Life’s Storms by Bryant Wright

DESCRIPTION Are you going through a difficult storm? Jesus said to expect storms, but we have good news: if we'll trust Him, we'll survive.

They cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed(Psalm 107:28–29, ESV).

By now, you have probably figured out that life is not free of challenges. Difficulties and even tragedies are to be expected. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV).

Whenever you face a storm, your first urge may be to scream, “Why?” Certain storms do come into our lives because of our own sin, but many occur when we’re right in the middle of God’s will. We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re doing what God wants us to do. Certainly that was the case for the disciples. Jesus told them to get into the boat and row across the Sea of Galilee. They were obeying Jesus when they suddenly found themselves in a horrific storm. It was so bad they thought they would not survive. But they did. With Jesus’ help, they made it to shore.

Are you going through a difficult storm? Worried you are not going to make it? Jesus said to expect these storms. But there is good news—Jesus helps us through the storms. If we’ll trust Him, we will survive.

New Normal by Boyd Bailey

DESCRIPTION Accept your new normal as an opportunity to adopt new ways to know God.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

New normals are a test of our trust in the Lord. They call us to get on our knees in prayer and cry out to our Heavenly Father. They are transitions we go through in life when we move into new seasons: health challenges, a job transfer, a new church or an empty nest. New normals are more difficult because it is the first time we have experienced these realities. Patience, flexibility and trust facilitate adjustment to a new situation. Adapting to change and focus on God is necessary.

For example, a close friend may move overseas or to another part of the country. Since you are geographically divided, you now keep up by email, calls and visits. Or, if you’ve lived as a single adult for years, but are now married, you focus on the person of your dreams. Hence, friends from your past life don’t receive the same attention as your best friend, your spouse. A new normal in relationships is hard. If you try to be everyone’s friend, you risk becoming no one’s real friend.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26

Make the best of your new normal by seeing God in the middle of your circumstances. Whether adversity or euphoria, either is an opportunity to draw closer to Christ. Accept new normals as your friend not your enemy.  It is a nudge toward the Lord, not a wedge between you and the Lord. Our Savior Jesus Christ specializes in doing new things. He makes a way of hope in our wilderness of worry and streams of faith in our wasteland of fear. See your new normal as God’s new thing.

What is your new normal? A boss who is more demanding? A child who is pushing the boundaries of their freedom? Life after divorce? Life after a loved one’s death? Financial limitations? Relational stress? Abundant resources? More opportunities than you ever imagined? Steward well what you have, so the Lord can trust you with more of His blessings. Accept your new normal as an opportunity to adopt new ways to know God. Learn how to lean into the Lord. Your new normal is the next step in following Jesus. Perceive it, believe it, receive it, embrace it.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. Revelation 21:5

Prayer: Heavenly Father, by grace and through faith, I accept my new normal as Your normal. 

Hold on to the God Who Holds It All Together by Jud Wilhite

DESCRIPTION The one who holds it all together is holding me and my problems. He can hold onto us no matter what we face.

This week I’ve been thinking about how the size of our God often determines the size of our trust. The Bible describes Jesus as bigger than anything I can grasp: “Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together” (Col. 1:17, NLT).

This is remarkable stuff. Peter O’Brien says, “Paul’s teaching about Christ as the goal of all creation. . .finds no parallel in the Jewish wisdom literature or in the rest of the extant Jewish materials for that matter.” Some translate the word “for” as “toward”, which makes the sense even more dramatic: “All things were created by him and toward him.” Everything began with him and will end with him.

Jesus holds it all together. I went nerdy and did some digging on this idea. It seems that there is a force holding all things together. Some scientists call it “strong nuclear force”.

Take an atom as an example. Ok, most of us don’t remember much from science class but stay with me, it will be worth it. Some people say opposites attract in relationships, right? It’s the same in science. If something has a positive charge it is attracted to something with a negative charge. But the crazy thing is that the middle of an atom (its nucleus) is made up of a bunch of protons along with some neutrons. This is a recipe for disaster because the protons all have a positive charge and should repel one another, kind of like putting a bunch of lawyers together in one room. But instead of repelling they stay together because of a “mysterious” energy being supplied from outside the atom.

Crazy huh? If this energy to help the protons stay together was not supplied from outside most atoms would become one explosion after another. This “mysterious” force that holds an atom together is very strong and not something to be messed with. If something disrupts this, like nuclear fission, an atomic bomb is created. When an atomic nucleus losses this mysterious force for just a second and splits it emits several hundred million volts of energy. So when the Bible says Jesus holds all things together this is like. . .big stuff and serious power!

