The Beauty of a Divinely linked team

by Jennifer Slattery on June 23, 2022June 23, 2022

Many years ago, I felt God calling me to launch a ministry only to have it die less than two years later. That was a confusing and painful season where I questioned my ability to hear God. For surely, if the call came from Him, He would’ve kept it–and me–from failing.

For a while, that experience left me jaded. Whenever I sensed a divine nudge to do anything that carried a hint of risk, I shut it down, certain my efforts would only end in defeat and discouragement. Thankfully, our God is equally gentle and persistent. He knows we’ll never experience the depth of life He’s promised living in hiding or distracted by our world’s incessant noise. And so, bit by bit, He nudged me forward, revealing His will and drawing me closer to Himself.

With each step, my vision became a little clear, and I began to view my world–present and past–through His truth. In this, He helped me see a major cause of my previous failure-I had attempted to serve Him alone. While revealing His heart for interdependent living, He connected me with others heading in the same direction. He invited us to link arms, and thus, Wholly Loved Ministries was born.

Honestly, serving with others hasn’t always been easy. My rough edges have rubbed against theirs, and vice versa. We’ve had disagreements, and challenged one another’s insecurities on more than one occasion. But we’ve also supported, encouraged, laughed with, and prayed for one another. Together, we and the ministry have experienced incredible growth and a sharpened focus. Our temporary disagreements over nonessentials have clarified and strengthened our commitment to those things that define us and our mission.

I believe, had we pulled away during times of conflict, the opposite would have occurred. I fear, feeding the pride that demands to prove oneself right would’ve driven us to remain staunchly committed to secondary beliefs and convictions, marring the beautiful mosaic God was creating before He’d laid a quarter of the tiles.

This extends far beyond the ministry unfolding within church walls to every opportunity we embrace and encounter. According to Scripture, our ministry includes every area of our lives, from making school lunches, attending work meetings, and waiting in line at the grocery store. This means, we cannot live fully as God desires or accomplish all He’s assigned without asking for help. However, doing so will require a great deal of courage, humility, and strength.

Courage in refusing one of our culture’s most pervasive–and defeating–lies that true strength is revealed through independence.

Humility in admitting that we’re incapable of pursuing our call alone. That we are, in essence, needy, and humility in making our needs known.

Strength to stand against the sin that separates and isolates and to pick up the phone, send that email, or cross the street, to forsake the masks that hide our insufficiencies beneath our polished veneers, look our brothers and sisters in the eye, to seek a shoulder and a hand while offering the same to them.

And if we don’t? If we remain in our self-protected and self-deceived independent states? Not only will that hinder all God wants to do in and through us, but we’ll hinder someone else’s ministry and growth as well. In short, we become roadblocks rather than stepping stones and bridges. Roadblocks to those God might otherwise call to come alongside us, but also to those, like our spouses or children, we inevitably force to help carry our burden or short change in our effort to do so alone.

Consider this poem, written by Susan Aken, a precious and talented woman with whom I’ve had the privilege of linking arms:

Overflowing
My cup is full.
It overflows!
Brimming over with
Love,
Encouragement,
Inspiration,
Hope,
Peace,
Corrected perceptions.

God’s love
Washes over me,
Embraces me,
Gives me vision.

I see I’m not alone.
I’m meant to lock arms with my sisters in Christ.
We serve together.
We’re all part of the same picture.
We need each other.

No more listening to the lie:
“You can do this alone.”
We are one voice.
A body where each part is necessary.
Each beautiful and unique.

Father, help me embrace
the place You have for me and to shine.
Help me support the sisters
you’ve surrounded me with
and encourage them
as they also shine for You.

You’re the center.
You’re the head.
You’re the reason we’re here.

Be glorified.
Fulfill Your purpose in each one.

Connect with Susan through her website.

Before you go, make sure to check out the latest Faith Over Fear podcast episode where I chat with author Jennifer Tucker, author of Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul.

