​By Hannah Solomon Mesfin (WITHIN devotional contributor)

Over the past couple of years, God has been teaching me about prayer-specifically prayer through sufferings and hardships. We know that God has the power and authority to change all circumstances and all difficulties that we face in and through life. So today, I want to share with you all something that has changed my prayer life and one that I hope encourages you as you journey with the Lord.

 For the past couples of months we have been studying the book of Mark. In it, we notice that Mark emphasizes the identity of Jesus Christ. He shows us Christ’s authority over sicknesses through healing, His ability to cast out demons, and His ability to command nature into stillness. In Mark 4:35-41 we see Jesus’ authority over nature. In the context, Jesus and His disciples were heading back to the other side of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee after a long day of Jesus teaching “the multitude.” We can assume that at this point that Jesus was tired and needed to rest, so He fell asleep. While He was asleep, a heavy storm formed. Some of these disciples on the boat were fishermen and they’ve seen storms, but this was like no other. They were terrified and frantic. They did all they could and finally decided to wake up Jesus. Now, during this whole time  the wind, the waves, the boat rocking and water splashing over the boat did not wake up Jesus. He was sound asleep. But the cries of His disciples immediately woke Him up. They cried out “do you not care if we drown?” They are almost appalled that He could sleep, while they are fighting for their lives.

 Sounds familiar doesn’t it? This story always reminds me of how I react through the “storms” in my life. These disciples journeyed with Jesus. They saw what He is capable of doing – yet in this very moment, a moment where they were going through a storm like no other, they questioned if Jesus cared. They questioned His ability. 

Now going back to the story, Jesus wakes up at the cries of His disciples and speaks to the winds and the waves, “Quiet! Peace be still!” and immediately the winds and the waves ceased. 

I love this story for many reasons. One, because it shows the power and authority of the God we serve. And two, it shows His heart towards the cries of His disciples. See, when we pray to God about the very storms we go through, God is able to silence those storms - the very things that frighten us and bring worry and doubt to our hearts. He is able to get rid of our circumstantial, relational or emotional storms. He is ALSO able to strengthen us as we walk through those storms. 

This is the point I want to emphasize to us all. God not only can get rid of the things that overwhelm us and burden us but He can also strengthen us and sharpen us to endure through the very storm. Whichever He chooses to work through us, we should have confidence in His ability to accomplish His will, for His glory. A lot of times we seek to pray away our storms, which at times are very necessary. But we must be willing to believe that there are times when Jesus wants to strengthen us through the storms that we go through and we learn this through the type of prayer we are praying. We can pray for Him to sharpen us, mold us and teach us through our storms. And in both ways, God is still very PRESENT. He is not more God or more good because He gets rid of our storms verses building endurance through us. In both circumstances, He is good! He knows what is best for us. 


We see many stories in the Bible where God helps His people endure through trials. For instance in Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar built an idol of gold and all the people were commanded to worship and kneel before this idol and whoever did not follow this order would be thrown into a blazing furnace. Well, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to do so. They were brought before the king and when asked, they said (v.17) “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it... but even if He does not, we will still not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up”. They had confidence and faith that God could help them endure through this suffering and even if He did not, He is still God and still good. And shortly after they were thrown into the furnace, we read that there were four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unarmed! God was walking with them in the flames! Not a single part of their body was burned. They didn’t even SMELL like fire. And because God strengthened them to endure through this circumstance, what was done through them was the change of the nation they were in. 


Our prayers through our suffering ultimately determines the intimacy and faith we choose to have in the Lord. We can either let our sufferings determine the God we serve or let the God we serve rule over our sufferings. After learning this, my prayers changed from just “God get rid of this” to also “God help me endure through this; strengthen me through this; Lord teach me what it is you want through this.”