What I’m reminded of today is that the one who holds it all together is holding me and my problems. He can hold onto us no matter what we face.

If he holds the stars in place, he can hold you in your depression. If he holds the moon in orbit, he can hold you in your financial struggle. If he holds the atom together, he can hold you in your family. If he holds the water in the oceans, he can hold you in your marriage troubles. If he holds the snow on the mountains, he can hold you in your sickness. If he holds the sun in the sky, he can hold you in your job loss. If he holds the leaves on the trees, he can hold you in your bankruptcy. If he holds the continents together, he can hold you in the stock market crash. If he holds the lightning in his hands, he can hold you in your home foreclosure. If he holds the sun, he can hold you in the death of a family member.

Hold on to the God who holds it all together!

Soul on Fire by THIRD DAY

DESCRIPTION God’s fire is all-consuming; it will never go out. And if we sit in His presence, He will rekindle the fire of our faith.

In Exodus 3 we find Moses in a desperate place. He has killed a man and has fled Egypt, and now the former grandson of Pharaoh is living a humble life as an outcast. And as he tends his father-in-law’s flocks, he comes across a most curious sight: a bush filled with a fire that will not go out.

God could have revealed himself to Moses in any number of ways. Yet he presented himself as an unquenchable fire. This fire theme appears time and time again throughout the Scriptures, whether it be a pillar of fire piercing the night sky and leading the Israelites through the desert, or the fiery furnace into which three Hebrew children were cast but came out unscathed. Ezekiel was forever changed by a vision of a fire in the sky. Later, God is described as a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), inspiring one of Third Day’s earliest songs. 

The God that Moses met in the desert is the same as the God we can know today. At his heart he is an untamable, all-consuming fire. Just like Moses, our early faith experiences can involve a fiery encounter, and we can come away, as John Wesley said, with our heart “strangely warmed”. We are a “soul on fire”.

God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt in epic fashion. But later in his life, things got hard again. As he faced all kinds of trials, surely Moses thought back to that original encounter with God at the burning bush and wished he could reignite that passionate fire of faith, returning to a place of simple trust. Similarly, we go through the briars and brambles of life and feel knocked down and defeated. We long for the initial fire of faith we had in our original meeting with God. 

It is easy in times like these to look at ourselves. We must have done something to get that fire of faith to begin with, so it only stands to reason that somewhere along the way we did something wrong. So now we need to do something to get it back. 

God has made it clear that the way to reignite our faith is not through any sort of human striving. Rather, he wants us to encounter him anew. He wants us to spend time sitting still in his presence and basking in the fire of his love. God’s fire is all-consuming, and it will never go out. And if we sit in his presence, he will rekindle the fire of faith. 

Prayer: Lord, let me burn for you again. Let me return to you again.

Written by Mark Lee of THIRD DAY

Coming Unglued Isn't All Bad by Lysa TerKeurst

DESCRIPTION Brokenness can lead us to health and wholeness if it brings us to God.

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness." Romans 6:12-13 (NIV)

I always thought me coming unglued emotionally was a bad thing. And certainly if I cause hurt to others it is. But, I learned something recently about an upside to my raw emotions. I saw pictures of a stunning home that had been reduced to rubble because of a fire caused by faulty wiring. And something about those pictures helped me understand a crucial truth.

A well-decorated home isn't a sign of a well-built house. It may seem impressive temporarily, but in the long run if the foundation crumbles or faulty wiring makes it catch on fire, it won't matter how many pretty pictures are on the walls. The whole house will fall.

The same is true about a well-decorated life. I can fake a smile, but if I'm falling apart underneath, eventually I will crumble.

My crumbling comes in the form of feeling short-tempered, on edge emotionally, and incapable of explaining exactly what's wrong. In those times where I come unglued, feelings festering underneath bubble to the surface. I see raw emotions I need to address.

This is why coming unglued isn't all bad.

Just like a light that fails to come on when the switch is flipped may indicate a wiring problem, coming unglued may indicate a problem with our internal wiring.

Outward expressions are internal indications.

If our outward expression is unglued, there's some brokenness going on internally. Broken places we won't address unless we are forced to acknowledge their existence. As painful as it might be to name these broken places, seeing ourselves—really seeing, deeply and honestly—is a very good thing.

When I look through the window of my unglued reactions, I may find pride I don't want to acknowledge. Longstanding unforgiveness. Deep-seated bitterness. Simmering anger. Joy-stealing jealousy. Condemning shame. Haunting regrets. Entangling rejection. Or I might see a schedule crammed too full. Or the feeling that I'm taken for granted and unappreciated.

