• Sign up for the volunteer opportunity at school
• Make a meal for the new mom at church
• Schedule an eye doctor appointment for one child, a counseling appointment for the other
• Finish my Bible study for this week’s discussion
• Text back my neighbor to check in after the flu hit hard

There are stresses over being a good neighbor and a thoughtful parent and trying to remember everyone’s little things so that they feel cared for and seen. This list doesn’t even include being a thoughtful citizen in today’s politically charged atmosphere. We’re all trying to do our best, but the media tells us we should be doing more. 

The needs of the people around me feel heavy. And I foolishly try to tackle them all on my own. A mentor of mine once reminded me that I am finite; I was not made to consume and take on every single care that I see. That is not God’s intent for me or for you. In the season of Lent, we are asked to remember the reality of sin and death and our need for a Savior. So we must stop trying to play savior ourselves and instead find ourselves coming to God, in prayer, as the psalmists did.

This psalm of ascent, like many of the psalms, spans from desperation to assurance. But the thread that runs through the whole psalm is recounting the character of God and finding assurance in His promises. In this act of worship, we pause to bring God into our concerns, trusting in His love for His people, David encourages us. 

“Israel, put your hope in the LORD. For there is faithful love with the LORD, and with him is redemption in abundance.” 
—Psalm 130:7

We wait on the Lord, remembering all the ways He has been faithful to us. We look to the cross and know that Jesus has reconciled everything through His blood (Colossians 1:20). My hope is in God, who has the capacity to take on the cares and concerns of my world. His abundance covers everything I lack. My to-do list becomes my prayer list because I know God cares about these things. I can rest in Him, even in the midst of life’s chaos, and experience the calm and quiet of my soul (Psalm 131:2)—peace.

The life Jesus calls us to is often hard to understand because it is countercultural and uncomfortable for most, even believers! Paul was misunderstood numerous times in the story of Acts. In this chapter, Paul stood before the governor Felix to defend his faith. Instead of lashing out against the false charges, he said, “I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men” (Acts 24:16). He chose the high road, staying above reproach when it came to defending the gospel to those who may never have fully understood it.

When it comes to defending our faith, there are many who take the wrong approach. They hold signs and yell; they cause unnecessary division. Some isolate themselves in ivory towers filled with theology books to prove they’re right and others are wrong. But Jesus showed us a different response.

When Jesus stood before Pilate, he also chose to not react or over explain. When questioned about His actions, Jesus responded, “I was born for this, and I have come into this world for this: to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). His entire life was living above reproach.

Whether or not our faith is ever fully understood by others, may our actions always be out of faithfulness to God. For we know our reward for living faithfully is not found in the acknowledgement and acceptance of people but rather in God’s promises to restore us in the final days. “There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing” (2Timothy 4:8).

I’m reminded of the Israelites in Jeremiah 29 who had been rejected by those in their exiled home of Babylon and how we may also feel rejected by others for our faith. But we can have hope in this promise from God: “‘I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you’—this is the LORD’s declaration—‘plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:10–11).

May we strive to “walk worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1) we have received and approach everyone with humility, gentleness, and patience. Instead of taking a defensive stance, let’s bear with one another in love and walk with a clear conscience before God and one another.

I centered my thesis around Acts 20:24 where Paul wrote, “My purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” Everything else that made up the good life I imagined, like finding the right vocation, establishing healthy friendships, creating a Christ-centered family, and maintaining a walk with Jesus, were all motivated by finishing the course Jesus gave me. My good life was to be a testament to the grace of God.

Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesians reminds me of his own personal paper on what he believed was the good life. Before he left the Ephesians, he reminded them of all he had done on behalf of Jesus. He had taught the hope of Jesus fearlessly and had held the church accountable to the truth of Jesus’s word. He encouraged them to continue to build a life around the same biblical values that he demonstrated for them—never shrinking back from living a bold life for Jesus.

