“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I can hardly believe that the holiday season is already over.  Most people look forward all year long to the feast that they can devour without judgment at Thanksgiving and the festivities of Christmas, but for my family this year, those traditions were moved to the bottom of our priority list.

About two months ago, my mom started getting really sick, and the doctors couldn’t find any source to her illness. They ran test after test, yet nothing made sense as to why she had a low blood count and was losing weight at an alarming rate. Christmas was right around the corner, and we decided to take a break from all the doctors’ appointments and just enjoy the season with our family. We would worry about possible causes for these symptoms after the tree had come down and the media had stopped showing all their Christmas specials.

This seemed like a great idea, but God had other plans. Plans that would rock our world… but then again, God seems to like switching up our plans, especially around Christmas time. The whole point of this season is that God flipped the script and sent His Son born of a virgin to save us. So when everything stopped going according to plan this Christmas, for me it was a lot easier to deal with, because I knew that God was still in control, just as He was 2,000 years ago.

About a week before December 25, my mom started coughing up blood. It wasn’t a lot the first day. But then it continued day after day, until her whole hand would be covered with the blood. Christmas was just days away, but it was time to act. We rushed her to the hospital to find out that she had lung cancer the size of a baseball in her left lung. The doctors had not thought to look for that specific form of cancer because my mother had never smoked or worked in a vocation that might contribute to lung cancer.

After that, things started going pretty fast. We were rushing my mom to many CT scans and biopsies. It was originally believed that she had stage three cancer, which would have given her about eight months to live. However, my God is bigger than doctors’ diagnoses, and after much prayer my mother returned for another doctors appointment to find out that the cancer was not spreading as fast as they had first thought and that they might be able to get all of the cancer with surgery. That surgery is still going to be very rough and we are all anticipating January 18, when my mom will have her entire left lung removed, but we are trusting God and know that He will protect my mom and continue to give us all peace throughout this difficult and scary experience.

On behalf of my mom, I am asking that any one reading this would please pray for her on January 18 as she goes into surgery. It would be so powerful and amazing to know that thousands of people are out there praying for her to have strength and to feel God’s presence throughout this time. My mom’s own personal prayer is that God be glorified in all of this. Thank you.

Pray on!

Brittany

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

Sometimes being a Christian can appear complicated and confusing, especially when it seems as though Christians have always been battling between showing unconditional love and grace and speaking the truth boldly and without apology. Most Christians tend to take either one side or the other, but if we look at the life of Jesus, He had a balance of both.

He showed grace to those who needed an extra measure, yet to people such as the Pharisees He wasn’t afraid to have a stern hand and rebuke them. For Jesus, it was more about the heart of the people He was reaching and what method would bring them closer to Him and the truth. What really matters to Christ is our heart behind our actions, and I think if we were to focus on reaching people’s hearts, it would be easier to find that balance between truth and grace. If we have a bitter or angry heart, we are more likely to complain or argue with others. Once we get our hearts in line with Christ’s Word, we will start to become more like Him in all areas of our life, including in how we talk to and witness to others.

What different Biblical types of love are there?

In the Greek, phileo represented a friendship or brotherly love, and agape represented a God-like love. The type of love talked about in this passage is agape, reminding us that when we speak the truth, the love that needs to be shown is a love that says what others need to hear in kindness, instead of just saying what others think they want to hear.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by speaking the truth?

In the New Testament Jesus found Himself speaking the truth to the Pharisees on many occasions. One such confrontation that occurred took place in Luke 11:37-44. Christ doesn’t keep anything back, He calls the Pharisees greedy and wicked and compares them to unmarked tombs that others don’t even notice. The reason that Christ found it important to confront the Pharisees instead of just showing grace was because they knew the law and were twisting it to make themselves look good. The Pharisees needed to be confronted so that they would stop using the law to make others feel inferior and unworthy of the love of Christ.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by showing love?

One of the most beautiful examples of Christ showing grace in the New Testament took place in John 8:3-11 when Christ showed grace to the adulterous woman. The woman knew what she had done was wrong and didn’t need Christ to tell her how to change her life.  At that point she needed to know that Christ loved her despite her past, but that He loved her too much to allow her to stay that way.  So what Jesus gave her was hope and a second chance, which most others wouldn’t have given her.

What situations have you found yourself in where you had to choose between showing grace and truth?

When has someone had to be truthful with you when you would have rather just had grace, but later you were glad they were honest with you?

How have you grown from others’ loving honesty toward you?

How can you apply how they treated you into witnessing and talking to others?

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

About a week ago, I was sitting in my college church class when a common question for discussion was brought up: “What is the best way to reach others for Christ?”

Some students began to say that they had always been taught to show grace to others, and not necessarily approach them with the gospel, but let them come to Christ through watching our actions. Other students didn’t agree with this method, but instead believed in being more evangelistic and approaching others with the gospel in a more straightforward, confrontational manner.

After several minutes of discussion and debate, a common ground was reached and a realization was brought to light. If it’s all about grace, then eventually, no one will know the truth or the gospel; they’ll just think you were a good person for showing grace and kindness. However, if all we care about is truth, many people may feel as though being a Christian is all about rules and knowledge, and not about an action of showing love to others.

