​By Debbie Ramamoorthy (WITHIN Devotional Writer)
I remember a few months ago hearing that it was exactly 6 months until 2020. And me being me, I immediately started writing down every single goal I wanted to (needed to) accomplish before 2020 arrived. There was excitement, pressure and hopefulness. Then suddenly, one thing after the other started to happen: unexpectedly leaving Ecuador to visit India for a few weeks, followed with moving out of my job, moving into a new job, moving cities, starting life in a new city in Ecuador- moving from the capital city to the Amazon jungle! All happening within a 10-day period-and all of which are just the surface-level stuff! So, remember that list of goals I made? Well, let's just say they needed to be set on the back burner for a few months!
 
After having the time to come to grips with all the absolute wildness I had been through, I settled with a feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction thinking about the reality that all that I had planned and hoped to accomplish- was sitting there, unaccomplished. I sat in the silence and discomfort of recognizing that little lie that permeates my mind, heart and thoughts whispering that I am not enough. That simple lie that can so quickly take over and make me lose sight of the glorious work that God does and is doing, regardless of the circumstances. I knew that I needed to replace that lie with the simple yet profound truth that there is so much more to me than accomplishing a set of goals. I'm living on the other side of fears, uncertainties and unknowns. And while there are plenty more of those fears, uncertainties and unknowns standing ahead of me- God's power, His incredible delight in me and our beautifully intimate paths, surpass all understanding-including our list of goals! 
 
Immanuel- God with us.
 
This simple phrase- God with us and within us, is the truth we should live in. And this is what the past few months have shown me. Through all the moves, the changes, and new beginnings God with us is helping each of us grow into exactly who we were always meant to be-a person He delights in. We are daughters He brought into this world with so much purpose! Although there is so much waiting and so many things we are continually waiting to fall into place, we are always growing. We are exactly where our Immanuel God wants us to be. As we continue to let everything fall into place, we should continue to focus on the growth that is happening. There, we are less focused on the things that did not happen. There, we can be focused on the delight our Father is pouring out on us daily and continually.

As we live out the highs and lows of life, the moments of rejoicing and the moments of mourning, the exciting surprises and the painful disappointments- each of these things are means to draw us closer to God and closer to anchoring us in the hope we have in Him. Every single day we live out, we are being refined and strengthened in Him and our confidence in Him grows as He continues to mold us to look more like Him. Suddenly, that list of goals we set on the back burner isn't our focus any more. Rather, the intimacy we find in Christ, our hope in Him and our desire for Him starts to take over.
 
I am often reminded of Psalm 69 where David is lamenting to God from a place of total despair. In that moment of seeking the Lord we often forget the context for why David is crying out to God. It is following his affair and the internal response and struggle of that affair. I wonder how inadequate and insufficient David felt following the sin he had committed. Yet, he ran to the feet of His father! He knew God was right there with him, sorting through this with him. He understood the idea of Immanuel! 
 
So my encouragement for you is this--when you start to feel like you don't have enough, you aren't enough, you're not where you think you are meant to be, you don't have what it takes or you haven't tackled that to-do list or the goals you set out for yourself, remember who you belong to and who abides in you!
 
Remember the persistence your heart found in Him the last time you wanted to give up or wanted to allow disappointment to take over. Remember the courage God gave you the last time you were afraid. And then remember how you still have all those things because our Father gives us all that it takes to survive every single day that He has given us on this Earth! He is less concerned with our to-do lists and goals we write out for ourselves and more concerned with our hearts drawing closer to Him. Acknowledge the truth of who He is and the journey you are on and the story God is writing for you.
 
As you process through your daily, weekly, yearly or even life-ly goals, expectations and unmet goals and unmet expectations- remember everything that has brought you here. And that although every mountain you face may make you weary, you are still holding on to hope. His faithfulness is still very real. And lastly, regardless of whether this is where you want to be or how you want to be, this is exactly where you are meant to be- with our God within 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:
Ephesians 2:10
Philippians 1:6
Proverbs 19:21

Questions to Reflect on:

1. When was the last time you faced a mountain in your life? How did God draw you closer to Him through that mountain?
2. How have you been disappointed this past week and did God turn that mourning into dancing?
3. What are some ways God was within you this week and what did it produce?

By Britnee Bradshaw (WITHIN Devotional Writer)

​Our Father who is in Heaven is such a wonderful, compassionate, and loving Father. He truly does see the end from the beginning. 


I was rummaging through an old box this weekend that was packed away in my parent's garage. It was filled with old books, journals, and other keepsakes that I had before my husband and I got married. 

In one of the boxes, I found a journal from 2014.  As I read through some of the entries, the faithfulness of the Lord began to consume my heart. So many of the things that I had prayed for, the Lord has answered over the years. I was able to see how big of an impact some of the things I had been asking God for, had on my life and the lives of those around me. 

