By Britnee Bradshaw (WITHIN Devotional Writer)

"For we live by faith, not by sight."
(2 Corinthians 5:7)

​One of the hardest feelings to shake is that terrible feeling of being stuck. It can happen in any area of our lives and discourage us in our walk with the Lord.

We can feel stuck in a number of ways. For example, in working a job that we hate, we can mentally have given our boss that good ole’ two-week notice, but in reality, we know the Lord hasn’t released us to leave quite yet.

Or, we can feel stuck in a season of loss, where it seems like we’ve been the “tail” more than we’ve been the “head”; “beneath” more than “above”. & we’re struggling in the waiting to finally see a solid win. Sometimes, we can even feel stuck in a string of perpetual and unhealthy cycles-the ones we can’t seem to break no matter how hard we try.

Here are some definitions of the word stuck:

• To be confused or puzzled
• A stoppage or a standstill; to be at a standstill as from difficulties
• Something causing
• To become fastened, hindered, checked, or stationary by some obstruction

When we really break this thing down, that feeling of being stuck isn’t the truth of the Gospel at all! It’s a lie that tempts us to believe that what God has done and is doing isn’t enough. It’s a lie from the enemy that the Lord wants us to be freed of.

In Isaiah 61:1, we find the truth about Jesus and His earthly assignment for every person, past, present, and future. The scripture reads this way,
“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.”

The very nature of Jesus’ life was to bring restoration and redemption to all mankind. His death, burial, and resurrection was the ultimate proclamation of freedom--a proverbial nail in the coffin, if you will, to slavery and bondage.

So the glorious truth is that because of the sacrifice of Jesus’ life for us, we are never, ever stuck!

When you begin to feel like you are, consider that perhaps what is actually happening is that you are being stretched in your faith! Perhaps there’s something God wants to do in you and through you that requires your faith and trust in Him to grow.

What feels like a dead end could very well be the opportunity for you to step into a totally new beginning.
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In the Kingdom of God, there tends to be an upside-down effect where what we feel and what God is doing are opposites. So, with that in mind, take some time this week to survey your life.  Spend time in His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what the Father is doing, and remind your heart of the amazing things He’s already done in your life! A grateful heart always brings us back to the center of God’s faithful love for us.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

Isaiah 61
1 Peter 5:10
2 Corinthians 5:7
Questions to Reflect on:

1. What areas of your life do you feel stuck in?
2. How are you surrendering to the Holy Spirit while you’re in the waiting for whatever it is you’re believing God for?
3. Sometimes, our key to moving forward is wrapped in a beautiful, gift box called community :) Who are you linked to in this season? How are you connecting with them? What are their gifts and strengths that you’re able to glean from?

 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  (John 3:30)

Imagine standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, amidst its grandeur and awesomeness. Would the thought of your own greatness even come to mind? Probably not. It’s natural that whenever we are in the midst of greatness, it produces in us momentary humility. We are in awe and we are humbled.

How much more when we recognize the Matchless Presence and Friendship with God that we have been gifted through the atoning work of Jesus Christ? A gift that we didn’t deserve. Should that not produce in us authentic humility? Should that not cause us to be in constant awe of God as we see Him for Who He really is? Yes, it should. But that’s not always the case with us.

In our fallenness, one of the greatest sins that plagues us is our pride. It’s a sin that is easily detectable in others but hard to find in ourselves. It’s the sin that caused Lucifer, who was one of God’s Angels, to fall and become Satan. It’s the sin that caused Adam and Eve to believe Satan when he told them they could be like God. It’s the sin that continues to fight the very souls of those who refuse to believe in God and even more so, the sin that plagues those of us who have put their hope in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This sin isn’t going anywhere.

Pride doesn’t sit at the surface so it can be seen. Often times, pride buries itself deep in the crevices of our hearts where only we can hear these whispers, “I want to be seen. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be at the center. I want to be right. I want to be known. I want to be [fill in the blank].”

