Devotionals for the Heart: Why it's about our posture, not our plans

God’s Not After Your Goals
A devotional by Heidi Lewis-Ivey

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.”— Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

There is something about stepping into a new year that awakens ambition in us.

We write vision statements. We outline strategic plans. We choose a “word of the year.” We map out goals with timelines and benchmarks.

There is nothing wrong with planning. Scripture honors wisdom and stewardship. But as I sat with the Lord over Isaiah 43, I felt a quiet correction in my spirit. What if the new thing God is doing has less to do with our plans…and more to do with our posture? We often approach a new season asking, “God, bless my goals.” But what if He is asking, “Will you let Me reshape you?”

Forget the Former Things

When we read, “Forget the former things”, we often assume it refers to past pain, disappointment, or failure. And yes, that may be part of it. But could the “former things” also include former patterns and old paradigms?

Former ways of thinking. Former reactions. Former fears. Former identities we have grown comfortable wearing. Sometimes we are not dwelling on old memories, we are dwelling in old mindsets. We want new outcomes, but we are operating from old paradigms. We desire increase but we resist discipline. We ask for deeper relationships but avoid vulnerability. We pray for promotion but resist the refinement that qualifies us for it.

Mark 2:21-22 (NIV) says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

The Lord is not just trying to give us something new. He is trying to make us new.

See, I Am Doing a New Thing

Notice the language: I am doing.

The burden is not on us to create the new thing nor is it produced by our hustle or perfect planning. It springs up because He initiates it. But then comes the question: “Do you not perceive it?” Perception requires alignment.

Sometimes the new thing has already begun internally, but we are so focused on external results that we miss the transformation taking place within us. Before He changes our circumstances, He increases our capacity. Before He releases greater responsibility, He refines our character. Before He expands our territory, He stretches our obedience.

The new thing may look like discomfort before it looks like breakthrough.

We Pray for Doors but Resist Development

We ask for open doors. We ask for influence. We ask for impact. But doors require readiness. Influence requires maturity. Impact requires surrender. God does not need our five-year strategy to accomplish His will. He is not waiting on our perfectly crafted vision board. What He desires is a surrendered heart.

This is the tension of Isaiah 43. The Lord declares something new is springing forth. But to perceive it, we must release what is familiar. Not just familiar pain, familiar comfort, familiar control and familiar versions of ourselves. There is a version of you that cannot go where God is taking you.

And that is not punishment. It is preparation.

The New Thing Starts Within

We often assume the new thing will be a new job, a new relationship, a new platform, a new opportunity. But what if the new thing is a renewed mind? A softened heart? A deeper trust? A refined motive?

What if the miracle is internal before it is visible?

The wilderness mentioned in Isaiah 43 was not merely a geographical reality; it was a place of dependence. A place where the people of God had to trust Him daily. The river in the desert symbolized provision where no one should exist.

And sometimes the greatest provision is not resources, it is transformation. This year may not be about achieving more. It may be about becoming more aligned.

A Question for the Heart

As you step into this new season, pause and ask yourself these questions:

Where am I asking for new results without new obedience?
What patterns am I still carrying from the last season?
What part of me is God trying to reshape?
Am I willing to release who I have been to become who He is forming?

The Lord is doing a new thing. The question is not whether He is moving. The question is whether we are willing to move with Him. The breakthrough is not in your planner. It is in your surrender. Perhaps the greatest gift of this new season is not what God will place in your hands, but what He will form in your heart.

The new thing has already begun. Do you perceive it?

Let’s Pray:

Lord in this new season, transform our hearts. Help us to walk out of the old and into the new. We release old mindsets and habits and ways of being so that we can receive the new thing that you are doing in us.

In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

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Song of Reflection #1: “Just the Beginning”  (feat. Kurt Carr & Vonnie Lopez). Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “New Wine” by Hillsong Worship. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Heidi Lewis-Ivey is an affirmed prophet and an internationally acclaimed speaker.  

She impacts audiences with her authenticity and bold style of delivery. She has had the opportunity to minister in Trinidad, St. Thomas USVI, Manchester and Liverpool (England).