 God can very much deliver us from trials and tribulations. He is known to do so! And He is very much able! He can also sustain us and strengthen us IN and THROUGH the trials and tribulations. So what I want to encourage you with today, is to pray with a posture that allows God to work through you in whichever way He wills and trust that His intentions for your life are good. For His thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways His ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than your ways and His thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
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Believe that He is able to do immeasurably more than all you ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).
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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:

Mark 4:35-41
Daniel 3
Isaiah 55:8-11
Ephesians 3:20-21
Romans 5:3-5
James 1:2-4

Questions to Reflect on:

1. When facing trials, what does my prayers usually look like? 
2. What practical ways can I work on in trusting God through moments of hardships? 
3. What fears and doubts get in the way of my faith when it comes to difficulties? 

​By Trilla Newbell (Desiringgod.org) 

We call it accountability. Beginning in 2001 I had the privilege each and every Friday afternoon to meet with two women for mutual encouragement and prayer. We did this for several years and remain accountable to each other to this day. The reasons we started meeting were simple: we were young Christians wanting encouragement in our walk with God. We wanted to build a deeper, more meaningful friendship with a few women. And we were girls and loved any excuse to hang out and eat together.

It was a real friendship. The purpose of our meeting was simple but the benefits were endless and life-changing.

For Our Protection

We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When I first became a Christian, I freely confessed my sin because I was acutely aware of God’s grace and forgiveness. I knew the depths of my heart and what it meant to be forgiven much. But then came knowledge, which coupled with strides in godliness, can lead to pride (1 Corinthians 8:1). As I grew I began to subtly believe I should “know better” than to sin — as if the temptation to anger or envy were beyond me. Accountability was a good reminder that it was okay to be needy for God’s grace. It reminded me that I am a sinner and that, because of Jesus, God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:8–10).

Consistent accountability has been a means of God’s protection in my life. To this day, though I’m further along in my walk than I was a decade ago, I do not believe I’m incapable of grievous sin (1 Corinthians 10:12). I am a new creation, and I have the Spirit’s power, but it’s no longer a surprise that when I want to do good, evil is close at hand (Romans 7:21). Understanding that we are all batting on the same team (all have sinned) means we can freely share with these close, trusted friends. Accountability allows us to confess patterns of temptation and in so doing we are restrained from actual transgression.


Five Characteristics of Life-Giving Accountability

The point behind accountability isn’t just to share about sin and hear the hard words of rebuke. Though the wounds of a friend are a sign of their faithfulness, accountability should also be a time to build each other up and encourage each other toward God’s goodness and grace found in the cross of Christ. My friends and I reminded each other who we were in Christ: accepted completely, daughters of the Most High, and forgiven. We reminded each other that we knew Jesus, he was ours and we were his, and we could draw near to him and his throne of grace. In my experience, there were five characteristics that make accountability particularly life-giving:

1. We expressed a genuine love for one another because God had transformed our friendship into sisterhood. We were devoted to one another (John 15:17; Romans 12:10).
2. Each week we had a choice to extend grace or judgment. We could display the love and grace that God had already extended through the judgment of Jesus on the cross (Romans 14:13).
3. Each of us had an opportunity to be honest, which we may not have accomplished had we not established the habit (Ephesians 4:25).
4. There were times we would need to extend forgiveness. Honest friendship sometimes leads to hurting one another. Also as one person might go through a season of struggling with the same temptation we’d learn to bear with our friend (Romans 12:16; Colossians 3:13).
5. We bore each other’s burdens in prayer (Galatians 6:2).

​More of Jesus

Ultimately accountability can be a means in which God draws us, through the friendship and fellowship of others, to himself. Self-sufficiency says we don’t need anyone, but humility shouts for help from those God has placed in our lives. This habit of sharing and praying with others will inevitably teach us how to cast our cares on the only One who can fully bear their weight and who loves us with an unfailing love (1 Peter 5:7).
God graciously reminds us that apart from him we can do nothing. And one great means of that reminder are the brothers and sisters he puts in our lives.
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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:
1 Corinthians 8:1
1 John 1:8-10
Romans 7:21
Ephesians 4:25
Galatians 6:2


Questions to Reflect on:
1.Why is it easy for us to fight against accountability?
2. How has this devotional encouraged you to begin or strengthen your accountability?

