Our Great Big Wonderful God!

 

Remembering the God We Believe In

It usually starts small. A few restless nights. A nagging ache that won’t go away. Then one thing turns into another—fatigue, discomfort, worry creeping in where peace used to sit. Before long, your body is trying to tell you something isn’t right. So you do what most of us would do. You make an appointment and go see the doctor.

After listening, checking, and asking a few questions, the doctor gives you an answer. There’s relief in finally knowing what’s wrong and even more relief in hearing, “This is treatable. You’re going to be okay.” You walk away grateful—thankful for the knowledge, the care, and the reassurance. Without much thought, you might even say it out loud: Doctors really are wonderful.

And yet, isn’t it interesting how easily we trust that kind of care, but still hesitate when it comes to trusting our Heavenly Father? We celebrate human help quickly, but sometimes question divine goodness slowly. Somewhere along the way, we forget who He is. God is not uncertain. He is not guessing. He is not limited. He is—and always has been—a great big wonderful God.

Life is full of ups and downs, and sometimes the downs feel especially heavy. But one truth remains steady: God is always willing and able to help us. When we look at the lives of God’s people in the Old Testament, we see this pattern clearly. Again and again, they struggled to remain obedient. God’s desire was never control—it was protection. He wanted to bless them, keep them safe, and walk closely with them.

When God’s People Wander

Still, they often turned away. God warned them not to worship false gods, knowing where that path would lead, but they didn’t listen. Judges 2:11–13 (NLT) tells us, “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.”

The God Who Steps In Again

And yet—this is where God’s goodness shines—He did not abandon them. Just as He had done many times before, God forgave His people and stepped in to help them again. He raised up leaders and judges to guide them back to safety and truth. Judges 2:18 (NLT) says, “Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering.”

This is the heart of our great big wonderful God. Even when His people failed, He remained faithful. Even when they wandered, He responded with mercy. God didn’t help them because they earned it—He helped them because mercy and faithfulness are part of His nature. He does not stop being God, even when His people fall short.

When Our Souls Need Care

It’s important for us to carry real gratitude for how patient our Heavenly Father is with us. The truth is, some of us need spiritual care more than we’d like to admit. Our souls grow weak when we stop feeding them a steady diet of God’s Word. Little by little, unhealthy thoughts, disobedience, and old habits start taking up space. But God is never caught off guard by any of it. He sees what’s going on beneath the surface, and through His Spirit, He knows exactly what needs healing and what needs to change.

God never asks us to heal ourselves or get everything right before coming to Him. He simply asks us to come. Scripture reminds us, “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love” (Psalm 103:8, NLT). This is the heart of our great big wonderful God—patient when we are weak, gentle when we are worn, and faithful even when we struggle. We don’t have to hide our flaws or pretend we’re fine. We can bring our tired souls, our missteps, and our need for care to a Father who knows how to tend the heart. And as He feeds us with His truth and walks with us in love, we don’t just get through life—we are restored by the goodness of the God who never stops reaching for us. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Our Great Big Wonderful God!”, written for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Don’t Let Him Pick You Apart!

 

I bet just about every woman knows the verse in Philippians 4:6(NLT). It tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” Look at how simple Heavenly Father has made this for us. First, He tells us what not to do, then He tells us exactly what to do in order to restore His peace in our lives. We shouldn’t worry about anything because worry isn’t the nature of a believer. Faith and gratitude are our nature, and anything outside of those two doesn’t tell the truth about the goodness of God. Many of us know this, but we let worry and doubt get the best of us anyway. We’ve got to stop giving over our power and authority in Christ this way. We can’t allow the devil to pick us apart, especially now.

I’ve heard many women that are believers speak about the incredible circumstances and situations that God has brought them through. From marital abandonment and financial ruin to domestic violence and abuse, they’ve dealt with it all and some of them did so with darts flying from all angles. As soon as they felt some degree of ease about one thing, two or three other situations came out of nowhere. They felt like throwing in the towel, but they didn’t. One of the common threads in their testimonies of overcoming incredibly painful situations is the lesson they learned about anxiety and doubt. They wasted a lot of time worrying about whether God would come through or if He’d allow them to fall through the cracks. He always delivers on His promises and in the end, He rescued them from darkness and despair.