Discovering the Best of You for Healthier Relationships with Dr. Alison Cook – Faith Over Fear

Do you have difficulty telling others no? Do you find yourself frequently pushing your needs and desires aside to meet the needs of everyone else? Do you ever struggle to know how to love others as Jesus desires while also setting healthy boundaries? In this episode, Dr. Alison Cook shares biblical wisdom on how we can discover the best of ourselves and how doing so leads to healthier and more fulfilling relationships. (Scroll down for discussion/reflective questions.) Resources mentioned: The Best of You: Break Free from Painful Patterns, Mend Your Past, and Discover Your True Self in God Boundaries for the Soul The Best of You Podcast episode: "Should I turn the Other Cheek? Why It's the Opposite of Being a Doormat" Find Dr. Allison Cook: On her website On Facebook On Instagram On Amazon Find Jennifer Slattery: On her website Instagram Facebook Amazon What resonated with you most in this episode? How might you answer Dr. Cook's question: What do you want? How reciprocal do your relationships tend to be? Where might you land on the selfless, self, selfish scale Dr. Cook mentioned? How comfortable are you with setting healthy boundaries? When do you find it most challenging to set healthy boundaries? How can strong, clear boundaries lead to relational health? What is one action step God might want you to take, having listened to this episode? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

When God Sends a Detour – Guest Post by Kathy Harris

by Jennifer Slattery on October 21, 2021November 1, 2021

Yancey Quote with blue and green gradient background

What happens when you are certain God is leading you in one direction only to feel as if He’s asking you to take a hard left? Or, when you find yourself on a long dirt road that appears to be leading … nowhere? If that’s where you find yourself now, I hope you’ll find my guest Kathy Harris’s post encouraging.

When God Sends a Detour, Follow Him

by Kathy Harris

Twenty years ago, I had a milestone birthday. My husband and I celebrated by including me on one of his business trips to New Orleans. While he was attending meetings the first day, I ‘celebrated’ with writing time in the hotel room. I rarely had an entire day to devote to writing or, in this case, research, and it was the beginning of a turning point in my life.

I have wanted to write books since I was a little girl and that dream continued through high school. When I went to college, I majored in communications with a minor in English. And after I graduated from Southern Illinois University, I applied for several creative jobs in diverse industries, finally taking two part-time positions. One was teaching literature and poetry for a junior college. The other was teaching music and other studies in a rural elementary school. Neither of those positions fulfilled the need I had to write, but I enjoyed the opportunity to introduce my love of the written word, as well as music, to both children and adults.

Along with writing, music captured my interest at an early age. When I was in high school, I joined the church choir. Soon after that, two friends and I started a gospel trio, which would eventually because a quartet. We spent hours rehearsing, learning new songs, and performing at local churches and ‘old folk’s homes.’ Eventually we were asked to sing in other cities, broadening our outreach and expanding our vision.

Lewis Quote on gradient teal and blue background.

For three years, I studied communications during the week and then returned home almost every weekend to ride the group tour bus—an old school bus my dad had converted to an over-the-road vehicle outfitted with bunks, a kitchenette, and storage for our gear and clothing. Singing gospel music across three states each weekend and becoming acquainted with exceptional men and women of God played a critical role in the development of my spiritual life, as well as helping direct my goals for the future.

One year after college graduation, after working those two part-time jobs for a year, I was offered a full-time position in the Christian music industry, and I eagerly moved to Nashville. That decision changed the course of my life. It was, as I often say, a “divine detour.” God still had plans for me to write books—and that weekend in New Orleans, when I was celebrating a milestone birthday, I started walking in that direction again.

This week, I celebrate, one more time, with the release of my third novel, and I can tell you, from personal experience, that, when God provides a detour, you should trust Him and then follow wherever He leads. He will bless you for it.

Have you ever wanted to give up on a dream because your life appears to have gone off-track?

Get to Know Kathy

Kathy Harris is an author by way of a “divine detour” into the Nashville music business where she has worked for 30 years as a marketing director. She sold her first Christian nonfiction story in 2007. Her debut novel released in 2012. She writes romantic suspense and women’s fiction. Visit Kathy’s website, read her Divine Detour blog or follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Her Latest Release:

Will they uncover the secrets between them before it becomes deadly?

After fending off a would-be abductor, 27-year-old singer-songwriter Hannah Cassidy hides behind a car in the half-empty parking lot behind Pancake Pantry in Nashville. From there, she watches in horror as her attacker grabs another woman and pushes her into a nearby car. Within seconds, the vehicle speeds away.

