ultimate test. Yet, Abraham obeyed without hesitation or protest. Abraham woke early the next day to carry out God’s command. When God saw Abraham’s willingness to love Him more than Isaac, He stopped Abraham at the last moment, “‘Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.’” (Genesis 22:12) Consider how Abraham, a mere man, loved Isaac yet willingly sacrificed him for a Greater Love, God. Flipping this, consider God. His love boundlessly stretches beyond Abraham’s love for Isaac. In God’s case, however, His son, Jesus, actually died; His death was not stayed by God’s hand. He suffered a horrible death that through Him, we might be drawn back to God’s heart. This is magnificent love! God will never let go of those who place their trust in Him! (John 10:28) No matter who opposes the Reconciled Child, God will allow nothing to separate us from Him. He will do whatever is necessary to bring us to Glory with Him!

2) Christ died, was raised, and now intercedes for believers, but what does His intercession entail? (verse 34)
To help us study biblical words in their original languages, we can use well trusted commentaries as resources as we return to the original meaning of a word. Part of Strong’s definition for the Greek word translated as intercession is “to go to or meet a person, especially for the purpose of conversation, consultation, or supplication.” Intercession is the past participle of the verb, intercede. Dictionary.com defines intercede as: (1) to act or interpose on behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition; and (2) to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate. Jesus’ death and resurrection reconciled us to God if we have placed the full weight of our trust in Him for our salvation and rescue from sin. Therefore, Jesus, as God the Son, our eternal interceder, discusses, deliberates, and prays to God the Father concerning us. Bible commentary author, Warren W. Wiersbe, states it this way, “Intercession means that Jesus Christ represents us before the throne of God and we do not have to represent ourselves.” One of the best examples of Jesus interceding for us is in His personal prayer recorded in John 17. In this prayer, Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples, and all believers who would eventually come to know Him as their Savior through the preaching of truth. In His prayer for all believers (John 17:20-26), He prayed for their unity just as He and His Father are united as one. This unity would prove to the world that Jesus was sent by God. He continues now to pray for our unity, always declaring us as righteous in the sight of God because we have trusted Him as our Savior instead of relying on ourselves to be good enough on our own (which is impossible!).

3) How is the truth that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love intended to impact our everyday lives? (verse 35)
Paul knew firsthand what persecution and hardship felt like in real life. Paul experienced imprisonment, whippings, and humiliation many times; eventually preaching Christ cost him his life. He experienced persecution both from his own people, the Jews, as well as from Gentiles (non-Jews). He faced hunger, thirst, shivering cold, nakedness, and death. Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 for a full list of his hardships. Yet, in the face of all these things, Paul persevered not because he was physically strong, but because he had decided to surrender himself entirely to God. It was in his weakness, he most closely experienced the strength of God at work in him. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus encouraged His disciples with these words, “… I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Paul persevered through his struggles because he knew Jesus loved him and was with him throughout every trial. Before his death, Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy and stated, “At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it…”. (2 Timothy 4:16-17, emphasis mine) Paul fought a good fight and finished the work the Lord gave him, and he looked forward to receiving his reward, the crown of righteousness. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

4) What does it mean to be put to death all day long and counted as sheep to be slaughtered? (verse 36)
This reference from Psalm 44 would have been very familiar to the first audience listening to the reading of Paul’s letter. They knew it spoke of a time in Israel’s history when they felt defeated on all sides by enemies too strong, fierce, cruel, and taunting. (Psalm 44:9-12) The current day believers would have felt they could relate to Israel’s suffering from the past. This psalm also carried a prophetic writing, “Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Psalm 44:22) The ancient Israelites faced defeat at the hands of their enemies because of their rebellion against God. They were oppressed and exiled as a consequence of their choice to ignore God as the One True God. Though we don’t know exactly which incident in Israel’s history brought on the writing of this psalm, we do know there were times in war when God did not fight with Israel because of their sin. (Joshua 7) In the case of this psalm’s description, Israel maintained they hadn’t broken their covenant and had been faithful to God. (Psalm 44:17-21) They begged God to help and redeem them. (Psalm 44:23-26) Suffering is nothing new for God’s people. Christians are expected to endure hardship and adversity once they follow Jesus. Philippians 1:29 states, “For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.” In some cases that suffering may include death. Paul, in quoting this verse from the psalms in his letter, sought to explain that despite immense suffering, God still loves us, sees us, and is faithful to us in our suffering.

