Stop Trying So Hard: What It Actually Means to Walk With God
There is a question that quietly haunts a lot of people who consider themselves believers. They have prayed the prayer. They have felt the weight lift off their shoulders. They have walked an aisle or raised a hand or knelt beside a bed and surrendered their life to Jesus. And then Monday morning comes, and they find themselves wondering: now what?

That question is not a sign of weak faith. It is actually one of the most important questions a Christian can ask. And the answer to it is found in a word that gets used in church circles without nearly enough explanation: sanctification.

The Journey Has a Starting Point
Before we can talk about sanctification, we need to understand what comes before it, because sequence matters more than most people realize.

The Christian life begins with grace. God, motivated entirely by love, made a way for broken people to be in relationship with him. That way is Jesus. When a person places their faith in Christ, something remarkable happens in an instant. God, acting as the ultimate judge, declares that person not guilty. The theological term for this is justification, and it is entirely the work of Jesus. You cannot earn it, manufacture it, or deserve it. It is a gift received through faith.

The moment that declaration is made, something else begins. The Holy Spirit takes up residence inside the believer, and the long, steady, sometimes difficult journey of sanctification starts. If justification is the starting line, sanctification is the race itself.

Called Out and Set Apart
The word sanctification carries a beautiful image inside it. To be sanctified is to be called out from the crowd and set apart for a purpose. Imagine a shelf full of identical objects. Someone reaches in, selects one, and places it apart from the rest. That object has been set apart. That is what God does with those who come to him in faith.

Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica about this very thing. In the opening verses of 1 Thessalonians 4, he urges believers to walk in a way that pleases God and to abound more and more. Then he states plainly that this is the will of God, even their sanctification. For anyone who has ever wrestled with the question of what God wants for their life, there it is. God's will is not hidden. It is not buried under layers of mystery waiting to be uncovered. God's will is that his people become more and more like his Son.

The Problem With Instant Everything
Here is where things get uncomfortable, especially for people living in a culture built around instant results. We have been conditioned to expect speed. We want fast food, fast internet, fast results. We want the credit card version of transformation, where we swipe and walk out with something valuable without feeling the cost right away.

Sanctification does not work like that. It is slow. It is steady. It involves setbacks. It requires patience with yourself and trust in a process that will not be complete until the day you die. That is not a discouraging truth. It is actually a liberating one, because it means you are not expected to be perfect by next Tuesday.

Justification happens in an instant. God declares you righteous the moment you believe. Sanctification is the lifelong process of becoming in practice what you already are in position. You are already declared righteous. Now comes the journey of living like it.

A Team Effort
One of the most important things to understand about sanctification is that you are not supposed to do it alone. It is a partnership. God supplies the power. You supply the willingness. The Holy Spirit, who now lives inside every genuine believer, is not a passive presence. He is actively working to shape you, convict you when you stray, and strengthen you when you are weak.

Paul captured this beautifully in Philippians 2:12-13, where he urges believers to work out their salvation, then immediately explains that it is God who is at work within them. The effort is real. The responsibility is real. But the power behind the effort comes from God himself, not from human willpower. Trying to become like Jesus through sheer determination alone is like trying to lift a car with your bare hands. You were not built for that. The Holy Spirit was.

Stop Trying and Start Trusting
Here is the cycle that traps so many sincere believers. They try. They fail. They feel ashamed. They come back, recommit, and try again. They fail again. Eventually, the cycle becomes so discouraging that they quietly give up on the idea of real transformation and simply settle for the label of Christian without the reality of growth.

If that sounds familiar, here is the most important shift you can make: stop trying so hard in your own strength and start trusting the One who actually has the power to change you. That is not passivity. It is wisdom. It is the recognition that sanctification is not a solo project. Get on your face before God and tell him honestly that you are tired of failing. Surrender the failure to him. Ask him to do what only he can do inside of you.

When you genuinely love someone, the desire to please them is not a burden. It flows naturally from the relationship. If your faith feels more like a checklist than a love story, that is worth examining. Genuine salvation produces a genuine desire to grow, to change, to honor the One who saved you.

Where Do You Stand?
Before any of this becomes meaningful, one question has to be settled. Have you been justified? Have you thrown yourself on the mercy of Jesus and received the declaration of not guilty from the God of the universe?

