Faith, Culture, & the Church

UA-115346459-1

Seeking Rest, Finding Miracles

8/13/2018

Sometimes the rest we crave doesn’t look like what we imagined it would. Sometimes our need to be refreshed isn’t filled in quiet desolate places like we’d really prefer over the noise and need of the multitude. But it was because of the multitude that the disciples got to be a part of Jesus’ miracles.

Were they exhausted?

I am certain they were.

Were they in need of some alone time?

You bet!

Were they anxious for rest and reprieve?

For sure!

And Jesus met them there, and so did the multitude. And Jesus then asked the tired, exhausted, ready for rest disciples to feed the crowd. And after some excuses and talk-back, Jesus took what the disciples found, blessed it and multiplied it to feed the crowd AND the hungry and tired disciples.

His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55). They are fully for our good and ALWAYS based in what we need, rather than what we want (Proverbs 16).

I don’t know about you, but this #introvert struggles with this truth a lot. I deeply desire to get away, to a mountain with Jesus. And if he could kindly leave the multitude out of my scenario, I think I’d be happier. But then I’d miss the miracles. I’d miss his invitation to go and see what little I have to give, set it in his hands, and allow his power and grace to multiply my little bit to a lot of something to feed the people around me (Mark 6:38).

Today I am preaching to myself, and reminding my soul that somedays are hard, but God has a plan for miracles that include tired tired, exhausted, worn down, and ready for rest me (and you too!). Because faith is being certain of what you hope for, and confident in what you cannot see (Hebrews 11).

We have a choice. Choose to believe. What we choose matters. So keep fighting. All things are possible (Matthew 19) .

1 Comment

resume services link

2/10/2020 10:52:36 pm

We have different battles that we needed to face and at the end of the day all we got is just ourselves. There should be no space left in tears because we know that the Lord will always help us and guide us to the different paths that we chose to take. We are the children of the Lord, so let us follow the words that are written in the Bible. This book is filled with promises and blessings and it all belongs to the people who are faithful to Him.

Jaclyn Loween

I wear many hats, but the ones I have worn the longest are daughter and Christian. I am a daughter to amazing, Godly parents, and I am daughter to the King of the Universe. I am a Christian who depends on grace and passionately loves the Church. One of the heaviest burdens my heart carries is for the Body of Christ. I desperately desire to do all that I can to build up each member of the body and to see God's power come and settle in to the hearts of his people.
I am also keenly aware of the culture (the way of life for the American people): How it so often clashes with the mission of heaven and is jam packed full of brokenness.
And I want no one living in it to miss out on the truest freedom and the greatest hope, neither of which can be found in government nor circumstances.
So, I write. I write about what I know from the Bible and what I see happening around me. I write in hopes that in fleshing out the burdens in my heart with the Word of God and the understanding of the human condition that I can create word pictures, analogies and statements that resonate, speak truth, build others up and point hearts to the path of the one and only Savior King.
That is what you will find on this page of my blog: thoughts, questions, and writing that reflect my musings with understanding the Bible, culture and living faithfully here with heaven in mind.