Author: vicklea

I love to read! I’m a retired teacher with a spouse of 45 years, three amazing children and nine wonderful grandchildren. I am blessed!

Review of YOU CAN’T HURT ME by Emma Cook

On By vickleaIn Book ReviewLeave a comment
I’m happy to be part of the HTP BOOKS Ball Blog Tour! I hope you enjoy my review.

About the Book

ISBN: 9781335430489
Publication Date: November 5, 2024 Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Book Summary:


The Silent Patient meets Rebecca in this twisty debut about the mysterious death of a woman with congenital analgesia, a rare condition where she can’t feel any pain – and an obsessive journalist who will stop at nothing to uncover her most dangerous secrets.
Meet Eva, who can’t feel pain, and Anna, who can’t escape it.
Everyone has heard about the case of Eva Reid. Ever since she was born, she’s been immune to physical pain – she can get a paper cut, break a limb, and even give birth without feeling a single thing. Her rare condition has long-captivated reporters and researchers – including Dr. Nate Reid, Eva’s husband and acclaimed scientist renowned for his work in The Pain Laboratory. Also among them is Anna Tate, a ruthless journalist with a dark past of her own.
When Eva is suddenly found dead inside her home, it raises a flurry of questions around the last night of her life – and who might’ve been involved. Anna finds herself growing increasingly obsessed with Eva’s case: her cloistered, painless existence, her promising career as a psychotherapist, and especially her toxic relationship to Dr. Reid, whom she met and married as his former patient. But what other secrets could they be hiding?

When Dr. Reid embarks on the process of writing a book about Eva, Anna makes sure she’s first in line to work on the project with him. As she slowly inserts herself into their home and seeks to uncover what’s fact and what’s fiction, shocking discoveries await her – and not everyone may come out unscathed…

My Thoughts

What a chillingly delightful novel! The woman married to the pain specialist, Eva, is found dead under some rather mysterious circumstances. But what a complication! She cannot feel pain since she suffers from a congenital condition that precludes her from doing so. When Anna, a ghostwriter, enters the scenario, she is fascinated with Eva’s story and Dr. Reid’s obsession with studying pain. Anna is determined to find out what really happened the night that Eva died, but her quest is filled with some unexpected twists and turns as well as danger. This is a moderately paced novel, perfectly paced for the action in the story. The characters are compelling and dynamic and the research that is included in the story is absolutely riveting. I had trouble putting down the book, especially once Anna started her independent investigation. This book proves that one should not take anything for granted and that not all narrators can be trusted. With a web of deceit built into the story as well as a cleverly executed page-turner with some head-spinning twists, this novel captivated my attention and intrigued me with its profound revelations about pain and how it can be manipulated. Edgy and satisfying novel that is terrifyingly brilliant!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Note that this is contemporary fiction and I rate it PG-15

About the Author

Emma Cook has been an editor at the Guardian for 16 years, commissioning on Guardian Weekend, editing her own section Do Something and now assistant editor and travel editor on the Observer magazine. She has written for a range of titles including the Guardian, the Independent, the Times, the Daily Telegraph, ES Magazine, Elle and Psychologies. She is an alumna of the Faber Academy’s six-month Writing A Novel course, and You Can’t Hurt Me is her debut novel.

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The Faithfulness of God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App4 Comments

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “A God Who Is Faithful”, Day 1

A Faithful God and an Unfaithful People

The book of Judges presents a stark contrast between the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of his people. It is astounding to consider that so soon after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, a generation arrived on the scene that neither knew the Lord nor the works that he had done for them. The very same nation who was an eyewitness to the stunning might of God had now forgotten him altogether. Their forgetfulness is seen in their ever-increasing propensity toward rebellion.

One would anticipate that their sin would prompt God to abandon his people forever. Yet, time and time again, an avalanche of God’s grace meets the faithlessness of the people. In fact, the text records God’s pity on the people and his attentiveness to their cries. Previously, Moses recounted how the people of God groaned because of their slavery and cried out to the Lord (Ex 2:23 – 25). These cries for deliverance were met by responses from the Lord. He heard their cries. He remembered the promises he had made in his covenant with them. He saw their need, and he knew their pain. This is the nature of the faithfulness of God — he hears, remembers, sees and knows.

