Jairus asked Jesus to come to his home and heal his precious daughter. While on their way, they were met with an unexpected delay. A woman who’d been sick for 12 years with an “issue of blood” wound her way through the crowded streets, touched Jesus, and was instantly healed. Jesus took the time to ask the crowd, “Who touched Me?” She reluctantly responded by sharing her story…

The phrase “What will you do with what the Lord said” hit my heart while winding my way through a work project. Earlier in the week, I’d prayed about a situation when the Lord answered me through a portion of a song. It blessed my heart. I understood what the Lord was saying, and I’m choosing to wrap myself in…

God has plans for you. Yes, I know you know that. But what strikes me is His plans for you include every single day. We often consider the “big picture of life” when we quote Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to…

There are times when it’s frustrating to be forced to live through a process when you know God is able to change it. You did everything possible to prevent the current madness, including asking Him to change it. Yet, despite our best efforts to shift circumstances, we still find ourselves forced to live through a process in which we did…

I’ve been marinating in St. John 12:1-2 which reads: 1. Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.  The clause I’ve been meditating on…

In John 12:3-7 we are ushered into the story about Judas Iscariot taking issue with Mary and her alabaster jar. He’d confronted her regarding why she broke her alabaster jar, anointed Jesus’ feet with the oil, and wiped His feet with her hair. He said, “Why wasn’t the ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor?” He said…

It’s not too late for the Lord to work. That’s what hit my heart tonight as I was rushing about getting ready to end the day. I’d just walked in the door from a long and busy day.  It wasn’t bad a day, just very busy. I’m ready to call this day done, but I felt I needed to get this…

Jacob and company finally made it to Goshen in Egypt. It is in Goshen, where he is reunited with Joseph. Genesis 46:29 states that Joseph presented himself to Jacob, and he fell on his neck and wept on his neck for a good while. Oh, the joy. That visual brought back to my mind Jacob and his twin brother Esau’s…

Jacob and company finally made it to Goshen in Egypt. It is in Goshen, where he is reunited with Joseph. Genesis 46:29 states that Joseph presented himself to Jacob, and he fell on his neck and wept on his neck for a good while. Oh, the joy. That visual brought back to my mind Jacob and his twin brother Esau’s…

What an emotional day for Jacob and company when they learned they were leaving Canaan. Children squealed, running around in delight as the adults handled the final preparations for an unexpected road trip. The excited family members loaded into the wagons as conversations abounded about the new life waiting for them in Egypt. What a powerful experience it must have…

When Joseph’s brothers returned to their father the second time – they brought the obvious – provision and Benjamin. They also brought unimaginable news. There was so much to unpack! Jacob’s sons: Joseph is alive! Jacob: That’s impossible. He is not. Jacob’s sons: Yes, Joseph is alive, and the governor. Jacob: Joseph. Alive? Jacob’s sons: Yes. He. Is. The famine…

We’ve been in the story of Joseph for a few devotionals, and I was wondering where to go now, Lord. I opened a document and the first clause of Psalm 27:14 jumped out at me, wait on the Lord. Instantly, my mind fell on Jacob waiting for his sons to return from their second trip to Egypt for food. I’m…

While Joseph was busy revealing the jaw-dropping news of who he was to his astonished brothers, their father Jacob was back home in Canaan, unaware that he was on the cusp of a life-changing event. He’d been forced to send his youngest son, Benjamin, with his brothers to return to Egypt for more food. It wasn’t his idea – Joseph…

The bloody coat. It represented so much more than it showed. The coat was made with love and given to Joseph by his father. The coat was stripped away from him by his envious brothers, soaked in an animal’s blood, and presented to their father as all that was left of him from a horrible encounter with a wild animal.…

I’ve been meditating on how God used Jacob to assist his sons traverse the rocky path of requesting Joseph to forgive them for what they’d done to him as a 17-year-old. He had to forgive them, too. I can imagine when the truth came out about the false storyline with the bloody coat. Jacob could only be so angry because he’d hoodwinked his…

I am off work today. I hadn’t planned to be off. Yesterday, on the way home from work, I was rear-ended. Thankfully, even though there is damage to the car, it is drivable and will be repaired. However, due to some pain, I decided to stay at home and rest, along with taking some over-the-counter pain medication as well as…

I’ve been visiting the account of Joseph and his incredible shift in life from one extreme to the other. His brothers, now decades beyond the day of Joseph thrown in a pit and sold to the Midianites, stood before him in shock. The last time they saw Joseph, he was being hauled off by the Midianites for 20 pieces of…

Joseph was disappointed, frustrated, and burdened by drama he couldn’t avoid. His life was filled with unexpected events. Each major turn in his life came with unexpected events – both good and bad. He felt a glimmer of hope when he watched the butler leave the prison with his “speak on my behalf – I don’t deserve to be here”…

The horrific news of Job’s recent incredible losses traveled around town. His friends showed up to find Job unrecognizable, given the painful, itching boils on his body from head to toe.  Stunned, they silently sat around him for a week. But soon, they found much to say to Job – none of it helpful, as they accused him of sinning…

The day Joseph was summoned to the palace came unexpectedly. Two years prior, he hung his hope on the chief butler putting in a good word with Pharaoh so he could leave that dreadful place.  All Joseph wanted was to start over one more time.  He’d done it before and was willing to do it again. But nothing changed about his circumstances. It had been two years…