Picture a treasure chest. Not a small box that might hold jewelry on a girl’s nightstand — a large treasure chest, larger than any suitcase you own, larger than any suitcase you’ve ever seen. Picture a massive oak treasure chest, like pirates might have used, with large iron hinges and a huge clasp. The size…
Grabbing the Lifeline of Hope
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God… — Hebrews 6:18-19 The Message I am haunted by this passage. The promised hope.…
Nothing Is Lost
Grab Hold with Both Hands That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures…
Recovering Transitions
Your soul is the vessel God fills, yet there is no room for Him to fill if your soul is wrung out, twisted, haggard, fried. Put another way, your hands cannot receive a gift while they are still tightly clenched. That is the condition we are trying to recover from and avoid further commerce with.…
Benevolent Detachment
Give Everyone and Everything to Me I got home from work on a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago and went outside to just sit, be quiet, try to find God. Nothing big. No crisis. Not a seven-day fast. Just sitting quietly, attempting to dial back into his presence. It was astounding how many things…
Get Your Life Back: The One Minute Pause
I have calmed and quieted myself. — David, Psalm 131:2 WELCOME I wonder how many people in your office, your gym, your daily commute could say they’ve cultivated a quiet heart? What we assume is a normal lifestyle is absolute insanity to the God-given nature of our heart and soul. Nonetheless, this is the…
The One-Minute Pause
We live in a crazy-making world. So much stimulation rushes at us with such unrelenting fury, we are overstimulated most of the time. Things that nourish us — a lingering conversation, a leisurely stroll through the park, time to savor both making and then enjoying dinner — these are being lost at an alarming rate;…
Rescue from the Madness
There’s a madness to our moment, and we need to name it for the lunacy it is. Because it’s taking our lives hostage. First, there’s the blistering pace of life. I texted friends an announcement that was really important to me; they replied with little thumbs-up emojis. I think to myself, That’s it—you can’t even…
Moving Mountains: Praying With Bold Authority
In Jesus’ Name Why do we pray, “in Jesus’ name”? The phrase gets tacked onto the end of many prayers, but I think it has about as much meaning to us as “amen.” Amen does not mean, “That’s it . . . I’m done now,” the little period at the end of my prayer. Amen (ah-mane) is an…
A Man’s Deepest Question
The story of Adam’s fall is every man’s story. It is simple and straightforward, almost mythic in its brevity and depth. And so every man comes into the world set up for a loss of heart. Then comes the story we are much more aware of — our own story. Where Adam’s story seems…