Heidi is an award-winning and bestselling author. She is the author of Can I Rest Awhile? and Black Girl Cry: What Black Women Need to Know to Amplify Their Voices. She is a co-author in Soulful Prayers (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and Soulful Affirmations. Heidi is the convener of the Encountering the Courts of God movement and the founder of Visions International, a training ground for five-fold ministry gifts.

She holds a Master of Business Administration in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Boston University. Heidi is the CEO of Nael & Associates Inc and franchise owner of Patrice & Associates recruiting firm. She is a member of the Pentimenti Women Writers Group, a former mentor with Year Up, former board member for Friends of Young Achievers, and a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategist.

Heidi is the proud aunt/great aunt of 14 nieces and nephews and two bonus nieces. They are her joy. The older nephews have become her protectors.

Heidi is an NFL football fan. As a child, she taught herself the game. In 2017 she won her NFL.com fantasy football league. Heidi is an avid reader (Audible listener) of romance novels, a lover of purses and handbags, and a tea snob who believes bling is always appropriate.

She lives in Boston, MA.

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Connect with Heidi:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamheidi01
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/heidi-lewis-ivey

Devotionals for the Heart: How to wait on God's answers to your prayers

What Are You Waiting For?
A devotional by Leslie Bake

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”—Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

What breakthrough are you hoping for? What is your next season of life for which your prayers have so far gone unanswered?

We are instructed to lay our requests before God. Psalm 5:3 says, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we can expect to go through seasons of waiting, which is one of the hardest disciplines to learn. Culture teaches us instant gratification and self-reliance, so when our hopes and plans don’t happen on our timetable, how do we respond?

How do we wait expectantly and patiently as Psalm 5:3 instructs? By developing a daily habit of prayer and Scripture reading. By thanking God daily for the many blessings and gifts He has already given us. By praising and worshiping God daily for who He is and what He is going to do. Blending all these practices together is the key to keeping our focus on Him and not our perceived lack.

God uses challenging circumstances of waiting to draw us closer to himself. He may allow us to go without our need or desire to help us grow more dependent on Him. He may want us to learn that we need Him more than having our immediate desires met.

At the time I’m writing this devotional, my husband and I are praying daily for an offer on our house. The weeks are dragging by, and we are on a timetable, so our discouragement is weighing on us. My brilliant nephew who just graduated cum laude from college is searching daily for his “real job.” Another friend of mine is struggling in a difficult marriage. How long, oh Lord, how long? Four times the phrase “How long” is repeated in Psalm 13. I really appreciate this description of despair because it shows me God’s understanding.

Frustration and despair will consume us if we don’t turn to prayer and read God’s word—daily, or even hourly, if necessary. In fact, if God has given us the wonderful gift of time in the waiting, we need to take advantage of it and dig into His word for peace, clarity, guidance, and direction.

Prayer and scripture reading also keep us focused on the bigger picture of who God is. That means asking the right questions. Rather than demanding answers from God about what we should do, we need to shift our focus to who God is. The world wants us to focus on ourselves and what we think we ought to have accomplished or are entitled to. What God is teaching us in this season of waiting is equally important as our prayers and that includes complete dependency on Him and not on our own efforts.

God can’t prepare us for the blessings He has planned in His perfect timing if we refuse to slow down and listen to his guidance and direction through prayer. Stripping us of distractions and unhealthy relationships or control is sometimes His way of slowing us down.

Why does God seem slow to act on His promises? The burden of waiting can feel like a thousand pounds weighing on our shoulders. But often, we are the stubborn and impatient one. Sometimes God is waiting on us to cooperate with Him while He is behind the scenes, actively preparing answers to our prayers.

David, a man after God’s own heart, accused God of being slow. However, the Lord in His loving graciousness, did not take those accusations personally. The Lord told Samuel to anoint David for the throne of Israel at age 16. However, his start date wasn’t until age 30. During that time, David went through the entire range of ugly emotions of anger and fear to despair, depression, and doubt while on the run from an insanely jealous King Saul. David poured all those emotions out in a significant portion of the Psalms. If God hadn’t allowed 14 years of chaos in David’s early life, we would not have the comfort today that those Psalms provide as we endure our 21st century challenging situations and intense emotions.

