Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Unsearchable Understanding {No Matter What Monday}

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His understanding is unsearchable. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

Do you remember the days before Google? You might wonder, “What other movies has that actor been in?” or “What’s the weather today in Timbuktu?” or “How much did bread cost in 1976?” You’d stare off into space, pondering possible answers, and then move on with your life, content to not know the answers to all your questions.

But now we have the answers to all of these questions at our fingertips. We have Google and Siri and Alexa, and we’ve forgotten how to not know things. I’ve noticed that this abundance of information increases the frustration I feel when my questions go unanswered.

I admitted in last week’s devotional how much I dislike not knowing the future. I want to be like God; I want to know it all. Sitting in the tension of the not-knowing feels unsettling and even scary sometimes. But there’s peace that comes from acknowledging that there is One who knows the answer to every question:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28)

“Haven’t you heard the great news?!” Isaiah asks. There’s no need to worry! God is everlasting—He doesn’t have the limits you have. He knows it all because He made it all! You won’t even come close to reaching the end of His understanding.

The unknowns that frighten us are not unknown to the Lord. He is not surprised, confused, or worried by the circumstances that we face. He knows how He will use each one for good according to His perfect purpose (Rom. 8:28).

The One who has unsearchable wisdom is also the One who guides us by His Spirit and comforts us with His presence. He doesn’t leave us to suffer through the uncertain times on our own. He will never leave our side (Heb. 13:5).

No matter what you face this week, you can trust the One who has unsearchable understanding.

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Hope that Overflows {No Matter What Monday}

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God will fill you with overflowing hope. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

I’m a mostly boring person, and I don’t push the envelope very often. But occasionally, I let my gas gauge get down to E and create some excitement.

Once I let my engine run on a cold day while I waited for my kids to finish piano lessons. (See how exciting our life is?) I finally realized the little display on my dashboard was trying to tell me I only had five miles to go until empty. I immediately turned off the car and pulled out my phone to search for the nearest gas station. Two miles away. No problem.

But when the kids piled in and I started driving, the miles on the fuel range display ticked down more quickly than I expected. My kids and I prayed anxiously until we slid into the gas station with a zero on the display.

Do you feel like you’re running on empty today? I’ve got good news for you! The God of hope will fill you with joy, peace, and hope that overflows.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NIV)

This overflowing hope is more than you could ever need. It never runs out. You’re not just driving around with your gas gauge on full, there is gas gushing out of your car!

This hope is overflowing because its source is our infinite God of hope. He is the source of our hope, and our hope is in Him. This overflowing hope comes by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

When we face circumstances that look hopeless, we can continue to be hopeful. The God of hope promises to fill His children with more than enough hope for all our struggles and suffering.

No matter what you face this week, God will fill you with overflowing hope.

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God Loved You First {No Matter What Monday}

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God loved you first. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

It’s the age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I’m no philosopher, and I haven’t figured out the answer to that one. But there’s an even more important question that God’s Word answers for us: Which came first, God’s love for us or our love for Him?

The stakes are high with this question. If God’s love for me follows my love for Him, then His love for me depends on my faithfulness. If I stop loving God, He might stop loving me.

But if God loved me first, before I had done anything to earn His love, then I am secure. I am loved no matter how many times I fail Him, forget Him, or falter in my faith.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4–5)

God loved us when we were dead in our sin. Before we ever loved Him, God sent Jesus to die for us (Rom. 5:8, I John 4:10).

God loved us because of His mercy. He made us alive with Christ and saved us by His grace. None of it depended on our love for Him—praise the Lord!

God’s love for us is secure. His love depends on His faithfulness, not ours. His love never fails. His love is guaranteed by His perfection, not our performance.

When you feel unlovable, remember God’s unchanging, unfailing, unstoppable love for you. When you feel overwhelmed by your sin, remember that Christ overcame sin and gave you new life. When you feel like your faith isn’t enough, remember that God loved you even before you believed.

No matter what you face this week, God loved you first, and He will love you forever.

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God has Not Forgotten You {No Matter What Monday}

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God has not forgotten you. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

Her dark brown eyes stared up at me from her bed, just above the bright floral comforter pulled up to her chin. She tried to sound casual as she asked her pressing bedtime questions: “Mom, which one of us do you love the most? Do you love Will more than me?”

I tell my daughter I love her and prove it with my actions every day. And yet, when she watched me stop to comfort her hurting brother on my way to tuck her in, my daughter began to doubt my love for her. She questioned a basic truth that has been proven to her every day for eight years.

Her doubts sound a little too familiar.

My heavenly Father has proven His love for me every day of my life. But when God delays in giving me something I think I need, I start to doubt. I question His timing, His provision, even His goodness. And the undercurrent of these doubts is this: “Does God still love me?”

We might not say it out loud, but as we look at our struggles, we wonder: “Does God still love me?” We cried out to Him for healing, peace, deliverance, or strength, but it feels like He’s stopped in the hallway to care for someone else.

And yet we see in Isaiah that God never forgets His children:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” (Isaiah 49:15–16)

God has not forgotten you, His beloved child. He has engraved your name on His hands. Our Savior stretched out those hands on the cross and felt the nails drive through them to demonstrate the extent of His unfailing love for us (Rom. 5:8).

When it seems like God is letting us down—when we don’t understand why He hasn’t swooped in and saved the day—let’s cling to the truth. We can have confidence in His unfailing kindness and love. His love for us is everlasting (Jer. 31:3).

No matter what you face this week, your loving heavenly Father has not forgotten you, and He never will.

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