September 18, 2026
Where is God in My Mess?
One might think as we age, the trials and challenges of the world would be kinder. That is not true. We need growth and wisdom right up to the finish line. Stay focused on the joy and faith, the confidence in God’s mercy, until you return to the Lord. Every challenge, every setback, is an opportunity to trust God more and to rely on our own capabilities less. There is happiness in surrender and a huge relief once we understand our trust and faith in God is freedom.
I wish I could call back many words in my life. Pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness are common to humans until we fall to our knees and ask God for the power to carefully consider every word we say. Lord, please help us guard our tongues. A tiny tongue has the ability to break a heart, kill love, and cause bitterness even in a tender soul.
It is only through immersing ourselves in the Word, through reading and understanding each lesson, that we slowly live a more obedient life. If we could look back at our less evolved and involved Christian walk, we would see how far His majesty has brought us.
It can be difficult to be in the kind of rough patch you thought was behind you forever. It feels familiar. It feels negative. It feels like yesterday is the boss of your life. But then! God appears. He moves. Those are the moments when it is easy to trust and believe. While we may never understand why growth comes through trials and setbacks, it is our job to trust Jesus and to keep a good attitude when we find ourselves in a rough patch.
Beloved patience. The one thing I have struggled with all my life. I see the merit of patience, and I know my struggles to find it cause issues for others. I surrender daily, preferring obedience to my will. And yet. Just when I think I have made progress I discover I still have far to go before I give all of me to God.
Kindness matters. Grumpy people, people always on the lookout for mistakes or something to judge, bring misery almost everywhere they go. Love the unlovable. Pray for your enemies. Just spend kindness and grace as if they were the currency of your life.
Every time we feel worried or sad, we should take those thoughts captive. Count all blessings, even those you’re concerned about. God’s blessings are greater than any complication!
Lord Jesus, Help me find You in the center of my mess. Life isn’t always neat. It doesn’t line up in real ways just as we’ve imagined it will. Help me show mercy without judgement, grace without correction, and love that demands nothing in return. The Fruits of the Spirit are ours when we surrender our will to Your will.
24 “When an evil[a] spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ 25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.” Luke 11:24-26