Everyday Application

1) If God is for us and sacrificed His son on our behalf, what does this say about God’s love for us? (verses 31-32)
John 3:16 states, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” God loves all of mankind. His wish is for everyone to be saved and be with Him in eternity, “The Lord…is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) But salvation can only come through belief in Jesus Christ, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Therefore, for believers, God will do anything to finalize the proof of our salvation by bringing us into eternity with Him. Nothing can thwart our chances of receiving eternal life, but only after we have surrendered our will to His. Earning eternal life is out of the question for ANY of us. We cannot be good enough to win God’s approval for even one small sin disqualifies us entirely. (James 2:10) It is by God’s grace alone that we are rescued from the nature and consequence of sin and its eternal consequences. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

2) Christ died, was raised, and now intercedes for believers, but what does His intercession entail? (verse 34)
Jesus intercedes, that is, brings requests to God, on our behalf. He always does so by presenting us as already fully righteous without sin because His righteousness has covered us. (2 Corinthians 5:21) All genuine believers in Jesus are declared righteous when we surrender to Him! Christ has called us to follow Him in all things, and interceding on behalf of others is an important Christian duty following His example. How do we intercede? Through prayer. “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.” (I Timothy 2:1) I have the privilege to be on the prayer team for a few Ministries. The most common prayer requests are for healing, finances, and salvation for family members. I don’t know any of these people, but I trust God will hear and answer my petition on their behalf. Intercession also brings humility and perspective of God’s power. We are not focusing on ourselves alone, interceding puts us in the position of sharing each other’s burdens as Scripture teachers. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4) We are not only to intercede for fellow believers but for everyone. This includes praying on behalf of non-believers and our enemies! (Luke 6:28)

3) How is the truth that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love intended to impact our everyday lives? (verse 35)
Right now, we are living in a chaotic world, no matter where you call home. Climate change, political conflict, and a world-wide pandemic, together with our own personal battles, converge into a life of uncertainty. Yet Paul reminded us that nothing – no problem, persecution, danger, nor death – can separate us from Jesus’ love. Just like Paul, we too can persevere through our struggles knowing Jesus is present with us throughout. He will faithfully use all things in the life of a believer to point our hearts to knowing Him and using our lives to proclaim His glory. His love is unfailing! (Psalm 136) We too can fight the good fight, finish the race, and claim the reward that awaits us if we will choose to accept the free gift of life and eternal rescue that Christ holds out for us. Only with Christ, and His gain, do our worldly struggles and passions fade. “For I (Paul) consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.” (Romans 8:18-19)

4) What does it mean to be put to death all day long and counted as sheep to be slaughtered? (verse 36)
The early church believers were witnessing Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled right before them in everyday life. With new understanding, old familiar words took on new meanings. Suffering was so closely connected with choosing to follow Jesus that new believers considered themselves as sheep to be slaughtered; they understood this decision could cost them their lives, yet they still chose Christ. Regardless of the era, no true Christian is immune to suffering. Paul’s words ring just as true for you and I as they did for his first audience, “For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for Him…”. (Philippians 1:29) Whether we are mocked for praying publicly, prioritizing worship, lose friendships for speaking of Christ, or even if our lives are threatened we are still guaranteed a home in heaven if we have trusted Jesus as our Savior and Forgiver. I recently read of a woman named Hannelie Groenewald whose husband and two children were killed in Afghanistan in 2014. The children were only 15 and 17. After killing the family, the Taliban set their house on fire. According to her testimony, what gives Hannelie strength is knowing they served God faithfully and her family is now with Jesus. With recent events in Afghanistan, we know Christians continue to be at risk of persecution and death. Let’s pray for one another around the world, but also take heart that God loves His Church, He is with us, and He will faithfully bring each genuine believer home to be with Him forever. Despite what happens, there is a crown of righteousness awaiting persecuted Christians in Heaven, and for all who have longed for His appearing! (2 Timothy 4:8)

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Dearly Loved!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Alive Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Alive Day 12 For The Good: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out For The Good!

