In my minds eye, everyone has a life tool chest. Before I became a Christian, it was filled with survival tools of which I used to survive. But when I became a believer, God started replacing those survival tools with tools equipping me to thrive. These tools were derived from the Word of God, through trials, perseverance, experience. That is why James says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬. With each trial is an opportunity to build life’s tool chest; tools we can use to be successful in all we do and go through. I think of Joesph who went through trial after trial, but God used the tools he accumulated during those trials to make Joesph the leader God designed him to be. I believe God is doing that in my life. I believe He has replaced those survival tools I once used just to get by, and

The writer of Hebrews explained brutal honesty perfectly when he said, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬. When we are brutally honest with ourselves we are stripped bare: naked and exposed. It is uncomfortable, embarrassing, traumatizing, shameful. But isn’t that what God had in mind when He created mankind? Before the fall, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed as they stood before God. But when they chose to disobey God, the first thing they experienced was shame, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” Genesis 3:7. When God came looking for them, they didn’t stand before God, they hid from God. They were trying to hide their sin and shame by sowing fig leaves together, which was woefully insufficient. They couldn’t do anything in their own power to cover their sin, so they tried to hide (it). But God… He did something amazing; He lovingly brought them out of hiding, and shed blood to make a covering for their

I Choose Today to Endure… Author Brian Dickinson [Blind Descent] states, “Life’s journey is marked by both triumphs and falls, yet the righteous are characterized by their resilience.” We are going to fall. We are going to have setbacks. We are going to face adversity. We are going to have doubts. But God… Jesus told us in Matt 6 how to handle adversity while setting ourselves apart from unbelievers by saying, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬ One of the reasons we go through adversity and setbacks is to show the world how God enables us to navigate them; by seeking God first because He is the one who gives us what we need to help us up, propel us forward, and enables us to succeed at overcoming setbacks. When the world sees this played out in our lives, why wouldn’t they want that kind of Father? So, don’t

Habakkuk lived in a time with a lot of challenges where it seemed like God was either not present or not loving. But yet, he chose to rejoice as he sang, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will REJOICE in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Hab. 3:17-18 Even when the circumstances of God’s people seemed dire (and it was), Habakkuk chose to rejoice in the Lord. This takes me to a time when my 5-1/2 month old son died of SIDS. No explanation, no signs, no perceivable reason. Did I ask God why He took my son from our family? Yes! But honestly, if God Himself came down to tell me all the good things He was going to do because of Bobby’s death, it wouldn’t have made sense to me or been a good enough reason in my mind’s eye, my fiercely protective mother’s reasoning. I had to choose, like Habakkuk, to rejoice.