God Is in the Details

 

By Andrea Merrell

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

Psalm 138:8 NKJV

 

The problem was complex. Feeling overwhelmed as I struggled to think through all the details and every possible solution, the temptation to throw my hands up and quit almost won. That’s when God whispered the solution.

I laughed out loud. Could it really be that simple? I wondered. It definitely was.

Problem solved. Peace restored.

They say, “the Devil is in the details,” making the situation complicated and likely to cause problems. Our Enemy would like nothing more than to see us give up. He deceives us into thinking we can only bother God with the bigger problems.

But in reality, God is the One in the details. He cares about everything that concerns us—no matter how large or small. Every. Single. Thing. The best part is He longs for us to ask Him to get involved.

Don’t wait for some big crisis before you go to the Lord for help. He wants to be involved in every moment of your life—and that includes the details.

Remember … if it concerns you, it concerns Him.

Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash

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Don’t wait for some big crisis before you go to the Lord for help. He wants to be involved in every moment of your life—and that includes the details. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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Listen, Learn, Grow, and Change

 

By Andrea Merrell

Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son.

Romans 8:28-29 Phillips

 

“Life is too hard. I can’t take it anymore,” the woman said as the tears poured. “Will you pray for me?”

“Looks like the Lord finally got your attention,” the pastor answered.

God doesn’t bring pain, sorrow, and hardship on us, but He certainly uses them, especially to get our attention and turn our focus toward Him. C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasure … but shouts to us in our pain.”

Romans tells us that when we are loved and called by God “everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.” Why? Because God’s plan is for each of His children to bear the family likeness—the image of His Son. That requires growth and change.

“But we all … are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). Even Jesus “learned obedience from the things He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8 NKJV).

Don’t discount hard times. Listen, learn, grow, and change through them.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)

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Don’t discount hard times. Listen, learn, grow, and change through them. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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Is It Well with Your Soul?

 

By Andrea Merrell

The song stops me in my tracks … makes me cry … every time—“It Is Well with My Soul.”

Maybe it speaks to me because I think of all the years it was not well with my soul. Those years that I didn’t serve God or served Him halfheartedly. Times when I tried to hide my messes from Him—oblivious that He already knew all about them. Ashamed to come boldly before His throne of grace while thinking I had to be perfect before He would accept me. Times when I tried to fill that God-shaped void inside of me with everything and everyone except the One who longed to inhabit every nook and cranny.

Those times were exhausting. I longed for peace but couldn’t find it. I tried to find happiness, unaware that true joy comes only from the Lord—no matter what is going on around us.

The truth is God is not all about religious rules and regulations, all the dos and don’ts—that’s the Enemy’s domain. God is about relationship, and He invites us to come to Him with all our messes, weaknesses, and imperfections. His love is unconditional, and only that love can turns those messes, weaknesses, and imperfections into something good. All we have to do is come to Him in childlike faith and trust.

Is it well with your soul? If not, it can be. It only takes a moment.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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God’s unconditional love can turn our messes, weaknesses, and imperfections into something good when we come to Him in childlike faith. via@AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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Get Rid of the Tangles

 

By Andrea Merrell

Do not be stubborn … but submit yourselves to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:8 NLT

One of my granddaughters is extremely tender headed. When she was younger we had a difficult time getting rid of the tangles in her unruly hair. With each swipe of the comb or brush, she would flinch, whine, complain, and sometimes even cry.

As believers, we come to the Lord with our own set of tangles. These could be anything from bad habits and addictions to wrong thinking. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to get rid of those tangles, but sometimes—just like my granddaughter—we flinch, whine, complain, and sometimes even cry.

The Bible says, “Do not be stubborn … but submit yourselves to the Lord.” True submission and obedience require a large measure of trust. My husband and I taught our children that obedience is done quickly and quietly—no arguing, complaining, or procrastinating.

As parents, we only want what’s best for our children. The good news is that’s exactly what God wants for His own.

If things are not going well, maybe it’s time to allow the Holy Spirit to brush out those tangles.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and imagerymajestic.)

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It's the Holy Spirit's job to brush out all those "tangles" that invade our lives. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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What Do You Need Most?

 

By Andrea Merrell

You, Lord, are all I have,
    and you give me all I need;
    my future is in your hands.

Psalm 16:5 GNT

 

“Do you want to get well?” Jesus asked the man lying beside the Pool of Bethesda. The man had spent thirty-eight years in the same spot, waiting for someone to help him into the water when it was troubled by an angel.

In one of the episodes of The Chosen, we see Jesus waiting for the man’s answer. After looking around at all the other sick, diseased, and lame people waiting for the same thing to happen, Jesus looked the crippled man in the eyes and said, “You don’t need all this. All you need is Me.”

How often do we get caught in the proverbial rut, spending days, months, and even years trying to find a way out of a situation? Sometimes we keep trying the same old thing over and over with no results.

That’s when Jesus say to us, “All you need is Me.”

David said, “You, Lord are all I have, and you give me all I need.” He knew the Lord was the answer to every question and the solution to every problem

So, the question for you is, “What do you need most?”

 

Whatever it is ... the answer is Jesus.

Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash

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Jesus is the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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