SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Author: J Brad Mitchell

  • I Belong – Devotion 292

    We may not always feel like we belong.  We can feel out of place, like we are searching for a home.  It may be we feel like we are the odd person out.  We don’t quite fit in with everyone else.  We can feel like we are sticking out like a sore thumb.  Sometimes we conform to fit in – try to act like everyone else.  Other times, we may go the exact opposite way so we appear even more unique.  Some of us would rather shrink into the background and go unnoticed if at all possible.  

    Here’s the amazing part – we already belong in God’s kingdom.  We are already a part of his big, loving family.  Because he made us, we are unique – and that is good.  He made us just the way we are and loves us immensely.  We do not have to become someone else for God to love us or for us to have a place in the family.  He has a place for you and me, just the way we are. 

    Sure, we have things we need to work on- we are not always kind, loving, peaceful, and joyful.  But those are things we work on to become more like Christ.  Who we are, at the very core of who we are – is good enough.  Who we truly are when all the mess of this world is stripped away is exactly the person God loves.  We don’t have to buy things to impress God.  We don’t have to pretend to be someone we are not.  We simply are loved.

    I am grateful he made each of us so unique.  We bring special gifts and talents, personalities and surprises.  We offer something to the family – a specialty made by a God who loves us.  We already belong.  Today, may we celebrate that God loves us, just the way we are.  No pretending needed.  No show required.  It is good to belong.  It is good to be loved.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 100:3

    3 Know that the Lord is God.
        It is he that made us, and we are his; 
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Say So – Devotion 291

    Gossip tends to spread like wildfire.  People cling to it and then dish it as they go.  Most of the time, it is without regard to the others involved.  Sometimes it is disguised as prayer requests.  But it is always hurtful and unnecessary.  

    What if we were this addicted to praise and thanksgiving?  What might it look like for us to be excited to hear how good God has been to someone?  How might we live differently if we sought the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living?  It might change our outlook on pretty much everything.   Gossip is good for nothing but praise and thanksgiving to God is life giving.  

    We choose what we speak.  We choose what we let come out of our mouths.  We choose what we let into our hearts and we choose what we listen to and to whom we listen.  These are our choices.  Our choices make a difference.  In today’s focus scripture, the Psalmist is encouraging the redeemed to speak about it.   Giving thanks to God and recognizing his steadfast love is worth sharing.  Understanding how God has brought us so far despite ourselves is praise invoking.  When we begin to sense how God is redeeming us, remaking us, and renewing us, how can we not give praise?

    We choose what we speak.  We choose what we spread.  We choose what we listen to and what is shared.  Since we choose, may we choose praise.  May we choose thanksgiving.  May we choose love.  There really is no good reason for gossip.   There are infinite reasons for thanks.  Let the redeemed say so…

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 107:1-2

    1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
        for his steadfast love endures forever.
    2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
        those he redeemed from trouble

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • The Long Nights of Grief – Grief Writing

    This winter season seems to mimic how it feels to grieve.  The nights can feel so dark and lonely – and so very long.  The days seem to be filled with tears which flow unexpectedly.  We can feel like the heavy clouds of rain just waiting to burst open.  There are glimpses of sunshine, though they do not appear nearly enough.  There are days of relief where all begins to find a rhythm of its own.  And then those days are interrupted by snow or lightning or other strange occurrences.  It is a crazy time filled with challenges sprinkled with speckles of hope.  

    If you find yourself struggling a little more this winter, know that you are not alone.  Winter can be difficult all by itself.  The short days can make most anyone beg for a little sunshine.  Then, there is grief you are dealing with, to add to the challenges.  For some, night time is the most difficult.  It is when you notice the absence of the one you love.  It is when you are in the bed alone or sitting in the living room alone.  It becomes an endless cycle of challenges just to keep going.  And this year, we deal with even more.  As we fight this pandemic, we sense we are more alone than ever.  The normal tasks we would do to break up the monotony are changed.  We do not linger in a store or just stop by for a visit with a friend.  We do not sit down at a restaurant for coffee as we once did.  We have to be cautious.  Cautious can also mean lonely.  

    These are all valid feelings.  These are challenges many are facing right now.  While there are no quick and easy answers, there is hope.  There is something beautiful in the making.  This is not the end.  Winter has a purpose.

    Know that winter will not last forever.  It may seem like forever, but it isn’t.  Spring is just around the corner.  Take heart, the sun is coming up a little earlier and going down a little later.  It is a excruciatingly slow process, but a meaningful one.  Winter is a time for the earth to be  dormant.  It is a time of retreat.  It is a time when the earth rests and is fed, preparing for a time of blooming and production.  Trees which looks so bare are actually being prepared to blossom.  Seedlings low in the ground are being nurtured so they can spring up and produce bountiful flowers and crops.  A cycle of goodness is in the works, even when we do not recognize it.  

    You may feel pretty dormant yourself right now.  This may be the time when you rest.  This may be the time when you are being renewed.  It is often painful.  It can feel like you are being stripped bare of all your security.  It can feel as though you are all alone.  But Spring is coming.  There are still joys ahead to be experienced.  While the blossoms may look different, they are still beautiful.  You are being loved and held by an Almighty God who has promised to not leave you, especially in your grief and fears.  Hold on, there is better still to come.