Now, in and of themselves, to be known, seen, acknowledged, right, etc aren’t wrong. However, they do reveal whether or not our heart’s motives are in the right place. When we want to take the glory from God by wanting those things, we are letting pride take its course. It becomes a serious matter because God has made it very clear that He will not share His glory (Isaiah 42:8) because it wasn’t meant to be shared. It was meant to be praised and worshipped.

We see the example that was set for us in Scripture of a man named John the Baptist who was regarded by Jesus to be the “greatest born of women” (Luke 7:28), yet it wasn’t because he was great in his own terms, it was because he took his role as the forerunner of Jesus Christ seriously. While many questioned John’s identity, he never wavered or was tempted to make himself great. He simply said he was the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord…’” (John 1:23).

In John 3, we find that Jesus had entered the scene and was baptizing people. However, John’s disciples noticed that Jesus was baptizing more people than John and they tried to bring John into a discussion of who was the greater one. Again, John knew his role and never confused his role with the reward of seeing Jesus, the Messiah, come. So he tells them, “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice, Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30).

Wow! The humility that we find in these words uttered by John the Baptist is one that has truly seen and known Jesus. John honored his role but treasured the reward or Jesus more than the role of being Jesus’ forerunner. John knew Jesus. He knew that He was the Savior. He knew that He was the One to bring redemption. He knew that He was the True Light. He knew that He was the Bridegroom. He knew that He alone was worthy. And because He knew, it produced in him authentic humility that doesn’t fight for the role but rejoices in the reward of Jesus.

When Satan tries to tempt us with the roles God gives us in this life to be about us, may we, like John, press into knowing Jesus more so that we can utter those same words, “He must increase but I must decrease.”
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

Isaiah 42:8
Proverbs 11:2
Proverbs 16:18
Luke 7:28
John 3 (whole chapter)
Romans 12:3
James 4:6

Questions to Reflect on:
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1. How does seeing Jesus rightly produce in us authentic humility?
2. What does it look like practically for Jesus to increase and for you to decrease?
3. Have you ever thought that the idea of you wanting to be seen or acknowledged was pride?
4. How has John the Baptist’s life encouraged you?

By Brittney Smith (WITHIN Devotional Writer)
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“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41 )

Pray for closed doors. Pray that the enemy won’t be able to find an entrance into your home, your family or your mind. We may not realize it, but paper thin openings can make us as vulnerable as wide open doors. The author of Song of Solomon says it’s, “The little foxes that spoil the vine” (Song of Solomon 2:15).  So don’t wait for a life altering problem before you pray. Pray over the mundane tasks and the daily irritants. The ungodly attitudes in the crevices of our hearts and the fault lines in our character, all need sealant. Prayer fills those gaps.

Prayer is only part of the instruction in this verse. Vigilance completes the task. Like an arrow set in a bow, prayer made through watchful discernment is what hits the intended target. Thus, by God’s grace we can pray skillfully, and not pray amiss. Our prayers no longer have to be aimless or routine. We can pray with strategy and boldness. Through watchfulness, we can intentionally go to God for our needs and for those around us.

We watch because the Enemy is also watchful. He is a prowling lion, seeking who he may devour. Yes, he waits for opportunity, for an opening.  Sin also lies at the door in wait for an entrance in our moments of weakness in the flesh. Remember, it is possible to close those openings before our enemies get to them. Should they ever trespass, we have the authority in Jesus name to put them out because greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world. There are many reasons for us to watch and pray but just remember there is no reason too small.
May the Lord help us to keep our eyes open.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

​Ephesians 6:18
Romans 8:26-27
1 Peter 5:8
1 John 4:4
Questions to Reflect on:

1. What “doors” or areas of your life or a loved one’s life can you pray specifically for God to close?
2. List the “doors” or areas of your life or a loved one’s life that you feel confident are closed and pray over them as well.
3. In what other ways can we be watchful in prayer?