If you have, then your journey of sanctification is already underway, even on the days when it does not feel like it. Two steps forward and one step back is still forward movement. Keep going.

If you have not, that is where to start. Everything else flows from that moment. Get the order right, and the rest begins to make sense.

Declared Not Guilty: Understanding the Freedom of Justification
There is a question that sits beneath the surface of every human life, whether we acknowledge it or not. It is not a question about career or relationships or finances. It is far more fundamental than any of those things. The question is this: How can a sinful person ever be right with a holy God?

Most of us spend our lives either ignoring that question or exhausting ourselves trying to answer it on our own terms. We try harder. We do better. We give more. We perform. And still, somewhere deep down, there is a nagging sense that it is never quite enough. That the standard is too high. That the gap between who we are and who God is cannot be closed by anything we could ever do or say or accomplish.
The Christian doctrine of justification is God's stunning answer to that question. And it changes everything.

What Justification Actually Means
The word "justification" sounds like theological language reserved for seminary classrooms, but its meaning is profoundly personal. Justification is the declaration God makes over a believer's life. It is not a feeling. It is not a spiritual experience that comes and goes with your mood or your circumstances. It is a verdict, rendered by the highest judge in the universe, that cannot be appealed, overturned, or reversed.

Romans 5:1 captures it simply and powerfully: because of faith, believers have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Not peace as the world defines it, which is temporary and fragile, but genuine, settled, unshakeable peace with the God of creation. Peace that holds on your worst day just as firmly as it holds on your best.

Martin Luther, one of the most important figures in the history of Christian thought, once described justification as the article on which the church stands or falls. Before he understood it, he lived in constant terror. He knew God was righteous. He knew he was not. No amount of religious effort could close that gap, and the weight of it nearly crushed him. When the truth of justification finally broke through, it did not just change his theology. It transformed his life.

The Courtroom Scene
Perhaps the most vivid way to understand justification is to imagine a courtroom. You are the defendant. The charges against you are real, specific, and embarrassing. The accuser is relentless, and the worst part is that everything being said is true. There is no defense. The evidence is overwhelming. The verdict seems inevitable.

Then, at the moment of reckoning, someone steps forward. He approaches the judge and says, simply and clearly, put it all on me. Every charge. Every failure. Every secret thing you would never want anyone to know. Put it on my account.

That someone is Jesus Christ.

And the judge, who is also the God of the universe, hears that request and renders a verdict that shocks the courtroom: not guilty.

This is not a legal technicality. It is not a loophole. It is the most costly transaction in the history of eternity. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin on behalf of every person who would place their faith in him, so that through him, they might be declared righteous before God. The apostle Paul describes this exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21, where he explains that Christ bore our sin so that we could receive his righteousness. Theologian John Stott called this the great exchange, and there has never been a more lopsided trade in human history.

We brought our sin. He gave us his righteousness.

God does not declare you righteous because you became good. The standard for goodness is too high for any of us to reach. He declares you righteous because Christ's goodness was credited to your account. Like a deposit made into a bankrupt account, the righteousness of Jesus is placed to your name the moment you place your faith in him.

More Than Forgiveness: The Gift of Adoption
Justification settles your legal standing before God. Not guilty. That is the verdict. But the story does not end there. When you receive Christ, something even more personal takes place. You are adopted.

There is a common sentiment that says we are all God's children. It sounds generous and inclusive, but it is not what Scripture teaches. We are all God's creation. But the gift of adoption, described in Romans 8:15, belongs specifically to those who have received Christ. In that passage, Paul writes that believers have not received a spirit of fear, but a spirit of adoption, through which they call out to God as Father.

In the Roman culture of the New Testament era, adoption carried extraordinary weight. An adopted child received a new name. They received full inheritance rights. Their previous debts were completely canceled. Their old identity was erased and replaced with a new one entirely. This is the picture Scripture paints of what happens when a person comes to faith in Christ. The past is gone. The debt is canceled. A new identity is given. And the inheritance of God himself becomes yours.

Many believers understand forgiveness but miss adoption. They live as though they are spiritual orphans, uncertain of their standing, afraid of their Father, always wondering if they have done enough. But God has no orphans among his children. If you are in Christ, you are fully and permanently his.