Now, generations later, God heard the cries of his people and provided judges to lead them to victory. He did this despite the fact that they had demonstrated a perpetual inability to obey, even for a generation. God’s faithfulness is clearly not predicated on the goodness of his people. Rather, God’s faithfulness is founded on his character. He is a faithful God who always keeps his promises.

The faithfulness of God is the hope on which the Christian life is built. Those who know Jesus through repentance and faith can rest assured that God is faithful to his promises (1Co 1:9). He will not abandon his people, nor will he turn his back on them when they are unfaithful. Instead he hears, remembers, sees and knows. (Emphasis added by me) He hears the cry for mercy from those who know they are broken. He remembers his covenant, made long ago to Abraham, to save his people. He knows the needs of his people and, by virtue of Christ’s work, has made provision to meet those needs and restore them to a right relationship with him forever.

Today’s Prayer: 

Jesus, I thank you and praise you for your grace and faithfulness. Thank you for never giving up on me, even when I am ungrateful, rebellious and forgetful of your goodness. Amen.

My Thoughts

I have never been in slavery, captive by people who use me mercilessly. But I have been in slavery to sin, and God has freed me, not because of anything I have done but only because of His mercy and grace.

It is reassuring to know that God remains faithful even when we lose sight of the pathway He has us on and wander away. He is faithful to get us back on the right pathway and get us headed again in the right direction. God knows that we are human with all of the weaknesses and temptations that come along with it, and the good news is that He loves us anyway and is always faithful. He hears when we cry out to Him. I have a regular routine of praying daily, but that was not always the case. Even if I went days without acknowledging God (confession here: I am guilty of having done this in the past and know that I can fall into that pattern in the future if I allow myself to do so), once I called on the Name of the Lord, I felt Him draw near to me, ready to hear and answer my call. Why would He do that? Why would He be so faithful when I, and other humans, have a tendency to turn towards self-sufficiency instead of toward Him? Then the going gets rough and we turn to God. I have learned a big life lesson to always call on God, every day, no matter how I expect my day to go or what is going on in my life.

Having said all of this, I have a prayer request for a dear friend in PA. She was diagnosed with tongue cancer. No, she never smoked or used tobacco products, ever! That was last year. Now, it has progressed and she is on hospice care. We share a love of good Christian books and I have sent her some of my favorites via my daughter who attends her church. In fact, she taught all of my grandchildren there at one time or another. Please pray for Millie and her family. She has two sisters, one a twin, and I am sure that the knowledge that she only has a few months to live is devastating to them. I know it is breaking my heart; she is such a kind, sweet lady. I won’t tell you how to pray, but I am asking you to pray. God is faithful!

Commune with Each Other

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Reconnected”

Day 5: Community

I talk to a lot of very connected people—people who, from a distance, look like they have more friends than they know what to do with. But most of them tell me they are actually lonely and wish they had more friends. We are the most digitally connected generation in the history of planet Earth and it would not be a stretch to say that we are also the loneliest.

Watching groups of friends choose to stare at their phones rather than engaging with each other when they are together is, if you think about it, insane. If you had beamed into our current reality from 1980 and saw friends doing that, you would think they were avoiding each other because they didn’t want to be together. This is a problem.

The Amish will never have this problem because they won’t allow themselves to. They aren’t anti-technology; they are pro-community. So they weigh the potential value of every piece of new technology before allowing it.

We don’t have to give up technology to have community, but we can be more intentional about the limits we place on technology that may be hindering us in finding true community. [Emphasis added by me] If you don’t have a thriving community where you live, I have good news—you can find one. If you do have a thriving community, I have good news for you too—you can make it better.

Prayer

Lord, please give me guidance and wisdom as I seek to have community with those around me, and please help me wisely place limits on the technology I allow to come into my life. Amen.

My Thoughts

One of my pet peeves is going into a restaurant and looking around at all of the people having a meal together, but they aren’t really together. They each have a device in their hands and are communicating with online friends, or maybe even strangers, instead of those sitting with them. I like the restaurants that have a “no cell phone” rule during meals rule. They are few and far between, but I think it’s a great idea since people won’t govern themselves.

Our lives on earth are so brief; the Bible says it’s a vapor, a vanishing mist. And yet we while away the hours we have on devices that have no emotions and no real connection to us. I understand that technology has some good uses, like being able to communicate via a blog or a text message. But, for the most part, I think technology controls parts of our lives that need to be tuned into people and not an inanimate object.

