From the Archives: Take Heart, Daughter
Today I’m sharing a post from May 2018, before I got married or had kids. I was living and working in Nashville, Tennessee, and God was growing me more in Him day by day. This story from Matthew 9 is still one of my favorites, and I believe Jesus shows us here the kind of healing and hope He still offers His people thousands of years later. I pray this content blesses you today!
I've been in a Bible study led by Kristi McClelland for the past 7 weeks on Jesus and women, in the first century and now. My mind has been blown more times than I can count. Reading the Bible in the context in which it was written is life-changing. One lesson—and one passage—has really resonated with me in particular. And when my pastor Robby Gallaty preached on the same message this Sunday, I knew I had to share with y'all.
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wing.”
— Malachi 4:2
I've read and heard this verse many times, but I never knew the true meaning until about a month ago. I always pictured this as God offering protection and shelter under His wings like momma bird to its baby. It's a beautiful picture, but it's not the full picture.
Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. This is one of the last things God says to the prophets before the 400-year intertestamental period.
400 years before Jesus comes on the scene, and God says "the sun of righteousness"—the Messiah—will have healing in its wing.
To understand what this means, we have to look to the original Hebrew translation. When Jesus spoke, He made sure He could be understood by everyone. Understanding the culture helps us understand the meaning. Well, rabbis in the first century (and many today) wore a prayer shawl called a "tallit." The shawl has tassels on its ends. The corner and end of the tallit is known as "kanaph." Guess what "kanaph" is translated as? That's right: wing.
Jesus, a rabbi, wore a tallit, which had a kanaph. And God told His people 400 years before He sent His son to earth that the Messiah would have healing in its wing. But God doesn't leave the story there.
The first chapter of the New Testament (right after Malachi) is Matthew. Look at Matthew 9. A woman who has been suffering from bleeding for 12 years, isolated and cast out, approaches Jesus as He walks through town. She reaches out to His WING and is immediately healed.
“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’ Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.”
This woman knew her Bible. She loved the Lord, and she reached out to Jesus. When I learned the truth of this story, I cried. I cried because it's not just a Biblical story -- it's a story that still happens today. This is my story. God healed me from anxiety, an eating disorder, depression, guilt, shame. Because He is my helper, I rejoice in the shadow of His wing. (Psalm 63:7)
He saved me like He saved the bleeding woman, and He offers that grace and mercy to every single one of you.
Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.
An Anchor for Our Souls
Church this past Sunday
I’ve been shaken lately by the state of our country and our world. Shaken by the hatred people keep spewing at each other; by COVID-19 and the reality of our new normal; by our divisive political system; by racism, racial tension, and riots. I could go on and on. I am shaken, but I am not overwhelmed.
There’s only one reason I can live today without total fear, anxiety, and disappointment:
Jesus.
He is my hope, as firm and secure as anchor.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you. And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:13-20)
I am easily tempted to put my hope in changing, temporary things. Even as a believer, I still fail to trust God, and I still look to earthly things to satisfy me. Here’s a few that tend to make the rotation. Perhaps you can relate:
Work
Money
Home
Stability
Comfort
Control
Relationships
Marriage
Children
Health
Government
These things are fading away. This world is not our permanent home. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). God tells us to not love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15). Instead, “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
Christ is on the throne. He is unchanging, and He is always true. He keeps His promises. As the author of Hebrews writes, God wanted to show his unchangeable promise even more clearly so he guaranteed it with an oath. What does that mean?
To see the full picture here, we need to start in the Old Testament. Tim Keller’s sermon “A Covenant Relationship” has helped me understand this oath more clearly. In Genesis 15, God tells Abram that He will bless him and make his offspring as numerous as the stars. Abram believes God but wants to know how he can be sure. Remember Abram is old, likely in his 70s at this point, and his wife Sarah is barren.
So God asks Abram to arrange dead animals, cut in half, in two rows. Abram thought he was setting up what a typical oath would look like: A servant would kill the animals, divide them, and arrange them in two rows. Then the servant would walk between the pieces to swear loyalty to their master. The servant is essentially saying if they don’t keep their promise, may they be cut into pieces like those animals.
What instead happens is that God Himself passes between the pieces. Keller explains, God is promising that He will bless Abram, and He says He will die if He doesn’t fulfill this! Furthermore, God doesn’t ask Abram to walk through the pieces. Abram doesn’t make an oath whatsoever. This is all God.
God made this oath with us. He gave us Jesus, and our hope as believers is firm and secure.
