1 John 2:21 says, “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Verse 3 says, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” Psalm 119:2 says, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.”

Here is a new song that really opened my eyes when the Holy Spirit gave it to me in 2004. I often sing it to Him. Let His words capture your heart. 

I lift my unveiled face to gaze into Your face. Face to face I behold You as You behold me. No veil separates us. No fear of being known. We have intimate communion. Our hearts are knit as one.

I stand O Lord in Your presence unashamed. All guilt is washed away. All condemnation is cleansed. Through the blood. Through the shed blood of Jesus.

With joy I lift my heart in song. A song that flows through me like a river. A song that cascades and rushes to be expressed. In pure worship knowing Your joy as You behold me.

O the wonder. The marvelous wonder and awe. All my sins are cleansed in the power of Your blood. Let my joy be a fragrance that delights Your heart O God. An extravagant oil poured upon Your feet in worship.

​To know the Lord is to be known by Him. Our heart acknowledges that He knows us and we are not ashamed. Even as I am typing this to you tears come. Why? ​It is hard for our finite minds to fully comprehend such truth. Yet, it is this truth that sets us free. Do you ‘know’ His joy as He beholds you?

What does the Lord treasure? Isaiah 33:6 says, “…the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” Psalm 25:14 Amplified says, “The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.” It is through our unveiled worship that He makes Himself known to us.

​In Proverbs 2, Solomon was addressing his son. Yet when I read it, I read it as though the Lord is instructing me in the fear of the Lord. Verse 1 says to treasure His commands within. Listen to the progression. Verse 2-4 says to incline our ear to wisdom and apply our heart to understanding. We are to seek it like one looking for hidden treasures. The result is verse 5 which says, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

We revere the Lord when we treasure His words. Psalm 138: 2 says, “…for You have magnified Your word above Your name.” Proverbs 15:6 says, “In the house of the righteous there is much treasure…” 

Ask yourself: Do I treasure what the Lord treasures? Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Job 23:12 is a great picture of intimate communion. It says, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lip; I have treasured the words of His mouth, more than my necessary food.” Selah. Selah means to pause and calmly think about it.

Years ago I read a book that changed my walk with the Lord. If you have never read “Pursuit of God” by A. W. Tozer, I highly recommend it. His life was from 1867-1963. His ardent pursuit of God stirred my heart. At the end of each chapter he wrote out his prayer. As I repeated them, they became my own in crying out for intimacy.

They reminded me of Psalm 42:1-2. It says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” The ‘pant’ was from a deer knowing that if it could not get to water it would die.

Tozer would cry out in his prayers with words like: Lord I’m thirsty, but make me thirsty still, I long to long for You, I desire to desire You. His prayers stirred me to adopt David’s words from Psalm 63:1-2 as my own. 

Let your own heart echo David’s. Let his words stir up any dry areas in your heart, and water them with deep longings. It says, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Psalm 63:8 Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

The world constantly lures us into its system. The devil sets sin-traps to derail us. Our flesh lusts. Our spirit cries out for the Lord. When we abide in Him through intimate communion, the power of the lures is broken.

David was called a man after God’s own heart. Read his heart-words in Psalm 18:1-2. It says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

David had one desire. He expressed it in Psalm 27:4 which says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”

We are the temple of the Lord. We have been bought with a price. The Moravian’s were a group of believers with an ardent pursuit of God. In 1732 two of those young men heard that there were African slaves on St. Thomas Island with a hunger for God. They had no one to share the gospel with them.

As those two young men boarded the ship, knowing they would never return, they called out, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.” They had a burning desire for Jesus to be made known to others.

That is our purpose in life. However we need to know Him in order to make Him known. What do you know about the Lord experientially? Ephesians 3:19 Amplified says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ…”

Here is a new song that the Holy Spirit gave me in 2002. The title comes from Psalm 110:3 which says, “…in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth”

Womb of the Morning

I come to You O Lord in the womb of the morning. To sit and worship You and call upon Your name. You answer me with a sweetness that melts my heart. And opens me to receive Your words.