When my husband and I go out to eat, rare in these days of tight finances, we each put our phones away and talk to each other. It’s not important what we say, as long as we are taking the time to look at each other and really talk. If we had our phones on the table as so many do, that would be a distraction to having our attention focused on each other as it should be.

I am sad for the current generation of young people because their parents are showing them by example that it’s okay to make the device a priority instead of the people around you. I like what the author said about the Amish. They wisely choose what technology to allow into their community, not just accepting all of it as “progress” and “good.” We would do well to follow their example.

Loving God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song, Video, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

The Most Important Thing (YouVersion Bible App, Daily Devotional)

When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22 what the most important command was, He didn’t hesitate to recite Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (NIV)

The starting point for all of our lives is wrapped up in loving God. We were created to love God and have a relationship with Him. We love because He first loved us! Amid everything that you have to do in life, the most important thing is that you love God with everything that you are.

If we become successful in life but don’t love God, we’ve missed the most important thing. In Deuteronomy, God instructed the Israelites to constantly keep this command in their hearts and minds. They made physical reminders to help them remember to love God in everything they did. They taught this command to their children as the foundation of all other commands in Scripture.

Take some time to consider your life. Is loving God the primary motivation? Think about how good and merciful God has been in your life. Remember that God loves you more than you could ever imagine. The best motivation to love God is to constantly remember how much He loved us first.

My Thoughts

Like many people, I find it easy to love God when things in my life are going well. But when there is a deep valley I have to cross through or obstacles in the pathway to my goal or my plan, I have a tendency to look for solace elsewhere. I pick up a book, turn on the TV or even put a Christian station on to listen to. Anything to distract me from the fact that things are not going my way, so I want to pout a little bit.

You know, if God turned away from us each time we disappointed Him, I am absolutely sure that we would not see Him much in our lives. Instead, He is always gracious, always merciful, always waiting for us to do what He has called us to do instead of what we want to do. Our desires need to line up with His. One of my devotionals this morning included this quotation: “God is always faithful, even when we are being faithless.” You might also add that God is always loving even when we are not showing love to Him. God loves the unlovable, the faithless, the broken and the sinner. So, loving God with all of my heart, soul and strength doesn’t seem much to ask when He has given so much just to have a relationship with me.

Love God, Love People-Danny Gokey

Hesitate or Trust?

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Reconnection”

Day 3: Trust

Let’s talk about hesitation for a minute. Without trust in God and his promises, we end up hesitating so much more, right? We hesitate and wait when we should be trusting and moving. Sometimes I wonder how many of Jesus’ disciples would have dropped their nets and followed him if they’d been able to check him out on Instagram before he showed up. Would they have even gone out to hear him speak if they’d watched all his YouTube sermons and read the negative comments left by people who critique sermons full-time? 

Hesitation is a consequence of believing we are in control. When it comes to God, since we have so many answers at our fingertips in Google, we crave more tangible assurance of God and his ways. And when the proof isn’t evident and doesn’t show up right away, what do we do? We start grasping at control to give us a false sense of safety. And our phones provide the means of that control. But while we’re waiting for all the answers we need to fall into place or endlessly researching the bottomless pit of information and opinions that is the internet, we end up frozen. Not moving. Not risking. Waiting for blessed assurance before we take one step toward where we were supposed to be going in faith a long time ago. . . . 

If you’ve been waiting for “the right time” to trust God and do the next thing, my question to you is, how much time are you spending in his Word versus your phone? Listen, I am the king of spending time with my phone, so I ask the question with no judgment. However, I do ask it with plenty of experience, and here’s why: when we aren’t connected to the world 24-7, we actually have to exist in a place of trust.

Prayer 

Father, I have often tried to have control over things that should only be in your hands. Please forgive me for not trusting you, and please prompt me to turn to you in all things. Amen.

My Thoughts

The author of the devotional is spot-on about my unending desire to control and to know what I want to know instantly. I use a search engine a lot, to check on meds and their side effect, to look up possible places to stay when we travel, even to check what the “hottest” gifts will be in case I want to purchase one before they are sold out. I had never thought of it before, but I can’t do a search on the reality of God. He is who He says He is and no search engine can convince me of that. It’s a heart thing. So, instead of hesitating and not moving when God tells me to, I need to trust and do what He says. I don’t think that there is any manmade search engine that has the Holy Spirit as its source, so trust won’t come from searching for it on a device. Trust comes from action, from doing the last thing God said to do and moving on to the next thing and the thing after that. I find when I am stuck in a rut and not moving closer to God, it’s because I am not trusting Him to go ahead of me and prepare the way. I want to control and He has control, so there is no contest about who will ultimately win that battle. The truth is that there should never be a battle between hesitating and moving forward with trust. I am not at the place where I trust all the time, without question or hesitation, but I will say that I am making progress, at least sometimes. I am more likely to hear that small voice say, “Trust” these days than I am to hear the other voice that says, “Does God really want you to do this?” I would like to say that I have arrived, but I am a work in progress.