We have to see what's there. Romans 6:12 reminds us not to let sin reign in us —therefore we have to become aware of the sin inside. If things are ever going to get better, we have to acknowledge things under the surface that fuel our unglued reactions.

We may not like what we see, but at least we'll know what we're dealing with. We can call it what it is and ask God to help us.

I'm reacting in angry ways, God. What do I do?
I'm feeling bitter towards them, God. What do I do?
I'm having a hard time forgiving, God. What do I do?
I'm using words that are harsh, God. What do I do?

Honestly, I don't take time to ask God what to do often enough. What about you? Maybe having a clear-eyed view of my underneath will help me go to God more — more frequently, more authentically, more humbly.

Therefore, might we agree that coming unglued isn't all bad if it brings us to God? And brings to the light what is eating away at us — chipping away at our foundation? Coming unglued is glorious if the end result of that brokenness leads us to a more healthy wholeness.

Dear Lord, please open my heart and my eyes to see the places that are broken and allow Your healing and truth in. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond:
We all have unglued moments. What raw emotions are being brought to light through your brokenness?

After identifying the underlying raw emotions, ask God to show you what to do with those emotions.

Power Verses:
2 Timothy 2:19, "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'" (NIV)

Romans 14:19, "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." (NIV)

God Still Speaks by Greg Laurie

DESCRIPTION Does God still speak to people today?

Does God still speak to people today? 

Is He interested in what happens to us as individuals? Does He really have a master plan for our lives? Or are we merely victims of blind chance?

God is indeed interested in us as individuals. He does in fact have a master plan for our lives, and He does truly want to speak to us. Jesus described Himself as our Good Shepherd (see John 10:11). And as His sheep, we can hear His voice.

But how can we know when God is the one speaking? We need to remember that God speaks to us primarily through His Word. He will never lead us contrary to anything He says there. We don't have to go any further than the Bible to know the will of God for our lives. Psalm 19:8 says, "The statutes of the Lord are right." In the original language, this verse means that God's Word has set out the right path for us to follow. We don't have to lose our bearings in the fog of human opinion or let our fickle emotions lead us astray. Instead, we have a sure guide: the Word of God.

We are to think about God's Word, we are to ponder it, and we are to meditate in it day and night. C.H. Spurgeon said, "Nobody ever outgrows Scripture. The Book widens and deepens with our years." As a result of spending time in God's Word, you will bring forth spiritual fruit.

So, listen to your Shepherd. Read His Word, and let it bear fruit in your life.

A Believer’s Peaceby Daily Disciples

DESCRIPTION A believer understands it is not about conflict-free circumstances that bring peace but about Jesus who brings peace in the midst of all kinds of circumstances.

Today's Reading: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things where with one may edify another. Romans 14:19

Today, believers and unbelievers alike are looking for peace. But how do we follow after the things of peace? Since everyone is longing and searching for peace, let’s first define the difference between the peace of the unbeliever with the peace of the believer.

The unbeliever is looking for peace in the outer circumstances of their lives. “If only the world was a peaceful place to be, if only we had a leader that would establish peace, if only everyone else would be kind to one another….then we would have peace” are the hopes and thoughts of the unbelievers. So, they look for leaders who could bring this kind of peace to their environment. We all agree with this kind of thinking to some extent. Wouldn’t we all be happy with world peace and conflict free circumstances? But Jesus tells us that in this world you will have tribulation and the Bible teaches that the only leader who will bring world peace is the spirit of the antichrist. World peace cannot last under his reign for Satan is the master of division, destruction, disaster and death.

A believer’s peace is different. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you.” The kind of peace Jesus gives is peace of heart. Christians should have great peace knowing that they are unconditionally loved and that God has a purpose for them. There is great peace seeing prayers answered and understanding the things of God. As a believer begins to meditate upon the things of God, the peace they receive in their hearts starts training their minds to think differently. We start hearing praise songs going through our minds and thanking God for His loving kindness and goodness towards us.

Finally, this peace of Christ is lived out through the believers’ behaviors. Their attitude is not negative and they smile for no reason. They are focused but not self centered. And their behavior starts reflecting a trust in God that all things will work together for good because they love God and know God loves them. A believer understands that it is not about conflict-free circumstances that bring peace but about Jesus who brings peace in the midst of all kinds of circumstances. So, we follow after the things of peace leading us to follow the Author of perfect peace Himself.