The Questions

1) How are we called according to God’s purpose? (verse 28)

2) What does it mean to be “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son”? (verse 29)

3) How are we called, justified, and glorified by God? (verse 30)

Romans 8:28-30

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Original Intent

1) How are we called according to God’s purpose? (verse 28)
First, we must understand what it means to be called by God, then we must consider what Scripture tells us about His purposes. The Greek word for called is “κλητός”, meaning to be invited as if to a banquet. God’s purpose for those who are called is answered in the next verse, “to be conformed to the image of His Son”. (verse 29) To respond to God’s call and live out His purpose means to believe in God and obey His command to spread the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) God’s plan for us is to know Him and make Him known. (Galatians 1:15-16) Anyone who responds to God’s invitational call accepts His purpose to both deepen their relationship with Him (Jeremiah 33:3) and share the love of God with others (Matthew 28:19). Author Albert Barnes suggests that being called according to God’s purpose “Implies that God had a plan, purpose, or intention in regard to all who became Christians. They are not saved by chance or hap-hazard. God does not convert people without design; and His designs are not new, but eternal.” God desires everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), so this means we are all called to accept the message of the Gospel and fulfill His purposes. When we surrender to God and accept His purposes, we can be sure He is working everything together for our good and His glory. Whatever happens, He uses it for our eventual benefit and the expansion of His kingdom, even if we see no apparent good at the time. We can rest assured His plans are good, even when our circumstances suggest otherwise, if we accept the invitational call to follow Him.

2) What does it mean to be “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son”? (verse 29)
The Bible tells us God created us in His image. (Genesis 1:27) When Adam and Eve sinned and humans were separated from God (Genesis 3), the Divine plan was for Jesus to reunite us with God by coming to earth, fully human and fully God, to take our sins and show us how to live in right relationship with the Lord. God wants us to be like Jesus; He is the model of how to live life for God’s glory. In Romans 8:29, Paul writes, “For those [God] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” God’s plan before the beginning of time was for humans to be conformed to God’s image. God tells us that those who trust in Jesus should “walk just as he walked”. (1 John 2:6) We have the example of the humble, loving life of Jesus to teach us how God designed us to live. God sent His Son not only to save our lives for eternity, but also show us how to live today. He gives us the Holy Spirit to empower us to follow Jesus’ example, which is impossible to do on our own. (Galatians 5:22-23) Not only do we have the life of Jesus to pattern our lives after, but we have the Holy Spirit to help us be more like Jesus.

3) How are we called, justified, and glorified by God? (verse 30)
Romans 8:30 includes what some scholars call the Golden Chain of Salvation, the “inviolable order in which our Creator saves His people” (Ligonier.org) The first link in the chain occurs in verse 29, which says that God foreknew those He would save. Author Adam Clarke explains that foreknow means to “design before, or at the first forming of the scheme to bestow the favour and privilege of being God’s people upon any set of men.” The second link in the Golden Chain is predestine, which author J.D. Watson describes as “God’s marking out a destiny befitting His foreknown people.” God decided ahead of time that He would make a way of salvation for His people. Predestination sets up the next two links: being called, or invited to be saved, and being justified, where God declares us righteous in Christ. We are called by God because He wants no one to perish. He calls every human to follow Him. If we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus, we can be saved. God justifies us through the blood of Christ Jesus, His Son, Who gave His life so we could stand blameless before God. The last link of the Golden Chain is being glorified by God. This can refer to going to heaven, but author N.T. Wright suggests, “Our glory in the present is focused as we stand in prayer at the place where the world and the church are in pain . . . so that the gospel may be seen at work in power through our praying as well as our preaching.” We are glorified by God in that Christ lives in us. His presence and His glory dwell within each person who trusts in Christ and shines from each person as they demonstrate His love.

Everyday Application

1) How are we called according to God’s purpose? (verse 28)
Something that frustrates many Christians is trying to discern God’s will for their lives. People want God’s crystal-clear direction about every decision. Should they marry, should they move, should they change jobs? While we are commanded to pray about all things and ask for God’s leading regarding decisions, following God is much more about making wise decisions with the information He provides through His Word and His people. (check out our Journey Theme “Follow” for more on this!) When it comes to knowing God’s will, the Bible reveals much about His purposes for us. When we lean into these principles, we will be following Him. Romans 8:28 references those who “love God and are called according to God’s purpose.” His purpose in being conformed to Jesus is for us to love God and share His love with others like Jesus. Author W.E. Vine explains that “them that are called and them that love God, are to one another as cause and effect. Those who love God are necessarily those who are called. The call . . . produces the response of love to Him who calls.” We love God because He first loved us and drew us to Him. (1 John 4:19) When we love Him, we want to share His love with others, which is one of God’s purposes for us as we are shaped to reflect Him to the world around us. (John 13:34) When we follow the express purposes of God as found in His Word, we can know for certain we are following His will for our lives. As we live this out, we can ask Him for wisdom to know more specific things He wants for us. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” We can rejoice that God shares His plans and purposes with us!