Reclaiming Your Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

From YouVersion App Devotional, “Reconnection”

Day 2: Solitude

I believe that solitude is hardwired into the human experience. If you are a believer in something greater than yourself, you would say that God created us with solitude as a major pillar in our existence.

But we have wiped it out.

And you know what? It’s not necessarily our relationship with our phones that is the problem. Dare I say that the root of the problem is our relationship with solitude? It’s like when you hire a nutritionist, and after two days of eating great you slip back into old habits. And suddenly you begin avoiding this nutritionist at all costs. Even though you know this person is bringing you advice and accountability that’s necessary and good for you, you would just rather be numb and lazy. Just like we know that a conversation with our nutritionist is going to call attention to our poor eating habits, we all know that time spent in solitude is going to call attention to things in our lives that we really don’t want to confront.

Do you think that maybe we don’t know what to do with the wrestling that solitude brings? A life without wrestling feels like a safer life, right? Well, maybe it’s safer in some respects, but I can tell you that it’s a dangerous threat when it comes to your ability to simply be. . . .

Reclaiming some sort of solitude in your life may seem almost impossible. But let me tell you something, . . . not only is solitude available to you, it’s going to produce more living your life instead of your life living you.

My Thoughts

Since I am retired now, I do have quite a bit of alone time. My husband stays up very late and gets up usually after noon sometime. I, on the other hand, go to bed early and get up early. I think the whole early thing is hard-wired into my system because even when I try to stay up late, I still wake up early. Anyway, I always have about four hours every morning of solitude. That is my time when I can do my devotionals, talk to God and listen to Him and start my day right. I think I would like to do more of walking around in His beautiful world while I think and pray but I physically cannot do that much anymore. So, I have to be content with what God has provided, a chair with a window next to me where I can see outside.

I agree that solitude is hard and not my first choice. I used to play Christian music as I prayed and read my Bible. But, I found that was distracting me from really hearing from the Lord. I really want to live all of the life that God wants me to live in the best way possible. I think this author’s advice is spot on. Sometimes we don’t want to be alone and hear what we think and what the Holy Spirit is prodding us to do. But in His great mercy, God will provide the time for solitude if we will just use it the way He wants us to. Even Jesus needed time alone with His Father. And He told his disciples to come away and rest. That’s what I think solitude should be…just resting in God’s presence.

Technology and Its Effects

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Reconnected”, Day 1

Have you ever thought about the fact that most of us notice things way less than we used to? Let’s not just focus on screen time. How about how the screens interrupt us from noticing? They keep us from noticing two very important and necessary things: the beauty and the brokenness of the world around us. And both are vital aspects of being human. 

We need to be noticing both. . . . 

This is one thing that Jesus did so well. 

He noticed. . . . 

He walked at three miles an hour, and he took time to notice those who needed to be noticed. 

He noticed the woman at the well. 

He noticed that she was thirsty for more than just water—she was thirsty for love and acceptance. And he gave her both. 

He noticed the tax collector, Zacchaeus, who was completely despised by his own community (and for good reason). But Jesus noticed the good inside Zacchaeus and his longing for forgiveness. Once again, Jesus gave what was needed. 

He noticed the woman who was caught in adultery and filled with fear and shame as she was about to be stoned. But because he noticed her, he offered her grace and mercy. 

He noticed the lepers who were outcasts from society. He noticed their pain and isolation and offered them healing and acceptance. 

Jesus’ ability to notice people was central to his calling. 

Prayer

Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be a model for me, and please help me follow his example as I notice those around me. Amen.

My Thoughts

I confess that I am guilty of using my technology too much and not paying attention to those around me. Can you imagine Jesus walking down the road with His i-phone in His hand, saying, “Wait just a minute. I have to finish this text.” Yeh, me either. Jesus gave 100% of His undivided attention to the task at hand. He knew His time on earth was short and I think He wanted to touch as many people as possible with God’s love before He returned to the Father.

