Always, Always Jesus

I just returned to my desk after a sabbatical. What I hoped would be restful was chock-full of unexpected changes, moving, and grief, mixed in with a few delightful moments with the fam.

I bet you can resonate.

You know when you have these great intentions for rest and play, and instead they get replaced with detours, dead ends and living amidst humans being human?

Yep. That was my summer, with a few gorgeous sunsets and some s’mores thrown in.

But always, always Jesus.

My address has changed, but Jesus? He is still the same. Most of my belongings might currently be in storage, but God cannot be stuffed in a box, packed up, and stacked alongside my kitchen supplies.

God has been near me this summer when I’ve needed to shed tears over unexpected loss and when I’ve had to process my confusion over how the story didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I did a Bible study this summer on God delivering Moses and then using Moses to deliver an entire nation. And while I watched deliverance play out on paper, I continually experienced our God delivering me as I cried out to Him day after day.

What do you need deliverance from?

The same God who delivered the Israelites from gnats, flies, and hail can deliver you. Cry out to Him. You might just discover He is closer than your address.

He can use it all. The pain and the joy. The chapters you never wanted to live, let alone write, and the ones you prayed and dreamed would someday come true. He can use every bit of it. The books. The conferences. The unexpected detours. The grief. The gorgeous sunsets. The s’mores. The stories that went according to plan—and especially the ones that didn’t.

And friend, whatever this summer held for you, I pray you’ll sense Him this fall, moving with you wherever you go, delivering His presence to every address, circumstance and hope you have.

P.S. I shared more of the story plus some super exciting book news in my Founder Letter – if you want to receive these before they’re published, you can join here.