As Keller perfectly states, “Jesus Christ absolutely fulfilled the conditions of the law so that God could love you absolutely unconditionally.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or lost, maybe it’s time to turn off the news, delete your social media apps, and look to God’s Word. (Hello, preaching to myself here.) Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). If we want peace, we have to look beyond this planet. We have to trust in the promises of God and take encouragement from His great hope.
If you’re not a believer in Jesus or you don’t know what to think about all this, will you message me? I’m praying this crazy time leads you and many others to love God and live for Him.
And if you are a Christian, then let’s remember to lift one another up by the hope of the gospel. By the fact that God took on the curse we deserve and still guarantees us the blessing, by faith through grace. Let’s be the light this world needs.
Hope in a Time of Restlessness
The coronavirus is not a surprise to God. He is almighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing. God is who He says He is, and He really can be trusted.
Raise your hand if you’re feeling restless.
I’m willing to bet you’re holding both hands up high.
During this time of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing, we’re all feeling a bit stir-crazy in our homes. It’s important to keep perspective and do our part to prevent the spread of this potentially fatal virus. And if you’re healthy, remember that the elderly and immune-compromised thank you.
Restlessness isn’t fun, but restlessness can be a gift.
God has taught me so much about restlessness this past year as a stay-at-home mom. I’ve had to adjust my definition of productive. I’ve had to see the value in spending more time at home and doing seemingly little things that often feel invisible. Last fall I wrote about my transition from career woman to stay-at-home mom. Here’s an excerpt:
I love being a SAHM. I love staying home with my son, and I feel incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to do so. I know this isn’t the case for many moms who desire to stay home but need two incomes to support their families. While, yes, we’ve had to make some financial sacrifices—like continuing to rent rather than buying a home and driving one car rather than two—the choice has been easy. This is what is best for our family.
Yet the prideful, approval-loving part of my heart still felt wounded when I was straight-up told no to my offer to work remotely. Since handing in my resignation letter, I’ve reached out to my editorial contacts to begin writing again, something I very much love to do. I’ve either been denied or ignored, and it’s frustrating.
Working is what I’ve done my whole life—from school to college to full-time career woman in NYC and Nashville. It’s what I know. It’s what’s comfortable. I enjoy working, and I am constantly striving to be “successful.” (Goodness, whatever that means.) I also tend to compare myself to others, so when I’ve been asked what my son and I do all day, I instantly turn from confident to sheepish.
I felt like I had to justify the statement, “I’m a stay-at-home mom.” But I truly feel proud of my job now—not sheepish. I’ve had months to process my new vocation. Through it, the Lord has prepared me for this time of social distancing and isolation and provided perspective I can now share with you.
Our worth doesn’t come from our jobs, our bank accounts, the number of groups and activities we engage in, or how much we check off our to-do lists. It doesn’t depend on our children’s behavior or education. Not on our social life or relationship status. Not even on the cleanliness or organization of our homes.
It’s way too easy to get wrapped up in these things and ultimately find our identity in them. I didn’t realize until I decided to stay home after having my son that my sense of worth was intimately entwined with my writing, my full schedule, and my approval from others. I don’t like to be still. I don’t like to rest. I want to move and be on the go. This striving and impulse for achievement is rooted in my desire to control. I want to be in charge, and I want to do things my way. God has been stripping me of this control for years, reminding me He is in charge and He is worthy of my trust.
Maybe He’s teaching you the same thing through COVID-19.
We value our control, freedom, and autonomy—just as Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Rather than trusting in the Lord and the provision He established for them, they took matters into their own hands. They ate the forbidden fruit. They questioned God’s goodness.
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Did God really say that?
Is God really good?
Can He really be trusted?
We’ve been wrestling with these questions since the beginning of time. But Jesus, God’s own son, went to the cross and answered “Yes” to those questions a million times over.
He is really good, and He really can be trusted.
The coronavirus is not a surprise to Him. He is almighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing. What if this awful virus is the thing that He’s using to bring you back to himself? To finally force you to surrender to Him and live in light of the good news?
What if He wants you to stop your striving and rest in Him?
I know this is all easier said than done. I’m still learning, too. But I believe in God’s Word, and I believe He is who He says He is. I’m praying for health and healing throughout the world. I’m praying for miracles. I’m praying more people come to know the Lord personally and begin to live their lives for Him because of this virus. I’m praying God’s glory would be undeniable. I’m praying for you.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
For the Woman in the Wilderness
I have talked to a lot of you who right now are in the wilderness. You’re journeying through a really difficult time in your life, dragging a lot of baggage, a lot of dirt, a lot of mess behind you—and the end seems nowhere in sight.