The Verdict Is In
The enemy of your soul will work tirelessly to make you forget what has been declared over you. He will remind you of who you used to be, what you have done, and why you do not deserve grace. And he is right that you do not deserve it. None of us do. That is precisely the point. Grace is not grace if it is deserved.

But here is the truth that silences every accusation: the verdict is already in. Romans 8:33-34 makes clear that it is God who justifies, and no one has the authority to condemn those who are in Christ. Not the enemy. Not your past. Not your failures. Not your feelings.
You are not justified because you became good enough. You are justified because Christ took your place.

The question worth sitting with today is simply this: have you let him? 

Grace: The Gift You Cannot Earn

There is a word at the heart of Christianity that is simultaneously the most liberating and the most misunderstood concept in all of human history. That word is grace. It sounds simple enough. We use it in everyday conversation. We name our daughters Grace. We say grace before meals. But when it comes to understanding what grace actually means in the context of salvation and eternity, something gets lost. And that loss has eternal consequences.

So let us slow down and take a hard, honest look at what grace really is.

Every Religion Except One Gets This Wrong
Here is a thought worth sitting with for a moment. Every religion in the world, every moral system, every philosophical framework for human goodness operates on the same basic principle: performance. If you do enough good things, if you keep enough rules, if you check enough boxes, you will eventually earn your way to something better. To acceptance. To peace. To God.

Christianity alone flips that script entirely.

The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, laid it out with stunning clarity. In Ephesians 2:8-9, he describes salvation as something that comes by grace through faith, emphasizing that it is not produced by human effort or achievement, and that it is specifically designed so that no one can take credit for it. God is not a wage payer. He is a gift giver. And that changes everything.

Theologian Timothy Keller has observed that every religion and moral system operates on the principle of performance -- do enough good and you will earn acceptance. Christianity inverts this entirely. You are accepted first, before you do anything. And it is from that place of being accepted that good works naturally flow, not as a means of earning favor, but as a response of gratitude.

Read that again slowly. You are accepted first.

The Man Who Tried Everything
In the 16th century, a monk named Martin Luther decided he was going to earn God's favor through sheer religious effort. He fasted. He confessed. He punished himself. He followed every rule with relentless discipline. By any human standard, he was the most religious man in the room. And yet he was tormented by guilt, because no matter how much he did, it was never enough.

Then he encountered Romans 1:17, which declares that the righteous will live by faith. Luther realized that righteousness was not something he had to achieve. It was something God freely gave. That single insight ignited the Protestant Reformation and changed the trajectory of Western civilization.

The lesson is not subtle. If a man as disciplined and devoted as Martin Luther could not earn his way to peace with God through religious performance, neither can you. Neither can anyone.

Why Grace Offends Us
Here is the uncomfortable truth: grace is offensive to human pride. When someone tells us we cannot do something ourselves, our instinct is to dig in and prove them wrong. We want to believe that our good intentions count for something, that our efforts matter, that if we just try a little harder we will eventually measure up.

But the standard is not a passing grade on a moral exam. The standard is perfection. Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. By that standard, no one qualifies. Not the kindest person you know. Not the most generous neighbor on your street. Not the most faithful churchgoer in the building.

J.I. Packer put it plainly when he wrote that grace is not merely undeserved favor. It is favor given to those who deserve the opposite. That is a hard sentence to sit with, but it is the truth. Grace is not for bad people who need a little help. Grace is for everyone, because everyone falls short of the standard that is perfection.

The Most Liberating Truth You Will Ever Hear
Once the offense settles, something remarkable happens. Grace becomes the most liberating truth a human being can encounter. Because if salvation is not on you, then the pressure is gone. You do not have to be good enough. You do not have to do enough. You do not have to keep trying harder and hoping your good deeds outweigh your bad ones on some cosmic scale.

Titus 3:4-5 makes it plain, describing how God saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us because we were unable to save ourselves. That is why Jesus came. The mess was too deep, and there was only one who was perfect enough to fix it.

Paul reinforces this in Romans 11 when he argues that if salvation is by grace, it cannot be based on works, because the moment you add a condition, it ceases to be a gift. Grace and works are mutually exclusive as the basis of salvation. You cannot mix them. The moment you try, grace stops being grace.