    Winter is not the end, but a time to begin again.  Know you are not alone.  You do not face these fears alone.  You do not struggle alone.  While all of our fears, struggles and grief journeys look different, we all travel. Sometimes the path gives us hope and peace.  Sometimes the path is filled with storms and hills.  And sometimes, we simply get to hide in the shelter of the Almighty until we are ready to travel again.  Travel well, my friends.  Spring is coming.

  • Don’t Ever Forget – Devotion 290

    I am not always good at remembering.  When someone tells me something, I think it will be easy to remember what they said.  But time and time again, I am proven wrong.  I have often forgotten before they have walked away.  So, I do things to help me remember.  I write notes as reminders.  If I am in a central place, that is good.  If not, there is no telling where that note will end up or if I will remember I had the note.  I sometimes tell other people to help me remember.  That works if the other person has a better memory than me.  Otherwise, this can easily fail.  I have tried repeating it over and over and over.  This can work if I only have to remember something for a short period of time.  I can’t go around repeating the same thing all day, that’s unproductive and a little weird.  I even set reminders on my phone so they alert me.  You can see I try as many tactics as I can to help me remember.  Sometimes it works.  

    Today’s focus scripture is about remembering something super important.  It is so important that God has given us instructions on how to remember.  He has given us tools to help us keep this at the forefront of our minds – literally.  This is just that important.  He does not want us to forget – ever.  We lose more than the thought if we forget this.  We lose ourselves.  

    We are to remember:  “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”  Loving God and God alone is so very important that God teaches repetition.  He wants these words implanted in our hearts.  He wants them to become a part of who we are and how we live.  He wants these words to be the foundation for which all other is built.  

    How important are these words to you?  It may help if we begin to make these words central in our lives – so we never, ever forget.

    Focus Scripture:

    Deuteronomy 6:4-9

    4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • The Deal – Devotion 289

    In times gone by, a handshake would seal a deal.  It was an agreement between two people that was binding.  Of course, that is not applicable today.  We have paperwork…and more paperwork…and still, more paperwork.  We have paperwork to explain the paperwork – and few people understand any of it.  All of this is done so that people feel more secure about the deal being made.  Then there are loopholes to get around the mounds of paperwork.  So new paperwork is added to take care of the loopholes.  It is a vicious cycle just to secure something, to have it firm and lasting. 

    Thankfully God doesn’t need paperwork or anyone to work up any deals for him.  He has established and is firm in his promises.  What he says he means.  It is something we can count on.  It may not always be what we want.  It may not always be the outcome we would choose.  But ultimately, God is always faithful.

    The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture reminds us of this very fact.  He sings of God’s steadfast love.  He proclaims God’s faithfulness.  He declares that God’s steadfast love is established forever.  And God’s faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.  In other words, we can count on it because it is written over all the earth.  Just look around, God’s promises are firm and visible.  God is who he says is and he will do what he says he will do.  That doesn’t need paperwork.  It simply needs trust.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 89:1-2

    I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
        with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
    2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
        your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • An Undivided Heart – Devotion 288

    We are taught to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  In other words, love God with our everything.  We are also taught to love our neighbor as ourselves.  That teaches we are to love ourselves (we are, after all, made in the image of God).  It also teaches we are to love others.  Our love for ourselves and others, of course, stems from our love for God.  No fruit is produced apart from God.  No true love is shared when God is not the singular focus.  

    Loving God makes us not only better servants, but better parents, children, spouses, employees and so much more.  We are better because of our focused love for God.  All things spring out of this.  But it is hard to keep this singular focus.  So many things vie for our attention.  There are so many things which call for our loyalty.  Options abound of what we can give our hearts.  Yet, loving God has to be it.  It must be our guiding light in life.  When it is, all things work together.  

    Love the Lord our God is more than a set of words strung together.  It is a declaration to the One who rescues and redeems us.  It is not an idea but a practice.  It is not a saying but a way of life.  To love God changes everything.  He already loves us.  He could not love us any more than he already does.  We are not trying to earn his love.  We couldn’t if we wanted to.  We are called to love him.  That is the focus. This is the goal.  

    Love the Lord our God with an undivided heart.  Giving God our all is the focus.  May it be so.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 86:11-13

    11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
        that I may walk in your truth;
        give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
    12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
        and I will glorify your name forever.
    13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
        you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

      Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • The Right Location – Devotion 287

    We want to do good.  We try to do good.  We think about doing good.  And then we fail.  It can feel like we are all alone in our struggle.  We wonder what is wrong with us.  We don’t always understand our path.  We know God is good but we, if we are honest, we are not always good.  This can feel defeating.  But we are not alone.  We do not struggle alone.  God understands where we are.  He sees how we try.  He knows our hearts, our inner desire to serve him.  He gets how we struggle and he loves us anyway.