By Debbie Ramamoorthy (WITHIN Devotional Writer)

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
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When we don’t know if we’re “there” (whatever “there” means for you) yet, we often end up sitting in the waiting while being frustrated, impatient and sometimes even angry- wondering whether it was God’s plan all along. And how many of us have heard the response “God’s timing is perfect.”? We’ve heard it all a million times. Or at least I have. I get it. I’ve been in many seasons of waiting. I am currently in one right now. I like to call this season “the land in-between.” While God’s timing is perfect, it really isn’t the most consuming, all-encompassing aspect of our lives. The purpose isn’t for us to just sit in the waiting, passively but to joyfully surrender to the waiting.

Want to know what’s more important than waiting for God’s timing to reveal itself?
The seasons of waiting are the seasons where all the “magic” happens. What do I mean by this? The waiting seasons are filled with far more purpose than the seasons of arrival.

While this isn’t something you may necessarily want to hear- the reality is nothing is going to speed up His timing. So, take a step back, relax and hear me out. The God we serve is not a God of coincidence or randomness. He is a God who orchestrates the smallest details to the biggest life events. This should be reassuring, right? But so often it’s not. Rather than spending our days seeking Him, walking in close relationship with Him and striving to understand how to glorify Him through our words, actions and thoughts, we sit in the waiting period, anxiously waiting for the Lord to deliver! And in the process, we miss His good work.

There is nothing that goes to waste with God, right? Which only means that this season of waiting is filled with purpose! Not just purpose, but a sovereign purpose! This doesn’t only mean that you are meant to be in this season, but you are meant to be engaging with this season. Fully present in it. Fully embracing it.

Even more, it’s not simply a purposeful time- it’s actually time that He is using to glorify Him. Time being used for His greater good! Whatever plans that God has in store of you, during times of waiting, He is shaping you into who you need to be for those plans but more importantly, He is shaping you to know Him deeper-to know His steadfast love, mercy, kindness so that we may be rooted in Him.
 
 Furthermore, we don’t always know it in the moment, but we aren’t always ready for the things that God plans to do through us. For example, if you were ready to have Him open that door, it would be open right now- today. But the reality is, this is the time He could be using to prepare you, mold you and shape you for the opportunity He has purposed for you. You weren’t ready last year, or last week or yesterday. You may actually not even be ready for it today. God has things to reveal to you before that time comes. You’ve got so much to learn and this beautiful opportunity to grow into who you are meant to be for the season ahead.

I dabble in art here and there, and so I like to think of God as the master artist. It brings to mind when I work on a piece of art- the process of allowing my brain to get creative, getting the material ready, getting in the zone and then slowly seeing the piece come together. More often than not, the end result is different than what I had envisioned. But I think of God working on us, seeing us as his blank canvases. Chiseling away, refining us, shaping us and molding us. All the while perfecting us. So that at the end, we are living testimonies of His goodness, faithfulness and redemption. Our stories are really for Him to beautifully piece together, pointing back to His glory and wonder.

I’ve got my share of “waiting lists,”-even just in the past year. Nothing feels longer than a waiting list that involves a 2.5 year engagement! I never would have thought that to be the story God has in store for my life. But something keeps happening: the quieter circumstances become, the more I see God’s creativity. The less I know, the more God starts to reveal. The more helpless I feel, the more glorified God becomes. The more I surrender, the more God reveals.
 
Let’s look at the story of Moses. Most of his life was spent in waiting! And much of what he waited for, he didn’t even get to see come to fruition. But it did not stop Him from worshipping the Lord amidst the waiting, and chasing to know Him and His purposes.

 While these seasons of waiting seem to be filled with unknowns and uncertainties, along with its share of stress, it is also filled with God’s mysteries and experiences that draw us into a deep dependency on Him.

The best you can do is to embrace the moment. Engage with the present. Open your hands in surrender every day and ask to know Him. All we can do is joyfully obey Him, in total dependency on the One who has seen it through! Knowing in full confidence that He has the most beautiful things to reveal to you. In His perfect timing. The final result will be beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:Galatians 6:9
Phillipians 4:6
Jeremiah 29:11
Romans 12:12
Questions to Reflect on:

1. What season of waiting are you in? How is God shaping you in this season?
2. What are some ways you could replace waiting with surrender?
3. When you are tired of waiting, how do you typically respond? How could you ask God to reveal himself to you in those seasons?