Hurricane Ian is taunting us all with his skittish path across the waters and onto land.  He is 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, and back to 3 categories. This hurricane knows the maneuver well.

So while we wait, tension fills households. We make grocery runs and Amazon orders; hoard water; sit in gas lines, but still wonder, “Have we done enough? Will we be safe?”   

Fear magnifies every situation we face. Even small things become larger categories as we shake over the dreadful possibilities of what seems larger than we can handle.  We don’t have to battle against every potential threat; He will do it for us.  We just have to receive the Truth as our own.

“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it,” Jn1:5

In Matthew 24 Jesus’ disciples point to the grandiose, lavish temple of Herod that spoke of wealth and power. This egotist, who claimed to be King of the Jews, was attended by servants, adorned with satin robes and jewels, and bragged about the massiveness of the Temple and its grounds. Jesus, on the other hand told them, “the Son of Man has no place to even lay His head.”  (Matt 8:20)  They were confused and afraid.  Jesus responded to the moment with a wave of his hand across the grand vista of the Temple grounds as he spoke, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”  And this we know came true.  The majestic Temple was utterly destroyed in 70 A.D. and no other has yet to be built on its foundation. 

Never let what you see or hear today rob you of believing that God is about to do something amazing tomorrow.

When is the last time a friend prayed Scripture over you?  You prayed Scripture 

over a loved one aloud?   

Come pray with women across 6 Continents in 1 Heartbeat 

on November 5th.  “Gather the women” from your neighborhood, your Life group, 

your church, your girlfriends and experience Jesus on this historic day with a fresh breath of hope.  

I beat heart disease and overcame cancer, just in time for a mini-stroke to attack me with disabling fear. I remember sitting up in the hospital bed several days later and realizing for the first time where I was. My first words were, “Really Lord?  Seriously?”  It was definitely a massive moment of despair.  

I learned that when fear seems to loom large across the distance, you look up close at the Word of God and gather your hope, your comfort, your strength in those precious pages.  Stefanie Schindler, one of the SLOLG team, prayed these verses in Psalm 116 over me. “Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.  And so, I walk in the LORD’S presence as I live here on the earth!”  She saw me in those verses; I claimed them in victory as she prayed.  

Corrie Ten Boom fascinates me.  From the depths of a filthy, flea-bitten prison she wrote, “When the worst happens in my life, the best remains and the very best is yet to be.  Jesus holds the key to unlock my soul and set me free.” 

Well, there is not much to add after that!  But here is the prayer she prayed, and I encourage you to repeat it, as I did:

Father, at times, I feel as if there is no way to be free from the thoughts that imprison me within myself.  I know you love me, but my mind has been overcome.  I’ve struggled and complained, which has brought no satisfaction or reward.  But now, I surrender.  Your truths are the only thing that can set me free.  I lay down arguments and invite You to take up residence upon the throne of my heart.”  

Keep Expecting Amazing, Every Day!

Diane Strack