Have you ever been in a social situation, whether at work or in a casual setting, where everyone else is chatting and having a good time, and they all seem to gave forgotten about you? Do you ever feel invisible?

Take heart. God has not forgotten you. Remember that He not only knows who you are but knows you by name. He has not taken His eye off you for one moment. You have never left His mind or His heart.

Ultimately, how other people at work or at a party or in any setting view you doesn’t matter as long as you know that God delights in you. When others can’t or won’t see you, God sees you.

Remember, the most powerful words that anyone can hear are “I see you.” You can treat others the way you wish you could be treated by others, the way God has treated you. You can choose to see and validate and bless others the way God has seen and validated and blessed you.

Above all, you are not alone. God sees you. God knows you. God loves you.

Just to be clear, I like ’em both. I just thought this was funny. And somewhat accurate.

“Most Christians are educated
beyond their own obedience.
Could it be that you do not need
another Bible study, but you need
to obey the lessons from the previous ones you have heard?” (Daniel Dickard).

Oof.

That one stung a bit.

I’m a big fan of Bible studies and learning, but at some point, you and I need to put that knowledge into practice.

But isn’t that what wisdom is? Just applied knowledge that goes from cerebral to practical?

I would never say to anyone not to go to any more Bible studies? I would never say to close your Bible and not read it.

I would say not to stop at reading and learning.

Find one way you can apply what you learned from each lesson to an aspect of your life. Make it real by making it tangible. After all, as a pastor I know once said, if you don’t live it, you don’t really believe it.

Also, I’d say to find a way to teach it to someone else. That way, they get the benefit and the knowledge and wisdom you’ve acquired becomes ingrained in you. Then you have truly learned.

If you want to know God’s will, start with being faithful where you are instead of waiting for God to move you somewhere better to obey. See your current place as an altar where you can make your life, your very self, an offering to God as an act of worship.

Imagine that. You worship not just by singing and raising your hands but by doing your job well, even when you don’t really like your job. You worship well by showing up on time, giving your best, and helping others to be their best.

Then you will see God moving and working in your life. Maybe He will move you somewhere else. Or maybe He will move in you to become someone more like Him. Maybe He will change your circumstances. Or maybe He will change you and transform you in the midst of your circumstances.

Either way, trust God and bloom where you’re planted.

Even now if you read any of the headlines plastered across any of the news websites, you will see mostly doom and gloom and negativity. You’d think that 99% of what happened around the world was bad.

But bad news isn’t necessarily the majority of the news. It’s just what sells and what draws ratings and what garners website hits. All the good that happened today will most likely slip under the radar because the PTB (Powers That Be) don’t think people will buy good news.

But you can make your own headlines and write your own story. You can show love and spread kindness. You can pay it forward with acts of generosity. You can be a visible display of the grace and mercy of God for the world to see. You can be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are lost and hurting.

You may not can change the world, but you can make a difference in at least one person’s world.

Have you ever been inspired to pray for someone’s salvation but it seems like day after day nothing changes? Have you ever prayed for a loved one for healing and the healing hasn’t come yet?

It can be discouraging to send up prayers that seem to bounce off the ceiling and never make it into heaven. Sometimes, it seems easier to quit than to persevere.

But remember the widow in the Bible. She kept going to the judge demanding justice. She refused to take no for an answer. Her determination and desire were stronger than any denial so she persevered until she got what she was after.

Maybe you prayed 99 times and stopped. What if the answer was waiting on the 100th time? If the Israelites had marched around Jericho six times and stopped on that final day, would they have seen the walls fall?

I think the way to not lose heart is to keep your eyes not on the physical circumstances that don’t seem to change but on the God who is always at work, never resting and never tiring. It’s to remember the God who still makes miracles happen in the midst of the most unlikely places and people. It’s to keep your eyes fixed not on the person you’re praying for but on Jesus.

Here’s a short prayer for anyone battling anxiety:

“Almighty God, We bless you for our lives,
we give you praise for your abundant mercy and grace
we receive. We thank you for your faithfulness even
though we are not that faithful to you.
Lord Jesus, we ask you to give us all around
peace in our mind, body, soul and spirit.
We want you to heal and remove everything that is
causing stress, grief, and sorrow in our lives.

Please guide our path through life and make our
enemies be at peace with us. Let your peace reign in our family,
at our place of work, businesses and everything we lay our hands on.

Let your angels of peace go ahead of us when we go out
and stay by our side when we return. In Jesus’ name, Amen”

Man, I can’t love this enough. So many people are fighting hidden battles and carrying around unseen burdens, all while putting on a smile and pretending to be fine. You’d never guess anything was wrong.

Sometimes, you see people and wonder why they act the way they do. Maybe they seem friendly and then they seem suddenly cold to you. I think with just about everyone you meet that there is one fact about that person that if you knew that information it would completely change the way you looked at them. It could be a painful divorce or an abusive past. It could be their own deep-seated anxiety or insecurities.

It costs literally nothing to be kind. You don’t have pay even a penny to pray for someone in your sphere of influence. After all, it could be your kindness that opens their eyes to the goodness of God. Remember that it was God’s kindness that led you to repentance in the first place.

Be kind and pray for opportunities for gospel conversations. You never know what may come of that kindness. The Bible says to always be ready to give an answer for the hope you have — and possibly the reason for your kindness.

I think we make idols of all sorts of things when we expect perfection out of them. When we expect a perfect spouse or a perfect job or a perfect family, we’re putting something else in the space that only God should occupy.

When the Bible says that God is a jealous God, it doesn’t mean He’s petty. It means He knows that filling that God-shaped hole with anything else other than God won’t satisfy us in the long run. Putting anything else on the throne where only God belongs will never give us the peace and contentment we’re longing for. Only God can fill that God-shaped hole.

I’m thankful for a perfect God who steps into my imperfect life at every moment to remind me that chasing after idols of possessions and relationships and status will only bring heartbreak while God is the only one who can bring healing.

Maybe the best place to be isn’t found in the “I’ve got it all together and know my Bible and have my walk of faith down pat,” but in the “I’m a big hot mess who screws up every single day but who knows a deep need for Jesus.” The first is the one who prays and thanks God that he’s not like those other sinners whose sin is different from his. The second is the one who prays, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

That’s exactly what Paul meant about boasting in weaknesses because that’s where the strength of Christ is perfected and manifested in your life. It’s not beating yourself up, but being honest about who you are apart from God and about who God is in spite of you.

I think brokenness being made into wholeness is one of the most beautiful things I know of and God is the best at that.