TBI Special Agent Jake Matheson may have planned a quiet day off and a date with Shannon―the only name her online profile revealed―for an introductory lunch, but after pulling into a parking space on 21st Avenue South, he hears a scream. He races to the back of the building and finds a frightened young woman bent forward and gasping for breath.

Thrown together by uncanny circumstances and driven by the whys and what-ifs of secrets yet to be revealed, Hannah and Jake set out to find the connection between them before it becomes deadly.

Buy it HERE.

Discovering the Best of You for Healthier Relationships with Dr. Alison Cook – Faith Over Fear

God’s Glory and Courage for what’s ahead

by Jennifer Slattery on July 22, 2021November 1, 2021

sunset over ocean with quote from Rick Warren.

When God calls me to something hard, or to make a drastic life-change, I want clear indications that I’m actually hearing from Him. I tell Him that, and I’m not being demanding nor does this come from a lack of faith. I trust His wisdom and guidance completely, but I don’t always trust my ability to hear and discern Him. And so, I ask for assurances, simultaneously deciding to obey however He leads while asking for the strength to do so.

I don’t believe God faults me for this. He’s so gentle, so loving and attentive, and He gives me what I need. In those moments of uncertainty, He assures me of His grace and reminds me of His power and plans. Sitting in His presence, surrounded by and filled with Him, enveloped in His love, all my questions tend to fade. Inspired by His mission and the honor of being used by Him, I find I don’t need to know every step. I only need to know He’s with me and that He’s got everything all figured out.

This is often how He prepares me–for the good, the bad, the difficult and painful, that lies ahead–not by reminding me of all I can or will or might do, but rather, of who He is. All-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing sovereign Lord.

That may have been, at least in part, why He revealed Himself in such a powerful way to His disciples in Matthew 17. Six days prior, He had shared some really hard and confusing news: He would be rejected by the religious elite and would ultimately be killed, but then, after three days, He’d rise from the dead. (Luke 9:22) And then, He basically told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they needed to be willing to suffer as well. (Luke 23).

Consider, this occurred during what appeared to be the height of Jesus’ ministry. Large crowds were following Him and He was gaining influence. And now, He was telling His disciples that He was going to die? That didn’t make sense! And it certainly wasn’t what they expected. They’d left everything–their jobs, their way of life, and any dreams they might have entertained prior–to follow Christ, likely envisioning something similar to the first century equivalent of Billy Graham revivals. Not suffering, rejection, and tombs.

Can you imagine what must’ve gone through their minds? The questions, confusion, and likely, inner turmoil. I don’t know if they began to doubt Jesus, that He truly was the long-promised Messiah, but I think I might have. I might even have felt a bit cheated. We can respond like that, can’t we? When ministry endeavors don’t go as we expect or whatever God has called us to feels more challenging and less glamorous or overtly fruitful than we’d anticipated?

And that’s when He reminds us, as He did with the disciples, that He is so much bigger than anything we encounter or do today.

As He did with the disciples. Scripture says, “2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” (Matthew 17:2-3, NIV).

Through that awe-inspiring display, I wonder if He was intentionally strengthening Peter’s, James’s, and John’s faith (Matthew 17:1-13). Was that why He allowed them to see His glory in a way no other human, not even Moses, had? Why He confirmed, with such vivid and irrefutable clarity, that He was the one the prophets (Elijah) spoke about, the fulfillment of the law (Moses)?

As David Guzik, from the Enduring Word, wrote, “A sight of Christ’s glory while we are here in this world, is a good preparative for our sufferings with Him, as these are preparatives for the sight of His glory in the other world.”

Through His transfiguration, Jesus made it clear, before His disciples saw Him hanging on the cross, mocked by those in power, that He was God’s Son, the Messiah.

He gave them powerful, unforgettable, supernatural proof.

Like I said earlier, I believe He lovingly prepares and assures us as well. He answers our questions, strengthens our hearts, and ignites our passions so that we can more boldly follow Him. Our callings? They won’t always be easy. Life this side of heaven rarely is. But we can hold tight to the same promise Christ gave His disciples, when He shined so brightly before them: His glory extends far beyond this severely broken world, and one day, we will be fully surrounded by His light.

Woman gazing over horizon with quote from John Ortberg.