Your words like oil penetrate the places in my heart that were hardened through fear. You say My child don’t be afraid. I’ve been there all along to shield and protect. Let go of that which you clutch so tight. That I might fulfill the deepest longings of your heart.

Don’t let the cares of this life choke out My words. Open your heart to hear the beat of My own heart. I desire oneness with you but I won’t compete with that to which you give yourself. I will but wait until you tire of your own pursuits. And nestle down in My love.

Be still now and quiet your heart before Me. I have so much to share to reveal the  depths of My counsel. For in Me is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I have all and hold all. Through the power of My Word.

In Me you will lack nothing. Your very sustenance comes through sweet communion. Through intimacy that cannot be broken. Nothing in this earth can compare with My beauty of holiness. In the womb of the morning.

Hidden sin hardens our heart through its deceitfulness. God’s word is like oil that can penetrate to soften and loosen our calloused places. That is His part. Our part is to be in His word daily. He uses His word in many different ways.

Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not My word like a fire? says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Isaiah 59:19 says, “…when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”

Psalm 149:6 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.”

His word has significant application for every aspect of our lives. It is not a bandage to cover, He wields His word like a skilled surgeon does his scalpel. Hebrews 4:12 says that it pierces and penetrates to split apart that which defies His will and His ways through our thoughts.

Everything goes back to our thoughts. Our thoughts are key if we are to spiritually thrive. We are called to live in His abundance. I love Jeremiah 33:14. It says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Are you filled and overflowing?

Like David said in Psalm 23:5 ~ in the presence of our enemy, He causes our cup to overflow. Our adverse circumstances never alter the Lord’s purpose for our lives. He uses them to draw us closer to Him. He desires to share His heart with us through intimate communion that will sustain and fulfill us in every aspect of our lives.

James 4:2 says, “You lust and do not have…” I’m stopping right here because that is how the Holy Spirit stopped me when I started to read. What a perfect picture of the fruit of envy…spiritual emptiness. The Amplified says, “You are jealous and covet (what others have) and your desires go unfulfilled…” There would be no envy if we viewed our lives as fulfilled in Christ. Paul learned how to do that. 

Philippians 4:11-12 says, “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” He learned. Learning takes striving against every distraction that tries to pull us off course.

Paul made this declaration in verse 13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul learned how to live with his thorn in the flesh. It was through God’s grace. Read this verse slowly. Let the oil of these words seep into every nook and cranny of your heart. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

Though this verse is in the context of finances, we can make an application. It is the blueprint for spiritually thriving. I like to visit these verses in Psalm 65:9-11 because they give me a picture of thriving. It is speaking of ground that the Lord waters. The soil of our heart is watered as we read His word and drink it in. Think of these words: verdant, green, lush, fertile, abundance. Verse 11 says, “You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.”

We are in the last days of this year. Many will be making New Year’s resolutions that they will fail to keep. How then shall we live? The Lord has called us into His abundance. 2 Peter 1:3 says that He has given us ALL things that pertain to life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. Therefore the key to thriving is knowing the Lord through intimate communion.

Jesus finished well. He has called us to follow His example. John 17:4 says, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given me to do.” Paul said similar words. 2 Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Hebrews 12:1 instructs us on how to run our race. It says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” 

We have to strive against every temptation to sin. We do that through our thoughts. We know that satan will use every lure with the intent to capture our affections. His lures get more wily each time we resist. He is looking for that chink in our armor. When we put on the armor that the Lord has provided, we will be able to stand and keep on standing. I encourage you to set aside time to ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that is blocking His design for you to thrive.

James 3:14, 16 says, “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

Verse 15 described that kind of wisdom. It says, “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

Contrast the above wisdom with God’s wisdom. Verse 17 says, “But wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

Our flesh cannot participate in any shape or form with God’s wisdom from above. Earthly wisdom and God’s wisdom are like oil and water. They cannot be mixed. 