In my journal, I thought I was asking God for one thing, but attached to my one thing were so many other things. 

There were two points that the Lord highlighted to me as I took my little trip down memory lane.

First, God’s way is perfect. His timing, impeccable. 
Second, what God does in our lives, more often than not, has implications far greater than what we can see at the moment.

Psalm 18:30 says this, “God–his way is perfect, the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.” 

I’m sure we can all bear witness to not always feeling like God hears us when we pray to Him. Like, when we pray for a certain situation to change in our favor–maybe we’re praying for a specific job, or we’re wanting to see a relationship in our life be restored. Whatever it is, we are praying on bended knee to see that thing fulfilled in our lives. 

However, do we take the time to consider the full scope of what the answer to our prayer would truly mean for all involved?

Remember, God wants to do a work in us first to build true intimacy with us. Then, He wants to do a work through us so that His Kingdom can be established in the earth. 

Sometimes, we can pray amiss based on our needs and desires. The things we’re asking God for simply aren’t His will for us, and they would bring more harm than good to us. Other times, we can be praying the perfect will of God, but it isn’t yet the appointed time for that thing to unfold. 

If you’re in a place where you’ve been standing in prayer for a certain thing that God has promised you, I want to encourage you. 

Think back to Jesus. Think back to when He was finally sent to the earth to walk out his ministry and redeem all of mankind. 

Now, the timing between the Old Testament and the New, according to scholars, was roughly 400 years. Add on the time from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Malachi, and you’re looking at a really, really, really long time before the appearance of Christ. 

And yet, there were so many people who had spoken of the time when Jesus would appear in the flesh. So many had anticipated the coming of the King of Heaven. The true Messiah. & so many, who had longed to see the coming of the Lord, didn’t get the chance to see him face to face. However, they knew God’s track record for keeping His Word, and they trusted in His faithful timing and perfect will.

When Jesus came, He came at an appointed time in history (Galatians 4:4). He lived and walked among mankind with a specific assignment (Isaiah 61:62). He died a sinner’s death on the cross, and rose again by the power of the Holy Spirit so that everyone, past, present, and future, could be made righteous and be reconciled back to the Father (2 Corinthians 5:18). 

Jesus did everything He was sent to do at the right time, for the right reasons, so that God the Father may be glorified!

My friend, some of the things you are praying for are much larger than you could imagine. Many of the plans the Lord has purposed for you will reach further than you could possibly know. If you’ve been waiting to see God move on your behalf in some area that He’s promised you, I want to encourage you this week to go back and remember…

Go back to the words that God has spoken over you that have already been fulfilled. And remember the timing you wanted Him to move vs. the timing He actually did. 

Think about all the things that were connected to your answered prayer that you didn’t necessarily consider when you began praying for those things. 

Go back and see what God was working in (and out) of you, to ready your heart for the things He promised you. Remember the process you went through and how God molded you for better, not for worse. 

Our God is such a faithful God. He doesn’t always do things in the timing we would prefer, but He does do things at the most perfect timing for His will and His way. 
​
And His way is always the best, isn’t it?
Yes, it absolutely is. 
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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 55:8-11
Isaiah 61:1-2
Psalm 77:10-15
Habakkuk 3:17-19

Questions to Reflect on:

1. Are the things you’re praying for the will of the Father for you? Spend time in God’s presence and ask Him if what you’ve been praying for is something He desires for your life. 
2. Sometimes, we can become focused on how long it takes for God to answer a prayer for instead of focusing on what God is doing in the hearts of His people. What are you believing God for? Ask God what He is doing to position you and whoever else is connected to your prayer, so that His will may be accomplished!
3. Have you given the Lord thanks for all that He has done in your life up until now? The answer for what you are praying for is set for an appointed time. So, remember to pour out your thanksgiving for everything He has already done. Set the precedent of a thankful heart now. You’ll be so glad you did! 

By John Piper (Desiringgod.org)

I am drawn to people who suffer without murmuring. Especially when they believe in God but never get angry with him or criticize him. It seems to me that not murmuring is one of the rarest traits in the world. And when it is combined with a deep faith in God — who could alter our painful circumstances, but doesn’t — it has a beautiful, God-trusting, God-honoring quality that makes it all the more attractive. Paul was like that.


Brought to the Brink of Death

​Paul tells of the time when his faith was put to the test in a way that brought him to the brink of despair and death:
We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8–10)

Three things are remarkable here. First is the severity of the suffering: “We felt that we had received the sentence of death.” Second, there is purpose or design in this suffering: “That was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” Third, this purpose was God’s purpose. It could not have been Satan’s, since Satan certainly does not want Paul to rely on God.


