Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

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God’s Everlasting Promises

May 22, 2023 by Marissa Leave a Comment

There’s a saying in my part of the country—and maybe your part, too—“If you don’t like the weather today, just wait until tomorrow.” It’s especially true in the spring and fall, when the weather can change drastically from day to day and even from hour to hour. How am I supposed to tell my kids to dress for school when they need a coat in the morning and shorts in the afternoon? So much in life is constantly changing, whether it’s the weather, relationships, culture, or parenting—it feels like nothing stays the same. 

We’re studying Psalm 103 this month, and we’ve seen David remember God’s benefits: His forgiveness, healing, redemption, sustaining power, and steadfast love.  In Psalm 103:15-18, David celebrated the eternality of God’s character. These truths he was remembering aren’t just for a fleeting season. They’re not here today and gone tomorrow. The steadfast love and promises of God last forever. 

“But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.” (Psalm 103:17-18)

David contrasted God’s eternal character with the fleeting nature of man. In verses 15-16, he said we are like grass that the wind blows away. Nothing in our human world lasts forever. Relationships change. Careers end. Bodies age and die. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. He keeps His promises not just to us, but to the future generations that follow. 

Psalm 103:18 says this steadfast love is for those who keep His covenant. God made covenant promises to His people throughout the Old Testament. He promised to bless them, and they promised to obey. When the people failed to keep their part of the covenant, God sent His Son to live an obedient life and die on the cross for His covenant-breaking people. 

Galatians 3:29 tells us that if we belong to Christ, we are heirs to all God has promised. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are the covenant children of God who receive His promised, everlasting, steadfast love, now and forever. 

No matter what you face this week, remember God’s everlasting covenant promises. 

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Remember Who God Is

May 15, 2023 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Do you remember the last time you were asked to introduce yourself to a big group of people? It always feels so awkward to me. I think, “What were those things the group leader asked us to say? What do these people really want to know?”It’s hard to sum up who you are in just a few sentences.   

This month we’re walking through Psalm 103 together as David remembered all of God’s benefits. In verses 6-14, David remembered what the Lord told His people about Himself: His righteousness, His character, and His forgiveness. 

“He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:7-8) 

In verse 8, David echoed the words God spoke about Himself when He  proclaimed His name to Moses in Exodus 34:6. We know this is God’s character, because God chose to reveal Himself. The Lord is merciful. He is gracious. He is patient with us, and His constant, faithful, covenant love overflows. 

David continued in Psalm 103 to try to capture with words the steadfast love and forgiveness of God: 

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11-12) 

David used some big-time analogies to portray these benefits for God’s people. God’s steadfast love is as high as the heavens are above the earth. How far do the heavens reach? Further than our human minds can imagine! 

Our sins have been separated from us as far as the east is from the west. I wonder if David saw the sun rise in the east and set in the west and imagined places in both directions that he’d never see in his lifetime. He wanted us to know that when God removes our sin, it becomes untouchable. God’s forgiveness is complete, sufficient, and permanent. 

This forgiveness is given to God’s people through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We can look to Christ and remember God’s steadfast love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. 

No matter what you face this week, remember God’s steadfast love and forgiveness. 

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Remember

May 8, 2023 by Marissa 4 Comments

I don’t love a lot about Facebook these days, but I often log in to check my Memories section. I posted pretty frequently (probably too frequently!) when my kids were little, and it’s fun to screenshot the funny things they said and send them to those same kids who are now teens. I’m grateful for these glimpses into the past that help me remember those precious moments.  

This month we’ll be walking through Psalm 103. In this psalm, David calls himself—and all the people of God—to bless the Lord and remember all His benefits. In these first five verses, David lists several benefits he wanted us to remember: 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)

God forgives. This forgiveness is complete—He forgives all your iniquity. We’ll dig into the details of this gracious forgiveness next week!

God heals. While God often heals our physical diseases, the healing the psalmist probably had in mind here is our spiritual healing from the disease of sin. As 1 Peter 2:24 says, “[Christ] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 

God redeems. When you were in the pit of guilt, shame, and death, the Lord was the one who rescued you. 

God surrounds you with steadfast love and mercy. “Crown” means to encircle or surround. The steadfast love and mercy of God surrounds you today. 

God satisfies you and sustains you. God’s goodness fills us up and fuels us for the Christian life. 

When we remember who God is and what He’s done for us, it leads us to trust Him more deeply and praise Him as He deserves. And unlike my toddlers who’ve grown into teens, God never changes. As we remember, we can depend on His unchanging character to be the same for us today and every day.  

No matter what you face this week, remember the benefits you’ve received from the Lord. 

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Heirs to God’s Riches

May 1, 2023 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Years ago, my young daughter was stalling before bedtime in one of my favorite ways—by showering me with compliments from head to toe. As she moved from my hair to my clothes, she mentioned my wedding ring with the “fake diamond in it.” I laughed and corrected her, “No, Sweetheart, that’s actually a real diamond.” Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. “Mom!” she exclaimed. “You’re rich! You should take that to someone to sell it and buy me an American Girl doll!” 

Sometimes I feel the same way when I see the riches of God in display in His Word. The riches of the Father’s mercy (Eph. 2:4). The riches left by the Son when He took on flesh (2 Cor. 8:9). The Holy Spirit richly poured out through salvation in Christ (Tit. 3:5-6). 

My jaw drops and my eyes widen when I think that the One who has everything would choose to make me His child and provide me with an eternal inheritance. My Savior sacrificed it all to redeem me and purchased my salvation with His blood. 

For the past three weeks, we’ve been looking at our adoption as sons and daughters of God in Galatians 4. We’ve been adopted by God’s free grace, we have the privilege of calling God our Father, and we are no longer slaves to the law. Today we’ll see that our adoption makes us heirs to a glorious inheritance. 

“So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal. 4:7). 

As children of God, we have a promised an inheritance that is imperishable and kept for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). Romans 8:17 tells us that we are co-heirs with Christ, and we can only imagine what His inheritance must be like! 

God’s abundant provision for us isn’t just the riches of eternal life with Him. He also gives what we need each day. In Matthew 7, we read that just as earthly parents give their children what they need, our heavenly Father will do the same for us. In the riches of His grace, He has everything that we need, and He will not withhold any good thing from us (Ps. 84:11). 

No matter what you face this week, God has made you an heir to the riches of His grace. 

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marissahenley.com

I write to remind myself of the truth of God's promises. I share my writing here in case you need to be reminded sometimes, too.

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Click the image above to learn more about Marissa's books: After Cancer and Loving Your Friend through Cancer

Recent Posts

  • The Journey After Cancer – CanCare Podcast {Guest Appearance}
  • Guest appearance – Bookish Talks with Lia Podcast
  • Finding Hope Amid Severe Illness {Guest Post for Ligonier Ministries}

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