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God Knows More {No Matter What Monday}

June 25, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

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.

God Triumphs Over All Our Bad News {No Matter What Monday}

May 28, 2018 by Marissa 2 Comments

*** My new book, Loving Your Friend through Cancer, releases at the end of this month! To celebrate, each Monday devotional in May will feature one of my favorite verses from my cancer battle several years ago. I hope you will be encouraged by these scriptures and add them to your list to share with a friend who is suffering. ***

As I read through the many messages of love, support, and prayers after my cancer diagnosis, I often jotted down the scriptures or inspiritional quotes in my notebook. But one verse ended up on the back of a small piece of paper and taped to the outside of my kitchen cabinet for years. My aunt sent me a note and shared a verse that had been precious to my grandmother during her own cancer battle. The first few words stopped me in my tracks.

“He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.” (Psalm 112:7-8)

“He is not afraid of bad news?” How can this be? There is so much about bad news to be afraid of, and I had just received some of the worst news there is: a rare cancer, a grim prognosis, months of difficult treatment ahead, and an uncertain future for my young children.

But we see in these verses, and in many promises in God’s Word, that we can face bad news without fear because we belong to the Lord. We can stand firm, knowing that He is bigger, He is more powerful, He is the victor over every evil that threatens us. He has already triumphed over every pain, every illness, every sin—even over death itself.

In this world, we will have trouble. But we can take heart knowing that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). We don’t trust in our own might, but in the power of the One who holds our future in His hands.

No matter what you face this week, God triumphs over all our bad news.

Our Ever-Present Help {No Matter What Monday}

April 9, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I was talking with a friend about one of the many ways I think the internet is disconnecting us from each other, not just connecting us. Before Google, if I needed to know how to poach an egg or house-train a puppy or get olive oil out of my favorite sweater, I would call my mom or a friend. Now those phone calls don’t happen because we have all the answers at our fingertips.

So the next week, when my son threw up on the loveseat in our living room, I decided to call my mom to ask how to clean it rather than typing the question into an impersonal search engine. I explained my predicament and asked her what I should do. The first words out of her mouth were, “Have you Googled it?”

I’m thankful for my helpful mom, knowledgeable friends, and of course, Google. But I’m even more thankful for the One we can turn to for help in any and every problem we face.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2)

God is our refuge. He provides safety because He loves us and reigns over any circumstance, any power, or any person that would threaten us. As Paul says in Romans 8, nothing in this world can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ.

God is our strength. The One who created the heavens and the earth is your helper (Ps. 121:1-2). He placed in stars in the sky and the fish in the ocean depths, and He promises to give you His strength when you’re weak.

God is always present in our suffering. This is why the psalmist can say: “Therefore we will not fear . . .” We can face our troubles with confidence that the Lord is with us. He’s not just a passive, uninterested bystander. He is our heavenly Father, our refuge, and our strength.

No matter what you face this week, God is an ever-present help in trouble.

God is Always On Time {No Matter What Monday}

March 5, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Do you ever have one of 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 got 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, so 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 still try to squeeze it all in. I end up being 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, you can trust God’s perfect timing.

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