By Debbie Ramamoorthy  (WITHIN Devotional Writer)

The last few months have felt like a pressure cooker about to explode. The pandemic, the lock-down, the protests- it’s been layer upon layer. I have tried to understand the character of God in all of this. What does it really look like to experience God right now? What does His word mean to me at this time? Who is He to me and to all of us? These all seem like very big questions to ask. A part of me started to feel an internal frustration, that in a time where the whole world is standing together in union, vocalizing our desires, I was being convicted by the fact that I needed to take time to step aside and re-ground myself in the Father. I couldn’t deny the pull from the Lord to tunnel-vision towards Him.
 
I have had countless conversations, actions taken towards movement and an endless number of thoughts running through my head as of late. Yet, through it all, I keep feeling a tug to come back to God and receive from Him. And once I receive from Him, allow that to be what defines my interactions, communications and thoughts. This feels like a very surface-leveled idea. But when I broke it down, I was broken. I was broken by the realization that so much of what I was saying and doing was coming from an internal desire to let a voice be heard. I suddenly started to acknowledge that deep down I believed that without me or my voice, things won't change. I was trying to take the control back into my own hands.
 
Genesis 28:15 reminds me: "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." This passage brings me right back to my reality- Jesus will not leave me, until He has fulfilled His promises for me. This applies to each person that belongs to His kingdom. What a beautiful thought and reminder that Jesus promises each of us. He will relentlessly pursue us and work towards fulfilling those promises for us. Remembering this keeps me from being hasty in talking and acting. I am able to slow down and remember that time does not belong to me. Our Father is outside of time. I am not running out of days and needing to rush into progress. Rather, I need to come back to my Father and to a place of rest, in order to move according to His will. 
 
As it relates to our times right now, we are living through a historical period in time. And somehow, I have started to believe that my actions will cause change and instigate progress and movement. While I think it is crucial for us to speak and have voices heard, we need to keep reminding ourselves that our God is powerful and mighty and will cause His will to be done. I think about the story of Esau and Jacob. Jacob steals a blessing from Esau in this, almost comical way, where he wears an “Esau” costume and deceives his father Isaac. Following this, he heads out to another land to find a wife. He does this in order to try and keep the promises of God prevailing in an evidently sin-torn world. The significance of this story comes through the vision that Jacob has of a stairway that goes all the way up to heaven from Earth (Genesis 28). In this vision, God tells Jacob, “I am the God of Abraham and Isaac, and I will be your God too. I will give you more heirs than there is dust on this planet. Every tribe and ethnicity will be blessed through you” (v.15). Through Jacob? The same one who lied? Stole? Cheated? Deceived his own dying, blind father?
 
Then I remember... this is what grace is. 
 
Grace is the evidence of God's planned fulfilled, regardless of our countless mistakes, lies, wrong turns, bad decisions and attempts to hide-away. And that's the exact space in which God desires to meet us and save us. Jesus died on the cross for the liars and sinners- us - the ones who recognize their desperate need for a Savior. Jesus died and rose again for those people we often find hard to love. In fact, we are all doomed to hell, if not for His grace abounding. And in the same way Jesus told Jacob His promises for him, He tells you and me, “I am with you always. I will never leave you or turn my back on you, even till the final trumpet blares.”
 
None of us deserve these promises from our Lord. It’s all grace. In the same way Jesus took Jacob’s lies and deceit and gave him a glorious future- He does the same for us. We only need to stop and rest in our Father, especially in these times, knowing that His glorious plans await 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:
Psalm 121:5-8
Genesis 28
Exodus 14:14
Isaiah 41:13
​

Questions to Reflect on:
1.What are some ways in which God is asking you to slow down right now?
2. What does rest look like to you?
3. What are some areas in which God is taking something of yours and renewing it?
4. In what ways do you struggle to sit and rest with God?