Open Your Hands
Imagine someone offering you a gift. It is in their hands, not yours. It belongs to them. But they want you to have it. All you have to do is reach out and take it.

That is grace.

You do not earn it. You do not deserve it. You simply receive it. But you do have to make a choice. The gift does not transfer automatically. You have to open your hands. And sometimes, opening your hands means dropping what is already in them, the pride, the self-reliance, the belief that your best efforts are enough.

Mark 1:15 calls for two things: repentance and belief. Repentance simply means changing your mind. It means acknowledging that the approach you have been taking, the idea that you can earn your way to God, is wrong. And belief means trusting that Jesus has already done what you never could.

The Only Question That Matters
Salvation is grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That is the heartbeat of the gospel.

The question is not whether you are a good person. The question is whether you have received the gift. Have you opened your hands? Have you stopped fighting and started trusting?

If not, today is a good day to start.

Can We Actually Trust the Bible?

Let’s be honest: a lot of people have questions about the Bible.
Is it actually reliable?
Has it been changed over time?
Is it just a collection of ancient opinions?
Can something written thousands of years ago really speak to my life today?
Those are fair questions.
And if you’re 18–30s, you’ve probably heard all kinds of opinions about the Bible—from TikTok clips, podcasts, professors, friends, or people who grew up in church but walked away. Some say the Bible is outdated. Others say it’s full of contradictions. Some say it’s just another religious book.
But here’s the big question:

What if the Bible is exactly what it claims to be—the Word of God?
That changes everything.

Back to the Basics
In life, when things get confusing, overwhelming, or off-track, sometimes the best thing to do is go back to the basics.
Athletes go back to fundamentals.
Musicians go back to scales.
Students go back to the notes.
Christians go back to Scripture.
Because if we don’t know whether we can trust the Bible, then everything else becomes shaky.
Our view of Jesus, salvation, grace, forgiveness, purpose, heaven, and truth all connect back to one foundational question:

Can we trust God’s Word?
The answer is yes.
And not just because “the preacher said so.”
There are strong reasons to believe the Bible is reliable, preserved, and true.

The Bible Claims to Be God’s Word
One of the clearest verses about Scripture is found in 2 Timothy 3:16–17:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”
That phrase “inspiration of God” means Scripture is God-breathed.
In other words, the Bible is not merely human wisdom. Yes, human authors wrote it down, but God guided them by His Spirit.
That matters because the Bible is not just here to inform us. It is here to transform us.
It teaches us.
Corrects us.
Encourages us.
Convicts us.
Shapes us.
Leads us toward maturity.
The Bible is not just a book to put on a shelf. It is truth to build your life on.

3 Reasons We Can Trust the Bible
1. The Manuscript Evidence Is Strong
One of the biggest questions people ask is: “Hasn’t the Bible been changed over time?”
That’s a fair question. But the manuscript evidence for the Bible is incredibly strong.
There are thousands of ancient manuscript copies of the New Testament. In fact, compared to other ancient writings, the Bible has far more manuscript support.
Many ancient historical works survive with only a handful of copies. The New Testament has thousands.
That matters because scholars can compare these manuscripts and see how accurately the text has been preserved over time.
The result?
The Bible has been preserved with remarkable accuracy.
This isn’t blind faith. There is historical evidence behind it.

2. Archaeology Supports the Bible
Archaeology has repeatedly confirmed people, places, and events described in Scripture.
Discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls showed that the Old Testament had been carefully preserved for centuries. Other archaeological findings have confirmed biblical locations and historical figures once questioned by skeptics.
For example, Pontius Pilate—the Roman governor involved in Jesus’ crucifixion—was once doubted by some. Then archaeologists discovered evidence confirming his existence.
Time and time again, archaeology has not disproven the Bible. It has supported it.
That doesn’t mean every question has been answered. But it does mean the Bible continues to stand up under serious investigation.

