Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

God is Always at Work {No Matter What Monday}

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2017.03.27 (2)

The Israelites were in an impossible situation again. They’d barely finished eating their unleavened Passover bread when Pharaoh changed his mind and decided to reclaim his slaves. A wandering throng of men, women, children, and livestock were now being chased down by the world’s most powerful army. We know the end of the story: the walls of water let the Israelites escape before crashing down on Pharaoh’s chariots. But before the happy ending, I wonder how the Israelites felt.

The vast sea was ahead of them, but what did they see behind? Was there a giant dust cloud as 600 chariots charged through the desert? Could they hear the hooves of the horses and feel the ground shake under the weight of the giant army?

Exodus 14:19-20 tells us that the pillar that accompanied them on their journey out of Egypt moved between the Israelites and the approaching Egyptians as night fell. Could they see the army chasing them or the water parting? Or did they spend a terrifying night clutching their children to their chests, crying out to the Lord for a deliverance that seemed impossible?

Some of you know how those endless, dark nights feel. You cry out to the Lord, but you don’t see the waters parting yet. You’re still drowning in fear, grief, uncertainty, difficulty, or worry. Where is God? Why hasn’t He swooped in and saved the day?

I don’t have an easy answer for you, but I know this: God is always at work. One day, the sun will rise, and we’ll see the parted waters of rescue. He will not abandon you, His beloved child.

No matter what you face this week, God is always at work.

P.S. Have you heard Ellie Holcomb’s new album, “Red Sea Road”? I’m listening to it constantly right now, and I think you’ll like it, too. Click here to hear her perform the title track. It’s SO good!

P.P.S. What’s your #NoMatterWhatMonday? Join me on Instagram and use the hashtag to remind us all of a truth or a verse that you’re clinging to this week. I’d love to see your #NoMatterWhatMonday!

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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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Our Suffering has a Glorious End {No Matter What Monday}

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1 peter 5-10

Why do days filled with mundane tasks tick by so slowly, and vacation days fly by so fast? January and February feel like they will never end, and June just goes zipping by. Happy times seem like minutes compared to seasons of suffering that seem endless.

And  yet, today’s verse takes a different view of time. In God’s timeline, our time of suffering slips by quickly, and our time of glory stretches without end.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (I Peter 5:10)

Peter says, “After you have suffered a little while . . .” Does this make you want to roll your eyes?! Or maybe scream at Peter that he has no idea what he’s talking about? Our suffering doesn’t feel temporary!

Peter understood that suffering sometimes seems endless, but he also understood the truth about the “God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.” Here, Peter highlights the contrast between our temporary suffering and our eternal glory in Christ. Our present trials are like a gnat on the Mt. Everest of eternity with Christ.

As the verse promises, “God will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” The Lord will bring this to an end—the outcome doesn’t depend on us. It’s a gift of His grace in Christ. He will restore us. He will confirm our position as His children. He will strengthen us by His mercy. He will establish us as heirs of His promises.

One of God’s purposes in our suffering is to point us to its glorious end. One day, He will turn evil on its head and our joy will be sweeter because of our pain. As Tim Keller says, “The evil that hurts us now will be the eventual servant of our joy and glory eternally.”

No matter what we face this week, there will be a glorious end to our suffering.

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Our Suffering Increases Our Reliance on Him {No Matter What Monday}

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2 cor 1.8-9

My grandpa loved to tell the story of letting my dad drive a tractor when he was a young child. My dad sat on his dad’s lap with his small hands on the steering wheel as they drove over smooth ground. But when they hit a rough patch of bumpy road and the steering wheel bounced erratically, he would throw his hands in the air and yell, “Take it, Dad!”

In a similar way, our suffering causes us to cry out to our Heavenly Father for help. When life is smooth, we are often lulled into thinking we can handle things on our own. Then the rocky patches come and we have no choice but to throw up our hands and plead with Him to pull us through.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

In these verses, Paul is telling the Corinthians about his severe suffering—trials so severe that Paul and his companions hoped death would come quickly. But Paul sees God’s purpose in the pain: “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

We cherish our self-sufficiency, don’t we? It’s hard to admit our weakness and ask for help. But when our suffering pushes us to deeper reliance on the Lord, we find He is there, gripping the wheel, guiding us through the hard times. Our greater reliance on Him is a gift He gives us by His grace.

No matter what you face this week, God will use your suffering to grow your reliance on Him.

P.S. This week marks the one-year anniversary of these “No Matter What Monday” devotionals. You can read all 52 devotionals on my website and subscribe to receive the next 52 delivered straight to your inbox. Thanks for reading!

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