What Is the Solution?

If people, positions, or possessions do not offer freedom or the solution for enjoying a complete life, what is the solution? Galatians 5:16 (NIV) supplies the answer: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” We are to conduct our lives “by the Spirit.” This requires a relationship with God’s Spirit in which we dependently trust Him with all our needs. This is an astonishing assertion, “. . . you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (NASB). In the Greek text the double negative construction emphasizes, “there is no way on earth, you can ever” carry out the desires of the flesh if you are living by the Spirit. Do you like the sound of that? The catch is that brokenness is a prerequisite: we cannot depend on God without first giving up our willfulness. We must give up the right to want what we want and trade it for wanting what God wants. “But I don’t want to give up what I want,” you may whine. Then you are not ready for a desperately dependent relationship on God that results in a life that is divinely enabled. This relationship begins by giving up our self-centered lives in exchange for Christ-centered lives that result from the forgiveness of sin. Without giving up our willfulness, we cannot know the heart of God and want what He wants.

BIBLE TRUTH
“We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4–5 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
If we are to be a picture of Christ, a Christian, then we are to live as He lived—desperately dependent on God for divine enablement for personal empowerment. Thus, holiness is true healthiness—to be complete in Christ. How is this possible? We tear down strongholds through obedience to Christ.

PRAYER
Father, know my heart and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps. 51:10)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Trapped!

We fall into a trap if we believe a person, position, or possession other than Jesus can complete our lives. In our daily struggles we search for ways to stimulate our emotions or sedate our emotions in order to feel good. But that which makes me feel good enslaves me. The end result is bondage. What a cunning ploy Satan has devised! “This is what you need to feel good about yourself,” he asserts as he lays the net to ensnare you. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25 NIV). “An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him” (Prov. 5:22 NLT). These strongholds are fortifications that keep us imprisoned.

But if you really want something, who is going to stop you? The natural desire of the heart is self-indulgence: I want what I want! The end of all self-indulgence is bondage. The very thing we want will destroy us. Our self-centered choices lead to strongholds that result in relationship problems, emotional difficulties, physical challenges, and even a crisis of faith. And so we sit, looking at life through the portholes of our own strongholds that have imprisoned us.

BIBLE TRUTH
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The Galatians were struggling with similar issues. Paul poses this question to them: “After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Gal. 3:3 NLT). They had fallen into the deception that by practicing religious rites they could be made right with God. They had arrived at the solution that a relationship with Christ was not enough; they needed more. Paul pleads with them: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (Gal. 5:1 NLT).

PRAYER
My Lord, please bring me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud and the mire. Please set my feet on solid ground and steady me as I walk along. (Ps. 40:2)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

What's Missing in the Masterpiece?

Repeatedly we come to the conclusion that something is missing. We struggle in our search as others around us exclaim, “I know! I know! I know!” and lead us on one fruitless chase after another. In an attempt to not appear stupid, we create our own design to fill in the emptiness. But no matter how creative we are, our ultimate creation never matches the design our Creator planned unless we allow Him to complete the picture.

God is the Master Designer. In His mind’s eye He can see the completed masterpiece of our lives. The vastness of the task does not overwhelm Him. He delights in His creation. Knowing from the beginning to the ending His desired results, He patiently fashions the portrait. It is His self-portrait.

Unfortunately, the design we are sketching is our self-portrait. We are looking for happiness, fulfillment, meaning, control, freedom, belonging, relationships, money, contentment, satisfaction, and the list could go on and on. Foolishly we attempt to complete what the Master designed. Disappointment results when a novice attempts to complete a masterpiece independent of the Master.

God’s design requires us to be dependent on Him. Because we believe Satan’s lie that we are capable on our own, we seek to fill the void to our own satisfaction. All the while God replies, “I know!” He patiently waits for us to come to the Master Designer for our picture to be perfectly complete.

BIBLE TRUTH
“So you also are complete through your union with Christ” (Col. 2:10 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Consider these two questions: What do I really want? How will I attain it? Apart from a relevant relationship with Jesus Christ we will look to people, positions, and possessions to empower and complete our lives. The sin nature motivates us to be desperate individuals, and we choose influences other than Christ.