God knows our need. God has known of our need while he was knitting us together in the womb. Our prayers do not remind Him to “get it together.” We need to pray our prayers to remind ourselves of who God is. The same God who spoke the Earth into existence and scattered the stars has our backs.

When that breakthrough finally comes, it may not be what we hoped for or expected, but we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that only God could have done it, and we give Him all the glory and honor.

Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, forgive our impatient demands. You are God and we are not. Give us a sense of peace and comfort while we wait. You will give us your best at the proper time. Thank You for using the challenges of our lives to draw us closer to You. Thank You for all the blessings you have already given us that we have been overlooking. In Jesus's Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “While I Wait” by Lincoln Brewster. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Leslie Bake grew up Lutheran in Des Moines, graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with an undergraduate degree in English, and with a new understanding of what a relationship with the Lord could look like. 

She spent a few years reporting and editing in small town journalism and then began a master’s degree at Iowa State University in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Then marriage. Then a divorce, which deepened her relationship with God and transformed her life.

She taught ELL for three years at Kansas State University, then returned to writing and earned a master’s degree in creative non-fiction in Pittsburgh. Her memoir will eventually be published, and it details the process of how the Lord created beauty from the ashes of divorce.

Pittsburgh is also where she met and married her second husband. They are now the parents of two wonderful children, one in fourth grade and one in kindergarten, and they make their home in West Des Moines.

She now maintains a monthly blog and is working toward expanding her writing ministry. Her heart’s deepest desire is to help others connect with God through writing.

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Connect with Leslie:
Website: https://lesliejoybake.com/
Substack: lesliebake.substack.com
Email: Leslie.bake@ yahoo.com

Interview with Barb Roose about her new book "Breakthrough"

We have a special guest whose book, Breakthrough, releases today! Join me in wishing Barb Roose a "Happy BOOK birthday!" Read on for a proper introduction message and video before diving deep into a Q&A with the author. 

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Introduction: Barb Roose is a speaker, author and host of Better Together Facebook Live Show. She is passionate about teaching women to live beautifully strong and courageous in spite of fear so they experience God's great adventure of faith and purpose. 

Breakthrough–A Women's Bible Study by Barb Roose Promotional Video

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An Interview with Barb Roose about her book,

Breakthrough

For some, Christianity is a long list of rules to be followed, and it’s hard to be a “good Christian” because it always seems you’re breaking one of those rules. In Breakthrough: Finding Freedom in Christ, popular women’s conference speaker and author Barb Roose wants to help readers let go of the feeling they are not a “good enough” Christian and find freedom in Christ by studying Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

In this six-week study, Roose shows women that even the believers in the early church struggled to let go of rule-keeping and performance in order to embrace God’s free gift of grace. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul pours out his heart and faith to set them straight, addressing so many of the same questions and problems we still face today such as: Who has led you to believe you have to follow rules and “measure up”? Why do you think you have to be perfect for God? Does God only show up or love you when you “get it right”?

Read on for this pre-made Q & A with Barb Roose ...

Question (Q): You wrote the Breakthrough Bible study to celebrate God’s amazing grace and unconditional love, especially for Christians who are afraid that they have disappointed God or feel like they have to earn God’s favor or blessing. Did you struggle with this?

Answer (A): Oh yes! I grew up in a religious tradition of lovely people, but there were a lot of rules! While I heard about the gospel at an early age, I remember hearing more “dos” and “don’ts” from Christians around me than God’s love for me.

As a result of their influence and my own thinking, I spent decades judging myself as a Christian by how well I followed the “good” Christian rules such as never miss church, read the Bible every day, and others. Of course, there were seasons of life when I did miss church, I didn’t read the Bible, and I made mistakes. During those times in life, I feared that God was disappointed in me and I felt like a terrible Christian.

Years ago, I shifted my mindset. Instead of focusing on my performance, I decided to ruthlessly believe God’s promises about me and watch out for how He was working in my life. As I noticed where God was working in my life, I stopped feeling the pressure to earn His blessing and favor because I could already see Him giving them to me.

Q: What is the spiritual breakthrough you hope readers will experience by diving into your new Bible study?