Looking back, I see why our teachers asked us to write the paper. It wasn’t so that we could walk into the adult world with a perfect path toward our own version of the good life. It was to give us an opportunity to decide for ourselves what truths we would stand by when things got hard and our morals were tested.

In the same way, Paul knew when he left the Ephesian church, “savage wolves” would hide amongst them and try to twist God’s truth (Acts 20:29). It was necessary for them to be alert, remembering Paul’s example so that they would not turn away from everything he had taught them about Jesus.

If you were to give your final address, what would you point to in your life that demonstrated what was most valuable to you? Would it sound a lot like Paul’s address—a life dedicated to the message of Jesus? My prayer for us is this: “As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). If you build a legacy for Jesus, I have no doubt your life will be a “good” one.

A friend who never calls after she promises she will text to get together.

A canceled family trip you had planned after guaranteeing much needed fun.

Waiting for a job offer that you were assured was yours.

And then there are those hopes that require us to trust God is working all things out for good. Those awaited promises are a bit gray, and we could spend a lifetime discerning the difference between the things we think we deserve and what God sees for our good.

Abraham and Sarah were also stuck in an anticipated promise. God said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation….I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:2–3).

I wonder if Abraham and Sarah stayed up some nights, plotting and dreaming how God was going to use them for such a great purpose. Maybe they thought it would be only a few months, a year at the most, to see what God would do next. Their story required many, many years before God acted.

Are you feeling stuck in an anticipated promise? There are seasons of waiting for the “next thing” to happen for all of us. All of Advent calls us to a discipline of practicing and remembering a long-awaited promise: the birth of our Savior.

It’s easy to look back and see how God answered. It is more difficult when we are in the middle of unmet promises. We know that Sarah would give birth to a baby (Genesis 21) who would create a legacy of families and ultimately the family line of Jesus. But when Abraham and Sarah were in the waiting, the thing they needed the most was faith.

We need faith while we wait on the Lord. We need faith when things don’t go the way we expected. We need faith when our timeline doesn’t match up to God’s timeline.

Those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons….Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.
—Galatians 3:7,9

And our faith rests on the covenantal promise given to Abraham: All nations will receive a restored relationship with God through Jesus. Abraham and Sarah had no idea what God was going to do, but they trusted Him and had faith. In the same way, we can remember how God is faithful to His promises and celebrate His faithfulness in this Advent season.

Not many of us are given as clearly defined a role as David—if only a priest like Samuel could come and visit us as young people, telling us exactly what God has in store. It’s almost like a scene out of a Hollywood movie—“Anoint him, for he is the one” (1Samuel 16:12). I can only imagine the shock and confusion David’s brothers had at his anointing. 

Yet David didn’t ascend to the throne that day. While he may have been given a clear anointing, David still had to wait over a decade to step into his God-assigned role. 

David probably had a lot of questions when he assumed his role as king after the many years spent in Saul’s service, fighting a giant, winning big battles for Israel, and running from his enemies in the wilderness. While “David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel” (2Samuel 5:12), his new title probably didn’t mean he had his whole life figured out. Instead, we see how God was using that time to increase David’s trust and obedience. 

I believe the same is true for our purpose. Those who have been called by God have been given good plans to carry out for His glory (Romans 8:28). But many of us may still be wondering what that thing might be. I long to be a person who is consistently obeying God in the moments of my life that may feel insignificant but are building up the refined, holy person that God has for me to be. How might God use your present day to build your character like He built David’s? 

On any given day, you can find me juggling a career, kids, a home, meals, exercise, and relationships. Oh, how I love my ability to do it all! I worship my productivity and to-do list as if it will save me from dropping any of my responsibilities. Until, inevitably, I am woken from my delusional state of control with real life—which if it is anything like yours, isn’t all that put together.

Sure, I can double check my lists, but I still forget to follow up with a friend, pray over my husband throughout the day, act patiently with my children, or meet all my deadlines. I feel at a loss for how to make my life easier, better, and more sustainable. I tackle my problems with color-coded calendars in hopes that nothing will fall apart.