PRAYER
My Lord, I am waiting patiently for You. Please turn to me and hear my cry. (Ps. 40:1)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Christ Is Relevant to Intimacy

The holiday season brings wishes of intimate gatherings and romantic gift exchanges. Do you struggle with intimacy? When you think of the word “intimacy” is a three-letter word the first and only thing that comes to your mind? God designed us to be intimate beings as our connection with others reflects His connection with us.

Intimacy is the concert of souls in communion with God as they connect within the context of God’s plan to achieve God’s purpose with each other. From the very beginning God created man as an intimate being representative of Himself.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26–27 ESV)

“Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone…’” (Gen. 2:18 ESV). According to Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, the core concept is that it was not good for man “to be separate and isolated.” God created man to associate with all the beasts of the field but he could only be intimate with those of his own essence. Some have taken this passage to justify relational dependency, giving credence to a Christian hybrid of enmeshment between husband and wife in place of intimacy. “I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18 ESV) does not translate into man becoming complete because of the marriage relationship, rather that through marital companionship God would spawn into being the human race.

Marital companionship is certainly a fit context for interpersonal intimacy, but it is not capable of producing personal completion, nor was it ever designed for such a task. Note what happened between man and women as they disconnected from a primary intimacy with God.

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Gen. 3:7–13 NIV).

Here is a summary of the impact Adam and Eve instigated when seeking completion apart from God:

•Shame in response to exposure and vulnerability
•Compulsion to avoid being transparent
•Compulsion to hide from God
•Reverence for God changed into a fear of God
•Primary communion with God became a prime contempt for God
•Companionship was forfeited for control
•Adam compelled to blame Eve
•Eve compelled to rule over Adam

The abiding experience of intimacy was exchanged for a continuous effort to control intimacy, as intimacy now came to be seen as dangerous, something to be exploited and managed. The compulsion to connect was lost to a determination to govern through the dictates of selfish ambition.

Selfish ambition is the great enemy of intimacy. Most when considering the need for intimacy conceptualize it as getting for oneself something they do not have in order to make them more than they are. The anticipation of getting eclipses the notion of giving to another. Few people view the construct of intimacy as oneness experienced within a context of mutual sharing.

Selfish ambition undermines intimacy through the process of seeking one’s own interest at the expense of achieving relational connectedness. Selfish ambition also works to relieve obligation to relational loyalties, while fostering independence from any real bond to the relationship. Relational independence is an unhealthy condition whereby self-centeredness is heightened sponsoring self-absorption as well as vain conceit. The ideal of giving to another has been replaced by the idea of gaining for oneself.

God created mankind to live within a divine matrix where all relationships would be mediated by a primary connection with Himself that would lord preeminently over all other relationships. Therefore all intimacy must work through a relational hierarchy whereby Jesus is the central focus. Intimacy with Christ meets all essential needs producing completion and balance within the soul setting into motion by means of homeostasis, a congruent condition within one’s soul, brain, and body. This way the entire individual is brought into balance through their spiritual condition. This is the very reason Solomon could make the link between one’s trust in God and their subsequent physical health.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all you ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Prov. 3:5–8 ESV)

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Prov. 4:20–23 ESV)

Intimacy with Christ addresses the issues of the heart validated by God’s love whereby the Christian’s identity is made complete. It is then established that we are lovable, significant, and secure. This God-centered identity leads to fulfillment in Jesus that tempers all our motives and predisposes all other relationships to a holy balance. Relational equilibrium between God and all else is made possible with Christ having created within our souls a proper perspective on the priority that should be given to relationships within our lives, and the preeminence that needs to be given to God.

We are given wisdom and spiritual understanding by the Holy Spirit as we are brought to know God’s heart, mind, and will. The Spirit of God shows us how we are to live among people while finding Christ relevant to every area of our lives, as opposed to exploiting people, positions, and possessions. Jesus is made relevant to intimacy when we establish who and what we are based on our identity solidified in Christ’s truth, which in turn brings us to encounter oneness with Him.

Insight Journal
I reflect Christ’s intimacy with me when I …

What Is Authentic Love?

