Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Who Are You Trusting? {First 5 App}

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I’m thrilled to be contributing to the First 5 app of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Today I shared a teaching on Psalm 115. Here’s a sneak peek . . . You can read the rest of it here, or download the app to join in this study of the Psalms!

Psalm 115:11 (ESV) “You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”

On a spring morning during my senior year of college, I wept in my professor’s office as the identity I spent my life building tumbled to the floor. I’d always been a star student, but my senior research project didn’t go as planned. I wouldn’t graduate with honors, and I was crushed.

The pain of that moment remains poignant two decades later because I still struggle with making idols of my reputation, my accomplishments and my gifts. But God’s Word shows us the truth about these shaky foundations. In Psalm 115, we see the danger of trusting what our hands have made rather than trusting the Lord who made us.

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God Cares For You {No Matter What Monday}

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Have you ever been stuck in traffic in a big city? When I’m sitting in several lanes of gridlock, watching several more lanes of gridlock on the other side, I’m struck by how many people there are in the world. Who are all these people, and why are they trying to get somewhere at the same time I am?! If there are this many people in one spot of highway in one city, what must that mean about how many people are on this globe? 

It makes me feel so small—I’m one of 7 billion people on earth. And this planet is just one tiny speck in all of God’s creation. According to Space.com, the Milky Way alone contains over 200 billion stars—and we are one of the smaller galaxies! 

Simply put, the size of God’s creation is beyond comprehension. I’m one of 7 billion on one of several planets circling one of 200 billion stars in one of only-God-knows-how-many galaxies in the universe. 

And yet, God cares for me. 

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

Your Heavenly Father placed each one of those stars not just in the Milky Way, but in the entire universe. He knows each one and sustains them by His power. 

He not only knows every star, He also knows you. He knows your schedule, your to-do list, your worries, your struggles, your tears. He knows your past, your present, and your future. He cares for you and will never let you go. 

When you feel overwhelmed by your calendar, God cares for you. When you wonder if your sorrow will ever end, God cares for you. When you feel small and insignificant in a big, noisy world, God cares for you. 

No matter what you face this week, the One who placed all the stars in the heavens cares for you. 

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God’s Abundant Goodness {No Matter What Monday}

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I love the language of Psalms. They are honest and raw, and yet full of beautiful praise. In Psalm 31, we see David work his way through the full range of emotions. In verse 9, he’s in distress. In verse 12, he’s been forgotten by everyone as if he was dead. He blesses the Lord and proclaims His covenant love in verse 21 and exhorts others to love the Lord in verse 23. 

In the context of “terror on every side” (verse 13)  and a desperate need for rescue, we find these words describing God’s goodness: 

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19)

First, David says that God’s goodness is abundant. One day when I was in the abyss of potty training a toddler, I put clothes in the laundry room sink to soak and forgot to turn off the faucet. I learned how quickly abundant water spreads throughout a room! God’s goodness is abundant and overflowing. It never runs out. It rushes into every corner of our lives and covers every inch. 

David also tells us that God’s goodness is stored up for us. We don’t use up God’s goodness on our first day as His child. There are storehouses full of His abundant goodness that will never be emptied.  

And God’s goodness is at work in our lives. God’s goodness isn’t just a nice theoretical idea. God’s goodness takes action. He works for our good and His glory in all the circumstances of our lives (Romans 8:28). 

Because of God’s abundant goodness, we can commit our days to Him (Psalm 31:5, 15). We can trust in Him (Psalm 31:14). We can be strong and have courage as we wait for the Lord (Psalm 31:24). 

No matter what you face this week, take refuge in God’s abundant goodness. 

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God is Right on Time {No Matter What Monday}

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Do you ever have those days when you run behind schedule All. Day. Long?? You have a to-do list that’s growing, not shrinking. You hit snooze one time too many and get a late start. The dog pees the carpet right as you’re leaving the house. Your toddler goes on strike and refuses to put on his shoes. And of course, it’s pouring rain and traffic is terrible. 

I don’t have the toddler excuse anymore. But I still have a snooze button, a dog, and a to-do list, and I have a lot of these can’t-catch-up days. I don’t seem to have enough time to do all that I need to do, yet I try to squeeze it all in. I end up running late every step of the way. 

God never has one of those days. Psalm 90 tells us that God has all the time in the world. Literally. 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2)

From everlasting to everlasting—can you imagine? The eternal existence of God is more than my finite brain can grasp. 

But I know this: from everlasting to everlasting is a really, really long time. God never has to worry about accomplishing all He plans to do. He is never rushed, never running behind schedule, never cutting corners to catch up. 

God is always right on time. 

From our perspective, we sometimes feel that God could hustle a bit more. We’d like Him to heal our friend, provide a new job, or answer our questions—and if it would have been done yesterday, it wouldn’t have been too soon. 

The reality is, God’s timing is always perfect. He isn’t bound by time, but rather He rules over it. He uses time to bring about His purposes in our lives, and it’s always just right. 

No matter what you face this week, God is always right on time. 

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