A God Who Sees and Cares

Have you ever felt unseen? What about lonely? Maybe you’ve wondered if anyone cares and struggled with life meaning. All these emotions hit us hard and often with people all around us. But rest assured God sees and cares.

So this is for you.

The woman who feels invisible.

A mom surrounded by loneliness.

The woman who wonders if anyone cares.

The man struggling with life meaning.

This is for anyone touched by hopelessness and souls caught in the pit of despair.

And for the lost who don’t believe they can be found.

To everyone who questions God’s existence or love.

Or, if you ever wonder:

 Is God there? Does He know? Does He see? And does He care?

Have you ever felt unseen? Maybe you've wondered if anyone cares, even whether God cares. Rest assured God sees and cares. Share on X

God Sees and Cares

We find a story of the God who sees and cares in Genesis 16. Childless, Sarai (later called Sarah) devises a plan for her servant Hagar to conceive her husband’s child. Hagar obliges, but Sarai regrets her scheme and deals harshly with Hagar.

So Hagar flees the scene. Alone in the wilderness, she encounters an angel of the Lord who tells her how she will bear a son, her offspring will be multiplied, and to return and submit to her mistress.

Within this narrative, Hagar recognized a powerful truth about God. He’s a God who sees and cares.

“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’” Genesis 16:13 (ESV, emphasis added)

Read More…

Keeping Your Eyes Wide Open for God

Keep your eyes wide open. 

Maybe you keep a watchful eye on your neighbor’s house while they are out of town. Perhaps you help look for a friend’s lost pet. 

Or, we watch for a specific job ad in the paper or online and ask others to keep an eye out for the position.

Yet, to keep our eyes open sometimes proves difficult. Like when we are sleep deprived. Or, during a scary movie or gruesome video. 

And keeping our eyes wide open putting in eye drops. Anybody else have a hard time with this? 

But to keep our spiritual eyes open often proves most difficult of all. 

Similar to how we were once spiritually blind to Jesus and salvation, we also need to open our spiritual eyes to God’s presence and His work in our daily lives.

Similar to how we were once spiritually blind to Jesus and salvation, we also need to open our spiritual eyes to God’s presence and His work in our daily lives. Share on X

Psalm 105 in The Message says this: 

Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles…(Verses 1-5a, emphasis added).

Maybe we tell others of all the great things God has done for us. And we praise the Lord for every deed or blessing from His hand.

Yet, we miss the second vital part. We fail to look for God’s presence Sunday through Saturday, 24/7. We forget to watch for God to display His wonders in our lives today and every day.

Read More…

4 Things We Control: God Controls the Rest

Have you ever wished for control? 

I’ve desired control over circumstances, relationships, people, and other areas of life. 

The no-control feeling reminds me of an amusement park ride. Because the controls are in the hands of the ride operator, not me or any other rider.

So the few times friends talked me into a free-fall ride or roller coaster, I prayed the entire time for the Lord to get my feet back on the ground. 

It’s a helpless feeling.

While the Lord continues to teach me how I’ve never had control, the struggle still sometimes rears its ugly head.

I believe God is always in control. And He’s on His throne. The Lord’s CEO of the world and my life. So if the Lord manages the world and all of creation, He certainly manages my life well.

I believe God is always in control. And He’s on His throne. The Lord’s CEO of the world and my life. So if the Lord manages the world and all of creation, He certainly manages my life well. Share on X

But I discovered a few things within my control. And God controls everything else.

(1.) Attitude. 

Why do parents, teachers, and coaches often ask for an attitude adjustment? Because for kids and adults alike, our attitude is something within our control. Attitude makes all the difference in tough circumstances, a relationship hiccup, an unwanted project at work, and so on. 

We learn a lot about attitude from Jesus.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:3-5 (NASB, emphasis added)

(2.) Control Over Choices. 

Read More…

I Don’t Need to Be Enough: Jesus is Enough

Have you ever felt like you’re not enough? My hand’s raised. 

Maybe the less-than feeling stems from a relationship, job, competition, role, life dream, comparison, our own inner critic, perfectionism, or other.

And the enemy of our soul is often behind our negative self-talk and the world’s expectations that lead to I’m-not-enough thoughts.

The enemy will even use other people to drive the point home in our hearts.

But—and this “but” may surprise you—the phrase You are enough circulating on social media and in articles and podcasts and so on, gives us the idea that we are enough in and of ourselves. 

While I really do understand the sentiments behind the popular statement; friends, it’s simply not true. I am not enough in myself. Jesus is enough. 

The phrase "You are enough" gives us the idea that we are enough in and of ourselves. Friends, it’s simply not true. I am not enough in myself. Jesus is enough.  Share on X

Because Jesus is enough, it gives us a complete identity in Him. We no longer need to concern ourselves with what the world or people say is enough. 

Also, we quit comparing ourselves to anyone else. It’s so freeing to know who I am in Christ and letting go of comparison. I’m thankful God doesn’t create cookie-cutter people.

So let’s look at how Jesus is E.N.O.U.G.H. and how it helps us see ourselves in the correct light.

Jesus Is Enough

E – Endured the Cross. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

Jesus endured the cross so we didn’t have to.

Read More…