In the meantime, like the disciples, we climb up on that mountain, that place where we can get alone with Him. Where we can sit in His presence and reflect on how vast and beyond comprehension our Savior is. And we realize, no matter what comes or what we might face, He is and always will be enough. Big enough, strong enough, present enough, and faithful enough to carry us through.

Let’s talk about this! When was the last time you pulled away to sit in God’s presence to catch a glimpse of who He fully is? How might taking time to do so help strengthen you for whatever He’s calling you to do?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, because we can all learn from and encourage one another.

And for those following our chronological New Testament Bible reading plan …

Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram.

You can catch the next episode of the Faith Over Fear podcast here:

Discovering the Best of You for Healthier Relationships with Dr. Alison Cook – Faith Over Fear

Remaining Focused Amid Opposition

by Jennifer Slattery on April 1, 2021November 1, 2021

Quote from post on multi-shaded blue background

When God calls us to something, we should expect difficulties and opposition. Not everyone will understand our actions or motivations. Some people might even misjudge us or actively fight against us. The question is, how will we respond? Will we shrink back? Lash out in anger and frustration, or diligently, confidently forge ahead?

In short, when obedience feels challenging, whose voice will we give preeminence? Those of our naysayers or our own insecurities? Or will we give our Savior the authority He deserves?

Years ago, I served in an area for which I was unqualified and ill-prepared. Having received zero training, I wanted to learn to lead well. To glean from other female leaders who had perhaps encountered similar challenges and understood all the relational dynamics involved with leading women. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find that in the church I attended at the time, so I began reaching out to others in my community. Within a week, I’d gathered eight Christ-led, wise women of grace excited to share their insights and also to learn from others. Basically, to join a mission-minded group of ladies.

Filled with joy, I began envisioning what our meetings might look like. We could discuss highlights from ministry-related articles and books, pray for one another, and share ideas. We could learn from one another’s successes and failures and together, impact our community for Christ.

My excitement quickly deflated, however, when one of the pastors I served under called me in to his office. His facial expression, body language, and tone made it clear—he was not a fan of my endeavors. I sensed, in fact, that my actions raised suspicion, as if this small group of women were in some way acting with subterfuge.

Hurt and confused, I said I would quietly let this group I’d launched die and determined to do my best to honor my role with my limited training and experience. But my heart continued to ache for deep, ministry-related connections with other Christ-focused women. And I was saddened to know how close such a group had come to taking form.

My soul felt burdened to pursue the call God had given me, but the doors in front of me felt perpetually closed.

One afternoon, I shared my frustrations with my husband.

He shook his head and said, “Don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you know is right.”

I contemplated his statement for some time, struggling to determine my next best, most God-honoring step. Did He want me to initiate change in my current environment? Was He calling me to seek support elsewhere?

I prayed over that situation, over the need, the hole God made increasingly apparent, for over a year, until I knew with certainty, He was calling me to act. The following week, Wholly Loved Ministries was born, a place where women from diverse denominations can grow in their gifting and their relationship with Christ. That small group of women who gathered together in a local coffee shop to dream of all the lives God might change, through our first timid yet obedient steps, has now grown to a team of 30 speaking life across the globe.

All by God’s grace, and in part, because we refused to allow opposition to dictate our actions.

Perhaps you’ve experienced a similar situation—an invitation to act that left others confused or even angered. And maybe in the moment, compliance felt easier, safer. Certainly less confrontational. But if we want to live for Christ and fully embrace all God’s called us to, we cannot be swayed by other people’s hostility.

Consider the example Jesus provided in Matthew 12:9-14. He’d recently made some pretty big claims: That He was the Son of God who knew God intimately and always did as God desired. (John 5:16-21.) That He possessed the same life-giving power as God the Father. And that He was Lord of the Sabbath. Then He performed miracles to validate His claims.

About this time, the Bible says Jesus went over to the Pharisee’s synagogue. While there, He noticed a man with a deformed hand. Seeking a way to trick Christ, the Pharisees asked, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:10, NLT).

They saw this individual as an opportunity for entrapment. But Jesus saw the man’s wounded heart, his need, and was moved by deep compassion. Though He knew His actions would lead to increased opposition, He chose to advance God’s light. He told the man to stretch out his hand. When he obeyed, Scripture says “it was restored, just like the other one” (Matthew 12:13, NLT).

