When You Long for a Happy Ending

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When You Long for a Happy Ending

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 CSB

Don’t you love a happy ending? I sure do. There’s great satisfaction in immersing ourselves in a story that ends well. The victim rescued, justice served, and the hero triumphantly overcomes. Yet, sometimes in real life, we wonder if “happily ever after” actually exists.

Perhaps the constant pressure to get it all done––while feeling like we’re floundering to do so––or unexpected trouble, heartache, or loss, can leave us longing for certainty of a happy ending. The good news is that salvation through Jesus guarantees that our triumphant finale will come!

In 2 Thessalonians 5:9–10, Paul teaches that you have a present hope and future hope. The Thessalonians experienced persecution, uncertainty, and fear of the future. Like you and I, they needed to know….

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Enduring to the End | Brianna Barrett Blog

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Enduring to the End | Brianna Barrett Blog

I’m honored to share one of the devotions found in my book 40 Days to God, My Father on my friend Brianna Barrett’s blog. You can find an excerpt below and click the link to read the full devotion.

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.” therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

God never audibly said no to me. But on the day I turned forty years old, the hope that swelled in my heart to have children one day wouldn’t rise above the floor. Before that moment, I’d gripped expectation and pled with my whole heart for God to give me babies. As far back as I could remember I wanted five, but I resolved to settle for just one—it never happened.

Chronic illness stole my child-bearing years, and although forty is not too old to conceive, I knew my window of opportunity had slammed shut. This realization shook me with grief. Throughout that day, even during a surprise birthday party orchestrated by my husband, one question burned in my mind: Why, God?

Looking back on my fortieth birthday (over a decade ago)—the day I knew the Lord’s answer to my prayer for children was no—I latched onto God’s words to….

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Someone's Praying for You

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Someone's Praying for You

Christ Jesus who died—more than that,

who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God

and is also interceding for us.

Romans 8:34 NIV

A notification flashed across my phone’s screen as I ambled through my morning routine. I swiped to read the words enclosed in a gray bubble: “I’m praying for you today.”

 

When my friend shared her message with me, she had no idea I had endured a restless night of sleep. My mind had looped through a series of questions: How will I accomplish the endless tasks on my to-do list? When will God answer my prayer for my loved one? And where will I get the resources I need to fulfill a commitment?

 

During the night, I vacillated between giving my worries to the Lord and trying to figure out how to solve my own problems. But instantly, peace washed over me as....

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An Anchor of Hope for Your Soul

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An Anchor of Hope for Your Soul

We have this hope as an

anchor for the soul,

firm and secure.

Hebrews 6:19a NIV

I slathered sunscreen on my shoulders as my husband turned the key to our speedboat. The motor roared to life. He shifted the accelerator and pointed the bow to the farthest side of the lake. The boat’s hull split the water, and we jumped over the wakes in our path. My husband enjoyed racing across the lake, so I braced myself in my seat. Closing my eyes, I prayed, “Lord, meet me here.”

In the weeks before our outing on the water, I had wrestled with health setbacks. The headaches that I thought were gone had suddenly reappeared, and my nights included more time awake than asleep. The weight of my pain, along with a handful of other personal struggles, weighed on my heart, and I questioned if hope had grown wings and flown away.

Within minutes, we reached the....

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When Trouble Sets You Aside

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When Trouble Sets You Aside

Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

Psalm 4:3 ESV

Shadows from the morning sunlight danced across my bedroom ceiling and caught my eye as I awoke, but it was difficult to welcome its presence.  After another fitful night of sleep, my physical forecast for that day appeared the same as the long stretch of days preceding it: sprinkled with gloom and containing a splash of doom.

Years had passed since…

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New Hope for Never-Ending Seasons

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New Hope for Never-Ending Seasons

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

I swept the brown needles from the dying Christmas tree into a tidy pile. The smell of fir still wafted through the air, but the discarded tree slumped on the woodpile outside my window, awaiting a bonfire. 

As I cleaned, my cell phone chimed several times, alerting me to New Year’s greetings from friends and family. But instead of celebrating, a weight of despair hung heavy on my shoulders.

In all the newness, nothing had changed in my painful circumstances––not in that year, nor …

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5 Ways to Cultivate Biblical Hope

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5 Ways to Cultivate Biblical Hope

We all experience situations when it’s hard to keep hoping. What ifs? How to’s? And Why’s?, flood our minds. Visions of possible catastrophe dance before our eyes. Hope plummets with every ticking second.

I’ve learned some things through the darkest seasons that I would never know had God not allowed me to walk there. And my faith was sustained by God’s grace by putting these five things into practice.

Here are 5 ways to keep hoping when hope is waning:

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Hope in Troubling Times

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Hope in Troubling Times

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.

Psalm 138:7a (ESV)

The first daffodils are blooming here in the South with bright golden hues, and the first day of March ushered in 80-degree temperatures. Certainly, Spring is in the air, and I must say I’m welcoming it after two snow falls in January (a rarity). And just as the weather has already set records in this new year, this season in my heart revealed its own record of pain––my family has experienced another great loss.

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5 ESV

The weather report revealed snow actively falling which sent me bounding across the hardwood floors to open the door and peer outside. Snow is so rare here in the South that when it comes I don’t want to miss it. At first glance I could not see it. Its beauty was obscured by the darkness of the night. It was only when I shifted my gaze to the streetlight that I could see the wisps of powder circling in the air. My soul quieted as the fluffy flakes fell. I wanted to perch by the window in a state of wonder at the glory showering down from heaven.



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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

Today is the day.


I sit here staring at the twinkling white lights on my Christmas tree as “Silent Night, Holy Night––All is calm, All is bright,” rings softly in my ears. But I’m struggling to stay calm and things don’t feel so bright. There’s a knot in my stomach and a choke in my throat as I walk through this day with a weight on my chest that I can't bear on my own. The beauty and the pain of the season intertwines together. And I wonder if this is what it truly means to hold joy in one hand while grief weighs heavy in the other.

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Beautifully Broken: The Chronic Illness Diagnosis

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Beautifully Broken: The Chronic Illness Diagnosis

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24-25 KJV)

I stepped into the doctor’s office with trepidation. I had read enough online to be almost certain of the looming diagnosis. Honestly, I had avoided setting the appointment earlier in hopes that the symptoms would disappear, or miraculous healing would occur.

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Finding God’s Provision in Panic

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Finding God’s Provision in Panic

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21 ESV)

Slowing to a stop, I began surveying my surroundings. Cars blocked me on all sides. My breathing became shallow, my heart rate quickened, and my clammy hands clutched the steering wheel––with tunnel vision, my head swam. I was stuck!

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