2) What does it mean to be “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son”? (verse 29)
Do you ever cringe when you see Christians doing a shabby job of representing Christ? Surely you have seen the guy who left the waiter a Gospel tract as a tip instead of cash, or the lady with the I LOVE Jesus bumper sticker cutting folks off in traffic. Jesus provides us an example of how to live humbly and righteously with love and mercy, but sometimes we don’t do a good job of following in His footsteps. Learning to be more like Jesus is part of God’s plan for our lives. Romans 8:29 tells us God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. His Word is given to us, in part, to teach us how to live like Jesus. Author Howard Hendricks asserts, “The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiosity, but to make you conform to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner, but to make you like the Saviour. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts, but to transform your life.” Because Jesus is the Word, the Word has the power to change us into God’s image. John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1, 4) From the beginning, Jesus has been the Life that is the Light to illuminate the path for all people to know God and be restored to Him. God’s plan is for us to be more like Jesus, and He wants us to represent Him wherever we go, including restaurants, the freeway, at church, our neighborhoods, and our social media profiles. He wants us to be loving and kind so people see Jesus when they look at us.

3) How are we called, justified, and glorified by God? (verse 30)
It has always fascinated me to read God’s Word regarding His plans for His people even before they were born. In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells the prophet, “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born . . .” In Psalm 139:16, the psalmist writes, “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” To know that God has a plan for us before we are born is incredible! His plan for everyone includes salvation through His Son, Jesus. This plan is described in Romans 8:30, where Paul tells us God has called us, justified us, and glorified us. This is God’s plan for salvation for us. He calls each one of us to come to a genuinely saving knowledge of Christ through repentance (turning away from) our sin and accepting His free gift of salvation. He tells us in John 3:16, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” It is the blood of Jesus that justifies us by washing away our sin and making us righteous before God. When we are saved through Christ Jesus, we can be glorified by living in Heaven with Jesus when our life on earth is done. We are also glorified because Christ lives within us here on earth, teaching us how to be more like Him through the power of His Holy Spirit. (1 John 2:27) It is comforting and empowering to know that God has a plan for each one of us that extends from before we are born until after we pass into Heaven.

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with For The Good!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Alive Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

The GT Weekend! ~ Fruitful Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Faithfulness is something I struggle with. With every good intention, I commit to do something, but when it comes time to follow through, I find it challenging to keep my word. God, on the other hand, is perfectly faithful, regardless of how often I’m unfaithful. The whole story of human history is full of people falling short of God’s standards, yet God keeps His promises to them nonetheless. God is the perfect picture of faithfulness, and, as God’s children, those who believe in Him are being shaped into His likeness by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we live by God’s Spirit, we are being changed, day by day, month by month, year by year. Joshua and Caleb looked back on a promise God had given them and were strengthened to remain faithful to Him because of God’s continued faithfulness. What are the promises God has made to you if you’ve trusted Him for salvation and turned from your sin? (Consider Exodus 34:6-7, Matthew 7:7-12, and Galatians 5:16) How do God’s promises help you grow in your faithfulness as you learn to trust His faithful heart? Write a prayer of response to God thanking Him for His constant faithfulness and asking for His help to be a faithful Christ-follower.

2) If you could imagine a perfect response from God if you were to talk to Him face to face, what would it be? Would He be transactional like a bank teller and hand over whatever goods you requested, calling out “next” to the person behind you? Would He reach for your hand and invite you to walk with Him while His eyes danced as He listened intently? Considering this scene is important; it reveals how you truly see the heart of God. Sit for a few minutes with eyes closed, in a quiet space if possible, and ask the Lord God to show you His perfect response to you as you come to Him. Slow down and concentrate on the images the Spirit gives you. Walk with Him, asking Him about them. What does He want you to know about God’s heart? Christ tells us in Scripture that His first, gut-reaction, go-to, immediate instinct response will always be gentleness. (Matthew 11:29) Here, we find shelter in the embrace of compassion. Here, we find the truly with us God. What does it mean for you to solidly know that God’s perfect response to you, in all times, is first and foremost gentleness?