In Isaiah 44, we read about the ignorance of those who craft their own gods and worship their own constructed power. One craftsman in particular “grows hungry and his strength fails” (Isaiah 44:12) while trying to shape iron. The other put his entire worship into the fire he built, hoping it would save him, but his mind was deceived. We can get so caught up in course correcting our problems that we begin to think we are the ones in control. We are the ones who can save ourselves. 

We find ourselves worn out trying to save our own little kingdoms from collapsing. We are anxious when even something small doesn’t go as planned. We get puffed with pride thinking we know it all and can do it all. But it only takes one small thing to remind us how little power we have outside of the power of Jesus. 

When I’ve finally exhausted all my options, exposed and vulnerable, I confess to God that I let myself be deceived and I need Him. I can turn to God and be saved from my sin (Isaiah 45:22).

For there is no one like our God. He never finds Himself too weak to help us. Nothing is outside of His control or might. The same promise to Israel is fulfilled in Jesus for us today: “Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated for all eternity” (v.17). 

Now, I am freed from needing to have all things worked out for myself. In a world that wants us to build something of ourselves, I can rest in the saving power of Jesus. Unlike the failure of my own power, whatever I build alongside God will last forever. For it’s God’s power and salvation that sustain our walk, our plans, our days.

Written by Bailey Hurley

Most of our journeys have been affected by dishonest choices whether we were wronged or did the wrongdoing. I have stories of my own when I tried to achieve something that wasn’t meant for me. Like when I was in college, I took a ministry job I wasn’t ready for. When the acceptance came for the position, I was less excited and more anxious than ever.

I had so much self-doubt (“I am way too young to be in this role. Everyone probably thinks I can’t do it.”), fear (“What if I make huge mistakes and embarrass myself?”), and loneliness (“My friends don’t understand what I’m feeling, and I feel very alone.”). 

I felt like a fraud who somehow tricked the directors into hiring me. Now with much perspective, none of those lies were true. But my feelings of unpreparedness were legitimate. When I think of Jacob’s story, I wonder if he felt coerced into a role he wasn’t fully ready to take on. I bet he wrestled with self-doubt and fear after deceiving his father and taking the blessing from his brother. He eventually ran from the consequences of his actions. 

Yet God found Jacob on the run and still gave him a blessing he didn’t deserve.

“Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
—Genesis 28:15 

God’s presence also was my personal blessing during that difficult ministry season—He was with me through every mini-breakdown. It wasn’t the experience I hoped for, but God still rewarded the experience with His nearness.

We will continue to find ourselves forcing our own paths outside of God’s plan for us. We make the ultimate act of deception when we decide we can live our lives without God’s help and authority. Still, God’s promise to restore His relationship with us through Jesus’s death and resurrection is an undeserving reward God gives freely. He finds us running from Him and brings us back to his comfort and care. 

Ultimately, God knew Jacob would struggle and not make an honest choice, but it didn’t put Jacob outside of God’s good story for him. Jacob may have still struggled but He struggled with God alongside Him, protecting His path. Jacob saw a grace in all the bad choices he made with God watching over him.

There’s nothing you can do to separate you from God’s love. So even in your worst moments, God is still there. I hope we can look for His love in our difficult seasons and believe like Jacob: “Surely the LORD is in this place….What an awesome place this is!” (vv.16–17). 

Written by Bailey Hurley

When Jesus asks the disciples, “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13), I imagine all the men making designs in the dirt with their sandals, looking down and mumbling some answers about what they’ve heard people shout in the streets or whisper in the synagogues. The disciples followed Jesus from town to town and watched Him perform miracle after miracle. And even though they saw things with their eyes, their hearts still had room to grow in knowing who He really was.

But when Jesus asked again, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v.16), and Jesus praised Simon! For it wasn’t just seeing the outward things but God revealing in Simon’s heart who Jesus truly was. 