We all know the grips of that sinking feeling. It brings you so low that you can’t even define the depth. Every part of you feels upset and bothered, and nothing—no thought or feeling, seems to bring comfort. In our darkest moments, we know God’s healing power, and we also know that He’s commanded us not to worry, but we make ourselves sick with worry any way. No matter how many times our friends, loved ones, and spiritual mentors tell us to give it to Jesus, we vacillate back and forth, giving our burdens to him one minute and taking them back the next.

As God’s children, we can learn a lot about having a constancy of faith by the pattern of good parenting that many of us have demonstrated to our own biological children. We love our children and will do anything for them. We must remember that God is the One who has given us the heart and mind for parenting. We didn’t come up with it on our own. We love our kids because He first loved us. Not only has He shown us real and genuine love through Jesus Christ by giving him as a sacrifice for the sins of all people, but God created us with the capacity to respond to each other with His love. We are made in His image, and we understand that His love is the force that propels us forward.

As good parents, we would never harm our kids but will do everything in our power to protect them. To make sure their well-being is preserved, we would move heaven and earth if we could. God’s love is infinitely higher than the love that any of us can give. In Isaiah 55:9(NLT), He said of Himself, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” God loves us more than we can ever imagine. Our thoughts can’t think that high. It’s a deep, unconditional and abiding love, and nothing can separate us from it. No one can love like He loves. To get a glimpse of how He views our worry and doubt, consider the thought of your biological child sitting somewhere, feeling scared, and worrying that you have refused to take care of them or that you won’t do it for some reason. This would hurt you to the core. Imagine how God feels when we don’t trust Him to take care of us.

All good relationships are built on individuals responding honestly, compassionately, thoughtfully, and lovingly to one another. God set relationships up to operate this way. These responses build faith and trust, and without faith and trust, a relationship will collapse or be injured. You and I are here on this earth to build an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is the purpose of life! Jesus Christ tells us that he is the door to the Father. We must have the faith of Jesus Christ to please God. Faith and believing in Him is how we respond to His overwhelming love.

Fear is a cloak of deception that the devil tries to pull off as being real. It is a false evidence of reality, and worry is a sign that we have bought into the lie. We can’t let the devil continue to pick us apart with his tactics and tricks. Let’s resist his plots by doing as Philippians 4:6 says and get really specific in our prayers. We have the authority of Jesus Christ to plead his blood over situations and circumstances. Colossians 1:13 tells us that his blood cleansed our sins, and through the blood of Jesus Christ, God has delivered us from the power of satan’s darkness and transferred us to his Kingdom. We don’t belong to worry and doubt, and we should never claim them.

Yes, it takes time to develop the habit pattern of choosing faith and not fear, but God tells us how to strengthen the muscle. He said, “Thank him for all he has done.” This is a strategy for Godly living. A person can’t be thankful and fearful at the same time. To keep fear from rising up and overtaking our hearts, Heavenly Father commands us to think of His goodness, and do it continually. This is how we constantly hit the “ON” button of faith. Philippians 4:6(NLT) tells us that as we practice thankfulness and gratitude to God, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

God doesn’t leave our relationship with Him to chance. He tells us exactly how to respond to Him, and to do it in a way that causes Him delight. Our obedience and commitment to respond to God with faith and gratitude will invite the indwelling Holy Spirit to saturate us with God’s peace. This peace guards our hearts and minds, but we must live in Christ. This means we must do our part, and Philippians 4:8(NLT) tells us exactly what that part is. It says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” We can change the way we handle obstacles and adversity by resisting the urge to respond to what the devil is trying to do, instead, we can respond to the goodness of God, be thankful and abide in His perfect peace. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Don’t Let Him Pick You Apart!”, written for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Poised for Unprecedented Blessings

Poised for Unprecedented Blessings: A Teachable Heart in Changing Times

The things we carry in our hearts can quietly weigh us down, and the saddest part is that many of us refuse to let them go. Too often, we don’t see ourselves the way God sees us, so we resist the very changes that could completely transform our lives.