3) As we wrap up our discussion about the fruit of the Spirit, I am struck by how all these attributes work together to radically change us into a new kind of person. How would your life look different if you practiced each of the fruits perfectly? I can only imagine how peaceful and glorious such a life would be. But, the works of the flesh are so deeply ingrained in each one of us; we will choose them every time if we do not first access the power of God dwelling within us as believers. We must rely on God’s help in every area. There is a saying, “you cannot pour from an empty cup.” On Friday, we were reminded of the Source Who fills our cup. When we are lacking in self-control, we are revealing we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit in our lives. Consider an area in your life where you would like to be more self-controlled. (It could be a spiritual discipline, your finances, how you use technology, how you treat the people around you, or something else entirely.) Pray specifically for the Spirit to pour His fruit of self-control into your life, then keep watch to see how He fills your cup. For a week (or month, or longer) make a note at the end of each day, expressing how He taught and empowered you to demonstrate self-control. Thank Him for His work in your life!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25, 28 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us also. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Prayer Journal
God, our Father, I am awestruck by Your great faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. You always keep Your promises for the sake of Your great name. You have revealed Your nature through Jesus Christ our Lord, who walked on this Earth, gentle and lowly. You have demonstrated Your self-control over and over by withholding the judgment due humanity and taking the punishment for our disobedience on Yourself. Oh, that we would walk by Your Spirit. Oh, that we could be transformed by Your work in our lives. Lord, I no longer wish to carry out the works of my sinful flesh. I desire to walk by the Spirit that I may bear fruit in step with You. Empower me, Oh gracious God, to crucify my own desires and walk humbly with my neighbors. May we see the greatness of Your Kingdom here on Earth. Forgive me when I fall short, and bring me quickly back into relationship with You. I have asked all these things, knowing You delight to give good gifts to Your children. I believe You will do it! Praise be to God!

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Fruitful Day 11 Cultivating Fruitfulness

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Numbers 14:1-10
Joshua 14:6-15
Joshua 21:43-45
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
2 Timothy 2:11-13

Fruitful, Day 11

Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit requiring time to grow.
Therefore, in a fast-paced world seeking instant gratification, it is sometimes underrated.
Faithfulness may not be glamorous, exciting, or fashionable, but it’s a fruit with richness and depth making it well worth the effort of cultivating.

Like every fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness begins with God. It is a key attribute of His character, woven through every page of Scripture; His faithfulness is unchangeable. Paul writes, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

This is a relief! Firstly, because in a rapidly-changing world, it is comforting to know God is constant, but secondly because we don’t need to look far in Scripture (or the world around us) to see the unfaithfulness of humanity. The whole of the Old Testament is a story of God’s faithfulness despite His people’s failure and disobedience.

We see this on multiple occasions as the Israelites journey to the Promised Land. Despite God’s repeated promise they would receive the land, and although He’d already demonstrated His power and love by rescuing them from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness is marked with their faithlessness. The result was complaining, lack of trust, disobedience, and even idol worship.

Consider how the Israelites waited at the edge of the Promised Land for 12 spies to bring back a survey report. (Numbers 13) Overwhelmed by the ferocity of the land’s residents, the Israelites doubt their ability to conquer it. Their focus on challenges, instead of God’s power and faithfulness caused fear to infect the majority of Israelites resulting in a refusal to enter the land.

Amazingly, God doesn’t give up on His people. There are consequences for their faithlessness, and they wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, but the Lord continues to go with them and guide them, showing His faithful commitment to them even in small details, “I led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out[.]”(Deuteronomy 29:5)

When they finally arrived in the land, the challenges continued, but through the ups and downs of their circumstances, God’s faithfulness remained constant.

“None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed.
Everything was fulfilled.” (Joshua 21:45)

Amid the Israelites’ unfaithfulness, two men stand out as shining examples of faithfulness. Caleb & Joshua

They were two of the twelve spies who explored the land, but, unlike the others, Joshua and Caleb remained confident of God’s presence and power to enable them to conquer the land.  s willing to stand against the crowd.

