(You) hide and go seek.

There was a king of Judah named Ahaziah who was no good. He ends up dying and his mom tries to kill the entire royal family (Jerry Springer?).  The daughter of the king before Ahaziah snatched up a baby named Joash, who was in line to be king, to keep him alive. The baby is hidden in the temple of the Lord while the bonkers mom rules over Judah.  In a CSI-style ceremony, the baby is brought out of the temple and crowned king 6 years later. Yes, crazy mom goes hysterical.  The story goes on and on.

"He (Joash) remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah (crazy mom) ruled the land." 2 Chron. 22:12.

No one knew the baby, Joash, was even still alive. They had no idea he was growing and being prepared for kingship. He was simply gone to them; hidden. Have you ever felt that way?

We as humans so badly want to be known. We want to be seen and honored.  We so desparately want to be great!  And guess what? We were made for all of the above. But we don't have to promote ourselves to get there. The hiding place in the temple of God, the secret place, the times you spend on your knees in prayer, those are the very key to the greatness we desire (John 15). We are known and seen by a lofty and intimate God who is sovereign over our lives. Do not despise the times in life of waiting and preparation. They are callings, not curses.

Don't miss they he remained hidden "with them" at the temple of God. Are the people you surround yourself pushing you towards that intimate place with God? Or are they trying to get you out of the temple of God?  Joash's preparation to be king relied very heavily on those people around him raising him up.

Miracle coat.

I've always struggled with shopping, especially for frivolous things.  A starving child pops up in my head on aisle 3 and I instantly feel the guilt of consumerism.

I had an old ski coat from 8th grade that was a size or two too big and not as warm as I had hoped.  I wanted a new one for an upcoming ski retreat but it wasn't a necessity; it was a want not a need.  I looked around department stores in vain.  One morning my mom had an entire list of consignment shops listed out.  My mom said, "We're going to find one today. I prayed about it."  My first thought was, "God doesn't care about this! I already have one that will work." After our first consignment shop was closed, we decided TJ Maxx might have something. We searched the store for ski jackets and finally asked an employee where the jackets were located. She told us they didn't have anymore. As we begin to turn away, she remembered they may have had one left. She showed us the remaining jacket. It was an Under Armour ski jacket in my precise size over 50% off. It was an obnoxious color, but at that point I wasn't picky.

I walked out of my apartment today to make a starbucks run. I looked down and realized I had on an old under armour fleece pullover the color as the lining of the new ski jacket.  God knew. He knew years ago when I bought the pullover it would match a jacket. Wow.  And to make it better, I've never gotten more compliments on a piece of clothing like I have this crazy lime green jacket. Maybe it's because it sticks out so much no one knows what else to say.


Needless to say, God cares about the smallest desires of our hearts. Psalm 139 speaks to just how well He knows us. From the hairs on our heads to the details of all of our ordained days, He knows and He cares.

As yourself.

When asked the most important commandment, Jesus responded,"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." [Mark 12:2

To love others as ourselves, we must first love ourselves.  In fact, it would follow that our love for others is limited by our own self-hatred. How do we love ourselves?

True love is patient and kind. It doesn't envy. It doesn't boast. It isn't proud.  It isn't rude.  It is not self-seeking.  It is not easily angered.  It keeps no record of wrongs.  It does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. [1 Cor 13:4-7].

Let's not confuse loving ourselves with pride. Truly seeing ourselves as the Father sees us, through eyes of extreme love,makes us love ourselves and even like ourselves. Pride is rooted in worldly affirmation. It's a matter of where we find identity.

But guess what? That real identity we so desperately need only comes from the Father himself.  Don't we know there are things about us each specifically that he absolutely adores?   Let's ask Him and take the time to listen and search His heart out through the Word. It's from there we can stop competing and envying and living in jealousy. When we truly love ourselves, those things disappear.

Because if we are to grow in our capacity to love others, we must also grow in love for ourselves.

When you've been wronged.

Genesis 16: In summary, Sarai (not yet Sarah) and Abram (not yet Abraham) were still waiting on Sarah to get pregnant as the Lord had promised. Sarai gets too impatient and tells Abram to sleep with her maidservant, Hagar. Abram sleeps with her (my thoughts here would fill an entire book) and Hagar gets pregnant--TA-DAH!  Sarai gets jealous and Abram tells Sarai to do whatever she wants with Hagar (this would make it on Docter Phil). Sarai mistreats Hagar (details not mentioned but we can imagine "Mean Girls" would fit the bill) and Hagar flees.  The angel of the Lord goes after Hagar and finds her by a spring in the desert. IMPORTANT! God pursues us and is with us in deserts...remember post 1?  Do you know what the angel tells Hagar to do when He speaks to her? He blesses her, but first he tells her to go back and submit to Sarai.  Hagar had been wronged, but her response shows she understood something very important for us. Hagar gives the Lord the name "The God WHO SEES".  She knew the mistreatment wasn't overlooked. We are mistreated/wronged on many occasions and many levels in relation with people. Do we, like Hagar, have the knowledge of the living One who sees?  If we do, then we don't need to seek out retaliation, get the last word, or win every argument because we know the just God of the Universe sees. But remember He called Hagar into submission AND THEN blessed her.  Where in our relationships this week can we let go of pride and walk in more humility knowing God is the One who sees? He sees every sacrifice you make and you don't have to fight for yourself (Ex. 14:14).

Better is one day.

Ten weeks into 40-hours weeks and I was exhausted, stressed, God wasn't pouring our relief like I expected, and I needed to just get away.  Have you been there? I wanted to go to the beach, preferably, but the mountains were looking good--whatever I could talk mom into (grad school default). I was in church shortly after this planning escapade and Chris Tomlin's "Better is One Day" was sung during worship. The song is based on Psalm 84:10, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." I sang and sang and God ever so gently whispered to my heart "Do you believe it?" Duh--I'm singing it! Then He said my heart, "Then why to you need vacation? Come to me. Better is a day with me than a thousand days at the beach." OH, so David was serious? Could God really relax me like a weekend trip to the beach? He could. It takes waiting in the presence of God and getting away with Him, but He always comes through when I trust Him enough to take Him up on it. A few intimate words from Him can soothe our hearts better than a thousand ocean waves.  What do you need, Beloved? Is it comfort, relief, security, peace, or joy?  Do we believe the lie that something in the world could satisfy us? Don't we end up in the same empty place over and over when we go to those things? In a week, I'm sure I would be ready for another beach trip. Let's go sit at the throne of God until He provides whatever it is we need. We will continue to be filled  (Is. 55:1), and I'm pretty sure the One who crafted us knows exactly how to fill us.

Valley girl, Valley God.

"The man of God came up and told the king of Israel (Ahab), 'This is what the Lord says: 'Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver the vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord." 1 Kings 20:28

The Arameans claimed that Israel's god was only a god of the hills  and if they could attack Israel in the plains, then they could defeat them.  What is God's response? He IS the God of the valleys. He's the very same God in our valleys and lowest of places, Beloved. It is His very identity to go the lowest places and bring us to victory. He is in the valleys with us! As much as painful days and the hardest places in life hurt, we must believe that His promise of deliverance and victory is as true for us as it was for the Israelites. Do we trust that He is orchestrating our valleys, though they may hurt? This trust frees us to praise Him and walk in joy, even in tears. I believe that is why James says to rejoice when we face all sorts of trials because we know the testing of our faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work in us so that we are mature and complete, not lacking nothing (James 1:2-4). He knows exactly where you are and how He's going to bring you to victory. Can you rest in that?


Beloved, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13)."