By Brittney Smith (WITHIN Devotional Writer)
 
Some of the most encouraging scriptures in the Old Testament were written during a period of exile. Since the beginning of 2020, until now, there have been three main scriptures that have encouraged me along my way. They are all similar in that they each were written during the period of the Babylonian exile.

In my mid to late twenties, I read a lot of World War II books. I distinctly remember when my mom asked me why I picked such dark topics to read about. Funny thing is, I didn’t see it as only being dark. I primarily looked at them as inspirational readings. The darkness had become secondary to the light I saw in them.

So, it is with me and these scriptures. They represent hope in despair, light in darkness, courage in the face of opposition.

1. Isaiah 40:1 NKJV “’Comfort, yes, comfort my people!’ says the Lord.”

This scripture is what my husband calls “a proceeding word”. Meaning, you’re hearing it now because you’ll need it later. It’s a provisional word.
I think Matthew Henry’s Commentary explains it best, he says,
“Before God sent his people into captivity he furnished them with precious promises for their support and comfort in their trouble; and we may well imagine of what great use to them the glorious, gracious, light of this prophecy was, in that cloudy and dark day, and how much it helped to dry up their tears by the rivers of Babylon. “

 2. Jeremiah 29:4-11 outlines instructions to the Jews on what to do while in exile. In this passage, God tells the captive nation of Judah to not stop living while in captivity. He doesn’t just encourage them to live, He calls for them to prosper!   I come from a background of depression and anxiety. My emotions are usually my captivity. My anxious and worrying thoughts my oppressors. And guess what, as a Christian, my diagnoses don’t immediately absolve.

To this day, this scripture reminds me to not be paralyzed by fear, negativity or less than ideal situations. We can thrive right where we find ourselves, if we are willing to put in the work to overcome.
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3. Isaiah 66:9 NCV “’In the same way, I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,’ says the Lord. ‘If I cause you the pain, I will not stop you from giving birth to your new nation,’ says your God.”
Indeed, the most rare and precious gems come from earth’s darkest corners. Faith and hope are no different. A beautiful thing can and will come out of whatever you have gone through so far this year. The pressure, the confusion and the hurt will not be in vain. As much as our misfortunes may seem random, they are not. There is a purpose to it all, God has promised.

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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:
Jeremiah 29:4-11
Isaiah 40:1
Isaiah 66:9
Questions to Reflect on:

1. What scripture(s) have carried you through the first half of the year?
2. What scripture(s) will you carry with you through the next half of the year?
3. What would prospering looking like in your life right now?
4. What steps can you take to move towards your definition of prosperity?

​One of the most powerful displays of the work of Christ, for the world to see, is the unity of the church. This unity has been purchased by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). And we are told that through the church, “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers, and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).

The church of Christ is not any old gathering of people. It’s worthy and beauty are seen by the price that was paid by Christ. Every background, every ethnicity, every story--is now made ONE by Christ and in Christ. In the context of Ephesians, Paul wrote to let the Gentiles (any person not a Jew) know that this Gospel was for them too, not just the Jews. This holds true today—every one of us, with different languages, different customs, different color of skin—the Gospel is for every single body. As believers of Christ, we are united by this Gospel and belong to the same family of God because of this Gospel.

Our oneness in Christ does not negate our differences, rather we celebrate our differences as they are woven together into a God-glorifying tapestry of Christian unity. And while those individual unique attributes which we celebrate - and that make us different from one another - become subservient to our primary identity in Christ, they are still part of our identity, which now has its intended positionality [in Christ] -- each one a unique manifestation of the Imago Dei. Our differences show how the power of Christ is able to bring people from all nations, tribes and tongues  together.

At the same time, being in Christ compels us to be renewing our minds by the Spirit of God so that when we encounter differences that reveal that we are not looking through the lens of the Spirit of God, we humbly submit to the Word of God.