November 14, 2011 we published a blog post that touted the issue of counterfeit love. We wish now to elaborate that Christ is relevant to real authentic love, even essential to experiencing genuine love. In Desperate Dependency we assert, “apart from God, the human heart has no capacity for love.” Such an assertion is often met with offense that one's self-efficacy is violated.

The flesh flatters and comforts itself with thinking that it loves even amid obvious mistreatment of those we allege to love. Invariably there is some rhyme and reason to why continuous neglect, abuse, or rudeness can be fashioned into poetic stanza while offering in refrain a commitment to undying love. Others believe that the concept of Christ’s centrality to love is untrue having encountered no Christians who they deemed to be love-worthy. Either accounting, more often than not, elicits strong disconcerting emotions. What is still profound within such debate however is that the assertion, nonetheless diminished by the opposition, looms as truth.

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect [i.e. mature in God’s love], even as your Father in heaven is perfect [in respect to the expression of His love]. Matt. 5:44–48 NLT

Many are insistent that one can love in a godly fashion without God. They are willing to assert human logic over divine wisdom, calling the veracity of God's principles into question as they ignore confronting the whole idea. Others skirt the issue with, "Well, we do not have to love like God to still love appropriately!" Here it is postulated that loving in a healthy manner is something altogether different than loving in a godly manner. Therefore one allows the latitude to choose between two plausible options, pacifying any guilt for having deprived their loved ones of God’s love. They instead feel justified for having given to them this most visceral version of the spiritual nutrient, hence believing they can love in a quality life giving way without loving as God loves.

Humanity continuously is on a quest to usurp God’s power. People risk all to find the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, and the Ark of the Covenant in order to possess the power and benefits of God apart from submitting their lives to Him. Even now psychology seeks to mine for God’s truth from His Word at the exclusion of Christ Himself. Humanity would storm the gates of Heaven to take from God for themselves if they were able to do so. The Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel offer ample proof that this depiction of the human nature is true.

Love has been seized, interrogated, and exploited for every visage of grace that can be extracted by carnal effort. In that love is treated in such an unloving manner speaks further to the issue that “apart from God, the human heart has no capacity for love.” Rather, such love possesses only a capital desire to steal, kill, and to destroy in like manner as does the mentor of fleshly deeds.

Furthermore, love is seen as the potion of life and is sought with great craft in anticipation of distilling for self that which would provide a living tonic for a dying soul, therefore undermining the concept of love’s sacrificial nature where it gives at its own expense, expecting nothing in return, for the best interest of the other. These musings emphasize the polar agenda that exists in the heart of man versus what exists in the heart of God concerning love.

There are times where both man and God were said to love with phileo type love (seven times collectively in the New Testament between John and Paul – not counting John 21). What is of great significance is the fact that nowhere in the New Testament is there a non-believer being expected to have loved with agapao type love. Agapao love is only shared by those who belong to God and is the exclusive kind of love referred to in John’s first epistle.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 1 John 4:7–11 NLT

A survey of the New Testament would verify that agapao love was used expressively over phileo 143 times over 8 times to delimit the heart and activity of God, of Jesus, and of His children. When defining the type of love a Christian was to exemplify, agapao love was used to set the standard (see 1 Cor. 13:1–8).

While it is taught that phileo and agapao are closely related and therefore used interchangeably, the preponderance of usage within the New Testament works to set them apart. John and also Paul on two occasions use phileo with godly reference, yet only then in a limited capacity to show status of association, associations such as exist between the Father, His Son, and between the professing believer and God. Phileo serves to show the highest order of human love, while agapao serves to show the highest order of God’s love. On the occasion when it was important for Christ to express, using human terms, the great love the Father had for the Son, phileo was employed.

However, in context where God’s heart was expressed concerning the issue of love and when the concept of God’s love was set forth, exemplified, or commanded agapao was used to type the divine intention of God and the uniqueness of agapao love from the love of the human sort. It is not without any small interest that even phileo is seen in the New Testament with godly resolve, only when the human heart was involved with God. All other occurrences were man engaged in a loving association with himself or some other sinful pursuit. Therefore phileo was not an exclusively godly love association as is true of agapao love. In addition phileo had to do with love involving intimate associations that may be godly or not, while agapao was always found to be in active service to God’s heart and sacrifice for His purpose seeking the best interest of another.