Shouldn’t we be the same way? Should we not actively pursue touching as many people’s lives with God’s love and truth before we are finished with our life her on earth? Going through life with a phone attached to our hand and EarPods in our ears, drowning out even the slightest disturbance to what we think is important, we are missing out a lot on what God is trying to show us all around us.

I know that God convicted me recently of being on my phone while my husband is driving. I tried to justify my using my phone to calm me in traffic, but that didn’t wash with the Lord. He is my peace, not my phone. So, I started putting my phone away, at least unless I have to use it for something. And my husband and I are having good conversations in the car on our many trips to medical offices or church. He even commented that he was enjoying talking to me and I have likewise enjoyed the give-and-take that we used to take for granted. I also notice the crops growing, and Harry points out that it’s broccoli that they must have added a lot of fertilizer or something because in a week’s time, it I was almost ready to harvest. We talked about the pro’s and con’s of adding such things to our food supply. That was just on one trip, so I look forward to many others.

It really annoys me in a restaurant when two people are sitting across from each other and both are on their devices instead of relating to one another, God created us for a relationship, with Him and with others. He never said to go out and create relationships with our idols of technology. That’s what I believe tech has become, an idol that is too important in many of our lives. I am trying to wean myself away from depending on it so much for online friendships and such and instead seeking relationships with real people who need the same real contact that I need, that all of us need really. In this world of technology everywhere, I think Christians can stand out by being the ones who notice others and their needs and when they are hurting or desperate for someone just to see them. We are supposed to be a part of the world, but we are also called to be separate. One of the ways I want to strive to be separate is by my public use of technology. People deserve to know that they are special to God and that they have my attention when they are speaking to me. Maybe that’s a small thing to you, but it is a big thing in my life, and I want to do better and be a better representative of Christ to others.

Safe to Shore

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, Song, Video, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From YouVersion Bible App, Devotional, “In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake”, Day 5

God wired us for home. And to a certain degree, our earthly homes are supposed to be miniature Edens. For many of us, home is where we first experience what it means to be loved. It’s where we discover the security of belonging. Homes don’t just define where we live, but in many ways, they define who we are. Which is why leaving home can be so hard. But even these homes we have to eventually leave.

So it’s no surprise that we all experience homesickness in different ways and in different seasons. Eventually we leave our home, but our longing for home, the one God made us for, never leaves us. We all live with that “memory.” We never outgrow homesickness.

We were not born in Eden but outside of it. And as beautiful as this life is, it’s not enough. It’s temporary. A prelude of sorts, of what is to come. It’s why the New Testament describes us as “exiles” and “foreigners” (1 Peter 2:11).

God has made us to hunger and thirst, long and wait, for a new home. A greater home. A restoration of what went wrong in the Garden of Delight. The road to this home is bumpy. It’s full of suffering and weakness and pain. But the weeping is meant to be like a welcome mat. Instead of feeling homesick for the place behind us, we begin to long for a home that is ahead of us.

You might be in a boat in the middle of a lake. But you are not alone. And that lake has another side. One Jesus has promised to get you to. “Let us go over to the other side,” Jesus said. There will be many storms. Some smaller. And maybe some bigger. But there is a shore. We’ll say it again: there is a shore.

The promise of safe arrival.

Rest.

Renewal.

Victory.

Home.

God’s presence. . . .

So let us press on in the storm. Let’s continue to trust the God who meets us in our storm.

Your chaos will cease. It will not last. You have a future. We have a future. And it’s a future filled with God’s goodness and love and beauty. It’s a future filled with God himself

My Thoughts

I am not sure anyone can understand the life of a military wife except another military wife. In a little more than thirty years, we moved twenty-five times. We would stay at a base for two-three years and then move on to the next one, as my husband pursued his career and a higher rank. I hated that lifestyle but I really loved the people that I encountered and the lessons that I learned from all of that change that I was forced to make, not to mention the independence that I had to learn since I was alone a lot of the time. You see, we didn’t just move. Each time we moved, each new place generally required a new school for my husband to attend while I stayed in the new location and took care of the children. When Harry was in the navy, it meant months (almost a year sometimes) of being alone in a new place. And one year, there was a remote tour to Iceland for a year while the children and I stayed in South Carolina. Lots of adventures, but no real home!