Their courage to stand against the crowd nearly resulted in death by stoning as their fellow Israelites were unwilling to listen or follow in faith. (Numbers 14:10) Caleb and Joshua were left with no choice but to join the rest of their nation as they turned around and began their journey away from the Promised Land.

It must have been incredibly frustrating, but when we meet Caleb and Joshua again, 45 years later, we see they have remained faithful to God. The two men are just as sure of God’s faithfulness as they were all those years earlier.

“Here I (Caleb) am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day[…] Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.” (Joshua 14:10-12)

Their passion and determination are undiminished, and their faith in God is as strong as ever.

When I think of examples of faithfulness today, I think of Ian. In his mid-80s, much like Caleb, Ian is still actively involved in his church and community, and has a passion to share God’s Word with younger generations.

Until last year, he ran a club in a local school helping pupils explore the Bible, and each year he organised funding for them to go on a weekend away, then accompanied them on the trip. One year, when we were short on space, he even offered to sleep in a tent if necessary!

Ian will never be well-known, and he doesn’t seek any reward, but his life is one of quiet faithfulness to God. A few years ago, I had the privilege of attending a prayer meeting Ian participated in. This group had been meeting together once a month to pray . . . for over fifty years!

It is one of the most inspiring prayer meetings I have ever attended. There is something wonderful about hearing the prayers of people who have followed Jesus for decades, who have known His faithfulness through the ups and downs of life, and who in turn have faithfully committed themselves to Him.

So how do we cultivate a life of faithfulness?

One step at a time, one day at a time, as we seek God, hold to His faithfulness, and allow His Spirit to work within us.

There is no quick, easy way to grow this fruit,
but people like Joshua, Caleb, and Ian encourage me it’s worth it.
Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 remind us it’s possible
because of God’s faithful commitment to us.

“Now may the God of peace sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.”

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fruitful Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Fruitful!

Fruitful Day 8 Kind Beauty

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:16-18
Romans 2:1-5
Hosea 2:14-20

Fruitful, Day 8

I have become incredibly passionate about proclaiming – and living out in my own life! – the vital importance of walking by the Spirit’s power to experience victorious Christian living.

Still, so often we forget to surrender to the Holy Spirit’s leadership when we seek to grow in Christlikeness and sanctification. We have the mistaken idea that the fruit of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23), will somehow be cultivated in us and lived out when we strive for it.
This is impossible!

When we pay attention to context, and back up to verse 16, Paul shows us exactly how these fruits will grow in our lives, “I say, then, walk by the Spirit, and you will certainly not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Walking by His Spirit is to closely abide in relationship with Him through studying His Word, prayer, and living in biblical community. As we surrender to Him, He cultivates His fruit within us, and we begin living it out.
Here’s the key: the Holy Spirit.
Apart from His work in our lives, we can produce no good fruit.

So far, we’ve studied Love, Joy, Peace, and Patience in our Journey Theme.
Today, we’re studying Kindness.
What a beautiful realization to know that if kindness is a fruit of the Spirit,
then it’s proof our God is kind.
Kindness characterizes His Spirit.

Isn’t that encouraging?
We do not serve a harsh, unfeeling, mean, rude, uncaring God.
We serve a kind One.

One of my favorite passages revealing His kindness also comes from the pen of Preacher Paul in his letter to the Romans.
“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

I love this beautiful passage because it so clearly shows us the loving, compassionate, caring, tender kindness of God. He doesn’t beat us over the head with our sin, as if cruelty and condemnation would somehow spur us to repentance. Instead, He showers upon us His kindness, He shows us His long-lasting forbearance and patience as His tender love draws us to Him.

We see this so clearly throughout the Old Testament.
Again and again, we read of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, forsaking Him and turning to do their own thing instead. Yet repeatedly, the Lord reaches out to them, sends prophets to tell of His love, rescues them, and reveals Himself to be incredibly compassionate and patient. His love for them never ends, therefore He is kind and forgiving as He seeks to woo them back. (Hosea 2:14-20)

I have experienced this kindness of God myself when His Spirit gently and lovingly convicts me of sin, inspires repentance in my heart, then compassionately clarifies to me all is well between us and has been forgiven. Then, this fruit of kindness begins flowing outward to touch other’s lives with the kindness of God as He draws them ever closer to Him.
What a beautiful thing! 