So, the truth that Paul believed about his suffering — no matter how severe — was that it came ultimately with God’s purpose, and the purpose was that Paul would trust himself less and trust God more, every moment of his life, especially as death approached.


A Key to Not Murmuring


This, it seems, is how Paul could be free from murmuring in his suffering. He knew God was in charge of it, and that God’s purposes were totally for Paul’s good. Paul fleshes this truth out in several other places:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3–5)

Again, the basis of Paul’s freedom from murmuring — indeed, the presence of his rejoicing — was his confidence that God was at work doing something crucial in Paul: producing endurance and God-saturated hope.
Suffering at the End of Earthly LifeBut what about suffering that leads only to death and not to a new chapter of life on earth where reliance on God (2 Corinthians 1:9) and deepened character and hope (Romans 5:4) might be increased? Paul was keenly aware of this question and gave his answer in 2 Corinthians 4:16–18:


We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The issue here is the gradual wasting away of human life — through affliction and sickness and aging. In other words, the next chapter after this suffering is not a season of greater faith and hope on earth. The next chapter is heaven.


So, is there any point in the increased suffering that comes with the approach of death? How do those of us who have only a few years left not murmur at our aches and pains and the onrush of death? Paul’s answer is that this life’s afflictions — if we endure them by trusting Christ — actually produce greater measures of glory in heaven. “This . . . affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.”

Secret to Contentment

Therefore, even though Paul’s life was one of seemingly unremitting sufferings (2 Corinthians 11:23–33), there is scarcely a hint of murmuring, and none against God. He could get angry at destructive error and its teachers (Galatians 1:8–9; 5:12). And he could express his pressures and burdens (2 Corinthians 11:28). Nevertheless, his contentment through it all was unusual.

He said he had learned the secret of contentment:

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13)

This “secret” seemed to be the all-satisfying presence and worth of Christ (Philippians 3:8), together with the confidence Paul felt in the merciful sovereignty of God that would work all things for his good (Philippians 1:12; Romans 8:28). Watching Paul maintain his humble, God-dependent, Christ-cherishing contentment through all his sufferings causes me to stand in awe of this man.
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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:

2 Corinthians 1:8-10
Romans 5:3-5
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
2 Corinthians 11:23-33
Galatians 1:8-9, 5:12
Philippians 4:11-13
Philippians 3:8
Philippians 1:12
Romans 8:28


Questions to Reflect on:

1. Why is it easy to believe God has forgotten about us when we suffer?
2. How does God's Word help you in seeing that He is with us?
3. What are habits that push us to Christ that we need to start forming when we go through trials?
4. Why is it important that we seek to live in light of eternity in this fallen world?

By Yodit Kifle Smith
​
What motivates your relationship with the Lord?

If you had asked me this during college, I would have answered that most of my motivation came from fear. Not the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) kind of fear, but the fear that was supposed to be cast out by perfect love (1 John 4:18). The fear that one mistake and my place in God is terminated. One missed appointment of getting into my Word and God was upset at me. It wasn’t that I didn’t love the Lord and didn’t want to please the Lord, it was that I had misunderstood the unconditional love of God and was blinded to the powerful work of salvation and sanctification.

The simple yet profound truth of the Gospel is that the work of Christ in taking on the wrath of God on our behalf and dying in our place and resurrecting so that we would now have life in the Spirit is the complete work that could ever bring us into right standing with Almighty God. That means there is NO more work to be done because Christ has done it once and for all. (Hebrews 10)

However, the way we interpret that is while we know Christ has done this powerful work which we say we believe, we still somehow are deceived into thinking that we have to keep “doing” in order to stay in that place. So rather than stand firm in the “done” of Christ, we strive in the “doing” of ourselves. And that never leads us into fruitfulness. It leaves us in frustration and bondage to ourselves, when Christ has called us into freedom.

Does this mean that there is never work for us to do? Absolutely not! All throughout Scripture, we are reminded of the good works that we are to do in the name of Jesus. These good works were prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10) and are the expression of our love and obedience to Him.  However, it does mean that our motivation changes.  It means that we know the work that we do is BECAUSE of the work that has been done, not FOR it. Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Salvation brings us into His saving grace and Sanctification keeps us in His saving grace, conforming us into His likeness. The work of the Spirit in us daily renews our hearts and minds to desire and seek what pleases God, not to earn His favor, but to bring Him glory. Without the Spirit of God in us, we desire everything contrary to the Spirit. But because of His Spirit dwelling in us, we are now free to desire His ways. That is the work of God in us that could never be done on our strength or might.

Paul rebukes the Galatians when he asks them this, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?...Did your receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).

How often do we fall into that trap of trying to sustain in the flesh what could only begin and be sustained in the Spirit? When we find ourselves in that place, we must turn to the truth of the Gospel: the work is done in Christ. His good work is being done through us by the Holy Spirit. It’s a good work that brings us into more and more of who we are meant to be in Him: Whole. Redeemed. Beloved. Justified. Loved. His.