My life feels pretty even-keeled right now, but I have been in your shoes before and I’ll be there again one day. Our lives are a constant ebb and flow. Whatever wilderness you’re in, this post is for you.
For the woman who is struggling to make end’s meet, who doesn’t know where her next paycheck will come from or how she’ll secure a reliable source of income, trust that there is hope.
For the woman who hates her job and longs for something different, know that you’re where you are for now with great purpose.
For the woman whose deepest desire is to be married, but she can’t seem to land a date, believe that your worth stems from something greater than your relationship status.
For the woman who tries again and again to bear children, yet each pregnancy test comes up negative, there is redemption for you.
For the woman who is chasing the next best job, the next highest title, the next largest salary, the next biggest house, you can stop your striving and find peace.
For the woman who believes she is not enough, know that He is.
Jesus is in your wilderness—He himself went through wilderness. He was tempted by Satan, and he needed to rely on His Father to get Him through it.
He actually quotes three very specific passages in Deuteronomy as he battles Satan.
"He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:3)
"Do not test the Lord your God as you tested Him at Massah." (Deuteronomy 6:16)
"Fear Yahweh your God, worship Him, and take your oaths in His name." (Deuteronomy 6:13)
He proclaimed His faith and spoke God’s name out loud—and the Devil left Him.
Jesus has been exactly where you are, and He gets your situation better than anyone else can. He understands pain, longing, betrayal, exhaustion, disappointment, hurt. He sees you. He is working on your behalf.
As I read through the Old Testament, I notice a theme. The Israelites turn away from God time and time again. Not only that, but they worship false gods. They stop teaching their children about Yahweh. They behave in the complete opposite way that God told them to.
God is not blind to their sin; He is a just God after all. His anger comes out, and He releases His wrath. But eventually, the Israelites cry out to God for deliverance. They ask for help. They ask for saving. They ask for a miracle.
Time and time again, God delivers.
Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged.
Be strong and courageous.
Stand up.
I am with you.
He is with those Israelites even when they screw things up.
My dear, He is with you, too.
The Promised Land looks like a dream. Milk and honey flow abundantly. The manna is so sweet. But the Israelites don’t get to this amazing place until they’ve spent 40 years journeying through the wilderness.
They consistently ask God to take them a different way. They’d rather be back in slavery in Egypt than deal with the difficulties of the wilderness any longer. But God has a plan and a vision. He sees the entirety of the situation, while they see just a speck.
He promised them redemption, and He doesn’t go back on His promises.
Do you believe that?
Do I believe that?
The redemption comes full circle with Jesus, who died for our sins and rose so that we might have eternal life. We’re not guaranteed a happy life, and we’re not even guaranteed tomorrow. But we can stake our lives on a greater hope and keep our heads held high.
I think lives would be transformed and our world would be a better place if we walked around knowing that truth in our core and living each day with that freedom in our hearts.
Let me put it in a slightly different manner. Remember the 2006 Rodney Atkins country song, “If You’re Going Through Hell”?
"If you're goin' through hell keep on going
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there
I've been deep down in that darkness
I've been down to my last match
Felt a hundred different demons breathin' fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled I'd fall right into the trap
That they were layin'
But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holdin' out a hand to pull you back up on your feet
The one's that you've been draggin' for so long
You're on your knees might as well be prayin'
Guess what I'm sayin'..."
He goes on to sing, “face that fire, walk right through it.”
The song might sound cheesy (okay, it totally is), but that’s precisely what we get to do with Jesus! He gives us the strength to walk through fires. He takes us through wilderness before we can reach the Promised Land. We won’t necessarily find that Promised Land here on earth, but we can bank on the fact that it will be the most glorious kingdom we’ve ever set foot in when we do get there.
“Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
We hear this verse all the time. You’ve probably seen it written on artwork, journals, and coffee mugs. Take a second to recognize the full depth of it: The Lord is speaking directly to Joshua after Moses’ death. It’s now Joshua’s job to prepare the Israelites to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. God reminds Joshua He has been with them the entire 40 years in the wilderness, and He will continue to do so.
God doesn’t forget His promises. His Word is true! We need to remember that in our own lives right here today. We have to encourage one another in that. When we’re praying to Him, reading His Word, and listening to His call for our lives, He’s right there beside us. His Spirit dwells within us. We have nothing to fear.
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.