This is one reason biblical community and church fellowship are emphasized throughout Scripture. We need each other, and we need each other’s kindness flowing from the Spirit within us. I have experienced this kindness firsthand from God’s people in countless ways, including phone calls and texts to check on me, meals delivered after I’ve had a baby, birthday and book launch parties thrown for me, prayers when I’m going through a hard season, a meal train set up in preparation for my husband’s upcoming deployment, offers to mow my yard and tend to other things around our home while my husband is away, babysitting my children so I can have some moments to myself, impromptu money showing up in my PayPal account with a note saying, “Go get yourself some coffee,” and more.

Each time I have been shown the kindness of God through the actions of His people, it has comforted my heart, brought me joy, and drawn me ever closer to the God Who inspired these Christian sisters of mine to bless me.

Never underestimate, dear reader, the impact of your Spirit-led kindness on others! It is no small thing to live out the fruit of the Spirit known as kindness.
It changes lives, friends.
It has changed mine.

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fruitful Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Fruitful Day 6 Produce Or Consume?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Deuteronomy 31:24-29
Galatians 3:1-6
Galatians 5:16-25
2 Peter 3:8-13

Fruitful, Day 6

Patience.
A fruit of the Spirit we’d much rather consume than produce.
Something we pray for to help us get through our own trials, too often forgetting patience is also part of bearing witness.

As Moses prepared to climb a mountain and die when God said it was his time, he told Israel how much patience they required. Through plagues, rescue, the parting of the sea, miraculous provision in the wilderness, outmatched battles, and the establishment of the law, Moses was patient. Forbearing. Enduring through rebellion after rebellion.

He needed patience from God to persevere with the stiff-necked people. The patience he received also testified to the people of God’s faithfulness to them.

Fast forward to another man called to shepherd God’s stubborn people.

“You foolish Galatians!” (Galatians 3:1)
The apostle Paul’s stern correction to the early believers in Galatia carried a strong reminder to return to the God who set them free.

Israel had experienced freedom from bondage in Egypt by God’s might. The Galatians experienced freedom in Christ, God’s own Son. Yet, like Israel, they were eager to return to rules, repression, and religiosity.

“Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

Paul had every reason for impatience, but he patiently bore with the Galatian believers, offering exhortation.

His enduring care for them did not urge them to muscle through, but to grow in dependence on the One who could empower them to bear trials patiently, who could sustain them and their testimony through every hardship. The Holy Spirit.

Not much later in the letter, Paul described the results of the Holy Spirit’s work in hearts, even stubborn and foolish ones.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Paul needed divine patience to bear with the churches who turned back so easily, the kind only available from the God who waits for each of us to come to Him. (2 Peter 3:9) The patience he received testified of God’s continued faithfulness to His church.

God Himself is patient, and His patience proves His faithfulness. He waited until the right time to send His Son to save us. Now, He is waiting to bring to completion His big promise, to begin the Day of Lord:

“The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

He invites us to experience this kind of patience in our own lives.
A patience that doesn’t simply wait, but waits for a good, loving, hopeful purpose, like the salvation of many!

I’m convicted here when I realize I tend to think of patience as a fruit I want to eat more than produce.

I work to muster patience up first, scraping it together like hard-earned cash that can’t cover the bills (Lord, forgive me!). When I still don’t have enough, I remember where to turn. I ask God, and what patience He gives me through the Holy Spirit, I gobble up, giving thanks, but not giving myself up.

Then someone surprises me with a comment on how patient I seem. They ask how and why, and grace reminds me that patience is for feeding, not just receiving.

The fruit of the Spirit is a testimony to God’s character and faithfulness to all who come to Him.

Moses needed divine patience to do all God commanded, but that patience was also evidence to others of God’s enduring love.

Paul needed divine patience for his God-given mission, but that patience also spoke to those to whom he continually bore witness.

In truth, you and I tend to ask God for patience because we are hungering after something and don’t like to wait. The Holy Spirit produces patience in us so hungry people might see Jesus and know where to be filled.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

May those who look at us see the fruit of patience in our lives, and through that fruit, recognize the One who’s walking with us, who is patient with us, and who is patiently waiting to walk with them, too.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
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Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fruitful Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Fruitful!