Because, though we are ONE, we are learning to become ONE. Just as in the covenant of marriage, where God calls us to radical oneness, the reality is that we are learning to become ONE through the day to day work of laying down our pride to serve one another. Through the ways we ask for forgiveness when we hurt one another by our words and action. Through the ways we are learning more about each other and learning to consider each other more than ourselves and look out for the interest of others (Philippians 2:4-5). Through these actions, we are learning to lean into the main identity of our covenant: oneness. When we do things that drift away from that oneness, repenting helps us move towards that identity.

In the same way, the body of Christ is ONE in Christ AND we are learning how to become ONE in the ways we love one another and serve one another. When we sin against one another, we repent. When we see a brother or sister hurt, we come along side of them. We don’t question why they hurt; rather, we try to understand why they hurt.  We desire to know how we can carry their burden (Galatians 6:2). We learn to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). We learn to share our lives with one another—all because of the Spirit of God within us that unites us. So when we recognize that we are more concerned about the comfort of our own individuality, we repent and draw towards the oneness we are called to.
Why is this important to understand, especially in this moment?

In the context of the rising tide of racial injustices to which the church, this country and the entire world bear witness, and within the larger societal context of the underlying racial inequities that stem from the earliest days of our country, there is a lot of divisiveness within the church with becoming ONE on these issues and has caused many to hurt within the body of Christ. This is not new in the history of the world and it is not new to the church of Christ – the new testament church was anything but unified in their diversity for the Glory of God. (Read 1 Corinthians)

There are many places where the Word is clear on God’s heart towards injustice. Here are a couple of passages:

He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isaiah 61:8)

“But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” (James 2:9)

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23)

What do we see? God hates all injustice which means God hates racial injustice. God has given us the command to not tolerate injustice but to fight for the rights of the oppressed. The Gospel compels us to speak to these things—not just in the world but in the body of Christ.

While we in the body may have differing views and opinions, we must be careful to not excuse or explain away the easy avoidance of racial injustice due to discomfort, lack of proximity, or ignorance as merely matters of difference and our Christian liberties at work (Galatians 5:1).  Because as our oneness in Christ moves us towards one another and we become more aware of the different experiences and lived realities that exist within the body, we should submit our response to the Word of God and the heart of God, not our own understanding (Prov 3:5). We should strive to respond more as He would and less as we are inclined to. As John the baptizer states, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

One of the things that we are called to do because of our oneness is “carry each other’s burdens, so as to fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We don’t get to choose which burdens we bear for one another. And one of those burdens is the burden of racism and the reality that black people face in this country. We ALL have to cry out for this injustice as one. Why? Because there is no place in the body of Christ to remain in ignorance concerning the realities that greatly affect another image bearer. If my reality says your reality is not a big deal, we must repent. If I am more concerned about staying in my comfort because I don’t fully grasp your reality, we must repent. We are called to become ONE---in the conviction of Christ AND the conviction of what hurts each other.

Sisters, I truly love God’s church and desire unity more than ever. I see how much Satan hates God’s church and desires to divide us—one by one. Issue by issue. We must side with Christ. Siding with Christ isn’t “safe.” It isn’t comfortable. It calls us out of our comfort and our selves to ask the hard questions. It calls us to look within our own hearts and see our own sins and repent. It calls us to let go of allegiances that make us feel safe. It calls us to love radically. It calls us to speak out against what is evil, regardless of politics. It calls us to have the hard and messy conversations with truth and grace. It calls us to truly listen to understand before we speak or defend our opinion.

May we “be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) and may the display of the unity of the church show the world that Christ is better.
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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 (the whole book)
Philippians 2:4-5
John 3:30
Galatians 5:1
Galatians 6:2
Micah 6:8
James 2:9
Proverbs 31:8-9
Romans 12:15

Questions to Reflect on:
​

1. How has this devotional made you understand God’s heart for His Church?
2. In what ways have you been eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit?
3. What is God showing you in your heart as you read this?