Through Scripture, God has given us an incredible, chronological record of real people who walked with Him. We see their obedience and their failures, their victories and their missteps. These accounts weren’t preserved by accident. Our Heavenly Father gave them to us for our learning. Woven into each life is a pattern—one we can apply to elevate our own faith and deepen our commitment to Christ. And one truth stands out among them all: God rewarded faithfulness. That truth is especially important for us to digest in the season we’re living in now.

In Genesis 12:2 (NLT), God promised Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.” Later, in Genesis 17:5 (NLT) God reaffirmed the promise, expanding Abraham’s understanding of its magnitude: “What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.”

It took twenty-five years for Abraham and Sarah to become fully persuaded of the promise God made. Not one second of that promise came to pass before their faith was ready to receive it. Abraham believed in God’s power, yet at seventy-five years old, he still struggled to make the full leap of faith. He looked at his own body and considered his seed dead. He looked at Sarah—beautiful even in her later years—and believed her womb was dead as well.

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” God is loving and patient, but faith in Him is not optional. He did not bring the promise to pass until Abraham’s faith came into alignment with what God had spoken.

At one point, Abraham and Sarah agreed to lie about being husband and wife when powerful men were around them. They believed this was necessary for survival. In their culture, the most beautiful women were often taken by kings or pharaohs, and they feared Abraham’s life would be at risk if the truth were known. Many would call that self-preservation. God calls it doubt.

How could they trust God for a promise that would shape nations, yet not trust Him for protection? They didn’t yet understand the damage that occurs when a lie is chosen over truth. We sometimes excuse certain habits or attitudes by calling them “just part of who we are.” But in John 8:44 (NLT), Jesus was very clear about the nature of lies: “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does… When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Faith cannot fully grow where lies are still being tolerated, no matter how small they seem. So when we excuse a lie—about ourselves, our fears, or our circumstances—we aren’t just being human; we’re partnering with something that was never meant to shape our lives.

It should never be said of a follower of Christ that we’ve clung to a lie and refused to walk in truth. We are children of the light. Darkness—of any kind—was never meant to be something we hold onto. Excuses cannot cover a lack of faith. We must be willing to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to the root of whatever is keeping our blessings at bay.

When God gave Abraham the promise, He already knew Abraham would be teachable and willing to follow His guidance. Abraham wasn’t perfect. He made real mistakes, but his faith was anchored in God. When trouble came, he didn’t harden himself or cling to control. He looked to his Heavenly Father for direction.

That posture matters.

There are many who have been on this journey a long time. They’ve endured hardship, disappointment, and delay, yet they are worn down and resistant, not because God has failed them, but because they are unwilling to remain flexible before Him. Instead of coming to God with a heart that is open and willing to learn, they insist on doing things the way they’ve always done them.

That outlook isn’t sustainable.

Throughout Scripture, we see that God is deeply invested in our spiritual growth—it is not secondary, but a priority in His plan for us. Ephesians 4:15 tells us that as we speak the truth in love, we grow in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. And 1 Peter 2:2–3 (NLT) says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.” This kind of growth requires humility and hunger. It requires a willingness to be taught, corrected, and reshaped by God rather than insisting on staying the same.

There is a growing agreement across pulpits and sanctuaries that this season carries unprecedented blessings for many—yet it will also require discernment, humility, and faith. That truth isn’t meant to create pressure or comparison; it’s meant to invite us into readiness. God’s blessings flow most freely where hearts remain soft, teachable, and aligned with Him.

So pray as often as you have opportunity. Seek the Lord. Ask Him to reveal anything in your heart that displeases Him. He will show you, and when He does, humility will be required. Trust that surrender and repentance are not losses, but doorways. When we yield to God, the right doors open, the wrong ones close, and transformation begins. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Poised for Unprecedented Blessings: A Teachable Heart in Changing Times”, written for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.