Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Trust the Lord’s Perfect Ways {No Matter What Monday}

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2017.03.13 (1)

The story is a family legend—an instant classic that’s been told countless times around the dinner table. When my daughter was a toddler, she was playing with her favorite baby doll and her play kitchen. She cradled her baby in her arms, and then opened the wooden microwave door and placed the doll inside, as if laying her in a crib filled with down pillows. As she pushed imaginary buttons, she spoke reassuringly, “It’s okay baby, I’m going to cook you now.”

Even if you hadn’t heard the legend, you wouldn’t trust my daughter, at age two, to care for your baby. She clearly had no idea how to care for a child! Her babysitting skills would be wildly unpredictable. Even now, at age seven, I wouldn’t leave her alone with a small child for more than about 30 seconds.

But when it comes to caring for us, God is perfectly wise. All that He does is right. Therefore, we can trust Him, even when we don’t understand. Even when His plans make about as much sense as putting a baby in a microwave.

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

The Lord is our unchanging Rock. All His ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30). He cannot do anything imperfectly, because His perfection, wisdom, and power are woven into every bit of His character. We can take our worries, fears, hopes, plans, loved ones, dreams, and heartaches and leave them in the hands of the One who handles them perfectly.

No matter what you face this week, you can trust the Lord’s perfect ways.

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Count on God’s Unchanging Character {No Matter What Monday}

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2017.03.06 (2)

My husband opened the front door to see two small boys holding a shoebox of rocks. They confidently made their sales pitch: rocks for sale, five cents each. Knowing my tendency to buy everything neighborhood kids are selling, my husband asked them, “Have you successfully sold your rocks here before?” Yes, they answered. My husband knew he would soon be the owner of a few new rocks.

Those young rock salesmen targeted our house, hoping to make a sale as they had in the past. They expected our willingness to pay a nickel for a rock from their yard to be the same as it had been the week before.

As God’s children, we get to expect the same from Him. We can put our confidence in His consistent character. God’s Word teaches us that He never changes.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

He loves you today just as much as the day His Son died on the cross for you. He demonstrates the same faithfulness now as when He carried you through a difficult time. You can rest securely in His arms, because He won’t be different next year or ten years from now or a thousand years from now. The Lord never changes. When you pin your hopes on Him, you’re not throwing darts at a moving target and hoping one sticks. You’re clinging to a steadfast Rock that stands firm through the ages.

No matter what you face this week, you can count on God’s unchanging character.

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When You Face An Impossible Situation {guest post on (in)courage.me}

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It was one week before Christmas 2010. I sat in my oncologist’s office at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, 600 miles from my home in Arkansas, clutching my husband’s hand as tears streamed down my face.

My oncologist had delivered the great news first: after two rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, the rare and aggressive tumor in my breast was much smaller. But there was bad news. My platelets were dangerously low from the chemo, and I still needed at least four more rounds to have a chance at survival.

My doctor had a solution.

In a clinical trial at MD Anderson, I would receive an experimental drug to boost my platelets. But I would need to spend two out of every three weeks in Houston. At that time, I feared I wouldn’t live long enough to walk my 18-month-old daughter into first grade. I certainly didn’t want to spend any of my time in a Houston hospital room.

But I didn’t have a choice.

 

I’m sharing God’s story of faithfulness in my life over at (in)courage today! It’s a wonderful community and provides rich devotional content daily–I hope you’ll continue reading there, check out their other posts, and subscribe to their devotional emails. 

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The Lord Knows Those Who Take Refuge in Him {No Matter What Monday}

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It was the moment every performer dreads. My daughter sat at the grand piano in front of a hushed crowd, staring at her hands on the keys. There was no music in front of her, and her brain refused to bail out her stymied fingers. She was stuck, halfway through her piece. After a long pause and a couple of false starts, she finished the piece and took her bow. But in her mind, it was a disaster. A catastrophe. The Most Embarrassing Moment Ever in her short 7 years of life.

Can you guess what she did next? She ran to me. She climbed into my lap, buried her face in my chest, and cried. She didn’t run to her brothers, who were seated in the front row with the other performers. She didn’t run to the strangers in the audience seated right behind them. She didn’t even run to her piano teacher, whom she adores.

She ran to the one who knows her best.

Where do you run for comfort or refuge when life hurts? If I’m honest, I often run to a friend, to Facebook, or to a bag of popcorn. I forget the One who knows me in a way no one else does. My Heavenly Father knows my troubles and invites me to find refuge in Him.

Nahum 1:7: The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

This verse gives us three reasons to run to the Lord with our troubles. 1) The Lord is good. It’s simple, but profound. He is unfailingly good. He will not disappoint us. 2) The Lord is a stronghold. He is a sure and steadfast anchor we can cling to in our struggles. 3) The Lord knows us. He knows our struggles. He knows our needs. He knows our past, present, and future. He knows.

No matter what we face this week, the Lord knows those who take refuge in Him.

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