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Jesus ends both prayers with “Your will be done.” Even before his struggle begins, he commits to God’s will regardless of his own preference. I am so thankful that Matthew reveals that our Savior grappled with his flesh to bring it into submission of his spirit. He truly does understand our human plight. He suffered and struggled just as we do.

Did you have a moment when you were first aware of God’s attention? Maybe you have had many such moments. How amazing that the almighty Creator of the universe would bend down to earth and engage with us mere mortals. Like Moses, he sends us out, foreigners in a hostile world. We are his emissaries. Be we aren’t sent on our journeys alone. He always promises to go with us.

The servant who received two talents didn’t sit around bellyaching about how unfair it was that he only got two. He went out and worked his butt off with what he had. When we focus on what we already have and work hard with whatever that is, we will be happier and more successful. We are ALL blessed in one way or another. Reflect on your many blessings and thank God for them!

This is the kind of spiritual / emotional healing that God offers to us. This is victory in Jesus. This means no weapon formed against us shall prosper. God offers us spiritual and emotional victory here in this life right now. It isn’t always easy to get there. It requires a lot of hard spiritual and mental work. But it is so worth the effort. Victorious life is so wonderfully sweet.

Living in a time of social turbulence can be frightening. We feel off balance trying to find our footing on the shifting sands of constantly changing narratives swirling all around us. We are bombarded by so much conflicting information; it seems impossible to know what is really true. But the one thing I KNOW is true is my God. He is the ultimate truth and he never changes. He is the sure foundation where I firmly plant my feet to withstand the confusion.

Our relationship with God is reciprocal. Just as it is with our humanly relationships, we get out what we put into it. Except with God, we receive so much more. So many people spend their lives running around desperately searching for someone else to complete them. But another human will never be capable of completing someone else. Only God can truly fulfill us. He provides everything so many of us are longing for — deep intimacy, honesty, love, acceptance, forgiveness, care, protection. Only God can know us completely. Only the all-knowing God holds the most perfect plan for our lives. Only God has loved us enough to provide way of salvation for us.

God “rescued me, because he delighted in me.” He saw beneath my brokenness and he loved me. “He also brought me out into an open place” of healing and wholeness. I am no longer lost in that deep dark pit. Thank you, Jesus.

Evil does have its day but rest assured those days are numbered. God will win in the end; indeed he already has won and all Satan can do is march through the trenches God has already dug for him. Evil will appear to have won some battles. It will gloat and prance and throw a terrific farcical victory parade. Evil will do its damndest to make you think you have lost. But it’s all a show.

The closer you get to God, the less blind your faith becomes. As you seek him, he slowly opens your eyes. He turns on the lights of your soul one ray at a time to reveal himself to you. Moment by moment, through the seasons of your life, through your hardships and joys — each experience of sensing his presence, hearing his voice, recognizing his unmistakable handiwork in your life, opens your eyes a tad more.

If only we would mold our hopes around what God has already told us. Life is going to be difficult. The innocent will suffer. He warns us about this over and over again. This current world is under a curse. True justice will never truly manifest during this particular time period. We get glimpses of it here and there, but it will never hold. That is why the good news is good news. Justice IS indeed coming if we only wait for it. God longs to give us eternal vision rather than our incomplete faulty focus on this life only. Eternal vision corrects our false expectations and gives us hope and peace for the future.