    The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture is there.  This is where he finds himself.  He has nearly fallen, slipping along in life, trying to find a foothold.  He knows what is right.  Yet, he finds himself looking around.  He sees how other people prospering.  He is looking around and feels like those who do not follow God seem to be doing better.  It can feel disheartening to look around.  Comparison is an enemy.  In the end, he comes back to the fact that the only place to be is near God.  If you are near God, you do not need to worry about what is going on around you.  God will take care of us.  He will love us.  He will watch over us.  He is our refuge and strength when we find a place in him.  

    Maybe the key isn’t trying to do better or feeling like we always have to do it right.  Maybe the key is location.  Maybe we focus on getting closer to God and pulling from his strength.  We cannot do it alone.  But the closer we get to God, the more we have all we need – and become all we were created.  Today, move closer to the only One who can provide a refuge and a strength.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 73:1-3; 28

    1 Truly God is good to the upright, 
        to those who are pure in heart.
    2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
        my steps had nearly slipped.
    3 For I was envious of the arrogant;
        I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

    28 But for me it is good to be near God;
        I have made the Lord God my refuge,
        to tell of all your works.

      Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • A Reprieve – Devotion 286

    It seems we are given a reprieve with the weather.  When we are going through cold and rainy continual days, a few days of warmth and sunshine are even more impactful.  They offer an extra bit of joy, a welcome change from the cold, dreary days.  We might not appreciate the really good days if we didn’t struggle through the tough ones.  It is in the struggle we learn to look for the good.  

    I don’t know about you, but the last two days of sunshine have been a like one loving, warm hug on my weary soul.  I have been reminded better days are coming.  I am not foolish enough to think winter is over.  There will be cold and dreary days.  But for a few moments, it was great to simply soak up what was offered.  Worrying or concentrating on what is to come is unhelpful.  Taking in what is offered right now is the key.

    What in our lives are going really well?  What have we taken for granted or missed because we have only focused on the difficult?  What struggles have we tackled which have opened our eyes to the joys of living?  Don’t miss the beauty of a reprieve.  It is given to us to learn to enjoy today.  Today is enough and so are we.  

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 74:15-17

    15 You cut openings for springs and torrents;
        you dried up ever-flowing streams.
    16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
        you established the luminaries and the sun.
    17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
        you made summer and winter.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Pour It Out – Devotion 285

    All too often, we hold back in our prayers.  We don’t really tell God how we feel.  We may be hurt or afraid, but we tend to minimize these feelings.  We hide them under a rug hoping no one notices.  We don’t tell other people how we are really doing, so why tell God?  

    There is a problem with this, of course.  While we may be able to put on a good show for everyone else, God already knows.  While we are hiding our fears and insecurities, God sees us in our hidden places.  When we don’t truly let others know how we are feeling, God has heard our inner thoughts.  He already knows all of this.  Yet, we decide we will filter how we feel when we pray.  

    Many would argue we do this out of respect for God.  I understand holding deep respect for God.  But it seems to me what we are actually doing is lying.  We aren’t actually hiding how we feel before God.  So when we come to him and hide our true insecurities, we aren’t actually hiding anything but the truth from ourselves.  It seems to me it would be better to pour out our heart and soul before the only One who can heal.  Why not tell him about all of our fears, what angers us, and what is bothering us?  Why not tell him when we are upset?  He already knows – so why pretend otherwise?  

    The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture leads us in this way.  We are told to pour out our hearts before God because he is our refuge.  We can trust him.  If we hold back our feelings, it seems to me we are showing a lack of trust – as if God can’t handle our anger, our fears, and our insecurities.  The Psalms give us a great model of what it means to pour it all out before him – and it often isn’t pretty.  Maybe we spend some time today finally being honest with God.  It just may be what we need to begin to heal.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 62:8

    Trust in him at all times, O people;
        pour out your heart before him;
        God is a refuge for us.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • God Has Spoken – devotion 284

    There are days when the moon feels so near, so big and beautiful.  This morning was one of those times.  It was hovering just over the horizon when I stepped out this morning.  I was able to see it descend out of my view only to be matched by the rising of the sun in the opposite direction.  The earth has rested, the earth is waking once again.  It is an amazement we get to experience when we take the time to notice, to pay close attention to the work of God.

    It isn’t always this way – the views are not always this vivid.  There are rainy days (many rainy days) and there are foggy beginnings.  That’s why it is so important we not miss it.  We allow too much to pass by in the pursuit of something else.  We are often looking for something different when what is right before us is magnificent.  It is difficult to appreciate the goodness around us when we are constantly living in such discontent.  

    The Psalmist begins the writings bringing our attention to the power of God.  God spoke the earth into being, as Genesis tells us.  He breathed life into humanity.  For the Psalmist to declare God speaks and summons the earth is a natural progression.  God is still moving and creating.  He is still speaking and summoning.  He is still providing so many wonders to see – his power and beauty to behold.

    What is right before you that you may be missing?  Take a moment just to look around.  God has given us some incredible sights to see – we just need to take the time to notice.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 50:1

    The mighty one, God the Lord,
        speaks and summons the earth
        from the rising of the sun to its setting.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery