 Is it worth it to go the extra mile? Does God – or anyone else for that matter – really notice when you go above and beyond? Extra hours put in at work to complete a project, volunteer work at church, even the sacrifices you make for your family can sometimes seem ignored or unnoticed. Is the extra effort worth it?
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 Doubt is a funny thing. It can masquerade as justified concern or prudent cautiousness. It can be the OCD force that makes you line up all your ducks before you act on what God has called you to do, right here and right now.
Doubt can hold back the strongest of us when it dresses as an imposter syndrome...  There are times for quiet prayer. Heartfelt whispers do reach heaven. But there are also times to pull your spiritual sword out of its sheath and brandish it with everything inside you. To fight the good fight of faith...
 Are you afraid of snakes? I used to be. But something’s changed. I’ve changed. I was helping my daughter move a blueberry bush this week. Hiding in the roots was a snake. Granted, it was small, but still—a slithery snake.
Normally it would cause me to run for the hills...  “The Lord... is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV
The air was chilly and we grabbed winter coats to ward off the cold between takes. It was 2 am in the French quarter of New Orleans, and hundreds lined the street shooting the Jack Reacher film “Never Go Back” featuring Tom Cruise. My husband Sam and I were among the crowd of background actors bringing this film to life...  It was at the height of the pandemic with all its uncertainties. Driving home from an evening church service, I pulled up “The Blessing” song by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes on YouTube. As I drove, I poured out my heart in prayer for my children and their families, utterly absorbed in the moment, the anointing, the presence of God that was inhabiting my praise and my prayers. And then I saw the lights in my rearview mirror...
 Has life become uncomfortable? Are you feeling out of sorts—even on the verge of tears—and can’t put your finger on why? You’re desperate for a breakthrough of SOMETHING but you don’t know what that something is.
Is God birthing something in your soul?  “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 NLT Are you in need of mending? I’ve never considered myself brokenhearted, but I suppose I am. It’s nigh impossible to travel through this life without wounds and scars. I do my best to practice spiritual heart health. To not be easily offended when a hurtful word or act has been thrown at my heart, but rather to offer forgiveness when a wrong has been done...  I asked for a dry road. In fact, I breathed that prayer before I even got into my car to return home from a weekend trip at my parents. The weather report said “stormy” but I believed God could clear that storm out of my way for a safe, uneventful trip home.
And then it started to rain.  What’s your biggest need right now? It could be spiritual, emotional, physical, or even career related. We’ve all been there. Stuck, stalemated, absolutely at the end of ourselves.
I don’t know what your desperate place is, but I want to encourage you that now is the time to believe. |
Laura WoodworthWhat’s your dream? I pray you will be inspired and encouraged to pursue all God has for you. Now, more than ever, we need people of faith to go, do and become the light for the world. Archives
December 2023
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