...for we walk by faith,

       not by sight.

            2 Corinthians 5. 7

(How does that

look differently today?

O LORD, 

grant me deeper vision,

      even in this.)

But we have this treasure

           in jars of clay,

to show that the surpassing power

   belongs to God

   and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way,

            but not crushed;

perplexed,

 but not driven to despair;

persecuted,

   but not forsaken;

struck down,

         but not destroyed...

               2 Corinthians 4. 7-9

(God specializes

in the least likely candidates

          in impossible situations.

No way we could do this

                   without Him.

His power is manifested

  to point others to Him.)

Does not He see my ways

and number all my steps?

                  Job 31. 4

(There has not been a moment

that God has not cared for you.

Even in this,

         His faithfulness,

         His grace,

         His goodness.)

...and through us

spreads the fragrance

of the knowledge of Him

                     everywhere.

For we are

 the aroma of Christ to God

among those

      who are being saved

and among those

      who are perishing.

                 2 Corinthians 2. 14-15

(The sweetness of the gospel

                   lingers

and draws not attention to ourselves

but points others to Him.)

For He will complete

what He appoints for me,

and many such things

      are in His mind.

               Job 23. 14

(Divine appointments,

   profound purposes,

   deepest good,

most of which

         we are not even aware.)

On Him

   we have set our hope...

           2 Corinthians 1. 10

(And that reality should look

               radically different

in our relationships,

in our words, deeds

           and attitudes,

in this culture,

in the mess before me.)

For I know

that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last,

   He will stand upon the earth.

                  Job 19. 25

(For I know...

I can stake my life on Him.

It is not that someday

         God will redeem,

but God is redeeming.

He is Redeemer,

    not just what He does

         but Who He is.

Even now,

even in this.

We just cannot yet see

    with our myopic vision.)

Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be steadfast,

immovable,

always abounding

               in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord

     your labor is not in vain.

                    1 Corinthians 15. 58

(Even in this.

Nothing is insignificant.

God is using you

         and bearing fruit,

even in dimensions

and among people you do not know.)

...Who does great things

          beyond searching out,

and marvelous things

          beyond number.

                     Job 9. 10

(Part of trusting God

is knowing that some things

will always be a mystery,

that which is

  beyond my limited comprehension.

That is why God is God

                  and I am not.

We really have no clue

   the magnitude of His works,

sometimes translated

             in language I recognize,

most often in unexpected ways,

always more to it

         in unseen dimensions,

the utterly spectacular

            woven into the ordinary.)

Mark the blameless

    and behold the upright...

             Psalm 37. 37

(Seek out godly people

         in your life.

Watch out for them.

Learn from them.

What do they do?

How do they respond?

How do they

        practice grace

        in impossible places?

The LORD is their strength.

             And it shows.)

Pursue love...

         1 Corinthians 14. 1

(How can I

approach this differently?

The mark of a believer

is unexpected love and grace

      in impossible places

      among impossible people.

Who sees anything

            different in me?)

  

Trust in the LORD

           and do good;

so you will dwell in the land,

           and enjoy security.

Take delight in the LORD,

and He will give you

     the desires of your heart.

Commit your way

             to the LORD,

trust in Him,

         and He will act.

                   Psalm 37. 3-5

(God does not just help me

    navigate through the tough spots;

He changes the trajectory

  of my day

               and my life

      by changing me.

That's what trusting Him does,

more than I can possibly know.

            His way through,

            His purposes fulfilled,

    His grace all over the place.)

And who knows

whether you have not come

to the kingdom

      for such a time as this?

                Esther 4. 14

(God does.

He has strategically placed you

for His purposes and His glory.

Right here.

Even in this.

Even among those

        who do not know Him

                                    yet.)

Their laws are different 

from those 

of every other people...

               Esther 3. 8

(Do others see

anything different in you?

Live in such a way

that others are compelled 

          to know why.

On some level,

God's people will always

      be countercultural.)

Say to my soul,

      "I am your deliverance."

                 Psalm 35. 3

(Help me, O LORD,

to follow You alone

           through the dark, scary places.

Help me to not just to get through,

         to endure,

                  to see beyond this,

but to

        seek You in this.

Deliverance is not always

                 a sudden exit door

        or a helicopter rescue,

but His strength and His Presence.

Let Your infinitely deep purposes

                        be fulfilled, O LORD,

     even in this.)

The LORD redeems

  the life of His servants...

                   Psalm 34. 22

(Not "The LORD will redeem,"

but He is already redeeming.

We just can't see it yet

from where we are standing.

Even in this mess.

Even through this mystery,

not that "there is a reason for this,"

   but His profound purposes

                are seamlessly woven.

"Trust Me."

Someday

   we are going to be

                   really surprised.)

No temptation has overtaken you

that is not common to man.

God is faithful,

and He will not let you

be tempted beyond your strength,

but with the temptation

     also provide a way of escape,

that you may be able to

                  endure it.