3. Prophecy Points to God’s Hand
One of the most powerful evidences for Scripture is fulfilled prophecy.
The Old Testament contains hundreds of prophecies about the coming Messiah. Many were written centuries before Jesus was born.
Isaiah 53, for example, describes a suffering servant who would be pierced for our transgressions. That was written hundreds of years before the crucifixion of Jesus.
The odds of one person accidentally fulfilling even a handful of messianic prophecies are astronomically small.
Yet Jesus fulfilled them.
Prophecy reminds us that the Bible is not random. It is not accidental. It is not merely human.
God was revealing His plan long before people could see it unfolding.

“But Wasn’t the Bible Written by Men?”
Yes, human beings wrote the Bible.
But that does not mean it is merely human.
God used more than 40 authors across approximately 1,500 years, in different cultures, languages, and locations. Yet the Bible tells one unified story:
Creation.
Fall.
Redemption.
Restoration.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points to God’s plan to rescue sinners through Jesus Christ.
That kind of unity across so many authors and centuries is not ordinary. It points to divine authorship behind the human writers.
As 2 Peter 1:21 says:
“Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
The Bible was written by people, but it was inspired by God.

Jesus Trusted Scripture
If you want to know how Christians should view the Bible, look at how Jesus viewed it.
Jesus quoted Scripture.
Jesus obeyed Scripture.
Jesus fulfilled Scripture.
Jesus used Scripture when He was tempted.
Jesus treated Scripture as authoritative.
When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus responded again and again with the words:

“It is written.”
That is powerful.
Jesus did not treat the Bible as optional, outdated, or unreliable. He treated it as truth.
If Jesus trusted Scripture, we should too.

The Bible Is Not Just Reliable. It Is Alive.
Here’s where this gets personal.
The Bible is not just a historical document to defend. It is the living Word of God that speaks into real life.
It speaks when you’re anxious.
It speaks when you’re confused.
It speaks when you’re grieving.
It speaks when you’re tempted.
It speaks when you feel lost.
It speaks when you need hope.
Hebrews 4:12 says:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…”
The Bible doesn’t just give information. It cuts through the noise and gets to the heart.
It shows us who God is.
It shows us who we are.
It shows us our need for grace.
It points us to Jesus.

So What Do You Believe?
Everybody believes something.
Even the person who says, “I don’t believe in anything,” believes something.
The question is not whether you have beliefs. The question is:

Why do you believe what you believe?
Is your worldview built on culture?
Feelings?
Social media?
Pain?
Family tradition?
Personal experience?
Or the Word of God?
If the Bible is truly God’s Word, then it deserves more than casual attention. It deserves our trust.
Not just on Sundays.
Not just when life falls apart.
Not just when we need a quote for Instagram.
Every day.

Don’t Just Own a Bible. Open It.
A lot of people have a Bible.
Maybe it’s on a shelf.
Maybe it’s in an app.
Maybe it’s in the backseat of your car.
Maybe it’s somewhere at your parents’ house.
But the question is not just, “Do you have a Bible?”
The question is:
Do you read it?
Do you believe it?
Do you let it shape your life?
Because the Bible you ignore will not change you.
But the Bible you open with humility and faith can transform everything.

A Simple Challenge
If you’re not sure where to start, start small.
Read one chapter of the Gospel of John each day.
Pray before you read: “God, show me who You are.”
Write down one thing you notice.
Ask one question.
Share one thought with a friend.
You don’t have to understand everything immediately.
Just start.
God’s Word is trustworthy. And the more you build your life on it, the more you’ll discover that it holds firm.

Final Thought
The Bible has survived criticism, persecution, skepticism, and attempts to destroy it.
Empires have fallen.
Cultures have shifted.
Trends have come and gone.
But God’s Word remains.
So yes, we can trust the Bible.
Not because it is easy.
Not because everyone agrees.
Not because we never have questions.
We can trust the Bible because it is God’s Word—and God’s Word still changes lives.
Open it. Read it. Trust it. Build your life on it.

When Doing Your Own Thing Leads to Spiritual Famine

There's something deeply unsettling about the opening verses of the Book of Ruth. A man named Elimelech—whose name literally means "my God is king"—finds himself in an uncomfortable situation. There's a famine in Bethlehem, the "house of bread," and instead of trusting God through the difficulty, he packs up his family and moves to Moab.

This decision seems practical on the surface. When there's no food where you are, you go where there is food, right? But here's the problem: Elimelech was moving away from God's presence and into a cursed land. He was choosing temporary comfort over spiritual obedience. And that decision cost him everything—his life, his sons' lives, and left his wife Naomi in devastating circumstances.