A: In a word: FREEDOM! I’m so excited about the opportunity for readers to experience the freedom that comes from knowing that our God is at work in us and that we don’t have to jump through hoops to earn His approval, love or favor. He’s already given it to us in every promise that He’s made to us!

While spiritual breakthrough isn’t a term in the Bible, it is reflected in God’s promise to change and transform us by renewing eternally us in Christ (Galatians 2:20). I’ve seen a lot of descriptions of spiritual breakthrough that put the responsibility for spiritual growth or freedom on human effort, but only God can rescue us from the prisons of our pain, our past and our problems. We might be able to push against the prison bars on our own, but only God can break us free!

In fact, one of the key features of the Breakthrough study is the weekly Spiritual Breakthrough Exercise with unique tools to identify where God is at work. It’s been so much fun listening to women celebrate seeing where God is at work and their confidence in knowing that God is transforming them, and they don’t have to try to make it happen on their own.

Q: We hear a lot about having freedom in Christ, but what does that actually mean for a Christian?

A: In the Breakthrough study, I define “freedom in Christ” as living free from fear and fully alive in God’s joy and purpose.

One of the most tangible examples for me is Jesus’ encounter with the immoral woman in Luke 7. While we don’t know where she came from or what she went through, we know that she cried enough tears at Jesus’ feet that she needed to use her hair to wipe them away. I can relate to that woman’s anguish at certain times in my life.

I love Jesus’ words to her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” She didn’t say any or to do anything to earn Jesus’ forgiveness. He gives her peace just because she came humbly to his feet and Jesus set her free.

This is a powerful lesson for us, especially when we’ve got big regrets or the whispers from the pit of hell try to remind us of our mistakes. Jesus died to bring us freedom and we don’t have to earn it, only receive it and live in it.

Q: What are your six freedom principles?

A: As I studied Paul’s letter to the Galatian church, I created six Freedom Principles to capture the main themes of his letter. I pray that readers will use these principles as tools to apply to their lives when they feel like they need to do more to earn God’s love or blessing.

1. The gospel is based on God’s perfect promises, not our performance.

2. A relationship with God means that we receive from Him rather than follow rules for Him.

3. Your freedom in Christ cannot be shaken or taken away by anyone who chooses not to live like Christ.

4. Freedom in Christ is living free from fear and fully alive with joy and purpose.

5. Spiritual breakthrough is an ah-ha moment when we recognize that God is at work within us, receive what He’s doing, and respond to it.

6. You are God’s beautiful, loveable, capable daughter. You are confident in Christ and worthy of God’s best.

Q: Oftentimes we are hesitant to start the hard conversations about diversity at the risk of offending someone or making a situation worse. What are some ways we can start (and continue) discussions with the correct heart?

A: As part of Paul’s dialogue with the Galatian church, he emphasized that Christ came to break down the divisions between believers, but that doesn’t mean that God intends for us to ignore our differences. God intentionally created humans with differences in color and culture. In Galatians 5:13, Paul writes that we should use our freedom to serve one another in love.

The best way that we can love people who look differently than us is to love them through listening, especially when we don’t know them. Listening begins with inviting people who look differently than us to share their life stories. I like questions like, “Would you tell me about your life?” or “How did your family celebrate special holidays?” or “What’s been hard for you lately?”

When we’re willing to listen to others, it’s a demonstration of humility that we care and respect the other person and their story.

Q: How can we be more supportive rather than judgmental Christians, especially with a friend that has fallen into sin?

A: This is such an important question! I’ve heard from so many hurting Christians who’ve walked away from the church because they made a mistake and Christians were quick to criticize.

We all make mistakes. All have sinned. Paul taught us that our role as believers is to gentle and humbly help those who’ve fallen. We’re not to add to someone’s guilt by telling them how badly they messed up and we’re gossip about them because Paul also taught in Galatians 6 that we’re all prone to faltering.

So, we gently and humbly help people when we follow in Jesus’ footsteps like he did with Zacchaeus the tax collector or the adulterous woman. First, we go to them, not avoid them. Then, we don’t shame them, but rather listen to their story. Finally, we affirm God’s truth and pray with them. We don’t have to save them or force them back on the right path again, that’s God’s job, but not ours.

Q: Can you give us some examples of legalism that hold us back from freedom?

