Kind Awakening

“What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” John 13:7 (KJV) There are seasons when one sentence seems to describe everything you're feeling: “God, I don't understand.” I don't understand why this happened. I don't understand why I've been praying and nothing seems to change. I don't understand why this door closed. I don't understand why I'm going through this. I don't understand why You allowed this. And when we don't understand what God is doing, we're sometimes tempted to conclude that God isn't doing anything. But those are two very different things. In John 13, Peter couldn't understand why Jesus, his Lord and Master, was kneeling before him and washing his feet. Jesus didn't explain everything to Peter in that moment. He simply told him: You don't understand now. You will understand afterward. Sometimes faith means trusting Jesus in the space between those two words: now and afterwar...

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up...” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV) We use the word love for almost everything. “I love coffee.” “I love cake.” “I love that restaurant.” Then we use the exact same word to say: “I love my wife.” “I love my children.” “I love God.” But biblical love goes much deeper than preference, attraction, enjoyment, or emotion. Biblical love is not merely something you feel. It is something you choose to walk in. And understanding that matters because feelings change. There will be days when you don't feel particularly loving. Your spouse may get on your nerves. Someone may hurt you. Your children may frustrate you. You may be exhausted, irritated, disappointed, or simply fed up. If love depends entirely upon how we feel in those moments, we're in trouble. But Scripture gives us something stronger than emotion. It gives us a definition of love that can survive changing feel...

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...” Romans 12:2 (KJV) There are moments when everything around you can be going well, yet something inside of you suddenly begins unraveling. An old insecurity resurfaces. Something somebody said years ago begins replaying. A fear you thought you had overcome suddenly feels real again. One thought becomes another, and before long, your mind has constructed an entire story around something that hasn't even happened. Then comes the frustrating question: “Why am I still dealing with this?” But the return of an old thought doesn't necessarily mean you've made no progress. Sometimes what comes to the surface reveals an area where God is continuing to renew, heal, and transform you. What Comes Out Reveals What Is Within Pressure has a way of exposing things. We can bury hurt, insecurity, rejection, fear, and bitterness so deeply that we convince ourselves they're gone. Then th...

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27–28 (KJV) John 10 contains one of the most comforting promises Jesus ever gave His followers: “They shall never perish.” Yet the verses immediately surrounding that promise are equally important. Jesus describes those who belong to Him: They hear His voice. He knows them. They follow Him. This is not merely a description of a religious moment. It is a picture of a relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. “My Sheep Hear My Voice” Jesus begins: “My sheep hear my voice...” Sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd because they belong to him and have learned to trust him. Likewise, the Christian life is more than acknowledging that Jesus exists. It is a life increasingly shaped by His voice through His Word. Jesus said earlier: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples in...

"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." John 9:3 (KJV) John chapter 9 records one of the most remarkable miracles in Jesus' ministry, the healing of a man who had been blind from birth. Yet before the miracle ever occurred, Jesus used the moment to teach His disciples a profound lesson about suffering, purpose, and the glory of God. The Wrong Question When the disciples saw the blind man, their first instinct was to ask: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" John 9:2 (KJV) Their focus was on assigning blame. Someone had to be responsible. Someone must have caused this suffering. This is often our first response as well. When hardship enters our lives, we immediately ask: Why did this happen? What did I do wrong? Whose fault is this? Why would God allow this? Our attention naturally turns toward the past. Jesus Redirects...

"His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." John 2:5 (KJV) The first recorded miracle of Jesus was not performed before a crowd seeking signs or religious leaders demanding proof. It took place at a wedding in Cana, where an ordinary moment became the setting for an extraordinary display of God's glory. More than a miracle of turning water into wine, this account teaches an enduring lesson about faith: God often calls us to obey before He explains what He is doing. The Servants Obeyed Without Seeing When the wine ran out, Jesus instructed the servants: "Fill the waterpots with water." John 2:7 (KJV) They filled them completely. Then Jesus gave another instruction: "Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast." John 2:8 (KJV) Imagine being one of those servants. As far as they knew, they were carrying nothing more than water. They had not yet seen the miracle. They did not understand what Jesu...