We no longer fear of what God will do because Christ did it on our behalf. And that’s why His perfect love can cast out the fear of punishment. We can now live in, through and because of His love unto joyful surrender and obedience to Him.
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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:

Philippians 2:13
Galatians 3:1-3
Ephesians 2:10
Proverbs 9:10
1 John 4:18
Hebrews 10


Questions to Reflect on:

1. What motivates your relationship with God?
2. How did this devotional help you understand the Gospel better?
3. When are you tempted to live in fear with your relationship with God?
4. What fruit do you see in your life when your motivation is because of the Gospel?

​By Sam Allberry (The Gospel Coalition)
​

​Some time ago a Christian friend came to me in distress. He’d had too much to drink while out with some friends. He’d known them for years and would regularly drink in moderation with them, but on this occasion he’d lapsed in his self-control. As far as he was concerned, he’d just blown several years of witnessing to them.

A group of us at church were discussing how to promote the prayer ministry offered every Sunday at the end of the service. We were thinking about how we could encourage more people to make use of it, when one lady said, “Well I’d never use it. I’d hate for other people to assume that I had a problem.”
Both these incidents reveal an underlying malaise in many of our churches. I’m not sure we really believe in grace. We do, in the sense that we teach it and assent to it in our confessions. But perhaps we don’t, in the sense of really living it.

PR Agents for Jesus
The problem, I suspect, is something of a misstep in our formula of what it means to live for Christ. We think we’re his PR agents: If I look good, then Jesus looks good.
So we hate the thought of not looking good. It’s Christian failure.

If this mindset permeates a whole church family, however, our life together becomes a matter of performance. We put on our best Christian mask, take a deep breath, and head to church. If Christian parents adopt this mindset, parenting becomes about trying to perform well in front of the kids, making sure they only see the highest standard of Christian behavior from us.

This may be a common way of thinking, but it’s disastrous. It leads to hypocrisy. The fact is, we’re not good, and we can only keep up the façade for a little while before the cracks begin to show. Our children see it right away. They know what we’re really like and can immediately tell when we try to put a Christian sheen over it. And when we really make a mess of things, the last place we want to go is church. We’re supposed to look Christian there, so when we know we can’t remotely pretend things are together, it’s easier simply not to go. Best to keep the mess away from the sanctuary.

All this is a sign that while we may be professing grace, we’re not actually inhabiting a culture of grace. We’re not Jesus’s PR agents, and he is not our client. We are broken men and women, and he is our Savior. It’s not the case that I need to look good so Jesus can look good; I need to be honest about my colossal spiritual need so he can look all-sufficient. I don’t increase so he can increase; I decrease so he can increase (John 3:30). That means being honest about my flaws, not embarrassed about them.

Culture of Grace
Imagine the difference this would make to our witness. Rather than thinking I have to constantly be looking less sinful than every non-Christian I know, I am instead liberated to be myself, warts and all, so that I can show that my confidence is not in me. My friend who had too much to drink now has an amazing opportunity to be an authentic witness to Christ—not by pretending we Christians don’t have any sin, but by demonstrating what we do with it. If it’s about performance, then my friend really has blown it and will be too embarrassed to see his friends. But if it’s about forgiveness, then he gets to model repentance, to show brokenness about sin and sheer relief in a Savior.

Imagine also the difference this would make to our church life. Rather than having a stigma about being anything less than spiritually sorted, we can come together as a group of people who are open and free about our colossal spiritual need. The assumption stops being “We have to be good if we’re coming here,” and instead becomes “You have to be a real mess to show up here—thank goodness I’m not the only one.” Which do you think sounds more inviting? Which is going to foster deeper confession and public repentance? Instead of feeling embarrassed about going forward to receive prayer, we can experience the joy and relief of knowing we’re all ultimately in the same boat.

Grace, then, becomes not just a formal doctrine but a felt reality. No one is too low, too far gone, too needy—too anything—to worry about not fitting in around here. Our testimony is not “I was a mess, then Jesus showed up, and now I’ve got everything together,” but “I was a mess—and I still am—but I’m a mess who belongs to Jesus, a mess he is committed to sorting out. He came to me, has stuck with me, and continues to be my all in all.”

Indeed, we can say with John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world—but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”


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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:
Luke 17:3-4
John 3:30
Colossians 4:6
Hebrews 4:16
2 Peter 3:9
1 John 1:9

Questions to Reflect on:

1. What underlying lie have you believed that pushes you to believe you have to present yourself perfect to other Christians?
2. How has believing that lie affected your relationship with God? with others?
3. How does the Gospel of Jesus Christ free us to be free in sharing our fallenness with others?
4. How has this devotional helped you better understand God’s grace?