The real answer to the question is that it takes a balance of both grace and truth. This really hit me hard, because I tend to have a habit of caring more about rules then helping people. However, when I talk to someone who doesn’t know about Christ, I sometimes allow fear to rule my life and give an excuse that because I care too much about rules, I need to be careful and only show others grace. Yet, if I only show grace, then how are they supposed to ever know why I’m living the way I live and come to personally know the Lord of my life?

I need to balance both, focusing both on speaking the truth, and speaking it in love.

What side do you usually fall on? Do you tend to let your life speak for itself, or do you speak up and tell others about Christ? Or maybe you’ve found a good balance between the two? I’d love to hear your story!

Brittany

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

“Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

The Greek translation of ”confident” is peitho, and it means to be convinced or to trust in (The Strong’s NIV Exhaustive Concordance). What stands out the most to me about this verse is that we can trust God. This verse tells us that God is going to take care of helping us grow and leading us through situations; all we have to do is trust in Him and listen to His leading. The phrase to carry it on to completion means to finish or attain a goal. We can also know that God has a goal and a purpose for our lives, and He is going to accomplish those goals in us if we allow Him to.

What are some examples of people in the Bible who went through hard times, but God used those times to prepare them for the goal He had for them?

Ruth lost her husband, went through poverty, and moved to a foreign land where she could’ve been considered an outcast. She lost everything she knew, but instead of allowing bitterness and grief to get the best of her, she chose to trust Naomi’s God, who quickly became her God. God not only brought her a home and a husband, but allowed her to be part of the kingly lineage of Jesus Christ.

Do we always see the end result of God’s plan for our lives while we are on earth?

Hebrews 11 is all about biblical heroes of faith who went through great trials on earth, but who knew that what they were going through was for a greater purpose. Verses 13-16 and 32-40 of this chapter show that they did not always see what the good of their situations were until they were in heaven, but they still chose to trust God and were joyful through their situations because they had faith.

What things have you gone through in your life of which you are still waiting to see the purpose?

How do we not lose hope when we go through troubles and we don’t necessarily see God’s reason behind it?

What steps can you take to keep a joyful and confident attitude in the midst of uncertain circumstances?

Don’t lose heart, but remember that God will complete His good work in you!

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Today we are so fortunate to have a guest blogger at Only By Prayer. Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Sometimes it’s easy to get down and not understand why God put us on this planet. Sometimes, when everything seems to be falling apart, it’s hard to see what purpose God could possibly have for our lives and what good He could bring out of our simple situations.

While I don’t have the answers, and I don’t know why God allows some events to happen, or our lives to sometimes get completely out of our control, I do know one comforting fact. God is walking beside us, and He is constantly working in us until He brings us home.

A mistake that I personally can make is that when something difficult occurs, I blame myself and beat myself up about it. However, if I truly believed that God is working in me to bring about His glory and is making a “good work” in me, I would be able to forgive myself and realize that God has an ultimate purpose in my life.

For example, sometimes very godly people will lose their jobs, and while they trust God, they can begin to look back and start with the “if onlys.” “If only I hadn’t been as bold in my witness at work.” “If only I had put more personal time into my job.” “If only I had worked harder,” and the list can go on and on.  The fact is, we can’t go back and change our circumstances and situations. We need to trust that God knows what He’s doing and has a purpose for bringing us through the trials He has allowed in our lives.

When life seems difficult and hard to understand, we need to remember Philippians 1:6 and realize that, if we allow Him to, God is always walking beside us and is using the situations we go through for His ultimate glory. Instead of walking around in fear about what has or might happen, we can walk in confidence and allow God to use our hurt and hardships for His ultimate good–and ours.

Pray on!

Today we are so fortunate to have a guest writer at Only By Prayer. Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit. Psalm 34:18

The Hebrew definition for the word brokenhearted can be defined as anxious, stricken, destroyed, or shattered (The Strong’s NIV Exhaustive Concordance). Throughout the Old and New Testament, many of the people that would be defined as being close to God, such as David and Job, went through severe trials and hardships, leading them to feel brokenhearted. This shows that we are not alone! God’s faithful children have gone through moments of depression and brokenheartedness and have come out even stronger and closer to God than before!

Why does God allow His children to go through hardships and trials?

In Philippians 1:12-14 Paul is in prison, but instead of complaining about his situation, he rejoices because he knows that what he is going through is only encouraging others to also take a stand for Christ. Many times, God will allow us to go through hardships in order to encourage and be a testimony to others. God can also use these times in our lives to draw us closer to Him, because He loves us and longs to be near to us.

How does God show His protection by allowing us to go through trials?

In Psalm 119:67, David says “before I was afflicted, I went astray.” This shows that sometimes God allows trials into our lives so that we can learn to rely on Him and not on the things of this world. When God takes away everything we hold to be important, our only choice left is to lean on Him, and because He is madly in love with us, He will bring us through the wilderness—sometimes in order to bring us closer to Him.

How should this impact every Christian’s life?

2 Corinthians 1:4 says “[God] comforts us in all affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” God does not only use pastors and counselors to help hurting people; He uses all Christians who allow Him to use their hurt to help other people. While sometimes we may not understand why we go through what we go through, God sees the whole picture and may be using us to help someone else in need.

What other examples does the Bible give us on why we go through trials?

Can God still use us to help others in the midst of our hurting, or do we need to wait until we are healed and through our trial?

Why do you think so?

Was there a time in your life when someone helped you because they went through a similar situation?

How did they make a difference?

Is there someone who is hurting that you can help because of your experience?

What can you do?