Devotional Journal

Maybe you've been pretending. Smiling when you're not okay. Saying you're fine when you're not. Holding it together because you think that's what you're supposed to do. But I don't think God needs our pretending. I think He needs our honesty. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, NIV) You don't have to hide your struggle from God. You don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Him. You don't have to wait until you feel stronger or more faithful or more together. He is close to the...

It's possible to be busy and still miss what matters. To move fast, check things off, accomplish a lot, and still lose sight of the people, the presence, the quiet moments that don't produce anything but connection. Maybe it's time to return. "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42, NIV) I think about this story a lot. About how Martha was doing good things. Important things. But she was so busy...

Maybe you've been trying to do it all on your own. To be strong enough, capable enough, together enough that you don't need anyone. And the weight of that is crushing you. I don't think God ever asked us to carry everything alone. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2, NIV) Asking for help is not weakness. It's wisdom. It's humility. It's the recognition that you were never meant to do life alone, that God designed you to need others and to be needed by them. You don't have to...

It's easy to look around and feel like everyone else is further along. They have it more together. They're doing more, achieving more, becoming more. And you look at your own life and feel the weight of all the ways you're behind. But God doesn't measure your life against anyone else's. "Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else." (Galatians 6:4, NIV) I have to remind myself of this constantly. That I'm not behind. That I'm exactly where God has me. And the work He's doing in...