Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

God Knows All Things {No Matter What Monday}

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When my dad was five years old, he told his mom: “I can write my name and tie my shoes and count to ten. I won’t have to go to school, will I?” When he got to kindergarten, he found he had more to learn. He spent the next 21 years going to school!

 

No matter how many decades we spend in school, our knowledge remains incomplete. My dad is really smart, but there are certain tasks I wouldn’t trust him to do. If you need someone to solve a differential equation, sing bass in your choir, or whip up a fantastic pot of baked beans, he’s your guy. But if you ask him to frame your new house or cut your child’s hair or perform your hip replacement surgery, you will regret it. Some jobs are beyond the scope of my dad’s understanding.

 

But my heavenly Father knows it all. He knows every person, animal, plant, pebble, galaxy and atom in this universe. He knows every detail about every subject from astronomy to zoology. He knows every event from eternity past to eternity future. Nothing is beyond the scope of His infinite knowledge.

 

Psalm 147:5: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

 

He’s not just all-knowing; He is good. He uses His immeasurable knowledge for the good of those He loves. We can trust our unknown future to the One who knows all things. He’s not going to get it wrong, because all His decisions are informed by His complete knowledge.

 

No matter what we face this week, we can trust the One who knows all things.

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The Lord Reigns Over the Nations {No Matter What Monday}

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The first presidential election I remember is the 1980 election. I was barely 4 years old, but I remember seeing Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan shaking hands. I understood there had been a change in leadership of our nation. And my peace-loving preschool mind believed that President Carter and President Reagan were buddies. I assumed President Carter was tired of being president, so he let his friend have a turn. Every good preschooler knows about taking turns!

But of course, that’s not how politics works. Rather than being kind to each other, as our preschool teachers taught us, we spew anger and hate, not only at the candidates, but at brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t share our political leanings. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this election to be over.

Maybe the future of our nation is weighing heavily on your mind, too. Or maybe your personal struggles consume your thoughts, leaving little room for national issues. Either way, I hope today’s Scripture encourages you:

“For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:7-8).

Our King reigns. He sits on His holy and eternal throne, ruling over the earth and over your life. Nothing in this universe is beyond His sovereign control. He reigns over the leaders of the nations and over each and every detail of your life.

Not one vote, not one cell, not one gust of wind in this world are beyond His control.

Here’s more good news: the one who reigns is not only your King, He is your Father. He loves you and cares for you. We can face our future without fear, because the One who rules the nations cares for us.

No matter what you face this week, your Heavenly Father reigns over the nations.

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Keep Clinging to the Lord {No Matter What Monday}

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It’s a familiar routine. We both climb out of the white minivan, and I lock the doors. As we step out into the parking lot, she slips her soft hand into mine. She knows that at barely 4 feet tall, she’s safest if she’s holding my hand as we walk through the big, bad parking lot.

Who’s holding whom as my daughter and I walk hand-in-hand? She’s the one who reached out and grabbed my hand, but I’m the one who won’t let go. I’m the one who would scoop her up and rush her to safety if danger threatened. If she forgot to reach out and grab my hand one day, I’d reach for hers and grasp it tight.

Psalm 63:8: My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

In this psalm, David remembers the Lord’s help during dark times. He finds joy in being near to the Lord. And he knows that as his soul clings to the Lord, the Lord’s right hand will hold him tight.

Are you struggling to cling to the Lord? Maybe it feels like you’re trying to grab on, but your fingers keep slipping in the midst of fear and doubt. Or you’re trying to hold on, but your muscles are straining and threatening to quit.

Keep clinging, friend. And when your hands grow weary or start to slip, remember that the Lord’s steady hand upholds you. He’s got a strong grip on you, and He won’t ever let go.

No matter what you face this week, keep clinging to the Lord and trust Him to hold you.

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God Has Prepared You For This {No Matter What Monday}

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A couple months ago, I stared out the window of my home office, sipping coffee and enjoying the early morning quiet of a house filled with my sleeping people. The silence was broken by a sound I interpreted at first to be my children jumping up and down upstairs. But the way the house was shaking, there must have been twenty kids jumping, and that couldn’t be right. The waves of realization came slowly across my slightly-caffeinated brain: an earthquake.

I had no idea where I should be or what I should do. I live in Arkansas, not California! Was I supposed to bring everyone downstairs to a bathroom, like in a tornado? Get everyone out of the house like in a fire? Get under a desk or into a doorway? Thankfully, the earthquake ended by the time I gathered my confused, bleary-eyed family, and we were fine.

After we settled down, I was struck by how unprepared I was for the earthquake. When the unexpected happens, we often find ourselves unprepared. We feel scared, confused, even frantic. Life is happening, and we need to act or respond, but we have no clue what to do.

Ephesians 2:10 promises us that God has equipped us for all that He calls us to do: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We are His workmanship. He has good works for us to do, which He has prepared beforehand. Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we can walk freely in the work He asks us to do.

If you’re anxious about the tasks your week will bring, you can be sure of this: God has equipped you in every way to tackle the to-do list He’s given you.

Whatever you face this week, God has prepared you for this, because you are His workmanship.

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