Bitter envy destroys the bones. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.” Could it be that envy is the root to bone disorders? The Hebrew for ‘rottenness’ is decay. 

Psalm 37:1 says, “Do not fret because of evil doers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.” Verse 7 says, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way…” The word ‘fret’ means to gradually wear away something by rubbing or gnawing. 

To fret about something is to worry or be anxious. Verse 8 says, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.” How does bitter envy and anger relate to fretting? It is a constant chafing in our spirit. We are rubbing our negative thoughts one against another. 

Here is a picture of fretting and its effects. Psalm 73:2-3 says, “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped, for I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Verse 21 says, “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind.” Fretting torments. 

Think about what else torments. Unforgiveness. Matthew 18:34-35 says of the one who refuses to forgive, that our Father will turn us over to the torturers. Verse 35 says, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Jealousy is a cruel taskmaster. Song of Solomon 8:6 says, “…jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.” What else is a fire? James 3:6 says, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity…sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”

The wisdom of this world is sensual and demonically empowered. Think about our nation’s present state. Words are being thrown out as truth when they are satan’s propaganda. There is no purity, peace, gentleness, willingness to yield, extending mercy, bearing good fruit, giving preference, or speaking truth. The wisdom of this world radically opposes God’s way.

The antidote to envy is gratefulness. When we are grateful for what we have, it strengthens our spirit. It helps us to walk in humility. It is God’s will according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18. At any moment when we are tempted to envy, we make our next thought one of gratitude. 

The Holy Spirit taught me years ago that an attitude of gratitude dispels negativity. Gratitude is like a sponge that soaks up the negative atmosphere that is ripe for fleshly reactions. Gratitude defeats covetousness which is a cousin to envy.

Proverb 27:4 says, “Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, but who is able to stand before jealousy?” Think of Sarah and Hagar. Let’s recall Joseph’s life. Genesis 37:4 says, “But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.” Beware of any envious thoughts that pop up. They are fiery darts targeting your interpersonal relationships. Practice contentment through gratefulness.

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus was quoting Isaiah 61:1-2. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The Amplified defined oppressed as, “…(who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).” Proverbs 17:22 says, “…a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression…” Proverbs 15:13 says, “…by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Do you hear the cries of buried emotional pain in those verses? I do, because I lived it. In my years of counseling I often have heard the cries. The Lord heard the cries of the children of Israel in their bondage. Exodus 2:23 says, “…Then the children of Israel groaned because of their bondage; and their cry came up to God because of their bondage.”

He hears our cries. Psalm 34:6 says, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Isaiah 5:13 says, “Therefore My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…”

Our inner freedom comes through our knowledge of the Lord. The more we are acquainted with His character, the more we can be a partaker of it. 2 Peter 1:3 says that it is through our knowledge of Him that we learn to walk in His resurrection power. 

Job 22:21-22 says, “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.” 2 Peter 1:4 says that it is through His exceedingly great promises that we become a partaker of His nature. 

What promises are you not standing in for your inner healing? Captivity to the lies of the enemy keeps our hearts bound in darkness. Until we are willing for the Holy Spirit to finger our buried emotional pains, they will continue to affect every aspect of our lives.

Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” Have you ever considered that your sickness was the result of wrong thinking? That is why we need to listen to the words that come out of our mouths. All negative words oppose God’s way. His word brings healing. 

Psalm 119:25 says, “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word.” Verse 28 says, “My soul melts from heaviness, strengthen me according to Your word.” Verse 45 says, “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.” 

Verse 67 says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” Verse 92 says, “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.” Verse 107 says, “I am afflicted very much, revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.”

Affliction means something that causes pain or suffering. Our affliction is what causes us to cry out. I love Psalm 61:1-2. Do you ever feel overwhelmed? David did. Here are his words. “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Capture these two verses and write them on the wall of your heart. Psalm 17:6 says, “I have called upon You; for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.” Psalm 62:8 instructs our heart. It says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” It is time to acknowledge that He came to set you free from your captivity to emotional pain.

