Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

How to Help When Cancer Strikes Your Church {Guest appearance at TGC}

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On October 25, 2010, Trinity Grace Church was diagnosed with cancer.

Of course, I was the one who received the phone call from the doctor and scoured the internet for information about the rare cancer. But as the news rippled through our small church family, my brothers and sisters in Christ linked arms with my husband, young children, and me. They carried our burdens and wept with us.

Cancer wasn’t just an assignment the Lord gave me to glorify him in suffering. He gave this difficult assignment to my community, too.

To read more, head over to The Gospel Coalition and read my latest article there, “How to Help When Cancer Strikes Your Church.” 

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We Have Peace With God {No Matter What Monday}

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What are your greatest fears? Take a minute and name a few. Now answer this: what should be your greatest fears?

Maybe you’re afraid of natural disasters or terrorism affecting your family. But statistically speaking, you should be more concerned about car accidents and heart disease. Sometimes our greatest fears don’t line up with the greatest threats we face.

If we fear that which is our greatest threat, we should all fear God’s wrath. We belong to a holy and righteous Creator who will hold us accountable for our actions. And we will all fall short (Romans 3:23). But the good news of the gospel is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you are in Christ by faith, you are covered by His righteousness and have no reason to fear!

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

Because of Christ, we have peace with God. We are reconciled to our Heavenly Father and Righteous Judge, the Lord God Almighty. We are declared righteous by God because of the righteousness given to us by Christ. Justification by faith eliminates our greatest threat – that which should be our greatest fear.

As a result, we can live confidently and face all our lesser fears. All other threats are temporary. All other fears come under the reign of the One who gave His own Son to turn away His wrath from us. We can praise His name as we walk through suffering because our greatest need has been met: our need to have peace with God.

No matter what you face this week, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

This devotional originally appeared on my blog on June 27, 2016. I’m taking a break from writing this month to spend more time with my family and hope you enjoy these replays!

 

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God Knows More {No Matter What Monday}

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I recently sat at a coffee shop table with a friend and chatted about the challenges of parenting tweens and teens. We shared areas where we were making decisions that are unpopular with our kids and encouraged each other to stay the course.

When you’re the one facing the eye-rolling and disgusted sighs of a child whose happiness you care about, you’ve got to cling to this basic truth: you know what’s best for your child. You know more than she does. She doesn’t understand how you could possibly be acting in her best interest, but you’ve got 20-30 more years of experience in this world, and you are qualified to make some decisions in her life.

I like to think I’m mature than my kids, but there are times that I want to do more than just roll my eyes at God. “I don’t get it!” I cry out in my pain and confusion. “How could this possibly be Your plan?”

God’s Word gently reminds me that my heavenly Father is qualified to rule over my days:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Even when we don’t understand His ways, we can have confidence in His goodness and love toward us in all that He does. The Bible tells us about one more aspect of God’s character that is higher than the heavens. Psalm 103:11 says, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”

These are two things our finite human minds can’t fathom: God’s ways and God’s steadfast love. When we don’t understand what He’s doing, we can trust that His actions flow from a heart of steadfast love for His children.

No matter what you face this week, you can trust the One who knows more than you.

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God Knows What He’s Doing {No Matter What Monday}

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God knows what He's doing. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

I hopped on a plane last week to go to a conference, and I’m thankful for the ease and efficiency of air travel (at least most of the time!). But for a control-freak like me, it’s a little unsettling to place my life in the hands of someone I’ve never met. I wish I could interview the pilot before each flight: How long have you been doing this? Did you get good sleep last night? Any distracting personal problems you’d like to talk through before we take off?

And yet, the truth is that no matter how sleep-deprived or distracted the pilot may be, I can count on the pilot to do a better job flying the plane than I would. None of the other passengers are wishing I was in the cockpit! It’s a good idea for us to acknowledge that we don’t know as much about flying a plane as the one behind the wheel.

When I feel nervous about the wheels lifting off the ground, it helps to remember that there is One who has even more control over that plane than the pilot. Psalm 139 tell us that our heavenly Father has written every single one of our days in His book:

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)

There’s no need for us to interview God about His qualifications to hold our days in His hands. He is all-knowing and all-wise, and His understanding is unsearchable. He’s perfectly holy, good, faithful. He has the power to bring about all His plans for us, and nothing can thwart His purposes.

Sometimes life feels out of control and I don’t know what’s coming next. But nothing will touch my life that isn’t known and planned by my loving Heavenly Father. He knows where this plane is headed, He knows how we will get there, and He promises to be with me through the journey.

No matter what you face this week, your faithful Father knows what He’s doing in your life.

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