               1 Corinthians 10. 13

(Everyone struggles with something.

Temptation is not sin.

   Acting on it is.

Look for the pass in the mountains

              through it.)

By a pillar of cloud

   You led them in the day,

and by a pillar of fire

                in the night

to light for them the way

in which they should go.

              Nehemiah 9. 12

(When I ask for help,

God never leaves me stranded,

never just throws me

     an impersonal set of directions,

but guides me through His Word

    into a deeper intimacy with Him,

sometimes

        in the most unexpected ways.

God does not just give guidance.

          God goes before us.

"Follow Me through this,

         trust Me in this."

Nothing random at all.)

...for they perceived

that this work had been accomplished

with the help of our God.

                 Nehemiah 6. 16

(No way

we could have done this

              on our own.

God's fingerprints

     emerge all over

     this impossible situation

that we would know

      that the LORD is God

and reveal the evidence that

points others

                     to Him.)

Will they revive the stones

out of the heaps of rubbish,

and burned ones at that?

                Nehemiah 4. 2

(God redeems the impossible,

that which we cannot

                  even imagine.

Be faithful and watch

     what He can do.

                 Even with this mess.

Even with the mess

            of my own making.)

...and bring them to the place

which I have chosen,

to make My name

                      dwell there.

                Nehemiah 1. 9

(You are on special assignment,

strategically positioned

for His glory

          and to point others to Him.

Faithful wherever

   in the unexpected places

               and impossible situations,

even in the familiar.

"Ordinary" is not in God's dictionary.

Never underestimate

                how God is using you.)

 

     right where you are.

"All things are lawful for me,"

but not all things are helpful.

"All things are lawful for me,"

but I will not be enslaved

                         by anything.

                  1 Corinthians 6. 12

(Be ready to walk away from anything

that pulls you away

from your relationship with God,

even what may appear "good,"

especially what you find yourself

                 justifying.

Saying "no" to something

       out of your love for God,

means saying "yes"

            to what is from Him.

That is what faithfulness looks like.)

...the hand of our God

    was upon us,

and He delivered us

from the hand of the enemy

   and from ambushes

                      on the way.

                   Ezra 8. 31

(His protection

 in what we can see

and through the narrow squeaks,

the unexplainable mercies,

             the narrow misses

     that we may never realize.

O LORD,

   help me to follow You

   even in what I don't understand.

What is Your way in this?)

This is how one should regard us,

as servants of Christ

and stewards of

the mysteries of God.

              1 Corinthians 4. 1

(Serving Christ

and being faithful to Him,

even in what

we may never understand.)

Then we asked those elders

and spoke to them thus,

"Who gave you a decree

to build this house

and to finish this structure?"

...And this was their reply to us:

"We are the servants

of the God of heaven and earth..."

                       Ezra 5. 9, 11

(Live in such a way

that others are compelled

to ask why.

May they see God's Spirit

          dwelling in you.)

But we have the mind of Christ.

               1 Corinthians 2. 16

(Always countercultural,

always unexpected,

always full of grace.

This should look

            very different:

how I think about this,

how I respond,

how I navigate troubled waters,

how I behave,

what, why, and how I work.

Even in this.)

For the word of the cross is folly

to those who are perishing,

but to us

who are being saved

   it is the power of God.

            1 Corinthians 2. 5

(Grace is always countercultural,

God's Word an unknown language,

love as a first response

                      totally unexpected.

Live out His Word

   before those

   who do not yet understand.)

The LORD is my light

         and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is

   the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

            Psalm 27. 1

(The reason the most common words

in His Word are:

    "Do not be afraid. I am with you,"

is because God never intended

       for you to do this life without Him.

The LORD is my light,

    my salvation and my stronghold.

The LORD is.

Live in that reality.

God guides you 

   through the fog and hard places

   to build your trust in Him.)

Now to Him

who is able 

to strengthen you.,.

         Romans 16. 25

(He is able.

God never intended 

for you to go it alone.

How would I approach 

this differently,

what more would I do,

if I took Him at His Word,

         "I am with you?"

Follow Him through 

this impossible situation,

His strength 

       and His glory in this.)

Be strong and of good courage.

Do not be afraid or dismayed

before the king of Assyria

and all the horde

           that is with him,

for there is one greater with us

     than is with him.

With him is an arm of flesh,

but with us

               is the LORD our God,

to help us

          and to fight our battles.

                    2 Chronicles 32. 7-8

(Everyone struggles with something.

God offers victory

         in whatever we fear,

         both real and imagined,

most often in unexpected ways.

Live that way.

Pray that way.

What if there is nothing

           to be afraid of in this?

God will redeem.)

They shall see who have

    never been told of Him,

and they shall understand

   who have never heard of Him.

                     Romans 15. 21

(Why am I here

in this impossible place?

To bring His name there

and deeply root His grace

in unexpected words

and selfless deeds

and radically loving attitude.)