“Do You Hear What You Are Thinking?” was the title of a book given to me in 1983. Up to that point, I never thought about my thoughts. They were just part of who I was. Were they really inconsequential? Our thoughts are made up from our experiences. In my first book, “Freedom! From Past Hurts” there is a chapter entitled Belief Systems. The first sentence describes a belief: it is a decision made within ourselves whether something is right or wrong

Our thoughts are a composite of what we believe. Every experience we have ever had is recorded in our brain. If you wonder why you are behaving as you are, think of this key: experience, belief system, motive, thought, attitude, action, habit. What we put into our minds controls our actions.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is  a  discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s word is the scalpel that can set us free from wrong beliefs. Its precision is an inner heart surgery that only our Great Physician can perform.

Think about when your mind wanders. 1 Chronicles 28:9 were David’s words to his son Solomon. He was encouraging him to know the Lord and serve Him with a blameless heart. The Amplified says, “…For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts…” 

Behind every thought is a motive. Behind every action is what we believe, which drives us through our motives, that impacts our thought processes. Think of a braid. Now name each of the three strands: mind, will, emotions. Always the mind leads off first, then our will and emotions follow. Therefore any negative behavior can be changed by changing the belief behind it.

Psalm 139:1-12 helps us understand clearly how involved the Lord is in our lives. Verse 4 says, “For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” Verse 12 says, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Our darkest thoughts are known to the Lord.

Hebrews 4:13 Amplified says, “And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.” This is a very comforting verse to me. I used to stuff things. After ignoring them for years they didn’t exist in my mind. At least that was the lie I believed. Ignoring them does not make them go away.

The emotional pain that we bury, continues to seep into every aspect of our lives through our thoughts. We are not consciously aware. Emotional pain lies buried in the dark corners of our hearts. Think of it as a dungeon. Your emotional pain cries out to be released. I want to encourage you to take your negative behaviors before the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to lead you into the light of truth that will set you free.

Think of a kaleidoscope. When you turn it just a smidgen, the whole entire scene changes dramatically. That is what happened yesterday when the Holy Spirit took me back to James 3:6. He gave me a whole different application. It says of the tongue, “..is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body…” 

This time think of ‘members’ and ‘whole body’ in the setting of a family, church, or job interconnections. Words can heal or they can wound. They can bring life or they can bring defilement through dissension, offense, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Words are first thoughts.

Interconnections thrive when our thoughts are righteous. As we walk in the fear of the Lord, our thoughts, purpose, and actions will enhance our relationships. They will keep us from thoughts that bring inner defilement. They will give us words that build up and not tear down. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

The worldwide pandemic has changed everything. Interpersonal relationships have been tested. Hidden dross has surfaced. It created something like volcanic action. Old hurts have festered, tempers have shortened, greed has surfaced. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”

Micah 6:8 says, “He has show you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Close quarters with animosity is like a powder keg about to go off. Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another…” How do we do that? Verse 13 continued, “…forgiving one another…”

When we wake up each morning, we need to set our heart to forgive. That will position us to offer the same forgiveness we received. Verse 13 documents that. It finished with, “…if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” We need to see this as a command. Forgive AS you have been forgiven.

James 3:13 Amplified says, “Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his (good) works with the (unobtrusive) humility (which is the proper attribute) of true wisdom.” Where do we get this kind of wisdom? Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

David’s Psalm 34 gives us the instruction we need to walk in the fear of the Lord. Verses 11-14 says, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

James 1:26 says, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” The Amplified says of religious, “…(as  piously observant of the external duties of his faith)…” The word useless means futile, fruitless, empty, ineffectual, void of results, and worthless.