Left to our own devices, we offer only a counterfeit version of love laden with self-interest as a means to secure our self-centered pleasures. We strive to attain value and worth through people, positions, and possessions, believing we can find fulfillment apart from Christ. This illicit love masquerades in forms that may look noble, but the chief concern is how something will impact self. The ideal of giving to another has been replaced by the idea of gaining for oneself.

We will evidence the fruit of love when we resign from the self-centeredness that culminates in emptiness and then allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to value others. That which is profoundly of God can only be received from God. No amount of human virtue can create what is foreign to his existence. What is rather notable is that whenever humanity attempts to assert self in virtue, it is soon revealed in vice.

Insight Journal
Do I believe that apart from God the human heart has no capacity for love?
I know I am evidencing God’s love because…

(excerpts included from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

The Truth of Relating to Christ

What does it really mean to have a relationship with Jesus? Most at this point are stymied by the inability to objectify the reality that exists between them and Christ. Many seek to answer the question with canned sayings holding little or no actual meaning. “Well, I trust Him,” or “I try to do the best I can to please Him.” Others venture more deeply into the platitudes with, “I know that I walk with God because I pray and read my Bible all the time and I know He answers my prayers.” How could one argue with such a display of religious piety? Yet it still does not answer the question that we are tendering. What does it really mean to have a relationship with Jesus? Let us not forget that God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him. Thus His apparent answers to our prayers are not actually an indication of our faithfulness, but rather is a testament to His faithfulness to us. “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Tim. 2:13 NLT).

We must first understand that whatever a relationship with Jesus comprises, it is that which has been given to us by God through His grace and not that which is created by force of our own human effort. Notice when people speak of their relationship with Jesus that it is usually couched in an ideology of what they are doing and affording for themselves. Such actions cited often encompass reading the Bible, praying, church attendance, service, witnessing, mission projects, etc.

Stop for a moment and evaluate. How is my Christianity being evidenced through the divine manifestation of Christ in my life? Can one who is not even a believer practice my version of Christianity? Conceivably can the unbeliever go to church, pray, read the Bible, offer service, share the Gospel, and participate in a mission project? Quite obviously, given that many have come forward to confess being a lost church member while having done such things for years. The Scripture records in John’s gospel,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth….. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:14-18 ESV)

The force of the prepositional phrase “grace upon grace” emphasizes grace being given for the purpose of promoting grace. Grace had to create the means by which grace could come. Hence grace propagating grace. Therefore John asserts, “of His fullness have we received” for Christ did all through grace. Christ through His grace established the foundation for which the operation of grace could accomplish God's good pleasure. Grace could not achieve in function what it did not possess in form. Thus, grace could not accomplish the holy purpose of God apart from first eliciting the just approval of God upon its proposed operation. The proposed gospel of grace effecting salvation could have not arbitrarily come by merely any sacrificial means.

Salvation could have only come through a just acceptable sacrifice. Grace therefore had to proceed upon the grounds of God's holy decrees, meeting God's righteous demands, satisfying God's just indictments, while propagating through grace God's goodness. All before the goal of grace could be truly actualized in Jesus Christ through the gospel of peace.

Relative to our initial question, Paul’s epistle teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8 ESV). Here it is clear that we are saved by the construct called faith. So what does it mean to have faith? Is faith operationalized through a prayer? Some religions claim to embrace faith through the ceremony of baptism. Yet, others say faith is expressed through the sacraments. Religion is not without a short list of pious decorum depicting the exercise of faith ranging from observing dietary laws to striving to be good.