The Statistics That Should Wake Us Up

Consider these sobering numbers: Only 45% of U.S. adults say they're members of a local congregation—down from 70% just 25 years ago. Approximately 60% of Americans who once attended church no longer attend regularly. Among young adults ages 18 to 29 who grew up in church, 64% stop attending for a significant period.

These aren't just statistics. They represent real people who once knew the fellowship of believers but drifted away. They represent families where spiritual legacy is being lost. They represent the enemy's subtle but effective strategy to isolate believers from the body of Christ.

The Danger of Doing Your Own Thing

Elimelech's story isn't ancient history—it's a mirror held up to our modern lives. How often do we make decisions based on comfort rather than conviction? How frequently do we choose what seems practical over what God has actually commanded?

When we do our own thing instead of God's thing, we're essentially creating an idol out of ourselves. Anything that receives all our love, attention, money, and time becomes an idol. And when we prioritize our comfort, our plans, and our solutions over God's direction, we're saying, "I know better than You do."

The irony of Elimelech's name haunts the narrative. "My God is king," he was called, yet he lived during the time of Judges when "everyone did what was right in their own eyes." His very name was a testimony to God's sovereignty, yet his actions revealed a heart that trusted in self-reliance rather than divine provision.

The Missing Piece vs. The Prince of Peace

We spend so much energy looking for the missing piece in our lives. We think if we just had a better job, more money, different circumstances, or fewer problems, then we'd finally have peace. We make New Year's resolutions to fix ourselves, improve our situations, and solve our problems.

But here's the truth: we're not missing a piece. We're missing peace—the Prince of Peace.

Ninety percent of New Year's resolutions fail within 60 days. Why? Because we set goals that are too big, we don't understand our true motivation for change, and most importantly, we're trying to fix ourselves through our own strength rather than surrendering to God's transforming power.

Real change doesn't come from willpower alone. It comes from recognizing our desperate need for God and allowing His Spirit to work in us. It comes from fixing our eyes on eternal things rather than temporary circumstances.

The Church Is Not About You

There's a dangerous trend in modern Christianity: we've made church about us. We come in, find our favorite seat, sing (or don't), listen to a message, and leave thinking about lunch or the game. We treat church attendance like a box to check rather than a community to belong to.

But the church—the ecclesia, the "called out ones"—was never meant to be about individual consumption. It was always about community, discipleship, and mission. You cannot grow spiritually in isolation. You cannot hold yourself accountable by yourself. You cannot fulfill the Great Commission alone.

If you're in Christ, you ARE the church. Not just on Sunday mornings, but Monday through 485 traffic, Tuesday in that difficult meeting, Wednesday with your family, and every moment in between. The question isn't whether you attend church—it's whether you ARE the church wherever you go.

Acting on What You Believe, Not What You See

Back to the Book of Ruth. After tragedy strikes, Naomi hears that "the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread." Notice how she heard this: through prayer, through remaining connected to God despite her circumstances, through not abandoning her faith even when everything seemed lost.

Naomi acted on what she believed rather than what she saw. What she saw was tragedy, loss, and devastation. What she believed was that God remained faithful to His promises. And because of her resolve, we witness one of the most beautiful redemption stories in Scripture.

Ruth, a Moabitess from a cursed nation, comes to faith in the God of Israel. She becomes part of the lineage of Christ Himself. God took a terrible situation born from one man's poor decision and brought forth blessing that would echo through eternity.

Lost people don't read Scripture—they read you. What story is your life telling?

The Resolution That Matters

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

If Paul—who was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, snake-bitten, and rejected by those he loved—could call his afflictions "light," what does that say about our perspective on our circumstances?

The promise never left Naomi. The promise never left Elimelech—he chose to leave it. The promise never leaves you. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don't disregard that promise just because you're uncomfortable or things aren't going the way you planned.

So here's the real resolution for this year: Stop doing your own thing. Surrender to the One who knows you better than you know yourself. Fix your eyes on Christ and Christ alone. Act on what you believe, not just on what you see.

The question isn't whether God is on the throne. He is, and He always will be. The question is: Is He on YOUR throne?