Let’s connect this verse with James 3:2. It says, “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” We know from verse 6 that our tongue, “…is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body…”

We can either bridle our whole body, or we can defile it. This is strong truth that we need to heed. What we think becomes words. Matthew 15:18 says, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” What kind of thoughts? Verse 19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…”

Let’s classify evil thoughts. Any negative thought goes against Who God is. Our negative thoughts against ourself, others, or our circumstances oppose the Lord. Whew! Let’s remember Isaiah 55:8-9. It says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

We certainly prove this truth when we view our trials as intruders. Yes, they stop us in our tracks. Yes, they change everything. However, they are stamped with His divine purpose. I love Ephesians 1:11. It says, “…being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

James wrote so graphically about the tongue. In James 3:3 he used the illustration of a bit in the horse’s mouth, “…that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.” In verse 4 he used the picture of a ship’s rudder, “…although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.”

Have you considered that the Lord gave us our tongues for a specific purpose? We walk away from His purpose when we use our tongues negatively. Verse 9 says, “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” 1 Peter 3:9 instructs us to, “Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, know that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

James 3:11-12 clarifies duplicity. It says, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” Matthew 5:37 says, “But let your Yes be Yes, and your No be No. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Isaiah 43:7 says, “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory…” There is our God’s purpose clearly defined. Our speech is to glorify Him, as is every aspect of our lives. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” 

Proverbs 18:4 says, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.” What flows out of your mouth when your will is crossed? What we think in our heart, will be expressed through our words and our body language. Proverbs 16:23-24 says, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

Psalm 149:6 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” We are called to praise the Lord in all circumstances, and speak His word to our mountain-obstacles. Nothing is impossible for the Lord. He takes great delight in praising lips. Hebrews 13:15 is our way to please His heart as we endure our trials with joy. It says, “…let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving  thanks to His name.”

James 1:17 says, ” Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights…” The Amplified says, “…with Whom there can be no variation (rising or setting) or shadow cast by His turning (as in an eclipse).”

It is good to remember that everything (put it in caps in your mind) is from our Father. Our trials are His good and perfect gifts. Romans 8:28 is not a tag-on verse. It has eternal meaning in our present. It says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

The verse says that we know. We can know this intellectually, but it doesn’t affect our heart. The word ‘know’ in John 8:32 means: to perceive, understand, recognize, gain knowledge, realize, and come to know. There is a beginning grasp of the concept. A progression follows as we gain deeper understanding. Then it becomes ours by personal experience.

The verse says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” It requires us to first gain knowledge and then to make it personal. The truth that we know is lived out in our thoughts, purpose, and actions.

I want to insert another verse. John 1:16 Amplified says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

It is easy to lose sight of the good and perfect part of every trial. Especially when they are really hard. Our mind wants to trail off into the negativity of complaining, fear, or worry. That is a futile exercise. If we follow it into a mental dialogue, we will be like the hamster in the wheel. There is lots of mental activity, but it is all futile, and only causes emotional fatigue.

For myself, I redefined the word ‘good’ as it relates to my own trials. Since all trials are of His orchestration, they are essential components of our progressive sanctification. They are necessary, beneficial, crucial, rare (as in value), exquisite, uniquely individual, and excellent. Trials are assets. If you read my book, “He Drew Me Out Of Deep Waters: encouragement for hard trials” then you know that I consider my brain injuries an asset.

Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Trials purify our faith by causing the dross to surface. Dross is anything that tarnishes our lives from reflecting the Lord to others. As our faith is tested, so is our trust. Will we trust that this trial from the Lord is truly for our best?

Do you believe Psalm 145:9 for yourself? It says, “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” We are His work as He works His righteousness into our heart through His word. Trials cause us to prioritize in a new way. The result is like Psalm 63:8 in the Amplified. It says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Psalm 107 is very unique. It starts out in verse 1, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” There are sections of the people’s resistance to God’s way. Yet, at the end of the sections, the verse will say, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” You will find this is verses 8, 15, 21, and 31.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Remember Abraham. His faith was strengthened AS he thanked the Lord in the midst of his complex impossibility. Romans 4:20 Amplified says, “No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.”