Psalm 139:1-6 Click here to listen to today’s devotional This week, I have taken intentional time to journal about my inner life. It has been both challenging and necessary. I’m sharing these reflections with you so you can also ask God to search what temptations, worries, or burdens might be pulling you this week. As someone who spends much of my time thinking about God-related things, talking about God, and preparing others to encounter God, this week has been a reminder that there is a difference between working for God and being present with God. A question I have wrestled with is, What is happening in my soul while I am doing all the things expected of me as a pastor? I am entering a new season of ministry. New church. New community. New relationships. New expectations. There is excitement, but there is also uncertainty. I have been reflecting on the verse I preached on in my first sermon: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11...
Isaiah 41:21-24 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Often, we are drawn to anyone or anything that promises to tell us what comes next. Just think of election season. Candidates promise they know what needs to happen next, and that they'll be the ones to make it happen. Besides that, we check forecasts, scroll through headlines, follow experts, and replay conversations in our minds, hoping someone can calm our fears surrounding the question: What's going to happen ? That's the tension behind God's challenge in Isaiah 41 when God speaks to the idols that people trusted. The Lord says, "Tell us what is to happen," and "declare to us the things to come." Of course, it's a challenge they cannot answer. Their promises are empty because they cannot see or shape what's next. They are nothing. And yet, not much has changed. Our idols may not be carved from wood or stone, but they still make oversized promises. You probably recognize them, ev...