The exercise of faith is not delimited by an act or event as in something that we do. Rather it is characterized by covenant making confidence in the atoning action of Christ, in response to His invitation for us to come to Him. Through His redemptive efforts Jesus pleased the Father's holiness on our behalf. The word faith in Ephesians 2:8 is used as a genitive of means signifying that salvation is embraced by the avenue of faith, as if faith were a doorway leading into the divine court of the throne room of God. Faith in this verse is not about our personally possessing enough faith but rather traveling the road of faith as directed by God for us to tread on. Thus, one is either in faith or not. To assign amount and quality is to personalize the creation of your faith versus embracing personally that construct of faith provided by God. The exercise of faith is following as from the Lord in the way He is leading us to follow Him.

Otherwise faith, upon our having to create and possess a particular quality or quantity of it would in fact become a works salvation. For by the essence of our faith we would have been saved rather than being saved by the grace afforded by Christ. Would not this give us reason to boast? Therefore, faith above all is a confident hope in Christ that engenders a desperate dependency upon Him. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1 ESV).

Faith is not confidence in a prayer or any other pious act. It is an earnest expectation based in believing Christ's gospel truth. Faith is resting in the efforts of Jesus to please the Father’s holiness and thereby reconciling us to Him.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest. (Heb. 4:1–3 ESV)

Faith believes what the Bible asserts as true concerning God, ourselves, and the remedy applied through the shedding of Christ’s blood connecting us relationally to the Father.

Insight Journal
• How is my Christianity being evidenced through the divine manifestation of Christ in my life?
• What evidence is there in my life that I am a Christian?
• Do I seek to propagate my carnal version of Christianity in hopes of passing it off as authentic?

Trust?

Trust is defined as the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. It seems that we take trust for granted until we wonder if something or someone is trustworthy like when we cross a swinging bridge or choose a doctor. In a couples’ counseling session trust may have minimal significance until either the husband or wife utters the piercing words, “I do not trust you!” Sadly it seems most people live with little concern for the impact of their choices that result in the lack of trust or the inability to trust. Only when trust is required do we realize its importance, and only when trust is lost do we appreciate its value. Yet have we considered the issue of how we posture ourselves in trust and its ramifications on our relationship with God? How does trust factor into our interaction with God?

Solomon moves his son to consider the issue of trust in the well-known passage of Proverbs 3:5 – 8 (ESV).

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
      and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
      fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
      and refreshment to your bones.

Trust is actually the result of making the choice to believe in God’s truth. Given the meaning of the Hebrew word batah the emphasis here is to be moved to hope by force of belief that has previously been solidified in faith. Thus the process of sanctification can be observed in its linear flow: truth is introduced by revelation leading to enlightenment, belief is embraced, faith is experienced, as hope now becomes the essence of the new normal.

David presents in poetic fashion an understanding of walking with God in trust leading to the expected outcome of peace.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him… (Psalm 37:3 – 8 NASB)

Have you considered what actually influences our willingness to trust? Spiritual death resulted from the choices Adam and Eve made. Their sin broke humanity’s relationship with God, and the devastating consequences trouble us daily. As a result of the Garden encounter:
      1. Humanity disconnected from truth and connected with perversion.
      2. Humanity developed a distorted view of God’s image.
      3. Humanity created a delusional view of themselves.

Belief and what we believe in are the bases for that which we choose to trust. The real question is do we believe in the truth or do we believe in a lie? Truth is not of a human origin and can be found only with God. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6 ESV).

Truth is comprised of principles, precepts, and promises of God that empower life with the strength of God. Although God’s law is written in our hearts, we must make the choice to believe God’s truth by accepting His reality as fact. Yet just knowing God’s truth as fact will not change our lives until we believe by faith and appropriate God’s truth in the course of our living. It is not until truth shapes our choices and molds our behavior, sculpting us into the image of Jesus, that we may say we believe. Do we really believe what we say we believe about God so that it permeates our lives and defines our actions?

We may have a vast knowledge of the Bible, but if this knowledge has never changed us it is because we do not believe what we know to be true. When we believe, we act on what we know is certain. “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Heb. 11:1 NLT). It does not require complete comprehension. Absolute understanding is not a necessity. What is essential is that we trust and follow in God’s way. “You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, ‘This is the correct way, walk in it,’ whether you are heading to the right or the left” (Isa. 30:21 NLT).

Insight Journal
I can trust God because...

(excerpts included from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)