Can you imagine the man’s joy? This was cause for celebration. He had been touched by the light of Christ. But the religious leaders were not impressed. Instead they “called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus” (Matthew 12:14, NLT).

And yet again, Jesus remained focused on His mission and, leaving the area, continued healing and teaching.

He didn’t let spiritual resistance keep Him from the synagogue or hinder His decision to heal. Nor did He try to fight against it, at least, not as we might expect. Instead, He kept moving forward, kept spreading the light, wherever He went and to whomever would receive it.

His faithful, steady actions provide a model for us. When darkness hits, and it will, we can falter in fear, lash out in anger, or faithfully advance God’s light.

In what way is God calling you to advance His light this week? In what way has darkness threatened to halt your steps? What is one truth that will help you move forward in confidence and victory?

Speaking of embracing our calling, if you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to listen to Faith Over Fear episode: The Courage to Pursue Our Calling.

Discovering the Best of You for Healthier Relationships with Dr. Alison Cook – Faith Over Fear

And there’s still time to sign up for Wholly Loved’s Beautiful Mess Mother Daughter Conference. Find out more HERE.

For those following our chronological New Testament Bible reading plan, today’s post kicks us off with the first suggested passage.

Graphic of week 12's chronological reading plan passages.

When God Calls Us Back to Where We’ve Failed

by Jennifer Slattery on March 11, 2021November 1, 2021

When calling us to a place of increased fruitfulness, often God first bring us to the very place we failed. Will we courageously step forward into all He has for us, or will past disappointments keep us stuck?

I’ve stood with my feet anchored in cement, but I’ve also experienced the joy and freedom, and incredible intimacy with Christ, that comes from following His lead. And with every obedience choice, I’m learning to lift my gaze off of my weakness and lack and onto his strength and abundance.

Perhaps most importantly, I’m learning to trust that His ways truly are best and that He has the power to lead me to His best. That in fact that is precisely where He is leading me, with every step He asks me to take.

When my daughter was young, I sensed God calling me to launch a children’s ministry, and so I did. Almost without thinking. In many ways, my yeses came a lot easier back then, primarily because I hadn’t been serving long enough to experience much failure.

Initially, everything seemed great, and the ministry grew far beyond what I’d anticipated or envisioned. Initially, everything went well, and I received such joy and fulfillment from every moment, even those that brought fatigue. But then, problems hit, one after the other after the other, and all in areas I felt ill-equipped and ill-prepared for. A year, maybe two, later, I quit, confused and hurt that God would call me into something only to let me fail.

Over time, I grieved and moved on, and I began to find ways to serve once again. Fulfilling, joy-giving ways, but I carried that first failed experience with me wherever I went. As a result, I was reluctant to take significant risks. I told myself I was merely holding all things, ministry included, loosely, but really, I was self-protecting. Insulating my heart so that it wouldn’t sting so deeply, should God decide this next venture wasn’t to last.

Had I been Simon Peter, the day Jesus called him to push out into the deep, I suspect I would’ve needed a lot more persuading and cajoling. You might be familiar with the story. We find it in Luke chapter 5, which tells us of a day when Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. As usual, a crowd surrounded Him. Upon seeing an Simon’s empty boat, he got in and began to teach the people from there. At some point, Simon, who had been cleaning his empty nets, got in the boat as well.

Verse 4 tells us, “When [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (NIV). Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.”

In other words, he and his partners had done everything they knew to do. They’d given it their best effort and likely had exhausted themselves trying, only to find their nets clogged with algae and plant life. From a human perspective, going for another round would only dirty the nets they’d likely just cleaned. And yet, Simon responded, “But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

The result?

“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.”

Jesus called Simon right back to his place of failure. In this, the God of abundance filled his nets to overflowing—just to prove He could, so that they could follow Him without fear. And that’s precisely what occurred. You see, the power wasn’t in the miraculous number of fish but in the God who commanded them. Simon was able to shift his focus off of himself, his efforts or abilities or resources, and even God’s provision and center it firmly on Jesus, His Provider and Sustainer. That was what gave him to courage to leave his now filled nets, the equivalent of a thriving 401K, to follow however Christ led.