A: In Breakthrough, I tell the story of my conversation with a lovely young believer who felt like she was a bad Christian because she saw other Christians who seemed to read their Bibles more and never miss church. She told me, “Well, I forget to read my Bible sometimes, and I still smoke. I feel like I’m disappointing God.”

My heart hurt for that young believer and so many other Christians who feel exactly like she does. Legalism wants us to believe that we have to earn God’s love and favor by reading our Bibles a certain number of times a week or never missing church. Legalism’s focus is on “what are we doing for God” and the problem is that when the focus is on us, we miss out on receiving what God wants to give us.

When we read our Bibles because we know that God’s truth gives us life, that’s freedom. But when we read our Bibles because we think that will make God happy, that’s legalism. When we go to church because the sermon and music focus us on Jesus’ love, that leads us to freedom. But, when we go to church because we think that God will punish us if we don’t, that’s legalism.

Q: There was a season of your life when, even though you were saved, you decided to disconnect from God because of religious rules. What made you decide to reconnect with God?

A: My mom explained the gospel to me when I was eight years old. I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized when I was nine years old. I was so happy that Jesus saved me that I wanted to be a good Christian and make God happy. I had my list of religious “to-do” rules and worked hard to make God happy. I thought that following all the rules would make me more faithful to God, but I spent so much time in fear. I always wondered if I was doing enough for God and kept pushing myself to jump through those hoops, always trying to do more and do better.

When I got to college, I saw all the other students having fun. I wasn’t having fun while following all of the rules, so I decided to stop. The only problem was that when I abandoned my “good” Christian rules, I felt like I was abandoning what I called my faith.

When I eventually messed up my life so badly that there was nothing I could do to fix it, I experienced an ah-ha moment that changed my life. That moment was realizing that God’s love for me is based on His perfect promises, not my performance. This was when I finally understood the freedom that comes from God’s grace, not following religious rules.

Q: Where can participants access the videos that correspond with each week?

A: In response to the different ways that groups are meeting, I love that my publisher, Abingdon Women, has made a three video formats available: DVDs, digital download, and streaming media. There’s a solution for everyone!

Readers can order DVDs and access to digital downloads from cokesbury.com/barbroose or use the Amplify Media platform for streaming video access at amplifymedia.com.

If you’d like more information on those options, I recorded a video with my friend and fellow Abingdon Women author, Melissa Spoelstra that gives a demonstration of them all at barbroose.com/groupleaders.

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Author Bio: 

Barb Roose is a speaker and author who is passionate about teaching women to live beautifully strong and courageous so that they experience God’s great adventure of faith and purpose for their lives. 

She is the author of five Bible studies including Breakthrough: Finding Freedom in Christ, Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus, Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle, and three books including Surrendered: 40 Days to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus.

Barb lives in NW Ohio and is proud mother of three adult daughters. Whenever possible, Barb prefers to eat dessert first. Visit Barb’s online home at barbroose.com. 

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Back cover copy for Barb's book, Breakthrough:

Let go of feeling like you are not a “good enough” Christian and find freedom in Christ by studying Paul’s letter to the Galatians in Breakthrough by Barb Roose. 

Have you ever felt that being a good Christian means you’ve got to follow a bunch of rules and measure up?

If so, you aren’t alone! In this six-week Bible study of Galatians, Barb Roose shows us that even the believers in the early church struggled to let go of rule-keeping and performance in order to embrace God’s free gift of grace.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul pours out his heart and faith to set them straight, addressing so many of the same questions and problems we still face today, such as…

- Who has led you to believe you have to follow rules to be right with God?
- Why do you think you have to try to be perfect for God?
- How do we stay free in Christ?

If you’ve ever struggled with these questions or felt trapped by rules or religion, this study will provide a path to discover your freedom in Christ.

Through this study women will learn to:

- Stop trying to measure up and embrace God’s grace
- Distinguish between lies and truth
- Embrace God’s promise of freedom

Components for this six-week Bible study, each available separately, include a Participant Workbook, a Leader Guide, and video sessions with six 25-minute segments (with closed captioning).

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Buy Barb's book on Amazon

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Connect with Barb:
Website: https://barbroose.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbararoose/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbroose/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbroose/