Category: God’s Word

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? I’m still trying to figure out the answer to this question! 🙂 I have some decisions in my life to make, and in many ways, I don’t know which way is the correct way to turn. This can be very frustrating and confusing.

However, I DO have some direction from God’s Word. It may not tell me specifically what I should do in a certain situation, but it tells me what to do in the mean time!

So when you don’t know what to do, look to God and His Word. Take a moment to meditate on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV):

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Truthfully, the things listed in those few verses give me enough to focus on for the rest of my life! None of them is an easy undertaking, but with God’s help, we can take steps towards obeying Him in these areas today.

Be encouraged! God loves you, and He wants to show you (and me!) the right way to go. But first we need to focus on the things that He has already clearly directed us to do in Scripture.

Take the first step towards obedience today, and watch as He unfolds your path one day at a time. ❤

Image Credit: Unknown

Through the Darkest Valley

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
     I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

~ Psalm 23

These words were a balm to my soul last night. My doctor increased one of my medicines two weeks ago to help me with my anxiety, and unfortunately it seems to be having the opposite effect. I have been more anxious and depressed than normal–and even somewhat paranoid. Noises were bothering me and making me scared, and I was worrying about everything.

I decided to take a hot shower and fill my senses with my body wash of lavender and chamomile in an attempt to calm down and prepare for bed. Sometimes I find that heading to bed is the only way to escape the thoughts and the worries…that is, if they don’t keep me from sleep, anyhow.

But before I turned out the light and snuggled into bed, I “snuggled into” Psalm 23. It is a chapter in the Bible that always seems to calm and encourage, no matter what your circumstances.

I meditated on and prayed through each phrase, attempting to let them calm my tortured soul. Thank God for His Word. I don’t know what I would do without it, and without the Living Word, Jesus Christ.

Father, thank you for Your Word, and thank you for Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God. Thank you that your Word is practical–that it meets me where I am and comforts and encourages me when no one and nothing else can. Please help me to continually return to You for renewed peace and strength. Help me to trust that “even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.” I love You, and I rest in Your unfailing love for me. Amen.

Photo Credit: Crystal Knauss

God Makes Everything Glorious


Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that you are a glorious creation of God?

I hardly ever take the time to meditate on this.

One reason for this is that it’s difficult for me to even believe! I am a sinner; I do wrong things all of the time. How is it even possible that I could be called “glorious” by a perfect, sinless God?

And yet, God tells us in His Word:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.

~Psalm 139: 13-16 (The Message)

If everything that God makes is good (1 Timothy 4:4 / Genesis 1:31), then that means that I am good–and so are you! Our sin is not good, and we need to continually bring it to the Lord in confession (1 John 1:9). But because of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us on the cross, we can say and believe with confidence that we are glorious creations of God.

Take a moment to think about the words to this beautiful song, “Everything Glorious,” by the David Crowder Band:

The day is brighter here with You
The night is lighter than it’s hue
Would lead me to believe
Which leads me to believe

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

My eyes are small but they have seen
The beauty of enormous things
Which leads me to believe
There’s light enough to see that

You make everything glorious
Yeah, You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

From glory to glory
You are glorious, You are glorious
From glory to glory
You are glorious, You are glorious
Which leads me to believe
Why I can believe that

You make everything glorious
Yeah, You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

You make everything glorious
Yeah, You make everything glorious
Oh, You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

From glory to glory, oh, from glory to glory
You are glorious, You are glorious
You are glorious, You are glorious

And You make everything glorious
Yeah, You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

Son or daughter of God, believe it (even if you don’t feel like it’s true): We are His, and we are glorious!