How do you really know someone? You spend time with them! You watch them! And then you open your heart to see them as they truly are. How intimately connected to the Father I long to be to see the person of Jesus for who he really is—the Messiah, the Savior. How do I often let myself get distracted by the details of faith and the busyness of life that I miss the true person of Jesus?

In this dry season, one of the newer members of our small group shared: “I used to laugh at Christians; I thought they were stupid for believing in something like Jesus. God is absolutely amazing to take someone like me and turn my life completely around—someone who hated Jesus and now worships Him with my whole life.” 

His frank and earnest story moved me. Afterward, while getting ready for bed, I thought: “What an amazing God I have. I don’t doubt He can call people from darkness into light, but, wow, nothing can stop Him. Jesus is the Son of the living God.” This isn’t the first time God has used someone’s testimony of faith to remind me of the passion I had when I first came to believe in Jesus. This person’s faith story was a gift to my faith and a tool to draw me back to the person of Jesus. May Simon Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is also draw us towards Jesus, our Messiah. For “everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11).

Could you imagine sacrificing all of that and then preparing to do it again, knowing your sins were not completely forgiven?

But through Jesus, we have been given freedom from this way of atoning for our sins. Hebrews 10:12 talks about what Jesus has done to atone for us, “But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” One sacrifice covered it all. No more coming to the priests with an offering that was only temporary, because what Jesus did was forever. 

The gift of our forgiveness is near, but, admittedly, I don’t consider my sin that often—not nearly as regularly as the Israelites did. Why? Sometimes I don’t want to admit my sin to myself, let alone the Lord. Sometimes my heart is too hard to recognize the sin in my life. And truthfully, there are times I do not fully understand the effects of my sin on my relationships with others and the Lord.

When I read about the beauty of Jesus as our High Priest, it eases the hesitation and apathy I feel around my need for a perfect advocate like Jesus. As High Priest, Jesus sympathizes with my weakness (Hebrews 4:15). He understands my temptation to sin, but He is without sin, so I know I can come to Him for help (v.15). He did not exalt Himself to the position of High Priest but was given the honor by God because of His dependence and humility before God (Hebrews 5:5–10). He makes our enemies His footstool and perfects those who have put their faith in Him (Hebrews 10:13–14).

Reading that list brings me to actual tears. Jesus has made a way for us to come to Him and receive salvation from our sins. At any moment, we can come to Him and ask for His help, and He will give it. May we not be afraid to ask, “Great High Priest, come.”

The Israelites had their own pattern: The people would live according to the laws of the nations around them, and their lives would be destructive and immoral. God would appoint judges over the people and use them as an instrument of salvation to fight back against their enemies, and then the people would be saved and there would be peace. But when the judges passed away, the Israelites would turn away from God’s ways again.

They should have heeded the warning from Moses: “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

We have patterns too. And my objects of affection aren’t that different from the Israelites. Israel’s idol worship is similar to my own cycles of sin. Why would anyone choose sacrifice and obedience over doing what they want to do? These sin patterns can hold positions of power over my bank account, my time, and my worship. Even in sin, I want the comfort of a life of pink, purple, pink, purple. But Jesus throws an orange in there to disrupt my sin and bring me back to His ways.

Jesus disrupts those sin patterns with His love in the form of a Sunday morning song, holding hands with a friend in prayer, prompting me to read my Bible when I have other pressing things to do, a sermon that convicts my pride, a text of encouragement, a warm cookie shared with my kids, and kind words spoken from God through my husband. These are the ways He breaks up my patterns of sin and calls me back to God’s ways over my ways.

His love prompts us to believe and hope in Him over the hope we find in worldly things. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” Our perfect judge, Jesus, is our instrument of salvation. Unlike the judges, who died and left Israel to try and keep God’s commands on their own, Jesus is always with us. His Spirit is always available and near to show us how to live for Him. We may waver, but Jesus is an anchor that grounds us to His promises—a faithful promise to help us make new patterns of living for Him through His love.