I remember telling my husband in Arkansas that I just wanted a stable home, a place that I could build memories for me and the kids. Alas! That never really happened! We did eventually purchase a home in Pennsylvania when Harry was getting ready to retire, but I couldn’t find a teaching job there, so once again, we moved, this time for me. Suffice it to say that I have been a little perplexed about what God’s plan for me has been. Until I met and married Harry, I had lived in one town all of my life and one home for most of my life. Now, suddenly, I felt uprooted, a stranger in a strange land…over and over again.

Today’s devotional pointed me in the right direction and reminded me that all of this time I have been moving around, Jesus was right there with me. He is still working to bring me safely to shore and to my “forever home.” We have a home now that Harry and I live in alone since our children are grown and have their own families. It does my heart good to know that they are settled into homes of their own and have been there, in the same place, for over a decade now. That is what I wanted so badly for them and for me when they were growing up. But Jesus was gracious to keep me through all of those moves and to grant the desire of my heart for my children to have what I considered a “real home.”

I am grateful for each new experience that the Lord has allowed me to have and for His mercy that He has shed on me, even as I whined and complained about more boxes and another new place. I had the opportunity to go to places I would never have chosen to see, much less live there. I have seen how people lived in the cotton fields in Arkansas and in the bitter winters of northern Maine. I have made friends in eleven different states and met people from churches who welcomed me wholeheartedly, even though they knew I would only be there a short while before the military would move us. I learned acceptance, resilience and how to adapt even when I was a reluctant learner.

I like the word picture of “safe to shore” No matter what life’s circumstances, there is a shore we are headed for, and all of the trials of today will be worth it. We just have to hold onto that hope that He placed in our hearts on the day of our salvation.

My Lighthouse-Rend Collective

This Is Not Where I Belong-Building 429

What Is Trust?

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song, Video, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake”, Day 4

Trust is not giving up; trust is opening up. Opening our hearts to the possibility that maybe God really does know best. Maybe his wisdom and care and love are what we need most. And so, reluctantly at first, we open our hearts to trust in the middle of what we don’t always like or understand. But we open our hearts to a Father who knows best and has our best interests in mind, even if we can’t fully comprehend it. . . .

The struggle to trust and obey is real. But it’s also a necessary step toward growth and transformation.

Learning to trust God with what we don’t know is essential for being filled with God. If we are to increasingly experience the good life of following Jesus, we have to learn to trust like he did, often with what we can’t see or get our minds around.

This is one of the hardest parts of growing and being transformed in trials. Learning to surrender to what Jesus wants—his purposes, his plans, and his wisdom.

The Bible talks a lot about obedience. But the obedience God is after is not just an external conformity to what he says. It’s an inward alignment of our heart with his, even when we don’t understand what he is doing or why he is doing it.

Trust requires humility.

Trust requires saying, “I don’t understand, God, but you do.”

Trust requires admitting our powerlessness.

Trust requires giving up control.

When Jesus took the disciples out on the water and they found themselves surrounded by the storm, they realized they weren’t in control. They were helpless. They lacked the resources, the power, the wisdom to fix the situation. They were discovering what we all soon discover, that belief is not just faith in something, belief is faith in Someone. God is at the center. We follow him. He doesn’t follow us.

Their first response was fear. They had obeyed him before. But out on the water, in the world of the unknown, they were learning to trust him. 

If we don’t trust God, inevitably, we will try to be God. And we’ll try to control what only he can control. What God is really interested in is our trust.

My Thoughts

It is a really big thing for me that “trust” is the theme for today since that is my word for this year. The definitions of trust here spoke to my heart and soul and let me know that I am not there yet. I am still at times reaching to control things, to change circumstances, instead of letting God do things for me. The part in the devotional that says we align with God and follow Him instead of His following us pierced me. I realized that I frequently want God to get in step with my plans instead of seeking what His plans are and following them. I think in our humanity, we all want to be in control and have difficulty relinquishing it to God. I don’t want to try to be God; I want Him to be the center of my life, in the pilot’s seat of my airplane so He can take me where He want me to go. That’s a hard thing for me because I don’t like unknown things. I plan routes in advance so I know exactly what lane I need to be in for the next turn. God is telling me clearly to let go and let Him make the plans. Because I can trust Him with all the details of all the unknowns.

Trust in God-Elevation Worship