And it all began when Simon allowed God to lead him back to the very place in which he had failed.

Let’s talk about this! When has a past failure hindered your actions? When God calls you to something, do you ever hear a nagging voice that says, “Remember last time you tried that …” What are some ways you gain courage to push out into the deep, so to speak? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and connect with me on Facebook and Instagram. I invite those who struggle with fear to join my private Faith Over Fear Facebook community found HERE.

Speaking of stepping out into potentially deep waters, I also encourage you to check out the latest Faith Over Fear episode on finding the courage to embrace our calling.

For those following the chronological New Testament Bible reading plan:

When Love Flips Table

by Jennifer Slattery on February 25, 2021November 1, 2021

One man or woman of character, fully surrendered to God, can change the world. You and I can impact families, communities, for the good for generations to come. Will you and I, as God’s ambassadors, do that which is convenient? Maybe personally beneficial? Or are we willing, on occasion, to flip a table or two.

We all have a holy battle to fight, one that will require focus, commitment, and sacrifice. I don’t know what that might look like for you. Or what will most challenge your courage and strength, but I can promise, those reasons will probably seem numerous and ever-growing. I can also promise you this: Saying yes to Jesus, however He calls, will ignite and nourish your soul unlike anything else.

Or perhaps I should phrase it differently: Whenever we shrink back from God’s call, whatever that might be, we rob ourselves of life as God intends, for which we were created.

I’ve shared before, here and also in various Faith Over Fear podcast episodes, about a time when God began to stir within our daughter a holy discontent. This began when a delayed diagnosis of a learning disability alerted her to major holes in the academic system. Numerous largely untrained college professors. Policies listed on websites without real-life follow through. Lack of accountability and oversight, over-emphasis of faculty rights with blatant violation of the rights of students.

The battle ahead of her seemed not only insurmountable but also detrimental. She was a student, after all, dependent on the very ones misusing their power. The fact that the authorities weren’t intentionally doing so was irrelevant; the results were the same.

She realized, just as her university’s failure to act was a decision to act, hers was as well. And so, though terrified of veiled retaliation that could cost her research positions, recommendations, and ultimately, her dreams, she used her voice, strengthened by her GPA, to speak for those who had long since lost theirs.

That was such a stressful, exhausting fight with repercussions that extended far beyond the university’s failing SSD department. She was building her character, her courage and grit, with every trembling step forward, until eventually her tenuous steps became firm and secure. But her actions did much more than that, because others were watching. And learning. And gaining courage to fight their battles as well.

And in this, to more accurately reflect our Savior who always spoke out for the marginalized, rejected, discarded, abused, and oppressed. One of my daughter’s favorite examples of this comes from John 2:13-22. This situation occurred around the time of Passover when an estimated 3,000,000 Jews and Gentiles combined traveled to Jerusalem for this holy day. I imagine the area looked similar to how Lincoln does on a Nebraska home game when people travel from the farthest corners of the state, crowding every crevice of the city while vendors and street hustlers haggling passersby.

Only instead of selling hot dogs and water, the merchants hawked sacrificial animals, at equally exorbitant prices. Can you imagine the noise, the smell, and the chaos worshipers encountered? Not only were people, many of whom were poor and had traveled for days, being taken advantage of. But because the vendors set up shop in the one area the Gentiles were allowed to enter, many seeking God were being pushed out.

Something Jesus would not allow, as John 2:15-17 demonstrate. “So He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves He said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a market!’ His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (John 2:15-17, NIV).

Scholars suggest Jesus reacted to numerous problems. The filth and chaos in the overran Temple courts. The dishonest practices of the money changers who willingly took advantage of people seeking God. The fact that the swindlers were using the one area open to foreigners to do so. But in each of these, His response came from the same place—love. And He demonstrated, love isn’t always soft spoken and polite. Sometimes love must take a stand and flip a table or two.

Like I said, I don’t know what that looks like for you. Honestly, I don’t always know what that looks like for me, either, but I do know we each have a role to play, a battle to fight, a wrong to right, and darkness to push back with God’s light.

Is there an area of darkness that has grown increasingly on your radar? If so, have you paused to ask God why? What He’s showing you and how He wants you to respond?

For those who are following our chronological reading plan, today’s devotion started this week off with a focus on John 2:13-22.